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First published in USA by Penguin Group (USA) 2015
First published in Great Britain by Harper 2015
Copyright © Roni Loren 2015
Excerpt from Off the Clock copyright © Roni Loren 2015
Cover photograph © Shutterstock.com
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015
Roni Loren asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Source ISBN: 9780698183070
Ebook Edition © November 2015 ISBN: 9780008108274
Version: 2015-10-21
âAre you trying to torture me? I thought your husband was the sadist.â Samantha dropped the tray of clean glasses onto the rack behind the bar and gave her best friend the stink eye.
Tessa frowned. âKade didnât tell me Gibson was coming along. You know I wouldâve suggested another bar if Iâd known, but I wanted to see you before we left for Bermuda.â
Sam sighed and tightened her high ponytail as she snuck a glance at the table where Tessaâs husband, Kade, was chatting with his stepbrother. Gibson didnât look her way, but she got the distinct impression he knew she was watching him and was purposely not turning her way. Good, she didnât need to see those gorgeous blue eyes, didnât need to remember how their color had darkened to a summer storm when sheâd put him on his knees. âDoes he have to look so goddamned good in a suit? Itâs ridiculous. Who gets to look that hot after a whole day of work? By the time Iâm out of here, I look like Iâve been rolled around in a pile of sweaty bodies and beer. He looks like heâs ready to pose for an Armani ad.â
Tessaâs pink-glossed lips curled into a knowing smirk. âYou know, pining isnât good for your health.â
Sam scoffed. âPlease. Iâm not pining. I just went on a date two weeks ago, and last weekend, I scened with Julian at the Ranch. This girlââshe swept her hand over her black T-shirt and jeansââis moving on.â
Tessa lifted a brow, clearly not buying it. âIf the date was two weeks ago, that means it wasnât worth a second date. And you and Julian are friends. I bet you didnât even see him naked.â
Okay, so she hadnât. Julian was a fun submissive to practice with and more than a little hot, but Sam had never taken it very far with him. In fact, none of the submissives she played with at the Ranch ever inspired her to take it to that level. It was sparring with friendsâfun, exciting, but not all that sexual. The submissives didnât touch her, she kept her clothes on, and she didnât get off in sessions. It worked for her. Well, it had worked for her until the man sitting at the table a few yards away had come into her life. Sheâd let him touch. Once. Thoroughly. And the minute sheâd crossed that boundary with him, things had gotten complicated, and heâd bailed like she had some virulent disease.
Shit, maybe she was pining.
âAll right, the date was a bust. But I really am moving on. If Gibson wants to pretend that what happened between us was a fluke, thatâs his business. I deserve a guy whoâs not ashamed or afraid to be with me. I donât have time for games.â
Tessa leaned against the bar. âIf it makes you feel better, I think heâs pretty miserable over it, too. You shouldâve seen his face when he found out we were coming here.â
âGood.â She gave a terse nod. âIn fact, since heâs here anyway, I may as well enjoy his suffering. What are yâall ordering?â
âA Blue Moon, a Crown and water, and a dirty martini.â
Sam grabbed a few glasses and started pouring the drinks. âGive me a minute, and Iâll bring them over. Howâs my hair?â
âUh-oh.â Tessa laughed. âItâs a perfectly executed messy ponytail, but what are you up to?â