The Hotter They Come

By Roxanne D. Howard

HAPPINESS HAS A PRICE

Captain Jack Spencer owns and runs a whale watching company, Ahoy, Matey. When his business takes off, a jealous rival wants him and his company gone. Jack has no idea the delectable Piper Goldhirsch is tasked with scuttling everything he's worked for - he's too caught up in their magnetic attraction and her web of lies.

​Piper Goldhirsch, head reporter for the tabloid TV show Business Buster, is all work and no play. When she and the all too tempting Jack Spencer have a one-night stand that turns out to be the greatest sex of her life, she is haunted by the powerful magic between them. Sent undercover to expose his whale watching business, she is torn between her assignment and the first man she has ever wanted. With her happiness on the line, Piper has only one choice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948029339

Roxanne D. Howard

Roxanne D. Howard is a U.S. Army veteran, and a Columbia College alumni. She loves to read books in every genre, and she is an avid Star Wars fan, musical theater nut, and marine biology geek. Roxanne resides in the western U.S., and when she's not writing, she enjoys spending quality time with her husband, children, and furry companions. Roxanne loves to hear from her readers, and encourages you to contact her via her website and social media.

Book preview

HAPPINESS HAS A PRICE

Captain Jack Spencer owns and runs a whale watching company, Ahoy, Matey. When his business takes off, a jealous rival wants him and his company gone. Jack has no idea the delectable Piper Goldhirsch is tasked with scuttling everything he's worked for - he's too caught up in their magnetic attraction and her web of lies.

Piper Goldhirsch, head reporter for the tabloid TV show Business Buster, is all work and no play. When she and the all too tempting Jack Spencer have a one-night stand that turns out to be the greatest sex of her life, she is haunted by the powerful magic between them. Sent undercover to expose his whale watching business, she is torn between her assignment and the first man she has ever wanted. With her happiness on the line, Piper has only one choice.

THE HOTTER THEY COME

Roxanne D. Howard

www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.

THE HOTTER THEY COME

Copyright © 2018 Haley Cavanagh

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Boroughs Publishing Group. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of Boroughs Publishing Group is illegal and punishable by law. Participation in the piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights.

ISBN 978-1-948029-33-9

E-book formatting by Maureen Cutajar

www.gopublished.com

For Amore, the best battle buddy a girl could ever ask for.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A special thanks to Sorcha Mowbray, Ember Leigh, Megan Elizabeth, and Brandy Dixon for lending fresh eyes to the manuscript in its infancy and for providing constructive feedback in their beta reading and overall critique.

I’d like to thank Natalie and Bianca Duarte, two very gifted artists with a knack for creating stunning visuals based on what they’ve read. Thank you, ladies, for blessing the world with your creativity and giving my characters a face. I look forward to following your work.

To my editor, for her sharp eye and helpful insight during the editing process. It is always a pleasure working with you. Thank you to all the artists, editors, and management at Boroughs Publishing Group, for giving my work a home and lending their time and huge talent to this series. I truly appreciate all you do. Thank you for believing in me.

To my husband and children, who continue to inspire me. You are my rock, and I love you.

Lastly, I’d like to acknowledge all the whale-watching companies in Newport Beach, California, for giving people larger-than-life characters for captains and unforgettable experiences. The opportunity they give to see whales and dolphins happy and free in the wild helps raise public awareness of how wrong it is to keep such large, beautiful creatures in restrictive tanks purely for our entertainment. Nothing beats being out on the ocean and seeing hundreds of them enjoy their lives, right where they belong.

CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

About the Author

THE HOTTER THEY COME

Chapter One

Piper took the chauffeur’s proffered hand and exited the limo. The Los Angeles October night air was crisp and cool as a light wind caressed her face. A few dry leaves crunched beneath her trendy flats as she made her way to the grand entrance hall of the mansion hosting the Halloween Masquerade Ball. The aromatic waft of heated pumpkins carried to her on the breeze from where they’d been aligned on the steps, creatively carved and lit by yellow candles within. A tuxedoed attendant opened the main door for her. She ascended the steps, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

Since her prime-time exposé show Business Buster had skyrocketed to fame, she’d been under a tremendous amount of stress to hold the audience’s interest. With the new season’s ratings already low, thanks to a new time slot, the pressure for more viewers had been mounting more than ever.

Piper looked around. A wide list of guests from celebrities to lowbrow politicians to environmentalists came to the Halloween Ball. Her show’s affiliate network executive producers put it on every year to encourage people to mingle and have a good time without the stress of networking. Tonight gave her the first opportunity she’d had in a long time to relax, enjoy herself, and not worry about the show.

Which was what she intended to do. A dance or two with a hot guy wouldn’t hurt.

Piper handed her coat to the cloakroom attendant and spotted a few random ghost costumes, fairies, and demons as she moved farther into the mansion toward the ballroom. Most of the guests were dressed as historical or political figures.

She enjoyed the originality the Halloween season afforded as she saw many unique and unusual costumes.

Her job was to go undercover to get the scoop on corrupt companies and organizations, root out the heart of the problem, and report it on the show. Okay, it counted as more of a tabloid career than the serious journalistic anchor job she’d envisioned for herself as, but her bank account had no complaints, even if she did feel a little underused and sleazy.

Halloween allowed her to have some fun and step out into the real world, shed the skin of her job, and become someone else for a night. She’d tapped into the professional makeup tricks she’d learned from her mother for part of her costume. As the daughter of a professional makeup artist, home when she was younger had been backstage Broadway.

Tonight, she’d foregone the required ball mask. Instead, she’d concealed her face in a makeup frame of intricate tendrils and pretty swirls that formed a wolf’s face and brought out the brown of her eyes. Her raven-black curls tumbled down past her shoulders, loose and free. She’d gone for a lacey, low-cut Little Red Riding Hood ball gown.

Chatter floated around her as she made her way up the grand staircase toward the ballroom. Some of the masked men standing around in the hallway watched her with elevator eyes. Halloween was a few days away, though it was no longer the casual, looser holiday of her childhood. No, Halloween had been turned into an adult-entertainment holiday. An attendant opened the ballroom doors for her, and as the music poured out, she took note of the lavish surroundings and couples dancing. Cauldrons full of ripe red apples and glasses of champagne decorated long tables laden with fancy finger food. Glass bats hung in frozen flight over the grand staircase, mingling with silk cobwebs and beaded spiders. Elegant Halloween-themed garland and glam wreaths coiled around the stair rails. A swarm of partygoers congregated in a corner near a wine-tasting table with skull goblets and beaded pumpkin candles. Aware of the attention she’d received upon her entrance, Piper gathered her confidence and descended the impressive stairs.

The side of her neck tingled. She turned her head and saw a tall, handsome man in a sexy pirate-captain costume, sporting black eyeliner and a dreadlock wig. He leaned against a pillar near the dance floor below and watched her. She appraised him with a curious glance as she continued down the ballroom stairs. It was hard to tell what he looked like beneath the costume and dark goatee, but so far, she liked what she saw. Her crazy work schedule didn’t allow much leeway as far as men were concerned, but perhaps tonight she could make an exception.

Piper.

At the foot of the stairs stood Larry Gunn, her show’s director and overall loudmouth, holding out a hand. He had dressed as some sort of goblin, which aptly fit his personality. She put her palm in his, and he kissed