Meet Gabriel (sexy rugby player turned CEO) & Charlotte in this fantastic addition to the Rock Kiss Series!
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Synopsis:
In New York Times Bestselling author Nalini Singh’s newest contemporary romance, passion ignites between a gorgeous, sinfully sexy man who built himself up from nothing and a shy woman who has a terrible secret in her past…
Wealthy businessman Gabriel Bishop rules the boardroom with the same determination and ruthlessness that made him a rock star on the rugby field. He knows what he wants, and he’ll go after it no-holds-barred.
And what he wants is Charlotte Baird.
Charlotte knows she’s a mouse. Emotionally scarred and painfully shy, she just wants to do her job and remain as invisible as possible. But the new CEO—a brilliant, broad-shouldered T-Rex of a man who growls and storms through the office, leaving carnage in his wake—clearly has other plans. Plans that may be equal parts business and bedroom.
If Charlotte intends to survive this battle of wits and hearts, the mouse will have to learn to wrangle the T-Rex. Game on.
My Review:
Rock Hard is the second book in author Nalini Singh’s Rock Kiss Series, and sadly, the first in the series I have read. Yes, I know…I can’t believe it either. Where have I been that I have not scooped up this series yet? Clearly living under a rock. I must get my hands on the other book and novella in this series because after devouring Rock Hard, I am 100% hooked. I have loved Ms. Singh’s paranormal work and now The Rock Kiss series is my new obsession.
Charlotte Baird has been living one way for the past few years…in the shadows. She had always been a bit on the shy side but there were a few events in her life that lead her to hide these days. The loss of both of her parents coupled with the first relationship she ever had turning into something true nightmares are made of had helped make her want to blend in with the walls. If no one noticed her, she would be safe. If no one wanted to see her, she would be able to keep to herself and in turn, keep herself safe. The problem with that was there is always someone who is willing to take notice….and right now that happens to be the devastatingly handsome new CEO of her company. He figured out she had been doing the work of her superior in an effort to just keep her job and stay in the background. He figured out she had a brilliantly colorful mind underneath her drab and plain exterior. Never one to make waves, she had no clue how to react to the offer for a new position as his personal assistant. He had a previous reputation on the rugby field as one hell of a ferocious competitor and the current reputation as one hell of a competitor in the board room. She was more than afraid she would be no match for his personality and that he would chew her up and spit her out. She couldn’t have been more wrong…
Gabriel Bishop has always gotten what he wants. Always. He learned as a small boy that even the most destitute of situations can be changed for the better with a whole lot of determination and hard work. It’s that childhood that drives him to be the best. He had been the best in the pro rugby circuit and after a career ending injury he was now the best in the corporate business world. All that fame and fortune had made women an easy game. Well, for every woman except his new PA, Charlotte Baird. She was unlike anyone he had ever met. A puzzle he wanted to figure out. He had no idea the delight he would get in the flirtatious game he had now started with her…nor did he have any idea how much she would grow to mean to him. He knew how to keep his eye on the prize and work for his reward no matter how long it took. And he knew with Charlotte, it would take more time than he spent on any other woman in his life. He had no doubt she would be worth it…
What starts out as a pretty straight forward, and tense at times, working relationship quickly turns into a delicious power play between the predator and the prey. The greatest part with the back and forth between Charlotte and Gabriel is when the roles switch and the prey becomes the predator…owning every move the predator makes. And what a delicious dance it becomes…
I am in serious book hangover mode right now. I freaking loved everything about this book. Gabriel is a total dichotomy when it comes to his outward persona and the man he keeps hidden underneath the gruff exterior. From the very beginning he laid plans to win Charlotte. She had no idea and the way he presented it all to her as they bobbed and weaved in their flirtatious relationship was simply adorable. She had no idea he was planning for so long just to kiss her. Had no idea he was waiting for her to come around. He knew there had to be a reason she was so skittish and, bless that insanely patient man, he was willing to do what it took to gain her trust. If I can count the amount of times I swooned over that man, it has to be in the hundreds. Charlotte is unlike any heroine I’ve read. She is brave, accepting, determined, complex, and broken. I admired her tenacity in picking up the pieces of her broken life and just wanting a sense of normalcy. Luckily, she will have Gabriel to help her along the way. These two together are simply wonderful. Charlotte has a dry sense of humor and gives right back when Gabriel pushes. Gabriel, unused to that, takes it all in stride and plays along with her. I loved every single one of their interactions and their growing attraction and budding relationship was beautiful to read. There are many stumbles along the way, but because both Gabriel and Charlotte want things to work, I knew they could make great things happen. The amount of love I have for these two is HUGE!
Ms. Singh truly knocked my socks off. Her writing makes the characters real and relatable. We are along for the emotional ride with them and I loved it. Oh, and the chapter titles? The. Best. It was that bit of humor that brought lightness to the dark parts in this book and the balance was fantastic.
Hopefully I haven’t bored you to tears and that you’ve made it this far…because you really need to read this book. Thank you, Ms. Singh, for giving us Gabriel and Charlotte and all of the beauty their unique relationship is. I cannot wait to see what you have in store for us next! (fingers crossed it includes Gabriel’s brothers….)
