Also by this author: Jet, Rome, Nash, Better When He's Bad, Rowdy, Better When He's Bold, Better When He's Brave (Welcome to the Point, #3)
Series: Marked Men #6
Also in this series: Jet, Rome, Nash, Rowdy
Published by William Morrow & Company on April 21st 2015
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Goodreads
You never know which moment might lead to forever . . .Asa Cross struggles with being the man everyone wants him to be and the man he knows he really is. A leopard doesn't change its spots, and Asa has always been a predator. He doesn't want to hurt those who love and rely on him, especially one luscious arresting cop who suddenly seems to be interested in him for far more than his penchant for breaking the law. But letting go of old habits is hard, and it's easy to hit bottom when it's the place you know best.Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the bottom looks like after a tragic situation at work threatens not only her career but also her partner's life. As a woman who has only ever had a few real friends, she's trying to muddle through her confusion and devastation alone. Except she can't stop thinking about the sexy southern bartender she locked up. Crushing on Asa is the last thing she needs, but his allure is too strong to resist. And she knows chasing after a guy who has no respect for the law or himself can only end in heartbreak.A longtime criminal and a cop just seem so wrong together . . . but for Asa and Royal, being wrong together is the only right choice to make.
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Let me start off with this real quick…BEST.COVER.OF.THE.SERIES. Holy smokes! This gorgeous cover fits the gorgeous Southern charmer to a T. Okay, I can breathe easier now and get on with it. 😉
Asa Cross is the bad boy we all hated in Jet, but boy oh boy how things change. Not only has he turned his life around, he has a whole new set of a friends, a great support system, a job he enjoys, and best of all, a hot cop that keeps trying to get in his pants. Okay, that’s not the best part, but damn Royal made things interesting. It is not often that the girl is chasing the bad boy and said bad boy keeps turning her down. I really enjoyed the direction that Jay Crownover started us off with. Good times!
Royal Hastings knows better than anyone just how “bad” Asa really is. She was the cop that arrested him and dragged him off to jail the last time he got himself in a mess. Although, she knew he was innocent, she still had to do her job. The funny thing is, that Royal is totally willing to overlook his bad boy rep for a roll in the sack. She is clearly going through some tough times and wants to lose herself within the arms of the hot bartender. Unfortunately for her, Asa is not interested. Well he is, but yeah, it turns out he is actually a good guy because he is trying to protect her…from him. Her life is spiraling out of control and Asa has had a front row seat.
So begins the will they or won’t they game. Well obviously we know that they will, but how long does it take for them to get there? How does she finally break down his barriers? Do the tables turn? If I told you, then where is the fun in that? What I can tell you is that Asa will surprise the hell out of you. He and Royal are made for each other… Heaven and Hell brought together to create a perfect union. But, even though he is in a good place now, he is forever reminding himself of what he used to do. How bad he really was and how quickly things can go back to that. Honestly, as much as I appreciated that he kept things in perspective, after a while, I just wanted him to stop beating himself up. At one point I was like, move on dude!
Asa is the last installment in the Marked Men series. I have been a fan since Rule first came out as an indie book. Since before the first round of reedits, so yeah, reading the end of this book was bittersweet. This was a really good conclusion to a fantastic series. All of our favorite couples make an appearance, and Rule and Shaw, my absolute favorite couple, made my heart melt. It has been a beautiful journey and I am grateful to have been a tiny, tiny part of it all. Jay Crownover has wowed us with this series and will continue to wow us, I am sure, with her new series The Saints of Denver. Stay tuned…
I gulped and fully expected Royal to stop what she was doing but she didn’t, and she didn’t bother to look up as I strangled out that we were fine and just needed the bill. The girl gave me a look full of knowing and, if I wasn’t mistaken, approval before she walked off. I curled my fingers at the back of Royal’s head until they were hopelessly tangled in her hair, and lifted her head off of my shoulder enough that I could kiss her. Her hand dipped even lower in my pants and I groaned against her tongue.
“You need to stop.” I rasped the words out because I really didn’t want to say them. We were in a public place, and while she might have a wild side, I doubted she would let me throw her on the cocktail table and fuck her like everything inside me was screaming to do.
She sank her teeth into my bottom lip hard enough, and when she coupled that with her soft hand squeezing the base of my dick, I was ready to come on the spot. “You need to stop, too.”
Her message was clear. She was all for games as long as they were fun and sexy, but she wasn’t going to be a pawn, and if I wanted to enjoy her while I had her, I better get my shit together real quick. She withdrew her hand, skating up under the hem of my shirt and letting her fingers run over the ridges of my abs. The scrape of her nails across my skin had me ready to go off like a rocket, so I threw enough money on the table to cover our bill and probably the table next to ours and dragged her out of the warehouse like it was on fire.
She laughed and it did something to the inside of my chest. I had put tears in her eyes first, but somehow she was amazing enough to understand the stuff I did better than I did myself, and now she was laughing about the disaster of it all. It was like the sun coming through the clouds on a stormy day. She was everything bright the darkness tried to swallow and I wanted inside of her so bad that I couldn’t see straight.
I pushed her up against the side of the battered car and closed my mouth over hers. I tunneled my fingers through the hair at her temples and kissed her with every bit of urgency I had. The funny thing was, I had to let go of some of the other stuff I was always holding on to in order to get the message across to her, and with the press of her mouth against mine, the brush of her tongue across my own, I couldn’t explain it but I suddenly felt lighter.
“I want to take you home and take you to bed.” I sounded rough. There was no smoothness in my typically practiced twang. I sounded impatient and needy, two things I don’t think I had ever been before this girl.
Rome is my favorite! He and Cora are so opposite and yet so right together!
I like ASA because he is not afraid to ‘take it to the limits”
Asa Cross,he is a man who knows what he wants and is determined to get it.
I also love Rome. He is super smart and sexy
OMG luv Rome. He is a stud muffin & clever. Divine. Wow, prize amazon gc is fab. & splendid. 2 fingers snap. It is tight, fly & off the chain. Thank you for the awesomeness, the contest, and generosity. Pick me, pick me! Dear Santa: I’ve been nice. My X-Mas wish this year is to win this contest. Starving artist here desperately needs the Amazon gc to shop and eat. A life changing exp.