Caitlin has had a rough time since the death of her parents, but she is a fighter. I admired Caitlin; she's not making excuses, she doesn't whine. Caitlin is working four jobs to make ends meet and trying to accomplish her goal of finishing college. She is willing to do whatever needs to be done to make her parents' wish for her come true. If that means taking a job as a stripper, for which she has absolutely no experience or desire, to make some money; then so be it!
Jake is a young businessman (and just happens to be panty-melting hot!!) who owns the strip club where Caitlin is auditioning. At first, I felt like Jake was taking advantage of the situation by asking Caitlin to pole dance and strip in front of him to see how far she'd go even though he had no intention of hiring her because she is underage and inexperienced. Caitlin pushes herself through the audition but flees right after, realizing that stripping is not her cuppa but that's not the end to the Jake and Caitlin Show.
After running a background check on Caitlin, Jake totally pushes his way into Caitlin's life. Overwhelming her with his hot alpha-maleness and his help -- like handling the sleazy creep who Caitlin works for and the bank president who's bamboozled Caitlin out of the insurance money she's owed, and buying her a new bed. Caitlin isn't too keen on being taken care of or having her life 'managed' by Jake because she's been doing things on her own for so long. Jake is completely smitten and captivated by Caitlin. He can't not take care of her because she's nothing like the women Jake usually 'dates' - she's young, naive, sexually inexperienced, and most importantly, not at all interested in his money -- even though she probably needs his help more than anyone he's ever met!
I really liked these two together; perfect complements to one another. Caitlin brings out Jake's caring, protective instincts and Jake brings out Caitlin's sensual side and teaches her that leaning on someone isn't a bad thing. Their chemistry is pretty hot too. There was a decent suspense subplot here that introduces secondary characters and blended in well without overtaking the love story between Caitlin and Jake.
Pole Dance had some obvious editing issues, too many wonky references to "pink parts", and Jake's dialogue irked me some. The ending was a bit rushed too but I'm sure we'll see Caitlin and Jake in future books in the series.
3
