Evernight Publishing-
https://www.evernightpublishing.com/running-on-empty-by-allyson-young/
Blurb:
J.R.
Redding saves ailing companies, and if his relationships with his personal
assistants raise eyebrows, whatever works. He steps in to save Alanna Giles’s
company and get closer to the beautiful blonde. Her father agrees that Alanna
fill the position of his P.A.—not that she’s to assume the submissive role J.R.
demands—yet.
Alanna must recover the money her father
stole and return it to the company—without alerting J.R. She knows what his
assistants provide, but if she refuses, can she ensure her little sister is
financially secure? She takes the position, leading J.R. to believe she’s
agreeable—to everything.
Truth will out, and J.R. fires Alanna,
as he can’t abide liars, though she hasn’t been lying to him for some time. She
loves him.
As she leaves, tragedy strikes, and J.R.
faces the fact he dismissed the woman he loves. Do his skills extend to saving
her?
Be Warned: BDSM elements
Teaser
Excerpt:
He didn’t bother to hide
his displeasure this time, not even
minimally. “Don’t go behind my back again. I don’t disrespect contracts. If you
and I turned out to be incompatible, it wouldn’t have reflected on our
preliminary payout figure.”
Inclining her head, she
agreed. “I won’t. I apologize. I forgot my place.”
She ignored his comment
about contracts because he was a despicable man even to remind her. The
traitorous tinges of arousal hadn’t totally faded before his ire, and she found
that far more disconcerting. His hard strength called to her, even as she was
wary of it.
“Don’t forget it again. You
won’t like the consequences. And no, you won’t be fired. I have other ways of
dealing with disloyal employees.”
It was on the tip of her
tongue to inquire if he was required to deal with large numbers of them. “I
won’t forget, Mr. Redding.”
“Justin or JR.”
“No. You’re my boss.”
“And more, Alanna.” His
tone was reasonable if the flaring in his eyes wasn’t.
Feeling her face flush, she
lifted her head and stared him down. “Having sex with you doesn’t change facts,
Mr. Redding.”
“Let’s get things out in
the open, sweetheart. You appear to be carrying a huge chip on your shoulder.
You agreed verbally. And you read the contract and agreed to it. You wanted
this.”
“I know better than to
waste my energy in a futile battle.”
JR barked a huff of
laughter. “You could have refused and quit. Found a position elsewhere. One you
wouldn’t have found so distasteful.”
“Not an option.”
“Explain.”
Oh, no. She wasn’t going
there. “I don’t have to explain myself, Mr. Redding. I agreed to be your PA,
and all that entails from your … perspective, for the next six months or until
my father is recovered enough to take over. We’ll ensure the viability of the
company. What else matters?”
“I don’t force women.”
That bold statement made
her head swim. The man was indeed a piece of work. A gorgeous, hot piece of
work who appeared to believe that having his personal assistants sign a
contract giving him not only their job skills but total access to their bodies
with a nondisclosure agreement attached wasn’t forcing women.
But then, the other women
before her hadn’t likely felt forced, and he was simply protecting himself from
a lawsuit. With a hitch in her chest, she again wondered how many of them moved on
or were moved on with their hearts broken. Not that there was any worry
for her in that regard. She might be drawn to him physically, but she didn’t
like him—or trust him.
“I signed the contract. You
won’t be forcing me,” she repeated, suddenly struck with the fear he’d release
her and pack it in himself. And the company would fail without his guidance,
and her sister would suffer and—
“Jesus, Alanna! What is it
with you? Do you have some kind of condition going on that you blank out?”
“What?” She pulled herself
out of the anxious spiral. She had to convince him! “No, I’m fine. And you
won’t have to force me. I want to do this. I do. I … I’ve found you attractive
from the beginning as you probably noticed, and, well, I decided to quit
fighting it.”
“Ah… Good. Well, one last
thing. If I do anything to you or ask you to do something you absolutely cannot
abide, you’re to say the word breakpoint.”
He was talking about a
safeword. Holy shit. Oh, God. She tried to breathe evenly but knew the rapid
rise and fall of her chest was giving her away.
“Tell me what you’re
thinking.” He was obviously brooking no argument and never had he looked so
arrogant and determined.
“The contract said submissive. I stroked it out, and you initialed it. I’m not interested in BDSM.”
“And we aren’t entering
into such a formal relationship, I assure you. But I am demanding sexually, and
I sense something in you that has me believing you’ll meet my needs.” He smiled
again, and her belly lurched. “I’m only ensuring you won’t be pushed too far.”
She hardly knew this man.
They’d struck sparks each and every time they’d met, and she hadn’t cared to
get to know him better, especially when he was taking over and making her
uncertain about the future.
And when she’d said she
didn’t like him, it was true. He was difficult to like because he embodied
every male quality she’d decided to dislike and avoid.
She wanted a kind, gentle man, one who respected her wishes and
treated her sweetly. She hadn’t found that fictional individual, and it wasn’t
likely she would, considering the cutthroat nature of the business she worked
in and its demands on her time, let alone her commitment to Lonnie.
But that didn’t mean she
ever wanted to like Justin Redding.
So the compatibility he thought he’d picked up on was chemistry, something
she’d already acknowledged.
“Suffice it to say I’ll
hold up my end of the bargain. You won’t have to force me.”
“I didn’t mean to imply I’d
have to force your body, Alanna. I have considerable confidence in my sexual
expertise. But I won’t force you to submit to me. You’ll come to that on your
own.”
Fat
chance. “When would you like to
get started? I’ll fetch my laptop.”
“No need. We’ll be
brainstorming for now. And we’ll start immediately. Strip.”
Her movement to rise from
her chair was arrested. Her brain turned the command over in her head. She
cautiously looked his way.
He stared back, waiting,
not moving a muscle. She had agreed to this, had willingly consented to his
demands. She’d made her choice, no matter how she might want to make it his
fault.
“Did you ask me to strip?” She thought she might ask, just
in case…
“I told you.”
Buy
Links:
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/running-on-empty-50
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/running-on-empty-allyson-young/1139337569?ean=2940164884482
https://www.bookstrand.com/book/running-on-empty-mf
https://www.amazon.com//dp/B09354KCNM
https://www.evernightpublishing.com/running-on-empty-by-allyson-young/
About the author:
Allyson Young aka
Peri Elizabeth Scott lives in cottage country, Manitoba, Canada where she and
her husband pretend to work well together in their seasonal business.
She has always
enjoyed the written word, and after reading an erotic romance, quite by
mistake, decided to try her hand at penning one. That was followed by a mix of
spicy (Ally) and sweet (Peribeth) romances in various genres as well as a
post-apocalyptic adventure without a lick of romance by Peribeth.
A bestselling Amazon
author, a hybrid, and a coauthor, as of May 2020 she has published seven series and several standalones, with
others in the works.
https://www.facebook.com/sweetnspicyauthor/
http://www.allysonyoung.com
https://www.amazon.com/author/allysonyoung
allysonyoung45@gmail.com
Twitter - Allyson Young @allysonyoung45
