'The Beast in Him' Pride series #2 by Shelly LAURENSTON

From the BLURB:

Some things are so worth waiting for. Like the moment when Jessica Ward "accidentally" bumps into Bobby Ray Smith and shows him just how far she's come since high school. Back then, Jess' gangly limbs and bruised heart turned to jelly any time Smitty's "all the better to ravish you with" body came near her. So, some things haven't changed. Except now Jess is a success on her own terms. And she can enjoy a romp - or twenty - with a big, bad wolf and walk away. Easy.

The sexy, polished CEO who hires Smitty's security firm might be a million miles from the lovable geek he knew, but her kiss, her touch, is every bit as hot as he imagined. Jess was never the kind to ask for help, and she doesn't want it now, not even with someone targeting her Pack. But Smitty's not going to turn tail and run. Not before proving that their sheet-scorching animal lust is only the start of something even wilder...

‘The Beast in Him’ is the second book in Shelly Laurenston’s redonkulously cool ‘Pride’ series.

Bobby Ray ‘Smitty’ Smith met his mate when they were teenagers. The only problem was that little Jessica Ann Ward was an African wild dog in a town of wolf shifters. Cute-as-a-button and shy-as-a-mouse Jessie Ann didn’t stand a chance against the Smith clan wolves. . . especially his sister Sissy Mae. Smitty knew that if Jessie Ann could be bullied and beaten by his Alpha sister that she wouldn’t fit into the Smith family as his mate. So when Smitty left for the Navy at the age of eighteen he left Jessie Ann behind and never looked back. Until now.

Smitty has moved the Smith clan to New York, where Jessie Ann has transformed herself into mega-rich computer geek Jessica Ann Ward. She is Alpha of her own wild dog pack and surrounded by loyal friends and their pups. Now all Jessica needs is a mate to share her pack and life with. And even though she’s on the hunt for a life-mate, at the same time that Bobby Ray Smith re-enters her life, that’s no reason for Jessie Ann to forget his rejection of the past and succumb to his wily Smith charms . . . no reason whatsoever.

Oh my golly gosh, I love this series. Each time I crack open a new Shelly Laurenston book I think it can’t get better than the last. . . and so far, I have been proven wrong.

We met Smitty in ‘The Mane Event’ and I loved him. He’s a laid-back wolf charmer who is quick with the quips and a cock-sure grin. I loved him. He’s a southern gentleman and lustful bed-hopping wolf with a wickedly cheeky sense of humour. But Smitty was also deceptively complex, with hidden depths that are revealed when Jessie Ann re-enters his life.

Smitty grew up as ‘one of those Smith’s’. The Smith pack being a notoriously mean and loyal bunch – feared and revered amongst shifters. But Smitty didn’t always appreciate being judged for his family’s ruthlessness, a ruthlessness that saw his sister bully and beat on the one girl he cared about when they were younger. Smitty also grew up watching his parent’s tumultuous relationship, full of highs and low-blows;

He dropped his hands to the desk. “That’s not the point. I don’t want her thinking...”

“Thinking what?”

Smitty let out one of those soul-deep sighs that used to drive Mace crazy when they were on duty together. “When I was eleven, I walked in the kitchen just as my momma slammed one of those Thanksgiving Day turkeys into the back of the old man’s head. She dropped his ass too. Like two tons of garbage. The sad thing was I knew whatever he’d done – he’d deserved it.”

“And?”

“I just don’t want the next forty years to be filled with flying turkeys.”

When Smitty meets Jessie Ann after years apart, he is instantly drawn to her. But he’s wary of the territorial feelings she ignites in him – feelings that push Smitty closer and closer to that renowned feral Smith behaviour he so wants to curb around the smart, sexy and sophisticated Jessica Ward.

Jessica is a lovely counter-balance to Smitty and his crazy-ass pack. I loved Jessica because she is a through, unabashed geek. She loves Tolkien, candy-bar sword fights and video games. She is so gloriously uninhibited in her geekishness that she’s impossible not to like. And her pack of wild dogs are fantastic friends – they bust out the pom-poms when Jessica does something they like and they offer her much-needed shoe advice. I loved them. Their camaraderie is infectious and hilarious.

‘The Beast in Him’ also includes a cameo appearance from my favourite psycho Alpha – Sara Morrighan of the Magnus Pack. . . and she is as hilarious as ever. As Jessica Ann succinctly describes this insane she-wolf;

... she might be a couple of dog biscuits short of a full box of Milkbones.

‘The Beast in Him’ is another fabulous paranormal romance from Shelly Laurenston. Hers is a hilarious and erotic paranormal romance, with a fabulous New York City setting and outlandishly charming characters.

5/5