Hands On

By Jaci Burton

Lara McKenzie can't believe anyone would want to interview her about placing first in the annual self-pleasure fundraiser. An educator, she also writes books helping women to achieve more fulfilling sex lives. Now if only she could fulfill her own.

 

Mark Whitman, freelance reporter, has just scored an easy assignment—write an article for Total Man Magazine about Lara McKenzie, sex educator and expert on self-pleasure. The red-hot redhead he meets is a complete surprise in every way. Instead of bold and confident, she's shy and sweet. He wants to know more about her in every way.

 

When his one-time assignment turns into a request for a full-time job writing with Lara, Mark has to lie to Lara to convince her to co-author the articles. Soon they're steaming up the sheets in the bedroom and on the pages of the magazine, and Mark is in way over his head. The truth may set you free, but Mark's afraid when Lara finds out the truth, he'll lose not only the job of his dreams, but the woman he's fallen for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jaci Burton, Inc
• Release date: Jul 27, 2005
• ISBN: 9798201646073

Book preview

Other Titles by Jaci Burton

PLAY-BY-PLAY NOVELS

The Perfect Play

Changing the Game

Taking a Shot

Playing to Win

Thrown by a Curve

One Sweet Ride

Melting the Ice

Straddling the Line

Quarterback Draw

All Wound Up

Hot Holiday Nights – A Novella

Holiday Games – A Novella

Holiday on Ice – A Novella

Unexpected Rush

Rules of Contact

The Final Score

HOPE NOVELS

Hope Smolders

Hope Flames

Hope Ignites

Hope Burns

Love After All

Make Me Stay

Don’t Let Go

Love Me Again

WILD RIDER NOVELS

Riding Wild

Riding Temptation

Riding on Instinct

Riding the Night

ANTHOLOGIES

Unlaced

Exclusive

Laced with Desire

Nauti and Wild

Nautier and Wilder

Hot Summer Nights

SPECIALS

The Ties That Bind

No Strings Attached

Wild Nights

Rescue Me

Nothing Personal

Unwrapped

Dare to Love

Unraveled

SINGLE TITLES

Wild, Wicked, & Wanton

Bound, Branded, & Brazen

Animal Instincts

Bite Me

Dolphin’s Playground

Dream On

Garden of Eden

Hands On

Lycan’s Surrender

Magnolia Summer

Midnight Velvet

True Lies

Love Me By Christmas

Hands On

By

Jaci Burton

Hands On

All Rights Reserved ©2005 by Jaci Burton

ISBN: 978-1-946535-26-9

Cover by Designs By Dana

eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Published by Jaci Burton

Praise for Jaci Burton

A STALWART IN THE ROMANCE GENRE. —USA Today

A wild ride. —#1 New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh

Jaci Burton delivers. —Cherry Adair, New York Times bestselling author

As always, Jaci Burton delivers a hot read. —Fresh Fiction

Burton is a master at sexual tension! —RT Book Reviews

One to pick up and savor. —Publishers Weekly

Contents

Other Titles by Jaci Burton

Copyright

Title Page

Praise for Jaci Burton

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

About Jaci Burton

Chapter One

You’re from where? And you want to do what? Lara was certain she blushed all over. The event was supposed to have been an anonymous fundraiser. The tall, dark hunk of beefcake standing at her door had to be joking.

"Total Man Magazine. You’re Lara McKenzie, right?"

She remembered a phone call from the magazine the other day, but she’d been too caught up writing her book to really pay attention to what they’d said. Now it clicked. Something about sending out a reporter. But wasn’t that supposed to be next week? I thought this was about my book.

His lips curled in a devilish smile that turned her knees to jelly. No, it’s about the fundraiser.

The fundraiser isn’t newsworthy.

Sure it is. You came in first. That’s big news.

He couldn’t hide his smirk. This was the most embarrassing moment of her life.

