Review Tour: One Exquisite Touch: Lauren Blakely
One Exquisite Touch
Release date October 16, 2020
A sexy rivals-to-lovers standalone, rich with masquerades, billionaires and forbidden trysts!
When the invitation arrived, it detailed the rules of the masquerade -- no names, no identities.
I set one more-- find a most wicked man for one night.
The kind who'll bring me deliciously naughty pleasure in dark corners.
But as the clock ticks to midnight, he finds me, whisks me away to a secret alcove, and delivers all that dirty bliss and then some.
We make arrangements for another secret rendez vous before I rush out of the ball.
But fate has other plans, since I see my most wicked man the next morning. Because that man is the billionaire owner of the hotel across the Strip from mine.
My rival. My enemy.
We vie for business every second of every day, so the last thing I can do is let him in my bed at night.
I give in one final time, in a daring, risqué game of chance, and then I vow to resist.
And that's what I do every time I see him, every time I get to know the brilliant, mercurial man who wants a piece of my business.
Until the night he ups the stakes.
And I have no choice but to see his bet and raise it.
ONE EXQUISITE TOUCH is a wickedly racy, high-stakes love story between a man and a woman. It also features several sexy MFM love scenes.
One Exquisite Touch is a standalone in The Extravagant series. Other standalones include One Alluring Chance and One Shameless Secret.
Sage Carmichael is used to wearing a mask in public. She is the perfectly poised and controlled Co-CEO for one of the most elegant hotels on the Las Vegas strip. This mask became more important when she suffered heartbreak publicly. But now she is using a real mask for another reason...to attend a masquerade that she hopes will end in a night with her own Prince Wicked.
Cole Donovon is the newest luxury hotel owner in town. He is intense, driven, intelligent, strives to be the best, and thrives on the chase. And he and his business partner are ready to partake in some after-hours fun as well.
Sage finds two Prince Wickeds that night who allow her to explore her desires in a safe way. But she has no idea how it will change her everyday life. And Cole never saw her coming either.
This is a witty, flirty, and dirty rivals to lovers. It is hot and steamy! They push boundaries and challenge each other. Both of them have issues that have affected their views on relationships. Their passion and needs complement each other perfectly, but they know they should be off-limits. But they just cannot seem to stop and Sage's pleasure seems to be the goal. But at the same time, the competition aspect also challenges the other to do better and go after what they want. They had both closed off their hearts, but slowly the bricks are being chipped away. It will all come down to trust, not only in each other but in themselves in order to decide if risking their hearts will be a win-win deal for both of them.
This can be read as a stand-alone and is book one in a new series of stand-alones. It introduces some new intriguing characters like his business partners, Daniel and Scarlett, her friends Eliza and Nadia, and also some other men related to football teams, Xavier and Wilder. I am sure we will be seeing some of them again. But we also get to visit a bit with Sage's twin Ivy, and more Stone and Jackson that we met in One Night Only! Yes! Stone is such a scene-stealer!
I liked getting multiple points of view. Cole is all kinds of hot, swoony, and intuitive man, and Sage is strong and knows what she wants. The character's issues and motivations are well developed so we can understand their insecurities and what drives them. And this goes not just for the main couple, but for the side characters as well. So even though it does have some deliciously naughty sexy times, it also has depth and emotion as well. There is even a bit of a bonus love story in the making and the whisper of some others.
Sage Carmichael has an image to uphold; she is a successful businesswoman who keeps her private life very private. A masquerade is the perfect opportunity for her to let down her guard a little bit.
Cole Donavan is a rival hotel owner. Had they met first without the masks, they would have been rivals only. The morning after their masked tryst, both are still thinking about their encounter and when they realize who they are without their masks, their attraction becomes even harder to ignore.
This was a sexy, competitive rivals to lovers story with a whole lot of heat. They have great banter, and their chemistry as a duo is fiery. Add in a third and it’s downright explosive. I loved how Sage gave herself permission to try out new things with Cole, and the support she got from a few trusted confidants gave a great perspective to her trepidations. Both characters are strong personalities and their motivations drive the competitive spirit that plays between them as well.
As they have the added player in their relationship, there is a lot going on in the background, and I loved the little teases of future stories that happened in the background. Blakely does a fantastic job of spinning side characters in a way that we don’t lose touch with them once they have found their match, and new characters are introduced seamlessly into the mix. If I am counting correctly there are three, maybe 4 stories brewing in the background of this one and I cannot wait for more!
Standing in front of the glass window overlooking the casino is a stunning woman in a red dress with a zipper all the way down the back.
I want to unzip it with my teeth.
Her blonde hair is twisted neat and tight in a clip. Those silky strands remind me of my stranger. That clip, too, reminds me of the one she left behind that night. The barrette I picked up when she scurried away. The barrette I plan to give her next weekend at the party.
But right now, I’m not thinking of my stranger, because I’m too busy admiring the view in front of me.
That body. That ass. Those legs.
She stands at the window, hands on the sill, gazing at her empire below.
She looks powerful, and power looks so damn good on a woman, especially when a powerful woman gets on her knees at your command.
I’d like to put her on her knees.
ONE EXQUISITE TOUCH is performed by Joe Arden & Emma Wilder, with Shane East & Wesleigh Siobhan!
Buy Audio
One Night Only
(The Extravagant #0.5)
(The Extravagant #0.5)
A delicious new After Dark novella featuring a strong, protective bodyguard and the beautiful, brilliant hotel heiress he protects…
I shouldn’t want my bodyguard the way I do. His job is to protect me. It’s not to fulfill all my filthy wishes.
And so I resist him, fighting the enticing pull of the strong, powerful man who watches over me.
Until the night we combust in my penthouse suite.
It won’t happen again, we say the next day.
Besides, my mission is singular — pull off the event of a lifetime — a one-night only concert with one of the world’s biggest rock stars.
A man my bodyguard happens to know.
And a good bodyguard knows all sorts of things about his client. Turns out he knows my secret desires, and he wants to make them come true. Including a VIP engagement so I can experience both men at the same time…
I want to say yes, but what if I fall even more in love with the man whose mission is to keep me safe?
About the Author: A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that's sweet, sexy and witty. She also writes red-hot love stories for her Lauren Blakely After Dark line.
She'd love to give you a free book today! Check out her web site to grab your free read: https://laurenblakely.com/one-free-book/
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