Wild Desire by Lori Brighton

Wild Desire
Lori Brighton
Historical Romance

FIRST HE DROVE HER MAD

In what feels like a moment, Beatrice Edmund goes from being a proper lady cooped up in a stuffy Scottish castle to traveling miles from anything she’s ever known, in the midst of the wildest adventure of her life. And at the center of that adventure is the most infuriating, puzzling scoundrel on earth. She cannot take her eyes off him.

THEN HE DROVE HER WILD

Colin Fitch cannot deny he’s drawn to Beatrice—but lust is all he could possibly feel for the sharp-tongued minx. Still, if there’s a chance she can help him stop the madman he pursues, he must withstand her obvious disapproval. Yet withstanding the longing he feels for her is growing more troublesome by the second… And Colin has never been terribly good at staying out of trouble
 

First Line - She was naked. Naked as the day she was born. Naked as the winter was long in Scotland. Naked as the days were hot in India. Naked.


Teaser

"Angry, Bea reached out, latching onto his hand, hoping he didn‘t notice the tremble of her fingers. He froze as if her touch was poison. "If you don‘t…"
"What?" Bea taunted with a confidence she didn‘t exactly feel. "If I don‘t let go, what will you do Colin?"
His free hand settled on her waist and he jerked her forward. Bea‘s palms flattened to his hard chest, a gasp parting her lips.
"This, Bea. I‘ll do this." His mouth crushed to hers. This was no sweet, innocent kiss. Colin‘s mouth was demanding, just as Bea wanted him. He tasted sweet, of fruits and wine. His muscled arms tightened around her waist pulling her so close, she could feel every wild beat of his heart against her breasts. When he thrust his tongue into her mouth, any little resistance Bea held shattered. She sank into his body, giving into her desires. That‘s when he pulled back.
With his steely gaze on hers, his hands fell to the belt around her waist. "You want me? You shall have me."



My Review

Once again, Lori Brighton has completely rocked my romance loving world; delivering a book that thrilled me with its action and dazzled me with the sexual tension between the leading couple. I honestly found myself panting and struggling to catch my breath through the entire book and it wasn’t just because the hero, Colin Fitch was irresistibly sexy in his cocky, self assured manner. Continuing the story from Wild Heart, WILD DESIRE took me on a rollercoaster ride that strongly resembled a historical Indiana Jones movie as Colin and Bea are thrust together for a danger filled adventure. Don’t let the “Indiana Jones” comparison confuse you, for as much action that this story captures, it balances just as strongly a sensual mixture of tension and passion that made this the PERFECT read for me. Honestly, I would’ve been quite content to sit and read this forever because it had me completely engrossed. By far, WILD DESIRE is my favorite read from Lori to date.

The story kicks off with a scandalous meeting late into the night as Bea is rudely interrupted by the drunken appearance of a man in her room. These things were just not proper and what makes it even more mortifying for this prim and proper woman is that she is completely naked; having decided that bathing could alleviate the dreadful heat of India. Unsure of the “societal” correct way to deal with the situation, worse leads to worst when she finds herself tangled in netting and underneath the very masculine, hard, arousing body of her late night intruder. Bea is horrified by her reaction but even more so when she discovers the mystery man is in fact the man she, Leo and Ella have come to India to see – Colin Fitch. After the introductions and an attack on the home, Bea doesn’t think to highly of him, judging him a cad and coward and the feeling is mutual. Colin takes one look at Bea and instantly labels her a pampered, cold, arrogant woman so naturally the sparks begin to fly as he sets out to goad and bait her at every turn. What makes for interesting reading becomes more exciting as events unfold at a startling rate. Everyone is together because they’re searching for a mystical statue said to hold such power should it fall into the wrong hands, the end of the world would follow.

