(Playing with Fire #3)
by Tara Sivec
ARC Review
Published: January 21, 2014
My rating: 4 of 5 ⭐️
A Navy SEAL, Austin Conrad's career is his life and his brothers in arms are his family. So when one of his SEAL brothers calls him to ask for a favor, there is no hesitation before he says yes. Even if the the request is to baby-sit Brady Marshall's sister, Gwen, a beautiful but mouthy and prickly woman he had the pleasure of meeting once before. Austin generally likes his women more compliant, it works better with the one night stands he prefers to stick to.
Six months ago, when Gwen ended up injured and beaten on her brothers doorstep with her 6-year old daughter in tow, she had been a mere shell of herself. Now she was stronger than ever, having gotten away from an abusive husband and toxic parents, working with her brother in his investigations company. She has a good handle on the work while Brady was out of town and is pissed to find out he has called in the 'troops' to keep an eye on her while he's gone. Especially when the troops come in the form of one Austin Conrad, who seems to believe he is God's gift to women.
Austin is nothing if not intrigued by the gorgeous, venom spitting woman he is supposed to look after, and completely floored when she turns out to be the warm and loving mother of a six year old Barbie-toting little girl. Spitting venom, he can handle.......Barbie-toting little girls terrify him. But they also inspire him into protective mode, and when some odd events seem to shake the strong and capable Gwen to the core, Austin decides his detail just got serious.
Accepting Austin's help is not exactly easy to do for newly independent Gwen, but with a daughter in the mix she cannot afford to take unnecessary risks, and stupid she isn't. Being so near him at all times is doing a number on her, though. She should be repelled by this dominant man, but she finds herself attracted to him, especially when she sees his involvement with her daughter. She is scared to lose her heart, she did that once before and still bears the scars......
*****
Fantastic blend of suspense, drama and serious sexual chemistry!!
All kinds of sparks were flying in this book!! I love it! From the start you could feel the energy between Austin and Gwen, be it positive or negative, they did something to each other, they obviously affected the other. Yes, chemistry was oozing off the pages, but these two were not about to go down easily, fighting their attraction tooth and nail.
Gwen is a mama bear, geared up to protect her daughter at all cost and is nothing at all like the woman who escaped her abpusive husband months ago. She carries shame and guilt though, and a serious case of mistrust, especially when it comes to domineering men. And lord knows, Austin is not only dominant, he is annoyingly so.
Growing up in the system without any example of what family life looks like, Austin is comfortable only with what he has found among his SEAL brothers. Dealing with women is usually limited to the release of physical need only, and children are completely alien to him. But somehow, Gwen and her daughter worm their way under his skin and he seems unable to get rid of them.
Loved this book!!! Hotter than hell and with some great entertaining action. A cocky, hunk of an alpha SEAL, a feisty, kickass momma bear and a precocious, cute six year-old make for some great fireworks!!
✨Vivid and volatile, sensuous and stirring!✨
**ARC provided in return for an honest review.**
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