STRIPPED (Blue HEAT #1) by Tara Wyatt-Review & Excerpt Tour
STRIPPED
Blue HEAT #1
by Tara Wyatt
Release Date: May 15, 2018
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, police, romance
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play / iBooks /
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 15, 2018
Detective Sawyer Matthews isn’t just having a bad day—he’s having the worst day. His hunt for the criminal who killed his team member has stalled and now… he’s got to play nice with his new, totally unwanted partner. It’s not that she isn’t qualified, or that he doesn’t like her—it’s because he knows what she looks like naked. So very, very naked.
Brooke Simmons finally landed her dream job working for H.E.A.T, an elite undercover detective squad, and she’s not giving up simply because she had a one-night-stand with her sullen—but undeniably sexy—new partner. They’ll just have to keep it professional. Easier said than done, considering their first case requires Sawyer to infiltrate a drug cartel operating out of a male strip show. Watching him do his best Magic Mike impression every night isn’t just hot—it’s torture.
Sawyer doesn’t need any distractions, yet his attraction to Brooke is explosive and he can’t resist going for round two. Or three. Or four. But as their investigation progresses and danger mounts, they’ll have to put their jobs, hearts, and lives on the line to fight… for each other, for survival, and for justice.
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REVIEW: STRIPPED is the first instalment in Tara Wyatt’s contemporary, adult Blue HEAT erotic, romance series focusing on the men and women who work for HEAT (High-Risk Evaluation and Action Team) of Atlanta, Georgia. This is Detectives Sawyer Matthews, and Brooke Simmons’ story line.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Brooke and Sawyer) STRIPPED is a forbidden romance story line focusing on the building relationship between APD’S undercover police detectives Sawyer Matthews, and Brooke Simmons. Brooke is the HEAT rookie, having risen to the position due to the murder of Sawyer’s last partner and best friend Ryan Walker-a murder Sawyer, and his fellow undercover operatives are having a difficult time to overcome. Sawyer doesn’t want a new partner but things go from bad to worse when Sawyer discovers his new partner is a one-night stand from days before. Setting plans into motion to take down the Baracoa Cartel and the men responsible for destroying so many lives, Brooke and Sawyer must go undercover at a local strip bar with connections to the drug cartel, wherein Sawyer becomes the nightly entertainment as they struggle to uncover and take down the people behind the murder, and the influx of a new designer drug hitting the streets. What ensues is the building but forbidden romance between Sawyer and Brooke, and the potential fall-out as their undercover operation begins to implode.
Brooke Simmons, as the newest member of Atlanta’s HEAT, knows she has to prove her worth but the battle is only beginning when Sawyer Matthews begins a personal campaign against the woman with whom he will fall in love. Sawyer doesn’t do relationships, and getting involved with his partner and fellow detective is a sure fire way to get kicked off the job. Unable to concentrate on the task at hand, Sawyer begins to make life a living h*ll for his new partner.
The relationship between Brooke and Sawyer is one of immediate attraction that begins as a one-night stand wherein neither one was willing to go beyond the here and now. Sawyer’s attraction to Brooke is palpable but his less than mature behaviour post hook-up, and his actions scream childish and adolescent; the sexual chemistry is off the charts. The sex scenes are erotic, intense and provocative.
We are introduced to Sawyer’s fellow detectives Jack Ward and Amelia Perez, as well as their captain DeMarcus Hill, and Brooke’s best friend, homicide detective Dani Harris, and Brooke’s grandmother Nan. The requisite evil has many faces. Jack and Rachel’s story line is next in SCHOOLED.
The world building focuses on the take down and on-going investigation of the Baracoa Cartel, justice and revenge, and the battle between the heart and the job when lives are threatened in the line of duty.
STRIPPED is a sexy and flirty, character driven story line about forbidden love. The premise is engaging and edgy; the characters are energetic; the romance is sensual and intense.
