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Single Man Meets Single Mum
Jules Bennett
“Ian, I can’t … I just met you.”
“You’re attracted to me,” Ian insisted.
“That doesn’t mean I should act on it,” Cassie replied. “You’re only here for a short time. We can’t just … you know.”
“Have sex?”
Oh, mercy. The words were out now. Dear Lord. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t had sex before—she had a baby for crying out loud—but, “Acting on sexual attraction isn’t something I normally do.”
Ian stepped forward, and stopped when Cassie held up a hand. “Don’t. I can’t think when you’re touching me.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “You would.”
“See? You know me already.”
“You’re going to have to keep your hands to yourself.” “You’re no fun.”
Without a word, Ian closed the gap between them. He brought his mouth close to hers. “A woman who kisses like you, who responds to my touch without hesitation, has pent-up passion that needs to be released.”
His lips barely brushed hers. “Come find me when you’re ready.”
***
Single Man Meets Single Mum is part of the No.1 bestselling series from Mills & Boon
Desire™ : Billionaires & Babies: Powerful men … wrapped around their babies’ little fingers.
Single Man
Meets Single Mum
Jules Bennett
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
National bestselling author JULES BENNETT’S love of storytelling started when she would get in trouble as a child and would tell her parents her imaginary friends were to blame. Since then, her vivid imagination has taken her down a path she’d only dreamed of. And after twelve years of owning and working in salons, she hung up her shears to write full-time.
Jules doesn’t just write Happily Ever After—she lives it. Married to her high school sweetheart, Jules and her hubby have two little girls who keep them smiling. She loves to hear from readers! Contact her at authorjules@gmail.com (mailto:authorjules@gmail.com), visit her website, www.julesbennett.com (http://www.julesbennett.com), where you can sign up for her newsletter, or send her a letter at PO Box 396, Minford, OH 45653, USA. You can also follow her on Twitter and join her Facebook fan page.
To Jill, Amy and Inez.
I love you three more than the frozen yogurt we devour.
Thanks for the road trip and all the laughs.
May we have many, many more!
Contents
Cover (#ufb1ea787-81ea-5339-9f10-d14d36b6c786)
Introduction (#u00ea646d-4125-5d40-ae0b-52835fd63953)
Title Page (#u7b8c73ad-8576-5497-97e7-2b7c21b59930)
About the Author (#u74495ca8-99f6-5514-b6cd-d0edd8f72f7c)
Dedication (#u78e32c87-9eaf-584f-8494-355fcd8f68bf)
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
One (#udab38ae7-a8bd-5af6-81af-1c5ee66fcd91)
Oomph!
Out of nowhere, Ian Shaffer had his arms full of woman. Curvy, petite woman. A mass of silky red hair half covered her face, and as she shoved the wayward strands back to look up, Ian was met with the most intriguing set of blue eyes he’d ever seen.
“You okay?” he asked, in no hurry to let her down.
He’d taken one step into the stables at Stony Ridge Acres and this beauty had literally fallen into his arms. Talk about perfect timing.
The delicate hand against his shoulder pushed gently, but he didn’t budge. How could he, when all those curves felt perfect against his body and she was still trembling?
He may not know much about the horse industry, but women... Yeah, he knew women really well.
“Thank you for catching me.”
Her low, husky voice washed over him, making him even more thankful he’d come to this movie set to see to his client’s needs in person...and to hopefully sign another actress to his growing roster of A-listers.
Most agents didn’t visit movie sets as regularly as he did, but he sure as hell wasn’t missing the opportunity to keep Max Ford happy and allow prospective client Lily Beaumont to witness just what a kick-ass, hands-on agent he was. Given his young age, the fact that he was known as a shark in the industry happened to be good for business.
Ian glanced to the ladder that stretched up into the loft of the spacious stables. His eyes narrowed in on the rung that hung vertically, the culprit of the lady’s fall.
“Looks like your ladder needs repairing,” he told her, looking back to those big, expressive blue eyes.
“I’ve been meaning to fix it,” she told him, studying his face, his mouth. “You know, you can let me down now.”
Yeah, he was probably freaking her out by keeping her in his clutches. But that didn’t stop him from easing her down slowly, allowing her body to glide against his.
Hey, he may be there to concentrate on work, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the samplings of a tempting woman when an opportunity presented itself.
