"Great fun watching these two people watch each other!"

Jillian Hunter is determined to prove she is capable of becoming the new head of the Hennessy Group, a private investigations and security firm, when her uncle retires as CEO. She's worked there all her life, is totally dedicated to the company, and greatly resents that her ex-cop brother has suddenly waltzed in and seems slotted for the top spot. So Jillian is personally leading the investigation of Stanley Davison, who is suspected of faking the disability claim that has cost the city a fortune -- his lawsuit claimed police officers chasing a suspect knocked down and injured him, an innocent spectator. Jillian has moved into a house near Stan and ordered her technical team to install sophisticated surveillance equipment at Stan's so she can monitor him. Then she discovers that the tech team installed their equipment in the wrong house -- and she has a very intimate and distracting view of every move made by the gorgeous guy living across the street!

Cade Lawrence claims to be a baseball scout, but is actually an undercover detective on temporary leave. He's renting the house next to Stan so that he can watch him for the police, try to prove that Stan is not really disabled. Cade doesn't know that the sexy woman who just moved in across the street is doing the same thing -- he only knows he'd rather watch her than Stan. Eventually, of course, Jillian and Cade combine forces in their mission -- and along the way discover the many nuances and pleasures of "watching".

It was great fun picking out the many ways the author cleverly incorporated "watching" into this story. Cade and Jillian are in professions involving surveillance, so we gets lots of binoculars, telescopes, hidden cameras. They are both watching the suspect and each other. She gets turned on watching him practice martial arts, he gets turned on watching her swim. It is, I am sure, no coincidence that Jillian's hobby is collecting and watching movie videos (including erotic ones!). And the "watching" theme is also used to illustrate the development of their relationship. For example, at first Jillian wears sunglasses to shield her eyes and keep Cade from realizing she is looking at him. As these two people learn to trust each other, the sunglasses and other barriers between them go away.

I would have found this story less fun if it had been the more common man-watching-unsuspecting-woman theme. But in this case, it was HER watching HIM. And the way Jillian admitted her viewing to Cade and redeemed herself by letting him turn the tables was very hot -- of course, this only works because the fictional hero finds "watching" as big a turn-on as the heroine does.

Reviewed by Raelene Gorlinsky
Posted June 26, 2002

Read an Excerpt

Summary

Jillian Hennessy is supposed to be watching a man suspected of insurance fraud. But when wires get crossed and she ends up watching Cade Lawrence, a sexy undercover cop on a similar assignment, the watching soon turns to wanting...and more!