As You Wish Reviews: Review | Dangerous Love by E. B. Walters

Title: Dangerous Love

Series: The Fitzgerald Family (Book 4)

Author: E. B. Walters

Released Date: January 29, 2012
Genre: Contemporary, Romantic suspense, Sensual

BLURB

She has her emotions on a tight leash…

Born to a Las Vegas showgirl, fashion designer Faith Fitzgerald’s childhood was not easy, until her father found her and whisked her off to L.A. to join his wealthy family.

The rejection by some of her family members hurt, but Faith has moved on. Or so she thinks. She works hard and never lets her guard down, until the day she discovers that someone stole and sold her designs to her competitor and former mentor. To catch the thief and salvage her collection for Fall Fashion Week, Faith turns to her ex-lover, a man who works under the radar and gets results fast. The problem is she has not seen him since she dumped him so unceremoniously.

He’s laid-back and spontaneous…

When former-FBI-agent-turned-security-consultant Kenneth ‘Ken’ Lambert receives a call from Faith asking for his services, he sees a chance to payback the gorgeous designer for the way she used him then walked out on him. But then he learns that she is being victimized by a man whose idea of love is both dangerous and toxic, Ken pushes aside his personal agenda and agrees to help her.

As their investigation progresses, Ken discovers that Faith’s calm exterior hides a woman of character and strength, a woman on the verge of falling apart. Can he help her find the answers she seeks or will she accept his offer instead—acceptance, unconditional love and support?

Teaser

Her heart beat at an uneven tempo as she opened the door and met his gaze head on. “Isn’t it a little late for business, Ken?”

“Not in my line of work. Are you going to invite me in?” His voice was calm, but his eyes flashed.

“That depends on whether you plan to yell at me or not. It’s been a long day.”

“I don’t yell. I’m curious, that’s all.”

“About?”

He looked left then right at her neighbors’ closed doors. “You want to have this conversation out here?”

The gated condo community was close-knit, and she didn’t want her business out there, so that meant letting this maddening man get his way. She stepped back and gave him space to enter. As soon as he did, he whipped around and crossed his arms, his stance wide, penetrating green eyes locked on her. Faith wasn’t intimidated by his gesture. Her cousins were just as tall, hard, and mean, and she never backed down from knocking heads with them.

“Excuse me, I was right in the middle of dinner,” she said and skirted around him. He was on her tail as she headed to the kitchen. Her food was cold and she was still hungry. She picked up the plate, placed it in the microwave oven and punched in numbers. “Do you want something to drink, eat?”

“No.”

“So what is it that couldn’t wait until normal hours?”

“You lied to me.”

Faith blinked and turned to face him. “Excuse me?”

“You didn’t just work for O’Neal, you were engaged to him.”

Faith sighed. Somehow she knew he wouldn’t like that bit, so she’d omitted it in her narration during lunch. “I didn’t think it was relevant.”

“You didn’t think….” He muttered a curse, pressed the heels of his hands on the kitchen counter, and pinned her with a glare. “I never take a case unless I know all the players and how they’re connected. I hate to be blindsided. You were his lover for four years, how could that not be relevant?” he yelled.

“I worked for him for four years,” she snapped. “We were involved for a year and engaged for about a month. It’s not exactly a period of my life I’m proud of, okay? And don’t you dare raise your voice at me, Kenneth Lambert.”

“Other than being his lover,” he continued in a biting tone several decibels lower. “What else did you leave out?”

Faith shook her head, the fight draining out of her. “Don’t do this, Ken.”

“Don’t do what?”

“Give me a hard time over a mistake I’ve regretted the past five years.”

“You don’t make mistakes, Faith. You’re too smart and stubborn to get played.”

She crossed her arms and cocked her head. “What do you want from me?”

“The truth.”

Faith took a deep breath. “I was naïve when Sean singled me out and started showing me special attention. The parties and his A-list star friends and clients blinded me to the fact that he was wrong for me. As months went by, I knew I’d made a mistake, but I couldn’t leave. Everyone loved him. Everyone thought we were perfect together.”

“Who the hell is everyone?” Ken growled.

