Claire Marsden was hot
And Jack had never suspected it.
He conjured up an image of a fresh Alpine stream, clear water burbling over mossy rocks. He even resorted to imagining a photograph of his grandmother, the one where she was looking very stern and schoolmarmish. None of it stopped the rest of his body from whooping it up over the sight of Claire wearing only a bra. Suddenly he was thankful for the heat inside the elevator that had necessitated her removing her shirt.
From the soft, even tan across her chest and torso to the gentle rise of her breasts from one of the sexiest bras he’d ever seen, she was a revelation.
She was hot. Damn hot.
His body seemed determined to worship that hotness in its own special way, and no matter what he told himself, he was unable to stop it.
Not since the uncertain years of adolescence had his body been so at odds with his mind. Claire wasn’t his type. And they didn’t get along. So why was he wondering if she tasted as good as she looked?
Dear Reader,
How fantastic to be writing those two words! I’ve been reading romance novels since I was twelve, and I’m over the moon to have my first novel published with Harlequin.
The central idea for Can’t Get Enough came from my experience working on a TV drama in Australia. As a storyliner, I spent most of my time locked in a small room with four other people, bashing around ideas and sharing incredibly incriminating and embarrassing stories from my life. I quickly learned that despite first impressions, it’s impossible to hold on to your prejudices when you really get to know someone. It was a great life lesson, and a useful lesson for my characters Claire and Jack, too.
I hope you enjoy reading Can’t Get Enough as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’d love to hear from you. You can contact me via e-mail at [email protected] or mail me in care of Harlequin Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
Cheers for now,
Sarah Mayberry
Can’t Get Enough
Sarah Mayberry
Many thanks to the gang at Neighbours, and to my friends and family for always believing. Special thanks to La-La, and to Wanda for making my writing better. Lastly, thanks to Chris, who has taught me so much about storytelling. You’re my romantic hero, and I love you.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
1
CLAIRE MARSDEN was late. She hated being late almost as much as she hated brussels sprouts. And she hated brussels sprouts a lot. Traffic inched forward, and she craned her head out her window, confirming that the entrance to the company parking complex was just five car lengths ahead. Unfortunately, there were five cars occupying those five car lengths, and they were all moving as though they were powered by arthritic turtles. She willed them to move faster, concentrating intently on the shiny bumper of the pickup in front of her.
Nothing. So much for any latent powers of ESP she might have.
Might as well use the time to slap on some lipstick. She flipped her visor mirror down and blinked in horror at the too-close image that reflected back at her: eyes red, nose just beginning to peel thanks to too much sun on the weekend and a hefty gob of what her godchild Oscar rather charmingly called “eye booger” in the corner of one eye.
“Aren’t you the belle of the ball,” she told her reflection.
A dab of moisturizer, some judicious use of Kleenex and a swipe of lipstick went a long way to repairing the damage. She was just completing the last curve of pink-brown lipstick across her lips when the car behind her honked. A jagged lipstick smear raced up her cheek before she could control her reflexes.
Realizing the lane was now clear all the way to the coveted car park entrance, she slapped the visor up, deciding to fix her face later. With an apologetic wave for the driver behind her, she accelerated forward and zipped up the entrance ramp with a spurt of speed.
Now it was simply a case of snagging her favorite spot near the stairwell, and she could still make her first meeting of the day….
She frowned as she pulled up in front of her spot. A shiny red sports car gleamed smugly there, light reflecting off its sleek curves. Its owner had gone to the trouble of reversing in—obviously a fan of the quick getaway. The frown creasing her forehead deepened. She knew the owner of this car, and, indeed, he was fond of the quick getaway; at least a dozen women at Beck and Wise could vouch for just how fond.
“Stupid slacker,” she ground out under her breath as she threw her car into reverse and began trawling for another spot.
Everyone knew that spot was hers. She made a point of parking there every day. Okay, so it didn’t actually have her name on it—Beck and Wise only reserved parking spaces for its very senior executives—but it was common knowledge.
And she knew for a fact that Jack Brook was fully aware of her attachment to the spot; she ignored him every time she passed him on her way to or from her car. Just last week she’d glided coolly past him, not acknowledging his presence with so much as the twitch of an eyelid. So he knew. Oh, yes, he knew.
At last she found another spot, a full five rows farther back than her usual one. She turned into it with more verve than necessary, and had to waste precious seconds correcting the error. The contents of her handbag were spread out across her passenger seat after her ad hoc repair mission in the traffic jam, and she scrabbled around until she’d stuffed them all back into her sleek black leather purse. Like much of her life, it looked perfect on the outside, its chaotic contents well hidden from prying eyes.
She broke into a fast trot as she cleared the first row of cars, but realized very quickly that no amount of training or conditioning could prepare someone for a hundred-yard dash in leather pumps. Slowing to a tight-assed scamper, she spared a glance for the gleaming red affront in her parking spot as she pushed open the door to the car park stairwell.
Jack Brook. Just thinking his name made her grind her teeth. From the moment she’d first laid eyes on him two years ago she’d had his number, and everything she’d heard or seen of him since had only confirmed that initial snap judgment.
Too good-looking for his own good—if you liked tall, dark, blue-eyed, broad-shouldered men.
Too smart for his own good, too—if you admired creative, clever, arrogant, witty minds.
And too damn aware of all of the above, as far as she was concerned.
Most of the women at Beck and Wise thought he was dreamy. Most of