Blurb
A
boss can't date her employee—simple as that. No matter how much
Shayla wants to unravel a few of Grant's mysteries and take her
friendship with the shy, sarcastic man to the next level, she's
determined to keep her fantasies of him to herself.
After
bear shifter Grant lost his girlfriend and three best friends in a
fire, he did his best to shut himself off from everyone around him.
Falling for Shayla wasn't part of his plan, but after a kiss that
leaves them both speechless and hungry for more, Grant can't keep his
desire for his boss under wraps any longer.
When
things between the two of them get hotter than he could have
imagined, Grant wonders if some of his darker desires will be too
much for Shayla or will she embrace the needs he’s kept hidden for
so long?
An
obnoxious reporter and Shayla's bitter ex have teamed up to chase
down conspiracy theories that could destroy Shayla's business and
worse, put her life in danger. To find their happily ever after,
Shayla and Grant will have to trust in each other and find a way to
crush all the obstacles standing in their way.
Excerpt
What
is it about Grant? Looking at the man beside her was no hardship;
that was for damn sure. He had the tall, broad body of a heavyweight
UFC fighter, but he never used his size to intimidate the people
around him. Shayla wanted to sweep his wavy, slightly shaggy dark
hair out of his gorgeous brown eyes. His dark hair and eyes
complemented his bronze skin. He was hot, in a serious, dangerous
kind of way. But in the two and a half years he had worked for her,
she had hardly learned anything about him.
The
waitress at the popular nature-themed restaurant, the Greenhouse
Effect, showed them to their table. The plants growing around all the
walls and columns made the place look like a wild garden. The smell
of lavender and jasmine mixed with the delicious scents drifting from
the kitchen. She tried not to drool, but breakfast seemed like eons
ago. Shayla sat next to Sydney and across from Grant. A too-tall
centerpiece of yellow-and-purple flowers blocked most of her view.
Being short occasionally sucked. Grant moved the centerpiece to the
side and gave her a shy smile. His smile made her want answers, among
other things.
She
knew he was from New Jersey and had gone to school in Wisconsin
before moving to Richmond, Virginia, to work with Brook’s
Comprehensive, a huge company that did everything from urban
development projects to financial management for celebrities and
politicians.
“Why
do you want to make such a big change from a large corporation to a
simple start-up company?” she’d asked him in the interview.
“Honestly?”
He had paused then, the question hanging.
“Yes,”
she’d assured him. She’d take honesty over smooth-faced,
calculated interview answers any day.
“I
want to live somewhere I can have a house and some land. Maybe spend
more time outside. Also, I want a job where I can do more than just
run numbers for projects where I never see the outcome.”
The
last part had seemed to come as a surprise to him. Maybe he hadn’t
really known he wanted something more than a change of scenery until
he had said it out loud.
His
answer had been simple and honest instead of a long, drawn-out
elaboration about the projected success of new companies in the area
or an extensive list of projects he had helped to fruition. She could
look at his résumé for those kinds of details. He had wanted to be
there, so she’d hired him. Simple as that—after a clean
background check and drug screening, of course.
Grant
the mystery man—a delicious mystery Shayla would like to unravel,
piece by piece, layer by layer. Ah, but I can’t. I’m his boss.
In a different lifetime, if we didn’t have the whole boss-employee
obstacle going on…. No harm in looking, though, just a little,
since he sat so close. She promised herself to keep her thoughts
G-rated—okay, maybe PG-13. Grant had a talent with numbers and paid
attention to detail. Also, he was a little shy and standoffish to a
lot of people when it came to anything other than work. Shayla
wondered where he sometimes went in his head, because, every now and
then, his smile slipped from his face, just for a second, before
being replaced with one a little harder. None of my business,
she reminded herself.
She
had really wanted to hug him this morning after seeing him so
frustrated but decided it might be wiser and more appropriate to show
him there were a few people on his side. Seeing him break things and
try to be all strong and humorous about it made Shayla want to
unravel the Grant mystery even more. It kind of hurt to watch him
pretending to be fine, but all she could offer him was lunch and good
conversation. Hopefully, Mr. Strong and Silent—Sydney called him
that sometimes, although never to his face—knew Shayla and Sydney
cared. And Shayla did care. Because he’s a friend. Just a
friend.
Grant
raised his soda in a toast. “To things not being worse,” he
announced with a rueful half smile. “And, uh”—he cleared his
throat—“to good company.” He nodded at Sydney, and when he met
Shayla’s gaze, he held it. In his dark eyes, she saw hunger,
wide-open desire, and about a million other things she couldn’t
puzzle out. Grant looked at her that way sometimes, and she did her
best to ignore it. He might have a small crush on her, or he could
have a thing for petite, small-breasted girls possessing a great
fashion sense.
Sydney
broke the silence. “To good food and even better friends.” She
clinked Grant’s glass, and Shayla came back to reality and smiled,
pretending she wasn’t experiencing several different kinds of
inappropriate thoughts and feelings for a sexy, complicated man who
was her employee and also her friend. She needed to behave and
remember things could never go any further than a panty-melting gaze.
Buy
the Book
Amazon
US:
Amazon
UK:
Barnes
and Noble:
Google
Play:
iBooks:
Kobo:
Smashwords:
About the Author
A
few years ago, I read my first romance novel and I was hooked, so
much so that I decided to give the idea of writing a story a chance.
My style is more gritty than sweet and I look forward to writing many
more stories with strong heroines and imperfect but determined
characters. Love, courage, hope, and second chances are a few of my
favorite themes. When I’m not writing, I enjoy spending time
outside and finding ways to avoid cooking. I live in beautiful
Virginia with my husband, two daughters, and a sweet, hairy monster
of a dog.
Connect
with Christina
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chris4lamb
Amazon
author
page: https://www.amazon.com/Christina-Lynn-Lambert/e/B01MCYK0K7
