Love's Design: Bodyguards Inc #5 focuses on Stefan, an ex/friend /coworker of Kyle's and Kirby, a man who has found himself placed in the middle of a very dangerous situation by his irresponsible brother.

Stefan is on leave from the CIA after a botched attempt on his life. He's disillusioned, and disconnected from life. He sees all of his peers building something real in their lives, finding their individual purposes, and he feels as if he's just drifting. He's not sure what he needs to do to breath life into his current situation, but he knows something needs to change.

Kirby is a former hustler, someone who's used to doing what he has to survive. He was thrown away by his family as a teenager and has been surviving on his own, by any means necessary for quite some time now. Just when he's found some form of normalcy in his life, his younger brother reconnects with him and brings him into a life-threatening situation that could not only kill Kirby, but the nephew and niece he's only known for a handful of days.

When Stefan interrupts an attempt on Kirby's life the two find in each other the thing they most need, for Kirby, safety and security, for Stephan, purpose and belonging.

My Review:

3 1/2 Stars

Although this story has a great deal of intrigue, I felt it wasn't as heavy on the romance as I would have preferred (as a reader). The chemistry between the two characters wasn't there for me. The romance was a very slow burn, the first sign of intimacy not taking place for more than sixty percent of the book. I didn't feel the pull between them as much as I did the previous couples in this series. For me, the intrigue is what kept this story going, what I was locked in on from the opening scene, to the last page.

If you're looking for a mostly suspense kind of read, this is the book for you.