Falling for the Recluse

FALLING FOR THE RECLUSE LIV PRESCOTT Copyright © 2023 by Liv Prescott All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Contents Book Description Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Epilogue One Epilogue Two About the Author Book Description When Josie Bennett is selected for a once-in-a-lifetime undergraduate penguin research opportunity on an isolated island in Antarctica, she can’t believe her luck. The one catch is she’ll need to room with renowned ice scientist Dr. Gavin Stark—the reclusive, famously bad-tempered glaciologist called the “Ice Prick” by, well, everyone. As if she'd let something like that stop her. This is her dream internship, and the man can't possibly be that bad... Turns out, he’s worse. When Gavin finds out he has to mentor a bright-eyed college girl he already knows is too damn sweet for his inhospitable surroundings (and personality), he can’t believe his luck. Cranky is his default for a reason, and all his pain-filled memories are simply a reminder of why he can’t be around, well, anybody. Especially not a hard-working ray of sunshine who’s as smart as she is scrappy. And ten times cuter than he was dreading… How’s a man like him supposed to deal with that kind of incessant warmth every day--or the inexplicable, inescapable chemistry that soon has them burning up the sheets every night? Worse, what the hell is he supposed to do when all that heat and warmth is gone from his life after Josie’s internship comes to an end? Note: This is a standalone steamy short between a hardened grump and the one woman who somehow cracks his icy exterior by being nothing he expects, and everything he’s not. It’s all the HOT insta-fun sparks, yummy tension, and falling-hard-and-fast swoon for the busy reader looking for some quick & dirty schmexy good times, with a sweet, feel-good HEA to boot. Enjoy! Chapter One JOSIE TO: Dr. Gavin Stark, Needle Island Antarctic Research Station <[email protected]> FROM: Josie Bennett, Stanford University <[email protected]> Hello, Dr. Stark! My name is Josie Bennett. I’m the future penguinologist who will be interning with you at the Needle Island station. The Penguin Research Group selected me out of a pool of 540 applications (who knew there were so many aspiring penguin researchers in the world?!), and I’m honored beyond measure by the opportunity. My research this summer (well, your Southern Hemisphere summer and my Northern Hemisphere winter) will involve studying and counting the newly arrived penguins on Needle Island. Then I’ll return to California to analyze and write up all the data, after which I’ll have the honor of delivering a lecture at the California Academy of Sciences about my findings. I hope my little contribution to science will help us better understand and protect these intriguing, unique animals. A little about me—I’m twenty years old, a junior at Stanford University, and I’ve been fascinated by penguins since I was six years old and received a stuffed penguin for Christmas. I named him Oswald. I stop typing. Am I telling him too much? Does a scientist as renowned as Dr. Gavin Stark really need to know that Oswald determined my life’s path? Will he find such details endearing or just ridiculous? Probably the latter, but I’m determined to keep my introduction letter peppy and upbeat. I have to make sure I start off on Dr. Stark’s good side. Assuming he even has one. “You’re going to live with the Ice Prick?” I look up to find my fellow student Carol approaching, her eyebrows halfway to her hairline. The two other biology students working in the lab look up sharply. “There’s an announcement that Josie was chosen for the PRG internship,” Carol tells them, waving the biology department newsletter in the air. “Which is fantastic and deserves major congratulations, but…the Ice Prick?” “That nickname is an exaggeration.” I shake my head dismissively, trying not to let the sudden ominous atmosphere quell my excitement. “I’m sure he’s a perfectly nice man.” “That’s not what I’ve heard.” Hank, a senior, grabs the newsletter from Carol and scans the announcement. “Have you ever met Gavin Stark?” “No,” I admit. “He’s going to eat you alive.” Carol scans me from head to toe. “I can’t believe they’re letting you, of all people, go down there alone.” I bristle a little, even though her skepticism is understandable. With my perfect academic record and reputation for being in bed by nine—not entirely untrue—everyone in the department was surprised that I’d even applied for the highly adventurous internship. “Josie deserves the opportunity more than anyone,” my friend Brenda says, and I throw her a grateful look. “What about you?” Hank asks Carol. “Have you met Stark?” Carol shakes her head. “Not many people have. Everyone’s afraid of him. He’s been alone on the ice for, like, five years. He only has human contact when he needs help with drilling and research or when the supply boats arrive. Even before he was stationed there, he was always off on some other solo expedition in Greenland or the Arctic tundra. He sends in all his research via email, but he’s turned down a bunch of job offers at universities and other institutions. Won’t do video calls with other scientists. He’s brilliant, but he’s a snarly bastard who refuses to actually collaborate with anyone. There’s a reason people call him the Ice Prick, and it’s not because he’s a hockey player.” We fall silent in the aftermath of that little speech. Carol is a graduate student, so she’s been around a lot longer than us lowly undergrads and knows