TAKING CHASE - Lauren Dane

Chase Brothers, Book 2    

Samhain Publishing - www.samhainpublishing.com

ISBN: 1-59998-301-X

December 2006

Erotic Romantic Suspense

Petal, Georgia ~ Present Day

Cassie Gambol rolls into the small town of Petal, Georgia hoping to start a quiet, new life. Instead she's rear-ended by a woman with hair piled a mile high on her head, and wouldn't you know it, the Sheriff comes a running. Damn! He's one fine looking man. Big too! Which means he is off limits. Cassie's had enough of controlling men, her ex-husband, Terry, a prime example. In another lifetime Cassie's real name was Carly Sunderland, a renowned vascular surgeon, with a loving husband. Or so she thought. The final fight, Terry had raped her, broke her hand with a hammer and then when the hammer broke he used it to stab her repeatedly. She's lucky to be alive and plans on staying that way. Unfortunately, Sheriff Shane Chase isn't leaving her be.

Sheriff Shane Chase has a reputation with the ladies in Petal but there's something about Cassie Gambol that brings out the protective side of him. He sees the fear in her eyes every time he comes near and it saddens him. Shane doesn't want Cassie to be afraid of him, he wants her to trust him, let him in. With gentle kisses, walks in the park, lunches in the shade, Shane believes he's finally found the woman for him. Of course, like all men, he's bull-headed, wants to take control and Cassie is having none of that. When Shane learns Cassie's secret, he's ready to kill.  He's also afraid for Cassie. Will her ex find her? Will Shane be able to protect the woman he's grown to love?

The second book in the Chase Brothers series, TAKING CHASE is Shane's story, and what a doozy of a story it is. If you read the first book, you'll remember Shane dated the heroine, Maggie, who ended up falling in love with Shane's brother, Kyle. Once Shane was engaged to be married and then he found his fiancee in bed with his best friend. After that Shane never saw the same woman for more than two weeks. From the first moment he laid eyes on Cassie, Shane was off the market, though no one really realized it. Cassie's disastrous marriage with an abusive husband colored her perception of all men. So imagine four Chase brothers all built like linebackers hovering around. I'd be a might scared too! However, Shane shows Cassie that even though they have heated arguments, he will never raise his hand to her. Plus the make-up sex is out of this world. <g> Secondary characters include fellow townsfolk, the whole Chase clan, and Cassie's brother, Brian.

Suspense, steamy eroticism, and downright likeable characters are what readers are in store for when the open up Lauren Dane's TAKING CHASE.

Sinclair Reid