Title: Satin Pleasures
Author: Karen Docter
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Book Blurb:
Bustiers, Birds, and the Blues… Dan McDonald walked away from the American dream, a life full of money, glamorous women and power. Now nothing can lure him back into the corporate death trap. Except…. Dan’s scheming aunt snares him into opening a lingerie shop in Tess Emory’s shopping mall. Tess is everything Dan has vowed to avoid…sexy, smart, and obsessed with work. Tess is determined to make her life a success and right the wrongs of her past, no matter the cost. They’re both going to discover that true love breaks all their rules.
Excerpt:
"Colby, if I'd had that brunette in my bass boat instead of you Aunt Mary would never have talked me off the lake." Dan McDonald tore his gaze away from the view in the truck windshield to grin at his dog, affectionately named Colby, after the cheese the German shepherd loved so much. "Bet she doesn't kiss like you...the brunette, I mean, not Aunt Mary."
The dog whined, then attempted to wriggle his massive bulk into his master's lap. Dan pushed his muzzle away. "Phew! Chances are she doesn't smell like you, either."
Colby bared his teeth in a grin.
Dan laughed. "You won't think it's so funny when we reach San Francisco and you get a bath." He considered the stalled traffic. "That's assuming we get across the bay."
A fully loaded semi had jackknifed across both lanes of the westbound bridge and wedged in tighter than a cork in a genie's bottle. The truck was to be dismantled for removal, the freight unloaded, and there appeared to be a debate as to which part of the process should be completed first.
He smiled at the speed with which the shock wave of information ran down the line of commuters. Many spilled from their cars to chat. A few lounged on their hoods, faces raised to the warm March afternoon sun. A pair of students in Stanford jerseys zipped a fluorescent orange Frisbee between the cars with all the ferocity of Kamikaze pilots.
Dan shook his head when he realized he'd pushed his old life behind him far enough to find amusement in the scene. He'd come a long way in the past year. Was it far enough? He'd been happy—well, content enough—with his solitary lifestyle...until his aunt tracked him down in Florida a couple of weeks ago.
She'd convinced him she and his mother needed him in California through June. However, he'd had three thousand miles to wonder if his temporary return to the rat race might prove to be the biggest mistake of his life. His impulse to turn the truck around had grown with each passing mile and he wondered if this traffic snarl was his last chance to save himself.
He certainly couldn't complain about his first glimpse of San Francisco Bay. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The sun stirred bright color into the murky waves and streaked light across mirrored office buildings on the opposite shoreline. A light, salty breeze gave wing to a variety of raucous sea birds over his head and teased long tendrils of toffee-rich hair out of his brunette's French twist.
His brunette.
Desire coiled deep in his belly as he watched her wiggle her bottom onto the hood of her car. With one hand resting on the driver’s side mirror on the open door, she talked briskly into her phone, her expression hidden behind sunglasses. The straight lemon skirt and fitted jacket she wore accentuated her rich, dark hair, full breasts, and slender waist. Spiked heels showcased legs long enough to fuel a man's fantasies for months. Her hand waving in emphasis to whatever point she was making spoke to Dan of urgent caresses and wild passion.
The blend of cool professionalism and hot sensuality fostered the illusion a man only had to peel away one layer to expose the passionate woman beneath. He'd never seen a woman who made him feel so needy, so primitive, with barely one look...which is why he hadn't bothered to pursue a woman since Charlotte Betham opted for her career over him last year. He might have made an effort to change her mind if she’d turned his crank this way!
Only a caveman would dream of ripping the phone from his lady's hand. Only a cretin would throw it into the bay before he dragged her away to his cave for a year or two. Only a sex-starved man would allow such idiotic impulses to get out of hand.
"Maybe Aunt Mary dragged us back to civilization in time." Dan scratched behind his dog's ears. "Maybe I should go out on a date or two while we’re here. Take the edge off."
Colby barked, and then rested his muzzle on the dashboard, pointing the way.
"No, it won't be with my sexy brunette."
The last thing Dan needed in his life was another career woman to tempt him back to the competitive edge like the one he’d ridden in Chicago. He'd leaped off that fast track without a backward glance—nearly dying did have a way of changing a man’s perspective, after all—but he could still spot a workaholic when he saw one. He'd lived with one all his life. First, his father. More recently, Charlotte and himself. And since he didn't know yet if he'd beaten that particular inclination, once and for all, he wasn't taking any chances.
The odd thing about chance, though, was the way it tended to come up and slap him when he wasn't looking. Dan stared with consternation at the bright orange saucer veering out of control across his vision, aimed directly for his brunette. "Watch out!"
He jumped from the truck in time to see the rigid plastic disc slam into her right cheek with a sharp thwack, angle over her head and disappear over the bridge railing into the bay. Her cell sailed right behind it.
Dan sprinted in her direction but she’d fallen off the hood of her car and slumped to the pavement, her back settling against the front fender before he could reach her. Kneeling, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?"
She didn't respond.
"I didn't mean to hit her!" The Frisbee thrower squatted next to Dan and watched him remove her cracked sunglasses. "Oh, man, she's out cold."
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon #KU (Free) & Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Satin-Pleasures-Karen-Docter-ebook/dp/B0078VSY6G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1CCMSPUNYZLZY&keywords=satin+pleasures+karen+docter&qid=1670520583&sprefix=satin+pleasures+karen+docter%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-1
What makes your featured book a must-read?
It’s a delightful story about two workaholics trying to come to grips with their Type-A personalities. When Dan thinks Tess’s canary is her boyfriend, his German shepherd falls in love with her, refusing to share her, and a mood card refuses to turn blue on command, and you’ll smile and sigh and fall in love.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $35 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally. You must have a valid Amazon US or Amazon Canada account to win.
Runs December 13 – December 21, 2022.
Winner will be drawn on December 22, 2022.
Author Biography:
Bestselling Author Karen Docter writes two different kinds of romance novels...Contemporary Romance w/a Karen Docter and Romantic Suspense w/a K.L. Docter:
Karen's contemporaries are delightful, spicy romances. She loves writing about real men and women with dreams and goals that don't allow for a relationship just so she can throw them in each other’s path. Her romantic suspense novels are also filled with romance, although the dangers the hero and heroine face are intense, usually because a serial killer is bent on ending one or both of their lives before they can fall in love. Karen/K.L.'s an award-winning author, a four-time Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist, and won the coveted Kiss of Death Romance Writers Daphne du Maurier Award Category (Series) Romantic Mystery Unpublished division. When she's not saving her characters from death and destruction or helping them to fall in love, she loves camping and fishing with her family, reading, gardening & cooking. If she can do most of those things over a camp fire, all the better! Website/Blog: https://www.karendocter.com
Social Media Links:
Find her on the web: Website/Blog Docter in the House! FB Chat Group Twitter Karen Docter FB K.L. Docter FB