In Bed With The Billionaire by Jackie Ashenden

Genre: Women’s Fiction, Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Erotica, Romance

Pages: 400

Published November 1st 2016 by St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Summary: A man with everything on the line…
Known to the underworld only as Jericho, billionaire Theo Fitzgerald is one of the most powerful men in the world. But his plan is to tear down the criminal empire his father created from the inside out—unless someone else does it for him. He suspects a bold, seductive woman named Temple Cross might be trying to take him out with it—but for the chance to burn in the heat she gives off, he’s not sure if he minds…

A hired hit woman, Temple has been waiting to get close to Jericho her whole life. The man who destroyed her family is worth looking in the eye before she kills him—but when she’s finally alone with Jericho, he’s nothing like the ruthless barbarian she imagined. Her reaction to his touch is explosively sexual—and their emotional connection is too powerful for her to ignore. Is she his shot at redemption? Or will he have to risk losing her love to save her life?

crownfullrating

I kind of laughed while I read this because there is always the chance that I mentally become combative with stories that tend to have alpha males, toxic relationships and things that just wouldn’t happen in real life. But, I read this and I kept my mind open and I found that in the beginning Jericho was rather intriguing.

“It doesn’t mean defeat. Sometimes surrendering is the most powerful action you can take.”

Jericho, a human trafficker who is known to be malicious, who is known to abuse, use, buy and sell people to turn a profit. He’s that villain we all love to hate, wish to grind into the ground and beat him senseless. Then there is our heroine Temple – a young redheaded assassin with a chip on her shoulder and needing to prove to the world as well as herself that she’s as tough as nails and can handle anything! [at the ripe old age of twenty two…]

So, what does she do but pose as a stripper in his club and intrigues him because she’s not afraid and he can read people oh so well. Temple taunts him, one thing leads to the next and he’s taking her home.

The typical thing here happens, the alpha never takes anyone home, he’s not felt this enticed since -insert years or traumatic event here- but for the most part Jericho remains true to his villainous self. Temple does not remain true to her hard as nails self, she buckles, folds and inevitably becomes the stereotypical melted pot of chocolate every time this super, sexy, murderous, multi-billionaire sex trafficking crime lord steps onto the scene.

What made this make sense was they were equally as messed up as the other, I couldn’t find myself getting up in arms about how she was treated because she egged him on and literally asked for it and they both enjoyed it immensely.

The more we learn about the both of them, the sappier it becomes and Jericho loses his villain act to reveal the gooey center – like a jelly donut. Temple loses her feral cat-like personality and turns into a sobbing mess and this is where the story really loses me. What intrigued me to begin with – the toxicity of both individuals just evaporated because both came tiresome.

I really almost gave this a 3.5, but by the end of the book I was sighing, rolling my eyes and just generally trying to get through the last quarter of the book. Prior to that? I almost finished reading this in an entire night.

A solid three.