One more game. And this time, there are no rules…
After a life of pool hustling and living on the wrong side of the law, Ruby Elliott is living on the straight and narrow with sexy-as-all-hell NYPD detective, Troy Bennett. Now the only trouble Ruby has with the law is the naughty kind, pinned against the wall by Troy’s strict and spectacularly hard body. Obeying his every command. Both of them losing themselves in a lust that borders on obsession…
But then her father returns with an offer she can’t refuse: one last hustle in exchange for information. Information she’d die to have. As the pieces and the players of the game reveal themselves, Troy feels the fine edges of his control slipping—control he can’t channel without hurting Ruby. The stakes are high, and the risk higher. Because losing this final game could cost more than Ruby’s heart…it might cost her life.
Maybe I like trouble,” she whispered.
“Well, you’ve definitely found it. My brand of trouble is so good it hurts. You want to hurt a little tonight, baby?”
Can Tessa write a dirty talker that I don’t completely lust after? I mean, I ask you! And if she does, may I never see that day. Besides, I don’t even think it’s possible. The woman has the midas touch for the dirty. Every hero she creates is not only hot, but they also stand out from each other. In a sea of formulaic writing, Tessa manages something very rare. She has a working formula of sexy romance with lots of dirty talk, but no one character of hers sounds the same. And let me just tell you that this connoisseur of dirty talking heroes loves the hell out of that!
We first met Troy and Ruby in His Risk to Take, and before you dive into this book I’d strongly advise that you read that one first. While Tessa gives you plenty of background on their relationship that you could technically read this as a standalone, I think you’d appreciate the relationship between these two more having read their first book.
Riskier Business marks the beginning of Tessa’s new Crossing the Line series and it’s sure to be an amazing one. Trust me, I would know since I was incredibly lucky to be able to read Risking it All (Bowen’s book) early. Having read that, I can tell you that ANY unanswered questions you may have at the end of this book, will definitely be answered in the next one. So if you plan on Reading Risking it All then DEFINITELY read this one first. There’s key plot developments that take place here that may throw you for a loop if you don’t read Riskier Business first. Now that we have that out of the way with, let’s get to the review.
Riskier Business takes places months after His Risk To Take ended. Ruby and Troy are still settling into their relationship and the volatile way they first got together. But now that Ruby’s pool hustling ways are behind her, they can focus on finding their middle ground. But all that gets shaken up the second Ruby’s deadbeat and criminal father comes back with an offer that she can’t pass up; she plays one more game of pool and the stakes are the highest she’s ever had. She’ll be playing her uncle that just may have the location of her mother, a mother she hasn’t seen since she first walked out on her when she was a child.
Troy is adamantly against Ruby risking herself for anything and knows that he will do anything, absolutely anything to protect her…even if it means that he may lose her trust in the process. The only thing that stays a constant in their relationship is their undeniable chemistry. That’s as strong as ever…
“Well? How the fuck am I doing?
This was a quick, sexy, and fast-paced read and I absolutely loved it. None of the drama felt fabricated or too much. It actually made sense that it would happen the way it did considering Ruby’s past. Something like that doesn’t just go away the second she starts dating a straight and narrow cop. I also loved the jealous and possessive streak that Tory had in this one. But then again, I tend to go for that sort of thing.
While it may feel like you’re going to be left with an unresolved situation at the end, it WILL be resolved in the next book in the series. But if you’re worried about a HEA, fret not, you’ll definitely get one here. In spades.
As much as I enjoyed Hayden’s character, at times I did get irritated with the way she seemed to hit below the belt with her insults. I understood the why’s of it, but it did still grate with me a bit. I felt that there were times that she should have been going after Bret and smoothing things over, not the other way around.
