He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. He doesn’t treat me like I’m nothing, take me for granted, or make me feel unsafe.
He remembers me, laughs with me, and looks at me. He listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work.
I have to stop this. It can’t happen.
My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you find one, he’s probably unavailable.
Only Pike Lawson isn’t the unavailable one.
I am.
She’d cook a few meals and clean up a little. It was an easy arrangement.
As the days go by, though, it’s becoming anything but easy. I have to stop my mind from drifting to her and stop holding my breath every time I bump into her in the house. I can’t touch her, and I shouldn’t want to.
The more I find my path crossing hers, though, the more she’s becoming a part of me.
But we’re not free to give into this. She’s nineteen, and I’m thirty-eight.
And her boyfriend’s father.
Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house.
Thoughts so far...I'm really enjoying this. It's entertaining, the writing is good, the characters feel like real people, they have issues, and backstories, and while it is an adult contemporary it isn't all sex all the time. There is an actual story being told. With taboo books they can sometimes go to an uncomfortable place that crosses a line, this one doesn't, the relationship is a bit unconventional, but it doesn't cross any of those lines.
Jordan has alot of baggage. She's been dealt a rough deck in life, but at only 19 she's doing her best. She has a job, she's going to college, and she has a plan. What she doesn't have is a great support system in family and friends. She's got her older sister, who's not too bad, but she's always trying to get her to come work with her at the local strip club. Jordan isn't interested in that line of work, even if it would help with her money problems. Jordan's boyfriend, Cole, is a complete douche. He parties, call off sick from work because he's hungover, takes advantage of Jordan's kind heart, and I can't say one nice thing about him. I'm not sure why he's like this, but he doesn't appear to have any good boyfriend qualities. Jordan stays with him because they were friends before they were in a relationship and they were there for each other in a time of need. She's kind of co-dependent on him because he was there for her when no one else was. Jordan is smart and stubborn, but when it comes to certain situations she is weak and fragile. Her character is pretty dynamic given all the stuff she's been through.
Pike is Cole's dad. Cole doesn't really like his dad, but he'll ask him for money and live under his roof rent free. When Cole and Jordan find themselves evicted from their apartment, Cole turns to his dad to bail him out of yet another bad situation. Pike, who would do anything for Cole, offers to let the couple live in the house to save up some money if they agree to help out around the house. Pike and Jordan pick up an easy routine with a lot of witty banter, while Cole sleeps off his hangovers and parties. Pike and Jordan eventually develop a friendship of sorts, but there is no denying that they are attracted to one another. This is where the taboo part of the story comes in, I wasn't sure where the story was heading with the "I'm attracted to my boyfriend's dad" plot. It's actually pretty good. For an adult novel, and there are plenty of adult themes there isn't a ton of sex. I was expecting them to have sex early on and frequently but that isn't the case. There is a good story here, and as always Penelope Douglas knows how to bring the steam.
I expect to finish the book tonight after work so I'll post the rest of my review then, but so far I'm loving it. I don't typically read taboo romances, but I am pleasantly surprised by this one. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I should have known that Penelope Douglas wouldn't lead me astray.
UPDATE: I finished the book today between reading a little on my lunch break and after getting home and feeding the family.
I've already described Pike and Jordan, now onto the plot. Jordan finds herself living with Pike because as mentioned her boyfriend Cole is a douche. She and Cole split up, and Pike offers to let her continue to live with him while she saves up for school and to get place of her own. They settle into a comfortable relationship, which eventually turns into more. Pike is caught between not wanting to hurt Cole by telling him about his feelings for Jordan and not wanting to hurt Jordan because she's been treated like garbage her entire life. He know's she's worth it, but he's spent his life sacrificing his wants and needs for that of his son. Jordan, having been treated like she isn't worth the time of day by pretty much everyone in her life, knows that she wants Pike, and while she doesn't want to hurt Cole either, she finally comes to the realization that she can't continue to let people walk all over her. She she is worth something and even though their relationship might not be the most conventional with the age difference between them, Pike will have to fight for her if he wants to keep her around.
Again as I said earlier, I enjoyed this. The steamy scenes were steamy and some of them were pretty naughty. There was a bit of role playing with Pike being so much older than Jordan, but none of their interactions were forceful. It always in fun and with a joking tone, they were always both willing parties and no one was being taken advantage of, nothing two consenting adults should be ashamed of. While the age difference and how they met was a bit unconventional, Pike and Jordan ended up having a pretty good relationship. They identified and worked through their issues. They both grew up in a way, finding that they each had more to give than what they thought they were capable of.
