FBI agent Max Carter lives his life by a strict set of rules—rules that don’t allow for distraction, deviation…or a relationship. But tell that to his matchmaking mama. To avoid yet another set-up, he announces he has a girlfriend. And now has to produce said girlfriend at Christmas dinner. Maybe Santa has a suitable actress in that red bag of his…
Gina Castillo is about to break her building’s iron-clad “no pets” policy to give her little brother the perfect Christmas gift—a dog. Too bad Max, the most inconveniently sexy tenant in the building, catches her red handed. Gina expects to be evicted, but instead finds herself blackmailed into playing the role of his girlfriend.
Two lies plus one dog should equal a hot mess of a holiday, but attraction and Christmas magic might just defy the rules…
But then…footsteps. Headed her way. She hopped away from the door and looked frantically around the room. Nope, still nowhere to hide.
Oh, God. I am so busted.
Only one day of breaking the building’s No Pets rule and now she was going to have to find her best friend another place to live.
Yep. I’m so totally screwed.
Her heart decided it wanted out of this hot mess and went for the escape hatch up her throat, but lodged there as the door opened.
Max stood there. Just Max.
They stared at each other for a long moment before she leaned to the side to peer around him. No Super lurking in the halls. No nosy neighbors. No animal control person threatening to take away the dog. They were alone.
“I took care of it,” he said.
Gina did her best to swallow her heart back into its rightful place in her chest as she stared at him. “What does that mean?”
His mouth tilted at one corner. “I didn’t dump their bodies in the river, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Ha. Ha. Now the man was a comedian. She waited for a real answer.
Max shrugged. “I told them I tripped and fell, then I sent them on their way.”
The guy had been in the middle of yelling at her, or his silently fuming version of it. Why on earth would he cover for her?
For the second time that night, she got the distinct impression he was trying not to smile, despite how his expression didn’t change at all, other than a sardonically lifted eyebrow. Her expression must’ve reflected the combination of incredulity, relief, and suspicion that was going on inside her.
“You’re welcome, by the way,” he added.
Gina squeezed the dog close to her chest, stroking its soft fur for comfort. “Thank you,” she acknowledged belatedly.
“Your secret is safe with me…for now.”
Damn. She should’ve known her head was still on the chopping block. “What do you mean, for now?”
“I took care of it, but if you want me to keep taking care of it, I need something from you.”
Yup. Here came the axe. Gina edged away, nerves and disappointment both dogging her steps. Hottie McBlackmailer turned out to be a perv. She lifted her chin. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
Max crossed his arms, and she swallowed at the sight of defined muscles under the fine material of his shirt. “I don’t want sex.”
She stopped scooting back and eyed him, trying to determine how serious he was. “No?”
Max slammed her with a charming smile, one that softened the harsher lines of his face and had her stomach fluttering in response. However, like in the hall earlier, his blue-eyed gaze remained distant, and she didn’t quite trust that I-have-my-own-agenda light in his eyes.
“No,” he said. “I want you to pretend to be my girlfriend.”
Oh, God. I am so busted.
Only one day of breaking the building’s No Pets rule and now she was going to have to find her best friend another place to live.
Yep. I’m so totally screwed.
Her heart decided it wanted out of this hot mess and went for the escape hatch up her throat, but lodged there as the door opened.
Max stood there. Just Max.
They stared at each other for a long moment before she leaned to the side to peer around him. No Super lurking in the halls. No nosy neighbors. No animal control person threatening to take away the dog. They were alone.
“I took care of it,” he said.
Gina did her best to swallow her heart back into its rightful place in her chest as she stared at him. “What does that mean?”
His mouth tilted at one corner. “I didn’t dump their bodies in the river, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Ha. Ha. Now the man was a comedian. She waited for a real answer.
Max shrugged. “I told them I tripped and fell, then I sent them on their way.”
The guy had been in the middle of yelling at her, or his silently fuming version of it. Why on earth would he cover for her?
For the second time that night, she got the distinct impression he was trying not to smile, despite how his expression didn’t change at all, other than a sardonically lifted eyebrow. Her expression must’ve reflected the combination of incredulity, relief, and suspicion that was going on inside her.
“You’re welcome, by the way,” he added.
Gina squeezed the dog close to her chest, stroking its soft fur for comfort. “Thank you,” she acknowledged belatedly.
“Your secret is safe with me…for now.”
Damn. She should’ve known her head was still on the chopping block. “What do you mean, for now?”
“I took care of it, but if you want me to keep taking care of it, I need something from you.”
Yup. Here came the axe. Gina edged away, nerves and disappointment both dogging her steps. Hottie McBlackmailer turned out to be a perv. She lifted her chin. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
Max crossed his arms, and she swallowed at the sight of defined muscles under the fine material of his shirt. “I don’t want sex.”
She stopped scooting back and eyed him, trying to determine how serious he was. “No?”
Max slammed her with a charming smile, one that softened the harsher lines of his face and had her stomach fluttering in response. However, like in the hall earlier, his blue-eyed gaze remained distant, and she didn’t quite trust that I-have-my-own-agenda light in his eyes.
“No,” he said. “I want you to pretend to be my girlfriend.”
