**Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques**

“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!

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