The Man Tamer

The Man Tamer
Cindi Myers

There's not a man Rachel Westover can't tame.Or at least transform from a sloppy, sports-loving, self-absorbed male into the perfect mate. Then she meets Garret Kelly, aka The Wild Man. Talk about a challenge–in a gorgeous package, no less. Can her behavior-modification techniques take on a guy this set in his rumpled–and surprisingly irresistible–ways?Rachel's hormones, er, ambitions, are jumping at the chance. If she succeeds in domesticating Garret, she gets her own TV show. If she fails…Well, failure isn't an option. Sure, he's more resistant than she expected. And withholding pleasure as punishment affects her so much, she's abandoned that strategy. But she's determined one of them is going to their knees. She just hopes it isn't her!

The Man Tamer

Cindi Myers

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

For Becci

Contents

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

1

Why Man Taming Works

Dear Man Tamer:

You are so full of it! I can’t believe you’re telling all these women they can train a man like a dog.

How could you ever believe your so-called methods would work on a real man?

A Real Man

Dear Real Man:

The Man-Taming principles work because they’re based on tried-and-true methods of Behavior Modification. Behavior modification has been used successfully for decades for everything from, yes, dog training to helping people quit smoking. And it works for helping men break the bad habits they’ve developed over the years, too. I have hundreds of letters from satisfied readers to prove it.

The Man Tamer

RACHEL WESTOVER’S second-most favorite thing in the world was chocolate-covered strawberries. Since her most favorite thing wasn’t something she could do in public, she was happy to see the strawberries prominently displayed on the buffet table at Denton Morrison’s annual brag party. The media mogul and all-around rich guy made it a point to throw a party for himself every year to celebrate his accomplishments and to show off his latest project for the press.

Rachel’s plan for the evening was to corral Denton at some point and ask him—again—about her proposal to fill the vacant slot in the afternoon local programming block of KTXK, the television station he owned. After all, as the most popular columnist in the history of Belinda magazine—another Denton Morrison holding—it was time she expanded her audience to television. Chocolate-covered strawberries were the perfect fuel to prepare her for her encounter with “Mr. Money” Morrison.

Anticipating that first luscious bite, she transferred three of the largest berries to her plate. They were the size of eggs and coated in dark chocolate. Yummmmmm.

“Have you talked to him yet? What did he say?”

Rachel looked up from the strawberries to her best friend, Moira Stapleton, who was hurrying toward her from the other end of the buffet table. “Did he say yes? Did he give you the afternoon time slot?” Moira asked as she skidded to a stop in front of Rachel. Five foot two inches, with a cloud of dark curls and Bambi eyes, Moira reminded Rachel of a nervous poodle.

“I haven’t talked to Denton yet. I’m working up the nerve.” She nodded to her plate.

Moira’s eyes widened. “Oooh, those look yummy. And fattening.” She pressed her lips together, resisting temptation. Moira lived off black coffee, water and sushi, and it showed. She wore a size zero. If she weren’t so much fun Rachel might have been tempted to snap her in two like the twig she was.

Moira rose up on tiptoe and scanned the crowd. “Have you seen David? He was supposed to meet me here.”

“I haven’t seen him, but I just got here myself.” David Brewer was an accountant at Morrison Enterprises and Moira’s erstwhile boyfriend.

“You don’t think he’s going to stand me up again, do you?” Deep worry lines formed above Moira’s nose. “He’s so absentminded. He’ll get to working on his car or watching a game and the next thing you know, he’s forgotten all about me.”

Rachel thought a man in love ought to be more considerate than that. What did it say about the depth of his feelings if replacing spark plugs or counting touch-downs could make him forget his soul mate? “Have you been trying any of my techniques?” she asked.

The worry lines deepened. “I tried, but I guess I’m not very good at discipline. I mean, he looks at me with those big brown eyes and I melt. I just want to be with him, you know?”

“I know.” Rachel patted her friend’s shoulder. “But remember, you’re the woman. It’s up to you to set the tone for the relationship. And those techniques have been proven to work. Do you still have the list?”

“Yes.” Moira opened her purse and began digging through it. She came up with a crumpled computer printout. “One, teach by example,” she read. “Two, praise good behavior. Three, distract from bad behavior. Four, substitution—replace bad behavior with something else. Five, reprimand bad behavior. Six, withhold affection until he behaves properly. Seven, punish bad behavior. Eight, restrict unwanted behavior. Nine, reward good behavior, and ten, acceptance—a last resort.” She looked up at Rachel. “Maybe I’m at number ten. I mean, you can’t really change people, can you?”

“Behavior modification isn’t about changing him,” Rachel said. “Only the way he acts.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Of course not. He’ll still be the man you love, only better.”

Moira stuffed the list back into her purse. “I don’t know. I mean, this man-taming stuff may work for some of your readers, but maybe every man doesn’t respond to this kind of thing.”

Rachel shook her head. “I don’t believe that. You just have to keep working at it.”