Mr. Too-Sexy-To-Be-Legal flashed his driver’s license and magazine ID. My name’s Mark Whitman. Can I come in and ask you a few questions about your, uh, win?

Oh dear God, where was the nearest hole she could crawl into? Why?

He arched a dark brow, his whiskey-colored eyes making her wish he stood on her doorstep for any other reason than her winning the fundraiser.

Have you ever read our magazine?

No.

Trust me, what you did is a guaranteed sell-out.

Great. Just what she didn’t want to hear. What if I refuse an interview?

He shrugged, leaning his broad shoulder against her doorway. We’ll write about it anyway, and then add our own comments.

Mortification ran rampant through her. The knowing smile on his face was enough to make her regret answering the door.

It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know, he added. It was for a good cause.

If the shoe was on the other foot and I was here to interview you about…that subject, how would you feel?

He shrugged, not in the least bit embarrassed. I’m a guy. We’re always bragging about our capabilities.

Lara blew out a breath. Who could she blame for entering that stupid contest, anyway?

Nancy, that’s who. It was Nancy’s fault. She made a mental note to kill her best friend. Maybe she’d been drunk when she agreed to do it. Unfortunately, she did have a lot of experience in that area. And she knew she could bring in a lot of money for the women’s center. But she had no idea the results would be made public.

Can I come in or should we do the interview right here?

My, uh, sex life is private. Yeah, right. Sex and her life had absolutely nothing in common. But Mr. Hot-As-Hell-Reporter didn’t need to know that.

If it’s so private, then why did you do the fundraiser?

She gave up. Maybe the article would increase sales of her books. Lara stepped aside and Mark walked in, his gaze darting around her living room. His perusal of her messy house only added to her embarrassment. This guy had to be from New York and this was small-town Pennsylvania. She lived in a tiny rented house filled with old, cheap furniture. Her research notes littered every mismatched table in the room.

Sorry for the mess. I was reorganizing.

You’re nervous, he commented, casually moving a magazine aside. He sat on her ugly brown and orange sofa, pulling a laptop out of his backpack.

Me? Nervous? Hardly. She swiped a loose curl behind her ear, hoping she didn’t look as bad as she felt. At least she’d brushed her teeth this morning. And the plaid pajama bottoms and Penn State T-shirt covered her body, even though they didn’t match. She sighed and plopped into the chair next to the sofa.

Why did it even matter how she looked? Someone like her could never attract a guy like Mark Whitman.

Mark smiled, his mouth bringing her attention to his dark moustache. His hair was raven black and curled at the ends. Well-worn jeans hugged his long legs and the black T-shirt stretched tight across his wide chest.

Didn’t it just figure? Mark Whitman was the image of her fantasy man. The one she imagined when she wrote her books and thought about at night when she laid alone in her bed, masturbating and wishing for reality instead of fantasy.

Ready? he asked.

No. Sure.

How does it feel to have logged the most hours in the annual Masturbation-a-thon?

She was going to die. Right here, right now. No, first she’d kill Nancy. Then she’d die.

She tried for nonchalant, knowing she failed miserably. The telltale heat creeping up her neck was a dead giveaway to her embarrassment. I’m glad I raised a lot of money for the women’s center.

Yuh-huh, he said while typing. At least he wasn’t looking at her. Why did you enter in the first place?

Because I’m so good at it? No, she’d faint dead away if she told him that. Like I said, it was for a good cause.

He looked up and smiled at her, revealing two adorable dimples on either side of his mouth. Damn, damn, damn. Why did he have to be so good-looking? Weren’t all reporters supposed to be slovenly, old and bald?

How often do you masturbate?

He was joking, right? That’s really none of your business.

A laugh escaped his throat. Dark and sinfully sexy. She could imagine him making those sounds in her ear while they were entwined together in…okay, not good. Mustn’t think of Mark Whitman as a potential sex partner. Now as far as her fantasies? Oh, yeah, he was going to be in her bedroom tonight. Definitely.

He leaned back against the couch and Lara’s eyes