Protecting What’s His by Tessa Bailey (Line of Duty #1)
February 23, 2013
Contemporary Romance
Entangled Publishing

Reviewed by Mandi

Favorite Quote: “Baby, I’m jealous of men who haven’t even seen you yet.”

When I received the review request for this book, I have to admit I saw the cover and it caught my eye. I guess the blurb did too. I’m so glad I’m a hussy for this cover because this book really surprised me. I laughed and laughed at the beginning and then the hero comes in with some of the most sexy dirty talk I’ve read in a long time.

The book opens with Ginger taking a very large wad of cash that her druggie and prostitute mother had laying around, grabbing her seventeen year old sister and moving (hiding) from Nashville to Chicago. They find an apartment  and drag their meager belongings to their new home, including their beloved Dolly Parton statue. Their neighbor across the hall is Derek, a lieutenant police officer. They catch him on a bad day as he is about to attend the funeral for a fallen officer. There is banter.

“That, lieutenant, is the Smoky Mountain Songbird herself.”

“The Backwoods Barbie,” Willa chimed in angrily.

The man looked completely confused, so Ginger decided to take pity on him. “Dolly Parton.”

“Dolly motherfucking Parton.”

So their initial meeting does not go so well. But they keep running into each other as they are neighbors and Derek starts to do some background checks on Ginger and realizes her mother has a huge rap sheets and starts to figure out why Ginger and her sister have moved. Ginger starts a bartending job to pay the bills and Derek decides he needs to get to know her better. Besides the dirty talk, which we will get to in a second, I also want to mention what a refreshing relationship Ginger has with her sister. They like each other, they can razz each other and Ginger can still be a role model for her. It’s a really nice relationship.

And then we start the dirty talking portion of the book. And Derek’s total alpha-hole protective streak. Derek doesn’t take it too well when Ginger flirts with customers at her bar:

“Let me be clear, Ginger, since you insist on talking in circles. I want you underneath me in my bed. I want to be buried inside you so deep that I have to remind you of your own name. And I want those motherfuckers leering at you from the other side of the bar to smell me on you for a week afterward.”

Are we all clear? I think so.

The dirty/possessive talk works so well because Ginger secretly loves it.

“Are you looking for something illegal so you’ll have an excuse to handcuff me, Derek?”

Derek’s eyes darkened as he approached, and a shiver ran down her spine. Oh boy, did her lieutenant ever love dirty talk. She delighted in knowing his weakness. He likely spent all day at work maintaining that resolute control, but around her, the sexually charged bad boy took over.

“Baby, I don’t need an excuse to cuff you. I just need the opportunity.

Did I mention he is arrogant?

“Do you feel that, baby? That’s your man moving inside you.”

No really – he is.

“The longer it takes me to get between your thighs, the rougher I’m going to be when I finally get there. Understand.”

Yes Derek. We alllllll understand.

The last 20% felt a little off. There is a big dramatic event and it just didn’t fit with the rest of the book. You could also argue that we see Derek and Ginger have sex and do dirty things but I’m not sure if we really had enough time to see them fall in love. But that is just nitpicking. This one really worked well for me. Tessa Bailey is a debut author and I will be stalking her for more.

Rating: B

Recent Reviews:
Dear Author – C+
Love to Read for Fun – C
Under the Covers – 4.5/5
Read-Love-Blog – 5/5
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