DIRTIEST SECRET
J Kenner
From the New York
Times bestselling author of such “racy, sizzling Stark novels” (RT Book
Reviews) as Release Me and Say My Name comes the provocative first
Stark International Novel—the beginning of the S.I.N. series.
It was wrong for us to be together, but it was even harder to be apart.
The memory of Dallas Sykes burns inside of me.
Everyone knows him as a notorious playboy, a man for whom
women and money are no object. But to me, he’s still the one man I desperately
crave—yet the one I can never have.
Dallas knows me better than anyone else. We bear the same
scars, the same darkness in our past. I thought I could move on by staying
away, but now that we’re drawn together once more, I can’t fight the force of
our attraction or the temptation to make him mine.
We’ve tried to maintain control, not letting ourselves give
in to desire. And for so long we’ve told ourselves no—but now it’s finally time
to say yes.
Dirtiest Secret is
intended for mature audiences.
Dirtiest Secret
EXCERPT:
Even by Southampton standards, the party at the
nine-thousand-square-foot mansion on Meadow Lane reeked of extravagance.
Grammy Award–winning artists performed on an outdoor stage
that had been set up on the lush lawn that flowed from the main house to the
tennis courts. Celebrities hobnobbed with models who flirted with Wall Street
tycoons who discussed stock prices with tech gurus and old-money academics, all
while sampling fine scotch and the season’s chicest gin. Colored lights
illuminated the grotto style pool, upon which nude models floated lazily on air
mattresses, their bodies used by artisan sushi chefs as presentation platters
for epicurean delights.
Each female guest received a Hermès Birkin bag and each male
received a limited edition Hublot watch, and the exclamations of delight—from
both the men and the women—rivaled the boom of the fireworks that exploded over
Shinnecock Bay at precisely ten p.m., perfectly timed to distract the guests
from the bustle of the staff switching out the dinner buffet for the spread of
desserts, coffee, and liqueurs.
No expense had been spared, no desire or craving or
indulgence overlooked. Nothing had been left to chance, and every person in
attendance agreed that the party was the Must Attend event of the season, if
not of the year. Hell, if not of the decade.
Everyone who was anyone was there, under the stars on the
four acre lot on Billionaires’ Row.
Everyone, that is, except the billionaire who was actually
hosting the party. And speculation as to where he was, what he was doing, and
who he was doing it with ripped through the well-liquored and gossip-hungry
crowd like wildfire in a windstorm.
“No idea where he could have disappeared off to, but I’d bet
good money he’s not pining away in solitude,” said a reed-thin man with
salt-and-pepper hair and an expression that suggested disapproval but was most
likely envy.
“I swear I came five times,” a perky blonde announced to her
best friend in the kind of stage whisper designed to attract attention. “The
man’s a master in bed.”
“He’s got a shrewd head for business, that one,” said a Wall
Street trader, “but no sense of propriety where his cock is concerned.”
“Oh, honey, no. He’s not relationship material.” A brunette
celebrating a recently inked modeling contract shivered as if reliving a moment
of ecstasy. “He’s like fine chocolate. Meant to be savored in very limited
quantities. But so damn good when you have it.”
“More power to him if he can grab that much pussy.” A
hipster with beard stubble and a man-bun wiped his wire-rimmed glasses clean
with his shirttail. “But why the fuck does he have to be so blatant about it?”
“All of my friends have had him.” The petite redhead who
pulled in a six figure wife bonus smiled slowly, and the flash of her green
eyes suggested that she was the cat and he was the delicious cream. “But I’m
the only one of us to enjoy a second helping.”
“All your friends?”
“How much pussy?”
“At least half the women here tonight. Maybe more.”
“Man, don’t even ask that. Just trust me. Dallas Sykes is
the King of Fuck. You and me? Mere mortals like us can’t even compare.”
My Review (ARC provided)
4 stars!
Wow this book starts off HOT and doesn't waste any time jumping right in. Talk about taboo and forbidden romance you get that and then some.
Dallas(H) and Jane (h) grew up together and always harbored feelings for one another, when they finally get the guts to admit their attraction to each other and act upon it something horrific happens that changes their lives forever.
After years have passed they still haven't come to terms with what happened to them, each handling it in their own ways. Jane doesn't know how Dallas
really is dealing with it though...
And this brings in the suspense and angst in the story. They still love each other but can't act upon it for more reasons than Jane even knows. I wanted so bad for them to just get their act together and be honest with their feelings and everything else that has been hidden. I cursed at Dallas many times in this book. As you get to know him more you really understand him and all the demons he's carrying. I thought the story of Dallas and why he is the way he is was really intriguing and made me like him a lot more than I originally did.
Jane was likable from the beginning. There were times, especially in the beginning after witnessing something I could've given her a realty check on how quickly she fell into Dallas's arms, but I get her love for him and why. I just really liked how her character was written, she had strength and vulnerability, she was intelligent, and she didn't give up on what she wanted.
There are too many spoilers in this book for me to go on anymore but it will keep you on edge until the very end.
It does end in a cliffhanger.
J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA
Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and #1 International bestselling
author of over seventy novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of
genres.
Though known primarily for her award-winning and
internationally bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most
Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller
list and #1 internationally, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in
a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance,
"chicklit" suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal mommy lit.
JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a
"flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations" and by RT
Bookclub for having "cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant
antiheroes and the women who swopn for him." A four time finalist for
Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first
RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel,
Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy).
