When a professional relationship turns personal, it’s impossible to resist the law of attraction.

Alec Rowland is a high-flying lawyer in a London firm whose career is his life. He doesn’t have time for relationships and his sexuality is a closely guarded secret. After picking up a cute guy on a Friday night, Alec’s world is rocked to its foundations when his one night stand shows up in the office on Monday morning—as the new temp on his team.

Ed Piper is desperate to prove himself in his new job. The last thing he needs is to be distracted by a crush on his boss. It’s hard to ignore the attraction he feels, even though Alec’s a difficult bastard to work for.

Both men strive to maintain a professional relationship, but tempers fray, passions ignite, and soon they’re both falling hard and fast. If they’re ever going to find a way to be together, Alec needs to be honest about who he really is because Ed won’t go back in the closet for anyone.

“When you read the first chapter of a book and want to cry because you know it’s going to be everything you have been craving, it’s a win for the week!” – DiverseReader

 

This is the first book I’ve read by Jay Northcote but it won’t be the last one.  The writing is wonderfully descriptive and I could visualize each character and see the expressions on their faces because of her writing.

Alec is deep in the closet.  He had a close call when he was a teen but convinced his parents it was just two boys experimenting.  To say his father was less than pleased would be an understatement.  Since that time Alec’s been very careful to keep his private and work life completely separate.  This works just fine until he meets Ed.

Ed has been out to his family since he was a teen and they are completely supportive and continue to be a loving part of his life.  After a couple of bad experiences, Ed won’t hide who he is for anyone, not even the person who quickly became so important to him.

I felt so much sympathy for Alec – his father is just awful.  He is so lonely living a lie but he’s afraid that his life will fall apart if he comes out.  I feel bad for Ed, too.  He really wants to have a relationship with Alec but not if he has to hide.  No one has ever made Alec want to stop hiding like Ed has; can he give up the closet or will he give up Ed?

The chemistry between these two is HOT, HOT, HOT!  Once I started reading this story I couldn’t put it down.  This is one of the most touching M/M stories I’ve read in awhile.

Reviews for Jay Northcote

His companion was still watching him, seemingly waiting for him to make his move. Alec felt irrationally irritated. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Even though he only did it occasionally, picking up men was easy for Alec. Buying a drink was more than he usually bothered to do for the twinks he hooked up with when he was in the mood for a warm body to fuck. Alec was well aware of his own attractiveness and used it to his advantage. A crook of a finger, a tilt of his head, or even just a look was usually enough to make them come running.
But this guy didn’t seem to know the rules of the game.
“Strong, silent type, huh?” He suddenly grinned at Alec, all neat white teeth and dimples. “You could start by telling me your name. Mine’s Ed.”
“Alec.” He handed a note to the barman as he came back with their drinks. “Keep the change.”
“Cheers, mate.” The barman winked as he pocketed the tip.
Ed’s eyebrows lifted. “Change from a twenty? You must have money to burn.”
“Something like that.” Alec let his gaze rake deliberately down Ed, examining him from the front this time. His arms were still folded over his chest and his T-shirt had ridden up enough to expose a feathered line of hair on his belly, leading down to a nice-looking package in obscenely tight skinny jeans. “I hope you bottom?”
Ed blinked and choked on his mouthful of rum and Coke. Alec suppressed the urge to grin, enjoying the fact that Ed had momentarily lost his cool.
“I’ve been known to,” Ed replied, rallying. He licked his lips.
“Good.” Alec held his gaze, noting with satisfaction that Ed’s pupils had blown wide and his lips parted as Alec looked at them. God, he had a pretty mouth. Alec lifted his glass and downed his drink. The burn of the whisky tore through him and made his nerves tingle with anticipation. He needed a good fuck; it had been too long. “Drink up, then.”

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