Secret Enemy (Red Stone Security #16)

by Katie Reus

Blurb:

He thinks she’s out of his league.

Lyosha Vasiliev met Mila by chance, and now she’s all he thinks about. But the two couldn’t be more different, so Lyosha won’t go there. As a security expert, he skirts the law on the regular. Unlike Mila, the newest employee at Red Stone Security, who spends her free time volunteering at an animal shelter. Despite his determination to stay away from her, when it becomes clear his past has come back to haunt him—and poses a threat to her—Lyosha immediately steps in. And he’ll cross any line to keep her safe.

But he can’t seem to walk away.

Mila met Lyosha when he brought in a half-starved stray cat to the shelter she volunteers at. He tries to act tough—and okay, he is. He should be the last man she wants, but she loves his sexy tattoos, gruff demeanor, and that he has a marshmallow inside that only she gets to see. When someone threatens her, he’s convinced it’s linked to his past. He’s made it clear that he’ll protect her with his life—but he won’t give her his heart. Not when he blames himself for bringing danger to her doorstep. Except Mila isn’t the kind of woman who walks away from what she wants. And Lyosha finds himself unwilling to let her go without a fight.

Themes: Contemporary

Rating: 4.5 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

So glad that Red Stone is back! Katie Reus is truly one of my favorite authors and there has not be a single story she has written I didn’t love (except sometimes I want them to be longer), but my favorite by far of the contemporary series is Red Stone and I am so thrilled she has restarted the series. The series picks up with this newest Red Stone employee suddenly finding herself in a bit of danger she never expected and in the arms of the sexy man she met months earlier at the animal shelter she volunteers at. Lyosha knows he should never had insinuated himself into the life of the sweet and innocent Mila, but when he saw her that very first time, there was no going back for him. Their friendship is all he is determined to allow himself, though it is an exercise in torture to be in her presence and not make her his, Mila is just too perfect to leave behind. Mila has been slightly obsessed with Lyosha from the first look, but their friendship means so much more to her than him and she knows she has no chance with the gorgeous man that haunts her fantasies. When she finds her life in danger, Lyosha is the only man she can trust to protect her, but being in his presence all day every day is going to kill her resolve to move on from her desire for him—especially now that he is implying there might be something more between them. Love between them seems truly unlikely, but their draw together is as irresistible as gravity and sooner or later the collision will be explosive, assuming they can stay alive long enough to enjoy it. Lyosha was an intriguing character, one that we met previously, but didn’t realize might get his own story, and that has resisted love for far too long out of fear. He is an engaging, thoughtful man but at the same time can be a serious bad ass when he is protecting those he considers to be his responsibility. I loved seeing the calm and sweet moments he shared with Mila, but the heated battles and passion between them made their relationship just that much spicier. When he finally accepted that there was no way he could let her go or leave her as just a friend, the love between them exploded into something so deep so quickly that it’s obvious it was building a long time despite them both fighting it. Mila was the perfect innocent best friend character, but she was so much more than that too; True, she volunteered at an animal shelter, cared for those around her, and loved her best friend from afar instead of fighting for what she wanted initially, but when push came to shove she stood up for herself and fought for the love she wanted and proved that surface impressions can hide something much deeper if one is just willing to look. I loved seeing her going toe to toe with Lyosha and finding her footing in his wealthy and dangerous world, while maintaining her integrity and sweetness. Fire raged between these two from the very beginning, even if they both banked those fires for months, and when they finally dropped their guards it was a wildfire. I am dying to see what comes next in this series and seeing where Reus takes the lovers. Another masterpiece for Katie!