Worked Up

by Tessa Bailey

Made in Jersey #3

Publication Date: August 1, 2016

Genres: Adult, Entangled: Brazen, Contemporary Romance

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Factory mechanic Duke Crawford just wants to watch SportsCenter in peace. Unfortunately, living with four divorcee sisters doesn’t provide much silence, nor does it change his stance on relationships. But when a fellow commitment-phobe stumbles into his life, getting him good and worked up, he can’t deny his protective instincts.

Samantha Waverly’s brother just put her in an impossible situation. The only way out? Marry huge, gruff, gladiator look-alike Duke—for show, of course. She doesn’t make promises—she knows too well how easily they can be broken—and this is no exception.

As the blistering attraction between them grows, the lines around the no-strings relationship blur. But Duke and Samantha’s marriage is only for show…or is it?

My Review

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Every once in a while I read a book and I love the male main character so much that I want to "Weird Science" him. And Duke "the poutiest man bear of all the PMBs" Crawford is one of those characters. GOOD. LORD. If there was a way to actually go into the book and take Sam out so I could have Duke all to myself, I would. Not even kidding.

Sam is in town to see her brother, Renner, who just happens to be Duke's boss. She meets Duke at the local bar and OH MY GOD I LOVED THAT SCENE SO MUCH. It pretty much set the tone for their relationship (and the rest of the book) so I knew that I was in for a great ride. From the moment these two met, the sexual tension was about as thick as it could be. Duke was drawn to Sam and he couldn't quite explain it. He wanted to make sure she was okay. He NEEDED to take care of her, he just couldn't help himself. After Sam explains to him why she is there and and the bind she is in, the two of them do the last thing either of them want to do to help solve her problem. And all of it is amazing.

These two. GAH! I don't even know how to put into words how much I love them. They are sweet, sexy as all hell and beneath all the gruffness and the marriage of convenience is a wonderful love story. Despite the fact that they are both commitment-phobes, they sure did fall into the whole couple thing pretty quickly. They both find themselves doing extremely thoughtful things for each other and getting way too comfortable having the other person around. It's a fantastic thing to watch unfold.

This book is full of all the characters we have met previously. I freaking love all of Duke's sisters. They cracked me up. The first time he brought Sam home had me laughing out loud because of their reactions. And as much as they drove him absolutely crazy (just let the man watch Sportscenter!) he loved them to death and that just made me love him even more. And Duke with Marcy (River and Vaughn's daughter)....HOLY OVARY EXPLOSION. That's okay...I don't need them anyway.

I am looking forward to Renner's book. Tessa has set it up quite nicely, but I'm not totally sold on him yet. So I'm gonna need his book to convince me that he isn't just a big jerk. And if anything can change my mind, it's Tessa's awesome writing skills.

Now do yourself a favor and go read the below excerpt for some yummy Duke goodness and then 1-click this book.

BOOK TRAILER

EXCERPT

“I need something.”

A low, shaking curse. “Sam.”

God, the way his voice deepened on that single word made her blood flame. “Yes.” No guts, no glory. “I-I could use a good night kiss.”

His stroll back toward the door seemed to take an hour. “You could use it?” He stopped, arms braced on the building’s doorframe, his breath fogging up the glass. “Or you need it?”

For the first time in…maybe forever, Samantha’s loins started to ache, due to something other than her own imagination. And damn it all, even her crazy imagination couldn’t have conjured up a Duke. His blunt chin, the scratchy-looking hair on his belly. “I need it.”

The condensation left by his breaths appeared faster, undeniable proof he was affected, too, despite his desire to stay free of entanglements. Just like her. “One kiss. I can’t give you any more than that.” His fist came up to bang against the glass. “Don’t ask me to bring you inside. Please. I’m not the kind of man you’re looking for. But you’d get me, regardless, if we fucked. You hearing me, sweetheart?”

Samantha’s vocal cords had lost the ability to function, so she simply hung up the phone, stowed it, and set the bag in the vestibule’s corner. And waited, palms raking up and down the skirt of her dress. Duke watched her through the door a beat, before jerking it open. There was no slow motion coming together or easing into the kiss, either. No, Duke…stormed Samantha. And…and he was out of practice. She could tell right away. He couldn’t seem to stop baring his teeth long enough to kiss her properly, his hands settling on her hips and gripping way too tight. Bruises. She’d have bruises and they hadn’t even begun yet. Everything about the hovering—the brink, his harsh, growling hesitation—turned Samantha on. This was unusual for him…he didn’t do this.

All pent up. The giant’s adrenaline was all pent up.

“You look so…” He shuddered, lifting her off the floor so he could suck the skin of her neck, his arm like steel around her lower back. “You look so fucking sexy in that dress, I—”

“Thank you,” she whimpered, feet swinging, searching for purchase. The need for solid ground was gone a second later, however, when a thick, flexing thigh shoved in between her legs, pressing against her juncture with such unexpectedness, she tightened her limbs around it, gasping. “Duke.”

“We still being honest with each other, sweetheart?” He didn’t wait for an answer, roughly gliding his hands down, hooking them beneath her knees and sliding her higher on his thigh. The move dragged her core over so many ridges of sinew, she lost count, a moan slipping free. “Someday, when you’re long gone and you’ve forgotten my name, I’ll still be wondering what you’d have felt like. Taking me. Working me up, letting me take you down. Hold you down.”

**ARE YOU WORKED UP? DON'T MISS THE OTHER BOOKS IN THE MADE IN JERSEY SERIES....**

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His inspiration. His torment. And his temptation...

Jasmine Taveras is the reason Sarge Purcell grabbed his six-string and bailed the hell out of New Jersey four years ago. She's the fuel for every song he's ever written-each one laced with bitter, hard-edged, hungry lust. Now, with his hugely successful band is on temporary hiatus, Sarge is determined to prove to Jasmine that this "kid" turned into every inch the man she's always needed...

Men are slim pickings for a single factory girl in Hook, New Jersey...until tall, broad-shouldered hotness walks-or ratherstorms-into Jasmine's life. Sarge's return shouldn't affect her this way. He's her best friend's much younger kid brother, and the kind of rough, gritty, sexiness Jasmine has no right to taste for herself. Even if he lets her.

But lust is a blinding, insatiable force. And when it crashes, it will take both Sarge and Jasmine down with it...

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He has one last chance to deserve the girl of his dreams...

Overachiever River Purcell was never supposed to be a struggling single mom, working double shifts just to make ends meet. Nor was she supposed to be abandoned by her high school sweetheart, breaking her heart into a thousand jagged pieces. Now Vaughn De Matteo is back in town, his sights set onher...and River is in danger of drowning a second time.

No one believed Hook's resident bad boy was good enough for River. Not even Vaughn himself. But he'll fight like hell to win back the woman he never stopped loving, to keep the daughter he never expected, and convince himself he's worth their love in the process--even if he has to rely on their fierce and undeniable sexual chemistry.

But even as River's body arches under his hungered touch, the demons of the past lurk in the shadows. Waiting for Vaughn to repeat his mistakes one last time...

Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.

Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.

She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eight years and four-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.