Book ~ "Puppy Love" (2012) Sylvie Fox

From Goodreads ~ There are only two things Sophie Reid doesn’t do: lawyers and sex. When sexy, lawyer Ryan Becker stumbles into her life, her first two thoughts are “no,” and “definitely no.” After Sophie and Ryan rescue a dog from certain death on the Hollywood Freeway, they share one smoldering kiss. Sophie knows a potential train wreck when she sees it and leaves the dog and Ryan at the pound knowing she’ll never see either of them again.

Poor kid turned corporate attorney, Ryan vowed he’d get an education, succeed and be welcomed in the front door of the most stately homes in Beverly Hills. Now that his career is on an upward trajectory, he is ready to settle down. Unfortunately the women he has been meeting haven’t set his heart racing. Enter: Sophie.

A master of persuasion by profession, Ryan convinces Sophie to pursue their undeniable mutual attraction. But Ryan’s quest to be a success at the very occupation she reviles rankles her.

When a Hollywood union strikes, Ryan and Sophie find themselves on opposite sides of the bargaining table. Can their sparks in the bedroom overcome their standoff in the boardroom?

How could I resist a book about a dog?!

Sophie is driving to work one day when she gets caught in a traffic jam ... there is a dog running loose on the highway!  Sophie jumps out of her car and tries to catch the dog along with another driver, Ryan.

Berating herself for leaving too late and taking the freeway rather than the street, she fished in the large orange tote bag on the passenger seat for her mobile phone, ready to make her excuses. She noticed that almost everyone was out of his or her car, and the freeway had come to a grinding halt.

“Hey, what’s going on?” she called to an older woman who had exited her Bentley and nimbly sprinted past several cars in a designer business suit and four-inch Jimmy Choo heels.

“There’s a dog on the road,” she said breathlessly, only pausing for the briefest of moments to answer. “We’re trying to catch him before he gets run over.”

It was then that she saw it. A little red fur ball of a dog ran in between the stopped cars, and dodged every single one of the people who tried to catch him or her. She stopped worrying whether she would be able to complete the actors’ make-up in time for the filming. The long dormant animal lover in Sophie awoke, and she propelled her out of the car and joined in the dog pursuit. The thought of seeing an innocent dog killed on the road scared the hell out of her. With no regard for her personal safety, she ran after the dog. After about five minutes darting around the freeway, she and a tall, impossibly broad-shouldered, sandy-haired man were able to corral the dog between themselves and their cars. When he moved to grab the dog, it ran toward her, and she triumphantly scooped the warm body into her arms. The dog’s heart beat a million miles a minute against hers. She cradled the scared reddish-brown puppy and tried to calm it.

Sophie and Ryan are complete opposites and have an immediate attraction.  Sophie is a make-up artist who changes the colour of her hair on a daily basis.  The day she catches the dog, her hair is yellow to match her car.  The next day it was blue and so on.  She has many piercings and a tattoo.  Sophie is the daughter of wealthy dominating judge and she swore she'd never date a lawyer and let a man boss her around.  She values her independence.

Ryan is a lawyer.  Oh oh!  He methodically thinks things through ... he makes lists to help him make decisions.  He falls hard for Sophie right away (he has a "tent in his pants" quite often when he's around her) and Sophie does all she can to push him away emotionally while she can't resist him physically.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it.  I liked the writing style and it was a fast read.  As a head's up, the language and activity is for mature readers.  Things happen very quickly!

I liked Sophie's free spirit and style and love of animals.  She assumed, though, that Ryan would want to change her ... she wouldn't give him a chance and understand that he loved her just as she was.  I liked Ryan ... he was a nice fella no matter how much Sophie pushed him away.  But how much of that could he take before he gave up?!

I'd recommend this book if you are looking for a racy romance.