Jack is the epitome of ‘Tall, Dark and Handsome’. His mysterious behaviour, silence and permanent scowl only make him more appealling. But due to stay-way vibes, very few dare to get close to him. Within those we find only the Bowens, and the bane of his existence, Elle Cooper.

Elle is the exact opposite of Jack, she’s sassy, flirty, the true life of the party. She never stops, always doing something and on the move. She represents everything that Jack doesn’t want in a woman, or so he hoped…LOL…

“She was all that he would ever want in a woman. Except for that attitude of hers. That would ruin everything. It would drive him crazy. He could never trust her, and she would never be happy staying in, making a home for him. Her priority would always be her work. Her agenda. And he was playing with fire. She affected him just by being close to him. Not good.”

Teasing Jack is one of Elle’s favorite past-times, and in the year and a half they have known each other, even with rarely meeting, every chance she got she took a jab at him. Due to his stoic attitude she nick names him Borg, and it’s what she always calls him.

“It would have been funnier with you, of course, barrel of laughs that you are. Life and soul of the party, really.”

Especially after James and Tate’s wedding, where they were forced to interact more, much to Jack’s dismay, since they were best man and maid of honor. From that point, with Jack going undercover, Elle took it upon herself to constantly emailing him, to updated and tease him, of course. Even though he never answered the emails back, they got very closer, because they were a bit of a lifeline to him, not to lose himself in his mission on the criminal underworld. Her teasing was the highlight of his day.

“Just wanted to be the first to congratulate you on your birthday—or your assembly day—however your kind of people are made.”

But when he comes back and Elle’s gets in some major trouble, he is the only one who can help her, not that he gave her much choice…LOL

Being forced to live and working in close proximity to her, makes all his previous efforts to stay away from her, go right down the drain…They couldn’t deny it anymore, the chemistry and sexual tension between them was already off the charts before, but now, it took seismic proportions. And everyone was well aware of it (how could they not?! 😉 ) even with them always being in denial.

“I knew this was going to happen if you spent any time together,” James continued. “The only reason it hasn’t happened earlier is because you avoided her like the plague.”

Of course, when they can’t deny it any longer and give in to their attraction, they are still too stubborn to see what’s right in from of them, and try to embark in a temporary sexual relationship (because we all know how great those work out *cue snort*).

“The obey-me-or-else tone, the one that demands servitude. Doing things on command is not a skill I’ve acquired or have any interest in acquiring,”

They allow themselves to explore this magnetism, but always put up mental blocks, so that their hearts wouldn’t get involved. They genuinely thought they were all wrong to one another. It’s a true case of ‘There Are None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See’…

“Crazy attraction none withstanding, she knew there could never be anything between them. They would drive each other insane. But that was just as well, because she was not looking for love or a relationship. Heck, she wasn’t even sure sex was a good idea. Every time he kissed her, her damn heart stopped and her core flooded. Such raw passion. Such intensity, in the kiss and in the hand restraining her. She didn’t like being held in place, being told what to do, and that was all he did. He was a rock and she would never get him to move. And yet, for all her sound reasoning she couldn’t deny she wanted him, badly.”

“Fucking her was mind-blowing, and he couldn’t deny enjoying her wiseass comments and their back and forth outside the bedroom, but he was thirty-six. It was time to stop jerking around and plan for the future. Elle wasn’t his future and he wasn’t hers. She needed an easygoing, laid-back guy that would let her do her thing. He needed a dedicated woman. They would drive each other insane. Love didn’t grow out of conflict. Sexual chemistry did. And building your future on your dick’s whims was a very shaky foundation.”

The crazy chemistry combined with their incessant ribbing, gave place to some off the charts, burning hot sex scenes, where Jack always asserted his dominancy. And we all know, by now, that Elle is so not the submissive type. LOL

“You can’t take me on. I like my women tied up. Ball-gagged. Blindfolded. Plug up their asses. Pussy spread open for me to fuck it however I want. If I take the gag off, it’s to fuck their mouths.”

He was going for shock effect, not that he was exaggerating much. That didn’t shock her. She just whistled. “Wow. No wonder you forget they’re in your bed. How do they communicate? What about the safe word? Do you give them a pad and they use their fingertips to Morse it to you?” She imitated Morse-code-like sounds and added, mimicking a robot, “Tap. Taptaptap. Please scratch my nose. Dying here.”

Rest assured, those are not into kink, because this is not a BDSM book. Sure Jack could be anything but dominant in the sex scenes, as well as in life, as he pointed it out, so, besides the sporadic hand restraining, a blindfold at one time, and some anal play at another, I would never consider this story in that genre. After all, Elle is anything but submissive and there was never pain involved, not even spanking. He would never hurt her, he even said as much.

“You do know me. I have told you things I haven’t told anyone. Things very few people know about me. And when you say nothing affects me? You are wrong, pet; you affect me. A shitload. I don’t want you to, I actually hated it, but you do. More than you think.”

I absolutely loved this story and characters. Their constant banter, and the combination of his broodiness with her sassy attitude completely grabbed me to the book. I can sincerely say that Elle was one of the most genuinely feisty female MCs I have ever read, her come-backs were awesome. And their magnetic pull, like I said before, allied with his intensity was just panty-melting!

I had been anxiously waiting (like so many of you) for this book and it was totally worth it! I love the author’s writing style and character building.

I have to point out how so very helpful Elle (the author) was with my pain-in-the-ass self, answering all my questions and clearing up some points I had during my read. I know not all the writers would go to so much trouble after writing the book, so again, thank you so much! And kudos to you for being such a interactive writer!!!

Congratulations Elle, for another fantastic addition to this already awesome series. I can’t wait for Morgana’s book, I love a kick-ass heroine!

“I love your kind of pushy, pet. Never doubt that. For the record, we aren’t a good fit.”
She froze at his words. “No?”
“No. We are a fucking perfect one.”

 

ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for a honest review