This is only the second book I’ve read by Romeo Alexander, and to be honest, the first one was just average, so I wasn’t expecting to enjoy To Love and Protect as much as I did. But I’m always on the look out for good romantic suspense so I decided to give it try, and I’m glad I did, because it turned out to be a great read; an entertaining, well-paced story featuring three-dimensional characters, a well-developed central relationship and some tense and exciting action scenes. At first, To Love and Protect seems like your common-or-garden bodyguard romance; a stoic US marshall is assigned to protect the fast-talking former lover of a mob boss who, in his five years as arm candy, has amassed enough information to bring down a high-profile crime family. It’s a familiar storyline, but what puts this story above the run-of-the-mill is the characterisation – of the protectee especially – and the way the romance is paced and developed.

Marshall Marcus Felps isn’t wildly impressed when he’s assigned to round-the-clock protection of Adrian Morgan, the ex-boyfriend of Oliver Vettic, heir to the Vettic criminal empire. He’s even less impressed when he finally meets Adrian, who seems determined to annoy him at all costs. He’s like a bratty, overgrown kid; he never stops talking, he’s too impulsive, too flippant, too flamboyant and just… too much, but it’s Marcus’ job to keep him safe, and he’s going to do it. To Adrian’s dismay, Marcus is exactly the sort of boring jobsworth he’d expected him to be and Adrian is everything Marcus had been dreading – an inveterate smart-arse who seems to take nothing seriously – but during the months they spend living in suburban Virginia, Marcus comes to realise that there’s much more to Adrian than he originally thought. Sure, the guy is incredibly annoying and seems to enjoy pushing Marcus’ buttons, but there’s a quick mind and ready wit behind the pretty face, together with something else that suggests certain shared experiences, and Marcus is surprised to find he’s slowly coming to actually like him.

The first quarter or so of the book is basically Marcus and Adrian living together and getting to know each other, and it’s nicely done. Marcus is your classic big, taciturn, doesn’t-do-emotions-or-relationships romantic suspense hero (plus, he’s straight), and Adrian is the total opposite. I admit I worried he’d be one of those curl-tossing, foot-stamping ‘You can’t tell me what to do!’ types who delights in giving their bodyguard the slip so often found in this genre, but happily, he isn’t. He does chafe at his confinement, but recognises it’s necessary for his own safety, and while he does sometimes push at his boundaries, he doesn’t actually step over them. He’s got an agenda, too, and isn’t going to do anything that could jepoardize it.

Things kick up a gear when the safe house is compromised and the men have to run for their lives. Adrian once again surprises Marcus when he shows himself to be extremely capable, pragmatic and good at thinking on his feet; he comes up with as many plans to save their arses as Marcus does and is just as capable of doing whatever is needed to keep them safe and get the job done.

The pacing is good overall, with well-written action sequences interspersed with quieter moments of introspection and personal revelation, and the central relationship is really well done. Having the first part of the book be based around the two men getting to know each other really pays off, giving them time to develop a friendship – of sorts – born of mutual respect, and time for their attraction to take root. The bi-awakening element is handled well; Marcus has always identified as straight and tries hard to ignore the pull he feels towards Adrian, but those feelings bring back memories of the attraction to another boy he’d experienced as a teen and has ruthlessly suppressed ever since. I liked that Marcus doesn’t have a big freak-out when he realises maybe he’s not as straight as he thought he was, and also that there’s no under-fire-heat-of-the-moment-oops-that-was-a-mistake shagging; Marcus makes a conscious decision as to whether or not he wants to act on his attraction to Adrian. The steamy scenes are full of heat and passion, the chemistry between the pair is sizzling, the dialogue is sharp and insightful and the banter sparkles.

The HFN ending absolutely fits the overall tone of the story. Marcus and Adrian have forged a relationship under extraordinary circumstances and need time to work out how they fit together when they’re not running for their lives, and a full-blown HEA complete with passionate declarations would not have been at all in keeping with either the story or the characters. But still, I was pleased with the way things worked out and came away from the book feeling optimistic for their future.

Much of my romantic suspense reading these days is same-couple series where each book has a self contained plot and the romance develops over several books, and many of the single-title RS books I’ve read lately have disappointed because the romance takes a back seat to the plot. However, To Love and Protect is a rare standalone romantic suspense title that gives equal weight to both plot and romance, and in which both elements are expertly combined to produce a cohesive whole. I really enjoyed it and will certainly look out for more romantic suspense from this author.