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Celia Aaron

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Dark Protector Kindle Edition

by Celia Aaron (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 1,321 ratings

Book 1 of 3: Dark Protector

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From the moment I saw her through the window of her flower shop, something other than darkness took root inside me. Charlie shone like a beacon in a world that had long since lost any light. But she was never meant for me, a man that killed without remorse and collected bounties drenched in blood.
I thought staying away would keep her safe, would shield her from me. I was wrong. Danger followed in my wake like death at a slaughter house. I protected her from the threats that circled like black buzzards, kept her safe with kill after kill.
But everything comes with a price, especially second chances for a man like me.
Killing for her was easy. It was living for her that turned out to be the hard part.

Author's Note: This is a full-length standalone romance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Celia Aaron's writing is PERFECTION. Her descriptions are so spot on I have never lusted so hard after a high paid killer. -After the Pages Book Blog

This book was action packed, has hot steamy scenes, romance, twists that will have you on the edge of your seat and a HEA. Honestly you should one click now as you won't be disappointed at all. -Kinky Kittens Book Blog

I have to simply say that Conrad is sinfully scorching, heat-in-my-belly, want-him-for-my-own hotness. -Book Haven Book Blog

This is definitely on my top dark reads for the year. -Hooked On Books Blog

This is a great mafia read with all the killing, chasing, sex, passion, raw emotion you could possibly want! -BeautyFull of Books Blog

You will love the characters and you aren't going to want to put this book down. -Wicked BabesBlog

Ms. Aaron writes some of the best dark heroes I have ever read. She can make you love a character that no one should love as well as understand them. -Alphas Do It Better Book Blog

If you love a hot action packed stories, this one has your name all over it. -ChatterBooks Blog

About the Author

Celia Aaron is a USA Today bestselling author and recovering attorney who loves romance and erotic fiction. Dark to light, angsty to funny, real to fantasy--if it's hot and strikes her fancy, she writes it. Thanks for reading.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B06XB762GR
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Celia Aaron (February 25, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 25, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5323 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 270 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1543089682

Best Sellers Rank: #57,942 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3,212 in Contemporary Romance Fiction
- #3,852 in Romantic Suspense (Books)
- #5,660 in Romantic Suspense (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 1,321 ratings

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Celia Aaron is a USA Today bestselling author and recovering attorney who loves romance. Dark to light, angsty to funny, real to fantasy—if it’s hot and strikes her fancy, she writes it. Thanks for reading.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

1,321 global ratings

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W3B

A protector

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2024

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Heat protector And she's a rose with thorns. She's his life A match made A match made in heaven. The characters are well rounded and and very likable Relatable or Well flushed out The world is ending And It's a good story. He would burn the world for her More importantly He would live for her.

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amanda b.

Killer stalks florist

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2023

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When Conrad falls for Charlie at first sight, he keeps his distance to ensure her safety. When their connection is discovered, Conrad will stop at nothing to keep her safe.

Smut 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Plot ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters 🗣️🗣️🗣️.5
Writing Style ✏️✏️✏️.5

organized crime romance
no cheating
HEA
badass FMC
forced proximity
he falls first / harder
insta love
kidnapping
stalker/obsessed
touch her and die

TW:
domestic abuse
SA mention
child death

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Dates With K

****4.5 ‘Angel Wings & Dark Marks’ STARS****

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2017

Verified Purchase

Prose that flew through my brain like a gallery of photographs, or more like one of my favorite action suspense movies, this tale hit all the marks of a fast paced, gritty thrill ride of a love story. A little dirty, a little dark Celia Aaron brings to life the nomadic, apathetic hitman with his secret love for an unattainable florist and I loved every second.

“Tell me your darkest sins, and maybe I’ll tell you one of my hundreds.”

Watching through the window of his vehicle, Conrad/Con has made it a habit to watch after the beautiful florist who snared his attention months ago. Aching for more than the clandestine glimpses he gives himself, deep down he knows he can never have her – his life is too dangerous and she’s…too innocent and good for a man like him. A hitman. A boogeyman.

“A woman like her wasn’t meant for a man like me.”

