Everly Parker is about to
graduate from law school, always busy, and can’t stop rushing through life. Her
late grandmother left her a bucket list of meaningful, can’t-miss experiences,
but she hasn’t completed a single one. Then searing-hot Max Levin bursts into
her world. As a casting director for a porn production company, Max is loaded,
cocky, and all wrong for Everly. Still, she’s tempted enough to cross the first
item off her list: Go out with someone you’d never give the time of day.
Inheriting a porn empire isn’t every guy’s dream
(well, actually, it probably is), but Max isn’t complaining. It’s just that
until he meets Everly, he has no idea what he’s been missing. As the pressure
mounts to take over the family business, Max can’t help wondering what would
happen if he chose Everly instead. So far, his life has been a wild ride, but
only Everly promises the greatest rush of all: love.
I picked up this book not knowing what to expect. The blurb was interesting--never read a book where pornography was a central theme. Max and Everly's story didn't disappoint me or prove to be too awkward. Rush, for me, actually made pornography much less of a taboo topic/theme than usual--it almost normalizes it, if that makes any sense. I think it also helped that the book really honed in on the development of Max and Everly's relationship rather than on the porn industry. Porn takes a bit of a backseat and just makes the story better!
I was a big fan of Max. He proved to be such a sweetheart despite the preconceived notions of how the heir of a successful producer and a porn star would be. His character was totally on the other end of the spectrum. His determination to become a better person than what was expected of him really drove this story. Max convinces his audience (and, in the end, Everly) that he can be so much more than what anyone expects of him.
Everly is about as different from Max as one could ever imagine. She's totally straight edged, sheltered and everything Max isn't. She's on a path to become a successful lawyer but she's not sure that that's what she wants to do with her life. However, it takes her awhile to come to terms that her life is what she makes of it. When she meets Max, he makes it his mission to spice up her life. Seeing how she fits/doesn't fit into Max's world is uncomfortable at times but to see how it ends up working out in the end is really sweet. Everly and Max work well together--they have the chemistry and they also compliment each other in every way.
This book was enjoyable. There's ample sex (obviously) throughout the book--a lot of it pornography-esque (whatever that means, right?) but there's just as much story to go with. I went in with no expectations but I was more than pleasantly surprised. Can a story be so very hot but just so sweet at the same time? Apparently so...
Excerpt
“I’m in the business of
bringing fantasy to life, Ms. Parker.” I was mesmerized by the soft swell of
her breasts that poked above the neckline of her shirt. So subtle and delicate.
“I bet you’ve got a few stored away for a rainy day.”
A sharp snap brought my
attention back to her face. “Don’t you know it’s rude not to look someone in
the face when talking to them?” When I finally brought my eyes up and away from
her breasts, she was glaring at me. Her shoulders had migrated to her ears in
annoyance.
I was usually a lot
subtler when checking out the opposite sex. Not that I had to be. It was my job
to analyze every curve and swell of a woman’s body, but served me right for
giving in to my baser desires. She had totally called me on it.
“Hmm . . . I guess I
don’t.” I stepped forward and walked around her, just as the hard crunching
noise of the coffee grinder went off in the distance.
I liked this girl. She
may be hiding what I was positive was an above-average body behind those frumpy
clothes, but she had gumption. Confidence. Yet not the confidence I was used
to. I made my living working with women who found their sense of self with
their bodies. But not this woman. I had an inkling that her confidence
originated from being first in her class.
Her head swiveled with my
movements and I heard her tiny gasps for breath as I hovered, each time getting
closer. Finally, I leaned in and whispered, “Want to teach me a lesson?” I
grinned then stepped away, but not before I saw the shiver race up her spine.
So you do have an effect
on her.
But when I turned to face
her, she had already forgotten my affect on her body. “Somehow I have the
feeling you’ve already got a long line of scorned women ready to teach you a
lesson in manners.”
I heard Ben chuckle
behind me, then clear his throat.
“Touché, Ms. Parker.”
“I have studying to do,
so . . .” She lifted her chin, eyes blazing at me. “I’ll leave you to
your meeting.”
“It’s too bad.” I
squeezed myself back into the booth and kicked out one leg, resting my arm
along the top of the seat back. “Guess I won’t be getting the lashing I so
deserve.”
She laughed me off. Actually
laughed at my words. Not that cute little giggle women
usually got when I laid
it on thick, but laughed at me. “Goodbye.” She walked away, but not
before giving me one last look that cut right through me.
I’d been eyed before. By
women and men. Always with a glimmer of seduction or the blatant go-ahead to
bring them to my bedroom. But never like this. Never with such disregard for
everything I was and everything I stood for. This woman didn’t know me. She was
just like the others. Judging a book before she looked between the covers—and
being a student, she should know better.
But I was used to people
belittling my work and my character. I’d dealt with it my whole life. I knew
what it was like to have people call my mother a dirty slut. How it felt to
have my father compared to a pimp. But even after all the teasing and taunting
that only adolescents could hammer at me, never had I ever felt the need to
defend myself so thoroughly.
I returned my attention
to Ben, Jade, and Stella, almost forgetting why I was here.
“Sorry about that,” Jade
said. “Everly can be a bit uptight sometimes. She’s just stressed out with
studying.”
“So, where were we,”
Stella asked, leaning against me. From across the table, Ben stared with a
curious, but shocked face. “I think we were going to give you a little sneak
peek of our skills.” She purred and pawed at me like a cat in heat.
I wasn’t interested in
watching a show. I was . . . confused. Confused at the fact that I was more
interested in the bookworm three tables away than the two beautiful women in
front of me.
Was it because I was
taken aback by her quick wit and innocent smile? Or was it something more? Was
it because she saw right through me? She knew I was Max Levin, the porn guy.
But she . . . didn’t care.
I had walked into this
café with the intent of meeting and signing two escorts to short- term
contracts. Instead, I wanted nothing more than to figure out why that Plain
Jane had just woken up my cock. More importantly, why her indifference toward
me actually hit a nerve. Women usually batted their eyelashes and looked at me
with a dreamy gaze. Not this girl, she wasn’t wooed by my charms or status. And
it was fucking intriguing.
“Would you excuse me a
minute?”
Ben shot me a quizzical
look. “Where are you going?”
“Ladies, would you mind
discussing with Mr. Lockwood your boundaries? The type of scenes you’d be
willing to film.” I stood and pulled out a draft contract from my pocket.
“He’ll also discuss the average payouts.” I looked at him and clapped him on
the shoulder. “Page twelve.”
The bookworm had just
presented me with a challenge.
I wasn’t done with her.
Not by a long shot.
About the Author
When
her dream of becoming a mafia princess didn’t pan out, Gina Gordon went after
her second dream: becoming a writer. And she hasn’t looked back. A
self-proclaimed happily-ever-after junkie and cupcake connoisseur, Gordon loves
spinning contemporary tales of knee-bending first kisses, unconditional love,
and super-hot sex. She lives in Milton, Ontario, with her husband and their
lovable dog.
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