Pleasure Prolonged (Avon Red) [Paperback]

"I'm into simple, casual, uncomplicated sex." Erin Shay should have known that pronouncement would come back to haunt her, but who could have ever expected it to happen immediately? Erin might not be into relationships and commitment anymore, but she's not exactly built for casual sex, either. What's a girl to do? Do without, of course, and talk a big game to your friends. That's always served to keep men at arm's length - until she meets Kale Alexander.

Kale has had more than his share of casual, uncomplicated sex, although no one would use the word simple to describe it. With a long history as a Casanova, Kale is ready for something more, and realizes it the moment he meets the enigmatic Erin. His temporary assignment working with her on the Pleasure Prolonged project gives him the perfect opportunity to get to know her better - much better - and when he does, he realizes she just may be the perfect reason for leaving Los Angeles moving back to his Iowa hometown permanently...

I first discovered Cathryn Fox's work in the recently released anthology from Avon Red, Alluring Tales - Awaken the Fantasy, and went looking for more of her work immediately. When I found her Pleasure Games trilogy, the two books she has currently released for that series were first on my list.

Pleasure Prolonged is the second book of that series, and picks up where the first books leaves off. Our heroine, Erin Shay, had a supporting role in Pleasure Control, and Fox sets up this character's image quite deftly, convincing readers that Erin is footloose and fancy free, flitting from one man to another. We soon learn in Pleasure Prolonged that this is a façade she hides behind after some tragic experience in her romantic past. As the story begins, we find Erin determined to finally live up to the image she has carefully constructed, convinced that Kale Alexander is the perfect man for an uncomplicated fling. How perfectly ironic that the first man she attempts to have casual sex with turns out to be so much more than that!

While Kale is a new character for us in the second book, he is no less interesting. Fox does a wonderful job of engaging the reader with Kale's charm and personality in the very first few pages, and his history unfolds easily as we read further. Honestly, if Kale Alexander were the stuff most scientists were made of, I'd be applying for work in every laboratory I could find until I secured a job next to a hunky Alpha Male scientist type! Who can resist the magnetism of a man who combines wit and hunky good looks with intelligence?

Of course, we have the added bonus of a suspense plot in the story as Kale and Erin attempt to complete work on the Pleasure Prolonged product their lab has invented with a mysterious saboteur attempting to derail the project and steal the formula at every turn. And even while the author includes some tension filled moments of danger, she infuses them with doses of humor that had me laughing out loud!

Pleasure Prolonged is a fun romantic tale that manages to keep you on the edge of your seat with a careful blend of romantic heat and suspenseful plot. I personally can't wait for the next book in the series to be released!

Series Order:
Pleasure Control (Pleasure Games)
Pleasure Prolonged (Avon Red)
Pleasure Exchange (Avon Red)

Cathryn Fox turns crisp white lab coats inside out to reveal two sexy research scientists in her new release, PLEASURE PROLONGED. Erin and Kale are both thirty-something professionals who risk their hearts and reputations when libidos burst out of their experiment and into their lives. Erin is a nose-to-the-grindstone scientist eager to forget her failed engagement and desperate to stop her mother's match-making efforts. When ladies' man Kale returns to town to team up with her at the lab, Erin decides a little saucy fun will work wonders to soften her buttoned-down demeanor. What she doesn't suspect is Kale's recent retirement of his playboy persona. Would Erin welcome the fun if she knew it wasn't a game for Kale any longer?

Cathryn Fox brings readers along for a sassy ride as Erin and Kale indulge in their playful fantasy. Their lusty abandon is contagious, a refreshing depiction of the science crowd. If the brain is the sexiest organ, then these two researchers heat up the sheets to the one hundredth percentile. Twining emotion between the seduction and the story, Ms. Fox always satisfies, leaving readers sighing for more.

Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a place for these types of stories - Ellora's Cave ebooks, Red Sage's Secrets anthologies, Harlequin Blaze. But a trade paperback? I don't think so.

Erin Shay is thrilled to have just gotten a promotion at the lab at which she works. She's also acquired a new partner, hunky Kale Alexander, a temporary transfer from the California office. While she's determined to throw herself into her new job, Kale poses a huge distraction. Having been burned by an unfaithful former boyfriend, she's gun shy of relationships. But what's wrong with a little harmless, casual sex for once in her life? Surely a player like Kale would be the last one to want anything more.

Kale Alexander is on probation after an incident at his own lab and is being given a chance to prove himself at the lab in his Iowa hometown. He hasn't been back in years but lately has been missing his mom and sisters. He's been feeling restless with his empty personal life and the rather shallow women he sees in Cali. But when he meets Erin, he falls hard. Could he be ready to settle down - with a woman who claims to only want casual sex?

Okay, from here we get almost non-stop mental lusting and several encounters that fall short of actual intercourse - many of which happen in the workplace. Call me crazy, but isn't he on probation and isn't she also, in a way, with her new job? Perhaps I'm too logical, but this all seemed too far fetched, too "Cinemax After Dark" for me. There is a minor subplot about a jealous co-worker who tapes them "going at it" (at work, of course) and threatens the couple with exposure, but it's secondary to all the lusting going on. And if that's what you're looking for this is for you.

If this were a short story in an anthology or an ebook I'd feel less ripped-off. But, contrary to the page count listed above (224) the actual story is a paltry 194 pages long. Luckily I bought this with a gift card, so I didn't shell out the trade paperback price. If others choose to, so be it, but for my part I say shame on Avon for publishing a short story and charging $14.00 for it - $17.50 Canadian!