Scorching encounters and emotions bubbling to the surface fuel this story of opposites attracting that will keep readers immersed in its sensual web. Keep reading to get a tempting glimpse of By the Hour by Roni Loren, along with my impressions of this tale of an agreement that becomes more, then add it to your bookshelf. In honor of this second installment in the Pleasure Principle series make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win a $25 Amazon GC too!
From the New York Times bestselling author of Off the Clock comes a story of love, hate, and the fire that ignites when the two collide...
Dr. Elle McCray has a plan. Work hard. Be the best. And do it alone. After her ex-husband’s betrayal, she’s learned being feared is a hell of a lot easier than being humiliated. So when trouble personified, Lane Cannon, dares to flirt with her, she shuts him down cold. Too gorgeous. Too cocky. And his job as The Grove’s sexual surrogate is to sleep with patients. No, thank you.
Former escort Lane Cannon has spent enough years with people looking down on him. Stupid. Trailer trash. Rent boy. He’s heard it all. He’s worked too hard to shed his past to let some haughty doctor cut him down. But something about Elle’s ice queen act has his dominant instincts perking up and his body taking notice. He can’t walk away.
After an evening of verbal sparring turns into a night of steamy hate sex, Lane’s ready for round two. But Elle proposes a business deal. How better to keep things strictly physical than to pay him for his services?
Lane wants her, not her money. But he’ll play along in exchange for one thing—all the control. It’s only supposed to be a dirty little fling between colleagues, but these two are about to learn a lesson in love…by the hour.
EXCERPT:
Elle picked up the phone with intentions of turning the ringer off, but before she could silence it, there was a sharp knock on her door. The interruption startled her and made her drop the still ringing phone onto the rug beneath her desk.
“Dammit.” Distracted, Elle called out for whoever it was to come in and then bent down to grab the phone and silence it. “If you want to talk to me, leave a freaking voicemail. I do have a job, you know."
“I’m aware."
The deep rumble of a voice had her head snapping up, and she promptly banged it on the underside of her desk. “Son of a bitch."
The ringing that had stopped with the phone started in her head. She rubbed the sore spot, and sat up to find Lane standing in her doorway with a white box in his hands and an unreadable expression.
“You okay?"
The spot on her head was throbbing but she gave a curt nod, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. “I’m fine. Why are you here?"
His signature smugness touched his lips. “Always such a warm welcome from you, McCray. I bet you worked your way through college as a greeter at Disney World. Am I right?"
“Yep. Wore the ears and everything,” she said, not missing a beat. “Now answer the question."
Because the sooner he did that, the sooner she could get him out of here. Just seeing him leaning against her doorframe with that lazy, self-satisfied way of his had her mind replaying the scene from that night in her head. Only the highlight reel, of course. Not the ugly parts. Not the part where she ended up alone on her living room floor having a freak out. Her dirty mind was fantastic at editing out the stuff she was supposed to be focusing on.
He lifted the box. “I come bearing cupcakes."
At first, all she heard was I come. Boy, did he. With sexy grunts and brute force. She shook the images from her head. God, she turned into a horny teenager when she was around this guy. Pack the hormones away, Elle. She cleared her throat. “Cupcakes?"
He opened the box and revealed eleven cupcakes with hideous bright pink frosting. “These got delivered to the wrong building on the wrong date, and I’m guessing with the wrong color, because no one who wasn’t having a pretty, pretty princess birthday party would choose these. But they were supposed to go to you for your birthday. Happy late birthday, Elle."
She kept her expression smooth, even though hearing someone finally wish her happy birthday had her throat tightening. She swallowed past the unexpected and unwelcome emotion. “What happened to the twelfth one?"
He set the box on her desk and the door closed behind him. “I did a poison test for you. They’re safe but turn your tongue and teeth colors."
He stuck out his fluorescent tongue and then grinned a toothy, pink smile to demonstrate.
She couldn’t stop the snort that escaped. She pressed her fingers over her mouth, trying not to show any break in her stone wall.
He waved a hand. “No, go ahead. I know. So many jokes that can be made. Don’t let your head explode from not saying one."
“You should get that checked."
He gave another encouraging flick of his hand. “I know there’s more."
“Did Miss Piggy at least buy you a drink before you went down on her?"
He grinned wide.
“Did she taste like bacon?"
