Protecting What’s His (#1) – Tessa Bailey

Synopsis

She’s running from the law, and the law wants her bad.

The opportunity was just too damn delicious for Ginger Peet to pass up. The purse full of money she finds—$50,000 to be exact—could give her and her teen sister the new start they need. So she grabs the cash, her gothy sibling, and their life-sized statue of Dolly Parton, and blows outta Nashville in a cloud of dust. Chicago, here we come…

Turns out, Chicago has some pretty hot cops. Hot, intense, naughty-lookin’ cops like Derek Tyler, who looks like he could eat a girl up and leave her begging for more. And more. Tempting as he is, getting involved with the sexy homicide lieutenant next door poses a teensy problem for a gal who’s on the lam. But one thing is certain—Derek’s onto her, and he wants more than just a taste.

And as far as he’s concerned, possession is nine-tenths of the law.

4 /5 stars

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My Reviews

Ginger Peet needs to get her and her 17 year old sister Willia away from their druggy mother. Well, you could say mother but they hardly see her. She has never cared enough for them and also brought men and drugs back whenever she bothered to return. Ginger has practically raised Willa and done everything she could for them to survive.

Spotting her chance to get away from this hell hole, she spots a purse next to her mother full of money. Money that could give her and her sister a second chance and a new life. Deciding to take the money, she and her sister fly out of Nashville and head towards Chicago.

What she doesn’t expect when she gets there is a pretty hot cop. A hot cop who is her neighbour and wants her. Although their first meeting doesn’t go as planned, they both want each other but what happens when he find out about Ginger and her past?

One thing you could say about hot cop Derek is that he doesn’t take no for an answer.

Protecting What’s His is the first book I had read by Tessa Bailey but it certainly won’t be the last as I will HAVE to read her other two books asap!! I had seen someone reading this on Twitter and I was intrigued (They were tweeting dirty talk). So searching it on Goodreads, and reading some of the reviews, it was an instant 1-Click. An alpha male with an extremely dirty mouth? Oh hell yes, I am so reading that! Love me some dirty.

I started it late-ish the other night, went to bed and then it was finished by the time I got home from work. I blitzed through it because I didn’t and couldn’t put it down. I read it on the way to work (sex scenes included and I was then highly strung), on my lunch break and back home again. I couldn’t concentrate for wanting to finish Derek and Ginger’s story. I was obsessed.

Ms. Bailey dragged me into the story. Her writing captivated me. I was laughing, swooning, fanning myself, rooting for everyone, panicking, loving the connection between Ginger and Derek, loving the banter between Ginger and Willa, and also on edge during the last part of the book. I was gasping and hoping that everything would be okay, eagerly wanting to know I was turning the pages at lightning speed. Tears did spring to my eyes more than once.

It’s more than just a sexy book, it had everything in it for you to enjoy!

Ginger is a brilliant character. She’s strong and comes across as confident and comfortable in her sexuality, but deep down she is scared. Scared that she will turn out to be just like her mother and she’s completely vulnerable. All her life she has had to savage to keep her and Willa alive and fed. She’s done everything to survive and this is her chance to start over and start again away from the town that was dragging her down.

She has a guard up which makes her feisty and she doesn’t like to let anyone in in fear of being let down or left behind. The only person that matters is Willa. Being with Derek though, its petrifying to her and she doesn’t want a relationship, she wants it physical but over the course of the book, you see Ginger transform. Albeit it took a while for her barriers to fall but she gets there in the end, and it was lush seeing her happy and carefree. You see her fall in love, deal with pain and heartbreak, be jealous, have amazing sex and end up in a dangerous situation. She’s a strong girl who will give as good as she gets and I just loved her.

Derek! Oh Derek is one sexy, dominating, protective and possessive alpha cop. Uh he made my insides all gooey. I couldn’t get enough of him. He is a bit douchebaggy in the beginning but you can kind of see why that is and Ginger didn’t help but then he pushed her buttons too. Over the course of the book, you see Derek doesn’t like anyone, especially Ginger saying no. He has a verrrry dirty potty mouth that you can’t help but get sucked into and want him to say everything to you. He likes to be in control and you can certainly tell. But then you see his caring side too, his loving side appear.

He can’t get enough of Ginger, needing and wanting her to be his everything. You see different sides to Derek; possessiveness, dominant, caring, loving and scared. You see him there for Ginger, wanting to protect her from her pain and her past. He saves her from a dangerous situation and its touching that he loves her so much. He also has insecurities much like Ginger, but they both know what to do to make them go away and prove just how much they love each other when the other doubts themselves

I loved Willa, the secondary character and Gingers sister. My Jesus, the comments she comes out with could give me a run for my money but you see her grow up and blossom. At first we meet her she is this grungy teenager but over the course of the book, she comes out of her shell – she still has the comments, don’t worry – and we see her fall in love and have a boyfriend in the form of Evan. We don’t see much of him, but what we do, he is pretty awesome and someone who can see straight through Willa. It was great to see Willa happy and with someone who truly loved her.

NOW onto the sex scenes and dirty talk. The things that man says had me quaking, dear god. His mouth is dirty and I loved it! I love it when a man tells you exactly what hes going to do and what he wants. All men should do this, instant turn on! Haha. Derek and Ginger had passion and their connection was pure. It was steamy and hot and raw and it was everything you want from sex, especially with an alpha male like Derek.

I enjoyed the alternative POV’s. Love it when an author does this. You can easily distinguish Ginger and Derek’s voices which is great. I loved knowing reading about their feelings for each other and their personal lives and their insecurities and how much they both wanted one another. Getting inside their heads was the best and the alternating views were perfect.

I can’t tell you what my favourite scene because it’s near the end, but it’s in the motel room, in the shower.  So I’m just going to give you some of my favourite quotes to tide you over before you read it 😉

“There’s nothing in you past that could keep me away from you.”
“Tighten those pretty thighs around my waist. I’m going to give it to you rough.”
“Wake up you little cock tease”
“Look at me. You own me. I’m owned.”
“The longer it takes me to get between your thighs, the rougher I’m going to be when I finally get there. Understand?”
“Do you feel that, baby? That’s your man moving inside you.”

So there you have it. You all must take a chance on Protecting What’s His because it will turn you into a gooey mess inside and you will also love the story too! I’m going to be reading Officer Off Limits and His Risk To Take by Tessa Bailey soon and I’m pretty sure I will be a mess once again when I read more dominant alpha males ;).