Summary
He’ll show this good girl the thrill of being bad…
Good girl Melody Merritt is ready to be bad. Fresh out of an unsatisfying ten-year engagement to the town golden boy, she’s determined to make up for lost time. And who better to burn her sterling reputation to the ground than Bluelick’s sinfully sexy new fire chief whose wicked gaze promises complete and utter domination? Yes, please.
Corrupting the prim and proper Little Miss Bluelick is the most action Josh Bradley’s seen since he transferred from Cincinnati to fast-track his career. He won’t let anything or anyone—not even the delectable Melody Merritt—trap him in this Kentucky-fried Mayberry, but when their searing chemistry yields an unexpected result, he realizes he’s started a blaze that’s completely beyond his control…
Excerpt
You’ve hit a new low when the chance to eye-fuck Melody Merritt in Boone’s Market is what passes for excitement in your life.
Josh Bradley almost groaned out loud as he watched Melody run slim, busy fingers over every single cucumber in the “Five for $5” bin. He dumped a bag of apples into his cart without tearing his attention from those nimble hands, which were currently stroking one cucumber so thoroughly he was going to have a bystander orgasm right there between the Galas and the Granny Smiths.
If the guys in Cincinnati could see you now, they’d be laughing their asses off.
Right. Moving to sleepy Bluelick, Kentucky, to become fire chief had been a mistake—though watching Miss Bluelick chew her lip and fondle cucumbers almost made the career blunder worthwhile. Almost. But the last three months had proved one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt—he was a city boy. He needed action. Something in short supply in Bluelick, notwithstanding what was happening in his pants at the moment thanks to Melody.
He picked out a bunch of bananas and added them to his cart. Ironically, his appetite for action—and a fair dose of ambition—were what had pulled him to this Kentucky-fried Mayberry in the first place. He’d stalled out in the Cincinnati Fire Department as an assistant chief with no chance of advancement until the chief retired, which the man showed no sign of doing. Chief Warren had told him to be patient, get more years under his belt, and when the time was right, Josh would be ready.
Frustration tightened his jaw. As much as he valued his mentor’s advice, marking time solely for the sake of marking time wasn’t his strong suit. He’d learned early a person’s tenure on this earth could be short. He had goals to achieve, a legacy to honor, and saw no point in dicking around. When he’d learned about the opening in Bluelick, he’d traded the status quo in the city for the opportunity to parlay the chief’s gig in Bluelick to the same role in a larger department, and ultimately, build the kind of career his father had aimed for—one that would make his father proud.
The squeak of cart wheels brought him back to the present. A little old lady rolled by. His eyes cut back to Melody. She was a head-turner by any standard…a tall, refined, southern Grace Kelly. He’d dubbed her Miss Bluelick because she practically personified the place with her deep-rooted family tree and small-town sensibilities. The starched white blouse and flow-y yellow skirt she wore said, “Mind your manners.” Manners he didn’t possess.
Not your type, he reminded himself. You don’t do good girls.
He’d heard the rumors. Rumors about how her former fiancé spent a few years in New York and DC, getting his law degree and a bunch of other letters after his name. The man had also apparently picked up some “big city tastes,” sexually speaking, which the prim and proper Bluelick belle didn’t care to indulge.
Josh’s tastes didn’t tend toward prim and proper, either, but every once in a while he caught a glimpse of something less than proper sparkling in her mountain lake eyes. Like now. She stood on the opposite side of the produce section, staring at him with an expression that had his cock doing its best impression of a tower ladder. She blinked, as if suddenly realizing he was staring back, and looked away.
Pathetic. You’re in a grocery store fantasizing about corrupting Miss Bluelick. Then again, who could blame him? What red-blooded man with a pulse wouldn’t have a little cucumber envy right now?
Review
Is Wow an acceptable review? Because that’s my first reaction to this book.
The plot isn’t overly original: Josh and Melody are attracted to each other and decide to start a casual relationship. Josh is used to meaningless flings, and Melody is on the rebound after a long engagement that didn’t end as expected, so they never thought it would become much more.
The level of hotness was incredible. A lot of what Melody and Josh do isn’t usually seen outside of erotica. I loved what they had together even before they fell in love, because it showed two people discovering themselves and each other through intimacy. It was both cute and scorching hot. And once they develop feelings, it was just adorable to see how much they needed each other, and how they spent their time together. I loved that couple.
As Josh is chief of the fire department, there was some background local politics troubles and one more suspenseful plot point–that was too easily resolved, in my opinion. Clearly, what happens around Josh and Melody mostly served to advance or hinder their relationship, and didn’t have much meaning outside of the romance.
One element was more prominent: the life in a small town. It influenced both characters–as Josh needs a bit more action in his job, that he doesn’t find in Bluelick, hence he wants to go back to a big city, and Melody knows how her small universe works, and it affects her decisions. At some point, you feel like the whole town is the third character in the relationship.
I loved revisiting the author’s writing style. It’s witty and full of evocative images. If you don’t laugh–or at least smile–you’re broken. With hilarious situations and sassy conversations, I guarantee you won’t notice the time passing.
Quickie
- Series: Private pleasures #2 (can be read as a standalone)
- Hashtags: #small town romance #no strings attached #firefighter #surprise pregnancy
- Triggers: N/A
- Main couple: Melody Merritt & Josh Bradley
- Hotness: 5/5
- Romance: 5/5
- + holy hot pepper, I need a fan
- – the arson case resolved itself, frustrating
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