The Theory of Attraction
Delphine Dryden and I are drinking buddies from way back! No…seriously, we are! Met the lovely Del at Romanticon a couple years ago. I was holding up the bar with a couple of friends when she and Christine D’Abo walk in. They pull up a couple of stools near us, we all start chatting and next thing you know, we’re up in my hotel room doing Dream Machine shots (for those of you who don’t know, that’s a lick of salt, shot of Patron tequila, chased with….wait for it…cotton candy!).
Del has a new book coming out today at Carina Press and she let me have a sneak peek. I loved it. Like “couldn’t put the freaking thing down even though my hubby was giving me dirty looks because we were on vacation” loved it. Del asked if I’d do a little pull-quote thingy for her (I was and still am so honored that she asked), so I thought I’d share that with you as well as the deets about the story. YOU MUST BUY THIS BOOK!
Big Bang Theory meets erotic romance. Only Delphine Dryden could pull off a beautiful, funny, sexy as sin story like this! Her characters leap off the page and make you root for the nerd. Hell, I wasn’t just rooting for the nerd…I was lusting for him. I want Ivan! Quirks, brain, flogger and all!
The Theory of Attraction
Camilla can set her watch by her hunky rocket-scientist neighbor who jogs past her window each day. She relishes each glimpse of his shirtless abs, and is dying to see more. But it’s hard to connect with a man who doesn’t seem to know she exists…
Ivan feels at home in the lab, not in social situations. When he finally approaches his attractive neighbor, it’s not for a date—he wants tutoring in how to behave at an important fundraiser. Ivan doesn’t expect the chemistry between them to be quite so explosive, and is surprised when Cami actually accepts his proposal to embark on a series of “lessons”.
Cami soon discovers Ivan’s schedule isn’t the only thing he likes to be strict about—he needs to be charge in the bedroom as well. She’s shocked at how much she comes to enjoy her submissive side, but wonders if a real relationship is in the equation…
THE THEORY OF ATTRACTION (ebook) comes out today from Carina Press. Later in 2012 it will also be available as an audio book from Audible.com.
Excerpt
He hissed through clenched teeth, pulling away for a second and then pressing forward with a groan to pin me to the wall. His hips ground against me, and I shivered as his hands left the wall and circled my upper arms.
“I don’t play these games out in the real world, Cami.” His voice was rough, almost resentful. Torn, he sounded torn. I felt a surge of raw hope and need, even as he said everything he could to deter me. “I know how to fuck. I like to fuck. I just don’t do well with people, and I have very particular tastes.” He had worked his hands forward between me and the wall now, and he cupped my breasts and plucked sharply at my nipples through the infamous shirt. “I can’t be nice about it. I’m tempted by you, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, but I’m not like the men you’re used to. I don’t do sweet. This isn’t what you’re looking for.”
“If you don’t know people,” I gasped, biting my lower lip as his fingers tugged and tweaked the already pebbled peaks, “you shouldn’t make assumptions about what they’re looking for. I want this. I want you.”
I curled my hands over his in encouragement, and he responded by pulling his hands away only long enough to slip them under the shirt and then back up to resume his previous torture.
“You don’t even know what this is.”
“Then tell me. What are you, into cross-dressing? A furry? What is the big deal?”
Ivan yanked his hands from under my shirt, grabbed my shoulders and spun me around to face him. His expression was grim, his eyes stern and ominous in the scarlet glow. He said he was tempted, but he seemed to be looking for something from me, and I felt frustrated beyond words that I didn’t know what it was. I wanted to give it to him. Short of putting on a fur suit, in that moment I would have agreed to about anything. Maybe that was what he needed to see.
“I like to be in control.”
“I think I got that part.”
“No.” He squeezed his eyes shut, gripping my shoulders at the same time as though he was trying to force the understanding into me. “Camilla, I like to be in control. And for my partner to give up her control to me.”
Slowly, very slowly, a picture was beginning to form in my mind. “You mean like tying people up and stuff?”
That earned a smile. “Sometimes. But there’s more to it than that.”
“Like ordering people’s food for them? And quizzing them on the movie?” And why did that suddenly seem like the sexiest of all possible things?
“You didn’t pay attention to the movie at all, did you?”
I shook my head, unable to speak in the face of the intensity in his eyes as he leaned closer.
“Bad girl.”
Oh holy fuck.
