Title: A STEEL TOWN
Series: A Gateway to Love, #3
Author: Chloe T. Barlow
Genre: New Adult, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: January 11, 2016
How do you protect the woman you love, when you fear you are the very person who could destroy her?
Claudia McCoy has been told what she can't do enough for one lifetime. After a near-fatal childhood battle with juvenile diabetes and having to accept that her dreams of serving in the military would never come true, she's thrilled to begin a life on her own terms. Yet, when she finally starts her career in the FBI, Claudia is furious that her condition and overbearing big brother, Wyatt, have both once again interfered with her ability to have the life she truly wants. Now derailed from her high-profile aspirations of a position in the FBI's D.C. headquarters, she is instead planted far away from the real action, and practically right in her brother's Pittsburgh backyard.
Trey Adler is known for fixing things, but he's broken just as many — leaving him with regrets that never go away. He'd be the first to agree he should stay away from a nice girl like Claudia, but he can't deny his friend Jenna Sutherland's request when she asks him to use his position as a temporary FBI consultant to keep Claudia safe — especially as it's clear this little firecracker needs protecting. Far away from all the action she so craves, Claudia is more determined than ever to prove herself in her first major investigation at whatever cost — and those costs are proving to be dangerously high.
Their battle of wills turns quickly into a powerful need for one other, making them both rethink everything they ever wanted.
Will Trey be able to keep her alive long enough to give them an opportunity at something real together — a future that can survive the danger in their present, as well as the darkness of his past?
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Finally! I feel like I have been waiting forever for this book. I loved Trey and his tattooed badass, computer hacking ways in the previous books so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one.
Claudia, who we met in City of Champions, has moved to Pittsburgh to work for the FBI. She feels that she hasn't been given a fair shot to show her skills thanks to her over protective brother (Hello there Wyatt!) and his need to watch over her at all times. While I can understand why (she has Type 1 diabetes) he feels this way, I wanted to reach through the book and smack him on the head. Claudia certainly knows how to take care of herself. She is a smart, strong, kick ass woman who knows what she wants. And she wants to be taken seriously. Even if that means going behind her boss' back to follow a lead that he said she shouldn't follow.
This is where Trey comes in. Knowing that he was doing some work for the Pittsburgh FBI, Jenna asks Trey to keep an eye on Claudia. This results in a very interesting first meeting and the beginning of their love/hate relationship. Luckily for them (and for us readers) the hate part isn't around for too long and they discover that they actually make a great pair in all aspects of their lives. Professionally they work extremely well together and personally they pretty much melted my ereader. You could've cut the sexual tension between Trey and Claudia with a knife.
I found it interesting that even though Trey kept a lot of people on the outskirts of his life, he let Claudia in pretty easily. She grabbed his attention from the moment they met. He became extremely protective of her and was the first woman he had feelings for in almost 10 years. But Trey was still batting some demons from his past which caused him to make some dumb guy decisions.
I just loved Trey and Claudia so much. They balanced each other out so well. They both always seemed to know what the other needed. And that usually meant some fantastic verbal sparring before they were able to compromise. It was so entertaining to read. Claudia hated being treated with kid gloves and as soon as Trey realized that, all bets were off. That doesn't mean that Trey wasn't ridiculously sweet at times, because he really was. And when he finally completely opened his heart to her, it was beautiful.
A Steel Town is not to be missed, especially if you have read the previous books in this series.This was the last book I read in 2015...talk about ending on a good note! It was great to see the whole gang again. We got some great group scenes that reminded me why I love this series so much. The author even laid the groundwork for the next book and I will say this: I NEED IT!
EXCERPT
Her hands yanked off his belt, then quickly undid the button of his jeans and slid down the zipper. Trey's hands twisted and tugged at her hair, trying to stem his urge to guide her movements.
Glancing up at him briefly, Claudia rubbed across Trey's length through his boxer briefs with the heel of her palm. Hesitating for a moment, she sucked at her bottom lip, revealing her two front teeth. He took a sharp intake of breath, growing harder under her excited touch.
