His to Protect - Sharon C. Cooper (HRS #2134 - Apr 2021)

She looked a criminal in the eye……
and now she's a target
 
When Connie Shaw witnesses a bank robbery gone horribly wrong, security specialist Trace Halstead makes himself her personal protection detail. Days and nights together make it impossible for Connie and Trace to resist the attraction burning between them. But Connie doesn't know which she fears more…the threat from the man who wants to end her life or the love of the man trying to save it.
 
This was my first book by this author but won't be the last. The suspense sucked me in from the beginning, while the romance was both sweet and steamy. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down.
 
Connie's job at Layton Executive Protection Agency keeps her busy and satisfied, while her social life is a disaster. Thanks to events from her parents' marriage and a romantic betrayal, Connie has some trust issues when it comes to men. Despite one incredible night with security specialist Trace Halstead, Connie refuses to enter into a relationship with him. She claims that she won't date anyone she works with, which puts Trace on her "no-fly" list.
 
Trace is one of the firm's top security specialists. As the story opens, Connie and her boss have to end his current assignment because their woman client makes inappropriate advances. Meanwhile, Trace can't forget his time with Connie. Though known as a ladies' man before that, since then, he quit going out with other women. Connie is it for him, and he won't give up on getting her to give him another chance.
 
The book gets off to a running start when a trip to the bank lands Connie in the middle of a bank robbery. To make matters worse, she made eye contact with one of the robbers and saw enough for the FBI to try to make a start at identifying him. When Trace finds out about it, he worries that the robbers could come after her and makes protecting her his mission. Being independent and stubborn, Connie doesn't want to believe that she's in danger but is shaken enough to welcome Trace's company that first night.
 
I loved Trace. He wants Connie but respects her decision about a relationship, so he does his best to keep things platonic. I liked how he took care of her, cooking for her, just hanging out with her, and being a friend. Connie is just as attracted to Trace but fears risking her heart again. It was fun to see them get to know each other better with things like Twenty Questions.
 
Meanwhile, the intensity of the suspense increases with possible sightings of the robber and the question of whether he knows who Connie is. An intense confrontation at a fashion show followed by her house's firebombing seems to indicate that he does. I was on the edge of my seat as Trace and Connie barely escaped. I enjoyed seeing Trace and his brother Langton work together to identify him before Trace and Connie headed off to a safe house.
 
I loved seeing Connie and Trace grow even closer as Connie relaxed her no dating rule. Their happiness despite the situation was fantastic, and Trace looked forward to the end of the case and moving forward with their relationship. Then Connie misunderstood something she overheard, bringing her old fears back to the surface, and accused Trace of being like her ex. I ached for Trace, who was hurt and angered by her lack of trust in him. I had to laugh when his friends staged an intervention, making it possible for him to be there when she identified the robber for the police. But just when they thought it was all over, an unexpected twist put Connie in danger all over again. I was glued to the pages until she was safe in Trace's arms, and they finally admitted their feelings for each other.