He laughed at that one, a warm, open sound that he’d never made in her presence. “I knew there was a sense of humor in there somewhere.” He lifted an eyebrow. “And Miss Piggy bought me a whole meal, which is more than I can say for the last woman I slept with."
She stiffened at that, and the smile that had slipped out fell away. “Thanks for bringing them by but--"
“You’re busy. Yeah, I’m sure you are. And I got that we’re not supposed to talk about it. But look, here’s the deal. I have a very low tolerance for drama in my life these days. This”—he pointed a finger back and forth between the two of them—“is drama neither of us needs. So consider what happened done. I do. Both of us should’ve known better. We didn’t get along to begin with. A hot night in bed isn’t going to change that."
She tipped her chin up, trying to maintain her cool composure. “No, it’s not."
He smiled. “Got you to admit that it was hot."
“Lane.”
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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
Readers return to the erotically-charged domain of The Grove and the clinicians sworn to heal in this tale of opposites attracting. When the clinic's Ice Queen finds herself attracted to the charming and sexy sex surrogate sparks will fly as painful pasts and his career weigh on their evolving relationship. It's a romance full of sensual encounters along with emotionally intense issues dealt with in a realistic manner that kept me fully immersed from the first page to the last.
Elle McCray once had girlish notions of love until a bad marriage left her beliefs tarnished and her head full of doubts about herself as well as distrustful of others. To keep her bruised heart safe she dove into work and kept her libido happy through occasional scratchings of an itch. That all changed the night The Grove's sex surrogate made her an offer she couldn't refuse. Though their relationship started off antagonistically he slowly worked his way into her heart by breaking down the walls she'd worked hard to erect. With Lane by her side she's able to finally put the pain her ex heaped on her behind her in a bold and cathartic move that left me cheering. Her and Lane are combustible together with banter that's like watching a tennis match as each gives as good as they get. Theirs isn't an easy road to HEA though as her low self-esteem leads her to having problems with his job and how intimate it is which leaves them at an impasse that thankfully doesn't torture readers for too long. Elle was cold and judgmental as this story started. Alone and isolated as she didn't want to put herself out there to be hurt again as she learned by watching her parents and through her duplicitous ex-husband. Being with Lane brings out a softer side though, one that's able to laugh at herself and put her heart on the line for what truly makes her happy. Her evolution was subtle but oh so satisfying as she became someone I could see myself hanging out with. She was funny and far less methodical once Lane became a fixture in her life and seeing them together gave me all sorts of warm fuzzies...along with a permanent blush.
Elle came from a wealthy family while Lane's family struggled which is just one of the differences in their psyches. His lower class status was something he could never forget as cruel classmates and uncaring teachers were there to repeatedly remind him. A learning disability further exacerbated his feelings of unworthiness and had him grasping any means to get ahead. This led him to the world of escorting where he was again made to feel unimportant as he was always the dirty little secret valued for his body rather than his mind. His work at The Grove brings these feelings even closer to the surface as Elle's first words regarding his work left him feeling dirty and tainted their early interactions. Lane's a kind hearted man though and was willing to wipe the slate clean as they grew closer together through deep talks and erotic encounters that had a hint of bdsm to them as both enjoyed a bit of kink. Lane exudes confidence but readers still get a glimpse of that lost little boy throughout the story whenever his abilities are questioned or when his past is used against him. He's charming with the ability to make others feel comfortable and valued as well as being talented at talking dirty. He always saw a spark in Elle and longed to enflame her which led to entertaining and erotically-charged banter that made for exhilarating foreplay. He's the highlight of this story for me as he said everything a woman wants to her while giving her everything she could ever want in and out of the bedroom and is a new addition to my list of book boyfriends.
This was an entertaining romance with the perfect blend of eroticism and witty banter full of sexual tension. It's a fine addition to the Pleasure Principle series and it was nice catching up with the leads from the previous installment along with the other colorful characters residing at The Grove. Elle was a very bitter woman at the start which is understandable due to her ex and her sister whose pairing hurt her to her core. Her sister and her ex were particularly unlikable and I was happy that both got just what they deserved. Elle got good at closing herself off but Lane was even better at getting her to open up. Their encounters were scorching yet playful and perfectly paced to make each encounter meaningful. Lane's past was one he didn't run from, he wasn't embarrassed by it but never wanted to devalue himself like that again. I ached for all he'd been made to feel as it's still hard on his ego and had him doubting himself at times. He's a romantic through it all though in his words and deeds and is just what Elle needed to make her once again believe in HEA. Ms. Loren's an author I've come to count on for her compelling, mulit-layered characters and she once again crafted a dynamic duo who had to work hard together to reach their HEA. Thankfully she didn't put her readers through the wringer with unnecessary angst to get there which made this an immensely satisfying story with substance.