Colin and Bea are key players in the search for this treasure, both holding powers – Colin with his gift to heal and Bea with power of her blood. When riots break out, Colin, Bea, Ella and Leo have no choice but to flee and much to the horror of Bea, she is forced to separate from the party and journey with Colin… alone. They go from dangerous moment to dangerous moment as she watches Colin suffer from periods of weakness after miraculous healings to her own near death experience to being followed and almost killed by treasure hunters also after the statue. But amongst all the action and despite their struggles to fight against their growing attraction, Bea discovers passion in Colin’s embrace and Colin… well he discovers that Bea is just too tempting to resist. Heated kisses, longing glances and a room filled with erotic images and statues stir an already smoldering flame higher until both couples are left wondering – where will their adventure lead them? What will happen when the statue is found? And will they be strong enough to put their wild desire first despite their doubts and fears of what society thinks? This is seriously edge of your seat reading!

I have to say that the chemistry between Colin and Bea had me positively glowing from beginning to end because for me, it was just so intense. I’m a sucked for good sexual tension. I want to be seduced right alongside with the heroine and from the very second Colin’s lips touched Beas I was GONER! This couple was so much fun to read because they were constantly feeding off each other, whether it was snarky comments, flirtations, sexual innuendos or tender moments where they opened up to each other. I never knew what I was going to get from moment to moment but one thing for sure was there was a constant source of passion between them and watching them come to terms with what their attraction meant for the future had me grinning from ear to ear. They’ve definitely become a memorable couple for me and one I can’t think about without having that little hitch in my stomach and extra beat of my heart.

I loved Bea. She had a real fire about her and I couldn’t help laughing at the way she reacted towards Colin. Honestly, I don’t know how women back in those times didn’t go positively bonkers from ENDLESS source of rules and restrictions plied upon them. I like the freedom to be able to do what I want, when I want to and Bea reached a point where she liked it also. Standing naked in a room with a sexy albeit drunk stranger would lead me to make one of two decisions – either get him naked too or kick his butt out of the room. I chuckled over Bea wondering what the “proper” etiquette would be in making an introduction when there was no one there to do it for her. Like a quick “Hi I’m Bea” wasn’t acceptable. Bea was thrown into such chaotic events that defied everything she’d ever known and believed and I have to say she handled it with style and grace, dealing with the situations head on without falling apart in a fit of vapors. I especially loved watching her explore her feelings when she found herself in a room filled with erotic statues and artwork and fighting her overwhelming need to throw herself at Colin and give in to her desire. She was a great mixture of strength, innocence and sass!

Oh. My. Gosh. Yes, Colin is one of THOSE men, the ones that the very second he’s introduced and you get a good look at him, your knees are weak, you’re slightly panting and you’re wondering where on your body you can have his name tattooed. This man was GLORIOUS in every way possible and each time he called Bea “Darlin’” my body would erupt with the chills. But Colin wasn’t just delicious man candy. Nope he had depth as well and showed great emotion. I loved watching him battle his attraction to Bea. He wanted her so bad, he burned for her but to be with her would ruin her so he fought the temptation. He hadn’t lived a charmed life. Because of his incredible gift to heal people, he was on constant guard from those who would take advantage of him or seek to destroy him. He knew no peace, he was always on the move and it was the last thing he wanted for Bea. Feeling he had nothing to offer her, he tried to rein in his passion but bad for him, good for me and Bea, he wasn’t able to. This led to some incredibly HOT moments between the couple that had me an ooey gooey mess. There was a scene towards the end of the story that at first glimpse had me wondering “Oh no Colin don’t do it!” But the emotion, the energy, the pain that came off him left me a little stunned and I wanted to cry for him because he felt he needed to prove that point. *sigh* Everything about him was just so good and for me he made the perfect hero – flaws and all.

Without hesitation, I’d recommend this book and although you could read it as a stand alone, I say start with Wild Heart first just because it gives you a wider scope of the storyline. There’s a great sense of adventure through the book and I loved that it was so easy to get caught up in. It was exactly the kind of reading experience I look for in a book and it left me buzzing to see what the author has in store for us next. Lori Brighton is an amazing author. WILD DESIRE makes this her fourth book I’ve devoured and it was just as addicting, if not more. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy. Happy reading!




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