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Beautiful Bastard

by Christina Lauren

Beautiful Bastard is a 2013 erotic contemporary romance by Christina Lauren, the joint pen name of Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. It follows Chloe Mills, a driven intern and MBA student, and her exacting, magnetic boss… more

First published 2013 · 320 pages · English

29 quotes ★ 3.88 (227,623) Contemporary

Quotes from the Book

For some sick reason, fighting with this woman always ended with her panties in my pocket.
If only he would keep his mouth shut, he'd be perfect. A piece of duct tape would do the trick. I had some in my desk that I'd occasionally pull out and fondle, hoping someday I could put it to good use.
This flirting is all well and good, but I mean it when I tell you, I cant have you leaving me again. It almost broke me." My ribs seemed to squeeze all of the air out of my lungs at the thought. "I don't think I could. I don't want to be away from you again either." "But you need to give me a chance to fix things when I screw up. You know I'm an ass sometimes." "Sometimes?" Growling, he whispered, "And I tear lingerie." I pushed a curl off his forehead, "And hoard it. Don't forget the creepy hoarding.
Beauty is only skin-deep, and ugly goes straight to the bone.
I knew everything happened for a reason. I just wished the reason would hurry up and make itself known.
Wait, you remember that?" "Of course I remember that. You sounded like a frat boy and looked like a fucking model. What man could ever forget that?" "I would have given anything to know what you were thinking right then." "I was thinking, 'Highly fuckable intern, twelve o'clock. Disengage, soldier. I repeat, disengage.
The look in her eyes told me that under any other circumstances, I would either already be naked with her on top of me, or lying in a pool of my own blood on the rug.
I didn't know," he whispered. "I didn't know I could love you so much.
I was starting to see that this wasn't just sex, and it wasn't something just working out of my system. Sex was just the fastest route to the deeper possession that I needed. I was falling in love with her, and falling to fast and hard to easily find any footing.
So here were the facts: I felt possessive of her. Not in a romantic sort of way, but in a "hit her over the head, drag her off by the hair, and fuck her" way. Like she was my toy and I was keeping the other boys in the sandbox from playing with her. How sick was that? If she ever heard me admit to that, she would cut off my balls and feed them to me.
You have very Grace Kelly-like tendencies about you. I hear Grace Kelly had a filthy mouth too," he added. "You love my filthy mouth." "True. But I like it better when its full," he said, meaningful smirk in place. "You know, if you would shut up once in a while you'd be damn near perfect." "But I'd be a silent panty ripper, which I think is a lot creepier than the angry-boss panty ripper.
You sure you don't want me to bring you back something?" Her eyes moved in the direction of his office. "A hit man? Some holy water?
I don't want to walk out that door and lose what we found in this room.
Mr. Ryan was going to have my ass. I was twenty minutes late. As I experienced this morning, he hated late. "Late" was a word not found in the Bennett Ryan Dickhead Dictionary. Along with "heart," "kindness," "compassion," "lunch break," or "thank you.
I want you to watch. And tomorrow when you're sore, I want you to remember who did it to you.
Wow, top five percent of your class at Northwestern. Nice!" Joel said and then looked over at me. "Bet you're glad to have someone so amazing working under you, huh?" Chloe coughed slightly, bringing her napkin up from her lap to cover her mouth. I smiled as I quickly glanced over to her and then back to Joel. "Yes, its absolutely amazing having Miss Mills under me. She always gets the job done.
I told you, I want more than this. I want to be with you. I want to be your lover." I swore, digging my hands into my hair. "I'm falling for you, Chloe.
Promise me you'll take me to bed when we get back," she said. "I promise." "Your bed." "Fuck yes, my bed. My bed is huge, with a headboard I can tie you to and spank you silly for being so ridiculous.
I was falling in love with her, and falling too fast and hard to easily find any footing.
Totally serious. I want to be the only guy who fucks you against windows, and also the first person you see in the morning-from where you lie, having stolen my pillow. I'd also like to be the person who gets you lime Popsicles when you've had bad sushi. We only have a few months left where it's potentially complicated.
She'd proven to be one of the most aggravating people I'd ever met. Unfortunately for me, she was also the best sex I'd ever had. Fuck, he'd better never get that far. I wasn't sure I knew where to hide a body around here.
I don't want to walk out that door and lose what we found in this room." His simple words rocked me. He wasn't declaring, he wasn't promising, but he said exactly what I'd needed to hear. We might not know what was happening, but we wouldn't leave it unfinished.
I'm two seconds away from castrating you with my heel.
Give me all of you for one night, no holding back. Please, Chloe, I'll leave you alone after that but I haven't seen you in almost two weeks and...I just need tonight.
For some reason, the two of us arguing was like some sick form of foreplay.
I wanted her in a way that made me feel like every second I was sated and starving.
Who would have thought working for an angry jackass would result in my getting fucked up against a cold window at work and liking it?
I was thinking, 'Highly fuckable intern, twelve o'clock. Disengage, soldier. I repeat, disengage
You realize early in life that beauty is only skin-deep, and ugly goes straight to the bone.

Did you know?

  • The novel originated as a Twilight fan fiction titled The Office, first posted online around 2009.
  • The authors have said only about 20% of the original fan fiction remained after they reworked it into Beautiful Bastard.
  • Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings.
  • It was a finalist for Best Romance at the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards.
  • The book launched a franchise of sequels and novellas that has been translated into more than thirty languages.

About Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is the pen name of longtime friends and writing partners Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, an American duo who write bestselling romance and young adult fiction together. Beautiful Bastard, their debut, grew from fan fiction into a New York Times bestselling series.

More about the author →

About the book

Beautiful Bastard is a 2013 erotic contemporary romance by Christina Lauren, the joint pen name of Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. It follows Chloe Mills, a driven intern and MBA student, and her exacting, magnetic boss Bennett Ryan, whose constant friction at the office eventually ignites into a secret, combustible affair. What begins as a purely physical arrangement gradually forces both of them to confront feelings that neither wants to admit.

The novel is a workplace enemies-to-lovers story built around themes of ambition, control, and the tension between professional identity and desire. Told in alternating perspectives, it balances the sparring banter of its two leads against the risks they take by mixing their careers with their attraction, and it leans into the heat and heightened emotion that define the genre.

Beautiful Bastard grew out of a Twilight fan fiction called The Office that the authors had posted online, and it became one of the highest-profile fan-fiction-to-print crossovers of the early 2010s. Its success launched a sprawling franchise of sequels and novellas, helped establish Christina Lauren as a bestselling romance brand, and reflected the era when self-published and fan-originated romance moved firmly into mainstream publishing.

Key characters

  • Chloe MillsAmbitious intern and MBA student who works for Bennett
  • Bennett RyanChloe's demanding, attractive executive boss and love interest

Book details

First published
2013
Length
320 pages
Reading time
6 hours
Goodreads rating
3.88 (228k ratings)

Series & reading order

  1. 1 Beautiful Bastard
  2. 2 Beautiful Stranger
  3. 3 Beautiful Player
  4. 4 Beautiful Secret
  5. 5 Beautiful

If you liked this, read…

  1. 1
    Beautiful StrangerDirect sequel in the same series with another heated romance
  2. 2
    Fifty Shades of GreyAnother Twilight fan fiction turned bestselling erotic romance

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