Release Blitz: The Pet Stylist and the Playboy by Rebecca James
The Pet Stylist and the Playboy
(Hedonist #2)
by Rebecca James
Date Released: July 7, 2018
About The Pet Stylist and the Playboy
Swish has been in love with Dante since the day the tough biker found him homeless and miserable in a gas station restroom, but Dante's never shown the younger man anything more than brotherly affection. Deciding it's time to move out of the MC's clubhouse and away from Dante, Swish takes a live-in job working in a privately-owned animal shelter where he can continue his pet stylist business. What he doesn't realize is he's not going to be as far away from the object of his affection as he thinks.
Dante's time of being a playboy biker is fast coming to a close. At summer's end he turns 30, and that means fulfilling his promise to his parents and returning to high society in the Hamptons. That dim prospect should be all Dante can think about, only Swish is moving out, and suddenly Dante can't do anything but obsess over the kid he's always thought of as a younger brother. Telling himself he's only making sure Swish is doing okay on his own, Dante takes a summer job landscaping at the animal shelter where Swish has taken a job. There he learns a few things about the young man he's never bothered to find out before, including that Swish's real name is Isaac, and he enjoys wearing a certain something under his jeans—something that Dante's surprised to find he would really like to remove—preferably with his teeth.
When Dante gives in to his need for Isaac, the playboy biker quickly finds that disentangling himself from the man he once thought of as a kid brother proves harder than expected, and that perhaps after years of one-night-stands and partying, his priorities need to change. Only not in the way his wealthy and controlling parents want them to.
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An Excerpt from The Pet Stylist and the Playboy
I’d never seen Swish so...undressed. Despite sharing a room for two years, he’d never taken his clothes off in front of me. And those tiny bathing briefs weren’t covering up much. First there was Swish’s cute bubble butt I’d always tried to pretend I didn’t notice, then that package in front that the wet briefs did a poor job of concealing. I swear I’d seen it harden.
Realizing Swish was getting a boner, I’d met his deep, dark gaze.
“See something you like?” he’d asked me in that flirtatious manner that he fucking never directed at me. My balls had tightened, and time had stilled for who knows how long. I didn’t even comprehend what he’d called to me over his shoulder before disappearing into the house. Even then, I’d just stood there until reality had slowly started seeping in, and I’d realized I was staring at the house like an idiot.
I swung around and got to work, hammering like a fiend, but my mind kept going back to Swish in his swim briefs, and I missed the nail and hit my thumb with the hammer instead.
“Mother fucker!” Goddamn, that hurt!
Deirdre stuck her head out the door.
“You okay?” she asked.
I wanted to rail at her that no, I wasn’t fucking okay, but she was only trying to help, and it wasn’t her fault I had been daydreaming instead of watching what I was doing. Stuffing my thumb into my mouth, I nodded and gave her a rueful smile.
I hadn’t been back at it ten minutes when Swish sashayed out the front door wearing a pair of jeans and a tight T-shirt with a unicorn on it. He’d braided his long, thick hair over his shoulder, and I suddenly wanted to grab it like a rope and pull him close. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he bent to pick up a piece of wood. His shirt rode up, exposing smooth skin and a thin piece of lace just above the low waist of his jeans. This time, I caught myself before I pounded my thumb. Fumbling the hammer, I dropped it on the ground, just missing my foot.
My brain faltered, thoughts slamming into one another before backing up and restarting the flow.
Holy shit, was Swish wearing a lace thong?
Swish turned around and caught me staring. But, hell, I couldn’t look away. I was sure I’d never seen him with anything like that on his body before. Or had I ever really paid attention? Had I spent so much time trying to compartmentalize Swish, like Zeke had said, while I fucked away thoughts of a dismal future? No. There was no way I wouldn’t have noticed the single most sexy thing I’d ever seen in my life.
“What’s the matter?” Swish’s voice cut into my self-assessment.
I licked my lips, trying to get a grip on myself. I could lie, turn around and resume working, and bang my thumb all over again; or I could address the issue.
Swish had always been one to speak his mind, maybe I’d take a page out of his book and go for it. Besides, my hand couldn’t take much more abuse.
“Are you—” Frustrated at how shaking my voice sounded, I cleared my throat and blurted, “What the fuck are you wearing?”
Swish’s face shuttered, and I immediately wished I hadn’t said anything. But there was no going back now, and I couldn’t leave him with the impression I was judging him.
“I mean, uh, are those...are you wearing...” I could feel blood rushing to my face as I tried and failed to make it seem like a casual question.
“A lace thong? Yes.” Swish turned his back to me again and got to work.
I was having trouble breathing because I could see it—that thin strip of lace crossing Swish’s lower back.
I swallowed hard before attempting to speak again. “I didn’t know you liked that kind of thing.”
Swish turned on me so fast, I almost toppled over the stack of wood behind me.
“That kind of thing? You mean wearing women’s underwear? Why, yes, Dante, I do enjoy that kind of thing. I always have. Do you have a problem with that?”
An angry Swish was almost as captivating as a Swish wearing ladies’ underwear. His cheeks got red, his dark eyes sparked fire, and that quirky mouth rearranged itself into a hot sneer. He didn’t get worked up that often, but when he did, the sight never failed to raise my heart rate.
“No, of course not. I’d just never known...that about you.”
“And why would you know that? You’ve never shown an interest in my underwear before.”
I straightened and carefully stepped aside to avoid the planks of wood. “I’m not showing an interest—I was just surprised, that’s all.” I ran my hand over my hair. “Hell, lately it feels like I never knew you at all.”
Swish frowned. “You’ve never tried to get to know me.”
“We’ve talked a lot,” I objected.
“Not about anything important,” Swish mumbled, looking away. “Not until recently, when you asked about my past.”
I stood transfixed, thinking about it. We’d joked around and watched movies, but had we really never touched on anything personal? Ever, in the entire two years? I didn’t want to admit to myself I’d been so dismissive of him, or that he might have been reluctant to ask me about myself. He seemed to know just about everything about the other guys. And come to think of it, I really didn’t know a hell of a lot about them either.
“Maybe I’ve been a little self-involved,” I said. I could tell I’d surprised him. I turned away and picked up the hammer I had dropped, very aware of Swish’s eyes on me. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and for the first time ever, I was relieved to see my father’s name on the screen.
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