Title: Battling Benjamin
Release date – May 4, on sale for 99 cents
Author: Katie O’Sullivan
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Book Blurb:
Elizabeth Watson loves her job. No, really. She enjoys being a realtor, helping people find their forever homes in a community she cares about. When her family’s business is purchased by a larger corporation she expects change. What she doesn’t expect is the cocky, entitled heir-apparent taking over her life. Benjamin Harrington is devastatingly handsome, with a sexy smirk and a sharp wit. He’s also the most self-absorbed, arrogant man Elizabeth’s ever met, who hasn’t worked a day in his charmed life. Personalities clash and sparks fly every time she’s near him. He doesn’t deserve to be her new boss. Despite her best efforts, he invades her every thought. But what is it she wants? His job…or just him? A look. A judgment. A string of words. Bitter rivals and sworn enemies have been around since the beginning of time. But make no mistake, once the spark is ignited and the fuse is lit, the fine line between love and hate will go up in flames. So stand back or cross over, but be prepared to strap in for the ride. Seven USA Today and bestselling authors are bringing you the next in the line of Hot Hunks: Enemies to Lovers.
Excerpt:
Elizabeth paused when she saw Hannah greeting a man she didn’t recognize. Well over six feet tall with dark wavy hair, high forehead and square jaw. He wore an impeccable black wool coat, hanging open over a clearly expensive navy suit. A jolt of something like recognition ran through her, which was crazy. She’d never seen him before.
The knowledge didn’t stop her sudden urge to run a finger along that sharp, stubble-free jawline, drawing it down those corded neck muscles disappearing under the stiff collar of his dress shirt, and out along those wide shoulders. Closer now, his bright hazel eyes mesmerized her, the knowing gaze giving flight to a swarm of butterflies inside her. His wide smile and full lower lip intrigued her, making her wonder how it would feel to press her mouth to his, or to feel his lips against other more intimate parts of her body. Those lips looked like they could probably do amazing things to a woman’s inner thighs. After he stripped her naked, of course.
“Elizabeth. Are you okay?”
With a start, she realized she stood next to Hannah’s desk, openly staring at the handsome stranger in the long wool coat. More than staring, if she were honest, getting hot and bothered as she undressed him with her eyes, saliva pooling in her mouth She tore her eyes away and shook off the haze of lust, wiping the corner of her mouth just in case. Setting the folder in Hannah’s inbox, she forced a few words out of her tightened throat.
“The new listings,” she managed to squeeze out before her eyes were drawn back for another look at the hunk of man on the other side of the desk. Could he be a male model? Was Harrington Realty World doing a photo shoot at this location? Could they use a realtor to show him around?
His lips turned up in a definite smirk and focused on the mug in her hand. Before she realized his intent, he reached for her coffee, taking it from her and drinking deeply, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down on his perfectly smooth throat.
“Thanks, sweetheart, it’s been a long morning.” His voice was like melted chocolate, dark and rich, and for a moment she didn’t even care that he swiped her coffee. But the next words grated like nails on a chalkboard. “For future reference, babe, can you add one more sugar? I like my coffee sweet, like my women. You know how it is.” He winked at her as the butterflies in Elle’s gut died a swift and painful death. “I’m sure you’ll do better next time.”
What. The. Hell?
He must have seen the confusion on her face and mistaken it for distress. Stepping closer, he ran a light hand from her shoulder down to her elbow, his warm touch lingering there and heating her skin through the thin sweater. “It was a long drive this morning, and I really do appreciate the effort. I spotted a coffee shop two blocks up the street with a sign in the window for the best latte in town. Do you wanna grab your coat and join me, babe?”
She was at a loss for words for the second time in as many minutes.
Again, the arrogant prick pressed his advantage, his hot breath close to her ear. “Come on, live a little. It’s only coffee, babe. Unless you want it to be more.”
She stood taller. “Don’t call me babe. It’s condescending.”
Those gorgeous hazel eyes twinkled with amusement. “I have to call you something, princess, and we haven’t been properly introduced.”
