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Book #3 of Slices of Pi

About The Book

Geeky meets kinky in the third novel of the sexy Slices of Pi series by RITA-nominated author Elia Winters, where the employees of a gaming company in sultry Florida work hard—and play even harder.

Matthew Abrams finally has the life he’s always wanted—a promising career as a programmer at PI Games, a decent apartment in a nice neighborhood, and a thriving social life. And he’s perfectly content until he has a one-night stand with Silas Benson, a biomedical engineer with a charitable side to boot. Suddenly Matthew is doubting his life choices and worrying he might not be living up to his full potential.

Silas Benson doesn’t have time for much else outside of work, and that’s how he’s always liked it. As a biomedical engineer, he’s at the cutting edge of advances in the field, and he’s not going to waste his life partying when he could be doing actual good in the world. After a one-night stand at his friend’s twenty-fifth birthday party, though, Silas feels his focus shifting toward a certain tall, dark, and handsome almost-stranger.

When an emotional breakdown requires Silas to take a leave of absence from work, Matthew rushes to his aid and teaches him the merits of frivolity. Silas is an unwilling student at first, but Matthew soon has him in the groove, which makes for one steamy, wild ride. But is this a forever sort of affair, or will Silas abandon Matthew’s wanton ways in favor of a life of serious-minded solitude?

Excerpt

Single Player



Matthew Abrams leaned back in his chair and glanced around his cubicle, then back at the time displayed at the top of his computer screen. Still half an hour to go in his workday. Somebody ought to do a study on why five o’clock took longer to arrive on a Friday afternoon rather than any other day of the week, because today had definitely been five times longer than a normal day. Seemed like he’d been checking the clock every five minutes since lunch. And yeah, he could get more work done, but he’d checked everything off his to-do list that was actually essential. The “wouldn’t it be nice?” items could wait until Monday, or whenever.

The lack of sunlight didn’t help the atmosphere in here. The programming and design teams at PI Games both kept their rooms fairly dim, preferring to work by the light of their computer screens as opposed to the harsh fluorescent overhead bulbs of the office building. The owner, Will, had tried to replace them with more natural LED bulbs, not liking his whole office building to look “like a damn cave,” as he said, but he was a gamer himself from way back and understood the appeal of a dark room and a blue-lit screen.

But Matthew wasn’t the dark-room kind of guy. He kept a small desk lamp with a sunlight-mimicking bulb, and now it flooded his desk with a warm glow, keeping his solar-powered bobblehead happily moving to its own mechanical rhythm. Working in the dark all day meant he lost his sense of time. Each morning, he passed from the brilliant Florida sun into the dark air-conditioned office building, and then emerged again at the end of the day, back into the heat and sweltering humidity. It was somewhat of a surreal existence, and right now, he really wanted that sunshine.

Bored, he got up and wandered out of the programming room in search of his friend Isabel. The design room was across the hall, and Matthew pushed open the door to the designers’ darkened cubicle farm. Well, more like a cubicle family farm, since there were only four members on the team. Isabel Suarez, the design manager of PI Games, was—as usual—hard at work at her desk, her brown curly hair pulled back in a low ponytail, headphones over her ears giving a clear “do not disturb” message that Matthew had no intention of following. He leaned slightly over the cubicle wall, then a little farther, and when she still didn’t look up, he waved his hand in front of her screen. She jumped, made a face, and then pulled her headphones off. “What?”

“Wanted to see if you had plans this weekend.” He folded his arms on the gray cubicle wall. “I’m going to do some classic shooter co-ops and thought you might want in.” If there was any way to pull Isabel away from work, it was inviting her to game.

Isabel pushed her yellow-tinted glasses up into her hair. “Tonight?”

“No, tomorrow. I’m working tonight.”

Isabel looked at him askance. “You’re working late? Why do I doubt that?”

Matthew put a hand over his heart. “Isabel, I am offended that you think so little of me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh please. You’re a nine-to-five programmer, Matthew, and we both know it.”

“Guilty as charged.” He shrugged. There was no shame in avoiding the compulsive workaholic qualities of his coworkers. “At least I have time to have lunch with my coworkers on Fridays, which you missed today because apparently you can’t pull yourself away from your work.” He raised an eyebrow at her and gave her his most devilish grin.

“I know, I know.” She sighed. “I couldn’t pull myself away. Next week, I promise. So what, you’re busy tonight but it isn’t work?”

“Not here.” Matthew shook his head. “I’m working at Gigi’s tonight. I picked up a shift. Gaming’s tomorrow night, though, if you want in.”

