Review: 4 Scorching Stars
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 5, 2014
Another great dirty talking, sexy alpha cop story from Tessa Bailey! This was a quick read with lots of heat. The focus was mainly on the relationship between Troy and Ruby, but connections to Ruby’s past do figure in and give a framework for their relationship to develop around.Troy Bennett has transferred to the NYPD from the Chicago PD after his partner is killed in the line of duty – a death he blames himself for. Ruby Elliott is a pool hustler who is trying to turn her life around but still needs to hustle a bit to keep food on her table as she takes college classes and saves for her future. When Ruby walks into the bar that Troy is hanging out at with some of his new detective friends, he takes one look at Ruby and knows he has to have her.Ruby’s a straight-shooter who has grown up in barrooms and pool halls, hustling people for their money, and learning how to take care of herself. Her smart mouth is an instant turn-on for Troy….“So blue eyes. Why don’t you stop staring and buy me a drink? I don’t want to dehydrate before you work up the nerve.”…and he lets Ruby know just what he wants from her after watching her run the table and hustle her opponent.“Next time you bend over a table, I’m going to wrap all that hair around my fist and pull your head back. I want to watch your eyes glaze over when I **** you into oblivion.”When Ruby’s past gets caught up in an investigation that Troy is working on, things come to a head and Troy pushes Ruby away for her own safety. Ruby has always believed that actions speak louder than words, and decides to investigate things on her own, thinking she can help protect Troy. Of course things quickly go wrong and Ruby has to rely on Troy to save her.Troy is carrying some emotional baggage from losing his last partner but…what a naughty, naughty boy he is!"He’d tried once or twice in the past to be the guy who whispered sweet nothings into a girl’s ear when she came, but he’d never been able to keep up the faade. He’d rather be explaining in very explicit terms how and where he planned to take her next. It was a part of him he couldn’t explain, but had learned to embrace. Finding women to embrace it with him tended to be the difficult part."You just have to love him! He doesn’t mince words with Ruby and always lets her know exactly what he wants, how he wants it, and how he is going to get it – usually in response to something snarky coming out of her mouth.“You might get away with running that smart mouth to other people. Buy you won’t get away with it here. If you continue to challenge me with every word out of your mouth, I will **** you repeatedly until you learn to play nice.”Ruby is a very strong character who carries emotional scars of her own, and finds that she likes exploring her submissive side."If she’d stopped to ponder an hour ago whether or not she’d enjoy being dominated in bed, she would have laughed until her ribs ached. Now? If she had a tiny, white flag in her hand, she would be waving it in the air in surrender."Together Troy and Ruby’s attraction is explosive – let’s just say playing pool in the future is going to bring about all sorts of naughty images! Tessa Bailey holds nothing back with Troy’s dirty-talking and has crafted Ruby to be the perfect partner for him.Another hot and steamy read!