BENWe met five years ago when I was her family’s bodyguard.Our time together was a secret.Her touch was different…. addictive.I fell hard and fast and then I left.I’ve thought about her every day since.As I sit here at a wedding watching her with her new boyfriend… I have regrets.Regrets for the past things I’ve done.But I won’t regret what I’m about to do.She’s telling me no but her body’s … do.
She’s telling me no but her body’s telling me yes.
I need her beneath me.
I’m having her tonight.
BRIDGET
It’s the little things I remember about Ben.
His smile and the icing sugar he had on his pancakes.
What started out as private jokes between us soon turned into private visits.
The quiet man at the back of the crowd.
His dry wit made me laugh.
His dominant body ruined me forever
He never told me he loved me, until he was leaving.
That was five years ago.
Things are looking up for me.
I met someone, someone special.
But Ben is back.
I find myself thinking about him… more than I should.
No matter how hard my heart is freefalling from my chest.
I will never go back there.
You only get to break my heart once.
This is a full length, romantic suspense.
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I love when I get an author recommendation and I start reading their library and literally fall down the rabbit hole of their books.
This is what happened to me when I was told to read TL Swan, holy crap!! So this is a stand alone story with characters from the Stanton Series that I love!
Bridget and Ben’s story is filled with ups and downs and ins and outs , and I am here for it. There is some drama, some action, a good amount of steam and a whole lot of emotion.
I just can’t stop reading TL Swan’s books!! I’m just glad there are more for me to read!!
I enjoyed Bridget & Ben’s story but parts of their story did bother me!
I was never 100% sold on their relationship from the Stanton books but I was still rooting for them. I just never felt this connection for them before but this book gave me insight into who Ben was and I was hoping that Bridget would be able to give him what he so desperately needed.
Swan definitely hit me in the feels during parts of this book, I might have shed a couple tears! That also might have been around the time that the heroine kinda won me over. I loved that Swan brought in his past….If a woman is going to love a man entirely, that means you have to love the darker sides of his life too! That side of Ben’s life is a hard bit to handle and although she seemed to have eventually accepted his life, at the same time she had moments where she didn’t. I did not like the back and forth of those situations. There were just quite a few different moments in this book that just left me wishing for a stronger heroine for Ben.
Getting a glimpse into the other Stanton world characters as well as some new characters was fun! I will admit this one was just a bit hard to read at times. I found quite a few errors that had me pausing to make sure that I was reading it correctly.
Wow. Another addictive steamy romance from our aussie gal Tee! Is there a book by her I am yet to devour within 24 hours?!
Security Guard Romance / Second Chance
I do recommend reading the Stanton trilogy before reading this. It can be read as a standalone but at the same time, I would have not understood any of the references if I hadn’t had read the Stanton trilogy last month.
Ben & Bridget have always and will always have a connection. Ben worked as a security guard for her sister and her husband, and it was instant attraction & connection upon meeting for them both. It took a while for Ben to come around as he did work for her family, but as soon as he let himself feel for Bridget – They went all the way to love territory. Until a horrid accident with Bridget’s sister found Ben walking away from Bridget and her family.
Time jump 5 years and Bridget is in a comfortable relationship with a cop. She is mediocre happy, but still guilty dreams of Ben often. What she didn’t expect is for Ben to show up a family wedding and declare he is going to get her back, causing a bit of love triangle romance until of course – Bridget chooses Ben.
They both then pick up where they left off 5 years ago, and find themselves overwhelmed with each others love. Until the truth of where Ben has been the last 5 years, and what he has been doing more so – who and what he is working for – causes rift between the couple where Bridget has to accept his line of work or say Goodbye.
I did get quite annoyed at Bridget. I still liked her as she truly did bring out the best in Ben, but it irritated me how selfish she was a times. Especially when Ben is the opposite of selfish. I also didn’t like that Ben told her his past and dark secrets, and she went and told everyone because of her own personal insecurities.
However, the ending was epic. I did get a tear but I knew Tee would leave us with a happy ending and oh boy, did she ever. So happy (and relieved) on how these two ended up in their epilogue!
4.5/5 Stars with 4/5 steam!
Ben Statham broke Bridget Marx heart by telling her he loved her and then disappeared for five years. Now he’s waltzed back into her life and announced he wants her back. As if! Bridget wants no part of him and denies she still loves him even though it’s true. Ben has secrets. Lots of secrets and if he wants any chance of winning Didge back he has to open up. Keeping her safe is imperative but doing his job right is who he is. If she can’t live with that there may be no future for them.
Bridget was happy she had a boyfriend that loved her, he was nearly perfect, but she didn’t love him like she loved Ben. She keeps reminding herself that Ben left her and wasn’t there when she needed her, and now she’s got the perfect relationship, it’s just missing one thing, the love she had for Ben.
Five years Ben’s been gone, and he comes back and one thing he has come back for is Bridget. He knows he shouldn’t have left without an explanation, but he didn’t want her to hate him because of his past.
Bridget can deny what she feels for Ben, but she wants him to be open with her. When she finds out about his past, she makes a snap decision she can’t live with what he did and leaves.
After talking with her brother, she realises the huge mistake she made but is it too late.
I loved this book! Let me say.. I got angry towards the end of the book and wanted to turn my kindle off.. I felt like my heart shattered! (I literally sobbed and had to hide in the bathroom lol) So glad I kept reading. I truly fell in love with the characters!
This has everything you want in a great read. Drama, humor and an uber alpha.
Ben and Bridget have an intense relationship. He’s a control freak and expects Didge to just do what she’s told and of course, that’s not happening.
Their fights are epic, she always threatening to strangle or kill him. On the outside, he does come across as a total wanker/asshole and he is but he has had a horrible past and has a complicated job. He’s very guarded and doesn’t get close to people.
Sometimes I wanted to junk punch him, his controlling and bad-tempered nature made it very hard to like him. Bridget, on the other hand, was hilarious she was very sassy, stands up for herself and seriously cracked me up when it came to dealing with him.
He’s not a bad guy but he’s broken and doesn’t deal with things how normal people would.
These two together are an explosion waiting to happen.
This has everything you want in a great read. Drama, humor and an uber alpha.
Ben and Bridget have an intense relationship. He’s a control freak and expects Didge to just do what she’s told and of course, that’s not happening.
Their fights are epic, she always threatening to strangle or kill him. On the outside, he does come across as a total wanker/asshole and he is but he has had a horrible past and has a complicated job. He’s very guarded and doesn’t get close to people.
Sometimes I wanted to junk punch him, his controlling and bad-tempered nature made it very hard to like him. Bridget, on the other hand, was hilarious she was very sassy, stands up for herself and seriously cracked me up when it came to dealing with him.
He’s not a bad guy but he’s broken and doesn’t deal with things how normal people would.
These two together are an explosion waiting to happen and it’s exciting to read.
A great read and I loved Ben and Bridget. This is the first book in this series I have read. I enjoyed the closeness of the group of friends/family.