Keeping his hand on her arm, Ian allowed his gaze to sweep down her body. He justified the touch by telling himself he was looking for signs of injury, but in all honesty, he simply wanted to get a better look. If this was what they called taking in the local scenery, then sign him up.
“Are you hurt anywhere?” he asked.
“Just my pride.” Stepping back, forcing his hand to fall away, she brushed her fingers down her button-up plaid shirt. “I’m Cassie Barrington. And you are?”
He held out his hand. “Ian Shaffer. I’m Max Ford’s agent.”
And if all went well, he’d be signing Max’s costar Lily, too. There was no way he’d let her go to his rival agency without one hell of a fight first. And then maybe his very unimpressed father would see that Ian had become a success. He was a top agent in L.A. and not just hanging out at parties with women for a living. He’d become a powerful man in the industry.
Though the parties and women were a nice added bonus, Ian enjoyed stepping away from the glamour to be on set with his clients. And it was that extra touch that made him so successful. Between forging connections with producers and getting to know the writers and actors better, he could place his clients in the roles best suited to them.
The role Max was playing was perfect for him. The top actor was portraying the dynamic Damon Barrington, famous horse owner and former jockey. And for Ian, escaping L.A.’s hustle and bustle to spend time on a prestigious Virginia horse farm was a nice change of pace.
“Oh, Max mentioned you’d be coming. Sorry for falling on you.” Her brows drew together as she gave him a quick assessment. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Ian shoved his hands into his pockets, offering her a smile. She could assess him anytime she wanted. “Not at all,” he assured her. “I rather enjoyed the greeting.”
Her chin tilted just enough to show defiance. “I don’t make a habit of being clumsy...or throwing myself at men.”
“That a fact?” he asked, trying not to laugh. “Such a shame.”
“Do you make a habit of hitting on women?” she asked.
Unable to resist the gauntlet she’d thrown before him, Ian took a step forward, pleased when her eyes widened and she had to tip her head up to hold his gaze.
“Actually, no. But I’m making an exception in your case.”
“Aren’t I lucky?” Her tone told him she felt anything but. “Max should be in his trailer. His name is on the outside, and I believe another trailer was recently brought in for you.”
Apparently she was in a hurry for him to be on his way—which only made him want to stay longer. Finding someone who didn’t care about his Hollywood status, someone who wasn’t impressed with his power and money, was a refreshing change. The fact that someone was curvy, wore jeans as though they were made to mold those curves and had expressive baby blues was the icing on the proverbial cake.
“So you’re the trainer and your sister is the famous jockey?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
The warm late-spring sun beat against his back as it came through the wide doors of the stable. Summer blockbuster season was just around the corner and, hopefully, once the film wrapped and he’d signed Lily, his agency would still be on top. His ex-partner-turned-rival would no longer be an issue.
He’d started working for an agency right out of college, thanks to a referral from a professor he’d impressed, but some lucky breaks and smart business sense had had him quickly moving to open his own. Unfortunately, he’d taken on a partner who had stabbed him in the back and secretly wooed most of their clients in the hopes they’d work exclusively with him in a new venture.
For the sake of his pride, he had to win Lily over and get her under contract. But how could his mind be on business with this voluptuous distraction before him?
“You’ve done your homework,” she commented. “I’m impressed you know about me and my sister and our different roles.”
“I do my research. You could say I’m pretty hands-on as an agent.”
“Apparently you’re hands-on with everything.”
Oh, that was such a loaded statement—one he wouldn’t mind exploring if he had the time. His eyes held hers as he closed the gap between them. The pulse at the base of her throat quickened and her breath caught as she stared, unblinking, at him.
Damn work responsibilities. But surely a little flirting, hell, even a fling, would make this an even more riveting trip.
“Everything,” he whispered. “Let me know if you ever want an experience.”
When her gaze dropped to his mouth again, Ian resisted the urge to grab her, to taste her. There would be plenty of time for...anything she was willing to give. Besides, wasn’t the chase half the fun?
“I think you know where my trailer is.”
And because he’d probably crossed some sort of moral, ethical boundary, Ian turned and walked from the barn, leaving her with her mouth open.
Well, this was already the most exciting movie set he’d ever visited and he hadn’t even seen his client yet.
