Series: Road to Love (Book 1)
When desire gets this hot, you’d better buckle up…
Mary Daniels doesn’t let anything get in the way of her job acquiring rare artifacts for her wealthy boss. But this particular obstacle -- huge, hard-muscled, unashamedly masculine -- is impossible to ignore. Stuck in a cramped car with Brodie Crews for hours en route to their new assignment, Mary feels her carefully crafted persona -- and her trademark self-control -- is slipping, and she won’t allow it.
Brodie can’t imagine what secret in Mary’s past has left her so buttoned-up, though he’d dearly love to find out. Maybe then she’d trust him enough to explore their explosive chemistry. But he needs this job, so he’ll play by her rules and bide his time…until an enemy determined to outwit them strikes and he needs to get close -- in every way -- to protect her. Otherwise they could lose much more than a precious collectible. They could lose it all.
Good start to the new series. Mary works for an eccentric collector. With the help of a driver, she is the one who picks up Therman's purchases, some of which may skirt the boundaries of legality. Therman sent Mary to Mustang Transportation to hire Brodie Crews to be her driver for the next pick-up, with the probability of offering Brodie steady work with them. However, Brodie didn't make a very good first impression on Mary. Her first sight of him was as he was shirtless, sweaty, dirty, hungover, and being fondled by a woman while working on one of his cars. Brodie saw a beautiful, curvy, bossy, and uptight woman who intrigued him from the moment he met her. It was fun to see the sparks fly between them.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between these two very different people. Brodie is laid-back, friendly, and confident in himself. He has a very close relationship with his family and a large, goofy dog that he rescued. Mary grew up under very different circumstances and has created a controlled and professional persona that hides a rather lonely woman. The chemistry between them was off the charts, though Mary desperately tried to hide it at first. Brodie was determined to uncover the woman behind the walls and had the patience to chip away them. I enjoyed their road trips, the two of them and the dog, as they slowly got to know each other. Brodie's non-judgmental attitude and kindness made it easier for Mary to open up about her past. I loved seeing Mary blossom under Brodie's attention, discovering that she was loved for who she was. There were some terrific scenes of her realizing that she didn't have to be Ms. Perfect all the time. I especially loved the part in the kitchen at Brodie's house when Mary first met his mother. Mary also had an unexpectedly sexy side when she finally allowed herself to let go, and I loved seeing her knock Brodie off balance regularly.
The suspense side of the story was pretty good. Mary's boss, Therman, is one of several wealthy and eccentric collectors. There was one collector who seemed to be determined to get what he wanted at any cost. Brodie became super protective of Mary when some of their pickups either took place in sketchy locations, or they were physically attacked. One of the things I enjoyed was seeing that Mary does not take a subordinate role during any of the confrontations. She is smart and capable and holds her own when necessary. It was fun to see her outthink and outmaneuver a couple of the bad guys. We do get the point of view of that other collector, and he is definitely bad news. The final confrontation was pretty intense and resulted in some changed attitudes all around.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I did feel that it lacked a little bit of the intensity of some of the earlier series, such as Love Undercover and Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor. That will not stop me from reading the rest of the series.
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