Bodyguard, the highly anticipated new standalone from New York Times bestselling author CD Reiss is available NOW!
Bodyguard by CD Reiss
Release Date: November 14th, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Protecting a celebrity in Hollywood isn’t easy, but protecting Emily could break his heart.
As a world-class dancer at the height of her career, Emily enjoys all the perks of fame—the parties, the glamour, the tours—but they’ve also attracted the attention of a dangerous ex-boyfriend hell-bent on getting her back.
Enter Carter Kincaid, a bodyguard so crushingly sexy he takes her breath away.
Carter’s the best in the business, and Emily is—professionally speaking—off-limits. But when it comes to stirring his desires, she’s making all the right moves. What’s happening between them is so hot it could get both of them burned. As Emily’s past gets closer, Carter is willing to break every rule of the job to save her. But letting Emily into his life also means letting her in on the secrets of his own past. For these two, falling in love could be the greatest risk of all.
This book kept me up too late. It made me late for work the next morning. It delayed dinner in my house as I was not putting it down again until I was at the very end. It is one of those books that stays with you, not only after you are done with it, but while you are reading it.
There's this magic place that very few books ever reach. The place where everything about the book just works, and as a reader you are torn with not wanting to put it down, to devour every word, and to take your time, to read slowly. I am never sure which is better. I just know that a book that is as good as this one doesn't happen very often, and it's pleasure no matter how quickly or slowly you read the words.
This book is pure A-List magic. I read, a lot. And, I enjoy a lot of books, but it takes something really special, that just hits all of the right notes, to be a book I enjoy as much as this one.
Carter is sexy, and capable, and masculine, and loving. The writing for his character is perfection and the little ways C. D. Reiss gives his character, the way he moves, the way he carries himself, the way he stands, make him seem so real you expect him to walk into the room in real life at any second.
Emily is strong and while she has had some things happen that she is dealing with, she is working to find her strength and to grow with that strength. I love that, through her journey in the book, she finds that her real strength is in a place that she never expected, and once she learns to hold on to that, she also learns about the things she can let go. Her storyline in the book is a really powerful and engaging look at a person who feels they had to give things up realizing that maybe there is a way for those things to still exist. Possibly in different ways than they did initially, but in ways that are actually better. And, isn't that the journey we are all on? Maybe a little less dramatically than in this book, but I think it is one we can all relate to from our own lives.
There is a flash point, the build to the reasons Carter feels that he is not able to bring her into his life, as eluded to in the blurb for the book. There are enough hints dropped that it was not a total surprise, but I am not able to say I didn't see it coming. Although I can honestly say I was so engrossed in what was happening at the moment in the book I didn't really find myself spending a lot of time thinking about where the book was going. I was too engrossed in the present story in the book to really think ahead.
This book feels real. It's emotional, but it is never melodramatic. You feel the tension of the situation with Emily's ex, and the conviction and tenacity with which Carter performs his job. You feel the dedication he has to being the best man he can be, and you feel the draw he has for Emily.
Emily, well, she is a little more emotional and there are some wonderful, realistic scenes where she overreacts to things without possibly getting all of the info, or thinking them through completely. Being more specific would be a spoiler, but there are some great moments in this book where they both have the chance to not only behave in ways that feel real, but also give perfect insight into their characters.
This book is on my Top 5 of 2017 list.
I recommend this title.
"Are we going to have another 'about last night' conversation?" I asked. "If you want to." What did I want to say? Everything. but mostly, I wanted to tell him how much I liked kissing him and how conflicted I was. I wanted to demand answers immediately and give him space at the same time. All the words tried to jump forward, but when he stopped at a light, our eyes met in the rearview. The words landed in a tangle, unsaid. He tapped the steering wheel when he turned it, using both hands for the first time since I'd gotten in. "Hey," I said. "Yeah?" He briefly looked at me in the mirror. "What happened to your hand?" "Burn." he brushed his left hand over the bandage at the top of his palm, right where you'd burn it if you were picking up a hot pot handle. He caught my eye in the rearview again. I didn't know if I believed him. "What were you cooking?" "Breakfast." "And you still went to get a Danish?" He rubbed his upper lip with his left hand and tapped the wheel with the bandaged one. "I burned my eggs." Right. Hot pot. Burned hand. Smoke-filled kitchen. "You know what's funny?" I said. "The Three Stooges." "I don't know anything about you. You could live in your mother's basement." "That's just where I bury the bodies." Blatant avoidance. It had been cute before; now it was getting on my nerves. "Are you married?" "No!" He could have been lying, buy lying liars always lied. There wasn't a thing I could do about that except make sure I asked. Something was wrong. We'd kissed twice, and twice he'd shut down. I should have been the one shutting down. I was the one with all the ex-boyfriend baggage. Why was I the one who was always so willing? But there he was in the front seat, driving with both hands on the wheel, glancing at me once in a while to make sure I wasn't choking on my tongue in the back seat. Discomfort radiated out of him. Here I was with my hands in my lap thinking about ways to kiss him again. He pulled into the little lot and wedged into a space. He turned off the car, popped his seat belt, and stared at the wheel for a split second too long. I was about to open the car door myself when he turned all the way around, arm over the back of his seat, bandaged hand on the back of the passenger side. "Kissing you..." He stopped and looked at my lips so intensely I folded them back and bit them. "You're dangerous. I can't even see your lips, but I can taste them. I couldn't brush the taste of you out of my mouth this morning. Right now. The honey. I can taste it but not enough. I want to kiss you again, and I can't. I lose my shit around you. I can't do it. My job is control. Do you understand what I'm saying?" My jaw loosened, and I let my lips go. "No, I don't. I've met bodyguards before. You're a stoic bunch, but you're not all celibate. And if you think this is easy for me, you're wrong. I'm afraid too. I'm afraid you're going to get hurt because of me. last night..." I put my fingertips to my lips as if that would keep the choking sob from coming. I kept it back. "Last night he showed me he's back, and if he'll hurt me, he'll hurt you." If I thought seats would be a barrier between us, I was wrong. He launched himself between them and placed his lips on mine. Our third kiss was unexpected, uncomfortable with him stretched between front and back. I wove my fingers in his hair, giving him my mouth, and taking his. I wanted that kiss to tell him it was all right. He could lose control. He could bemore than a protector. He was as safe with me as I was with him. But I couldn't without lying to both of us. He yanked his lips away. "Trust me." He leaned his forehead against mine.
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About the Author
CD Reiss is a New York Times bestseller. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn't pick up she's at the well hauling buckets. Born in New York City, she moved to Hollywood, California to get her master's degree in screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere but it did give her a big enough ego to write novels. She's frequently referred to as the Shakespeare of Smut which is flattering but hasn't ever gotten her out of chopping that cord of wood. If you meet her in person, you should call her Christine.