When she finally pulled down the elastic band, Trey's cock sprang free so jubilantly that Claudia smiled and swiped her tongue across her lips in response. The sight of her innocent and beautiful, young face next to his rock-hard erection was enough to force him to access every ounce of self-control not to come right there.
Stilling his body, Trey let her take her time. At first she tentatively licked around the head and down his shaft, as though she were charting a course of him. He ground his teeth together at the almost painful pleasure it caused. As if emboldened, in one surprising motion, Claudia took him into her mouth. The velvety smoothness of her engulfed all his senses, filling him with pleasure, desire...and hope, all at once.
"Fuck," Trey muttered with a jagged growl. The word seemed to make her even more impassioned, as she quickened her pace. Her little happy slurping and humming sounds elicited another series of expletives, until Trey couldn't take it anymore.
The pleasure was too intense, yet Trey didn't want to finish like this. He needed to be truly connected to her — to wipe away every word and painful memory with each stroke of him in her.
All titles in the Gateway to Love series are only $0.99 during the A Steel Town release week!
Three Rivers (Gateway to Love, #1)
Althea refuses to allow herself to love again. Imprisoned in grief at twenty-four after her husband’s sudden death, she’s convinced her heart died along with him. She spends her days honoring his memory by clinging to the legal career he helped her to build and to the remaining pieces linking them together.
Griffen’s been running from his past. Despite success as an author and investigative journalist, he’s been traveling through life on autopilot. For a decade, he’s chosen perilous adventures and meaningless sex over the danger of any attachments. When he finally returns home to Pittsburgh, he’s slammed by the awakened memories and regret he’s spent years trying to escape.
A chance encounter brings them together. Their instant desire for each other – and the bond they discover between them – shocks them both. Despite her best efforts, Althea can’t resist Griffen’s charm or his intriguing proposition – if she agrees to a no-strings affair with him for the two weeks he’s in town, he swears he’ll walk away when their time is up. Assured she can test the waters of a new life while keeping her vow never to betray her husband’s memory by opening her heart to another, Althea throws herself into the escape Griffen provides her.
Their perfect plans go awry when the intensity of their connection overwhelms them. Will they risk it all on the chance of something great together…or will the power of their secrets and guilt tear them apart?
City of Champions (Gateway to Love, #2)
Tragedy and betrayal taught Jenna Sutherland early on that her safest bet was to fiercely avoid any risk, whether it is in work, life, or love. Now a respected orthopedic surgical resident on the cusp of finally breaking through in her career, she’s more guarded than ever.
When injured NFL quarterback Wyatt McCoy bulldozes into her life there’s no denying he’s cocky, selfish, and downright dangerous — everything Jenna’s sworn she doesn’t want.
Suddenly the levelheaded doctor finds herself facing down her greatest fear, and she’s tempted to gamble all she’s fought so hard to build. The two embark on an intense holiday love affair that quickly teeters on obsession, and tempts them both to think they could go all-in on a real future together. Yet Wyatt’s desperation to stay on the field — and out of the operating room — lures him to take dangerous risks with Jenna’s trust.
Will they win at love or lose everything —including their fragile chance at happiness?
Shanghai Wind (A Gateway to Love, #2.5)
Colin has broken every promise he's ever made, but what hurts him the most is the harsh memory of the way in which he abandoned the only girl for which he'd ever truly cared. After a summer romance in Shanghai with his host family's daughter, Feng Huang, he begged her to join him in America, only to fail her when she finally sacrificed everything for their future together.
Shanghai-born Feng Huang has spent the last six years trying to get over Colin. Now beloved by the world as a famous pop star, she's moved on with a wealthy Chinese-American entrepreneur. When Colin appears in front of her at her boyfriend's gala celebrating her return to Shanghai, she is overcome by both the pain and love, which still linger inside her at the mere sight of him.
Yet, nothing is as it seems, and when the sinister elements which have thrust them back into each other's orbit reveal themselves and threaten more than just their precious second opportunity at love.
Will their stolen night together bring them the future of which they had always dreamed, or will Colin betray her love yet again?
About Chloe T. Barlow
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