JT Malone is lucky, and he knows it. He is the heir to a billion-dollar petroleum empire, and he has a loving family. Between his good looks and his charm, he can have almost any woman he wants. The world is his oyster, and he really likes oysters. So why does it all feel so empty?

Nina Blunt is pretty sure she’s cursed. She worked her way up through the ranks at Interpol, fighting for every step with hard work and discipline. Then she lost it all because she loved the wrong person. Rebuilding her career with McKay-Taggart, she can’t help but feel lonely. It seems everyone around her is finding love and starting families. But she knows that isn’t for her. She has vowed never to make the mistake of falling in love again.

JT comes to McKay-Taggart for assistance rooting out a corporate spy, and Nina signs on to the job. Their working relationship becomes tricky, however, as their personal chemistry flares like a wildfire. Completing the assignment without giving in to the attraction that threatens to overwhelm them seems like it might be the most difficult part of the job. When danger strikes, will they be able to count on each other when the bullets are flying? If not, JT’s charmed life might just come to an end.

Book Type:

Contemporary Romance

Excerpt: Charmed

Nina wasn’t sure what she was doing, but she knew one thing. She didn’t want to turn back and go to her own room. She’d spent the last two hours with JT. She didn’t know his last name and didn’t care. He didn’t know hers, either. There was something freeing in being JT and Nina.

Not exchanging last names didn’t mean she didn’t know anything about him. She’d found out he worked for his father’s company and his job took him all over the world. He was an utterly charming mix of down-home boy and sophisticated world traveler. He was a good listener. He had a brother and loved his family.

He was so sexy it hurt.

The lift doors opened and he held a hand out, allowing her to go first. He was also a perfect gentleman. After she’d bought him a beer, he’d bought the next round and then had made her choose between having another round or switching to coffee. She got the idea that if she’d had another drink, he wouldn’t have invited her up to his room.

“Tell me something,” she said as she moved to the elegant hallway. At this time of night, it was perfectly quiet. Her own room was several floors below. When the time had come to decide on whose room to go to, she’d insisted on his.

Yes, he was lovely, but she wanted an escape if she needed it.

“I’ve told you a lot. I can tell you more,” he said in that deep Texas accent of his. He followed her off and the doors closed behind him.

She hoped she didn’t need it. She hoped he was every bit the Cowboy Prince Charming he seemed to be.

“If I’d had drink number four, would we be here?” She was curious. She’d had more than one man try to ply her with drink to get what he wanted. It never worked, but she wanted to understand his reasoning.

He stared at her for a moment as though assessing the situation and then he leaned against the wall. “No. I would have made sure you got back to your room, but I don’t know your threshold. I have zero interest in coaxing you with liquor. I would far rather know you wanted me and not some random guy to forget your troubles with. And I didn’t want to get drunk either. Three’s a good limit for me. I don’t need anything to dull this experience.”

He was forthright. She liked that quite a bit, and he hadn’t had a fourth drink either. He’d been perfectly in control. Another thing she liked. She couldn’t exactly come out and tell him she would very much enjoy it if he dominated her sexually. Or could she? “But I am trying to forget my troubles. That doesn’t mean I don’t want you in particular. If you hadn’t been in the bar this evening, I would have settled for a book.”

His lips curled up in the sexiest smile. “What kind of book?”

“Romance.” Somehow she didn’t think he would be derisive. Some people had contempt for the genre, but they were usually the ones who could use it the most.

He moved in, his hand coming up to brush a stray hair off her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. “I like the sound of that. It’s your turn to tell me something. What would the hero of that book you would have read do right now?”

He’d backed her against the wall, but not in a way that felt threatening. He was taller than she was and loomed over her, his broad shoulders blocking most of her line of sight. She was still in her heels and for most men that put her at eye level or taller. Not with this one. It was nice to look up to a man for once. “I think he would invite her back to his room where they wouldn’t shock anyone who happens to walk down the hallway.”

He watched her like he was studying something fascinating, something he wanted desperately to learn. “I happen to know there are only two rooms on this floor, and I saw the couple in the other room go upstairs a few hours ago. They seemed like they were ready for sleep. Not that older couples can’t party the night away, too, but they didn’t seem like the type. So we don’t have to worry about anyone catching us, though I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t be ashamed to get caught touching you.”