Five Loves
Excerpt:
Charlotte arrived at work at seven thirty the next morning to find Gabriel Bishop’s office door open, but no carnivorous predator inside. A fresh suit was hanging on the back of his door, however, which meant he’d been in already.
Deciding to catch up on e-mails that had come in overnight from international suppliers as well as stores involved in a stock take, she was typing a reply when a sweaty Gabriel arrived fifteen minutes later. He was dressed in black running shorts and a faded University of Auckland T-shirt that was currently sticking to his body.
She’d known he was in shape, but now she realized none of it was an illusion created by his well-cut suits. Okay, she’d already known that, but seeing his muscled body in the flesh was a whole different ball game. He was built like a tank, hard and powerful.
Each of his thighs was thicker than both of hers put together, his biceps toned, his shoulders appearing even wider than usual. Everything about him was big. Civilized clothing didn’t make him look better, she realized—it toned down his intense masculinity. Out of his suits, with the ink on the upper part of his left arm exposed, as well as that on his opposing thigh and…
Her skin hot and lower body clenching, she just nodded in response to his “Good morning.”
Disappearing into his office, he returned with his suit pants and a fresh shirt slung over his arm, along with a sports bag. “Push the meeting with Sales to nine, will you, Ms. Baird? I need to talk to HR about something before then.”
“Yes, sir,” Charlotte said almost soundlessly, but he was already gone, heading toward the employee shower one floor down.
The thigh tattoo went all the way around, the design intricate.
Heart rate a rapid stutter, Charlotte got up after he disappeared and decided to go grab him a coffee. He’d bought her one yesterday after all. She was just being nice. “Oh, shut up, Charlotte,” she muttered once she was in the elevator, and slumped her face into an upraised hand.
The truth was she was running away. Only for a few minutes, but that’s what this was: strategic retreat. Gabriel Bishop was overwhelming. Once, before she’d ever met him and under the influence of cocktails, she’d told Molly she wanted to rip off his shirt and sink her teeth into his pecs.
That desire hadn’t waned even now that she knew he was a T-Rex. Of course, the desire was all strictly in her imagination. The idea of actually handling him in real life? So impossible as to be laughable. Charlie-mouse was not about to play with a predator who could eat her alive and not even notice the bones. The good news was that she could admire him in relative safety—there was no chance in hell he’d ever notice her as a woman.
Getting the coffee from a nearby café, she took it back upstairs. He was in his office when she entered, the striped dark gray of his tie hanging around his neck and his damp hair roughly combed. The scent of clean, fresh soap over warm skin permeated the office. Shooting her a smile that turned him from gorgeous to flat-out devastating, he flipped up the collar of his white shirt to get the tie in place. “Thank you, Ms. Baird.”
Nodding, Charlotte escaped, though she really wanted to stay. She’d never realized how erotic it was to watch a man dress until this precise moment. And she shouldn’t be having these thoughts about her boss—especially since she couldn’t keep from quivering like a rabbit in his presence. Sometimes she just annoyed herself.
“Get to work,” she muttered and knuckled down.
Gabriel was fine for the first hour, but then he began barking orders even a six-armed woman with a split personality would have had trouble handling.
Finally, pushed to the edge, Charlotte snapped. “I’m going as fast as I can!” she yelled when he asked her for something a minute after he’d asked her to complete another task.
He scowled and held out a file. “This is a priority.”
Grabbing it from his hand, she said, “Fine,” and slapped it down on her desk.
It was over an hour later that he disappeared for ten minutes. When he returned, it was to put a small bakery box on her desk. “I think you need something to sweeten your mood today, Ms. Baird.”
What she needed was for the T-Rex who was her boss to stop snarling and growling, she thought as he returned to his office. Not opening the box until her curiosity had almost killed her, she found it held a slice of decadent chocolate cake with a white-chocolate ganache topped with curls of both white and milk chocolate. “I cannot be bribed with cake,” she muttered, eating a bite nonetheless.
Full two-chapter excerpt available on Nalini’s Website: http://nalinisingh.com/rockhard.php
The Rock Kiss Series
Rock Addiction (Book One) Rock Kiss Series
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Nook | iTunes | Kobo
Rock Courtship (bk 1.5) A Rock Kiss Novel:
Amazon US | Amazon UK | iBooks | Nook | Kobo
Rock Hard (Book Two) Rock Kiss Series:
Amazon US | Amazon UK | iBooks | Nook | Kobo
About the author:
NEW YORK TIMES AND USA Today bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series Nalini Singh usually writes about hot shapeshifters and dangerous angels. This time around, she decided to write about hot and wickedly tempting rock stars (and one gorgeous ex-rugby player). If you’re seeing a theme here, you’re not wrong.
Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand, and is passionate about writing. If you’d like to explore her other books, you can find lots of excerpts on her website. Slave to Sensation is the first book in the Psy-Changeling series, while Angels’ Blood is the first book in the Guild Hunter series. Also, don’t forget to swing by the site to check out the special behind-the-scenes page for the Rock Kiss series, complete with photos of many of the locations used in the books.
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