Hi Everyone!! I’m Tawny and I write for Harlequin Blaze. I was thrilled when Jennifer invited me to visit and share a little about my latest book with you.
Risque Business is a makeover story. I was really excited about this concept becuase I’m a huge makeover fan. You know, the kind who can’t pass the department store makeup counters without playing in the eyeshadow, and watches those make-over a house in 8 hours shows? My favorite fairy tale was The Ugly Duckling and I have this deep, abiding belief in the power of Swans LOL.
So a makeover themed book was a natural for me. I took a heroine who has complete confidence in her brains, but feesl invisible otherwise and paired her with a hero who has complete confidence in EVERYTHING… except love. The result was a LOT of sparks. But sparks are good in a Blaze, right?
When both of their jobs are on the line, Nick Angel and Delaney Conner resort to a public bet to prove whether Delaney’s reviews reflect public opinion. But the real bet, the HOT bet, is the private one between just the two of them. This bet? To prove that good sex requires emotions, or to acknowlege that great sex only requires simple lust. Crazy bet? Well Delaney thought so, too. That is, until Nick convinced her.
This is how he did it…
RISQUE BUSINESS EXCERPT:
“Either prove good sex needs emotions…” Nick Angel trailed off, his voice pure liquid heat, “or admit the greatest sex in the world is purely physical.”
Delaney gasped. Sure, she’d imagined sex with him. What woman under ninety with a pulse wouldn’t? And he’d given her some hot looks that coming from any other guy—to any other gal—she’d have imagined meant he might be interested. But her? And the sexiest man alive? The idea made her head spin, and, she squirmed, made her panties damp.
“You expect me to sleep with you?” she asked in her most shocked tone. It was mostly show, though. She’d already had sex with the man in her mind at least a dozen times since he’d walked on the set. But to actually have sex with him? Her makeover was much too surface for that.
“Can you think of any better way to prove your point?” he asked with a wicked laugh. The look on his face made it clear he was turned on by the concept. Delaney narrowed her eyes. It had to be a trick. Guys didn’t give her those long, sexy looks. Not unless they wanted something. Or, in Nick’s case, wanted to distract her. Or worse, make her look like a fool.
Her shoulders tightened.
“You have to be kidding,” she said with a sniff. “I’m not having… how did you put it? Sexual relations with you just to win some stupid bet.”
“Don’t you want to learn firsthand my version of intimacy?”
“Just as much as you want to experience a committed, loving relationship,” she shot back.
“And you really believe that to have good sex, that emotional thing needs to be present?”
“I do. Passion is stronger than lust,” she insisted. With a wave of her hand, she gestured between the two of them. “How easy would it be to say, sure, let’s do it. We could walk through that door and rip each other’s clothes off. We could get hot, sweaty and wild. Screams of satisfaction would echo down the hallway.” She eyed the smug look on his face and arched her brow before adding, “Your screams.”
His grin was fast and appreciative.
Delaney’s breath hitched at the sight, but she didn’t let desire cloud her argument.
“But it wouldn’t matter. It’d only be a fleeting passion. Quick, pointless and once it was over, you’d walk away without another thought. That,” she pointed out, “is lust. Which would only prove my point.”
His eyes had darkened to a deep midnight blue, the hunger flaming clear and bright. From the intensity of his stare, he liked the image her words evoked.
Nick took a step forward, so close the heat of his body warmed her beaded nipples. Delaney lifted her chin, trying to hide the fact that she was not only turned on, but intimidated as hell.
“What if I promised you that if you unlock that door, the sex would be so good you’d forget all about the myth of love?”
Delaney gulped but didn’t back down. Not when her entire belief system was on the line.
“I might forget for the moment. Good sex has a way of doing that.” At least, she’d imagine it did. She’d never personally had sex good enough to make her forget Lady Chatterley’s Lover, let alone something as important as her feelings. “But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m saying that true intimacy, that passion, is more than slam, bam, thank you ma’am.”
“And I’m saying if the slamming is done right, ma’am is the one doing the thanking.”
Delaney rolled her eyes.
“You’re playing with words,” she told him.
“Words are my specialty. They’re not all I’m good at, though,” he said, stepping close enough for her to feel the heat from his body. Her own responded instantly.
“Obviously,” she murmured, not about to argue his sexual prowess. After all, the guy got her hot and wet just standing there in all his male cockiness. If he actually put some moves on, she’d probably melt into a whimpering puddle.
“Speaking of bets…” he said, his words trailing off as he moved even closer. Heat radiated off his chest and an answering flame flickered low in her belly. “What do you say? A no strings fling. Hot, wild sex.”
He took that final step, bringing his body flush against hers. Delaney bit back a whimper at the sweet pressure of his chest against her aching nipples, his thigh, warm and hard, pressed between her legs.
He placed his hands on the wall on either side of her head and lowered his face until his mouth was within centimeters of hers. Delaney swallowed, unable to tear her gaze from the hypnotic blue depths of his. Like under an irresistible spell, she simply waited, both eager and terrified to see if he’d follow through.
When he did, it wasn’t the deep, wild kiss she’d anticipated. Instead it was more of a tease. A soft brush of his lips over hers, warm, moist, gentle. Any other guy and she’d have termed it sweet.
His eyes still holding hers prisoner, Nick pulled back just a bit, his breath still warming her mouth.
That was it? The hottest guy she’d ever had pressed against her and that was the kiss she inspired? Delaney wanted to grab his hair and yank him closer, ravage his mouth with hers. To kiss him with the intense, deep passion she hadn’t even known she wanted.
“Just consider it,” he murmured.
Her eyes narrowed, but before she could say anything, his mouth plunged again, this time taking hers with a fierce intensity that shot straight down to her belly. Damp, warm heat pooled between her legs as she gave herself over to the wild power of his kiss.
Delaney couldn’t think, could barely react, before he’d pulled back. Not just his mouth, but his entire body. He stepped away, leaving her churned up, panting and cold where her body missed the warmth of his.
“One month,” he said in a husky whisper. “We give each other a month, totally focused on physical pleasure. In the end, you’ll admit I’m right.”
And that’s how Nick hooked Delaney into their little bet. What do you think? Would you have gone for the bet if he’d issued it?
Methinks I would have ;-)
I’d love to hear what you think! I’ll draw a name to win a copy of one of my backlist from the comments - so please, share whether you’d have taken the bet, or told Nick to take a hike 
And if you’d like, drop on by my website to check out my other books or see what kind of things I’ve got going on.