“You met my family during Ron and Ash’s wedding. They are many, loud, and think they know what’s best for me, especially my aunts. When he proposed, he spoke to Auntie Viv first, like she was my mother or something. He knew how much her approval meant to me, and he used that to get what he wanted. By the time he asked me to marry him, Auntie Viv was on board, planning our wedding. No one goes against her wishes.” Faith’s voice trembled, frustration and remembered helplessness surging through her. She rarely lost control, but when she did, tears followed. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of Ken.

She took a deep breath and let the anger drain out of her. “I was trapped. Catching him stealing my designs gave me the courage to pack up and leave.” She cocked her brow. “Who do you think my aunt blamed for the engagement fiasco? Me.”

Ken shoved his hands in the front pockets of his pants, his brow furrowed. “I’m sorry I made a big deal out of it. Like I said, I hate surprises.”

His contrite expression tugged at her heartstrings, but she was done talking. She had already said too much. “Well, now you know. You can see yourself out.”

Faith lifted the plate of Chinese food from the microwave oven and her glass of wine, marched past him to the dining room and sat on a ladder back chair. The food tasted like sawdust, but she willed herself to chew, sip the wine, and swallow. She waited to hear the door close behind Ken.

He appeared at the periphery of her vision. Her eyes widened when he took the chair at the other end of the table and placed the remaining takeout box with the Kung Pao chicken in front of him. He opened a package of chopsticks and started eating. His cockiness could be endearing, just not tonight.

“That’s my dinner,” she griped.

He flashed an apologetic smile. “I know, but I’m starving and it was there, begging me to eat it. You know,” he jabbed the air with the chopsticks, “I spent the better part of this afternoon and most of the evening reading about pin-head O’Neal just for you, so cut me some slack. I’ll buy us dinner next time.”

“Who said there’d be a next time?”

“Me. You and I are going work closely together for the next few weeks.”

REVIEW

E.B. Walters has done it again. Hook, line and sinker. This book was an awesome read. Faith had me wrapped up in her designing business. Took me a bit to get back into the Fitzgerald Family Series, due to the first three books I read quite a while ago. With that being said though I loved the characters, the story, plot and romance.

Faith doesn't believe she has ever been a Fitzgerald. After branching out on her own, she gets ambushed by her ex-boss. Her designer clothes are exquisite until someone steals them out from under her nose. Thinking she could trust those she has hired, she turns to an old flame to investigate. Ken is not your average investigator either, he's drop dead sexy hot, lean and laid back. When Faith walks back into his life he knows he has to do something to keep her this time around. Her leaving after an exceptional night of love making before will not be an option this time. He'll make sure of that!

Will Ken catch the person that has scared Faith out of her ever loving mind? Or will LAPD, Eddie Fitzgerald step in and save the day? Will Ken keep Faith right where he wants her or will Faith sneak out when he doesn't notice? The author has such a way with words, I cannot wait to read Eddie's story come together in Forever Hers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
EDNAH WALTERS grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and dreaming of one day writing her own stories. She is a stay-at-home mother of five humans and two American short-hair cats (one of which has ADHD) and a husband. When she is not writing, she’s at the gym doing Zumba or doing things with her family, reading, traveling or online chatting with fans.

Ednah is the author of The Guardian Legacy series, a YA fantasy series about children of the fallen angels, who fight demons and protect mankind. AWAKENED, the prequel was released by Pill Hill Press in September 2010 with rave reviews. BETRAYED, book one in the series was released by her new publisher Spencer Hill Press in June 2012 and HUNTED, the third installment, will be released April 2013. She’s working on the next book in the series, FORGOTTEN. Visit her at www.ednahwalters.com

Ednah also writes YA paranormal romance. RUNES is the first book in her new series. IMMORTALS is book 2. She is presently working on book 3, GRIMNIRS (Release date TBA). Read more about this series and the world she's created here www.runestheseries.com

Under the pseudonym E. B. Walters, Ednah writes contemporary romance. SLOW BURN, the first contemporary romance with suspense, was released in April 2011. It is the first book in the Fitzgerald family series. Since then she has published four more books in this series. She's presently working on book six. You can visit her online at or www.ebwalters.com.