Isabel took out her phone and tapped through a few screens. “Nothing in the calendar for this weekend. I might be free. I’ll let you know.” She tossed her phone back into her bag and pulled her glasses back down over her eyes.

So quick to slip back into work mode. He couldn’t relate. “Hang on, hang on. Why don’t you and Caleb come by the club tonight? I’ll mix you up something good.” Although he spent a lot of time with both Isabel and Caleb here at PI Games, where Caleb was creative manager, he seldom saw either of them outside the office. Matthew and Isabel had only grown closer over the last year after she’d met Caleb at DiceCon and he’d joined the PI Games team; shortly after, Caleb and Isabel had started dating out in the open, and everyone agreed they made an enviably adorable couple. He wanted to hang out with them more, but Isabel was always working.

Isabel looked back up at him. “Matthew, you know I’m not a nightclub kind of person. And I’m probably going to work late tonight. At my real job.” She looked pointedly past him at the clock on the wall. “Especially if I keep getting interrupted before I can get my work done.”

“Okay, okay.” He held up his hands in surrender. “Just trying to get you to go have some fun.”

“You have enough fun for the both of us.” She smiled, pulling her headphones back on. “I’ll text you tomorrow if I want to do some gaming.”

Matthew wandered back out into the brightly lit hallway, and then again into the dark programming room, where he settled back at his desk and skimmed over his coding from the day just to have something to do. Too bad most of his friends had such an unflappable work ethic. It was hard to get them to goof off with him. Not that he didn’t like his job, of course. PI Games was a fantastic place to work, and being a programmer was awesome, but it was hard motivating himself to do more than was expected of him. That sort of thing was for overachievers like Isabel. He worked, he wrote immaculate code, he met his deadlines, and then he went home.

Lately, he’d been picking up more and more bartending shifts at Gigi’s to earn a few extra bucks and stay engaged in the social scene, and he was looking forward to heading back there tonight. Tending bar felt like being back in college again after too much adulthood, especially since a bunch of his shifts ended in an after-hours party somewhere. Even if he was almost thirty, there was nothing wrong with maintaining his youthful enthusiasm. He leaned back in his chair and stared down his clock. Five minutes to go.

About The Author

Photograph by Elia Winters

Elia Winters holds a degree in English Literature and teaches at a small rural high school where she runs too many extracurricular activities. She balances her love of the outdoors with a bottomless well of geekiness; in her spare time, she is equally likely to be found skiing, camping, playing tabletop games, or watching Doctor Who. A writer all her life, Elia likes to dabble in many genres, but erotic romance has been one of her favorites since she first began sneaking her mother’s romance novels. She currently lives in New England with her loving husband and their odd assortment of pets. Find out more at EliaWinters.com and follow her on Twitter @EliaWinters.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Pocket Star (September 26, 2016)
  • Length: 320 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781501140983

Raves and Reviews

"Hot and heartwarming."

– Library Journal

"Winters’s second novel in the “Slices of PI” series (after Even Odds) is even hotter... Highly recommended for fans of light erotica."

– Library Journal, Starred Review, on Tied Score

"A fun, sexy, adventurous story. Elia Winters created an interesting dynamic that shifted as the characters developed....a story about exploring new territory and discovering yourself."

– Harlequin Junkie on Tied Score

"An outrageously sexy, incredibly addictive romance. Author Elia Winters doesn’t hold back in this red-hot story of two people who are clearly made for each other falling in love as they explore their kinky sides."

– Wit and Sin on Tied Score

"I guess I could say that this book had popped my “hero, the sub” cherry. And I’ve enjoyed every minute, every word, every scene, and every chapter of it."

– Scandalicious Book Reviews on Tied Score

"Gaming junkies and readers who are fans of Winters’s (Playing Knotty) other novels will enjoy this first book in the “Slices of Pi” series, anticipating more erotic game-play in the next installments."

– Library Journal on Even Odds

"Just good ‘ole character development that runs alongside the development of the romantic relationship which the author managed to pull off really well through good writing."

– Scandalicious Book Reviews on Even Odds

"Well-written, witty, romantic, and steamy."

– Once Upon An Alpha on Even Odds

"An interesting cast of characters...Fans of Amanda Ashby and Cate Cameron will enjoy Even Odds."

– Harlequin Junkie on Even Odds

"This book is unlike 95% of the books on the market right now."

– Smitten With Reading on Even Odds

"A geeky romance that was loaded with lots of fun, humor, love, banter, and kink!"

– Four Chicks Flipping Pages on Even Odds

"An enjoyable book with some super sexy times."

– Smexy Books on Even Odds

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More books from this author: Elia Winters

More books in this series: Slices of Pi