Title: Hot and Bothered
Author: Kate Meader
Series: Hot in the Kitchen, Book 3
Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Release Date: Mar 4 2014
ISBN: 9781455599653
Price: $2.99 US/$2.99 CAN
Formats Available: E-Book
How I read it: E-arc via NetGalley
Rating: 5 Cups
Although her baby boy keeps her plate full, Jules Kilroy is ready to take her love life off the back burner. Despite a bevy of eligible bachelors, it's her best friend, Taddeo DeLuca, who is fueling her hormones with a generous serving of his mouth-watering Italian sexiness. But Jules learned her lesson once before when she went in for a kiss, only to have Tad reject her. She's vowed never to blur the lines again . . .
After a lifetime of excuses and false starts, Tad has finally opened a wine bar, a deal made even sweeter when Jules joins his staff. Lovers come and go, and he's had his share, but friendships like theirs last forever. Still, ever since he tasted her luscious lips, he can't stop fantasizing about what could be. Then she joins an online dating site-and the thought of his Jules with another man makes Tad's blood boil. Even if he gets burned, Tad can't stop himself from turning up the heat this time. (from publisher)
When Jules Kilroy decided to jump back into the dating pool, she never imagined that her mind and heart would be filled with her sexy Italian friend, Taddeo DeLuca. Although she knows that’s not going to happen. The only time they kissed, he rejected her so she refuses to cross that line ever again.
Taddeo DeLuca has had a
lifetime of failed plans and excuses, now he is finally opening his own bar, one
step on his path to get his life back on track. He’s no stranger to a one-night
stand, but that one kiss from Jules put his player days out of commission. When
he discovers Jules has joined the online dating community, he’s determined to
show her that she’ll never find another like him. While he wants to rock her
world, he knows they’ll never be more than friends.
THE BEST ROMANCE BOOK I
HAVE EVER READ!
I could not get enough of
Hot and Bothered. Everything about this book screamed sexy goodness!
Jules was an easy character
to like. She’s been through the ringer but doesn’t feel sorry for herself and
doesn’t want others to either. Although due to her dyslexia, she tends to put
herself down way more than she should. She’s determined to raise her baby boy
and be the best mother she can be, but she wants to start dating again, if she
can get Tad out of her head. Although that’s harder to do than she thought it
would be and you really feel as though you’re in the middle of her
friends-to-lovers battle that she is waging in her mind.
Tad is a modern day
Byronic hero. He blames himself for the
tragic events of his past and refuses to allow himself to be happy. He also
sees himself as unable to love and be loved, although Jules and her young son,
Evan, has been the balm to his wounded soul, he still refuses to allow himself
to be loved by her.
You find yourself
rooting (and occasionally, yelling) for the two of these characters to finally
get their acts together and admit that they love each other.
The plot was fast paced,
making the book feel as though it went by in the blink of an eye. The romance,
while it was indeed steamy, was very sensual and was built up with the pace of
the book.
While this was the third
in the series, Hot and Bothered was the first book that I read and I had no trouble
following along, although I am most definitely going to read the first two
books in the series.
Overall, Hot and
Bothered will leave you hot and bothered with its sensual and steamy romance,
loveable characters, and fast paced plot that will have you most definitely going
back for more.
Warning: Excerpt contains explicit content.
“I’ll walk you up,” he said,
slipping his jacket on so it was clear to both of them he would be on his way
as soon as his chivalrous duty had been performed. Because people put on
jackets to, you know, go outside.
“You don’t—”
“I do.” He tucked his hand under
her elbow, the touch electrifying his every cell once more. He didn’t let go of
her arm as he guided her up to the second flight.
He took the key and opened her
door. No problems with the door knob.
“I’ve got it from here,” she said,
still avoiding his eyes. Good girl, look
away. If she had any sense of self-preservation, she would close the door
and send him packing because he was this close to pushing her against the wall
and banging her boneless.
“How did your date go tonight?”
Fuck. The self-preservation thing
goes both ways, bischero.
There was that flare of anger
again. He wished she’d come right out and say what she was mad about.
“I didn’t know Cara was going to
bring Darian.”
“So, a pleasant surprise. A
doctor.” Merda, that came out sarcastic, which, to be honest, he meant it to
be. Judging by the freeze-his-nuts stare she aimed his way, she took it in that
same spirit.
