The Principle of Desire (The Science of Temptation) Read online

  The Principle of Desire

  By Delphine Dryden

  1 sexy switch + 1 nerdy newbie = a master class in seduction

  After several years as a submissive, psychology lecturer Beth is eager to experience being on the other end of the whip for a change. When she meets sweet but socially awkward Ed at a party, it’s obvious the aerospace engineer is interested—and obvious he’s way too vanilla.

  When tracking down a friend lands him in a BDSM club, Ed’s eyes are opened to a whole other world—and a whole other side of Beth. Then Beth’s former Master shows up, and Ed agrees to play along as her sub in exchange for a real date. The biggest surprise of the evening? How much he enjoys letting her take control...

  Beth’s ex makes it clear he wants her back, but she needs more from a relationship than he can offer—and not just the freedom to explore her switch side. At first Ed is just an enthusiastic student. But the more she gets to know him, in and out of the bedroom, the more Beth wonders if he’s everything she desires...

  Includes Solving for X, an all-new Science of Temptation bonus scene.

  36,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  It’s unbelievable to me that the holiday season is here already. I feel as though I was just stuffing myself full of holiday cookies, spiced wine and all of the wonderful chocolates sent to me during the holidays. But here we are again in what some call the season of joy, while others call it “the season where I avoid all shopping malls for at least two months.” If you’re one of those avoiding all of the seemingly endless holiday tasks, preparations and shopping, let us help you procrastinate with another fantastic lineup of books. If you’re one who revels in the season of joy, not to worry, these books will only add to your enjoyment of the season.

  This month, we have so many returning authors who are fan favorites, I’m not sure where to start. So instead, I’ll start with those who are new, either to readers, to Carina Press, or both. Beginning with debut author Michele Mannon, whose book first came to my attention two years ago during a cold-reads session at a meeting of New Jersey Romance Writers. During that session, I gave Michele some suggestions for strengthening her opening and she worked on it for several months before going on to win a few contests and eventually pitching it to me, at which point I acquired it with great enthusiasm. I hope you’ll check out her fantastic love story of a former ballerina turned ring girl and a brooding, sexy fighter in Knock Out, book one of the Worth the Fight trilogy. And don’t mind me while I claim partial credit for the opening line...

  Joining Michele with a debut book is Timothy S. Johnston and his science-fiction thriller. It’s Agatha Christie meets Michael Crichton in The Furnace as homicide investigator Kyle Tanner travels to a remote space station to solve a mysterious death that may have enormous consequences for the human race.

  Our third debut author makes her appearance in one of my annual holiday collections. These have become a tradition at Carina Press, and one that I love, since I get a chance to work with a new variety of authors every year. This year, we have four collections. Last month saw the release of two of them: Gift of Honor, a military holiday collection, and Season of Seduction, an erotic holiday collection.

  This month we release the two contemporary holiday collections, and it’s in For My Own that Shari Mikels makes her writing debut with her novella Christmas Curveball. Joining her in this contemporary romance collection are new-to-Carina author Kinley Cade with her novella Kissing Her Scrooge, and fan-favorite Alison Packard with A Christmas for Carrie.

  In the second contemporary romance holiday collection, returning authors Christi Barth, Brighton Walsh and Kat Latham join together to offer some holiday love and forgiveness in All I’m Asking For with their novellas Tinsel My Heart, Season of Second Chances and Mine Under the Mistletoe.

  Also new to Carina Press this month are authors Keri Ford, Ann DeFee, T.C. Mill and Daryl Anderson, each offering up something different for reader entertainment. Keri Ford brings us a fun contemporary romance in Never Stopped Loving You, in which the heroine has to remind herself: don’t date your friends—and definitely don’t ever date your friend’s brother. Ann DeFee’s Beyond Texas is a fast-paced contemporary romance of mystical lights that dance across the desert as the hero and heroine, Cole Claiborne and Twinkie Sue Carmichael, discover love while thwarting an evil cult, giving new meaning to the old saying “Don’t Mess with a Texan.”

