Simply Sinful
THE SIMPLY SERIES
BOOK 1
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
Carly Phillips
Copyright © Karen Drogin, CP Publishing 2021
Kindle Edition
Cover Photo: Wander Aguiar
Cover Design: Maria @steamydesigns
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
About the Book
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
About Simply Scandalous
About the Author
SIMPLY SINFUL
He’s not the man she thought he was. But when danger lurks, he’s the man she needs.
Any rookie on the force could verify if Charmed! is a legit etiquette school for businessmen, or… something else. But coming off a wrenching drug bust, Detective Kane McDermott’s captain gave him a choice. Take the fluff case or take enforced time off.
The moment Kane meets Kayla Luck, he’s in trouble. She’s fierce, keen-eyed intelligence in a body built for sin. And when they touch, the jolt of desire reminds him it’s never wise to mix police work with pleasure.
Kayla is used to handling men who are more focused on her curves than her mind. But when her newest client arrives for lessons in foreign language and business etiquette, she’s the one who can’t tear her eyes off all those muscles wrapped in a sexy, double-breasted suit.
Dinner out leads to a hot night in bed, and Kayla falls hard and fast. Until she learns the business suit hides a badge, and she calls it quits. But Kane’s already lost his heart—and discovered she’s in danger. And if he can’t convince her she’s safe with him, he’ll lose the woman he loves.
Chapter One
Detective Kane McDermott peered through the space between the closed curtains in the brownstone’s window. He caught a brief glimpse of long, gorgeous, blond hair and a body with enough curves to make even his wary dick take notice. Despite the chill of the cold autumn day, the unexpected jolt of desire kicked in fast, warming him from within.
If he had to wine, dine, and proposition the woman inside, at least he wouldn’t be bored. But he still resented the hell out of this assignment. Coming off a tough case, his superior thought he needed a rest. Captain Reid hadn’t used the expression burned out, but Kane heard the words in his lectures anyway. Kane disagreed. On his last assignment, a drug bust had gone wrong but that didn’t mean he needed R&R. Having grown up on the Boston streets, he knew better than anyone when he was in danger of losing his edge. Now wasn’t it.
He wished to hell and back the wrong kid hadn’t been hit in the crossfire, but he had. And with his own brother’s bullet. Kane knew he wasn’t at fault but his guilt remained. So did his remorse. Though no one could have anticipated the arrival of the dealer’s little brother, Kane would live with the mother’s screams for the rest of his life. He’d refused time off—he knew it wouldn’t help him forget—so the captain figured Kane might as well pretend he’d taken leave and gave him this ridiculous assignment instead.
Any rookie could verify whether Charmed! was a legitimate etiquette school for men or a front for a prostitution ring. As far as he was concerned, any guy who needed lessons in dating was as pathetic as this assignment. What the hell kind of guy needed charm school to make headway with a woman? Especially one who looked like her.
He shook his head. What a waste. Then again, giving lessons to geeks was preferable to any other kind of service she might be performing for her paying customers. Considering she’d worked for her late aunt and uncle when they’d held the reins, she definitely knew the score. Whatever that was.
He’d pulled serious undercover work with drug dealers and pimps, yet here he was gearing up to make his awkward pitch to Charmed!’s sexy owner. He still had his doubts he could pull off the act and had a contingency plan in case he blundered. He wouldn’t know until he got inside.
He placed his hand on the doorknob. Was she or wasn’t she? It was time to find out.
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Kayla Luck threw a disgusted glance at the old heater which refused to cooperate with reasoning or common sense. A bead of sweat trickled down her back and she groaned. The cleaning crew had turned up the heater up last night and the brownstone felt like a sauna. The space was quaint, with two levels that were now broiling. Kayla had finally moved the temperature dial but the stupid piece of equipment continued to pump heat.
Between the rising thermostat and the effort she’d exerted trying to fix it, she was beyond uncomfortable. Unable to handle the feeling of her layered clothing, she peeled off her jacket, leaving herself dressed in a silk cami and trousers. When that didn’t help, she pulled at the top that had adhered to her skin. Definitely not the way to begin a new class and she hoped all the men had received the cancellation notice.
Kayla had inherited the building and the business from her aunt who’d offered ballroom dancing and dating etiquette lessons. There’d been a time when those kinds of services had been in demand, but for years there had been a steady decline in customers. Though Kayla had ideas on how to modernize, her aunt had remarried last year and brought her new husband in as her partner.
Kayla had given them time to acclimate to working together, intending to approach the newlyweds with her ideas when they returned from vacation, but they’d died before she could talk to them. She swallowed the lump in her throat at the thought of her beloved aunt being gone