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Data analyst Cassie Howard may be brilliant (and, okay, a little awkward), but she’s worked hard to get where she is. She definitely doesn’t need some sexy new analyst coming in and taking credit for her work. Or the inappropriate thoughts that keep popping out of her mouth she’d rather he not hear.
For undercover FBI agent Drew Kerrigan, computers have always made more sense than people, but he’d better develop some slick social skills in a hurry if he’s going to win over the too-tantalizing-for-his-sanity Cassie. Hacking their systems was easy. Now he’s just got to hack the one person in the company most likely to see through his ruse…
It took Cassie all of five steps away from him for Drew to move.
He was crossing a dangerous line, or on a slippery slope, or whatever other cliché you wanted to throw at the situation. He could’ve held on. After a week of ignoring every instinct he had that screamed at him to spend time with Cassie, get to know her better, and—hell, yes—kiss her a lot more, he’d thought he could make it through the investigation. After everything was over, then he could approach her.
But no way could he watch her walk away after every spark of hope in her stunning eyes had died. Stealing candy from a baby while kicking puppies and burning a hole in the ozone layer couldn’t even feel this horrible.
“Cassie.” Her name tumbled off his lips even before he’d made a final decision, or maybe his heart made it for him. No brain required.
She glanced over her shoulder, her hand on the doorknob, and raised her eyebrows.
Words failed sometimes.
Instead, Drew stalked across the room, enjoying how her eyes widened with every purposeful step he took. She turned to face him fully just as he invaded her space. Drew stepped close enough to feel her heat, relishing the faint gasp that parted her lips. He leaned into her, hand on the door behind her to ensure it stayed closed.
He gazed down into bright blue-green eyes, where a wary spark of hope had ignited, and scoured his brain for a smooth, suck-the-breath-out-of-her-lungs, thing to say. Inspiration struck and he smiled even as he spoke the words. “I’d like to unzip your files.”
She froze and blinked up at him so long Drew started to worry she didn’t get it. They hadn’t had any word play all week. Well, she’d tried, and he’d ignored. But this one was out of context, right out of the blue. Maybe…
Cassie burst out laughing, deep belly laughs that he couldn’t resist chuckling along with, even though he wasn’t quite sure yet if she was laughing at him or with him.
“That has to be the nerdiest pickup line in history.”
Drew grinned back like a moron, and relief whooshed through him as two things became evident. First, she got it. Second, she seemed receptive given the big smile and sparkly eyes, along with the fact that she wasn’t running away screaming.
“Did it work?”
They both sobered. Longing swept away any urge to laugh, and Drew swam through those eyes of hers. His body tightened in anticipation. Their breath mingled as he dipped his head, unable to wait a second longer to taste her lips again.
“Drew, are you still in here?”
Kevin’s attempt to open the door stopped short
He was crossing a dangerous line, or on a slippery slope, or whatever other cliché you wanted to throw at the situation. He could’ve held on. After a week of ignoring every instinct he had that screamed at him to spend time with Cassie, get to know her better, and—hell, yes—kiss her a lot more, he’d thought he could make it through the investigation. After everything was over, then he could approach her.
But no way could he watch her walk away after every spark of hope in her stunning eyes had died. Stealing candy from a baby while kicking puppies and burning a hole in the ozone layer couldn’t even feel this horrible.
“Cassie.” Her name tumbled off his lips even before he’d made a final decision, or maybe his heart made it for him. No brain required.
She glanced over her shoulder, her hand on the doorknob, and raised her eyebrows.
Words failed sometimes.
Instead, Drew stalked across the room, enjoying how her eyes widened with every purposeful step he took. She turned to face him fully just as he invaded her space. Drew stepped close enough to feel her heat, relishing the faint gasp that parted her lips. He leaned into her, hand on the door behind her to ensure it stayed closed.
He gazed down into bright blue-green eyes, where a wary spark of hope had ignited, and scoured his brain for a smooth, suck-the-breath-out-of-her-lungs, thing to say. Inspiration struck and he smiled even as he spoke the words. “I’d like to unzip your files.”
She froze and blinked up at him so long Drew started to worry she didn’t get it. They hadn’t had any word play all week. Well, she’d tried, and he’d ignored. But this one was out of context, right out of the blue. Maybe…
Cassie burst out laughing, deep belly laughs that he couldn’t resist chuckling along with, even though he wasn’t quite sure yet if she was laughing at him or with him.
“That has to be the nerdiest pickup line in history.”
Drew grinned back like a moron, and relief whooshed through him as two things became evident. First, she got it. Second, she seemed receptive given the big smile and sparkly eyes, along with the fact that she wasn’t running away screaming.
“Did it work?”
They both sobered. Longing swept away any urge to laugh, and Drew swam through those eyes of hers. His body tightened in anticipation. Their breath mingled as he dipped his head, unable to wait a second longer to taste her lips again.
“Drew, are you still in here?”
Kevin’s attempt to open the door stopped short
No matter the genre, she loves to write witty, feisty heroines, sexy heroes who deserve them, and a cast of lovable characters to surround them (and maybe get their own stories). She currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own personal hero, her husband, and their two children, who are growing up way too fast.
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Sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fun! I just bought it!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun series. Thank you
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance!
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