A sexy category romance from Entangled’s Brazen imprint…The wrong man never felt so right…Ex-fighter Reed Miller has been secretly lusting over his best friend’s girl for months, but he refuses to jeopardize a friendship over a woman especially one who doesn’t like him all that much. Now that Darcy’s on the market again, it’s even more imperative to stick to his strict hands-off policy. But … to stick to his strict hands-off policy. But the sizzling attraction between them is too powerful to ignore, and once he’s had a taste of her all bets are off.
Darcy Grant is tired of walking the straight and narrow path. She’s on the hunt for passion, and there’s no denying Reed is just the man to give it to her. Although she has no interest in dating a bad boy, and certainly not her ex’s best friend, it’s impossible not to melt beneath Reed’s skillful touch. Now it’s just a matter of setting a few ground rules and hoping her rule-breaking, sweet-talking bad boy agrees to follow them. But if she lets Reed into her bed, does she stand a chance of keeping him out of her heart?
”more
Best friend’s ex-girlfriend. Yes! Bring. It. On…
“Last night you said that you have to act like a jerk towards me because it’s the only way for you to…” She eyed him sternly. “Finish that sentence, Reed. To what?”
Reluctance dug a deep groove into his forehead. “It’s nothing. Forget I ever said it.”
“I can’t forget. It’s been bugging me all day. I need to know what you meant by that.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Sounding frustrated, he gently uncurled her fingers from his arm. “Nothing good can come out of this conversation, baby.”
Darcy frowned. “Don’t baby me. And PS? I never took you for a coward. You’ve always struck me as a man who says exactly what’s on his mind.”
Something hot and dangerous moved through his eyes. “Why are you pushing this?”
“Because I’m curious.”
“Curious? No, I don’t think that’s it.” His voice was silky now, deep and mocking. He eased closer, his arm brushing hers as he shifted so they were facing each other. “This is more than curiosity. You’re blushing. You know what that tells me?”
Her breathing went shallow. “What?”
“It tells me you know exactly what I meant last night.”
“I…” Her next words were barely over a whisper. “I need to hear you say it.” Her body grew tight and achy as she searched his face, waiting for an answer. God, why was she pushing him? He was right, nothing good could come of this. Nothing good at all.
“Don’t do this.” A warning note crept into his husky voice. “Don’t make me say it.”
Darcy’s heart was no longer beating at double time. It had skipped right over triple and was now veering into cardiac arrest territory. The air in the alcove became stifling, rippling with the tension she’d only begun to notice last night.
And now it was impossible to ignore.
Reed was standing so damn close to her. Close enough that his addictive scent was once again wreaking havoc on her senses. Close enough that all she had to do was lean in slightly and their lips would be touching.
“You’re right,” she stammered. “You shouldn’t say it.”
“I shouldn’t.” Yet even as he voiced his agreement, his hand had risen to her face, his thumb delicately sweeping over her bottom lip.
Her breath hitched. God. Her entire world had reduced to this one moment, this one man. Her lips were actually trembling from the crazy urge to kiss him.
“Fuck.” The expletive tore out of Reed’s throat, his frustration thick between them. “I want you, Darcy. I. Fucking. Want. You.”
Oh, poor, poor Reed. He’s been crushing after his best friend and business partner’s girlfriend for months; even when AJ and Darcy break up, he believes she’s still off limits. Not that she’d be interested in him anyway–Darcy’s all about relationships, and Reed’s gone out of his way to show the world what a player he is in an attempt to get his best friend’s girl out of his head.
But once Darcy starts to really see Reed, she can’t seem to stay away from him. A purely physical relationship can’t hurt, right?
Riiiight.
Reed knows he’s got a lot of (self-created, mostly) obstacles to get around if he wants a real relationship with Darcy, and he’s willing to work to bring them down. Patiently, unobtrusively, he manages to make her forget about every single one of the “rules” she set down to keep them from getting too close.
(Though she has no problem with them getting close enough to have lots and lots of fantastic sex, of course. The girl’s not crazy, after all.)
Reed is an awesome hero. I loved his patience and the fact that he was such a great guy. The trip to the farmers’ market? Fantastic. Joining Big Brothers and not even telling Darcy because he didn’t want her to think he was doing it just to impress her? Seriously sigh worthy.
Plus, he’s totally hot.
All together, he’s one hero that absolutely deserved the girl and his happy ending.
Come on, book three–now AJ needs his HEA!
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
Elle Kennedy seems to always deliver! This one was so easy to devour and I just loved Reed. So sweet and steamy and a quick read.
