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Category: Erotica/Erotic Romance/Romance
Description: After his parents' death, Nick Duvane gave up freelancing and took a job at the local TV news station to stay home and care for his younger sister. Now that she's grown, he's desperate to get back to the work he loves. However, his boss blackmails him into one final assignment: go undercover at a male escort service and expose it as legalized male prostitution. No problem. Except once he begins an affair with the owner, sexy, hard-headed Diana Grady, how can he deceive her and destroy her business all for an expose? Diana Grady's failed marriage and financial struggles drove her to make her escort business a success. She's poured all of her energy into Pleasures and ignored her personal life. But when intelligent, steamy Nick Duvane enters the picture, she gives in to her passion. Yet Nick has a secret, and it just might shatter her...[Contemporary Erotic Romance: Contains graphic sexual content and adult language.]
eBook Publisher: Siren-BookStrand, Inc./Siren, 2008 2008
eBookwise Release Date: October 2008

5 Reader Ratings:

Great	Good	OK	Poor

Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [206 KB]
Words: 43131
Reading time: 123-172 min.

"5 Hearts: Ms. Renee Knowles has written a dynamic book to start her new series. I was amazed at the plot and how it just exploded on the pages. This was a great story of love, trust, and commitment. It also explored background situations and how they affected each of their daily lives. Ms. Knowles searched how the couple's parents' malfunctions made the two of them more vulnerable to each other. There are several secondary characters that were important to the couple's relationship. They were believable and responsible for some of the trials Nick and Diana had to face. The fact that Diana and Nick had issues from their past just added to the credibility of their problems. The alpha main characters were not above insecurity and self-doubting evident throughout the storyline. Throughout the book this author included several other scenarios which caused questions about where the next installment in this series would materialize. Ms. Knowles has done a great job in this first installment of her new series, Pleasures, Inc. I assure you that you will, like me, hate to see the ending of this book. I also cannot wait for the next book in the series. I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy not only serial books, but sensual ones. This is definitely a keeper. Kudos, Ms. Knowles. "--Brenda Talley, The Romance Studio

"4.5 Stars: Guilty Pleasures will bring a lot of pleasure to the reader as we immerse ourselves in the tale of Diana and her partner Josie Reynolds. The two women are modern thinking and go after what they want. Nick, being the modern male, had no problem with that, but Nick faces a moral dilemma for which there was no easy answer. Does he choose his sister or his new love? To learn about his solution, you will need to read the first book in Renee Knowles' Pleasures, Inc. series to find out. Renee Knowles will have you feeling the heat while we laugh and cry with Diana and Nick. Since this one is Pleasures, Inc. 1, we will have to all keep an eye out for 2."--Elise Lyn, Ecataromance

"4 Stars: A Business Deal Gets Personal...Diana, co-owner of an escort service, has to interview Nick Duvane for the position as escort. She is so attracted to him that she refuses to hire him. He is not that upset about it; he is a journalist being forced to work undercover. Things get steamy, but how will Diana act if she finds out that he is really just an escort? This is a quick, enjoyable read. It has just enough spice to tantalize the reader. I recommend it!"--Ashley Turlington, Review Your Book

"4 Stars: Guilty Pleasures is a good start to Ms. Knowles' Pleasures, Inc. series. I felt for Diana who had such low self-esteem due to an awful marriage and childhood. She hides behind a façade, making others feel she is cold and calculating. Nick is able to bring her out of her shell, blossoming under his tutelage. Because of his love, she becomes a stronger woman and now has the ability to face her mother, which allows her to come to terms with her terrible childhood. I admired her strength. I appreciated that Ms. Knowles allowed their story to unfold, interjecting steamy sex scenes along with events that shaped both their personalities. A secondary plot concerning Josie, Diana's friend and business partner, is introduced within this story but is left unfinished, leading me to believe Josie's story will come next. I look forward to reading about all the members of the Pleasures, Inc. universe soon. Hopefully Diana and Nick will reappear, showing us their budding relationship."--Claudia Orpik, Just Erotic Romance Reviews

He knew the adrenaline coursing through her made her giddy, but as he let her down and her full breasts skimmed his chest, another kind of adrenaline whipped in his veins. His cock hardened, and he turned away to grab his long-sleeved top and whip it over his head to hide the bulge he was sure was showing.

