Better When He's Bad
A Welcome to the Point Novel
By Jay Crownover
Genres:
Romance, Mystery & Suspense
****
Teasers
****
****
Synopsis
Welcome to the Point . . .
There's a difference between a bad boy and a boy who's bad. . . . Meet Shane Baxter.
Sexy, dark, and dangerous, Bax isn't just from the wrong side of the tracks, he is the wrong side of the tracks. A criminal, a thug, and a brawler, he was the master of bad choices, until one such choice landed him in prison for five years. Now Bax is out and looking for answers, and he doesn't care what he has to do or who he has to hurt to get them. But there's a new player in the game, and she's much too innocent, much too soft
. . . and standing directly in his way.
Dovie Pryce knows all about living a hard life and the tough choices that come with it. She's always tried to be good, tried to help others, and tried not to let the darkness pull her down. But the streets are fighting back, things have gone from bad to worse, and the only person who can help her is the scariest, sexiest, most complicated ex-con the Point has ever produced.
Bax terrifies her, awakening feelings she never thought she'd have for a guy like him. But it doesn't take Dovie long to realize . . . some boys are just better when they're bad.
Dottie's Star Rating
(4.5 Stars)
Review
Bax is a thug. He just got out of jail, a jail where he has spent the
past five years of his life. He was set up (not that he's really Mr. Innocent)
by Race, his best friend. He gets out and comes back to the Point. The Point is
the rough side of town and where Bax grew up. He wants to know why Race set him
up and take his life back. But Race has gone into hiding and in looking for him;
he stumbles across Dovie, Race's little half-sister. He didn't know Race had a
little sister (Race hadn't known about her before Bax went "in"
either). Not much surprises Bax but this one caught him off guard.
Dovie is a spitfire redhead who was also raised in the bad part of town.
She's tough, she's street-wise, she's smart, she's intensely loyal to her
brother, and yet; there's an air of innocence still about her. Bax finds
himself intrigued by a woman for the first time in his life.
Usually, women are just there for a quick tumble for Bax. He feels good. He makes them feel good. He leaves. Done. He
knows his life in not conductive to having a woman. He's surrounded by a bunch
of bad guys and has two things on his mind...finding out why Race set him up
and getting revenge from Novak, the crime lord of the neighborhood who played a
big part in his incarceration as well.
As he moves about town looking for Race, Dovie glues herself to his side
(whether he likes it or not) because she knows Bax will eventually lead her to
her brother. This throws Bax and Dovie together, a lot, much to Bax's
displeasure. This is not because he
doesn't like Dovie - it's because he likes her too much. To make matters worse, Bax is forced to claim
her as his to keep her safe in the eyes of the unsavory characters in the
Point. He kisses her to make his point, but neither can ignore the
after-affects of that kiss...
Excerpt:
I tried to make smart choices, choices that would
eventually lead me out of places like the Point. That meant most boys who came from the
streets were boys I didn't waste my time on.
Not to mention I dressed like a boy most of the time and didn't bother
to doll up. It wasn't like they were
pounding down the front door to get after me...but that kiss with Bax was
different. When he had kissed me for
show, I knew it was an act, a way to stake his claim and get the guy in the
suit to back off. His nearly midnight
gaze never wavered and it was like pressing my mouth against the unrelenting
surface of a statue. Sure, he tasted
like enticement and all the things dark and dangerous that oozed out of him,
but it was all a game to him and I could feel it. I wished that had been enough to stop my skin
from tingling and my lips from desperately wanting to spring open and pull him in. Being kissed by a guy like Bax for whatever
reason was enough to mess with my already spinning head, and I didn't like it,
so when Benny had pushed, I needed to take control back. Only it backfired, and kissing Bax for real
was like getting sucked into a vortex of desire and not being able to tell up
from down. The guy had skills. He had a touch. It was no wonder tramps across town were
bummed about his recent incarceration.
Everything about him screamed that he knew his way around a good time
and anyone would be a fool to pass up the opportunity to have one with him.
And Bax is not immune to the draw that is Dovie. This is a woman who
sees him, who knows who he is, and likes him anyway. He never thought a good
woman would be interested in him. He feels like he cannot keep his hands off of
her much longer even though a big part of him feels the need to warn her off
for her own good. He knows he is not good for her but he knows he wants her
anyway, even if it's just for a little while. And the problem is, she is
feeling that same irresistible pull...
I wasn't the most sexually experienced girl in the
world, but I knew enough to know that I was restless and achy, feeling heated
and light-headed and he hadn't even so much as kissed me. He was way more than I was ready to handle,
and then he was sliding the button on my jeans out of the hole and my belly was
sucking in. "You have to stop"
Only the zipper followed down and my black cotton underwear that was in no way
intended to be on display was suddenly just that. His eyes were like obsidian, his mouth was
tight, and I wasn't sure if the light sheen of sweat building up on his shaved
head was from battling back discomfort or from arousal. I could feel the press of an impressive
erection through the denim that separated us, but he was moving slow and he had
said he had no intention of having sex.
He was a liar, though, so I shifted and have a move to cover myself back
up. He used the hand that wasn't holding
his entire weight off of me to snatch my own as I pulled at my bra and the
sides of my shirt. I tugged futilely to
get him to let me go, but he forced my palm flat on my quivering stomach and
trapped it between my skin and his palm.
He smiled down at me, and it wasn't nice. It was wicked and promised all kinds of dark
and scary things. It made my breath
catch in my throat and I was momentarily stunned enough that it didn't register
that he was dragging my much smaller hand across my belly, below the hollow of
my hips, and into the waistband of my underwear. I panicked a little - okay, a lot - when I
realized his intent. I could feel that
even though my head knew I shouldn't be here with him, my body was all for
it. I was slick across my own fingers,
damp, warm, and pulsing. I saw something
in his eyes flare. I struggled to pull
away again and it just ended with a broken moan coming out of my throat as he
actively forced both our hands farther into my pants and closer to the parts of
me that were well aware of what a guy like Bax could offer. "Tell me to stop." His voice was low and lost somewhere in the
haze of sexual intoxication he was spilling all over me. "Stop..." It should have been harsh, sounding sure and
defiant, but it wasn't It was raspy and
breathy because he got my hand where he obviously wanted it and was making me
stroke my clit while his thick digit went on a tour to find my G-spot. "Mean it." He rumbled the words against the side of my
face, where I felt the soft brush of his damaged mouth. I had never experienced anything like this
before. I couldn't escape the drag and
pull of it. I arched my back and moved
my hand in tandem to his ministrations, never looking away from the velvet drape
of his gaze...
I think most of us have understood the appeal of a bad boy at least once
in our life. They're sexy. They're forbidden. They're a bit dangerous. They get our blood pumping just a little
harder and a little faster. And when a bad boy has a soft underside...one where
the right woman can attach herself to him and make both his life and her life
better too; it's kind of irresistible. And this bad boy is loyal to his best
friend. He went to prison for five years, knowing his best friend set him up
and loving him anyway. The kind of guy it's not too hard to fantasize about
from time to time. Bax is a huge part of the appeal of this book. He's a guy
born into a certain circumstance and yet...he's just yummy in a dangerous type
of way.
If you've never read any of
Jay Crownover's books, I recommend you rectify that pronto. Her guys are all a
bit bad, a bit sweet, and all kinds of delicious. I really love her Marked Man
series too, but this series is a bit of a walk on the darker side of
society. I enjoyed my walk on the
dangerous side and I suspect you will too.
I'm looking forward to more!
Purchase Better When He's Bad Here:
No comments:
Post a Comment