  In T.C. Mill’s male/male fantasy novella, Gardens Where No One Will See, Nemaran’s gentle attentions inspire Renad to go beyond the boundaries he’s set for himself for so long—but can they help him break free of even crueler bondage?

  And last in the new-to-Carina category, Daryl Anderson is on the scene in Murder in Mystic Cove. In this new mystery, a former Baltimore homicide detective thought she’d put murder cases behind her—until she discovered a resident in her father’s retirement community shot dead in his golf cart.

  Returning to Carina Press with contemporary romance Love Me Not, Reese Ryan introduces us to struggling artist Jamie Charles, who finds refuge from the painful secrets of her past in her art and prefers living on the edge—without the complications of love—until she encounters charming ad exec Miles Copeland, who is harboring his own dark past and is determined to have her heart.

  Fantasy romance author Shawna Thomas has the third installment in her Triune Stones series, Journey of Wisdom. It’s not too late to catch up before the series wraps up with the last book, Journey of the Wanderer, in February 2014.

  If you’re looking to spice up your holidays with a BDSM erotic romance, The Dom Project by Heloise Belleau and Solace Ames will keep you warm, even when it’s cold outside. When buttoned-up university archivist Robin Lessing agrees to spend one month submitting to a sexy, tattooed colleague, she presents her new Dom with a firm set of rules. But once they begin their stimulating sessions, it’s not long before she’s ready to beg him for more—much more.

  Also this month, we have three powerhouse fan favorites with new books. Shannon Stacey returns to the Kowalskis with the much-anticipated Love a Little Sideways. When Drew Miller had a casual rebound fling with his best friend’s sister, he thought she’d go back to New Mexico and stay there, but now Liz Kowalski has come home to stay, and Drew’s feelings for her might not be as casual as he thought.

  After a two-year wait, Lauren Dane is back with Blade to the Keep, the follow-up to Goddess with a Blade. Rowan Summerwaite is no ordinary woman. With the power of an ancient goddess in her belly, she’s the perfect candidate to re-negotiate the fragile Treaty keeping the peace between the Vampire Nation and the last line of defense for humanity, The Hunter Corporation. And she’s got to do it as she attempts to manage a politically awkward romance during a trip back to a place she escaped nearly fifteen years before. No pressure.

  Wrapping up this month is The Principle of Desire, the final book in the Science of Temptation trilogy from Delphine Dryden. 1 Sexy Switch + 1 Nerdy Newbie = A Master Class in Seduction.

  Last, no matter what your religion, or what you celebrate, books are a common bond, so from all of us at Carina Press, we wish you a wonderful season of reading. May there be incredible books, stories and characters on your ereaders all year long!

  We love to hear from readers, and you can email us your thoughts, comments and questions to [email protected]. You can also interact with Carina Press staff and authors on our blog, Twitter stream and Facebook fan page.

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Executive Editor, Carina Press

  www.carinapress.com

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  Dedication

  Ladies of Wonkomance, this one’s for you.

  Acknowledgments

  Big thanks to my geeky, nerdy, wonderful family who provide me with a constant flow of ideas (ideas for dialogue. Dialogue, people). To Deb Nemeth, editrix extraordinaire and author of the phrase “in all its sparkly purple glory,” which I stole without shame. To S., whom I was evidently channeling when I wrote this book, although I didn’t know it at the time. Also, always, to Christine d’Abo for the combination of fine critique and panic-quelling, and Ruthie Knox for the combination of fine critique and nurturing.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Solving for X

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  The first time he saw her, she was holding a red Solo cup and laughing her ass off. It was at a barbecue, a common weekend occurrence at the tiny complex where Ed lived. From across the single, wide backyard of the short row of townhomes, the woman looked impossibly young, like an undergraduate. Once he got a closer look, Ed revised his estimate.

