Lust on the Line

'There you are, you swine,' muttered Caroline, shrugging the coat from her shoulders. Beneath it she was all but naked. She wore just a thin white camisole that reached to her waist with matching stockings and suspenders. The points of her nipples and the circles of her areolae were plainly visible through the flimsy top. The pale dome of her belly and the strip of honey-coloured curls at the junction of her thighs were framed by the suspender straps. To Lucian's eye she had never looked more ravishing.

'I hope you're satisfied,' she said bitterly.

'Not yet,' replied Lucian, 'but I intend to be...'

Out of the red - and into the blue.

Once-grand publishers The Whimsical Press are on their uppers but chief executive Miranda Lynch has a plan - to publish a line of bestselling erotic novels. So, if dreamy editor Lucian Swan wants to keep his job he'd better find some sexy books - fast.

Though the world of the clitorati is new to Lucian, he soon gets to grips with lustful lady writers who believe in the value of hands-on research. There's angel-faced Karen Hastings, out to shaft everyone but her husband, and swivel-hipped Caroline Fitzjohn who redefines the meaning of editorial input - not to mention Marilyn Savage, the industry's most insatiable literary agent...

Will Lucian pull it off? Will Blue Desire Books save the company's fortunes? And will Miranda's below-the-belt initiative bring home the coveted Baxendale Prize?