Copy supplied by Edelweiss
Reviewed by Sandy
NOTE: The Excerpt is intended for mature reader 18+ due to language and sexual content
As he crushed his mouth to hers again, she moaned, her tongue stroking against his, sending more blood rushing to his already hard cock. He trailed his hands down her back and to her ass, giving her cheeks a firm squeeze. With a soft chime, the elevator doors opened onto her floor, and she broke the kiss. Threading her long, slender fingers through his, she led him down the hall. Her blond hair fell in styled waves around her shoulders, and when she glanced back at him over her shoulder, her warm brown eyes sparkled at him as she smiled. God, she was pretty. High cheekbones, delicate features, killer smile. She was tall, at least five-foot-ten, with slender arms and long, toned legs. Clearly fit, she moved with an athletic grace that he’d found appealing the second he’d laid eyes on her. Small, perky breasts, and what had felt like an equally perky ass, but he wouldn’t know for sure until he got her out of that dress.
As far as distractions went, he could’ve done far, far worse. She’d come across as funny and confident despite her horrible night. She’d exuded a warmth that he’d found immensely appealing. He’d tried so hard to stay numb in the weeks since his best friend’s death, but she’d melted that hard knot in his chest so easily, reminding him of what it was like to feel good.
The ripped strap of her dress slid down her shoulder, and he reached forward, pushing it back into place, letting his fingers linger on her soft, warm skin. She turned suddenly and fisted her hands in his shirt, pulling his mouth back to hers, kissing him hungrily, catching him off guard. A low, gruff moan rumbled from somewhere deep in his chest and he slid his arms around her, pulling her tight against him. Her body fit perfectly against his and a surge of something hot and sweet curled through him, and he knew he’d made the right decision to try to pick her up. Vaguely, he wondered where she was from, what her last name was, what she did for a living, but none of that mattered for tonight. This wasn’t a date. This was sex.
Not that he dated, in the traditional sense. Hadn’t since the divorce. No, it was always just sex, and he liked it that way. Simple. Easy. Painless.
He deepened the kiss, claiming her mouth as images flashed through his mind. Everything he wanted to do with Brooke. To her. Have her do to him. Given the deliciously greedy way she was kissing him, she seemed to be up for what he liked, what he needed, but he had to be sure. Something was coiling tight inside him, and he knew it was only a matter of time—minutes, probably, with how damn good her mouth felt—before it snapped free and he gave in to the hot oblivion that came with hard, dirty fucking. He broke the kiss and spoke low, urgent words against her throat. “Tell me if I get too rough with you.”
Heat flared in her eyes and she rocked her hips against him, letting out a shuddery breath when his erection slid against her hip. She bit at his bottom lip, tugging and then releasing him with a slow smile. “I like rough.”
Halle-fucking-lujah.
She scraped her nails down his chest, just enough to sting even through the cotton of his T-shirt, and he smiled. For the first time in weeks, luck was on his side, because he had a feeling that this woman was exactly what he needed tonight. He kissed her again, deep and bruising and she sighed against his mouth. Blood rushed through his veins, and his cock throbbed against his zipper. The temptation to back her up against the wall and fuck her in the hallway was strong, despite the likely indecent exposure charge they’d both get when caught. Something was building between them, an explosive need, each kiss, every touch fueling the fire. He needed this woman with an intensity that ripped through him like nothing he’d ever felt before.
With a growl, he broke the kiss. “Which room?”
Her hands trembled a little as she fumbled for her key card in her bag, and a sense of pure, masculine satisfaction cascaded over him. He’d done that to her, with his mouth, his hands, the few words he’d said. And he couldn’t wait to do more. She led him two doors down from where they’d stopped and slipped the card into the slot. The lock released with a click, the little green light flashing.
Green light. Go.
Tara Wyatt is an award-winning romantic suspense and contemporary romance author known for her fast-paced writing, humor, and sexy love scenes. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario with the cutest dog in the world and a husband who makes all of her heroes look like chumps.
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