Wicked as Secrets (Matt & Madison, Part One)

Matt and Madison spent an unforgettable weekend together and then Matt ghosted her. Madison takes a trip with her father and meets Todd. Todd is from a political family and she ends up marrying him. Three years later, she’s ready for a divorce and goes to Todd’s “secret” apartment. She witnesses Todd committing a crime and records it. She goes on the run and goes back to Louisiana to the only man who can help her. Matt is a bodyguard and works for a big security company. He’s at home one night and someone taps on his window. It’s Madison and she’s in trouble. Matt agrees to help her but plans on having one of the other agents protect her. But when her husband’s goons find her, she runs and they have to hide her in the swamp. Now Matt and Madison are alone for weeks and Matt has figured out he is a Dominant. When his friends show up with a counter off to Madison’s offer for divorce, no one will be happy. Sort of friends to lovers then enemies to lovers. BDSM. A bodyguard and his protectee. Neither have been able to stop thinking about the other. Big cliffhanger. Sex.

Great story crafting! Really enjoyed the unexpected turns and settings.

Enjoyed the interaction between the agents. Would like more multigenerational interaction.

Wicked as Secrets by Shayla Black is book one in the next duet in the Wicked Lovers: Soldiers for Hire series. It is about Madison, who has appeared in the past two duets in this series and Matt, who appears in the past three duets. Madison is a kindergarten teacher and Matt works for EM Security. Matt and Madison met initially at the wedding of One-Mile and Brea and then again at the wedding of Trees and Laila. There was an instant connection between them and they spent the weekend together after the wedding. When they parted each feeling that their relationship was more than a weekend fling. Unfortunately, Matt carries a lot of baggage from his father and after a call from him, he concludes the best thing he could do for Madison was to stay away. Madison, feeling ghosted and unwanted by yet another man, is vulnerable to the charm of the grandson of a corrupt US Senator. He made her feel wanted and adored. After a whirlwind romance, she accepts a marriage proposal. Fast forward three years, and Madison witnesses something that puts her in her husband’s crosshairs and he attempts to kill her. On the run, she turns to the one person that she believes can help her and doesn’t have children. As the story unrolls, both Matt and Madison have to learn more about themselves and how to communicate with each other. There is more emotion and relationship building and less action in this book than in most of the other books in this series. The chemistry between these characters is off the charts and there is a lot of intimacy. This author is extremely good at bringing the heat to her stories. As with all these duets, this book ends in a cliff-hanger, leaving the reader impatient for the next volume to be published. I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it for readers who love explicit romantic suspense novels. This author excels at writing a well planned and executed novel that the reader is guaranteed to love. I am voluntarily submitting this review after reading an advanced complementary copy of this book via Booksprout.