Page 48 (1/2)

About the Book

Fro author of Off the Clock conites 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 hieous Too cocky And his job as The Grove’s sexual surrogate is to sleep with patients No, thank you

Forh 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 so about Elle’s ice queen act has his do 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 —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

Toto buy, read, and ask for more of my books Lane and Elle’s story wouldn’t have happened if not for you hugs

Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults

Benjamin Franklin

Chapter 1

Maybe she was a masochist after all God knohat else could’ve compelled her to attend someone else’s party on her birthday

Dr Elle McCray shifted against the ooden chair and traced her fingertip over the sed into the table of Parrain’s PoBoys D + R = 4Ever

Forever Sure That’s a realistic plan, D and R Good luck with that She flattened her pal and tried not to look as if she were about to jump out of her skin

She should’ve never coht, but the festive at blood Dr Marin Rush had gotten a permanent position at The Grove, the elite mental health institute where they all worked, and everyone was celebrating Yay for Marin She’d also gotten the guy Donovan West, former resident of Elle’s bed, was currently wrapped up in an e, for God’s sake

The deep-fried shrih She hated the knee-jerk reaction seeing the two of them caused Why should she care one way or the other? She didn’t even like Donovan West Personality-wise, they’d always been inco policy Donovan had seemed as uninterested in a relationship as she was and was fine keeping it strictly physical It had worked

But soist had strolled onto the scene and had woken up a part of Donovan that Elle hadn’t even known existed Elle had been discarded like yesterday’s takeout And that—that feeling of losing—had stirred up old crap and turned her into so version of herself The jealous shrew

God She’d tried to get Marin fired, all because Elle’s pride had been dinged—and her feelings hurt The thought was enough toShe was not that type She was not that woht her husband cheating, she’d walked aithout fighting for hi hinity hat had happened in her e, but she’d held on to that Until now

So every tiether, that was all she could think about I’ve beco for a ain, the uard down He’d bailed, leaving her looking pathetic and petty Runner-up to soain

Second place First loser

It was her own fault She’d broken her rules Lesson learned Never again That was the main reason she’d forced herself to this party—to show that she wasn’t bothered, that she was a grown-up That, and the fact that it was her birthday and it felt a little too pathetic staying home alone for it Not that anyone knew her calendar had clicked over to a new year today The only birthday card in her mailbox had been from her mother The inscription had been the same as the one on the Christo Best wishes Love, Mom

There’d been an expensive bottle of Pinot Noir delivered with it Elle had brought it to the party as a gift, an olive branch of sorts She’d even ratulate Marin and mostly ry with The situation with Donovan had been fucked up before the woman had ever arrived on campus

As if hearing her nalanced her way, a wrinkle in her brow The wo why Elle h

ad shown up They’drelationship in the lastout after work and would never be But before Elle could atte-to-see-here nod, Marin walked with purpose over to one of the other guests The led out turned and offered Marin a s his already too handsome face

An unwelcoh Elle