"A woman with a spine of steel holds her own against a hot-blooded alpha male"

Lieutenant Tyler "Bud" Morrison of Portland PD Homicide is undercover at a seedy club called The Warehouse. He's been waiting for an informant to show up who is the key to bringing down a Russian mafia crime ring operating in the area. Bud senses that the informant isn't coming tonight, but something -- rather, someone -- makes him stay put. The Princess, as he thinks of her. A beautiful, classy woman totally out of place at this club known for rough trade. She can't be as innocent as she looks. Can she?

Claire Parks is determined to live life to the fullest. After a long illness and brushes with death, she wants to embrace all that life has to offer. For starters, she'd like to shed her virginity, which she'd have lost long ago if not for her illness. None of the regulars at this club are appealing to her in the least. Her co-worker may enjoy men with various piercings and sketchy bathing habits, but Claire wants a man who will take her breath away with lust. Not with disgust. The lumberjack, as she thinks of him, is the only real man in the place. When he comes to her rescue and drives her home, Claire thinks he may be the one.

Bud knows he's not good enough for the Princess -- er, Claire -- but he can't help himself. Her innocence, her good nature, her ethereal beauty, all bring the animal in him to life. After a no-holds-barred weekend of sex, Bud knows he's fallen in love for the first time in his life. Will Claire want to be part of his life when she discovers that he works Homicide? Both get the shock of their lives when they learn the other has been holding back. See, Claire is an heiress. But not just any heiress, she and Bud met once before, under vastly different circumstances, ten years ago.

When Bud and Claire discover each other's secrets, their relationship changes. Claire doesn't care about Bud's past, but he sure does care about hers. He automatically begins treating her like the sick child she once was, to her dismay. What happened to the man who couldn't keep his hands off her? Who couldn't wait another second to have her again? Claire wants that man back. And when Claire's friend Suzanne becomes the target of hit men (MIDNIGHT MAN), life as Claire knows it is over. Lt. Morrison has come out to stay. Will Bud drive away the very woman he's determined to protect?

Oh my, my, my. I do so love reading about alpha males falling head over heels in love. I wanted to slap Bud upside the head a few times, especially when he got overprotective of Claire and treated her the way everybody else did. Claire has fought too long and hard to regain a normal life to allow Bud to treat her like a child or invalid. It takes a strong woman to handle a hot-blooded alpha male and Claire is indeed that.

Taking place slightly before, during, and after the events in the preceding book (MIDNIGHT MAN), MIDNIGHT RUN is a non-stop thriller of a story. The author has left open the possibility of a third story in this series (oh, please, please). I cannot wait to see what Ms. Rice comes up with next. If you haven't tried any of her books, why not? Fans of Linda Howard will absolutely love Ms. Rice's writing style.

Sensuality: Rated S-ensuous by the publisher. Explicit sex; sexually explicit scenes: 11

Reviewed by Denise Powers
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted February 19, 2004

Summary

Claire Parks has been very sick, but she's fine now—just fine—and ready to paint the town red. Well, pink. On her first excursion into the wild world of dating, she nets Bud, a tall, sexy, good-looking lumberjack. She won him fair and square, her prize for not dying. But after a weekend of wild sex, she discovers he's not what she thinks he is.

Undercover police officer Lieutenant Tyler "Bud" Morrison can't believe his eyes. What's a 'princess' doing in a dance club known for its rough trade? She needs rescuing, and rescuing women is what Bud does best. He saw Claire first—finders keepers. After a weekend of the hottest sex he's ever had, he's definitely keeping this one. When trouble comes her way, he pulls out all the stops to protect her. Except Claire doesn't want Bud at her back. She wants him in her bed.

Sexual Content: S-ensuous. Genre: Romantic Suspense.