Big Easy Temptation by Lexi Blake and Shayla Black is the third book in their Perfect Gentleman series and I absolutely loved this book. I was hooked from page one and couldn't wait to see what new secrets these characters were going to unravel. Dax has been one who intrigued me from the first story in this series and I was excited that he got his HEA. Holland was his perfect counter part because she was strong and kick ass, but knew how to be soft too. This story is a stand alone, but it is enhanced if you've read the other two books in this series because there is a larger mystery that began in book one and has continued through all of the books thus far. I have my own theory about the way a few things are going to happen as this series progresses, but I don't want to share those and risk spoiling the story for someone else. I just hope I am correct because it'll be such a happy end to the series (once we get to that point). I give this book a solid 5 stars and am dying to get my hands on the next books in this series.
Big
Easy Temptation
Perfect
Gentlemen Book 3
By
Shayla Black and Lexi Blake
Coming
May 3, 2016
Print
ISBN 978-0425275344
The New York Times
bestselling authors of the Masters of Ménage series present the third
scintillating novel featuring the privileged, wealthy, wild men of Creighton
Academy—the Perfect Gentlemen.
Years ago, Naval officer Dax Spencer and NCIS agent Holland
Kirk indulged in a steamy affair—until she betrayed him in the wake of his
father’s death. Dax tried to put her behind him with a payback of his own. But
he never forgot Holland…
Now, as Dax and his fellow Perfect Gentlemen unravel a web
of lies, he discovers his family’s tragedy is part of a much larger conspiracy.
Soon, all clues point him back to New Orleans…where Holland waits, protecting
her deadly secret and holding a torch for the only man she’s ever loved.
Once reunited, they can’t fight the passion flaring hot and
wild. But something sinister lurks around every corner, from the elegance of
the Garden district to the beauty of the bayou. Dax and Holland may find their
way back to each other—if they survive...
* * * *
EXCERPT
“I’m going to kiss you now and I won’t stop unless you tell
me to.”
“I won’t say a word,” she breathed.
He lifted his free hand to her hair, sliding out the elastic
band holding the low ponytail she typically wore. He gripped the strands. “Soft
as silk. Just like you.”
“I’m not soft, Dax.” She didn’t want him to think she was
like the other women he’d been with. They likely had been sweet, feminine
creatures. Holland couldn’t afford to be.
“Yes, you are. You can be strong and soft and silky all at
the same time. That’s who you are and one of the reasons I find you interesting.
I want to know every single facet of Holland Kirk. I want to be the man you
explore with, experiment with, be true with.”
She had the feeling he wasn’t merely talking about sex. This
was why she’d always hesitated. Dax wanted all of her, even the parts of
herself she’d shut down and hidden and told herself didn’t matter. He wouldn’t
accept anything less than the whole of her soul.
But if he gave her back the whole of his, wasn’t that worth
it? If they were both vulnerable, they could learn to trust.
She leaned in and his lips finally met hers. Slow and
steady. He took her mouth like a man indulging in decadence, as though knowing
they would share the pleasure of sex made him willing to stretch this moment
out to something rich and sinful.
Gently, he fisted a hand in her hair, lighting up her scalp
with sensation as he took her lips more fully, clasping her body against his
own. She softened, giving in to the demand of his mouth, his hands. And when
his tongue slid over her lower lip, demanding entry, she couldn’t stop herself
from flowering open for him.
Dax pulled her up and onto his lap. She clasped her arms
around his neck, bringing him closer. She could feel his erection pressing
against her, thick and hard. So big. She couldn’t help but wriggle a little,
trying to get closer to him.
His arms tightened on her. “Stop it, sweetheart, or we’re
going to have a problem. I want this to last. After waiting this long, I want
to savor tonight.”
But she was already on the edge, dying for him to be on top
of her, inside of her. “We should go to my bedroom.”
“We should set some ground rules first,” he growled against
her neck. “Holland, I’m crazy about you, but you’re going to let me control
sex. I’m not foolish enough to think I could control anything else in our relationship
but I need you to let me handle this.”
“Why does anyone have to be in control?” She’d always been
in the power position with the men in her bed. Ceding it to Dax both excited
and scared her.
“Because, as you pointed out, I have more experience. And
I’m wired to take control. We’re not going to go at it like two teenagers. Not
this first time. Maybe later, when I know exactly how to touch you to get you
hot.” Heat melted his dark eyes like chocolate. “But right now I have to figure
out how to handle you, how to steer you the right way.”
“I’m not a boat, Captain.”
“Aren’t you?” He brushed a big hand over one of her breasts,
cupping her flesh in his broad palm and making her gasp. “Everything that’s
worth doing is worth doing right. Making love to you is definitely worth my
best effort. See, this little nipple is begging for attention.” He dragged his
thumb across the sensitive bud so slowly she bit her lip to hold in a moan.
“Take off your shirt and your bra so I can give it the proper attention.”
His voice had dropped an octave and gone velvety. Holland
found herself obeying him. Her fingers shook as she reached for the buttons of
her shirt, twisting each and releasing it before moving to the next. She didn’t
leave the comfort of his lap, but he sat back like a king watching the show,
mentally undressing her with those eyes. There was something a bit forbidden
about baring herself while his erection pressed so intimately against her.
