The Mating of Michael (Sex in Seattle #3) by Eli Easton

Quick recommendation!

This is a juicy one. Technically, there aren’t that many steamy scenes, but there’s such a delectable undercurrent of sexual tension throughout the book it’ll have to be categorized as delicious smut anyway. And I devoured it. The trope, the writing, the characters. It all came together wonderfully.

It’s a story about Michael, a registered nurse also working as a sexual surrogate.

(Side note: I didn’t know what that was going in. And I still don’t know if it’s a real thing or not. Maybe I’ll have the courage to google it some day. But in the context of this story, it’s as perfect as can be.)

Michael loves his job(s), he’s empathic and caring. But he also yearns for someone to care for him. James is an acclaimed Sci-Fi author who’s lost his spark. He mostly shuts out the world and doesn’t let anyone into his life. At a rare book signing, Michael’s and James’ eyes meet, and that’s it for Michael. But James’ past experiences have left him afraid to trust anyone so it’s up to Michael to wear him down.

(Wow, that sounded rape-y, but it totally isn’t. trust me on that!)

So, this is a lovely read. And it practically oozes sex. Which is understandable with Michael’s personality and job. I got super invested in the characters right from the start, and all those feels! The emotion was so genuine, so yes, I did shed a tear or two while reading, but I’d never call it a tear-jerker. Also, it’s interesting that even though the reason for the obligatory fall-out was obvious from the very start of the book, it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story at all. And the ending left me feeling all sorts of happy.

Highly recommend!