The only thing more
dangerous than a dark secret is a damaged heart…
Shane Brandon has been pushed to the
brink, torn between his corrupt family and his explosive, all-consuming desire
for Emily Stevens, who he now knows is not who, and what, she seems. Has he
trusted the wrong person? Will she, not his brother Derek, be the ultimate
destruction of his family Empire.
Emily tries to run from Shane, but he
will stop her, confront her, force her to reveal all – one hot touch and kiss,
at a time, under every intimate detail of who this woman is, and what she
wants, is exposed. But as he tears away the dangers of the unknowns with the
woman in his bed, and in his heart, The Martina Cartel, has set their sights on
his company, his family, and the one piece of leverage they believe he won’t
gamble with: Emily.
OTHER
BOOKS IN THE SERIES
Hard Rules (book one) – available now
Bad Deeds (book three) - 8/8/17
My Review (ARC provided)
4-4.5 stars!
Lisa Renee is really on top when it comes to sexy
romantic suspense. She knows how to intertwine characters without it feeling
overwhelming. I said this is a past review but I love how in the beginning of
the book she gives us a refresher on all the characters, I feel like it really
helps the reader before starting the book.
Well this book picks up where we left off and Shane isn’t
taking no for an answer, he wants answers. I love his persistence; it is very
true to his character.
“I don’t
like the word ‘can’t’, so could I let you go? Yes. But I won’t”
Now it’s Emily that is trying to get answers and sick of
the secrets, after she finally comes clean to Shane about her past.
“Secrets.
Lies. Trust. Love. Hate. Family. Sex. I guess I’d rather have silence than
lies. Wouldn’t I?”
Emily is still afraid her past will catch up to her and
Shane and her main concern now is that she’s putting him in danger because he
now knows her secret. I love how this is handled in the story. Emily really has
a deep connection with Shane and she obviously wants to be with him but her gut
tells her to leave, to be alone. She knows he has a lot of things going on
already and doesn’t want to burden him more. Shane on the other hand wants her
close by and doesn’t want her alone. Emily also wants to feel like she can take
care of herself. She doesn’t want Shane’s money or power even though she wants
him. She doesn’t want to feel like her mother.
“No
one has ever really tried to take care of me and to tell you the truth, letting
you do this scares me.”
“I
want to not feel what I feel right now. I want to stop thinking I’m my mother,
with a rich man buying me things and keeping secrets.”
There is a lot that happens in this book. Lisa Renee’s
attention to detail and characters is great. I can’t wait to find out how this
book concludes. There are so many questions and ideas floating around my head.
Another great read by this author!
“You make me remember I need to be good
and right in my choices.”
“Do you ever question doing what is
good and right?”
“There have been times when I felt like
my hand was forced.”
“When you were a lawyer?”
“No,” I say. “I manipulated the law, as
does every attorney, but I never broke it. I’m talking about when I’m with my
family.”
“Did you go where they lead?”
“Not so far.”
“That sounds like you might.”
“I don’t want to be them.”
“You aren’t them. You don’t have to be
them.”
“I know that,” I say. “But you just
keep telling me so I don’t forget.” Her legs hit the bed frame and she grips my
arms.
I lean into a kiss and she pulls back,
her hand pressing on my chest. “Wait. Now it’s my turn to say talk to me. Are
you okay?”
“Death happened. The one thing I can’t
control. It’s not the night to push me to stop protecting you. Not tonight. Can
you do that?”
“Yes. We can.”
“We,” I repeat, “and that word sounds
as good on my tongue as I know you’re going to taste. I’m going to make love to
you properly. The way I plan to many times in our future.” I reach down and
untie her robe, letting it fall open; my fingers sliding underneath just far
enough to tease her nipples. They pucker beneath my touch, and her lashes
flutter, settling on her cheeks. “But when it’s over, I’m going to fuck you hard
and fast again.”
I tug gently on her nipples and she
bites her lips. “Look at me,” I order gently.
She opens her eyes, and there is desire
in their depths, but there are shadows there too,. I do not think she intends
for me to see doubt or uncertainty that wasn’t there before. That I do not like
or wish to know ever again. I want it gone. Now. Tomorrow. Forever. I reach up
and rip the silk tie from her robe, wrapping it around my hand, before I reach
up and caress the robe off her shoulder, letting it tumble to the ground.
