âIâm not hitting on you.â
Brody grinned. âNot yet, anyway.â
At the expression on his face Jillianâs body responded, warming, as automatic as a reflex.
âThe point is that this job kills relationships. Weâre on the road, out all night, always in a crowd, surrounded by people looking to get laid. It can get wild.â
âItâs a tough job, but someone has to do it?â
âYou got it.â His eyebrows rose as if her joke had surprised him. She was coming off too serious, she realized, no doubt a strike against her.
âI donât have a boyfriend, so thatâs no problem. Neither is the travel or the hours or whatever it takes. Iâll work hard. Iâll be what you need.â
âAnd what do you think I need?â
There was heat in his words, something sexy and intimate that caught her short. Something that made her think of bodies entwining on twisted sheets.
âMe,â she blurted. âYou need me.â
Dear Reader,
I used to be offended by men. Well, by how sexist they could be, crude and lewd and obsessed with womenâs bodies over their minds. I mellowed outâwhat choice did I have?âand now accept, even occasionally celebrate la différence. Men are visually stimulated and canât multitask, especially during sex, so we canât expect to hear how pretty our eyes are during the act, right? Itâs a brain thing. Who knew?
Itâs also true that we all have an angle on the world. We see it through the eyes of our past, our attitudes, our family roles, our life experiences. Thatâs how it was for Jillian James in this story. She believed she was open to other viewpointsâcrucial for a documentary filmmakerâbut she learned through Brody that, wellâ¦maybe not so much.
Jillian taught Brody, aka Mr. Love âEm and Leave âEm Begging for More, a thing or two as well, such as how to stick around for love. They both saw the world through new eyes.
I hope their story opens your eyes a little, too. Oh, and warms your heart. Always that is my hope.
All my best,
Dawn Atkins
P.S. Please visit me at www.dawnatkins.com.
NO STOPPING NOW
Dawn Atkins
Dawn Atkins started her writing career in the second grade, crafting stories that included every single spelling word her teacher gave her. Since then, sheâs expanded her vocabulary and her publishing credits. This is her twentieth published book. She won the 2005 Golden Quill Award for Best Sexy Romance and has been a Romantic Times BOOKreviews Reviewers Choice Award finalist for Best Flipside (2005) and Best Blaze (2006). She lives in Arizona with her husband, teenage son and a butterscotch-and-white cat.
HARLEQUIN BLAZE
93âFRIENDLY PERSUASION
155âVERY TRULY SEXY
176âGOING TO EXTREMES
205âSIMPLY SEX
214âTEASE ME
253âDONâT TEMPT ME
294âWITH HIS TOUCH**
306âAT HER BECK AND CALL**
318âAT HIS FINGERTIPS**
348âSWEPT AWAYâ
To David, my second set of eyes
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
A million thanks for a million answers to documentary filmmakers Suzanne Johnson and Penelope Price. Iâm awestruck by your skill and dedication. Any film-related errors are strictly my own.
ON THE MONITOR, Brody Donegan, aka Doctor Nite, slid a five under the stripperâs G-string and gave the knowing smirk that made his cable show must-see TV for every lounge lizard prowling the meat-market bars.
âIâve got to get this guy,â Jillian James said to her cousin Nate, in whose video-editing studio they sat. âFor the documentary,â she added quickly, hoping Nate hadnât noticed the edge in her voice. She tapped the Mute button so hard she snapped a nail.
Doctor Nite, Brody Doneganâs show, featured sexy hot spots as the backdrop for advice on how to get laid and stay single. Donegan, who used women like tissues and taught his high-fiving, beer-guzzling fans to do the same, symbolized all that was wrong with a culture that exalted sex over love, external looks over inner beauty and self-involvement over emotional commitment.
Jillian had to get him.
Sheâd tried for weeks for an interview, but his network had stonewalled her and his agent had e-mailed that he was too busy. âFor a no-name filmmakerâ was implied, but Jillian got the message loud and clear.
That was where fate, through her cousin, had stepped in. Nate just happened to be good friends with Doneganâs camera guy, who just happened to be out of commission for the upcoming shoot. Nate had recommended Jillian to fill in.
âSo, you have the scoop for me?â she asked Nate now.
âBrody wants to meet you tonight.â Nate handed her one of the showâs business cards, which featured the starâs face. Donegan was handsome enough if you liked the bad-boy lookâsquare jawâ¦dangerous eyesâ¦wicked grin.
Jillian could take or leave it.
âTime and place on the back,â Nate said.
She flipped the card. 11 p.m., Score was written in bold Sharpie. Score was a trendy bar in Santa Monica, she knew. âEleven is late.â