  He couldn’t put his finger on it, because she was definitely young looking. But she also seemed...finished, somehow, comfortable in her skin in a way younger women rarely were. She also looked like she was possibly some sort of fairy or sprite. Or a Vulcan. Dark brown hair cut close to the shape of her head, big green eyes, sharp features. Not pretty, exactly, but sort of beautiful anyway. Ed found himself searching for pointed ears before he realized how ridiculous that was.

  “Ed, have you met Beth?” His friend Cami stepped aside, making room for him in the conversational circle, and he ventured closer to the sprite-woman. She smiled at him and his brain ceased to function. He barely registered the rest of the introduction, something about her teaching at the same university where Ivan worked.

  “No. Uh, hi...” Ed reached out his right hand, realized he was holding a cup, started to switch hands, then couldn’t figure out how to offer a left-hand shake. Was that even a thing? If so it was probably a stupid thing. At the last second, torn with indecision, he attempted a debonair toss of his cup from one hand to the other to free the right one up.

  Icy rum-spiked cola arced through the air. And then...a splat, a gasp, a shocked fairy and the most awkward conversational lull of Ed’s life.

  Later on, when Ed relived that moment over and over again in obsessive replay mode, time would slow. He would imagine himself crying, “Noooooooo...” as the drink soared toward its final destination. Splat. He’d remember the way Beth’s lips parted, her eyes widening as the chilly liquid struck her full in the chest. It was all burned into his brain.

  She wore a red tank top, not that low cut but still scant protection against a cup of icy rum and Coke. The way it looked, plastered against her chest, was also etched in Ed’s memory. As was the first thing he ever heard her say.

  “Holy fucking shit, that’s cold! Motherfucker!”

  And then his reply, probably the last thing on earth he would have chosen to say if he’d taken five seconds to think about it.

  “Wow. You don’t look or sound like a college professor.”

  * * *

  Cold as fuck.

  Beth knew better words. Lots of them. They were up there, ready to haul out when she needed them for formal papers and departmental emails. But shock brought the lizard brain, and all the lizard brain cared about was cold cold cold fuck fuck fuck dammit now my nipples are showing through this shirt.

  No bra with the red camisole, of course. Of course. Because it was too hot, and her boobs weren’t that big. Just the built-in stretchy shelf thing, useless in this instance. The mouth-breathing guy who’d spilled the drink was staring straight at her chest. In the flurry of activity, she was probably the only one paying attention to him.

  “I’ll get a towel,” Cami offered, jogging toward her back door.

  Another guy whose name she couldn’t remember offered a roll of paper towels, which smelled smoky from sitting next to the grill.

  “I mean I’m sorry,” the drink-spilling guy said, finally snapping his mouth shut. Okay, so maybe the mouth-breather thing had been uncharitable. Maybe her nipples had simply been that compelling, which didn’t say much for his threshold of compulsion.

  “It’s okay. I wasn’t calling you a motherfucker, just...you know. I was startled. I’m not quite a professor yet, so I guess I can still play fast and loose with the vulgarity.” She pressed a wad of paper towels to her chest, feeling slightly less exposed that way.

  “Post-doc?”

  “Lecturer.”

  “So, professor lite.”

  Resisting the urge to bare her teeth at him, Beth smiled instead and reached for the towel Cami trotted up with. “Something like that. Thanks, Cami.”

  “No problem. Hey Ed, Ivan’s going on a beer run in a few minutes. Can you go with him to help carry stuff?”

  Ed agreed amiably enough, even when Cami followed up with several afterthought requests. More tortilla chips, more cheese for the dwindling chili con queso. Beth had to quell the cognitive dissonance that came with picturing Ivan doing something as mundane as a beer run. It was hard enough to get her mind around seeing him in cargo shorts and a college T-shirt, chowing down on barbecued ribs.

  Cami interrupted her reverie. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking before. Do you want to borrow a shirt? You could come in and wash off if you like.”

  “That would be great. I could get it back to you tonight.”

  “No hurry, Mi—Beth.”

