Posted: Nov. 10, 2014
How could she have been so stupid? When Jessica Cross decides to give her violently jealous boyfriend—the otherwise influential and charming Dennis Stavros—a second chance, she very nearly becomes a statistic. After weeks of healing from a broken rib and collapsed lung, and with Dennis behind bars, Jessica finally feels ready to come out of hiding. But will she ever be able to take a chance on love again with someone new?Mixed martial arts fighter Slade Martin knows he has a bad reputation. Hell, he's probably earned it. So it won’t be easy to convince beautiful, vulnerable Jessica that she can trust him—that from the moment she walked into his life, she’s been the only one he’s wanted. Powerful and confident, Slade knows he can honor his vow to protect Jessica body and soul. Winning her heart will be another matter . . . but a woman like Jessica is worth the fight.
MY REVIEW:
This is the case of the eternal playboy
with his “Harem” who has become infatuated with a lady bartender. Slade Martin use to be an MMA fighter but due
to some bad blows to his head they have recommended that he not get in the ring
anymore. Now he does personal fitness training
and trains other MMA fighters that want to hopefully get the perfect record he
had in the ring.
When he was still fighting he just
happened to see the woman of his dreams at one of his matches. He saw her with the boyfriend she had
mentioned before when he would ask her out.
He had always asked her to dump him and go out with him but she always
shot him down. You see Jessica Cross was
hiding her own personal hell from everyone.
You see Dennis he was a college boyfriend
that she moved to Miami with. He is well
off, snooty, and controlling. All things
that never showed until he moved back home to his hometown, Tarpon Springs. When this up and coming politician takes to
manhandling her she’s has enough of his controlling ways. So, she leaves him getting her own place,
working more hours and doing what feels right.
You see the reason she left in the first
place is the one night when Dennis sees her fit to be out in his presence
(since it wasn’t with his wealthy friends that he envied most of the time. Plus
he was ashamed to bring her around due to her job) well he had been watching
her watch Slade to closely as he fought his match. “He grabbed her by the arm, shook her, and
called her a “disrespectful slut.” She
packed and left at that moment she knew it was over. Enough was enough. It had happened before but she wasn’t going
to stay till it advanced to beating.
He tried to make up with flowers, cards
all apologizing over and over. She
wouldn’t do it. It was almost the
weekend and Jack Daniels, Slade’s friend, would be fighting and she really
wanted to see Slade. She went to see the
match. The minute he saw her he asked
her out, but this time she said yes. She
didn’t know it but Dennis was there and heard it all.
As Slade and Jessica were leaving Dennis
pushed Slade catching him of guard and balance.
Dennis digging his fingers into Jessica and pulled her toward his
car. Slade lunged at Dennis to protect
Jessica, she yelled at Dennis to stop but instead of him getting ready to hit Slade
he was going to hit her. Slade hit him
first, Dennis had Slade arrested. In
order to get Dennis to drop the charges Jessica went to talk to him. She ended up going back to him. Here months later Dennis had beat her so bad
she ended up in the ICU at the hospital.
Slade found out and took her home to his house on the beach to care for
her. His need to protect her was on high
alert as well as this lump in his throat and heart every time he sees, thinks
or is around her. Three weeks of recovery and Jess feels the need to return
home but she has agreed to a date.
She is feeling secure about life at first
until she finds out that Dennis has been released from jail. Then they say he has a restraining order
against him and it would violate his order from the court causing him to go
back to prison. She gets back into a
routine and she starts seeing Slade.
When daisies, which she hates, start showing up in front of her door. She thinks they are for her next door
neighbor who is on vacation and thinks nothing of it. Until her first encounter with Dennis her
life takes a huge scary change.
I really loved, LOVED all the characters
in this book. The all had their own
personality that they brought to this story and made it hum. This author grabs you right at the beginning
and holds you all the way through. It
was a pleasure reading this book. I give
it 5 stars. Provided by Net Galley.
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