It started off as a battle of wits. Me: the ordinary girl with a big mouth against Him: the sexy bastard with a big...ego.
I thought I’d hit the jackpot when I was upgraded to first class on my flight to London.
That is until HE sat down next to me. Gabriel Scott: handsome as sin, cold as ice. Nothing and no one gets to him. Ever. He’s a legend in his own right, the manager of the biggest rock band in the world, and an arrogant ass who looks down his nose at me.
I thought I’d give him hell for one, long flight. I didn’t expect to like him. I didn’t expect to want him. But the biggest surprise? He wants me too. Only in a way I didn’t see coming.
If I accept his proposal, I leave myself open to falling for the one man I can’t manage. But I’m tempted to say yes. Because the real man beneath those perfect suits and that cool façade just might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And I just might be the only one who can melt the ice around his heart.
Let the battle begin…
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In all this time, I had yet to see Gabriel without a shirt. He hides his body like a pious Victorian, never letting me see anything other than him fully dressed and polished. Now I know why. Had he let me get a glimpse, I might never have been able to form a coherent thought around him.
This man’s chest is a work of art. It’s every fantasy I’ve had about a man’s body made real. I don’t even know how that’s possible, but I’m not about to complain. God, he looks touchable. Olive skin, tight little brownish nipples, a smattering of dark chest hair over the most incredibly honed—
“You’re staring.” His tone is dry.
“Yes, I am.” I drag my eyes up and find his expression bemused.
A thick brow lifts. I try to mimic the look and fail when both of my brows lift as one. His lips twitch in amusement.
He shifts his weight, causing his abs to clench. Good Lord. He’s not some overdeveloped gym worshiper, just solid and strong, that perfect balance between defined musculature and healthy male—
“You’re still staring, Sophie.”
“You think it’s easy looking away from all this splendor?” I ask his belly button, licking my lips when he huffs out a laugh and just a little bit more of his lower abs are revealed, slanting toward the thick bulge of his cock, which is lamentably hidden behind his slacks.
“You’re impossible,” he mutters, though there is humor in his voice. He strolls farther into the room and then practically kills me when he sits in one of the low-slung armchairs. That body, sprawled out on display, those thick, long thighs braced as if to take me in his lap—it’s too much.
I want to straddle him and lick my way from the hollow of his throat to the tip of his cock.
He eyes me as if he knows what I’m thinking, and the air thickens. So many things we left unsaid. I’m remembering his lips now, surprisingly soft, but strong with purpose.
From the way his lids lower, I wonder if he’s remembering things as well. But he doesn’t move. Tension glides over his body and snakes around the room. I feel it in my throat and down my spine. We’re closing up again, retreating.
Slowly, I toe off my shoes and set my gear down, never breaking eye contact. “I was being completely honest,” I tell him. “I see you like this and I want to stare forever.”
He snorts, shaking his head even as he rests his temple on his knuckles. “What do you mean ‘like this’?”
“Undone.”
He tenses. It does lovely things to that chest. I focus on his face, mainly to maintain some semblance of decorum.
“You think this is me undone?” he asks quietly.
“It’s a start.” I reach for my camera bag. “Will you let me photograph you?”
There is safety to be found with the camera between us. A way for both of us to hide until we’re comfortable around each other again.
“You’re serious?”
“You sound surprised.” Holding my camera, I sit in the sofa opposite him. “Don’t tell me no one has asked to take your picture before.”
“They’ve asked. I never saw the point.” He shrugs. “I’m not the story.”
You’re my story. You always were.
“This is just for me,” I say instead. “No one else.”
His shrewd gaze pins me. “Why do you want this?”
So I can have a bit of you forever. “Pictures capture moments in time. I want this one—when you finally let me see a sliver of the man behind the clothes.”
His nostrils flare on an indrawn breath, and he slowly lets it out. When he speaks, his voice is a rasp. “Take the pictures.”
About the Author:
Kristen Callihan is an author because there is nothing else she’d rather be. She is a three-time RITA nominee and winner of two RT Reviewer’s Choice awards. Her novels have garnered starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and the Library Journal, as well as being awarded top picks by many reviewers. Her debut book FIRELIGHT received RT Magazine’s Seal of Excellence, was named a best book of the year by Library Journal , best book of Spring 2012 by Publisher’s Weekly, and was named the best romance book of 2012 by ALA RUSA. When she is not writing, she is reading.
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Sonja's Review
Oh, Managed was so amazing! I just finished it and I'm after-glowing hard! I absolutely loved Idol and I was so excited for this one, but I had no idea that I would love it as much as I do. Any expectations I had for it were completely blown out of the water by Ms. Callihan. It is without a doubt my favorite and although I know I'll love the other books in the series yet to come, I can't imagine any of them taking Managed's place, but I won't rule it out - not with this author!
Sophie is just the Best. Heroine. Ever! She's exciting and fun and hilarious and so warm and a total blast to be around. She doesn't let Gabriel take himself to seriously, she's always there to try take him out of himself and have a good time. Sophie is sweet, amazing, and utterly one of a kind and I positively loved, loved, LOVED her!
And I thought I loved Killian in Idol, but oh my gosh, it's nothing compared to how much I love Gabriel! Yes, he's all stuck up and stuffy in the beginning, but even when he's like that, he's still so completely lovable. He protects everyone, cares for them, and he always put them first. I can't tell you how much I loved seeing him come alive because of Sophie or the way he thought and felt about her. Gabriel is just the sweetest, most heart-meltiness, incredible man ever and I wholeheartedly loved him!
I was so excited to read Managed and I knew it was going to be good, but I was putting off reading it, I guess I'm a little like Gabriel in that sense, I like to wait as long as I can to read a book that I really want to sometimes, so I don't freak out and because it makes it better, but I finally said to heck with it and started reading. And let me tell you, once I started - I never wanted to stop! Managed made me laugh so much, it was a joy to read, it was sexy and full of sexual tension, and it tugged on my heart. This book and the characters completely owned my heart - I didn't just fall in love with Gabriel and Sophie, I fell in love with the story too. Managed was magnificent, it was beauty and perfection, and it's no question one the best books I've read all year!
Managed can be read as a standalone, it's told from Gabriel and Sophie's POV, and their happy ending left me all warm and fuzzy inside!
~ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stars
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