  Beth coughed, and Cami flicked her a smile, a fleeting apologetic grimace. Cute, the girl was cute, and Beth could see why the mighty, monolithic Ivan had finally fallen. She’d seen that same look of cheeky collusion going back and forth between Ivan—the Professor—and his “little one” at the club. Flashes when it was evident they were sharing a Moment. Beth wouldn’t have thought that possible for Ivan a year ago, but then she wouldn’t have thought she’d be seeing Ivan socially outside the club a year ago either. A lot had changed since then.

  A text message dinged somewhere, and everybody felt for their pockets. It was Beth’s phone, with a text from Aaron reminding her that not everything had changed.

  Just landed. May or may not make it tonight. If I do, I’ll want to play.

  She hadn’t asked him if he’d be there. She hadn’t read anything he’d sent, or replied to him in over a month, in fact. But he seemed to expect things would go back to the way they were now that he was back in town. Despite how unsettled they’d left everything before he departed on his six-month sabbatical. Of course she couldn’t blame all of that on Aaron.

  Shoving the phone back in her pocket, Beth started for Cami’s back door, ready to be less sticky and wet for now. Later tonight, perhaps, she could be sticky and wet in a more suitable venue. Without Aaron, though. Probably.

  “Anybody seen my phone?”

  The guy—Ted? Ed?—was still patting himself down, looking around for his cell. He’d pulled the pockets inside out on his baggy gym shorts, as if he might have missed the phone somehow and had to do a visual check to be absolutely sure it wasn’t there.

  Beth tapped the strappy vinyl lawn chair as she passed it. The guy had been sitting in it earlier, and the phone was left there plain as day, having obviously fallen out of a saggy pocket. “Is this it?”

  “Is what—oh! Thank you! Crap, I cannot keep that thing in my pants.”

  Beth tried. For about three seconds she succeeded, then the cackle just blasted through her reserve. It took him a second to catch the joke, then he slapped his hand ov
er his mouth. She expected embarrassment, or self-defense. This was the defensive, grumpy dude, the group’s curmudgeon. Ed, it was definitely Ed, she recalled.

  He took his hand away and grinned at her. At himself. The smile was made of puppies, rainbows and snuggles, and made his eyes crinkle up in a way she hadn’t realized she found appealing until she saw it on him.

  Ed winked and sketched a quick bow. “Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all week, folks.”

  “Be sure to tip your waiter,” she offered with a giggle, as she backed away. Toward the safety of Cami’s apartment and a clean, dry shirt.

  “Hey, where did you say y’all were going tonight?” He gestured toward Cami and Ivan. “You said you’d give Cami the shirt back then.”

  Well, he was cuter than he’d looked at first, but he certainly wasn’t smooth. And, Beth recognized with a suddenly heavy heart, he wasn’t her type. Right? Fundamentally not her type. Her type tended to have decent game, in their own very special ways.

  “Nowhere. It’s just...I meant I could drop it off on my way to a faculty thing.”

  “On a Saturday night? That sucks.”

  “I’m gonna go change now,” she told him firmly, and gave him a look that invited no further inquiries.

  “Oh, okay.” He backed down, sheepish again. Kind of adorably so, she couldn’t help but acknowledge. “Really sorry about the drink.”

  I could make you so much sorrier, if I wanted to. And it would be so much fun to make you apologize like you mean it, you adorkable vanilla puppy-boy. Come up and see me some time.

  No. This is reality-land.

  “No big deal.”

  She braced herself against the rush of chilly air conditioning as she opened the door and went inside, leaving Ed behind.

  Chapter Two

  Beth considered her reflection, holding up one possibility after another from the section of her closet she referred to as The Dark Side. The red leather bustier, or the silky black halter dress? How best to arm herself for the evening? Would it be a subby night—which hadn’t been the case for many months—or a Dommy night? Or the full-on schizo rush of a switchy night, back and forth between extremes until she wasn’t sure which way was up? She sort of wanted the outfit to scream Dominant, because she didn’t want to put herself out there as a sub if Aaron might show.