He won the championship. Now he must run for his life.Winning the welterweight championship was everything Rake had worked for. Now it’s all come crashing down, and he has no choice but to flee his hometown of Las Vegas.When he stops in a small town in Utah, Rake meets a man who makes him forget all about the danger he’s in.Rio has a good life. He loves his family and career, but when Rake blows … family and career, but when Rake blows into town, something stirs in his blood…something like desire.
Rio doesn’t do relationships, not since the last disaster, but Rake makes it impossible for him to say no.
When Rake comes clean about what he’s running from, Rio just might have a way to help.
Now the two of them must fight to free Rake from the man who took everything…and stay alive until the end.
The Artist’s Boxer is the first book in the Yours to Protect series. It contains mature sexual content of hot adult men, intended for readers 18 and older, a one-night stand turning into several days, and a crafty old man who loves to butt into his grandson’s life.
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Everything about this book is AWESOME!
Starting with Rake(Rafael da Silva). He’s a boxer and he just won the welterweight championship. Gosh,can you imagine the body he has? Ad to the hotness that he’s also loyal, kind,funny and honorable…absolutely swooning material!
But Rake got himself into a life or death situation: to live he has to either work as a enforcer for the mafia or pay them a lot of money. If not…death. Hence,the conundrum,because his heart and his honor don’t like either of the two choices(and anyway,he doesn’t even have the money). So,what to do? Run,of course,hoping for the best.
He does, indeed, find the best. Fate takes him to Riverbend where he meets Rio Danvers,and their connection is istant. Well,maybe at first they think it’s only lust at first sight,but sparks fly everywhere they touch and their need is stronger than a mere one time thing. And I’ve gotta say,reading about these two together brought goosebumps on my skin and had my breath faltering. Either inside or outside of the bedroom, they are raw intensity and growing soul bond,despite how much they try to not acknowledge it.
Rio also comes up with a possible solution to Rake’s dilemma: going to the US Marshals, because Rio’s kinda- not really- brother is one. It would mean witness protection for Rake and testifying against the Corsettis… if only he wasn’t afraid to put Rio and his family at risk. Of course he has to leave Riverbend,return to Las Vegas by himself and try to clean up the mess he left behind.
From this point on is a surprise after another and I won’t reveal any of it.
Because you REALLY have to read The Artist’s Boxer. Rio and Rake’s soul mate love story is beautiful and then you’ll find a plethora of incredible secondary characters, all intent on fighting the big,bad mobster boss. The book is so much fun to read. Crazy family members and friends, intriguing marshals and private detective, and might I say,Damian Corsetti,too.
Funny banter,innuendos, risky situations, love making…the book’s got it all. So,pick it up right now and read it,you won’t regret it!
Rake is a welterweight boxer who goes on the run rather than submit to the extortion of a Vegas gangster. The same Vegas gangster that his dad works for. Without any real destination in mind, he goes to a small town in Utah and meets Rio a man of Apache heritage who is a woodworking artist.
As the two sort through Rake’s problems, with the help of a crew of U.S. Marshals, Rake and Rio get to know each other a whole lot more intimately. This is a fast-paced crime drama, with two fit and sexy main characters, who are anything but victims. The sex scenes are frequent. Though they aren’t as graphic as some I’ve seen, it’s certainly NOT fade to black.
On the downside, this one could have used a bit more clarity in the prose as it was sometimes confusing as to just whose viewpoint we were in and it was occasionally confusing as to who was saying what.
On the upside and adding to the charm of this tale, was the magical realism aspects added by the character of Rio’s grandfather. Also, the banter between this cast of quirky characters adds an enjoyable element that makes this better than just run of the mill.
I’m not a huge fan of the crime-drama law enforcement sub-genre in M/M fiction, but this one wasn’t bad. As a 230 page freebie, and a series opener, it accomplishes its job. I’m now curious enough to want to take a look at the later books in the series.