“Think I
don’t have it in me to date someone smart like that?”
“Don’t use that card, Jules. You
have it in you to get anyone you want. I just don’t think that guy’s right for
you.”
“Why?”
Because
he’s not me.
None of those idiots understood the
first thing about her. Tad did, though. He knew that sometimes she felt dumb
because the words on the page refused to cooperate for her. He knew that she
had spent her childhood wishing that someone, anyone would see her. He knew she
had fought like a tigress to get here so she could provide the best life
possible for Evan.
Tad had been there from the
beginning, shoulder at the ready for her tears, hand outstretched so she could
crush it while delivering Evan. Fancy diplomas, fat bank balances, a McMansion
in Schaumburg—none of these things qualified them for shit where this woman was
concerned.
“He’s just looking for a housewife
to support him and pump out his kids while he does his important job.”
“Wow, you got all this from
watching me flirt with him?”
He could feel his teeth mashed
together like a trash compactor and he spat out the next words with trouble.
“Conor’s no good for you either, so you can forget about that.”
“What’s his problem, then? He owns
his own bar, saves people from burning buildings… Oh, is that it?” She kicked
off her shoes, an angry smirk crinkling the corner of her mouth as one of the
heels hit the leg of her coffee table with a satisfying thud. “You don’t think
guys who save lives are good enough for me. You’re not exactly saving any lives
when you pair that silky Pinot with the aged manchego.”
As insults go, it was pretty tame,
but the sharpness in his chest registered the unintended blow. Saving lives was
the last thing he was qualified for.
“I’m just trying to look out for
you, Jules.”
“That’s a neat trick. You move your
lips and Jack’s words come out. I’ve already told you I don’t need another
brother.”
She might not need a brother but
she needed a protector. Someone who could be with her through the tough times,
who understood the meaning of sacrifice and family. Someone not like him.
But he could be her friend. “What
happened to get you so upset tonight?”
Her brows drew together over eyes
sparking with determination. “I realized I have to take what I need and fight
for what’s mine.”
Whoa, if he wasn’t turned on
before, he sure as hell was now. Mine. He loved how that sounded on her lips,
even though he had no idea what she was yammering on about. She was grabbing
something by the balls—her destiny, perhaps, and he was man enough to say, she
had him by the balls as well.
The smoky lines around eyes dark
with emotion hit him like a shot of moonshine. Every hair, and more, stood to
attention at the sight of her Cabernet-red lips in that beautiful bow shape
that would look so perfect trailing scorching kisses across his chest and
beyond. Warmth washed through his veins. The edge of desire rose up to meet him
and he embraced it fully.
He was only human.
She padded toward him, showcasing
the sultry sway of her hips even without the sparkly fuck-me heels. Her eyes
turned to shadowy emeralds like the pupils had swallowed the usual sea-green
brightness. He recognized that look. He had seen it the other night in the wake
of his kiss. Except for one difference: Juliet Kilroy, his friend, hot MILF,
was now seducing him.
She brushed by him and closed her
fist over the doorknob. Looked like her difficulties with the open/close thing
were a thing of the past. Drawing the door ajar a few inches, she speared him
with a look that might have flattened a lesser man.
“I’m giving you a choice. You can
walk out this door and pretend there isn’t something happening between us or
you can stay and give me what I need.”
His cock thickened and grew achy.
“What do you need, Jules?”
“You. Inside me. All night.”
Oh,
sweet Jesus.
He held her green tilty gaze,
aiming to infuse his next words with cut-the-bull clarity. “I’m not like the
others, those men you’ve been dating, the ones who slobbered all over you
tonight. I’m not boyfriend material.”
“That’s not what you offered,
though, was it?”
Leaning past her shoulder, he
pressed the door shut, the snick short and final.
Inevitable.
“That’s not what I offered.”
About Kate Meader
Kate Meader writes contemporary romance that serves up delicious food, sexy heroes, and heroines with a dash of sass. Originally from Ireland, she now makes her home in Chicago, a city made for food, romance, and laughter - and where she met her own sexy hero. When not writing about men who cook and the women who drool over them, she works in an academic library. Visit her website at http://katemeader.com and follow her on Twitter @kittymeader.
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