“Give me your hands,” I order, but it’s
really a question: Does she still trust me?
She studies me for several beats, her
eyes narrowing ever so slightly, and I do not know what she sees in mine, but
she offers me her hands. I wrap the silk around her wrists then lean in close
to her, my cheek against her cheek, my body touching her nowhere else. “Now
you’re at my mercy.”
“Yes,” she agrees. “I am.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“Warm.”
My lips curve with the answer that is
every bit the combination of sweet sexy honesty I’ve come to expect from her.
“I’m going to make you warmer.”
“Promise?”
I go still with that question, which on
the surface is innocent, but I wonder if it truly is or if it’s about those
shadows in her eyes. “I promise,” I say. “And you know, I never—”
“Make a promise you don’t keep.”
“Exactly,” I say, and her reference to
my previous words tells me that I am not the only one on a mission of trust,
and I intend to deserve hers.
I bring my hands to just above her
shoulders, letting them lightly touch her before beginning a slow caress
downward. She makes a soft little sound that has my cock thickening and my
blood running hot, but I won’t rush this. My lips follow, tracing a line down
one of her arms, then the other. I lean and caress my lips over hers, a feather
light touch that teases me, if not her.
I take her hands in mine, pressing them
behind her head. “Hold them there, for me, so I can see all of you.
Understand?”
“You intend to tease me incessantly,”
she says, without so much as a hint of hesitation. “Yes. I understand.”
I wrap my arm around her waist and pull
her naked body against me, my free hand on hers above her head, our mouths a
breath apart. “I intend to lick every part of you, and then do it again, so
yes. If that’s the definition of incessant teasing, then yes. I am going to
tease you incessantly.” I close my mouth down on hers, my tongue licking into
her mouth, a deep, hungry tasting I force myself to end far too quickly. “That
was the beginning. Should I could continue?”
“Yes. Please.”
“Please,” I say. “I like that.”
GIVEAWAY
PRIZE: 2 $25 Amazon gift cards, 3 signed copies of Hard Rules and
3 Dirty Money tote bags
New York Times and USA Today
bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed
INSIDE OUT series. Suzanne Todd on the INSIDE OUT series: Lisa has created
a beautiful, complicated, and sensual world that is filled with intrigue and
suspense. Sara’s character is strong, flawed, complex, and sexy - a modern girl
we all can identify with.
In addition to the success of Lisa's
INSIDE OUT series, she has published many successful titles. The TALL, DARK AND
DEADLY series and THE SECRET LIFE OF AMY BENSEN series, both spent several
months on a combination of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling
lists. Lisa is presently working on a dark, edgy new series, Dirty Money, for
St. Martin's Press.
Prior to publishing Lisa owned
multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin
Business Journal and also praised by the Dallas Women's Magazine. In 1998 Lisa
was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.
Lisa loves to hear from her readers.
You can reach her at www.lisareneejones.com and she is
active on Twitter and Facebook daily.
SOCIAL
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Ryder Rodgers had a plan.
New York Times Bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary novels that contain a mixture of sweet, emotional, a whole lot of sexy, and a little bit of real. She likes to write strong heroines, and damaged heroes who we love to hate and hate to love.
She’s a mixture of most of her female characters: sassy, intelligent, stubborn, reserved, outgoing, driven, emotional, strong, and wears her heart on her sleeve. All of which she displays daily with her husband and three children where they live in Southern California.
On a whim, K. Bromberg decided to try her hand at this writing thing. Since then she has written The Driven Series (Driven, Fueled, Crashed, Raced, Aced), the standalone Driven Novels (Slow Burn, Sweet Ache, Hard Beat, and Down Shift), and a novella (UnRaveled). She is currently finishing up Sweet Cheeks a standalone novel out November 14th.
Her plans for 2017 include a sports romance duet (2 books: The Player, The Catch) and the Everyday Heroes series (3 books: Cuffed, Combust, and Cockpit). She’s also writing a novella for the 1,001 Dark Night series that will be out in February 2017.
She loves to hear from her readers so make sure you check her out on social media.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon Author | Driven Group