I recommend this if you are a fan of adult contemporary. For fans of Penelope Douglas, this is a must.
“What the hell is she wearing?” I grumble, sliding into the booth.
Dutch turns his head toward me, his drink inches from his lips. “It’s the lingerie show,” he tells me. “They have it every Thursday night. The bartenders and servers don nighties or corsets and serve drinks and food. It’s fun.”
No, not really.
But I look around and see a few other ladies carrying out appetizers and bringing drinks, some of them in very thin attire. At least Jordan’s corset looks as thin as armor.
“But Jordan’s never done it before,” he goes on. “That’s what shocked me. Thought you should know.”
“Why the fuck would I want to know?” I pull a beer out of the ice bucket on the table.
“Yeah, sorry.” He turns away, mumbling into his glass, “You seem like you couldn’t care less.”
I shoot him a sideways look, hearing the laughter in his words.
Sticking the beer back in the bucket, untouched, I rise and head to the bar. I hear a snort behind me, but I don’t care. She’s kind of my responsibility, and I don’t want her doing things like this, because she thinks she needs money.
There’s only one bartender besides Jordan. The owner, Shel. I’m sure she hasn’t forgotten me, so I veer to the opposite end and catch Jordan’s attention as she pops the tops from a line of six bottles of beer.
“What the hell are you wearing?” I lean in, speaking as quietly as I can.
She jerks her head toward me, meets my eyes, and quickly turns away again like I’m the last person she wants to deal with right now.
She hands over the beers, collects the cash and spins around, punching the screen in front of her. “It’s fine,” she assures me. “It’s just a corset, Pike.”
“They are all looking at you.”
She nods, smiling sarcastically. “That’s the point.”
“Jordan,” I sigh, trying to whisper as I squeeze around some old dude at the bar. “This is a small town. What if your father were to walk in?”
“He doesn’t come in here,” she says, closing the register drawer and finally looking at me. “And neither do you, normally.” A blush crosses her cheeks. “Besides, I’m not stupid. I wouldn’t take part in something I thought would humiliate me.”
She turns and hands the change back to the customer, but he waves her off, letting her keep it. She smiles and turns back around, dropping the bills into an already overflowing canister.
“What are you even doing here?” she says, starting to mix another drink. “I thought you were sitting the bachelor party out, because…” She sets the bottle down and does air quotes as she imitates my growling voice, “‘there needed to be at least one sober person at work tomorrow’.”
I arch a brow at her. I don’t sound like that.
Reaching into my pocket, I pull out the flyer and push it over the bar at her.
She stills, and her face goes ashen. “Where did you find that?”
She grabs it and dumps it somewhere under her. To a trash can probably.
Taking a napkin, she sets it in front of a customer and gives him the fresh drink she just made.
“If you need money,” I tell her, “I’ll lend you whatever you need, okay?”
And she stops, slowly turning her eyes on me. Her gaze sharpens, angry, and she looks like she wants to yell at me, but she doesn’t. Instead she whips around and barrels down the bar and through the partition, turning only enough to crook a finger at me before she twirls back around and heads down the hallway.
My stomach sinks. I really don’t mean to piss her off as much as I do. What did I say now?
Veering through the crowd, I make my way down the empty hallway, finally coming to the same room she was crying in when I pissed her off the last time.
Entering through the open door, I see her standing with her hands on her hips and her head cocked at me.
“I would rather eat from a dumpster than take money from you,” she bites out.
I should shut up. But God help me, I can’t. “Hate to break it to you, but you already do,” I tell her. “You live in a house where you pay no rent or utilities, young lady.”
“I cook and clean for you!” she shouts, but I doubt anyone can hear us back here and through the music. “I pay my way, you arrogant prick!”
“Alright, alright,” I growl, blinking long and hard. “You’re right, okay? But, Jordan, men will get ideas. They’ll think they have a free pass and they can touch what belongs to my son. You’re embarrassing him.”
“Your son?” she mocks, laughing. “Well, you just missed him, actually. He already saw me, and he doesn’t care, Pike. He thought I looked good, and then he left with his friends. He doesn’t care!”
“Well, I care!”
The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them, and I freeze, almost too afraid to breathe.
Oh, shit. What did I just say?
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