Having read the first one in this series I looked forward to reading this one. Having encountered Reed in first one since the club is the one thing in common for all these guys. Reed sees Darcy in a night out on the town but without AJ and she seems to be having a good time kissing someone else. Wo hold up there what is going on so stepping in he does. That is when he finds out they broke up. Having been attracted to her but not going to cross that line he is reeling from the news. They end up dancing and that was all she wrote as the saying goes. Reed also used to be a fighter and I do believe he will be in a different kind of fight now and the interesting part in reading this will see who will come out on top. Darcy wants a fling but seriously when their happens to be more than a spark when two come together and a fire is lit it will keep on burning as it happens with these two that a fling is not what will end up to be here. Nice how Aj take all this too in stride the man he is will be interesting to read about his time when it comes. She is a school teacher and at first taking Reed seriously is not easy especially since he projected the character he did. She will soon come to realize that he will mean more to her than a fling but thanks to overhearing only bits of a conversation will he blow it his chance for the real deal and them both coming out on top? This is a blazing second novel to this series with the guys from this club being so delightful to read. Any girl would want a night such as this if they had the chance and have it turn out the way it does in here.
hmmmm I am still deciding how I feel about this book. In one hand I am saying you go not go for your best friends ex. Especially if he is as nice as AJ was. There is code amongs friends and that is you never go for an ex, it isn’t done and even though these two (Darcy and Reed) claimed that no they were not going there, they really didn’t fight it much. However on the other hand when Reed went to AJ, he gave his blessing, showing again what a good guy he was and knew that Reed always had a thing for Darcy. Anywho I guess it was up to them, not something I would have done, but Reed needed to get over the boo hoo is me and grow the hell up, and his little game with flirting with someone so that he wont be hurt, yeah shows your maturity buddy, so not crazy about him. Hope AJ gets a much better woman.
Rcvd and ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) Voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions
Steamy easy read! Fun book.
3.75/5
MMA fighter is all I needed to see. I really enjoyed Reed and Darcy’s story. They wanted to have a no strings attached relationship but how often does that work out. Someone or both parties end up catching feelings for the other and it can sometimes turn out bad. In this situation, that was not the case. Their chemistry was very hot. This is the first book of this series that I have read and I am going to go back and read the others.
Sigh!! This was such a quick, sexy, satisfying and passionate read.
Reed is a playboy that is slowly changing his ways. His need to do so is compounded by the fact that his two best friends are truly happy in their relationships.
When Darcy and his best friend AJ breakup, the attraction he’s always felt for but hid from her boils just under the surface. Barely contained.
When Darcy pushes him to admit his attraction, the passion boils over between them. Unable to hold back, Reed and Darcy want to explore their passion. The problem? Darcy only wants a fling while Reed yearns for more.
Can this reformed playboy win Darcy’s love? Or, will he only ever be a fling?
From the get go, the passion in this book exploded never once letting up. Reed and Darcy were perfect for each other.
Reed is trying to come out of the playboy role everyone has boxed him into. I love how this change manifested of his own accord. He knew who he wanted and he also new he wanted more with her. He is a sweet, strong, sexy alpha male.
Darcy is lacking passion in her life. She yearns for it and when Reed gives her a taste, she’s all in. Darcy is smart and feisty. I loved how she pushed Reed. I was a little upset that she was so blinded by Reed’s past that she kept throwing the fact they were a fling in his face though.
As for Reed and Darcy together, I was shocked my kindle didn’t catch fire. Holy smokes they set the sheets and everywhere else they got it on, ablaze!
As for AJ, I have to admit that the way he reacts to his ex and best friend’s hookup is out of the realm of believability. I also would have like to have seen more quality time between Reed and Darcy just to cement the fact that their love is based on something other than scorching hot sex.
This is the first book I read by Elle Kennedy and it sure won’t be the last!
I received an ARC via NetGalley of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Reed Miller part owns a nightclub (Sin) with his two best friends, Gage and AJ, he is also a little in love with AJ’s girlfriend, Darcy, who he avoids like the plague, there’s no way he wants his feelings known by anybody, so that’s why he stays well clear. That is until he thinks she’s cheating on his best friend. Yep, that’ll get the sparks flying, and it most certainly does. When the chips are down, and all Reed and Darcy have is self restraint to keep them from each other, excitement, passion and good old fashioned chemistry take over. Let’s also not forget how, sexy and alpha Mr I’m an ex MMA fighter is. What a sexy read this is, great words, great writing, and an all round fun easy read. I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest review.