Oh hell no! Princess? The guy wearing the thousand dollar suit on a random Monday has the nerve to call me a princess? He was the second guy in a week to call her that, the first being Trey on their ill-fated date. She wasn’t about to let this random asshole insult her, no matter how hot he was.
Hannah cleared her throat loudly, a panicked look on her face. “Elle, let me introduce you to Benjamin Harrington. You know, Harrington Realty World? Our new owners?”
Oh fudgesicles. This is our new boss?
“…And Benjamin, this is Elizabeth Watson, the top agent in our office.”
Eyebrows raised in obvious surprise, his eyes shifted from flirty to… something different. “Watson? For some reason I thought you’d be a lot older, owning your own business. My apologies.” He cocked his head, his chuckle sending a strange shiver down her spine. His words might say he was sorry but the look in his eyes said something else entirely. Like he was already picturing her naked and wanted to take a taste.
Her body might be on board with his shenanigans, but Elle clenched her back teeth and reminded her body that it wasn’t in charge in the office. This hot hunk of a guy was apparently her new boss and she needed to get with the program or lose her job. She forced a smile onto her face.
“You must be thinking of my mother. She sold the business to Harrington Realty World.” To your mother, Elle wanted to add. But she didn’t. No reason to be a jerk just because he was.
That hot, interested sparkle in his eyes seemed to dim, changing into more of a mean glint. “Ahh. And you just so happen to be the top seller? The princess of mommy’s office? Nepotism is alive and well on Cape Cod, I see.”
Which sounded a lot like the accusations Trey Dickerson lobbed her way the other night. What was it with good-looking assholes thinking she couldn’t do her job without help?
“And you’re the new boss, apparently. Shall I call you Mr. Realty World or just Boss?” She raised one eyebrow, not voicing the nepotism accusation out loud, but it hung there all the same. The implication was obvious. He was, after all, a Harrington.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Grab your copy for only 99 cents this week only!
What’s your favorite way to combat stress?
One of my favorite ways to beat stress is to get out in the sunshine to take a walk. Walk on the beach, walk along the bike trail, hike in the woods… nature is the perfect stress-buster. That’s been a life saver over the course of the last year when so much was closed. Nature is always open for business.
Of course, my other favorite way to combat stress is to read. I’ve read so many books over the past year, and through them spent every weekend traveling around the country and around the world, all from the comfort of my living room.
Why is your featured book a stress busting read?
Getting caught up in someone else’s story and drama is a great escape from the stress of your own day. In Battling Benjamin, the two main characters have lots of drama going on and are at odds with one another. Reading about characters working out their issues is cathartic. The book’s Cape Cod setting can also help ease stress levels – like my tagline says, get swept away to Cape Cod.
Plus, it’s only 99 cents for this brand new release. Who doesn’t love a sale?
Giveaway:
Enter to win a $50 Amazon (US) Gift Card
Enter to win a $50 Amazon (US) Gift Card
Enter to win a $25 Amazon (US) Gift Card
Enter to win a $15 Amazon (US) Gift Card
Enter to win a $10 Amazon (US) Gift Card
Open internationally
Runs May 1 – 31, 2021.
Drawing will be held on June 1, 2021.
Author Biography:
Katie O’Sullivan is an award-winning writer with more than a dozen contemporary romances and romantic suspense novels available, as well as a young adult urban fantasy series about mermaids.
A voracious reader, she loves to read and write second chance stories with strong female characters and hot alpha males. A recovering English major, she earned her degree at Colgate University and now lives on Cape Cod with her family and big dogs, drinking way too much coffee and finding new uses for all the sea glass she obsessively collects from the beach right down the road. She writes YA and romance, as well as working full time for a high tech company. Which explains all the coffee.
Social Media Links:
Find her on Facebook
Follow her on Instagram
Find her on BookBub
Follow her on Twitter
Follow her on AMAZON
Check out her website at www.katie-osullivan.com