Elle McCray once had girlish notions of love until a bad marriage left her beliefs tarnished and her head full of doubts about herself as well as distrustful of others. To keep her bruised heart safe she dove into work and kept her libido happy through occasional scratchings of an itch. That all changed the night The Grove's sex surrogate made her an offer she couldn't refuse. Though their relationship started off antagonistically he slowly worked his way into her heart by breaking down the walls she'd worked hard to erect. With Lane by her side she's able to finally put the pain her ex heaped on her behind her in a bold and cathartic move that left me cheering. Her and Lane are combustible together with banter that's like watching a tennis match as each gives as good as they get. Theirs isn't an easy road to HEA though as her low self-esteem leads her to having problems with his job and how intimate it is which leaves them at an impasse that thankfully doesn't torture readers for too long. Elle was cold and judgmental as this story started. Alone and isolated as she didn't want to put herself out there to be hurt again as she learned by watching her parents and through her duplicitous ex-husband. Being with Lane brings out a softer side though, one that's able to laugh at herself and put her heart on the line for what truly makes her happy. Her evolution was subtle but oh so satisfying as she became someone I could see myself hanging out with. She was funny and far less methodical once Lane became a fixture in her life and seeing them together gave me all sorts of warm fuzzies...along with a permanent blush.
Elle came from a wealthy family while Lane's family struggled which is just one of the differences in their psyches. His lower class status was something he could never forget as cruel classmates and uncaring teachers were there to repeatedly remind him. A learning disability further exacerbated his feelings of unworthiness and had him grasping any means to get ahead. This led him to the world of escorting where he was again made to feel unimportant as he was always the dirty little secret valued for his body rather than his mind. His work at The Grove brings these feelings even closer to the surface as Elle's first words regarding his work left him feeling dirty and tainted their early interactions. Lane's a kind hearted man though and was willing to wipe the slate clean as they grew closer together through deep talks and erotic encounters that had a hint of bdsm to them as both enjoyed a bit of kink. Lane exudes confidence but readers still get a glimpse of that lost little boy throughout the story whenever his abilities are questioned or when his past is used against him. He's charming with the ability to make others feel comfortable and valued as well as being talented at talking dirty. He always saw a spark in Elle and longed to enflame her which led to entertaining and erotically-charged banter that made for exhilarating foreplay. He's the highlight of this story for me as he said everything a woman wants to her while giving her everything she could ever want in and out of the bedroom and is a new addition to my list of book boyfriends.
This was an entertaining romance with the perfect blend of eroticism and witty banter full of sexual tension. It's a fine addition to the Pleasure Principle series and it was nice catching up with the leads from the previous installment along with the other colorful characters residing at The Grove. Elle was a very bitter woman at the start which is understandable due to her ex and her sister whose pairing hurt her to her core. Her sister and her ex were particularly unlikable and I was happy that both got just what they deserved. Elle got good at closing herself off but Lane was even better at getting her to open up. Their encounters were scorching yet playful and perfectly paced to make each encounter meaningful. Lane's past was one he didn't run from, he wasn't embarrassed by it but never wanted to devalue himself like that again. I ached for all he'd been made to feel as it's still hard on his ego and had him doubting himself at times. He's a romantic through it all though in his words and deeds and is just what Elle needed to make her once again believe in HEA. Ms. Loren's an author I've come to count on for her compelling, mulit-layered characters and she once again crafted a dynamic duo who had to work hard together to reach their HEA. Thankfully she didn't put her readers through the wringer with unnecessary angst to get there which made this an immensely satisfying story with substance.
My rating for this is an A-
*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR INFO:
Roni wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven’t improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. If she’s not working on her latest sexy story, you can find her cooking, watching reality television, or picking up another hobby she doesn't need--in other words, procrastinating like a boss. She is a RITA Award winner and a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.
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