Title:  Protecting His Assets
Series:  Bad Boy Bosses
Author:  J.K. Coi
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  December 7, 2015
Publisher:  Entangled Publishing / Indulgence
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

CEO Steve Nolan is wealthy, successful, and in danger. Now, thanks to his business partner, he has a bodyguard—a rigid, controlled woman with a smoky voice that invites steamy thoughts of rumpled sheets and oh-so-satisfying sleepless nights. So if Steve has to play the game, he’s going to make damn sure he’s in charge of the rules…just as long as no one finds out.

April Porter has met incredibly handsome, high-powered men before. Guys just as smooth, who didn’t take her seriously, and who broke her heart. So she’s just here to do her job and stay focused and professional.
Even if Steve Nolan isn’t just another rich jerk.

Even if the sexual spark between them keeps getting hotter.  

And even if protecting his business and his ass(ets) means April could lose her heart in the bargain.

Read on for my thoughts on Protecting His Assets.  No true spoilers, promise.

Steve Nolan is getting threatening notes, and the most recent has been leaked to the press.  His business partner has hired a bodyguard over Steve’s objections.  Mainly because they have recently launched a new project and since their company is now public and not just the two of them any more, they have shareholders to answer to… and a huge investor who if they think the company is unstable will withdraw.  Besides Steve is his friend and he doesn’t want to see him hurt.  The last person Steve expected to show up as his bodyguard is April Porter.

April’s first impression of Nolan (she will rarely address him as Steve) isn’t a good one.  Nolan comes off as an arrogant, entitled, rich player who won’t take the treats or her seriously – proven by his attitude toward her and his almost automatic flirtation.  April comes from a blue collar working family.  She was in training for the FBI when her father began his cancer treatments, she’s since taken a leave of absence to care for him and is now working as a bodyguard for a friend’s security company.  Sure, she’s not the average over muscled, sunglasses wearing bodyguard – but she knows her job, her skills and she isn’t about to let this rich boy try to push her around and get his own way.  Unknown to Nolan is April’s past, an ex has turned her so against the rich because of his actions that she is not about to let any man of wealth close enough to hurt her ever again.

As the threats get more vicious and more personal April and Steve are pushed together almost 24/7 – there is a smoldering attraction between them.  One that Steve wants to take advantage of and one that April is trying her best to ignore.  And things are going to get much hotter real soon.

Protecting His Assets is an intriguing, engaging and enjoyable story.  Don’t be fooled into thinking that Steve is an arrogant jerk.  Okay, occasionally he is – but if you see the hints, look beyond the surface, the story will show you that much of what Steve is projecting to the world at large is a cover, a persona that hides an agenda that only he knows all the details about.  His attraction to April is honest, even if he is hiding much of it behind that player face of his.  He has a plan, and April shouldn’t be fitting into that plan… but she’s changing how he looks at his life and seeing things that he’s not prepared for.

The threats to  Steve will increase in timing and severity.  The suspense is held tight right up to the reveal.  April and Steve will get their happy ever after.  But this couple is going to have to work together, something they have difficulty doing because they won’t show their true faces to each other.  Once they do, everything changes and when they let love in, that’s when all the broken pieces for each falls perfectly into place.

I enjoyed Protecting His Assets very much.  If you’re a lover of suspense, alpha men and women and enjoy a very tightly wound storyline – then this one is just right for you.  Take a risk and pick this one up.  I think you’ll enjoy it.

*I received an e-ARC of Protecting His Assets from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

Available for the Kindle