Diana cleared her throat and pulled away, but not before he'd witnessed the raw passion in her eyes.

They left the center and went to his car. It had grown dark outside, which was probably just as well because if Diana looked at him he was sure she would be able to tell what he was thinking. And what he was thinking was how much he wanted to take her home, throw her on the bed and strip her naked. He tried to rein in his hunger, but remembering her round, gorgeous ass in her tight jeans as she climbed the wall made him only harder.

"Diana," he said when they reached her passenger side door. "You really rocked up there today."

She laughed and did a small jump. "I did, didn't I? God! It was so damn freeing!" Her voice had a bounce to it, and he could hear pride. "I never thought I could do it. But when I got up there, I knew I couldn't stop until I made it all the way."

Nick noticed the pride in her voice and knew she was still on a high. He tried to stop glancing at her lips. Yet she was so close, and they were sexy, full, and ready for the taking.

She raised her hand in a high five, as he'd done to her earlier. This time, as he slapped her back, he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him. Her curvy body fit against his hard one. Then against all his better instincts, he kissed her.

There was a brief murmur of protest from Diana, but Nick held on, intoxicated by the feel of her. She relaxed into him and he took full advantage.

He possessed her mouth, tasting her minty, salty flavor mingled with the tang of her victory on the rock wall. His hands slid under the bottom of her shirt and he felt the smooth warmth of her skin. Moving them down over her ribcage, he stopped at the indentation of her waist.

He thought she might slap him. He thought she would shove him back.

But Diana didn't pull away. Maybe it was her adrenaline high, maybe it was the passion that had been simmering between them for the past week, but she pulled him closer and he felt her tongue edge into his mouth.

With a low growl, he dragged her flush against him, so close he could feel her heartbeat. He opened for her, teasing and playing with her tongue until fire raced in his veins. Heat rolled off her body, burning him up with fever.

Or perhaps it was the passion in her kisses that had him aflame. His cock hardened until it strained against the fly of his jeans. Tasting her was better than his dreams, better than his imagining.

Diana reached up and wrapped her hands around his neck, massaging the base of his scalp. Her hot little hands only turned him on more. He could imagine those same fingers stroking his cock.

Nick pushed her up against the car, straddling his legs on either side of her feet. "Diana, Diana," he whispered as he trailed kisses down her neck, licking the small spot where her pulse fluttered. Then, nervous as a schoolboy on a first date, he brought his hand up and cupped her breast, kneading it through her knit shirt.

She arched into his hand, silently urging him to go on.

But suddenly he heard the scuffs of shoes against concrete behind him, and he realized he was mauling her in the middle of an open parking lot.

He dropped his hand and pulled away.

In the artificial lights, Diana stared at him with glazed eyes, her lips swollen and dark from his kisses.

The people walked by them and got into their car. And Nick knew he had to say something. What the hell was he supposed to say?

"Look," he began, "I'd like to tell you I'm sorry. I know that is probably what I should say. But dammit--" he raked a hand through his hair "--the truth is, I'm not." He moved closer to her again, and pushed a piece of hair back from her round, beautiful face. "I'm so not sorry."

Diana drew in a long breath and seemed to be trying to compose herself again.

Say something, will you? As her silence dragged on, he was sure he'd lost his chance at working for Pleasures now.

"Listen," he said. "I didn't mean to offend you. But there is something between us. Something that has been simmering there since we met. I know you've felt it too. I just don't know what you want."

She stopped him by grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him down for another kiss.

"What I want," she whispered, "is sex. With you. Tonight."