Holland unfastened the last button and let her shirt fall
away before she unhooked the front clasp of her bra. Her breasts were nothing
special. She hit the gym three or four times a week to stay in shape. She
considered herself more athletic than sexy, but the way Dax’s breath hitched
and he affixed his stare to her bare mounds, as if he’d never seen anything
sexier, made her rethink all that.
He dragged his heated palm down the valley between her
breasts. “Sweetheart . . . I always knew you would be gorgeous without all
those clothes. So beautiful.”
Until him, she hadn’t felt that way. Her body had been a
tool to use in service of her job, a way to move about each day. When she’d had
sex, she preferred to go to the bedroom, get the deed done, and get to sleep.
Her few longer-term boyfriends hadn’t seemed to mind, but she got the feeling
Dax would take exception to that routine.
With him, it meant far more to her than a rote activity,
too.
He kissed her again, their tongues tangling as he explored
her breasts, caressing her nipples, plying them with his touch. Fire licked
through her system. She could feel herself getting wet and ready.
“Lean back for me. I’ll hold you and keep you safe.” His
words rumbled over the sensitive flesh of her neck as he gently leaned her
back, resting her over his arm until she arched and thrust her chest up to him
like an offering.
“Yes, these little pearls need affection.” He tongued one,
laving and sucking it.
She had to bite her lip to hold in a cry. She’d never
thought her nipples were particularly sensitive, but that was because they’d
never experienced Dax’s clever mouth.
She heard herself whimper as he sucked one bud deeper
between his lips. He didn’t satisfy himself with a little lick, a short few
seconds of suckling. Not Captain Dax Spencer. He indulged. He reveled. He
caressed her with his tongue, tracing her areola before he sucked the tip back
into his mouth and gave her the bare edge of his teeth. A tiny bite of pain
flared before he soothed the bud with a soft laving. Her body balled into an
ache, her sex throbbed as he shifted his attention to her left breast and gave
it the same loving treatment.
“I want to kiss and
lick and taste every inch of you, Holland. Do you know how long I’ve waited to
be here? Years. Fuck, sweetheart, even before I met you, I dreamed about you.
I’ve always known you’re the one woman who could make me feel, make me want forever.”
He nuzzled her, the stubble of his hard jaw gently abrading her skin. “Stand up
and take off your pants. I don’t want anything to stop me from touching you.”
ABOUT SHAYLA BLACK:
Raised
an only child, Shayla occupied herself with lots of daydreaming, much to the
chagrin of her teachers. In college, she found her love for reading and
realized that she could have a career publishing the stories spinning in her
imagination. Though she graduated with a degree in Marketing/Advertising and
embarked on a stint in corporate America to pay the bills, her heart has always
been with her characters. She’s thrilled that she’s been living her dream as a
full-time author for the past seven years.
Shayla
currently lives in North Texas with her wonderfully supportive husband, her
teenage daughter, and a very spoiled cat. In her “free” time, she
enjoys reality TV, reading, and listening to an eclectic blend of music.
ABOUT LEXI BLAKE:
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi
Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue
dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and
journalism. It wasn't until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that
she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest
places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome,
or foursome may seem.
Her first novel, Their Virgin Captive: Masters
of Ménage, Book 1, was a collaboration with New York Times bestselling author
Shayla Black. There are six more books available in the series: Their Virgin's
Secret, Their Virgin Concubine, Their Virgin Princess, Their Virgin Hostage,
Their Virgin Secretary, and Their Virgin Mistress.
In addition to the Masters of Ménage series, she
is the author of the Masters and Mercenaries series. The first nine novels, The
Dom Who Loved Me, The Men with the Golden Cuffs, A Dom is Forever, On Her
Master's Secret Service, Love and Let Die, Dungeon Royale, A View to a Thrill,
You Only Love Twice, and Master No are available now, along with the novellas
Sanctum, Unconditional, Dungeon Games, Cherished, Luscious, Adored, and Just
One Taste. The tenth novel, From Sanctum with Love, is coming February 23,
2016, along with a new novella, Devoted, on April 12, 2016.
In 2013, Lexi also began releasing her urban
fantasy series, Thieves. The full series, Steal the Light, Steal the Day, Steal
the Moon, Steal the Sun, and Steal the Night, are available now on Amazon. The
first two books in a spin-off of the series, Ripper and Addict, were released
in 2015. Look for Sleeper, the next book in the spin-off series, to be released
in Fall of 2016.
Lexi again collaborated with Shayla Black in a
new series The Perfect Gentlemen. The first book, Scandal Never Sleeps, is now
available. Book two, Seduction in Session, will release on January 5, 2016,
followed by book three, Big Easy Temptation, on May 3, 2016.
Sign up for Lexi's FREE newsletter at http://lexiblake.net .
For more information about her books, her
appearances and her wacky life visit her Facebook page (http://goo.gl/q2IHnJ) or her website (http://www.lexiblake.net) .