It’s not lost on Charlie that a handsome yet somewhat scary stranger has been stalking her from across the street of her flower shop. For months he’s sat and stared, watched her every move…but nothing else. No stranger to pain and violence she’s understandably hesitant to engage with the sexy man in shades. Until the day watching is no longer adequate because Con has a lot of enemies. Enemies that want to teach Con and use Charlie as the lesson. He’s just become essential to her survival.

“His body was a masterpiece of muscle, scars, and ink.”

Dodging bullets, rival hitmen and crime families – Con and Charlie took me on a crazy journey while I watched the inevitable fall into lust and love. I loved Con’s alpha anti-hero hitman compared with Charlie’s seemingly innocent good girl florist. Underneath both of these damaged characters lies a deep hurt and hidden depth of feeling. As I slowly learned their secrets and hard knocks my heart hurt for them. They’re both on a path life forced them to, not what they might have necessarily chosen. For all their good and bad decisions, they’ve both made peace with who they are and never once think they deserve or will get a happy ending. Charlie’s got some surprises under her belt and loved seeing her go toe-to-toe with Con. I adored the introduction of Nate the hot, hilarious sidekick to Con and hope we haven’t seen the last of him – he really needs his own story. The twist in the story was easy to see but never effected my enjoyment and I was gleeful to see the ‘bad guys’ get what they deserve. Filled with beautiful, atmospheric prose and relatable characters I felt like I was watching the adult rated version of one of my favorite suspense movies or crime dramas; I never lost interest and finished this book in a couple hours. Although this story deals with some dark elements and an illegal profession, I wouldn’t classify this as a dark romance – more so edgy suspense with dark elements running throughout.

“Maybe the man I wanted her to find didn’t exist, maybe I’d murdered him bit by bit with each life I’d taken. I still had to try.”

Action packed, suspenseful, atmospheric and gripping I loved this hot, sexy peek into the gritty underworld of organized crime. Perfect pacing, engaging characters and fast moving story line all combined for an excellent reading experience, recommended!

“You make murder sound more romantic than it should.”

K’s Category: 2nd date, second novel read by author to date.
Characters: M/F
OM/OW: No
Sex: Yes, descriptive
HEA: Yes
Standalone: Yes

4 people found this helpful

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Twinkletoes

Rough cut gem…but I kinda liked it.

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2017

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My Impressions: Love that cover. I was skimming through a book blog and it caught my eye. A HEA mafia romance…eh…but isn’t that an oxymoron or something? [I’ve seen all three Godfathers, so I know how these things end.] Not my usual read for a million reasons: 1st person POV *bleech*, gratuitous F-bombing and other associated crudeness, erotic nookie…all my classic triggers. (And by ‘trigger’ I mean things that usually set off my DNF reflex.)

The Mob Squad: Nice brisk pacing…no lulls in the mafia action. The storyline is pretty standard (but not so much that it wanders into cliche territory). There’s a change of leadership and hitman-for-hire Conrad and eyewitness-to-mob-violence Charlie get caught in the transitional dissidence as the new boss tests loyalties, rearranges the hierarchy, trims the fat, and whatnot. Nate provides some nice moments as Conrad’s sidekick smart a$$. Nate’s motor mouth commentary is both funny and filthy at the same time. I would give an example, eh, but this is a family-friendly review…lol. And I’d have to censure his banter to the point where the meaning is lost just to get it down to an R rating.

Love and Bullets: Despite the bullets, the blood and the brazen talk…Charlie and Conrad have a really nice chemistry. It’s what drew me to this book despite the fact that it is the exact antithesis of what I consider acceptable romantic fiction. And now after that thinly-veiled insult, I must contradict myself and recount how much I enjoyed the fast paced, but oddly layered unfolding of Charlie and Conrad’s personalities…and the building of their connection. Charlie is kinda like a twist on the usual good girl archetype…she’s not all good, there’s an edge to her that makes her connection to stone-cold killer Conrad more tenable. Still, she’s mostly good. Alas, Conrad is your typical mafia bada$$…shoot first and get the hell outta dodge before the police turn up and start asking questions. But, the backstory with his dad softens his edges a bit. *Sigh*…Con’s silent longing for her…her hero worship (he saves her on multiple occasions). The build up is so very satisfying until I was really kinda annoyed by the raunchy unromantic payoff…

Major Beef:…The sex scenes kill the romance! And not just with this book, this is the problem I have with almost all erotic romances. It’s not really that erotic, at least, not by my definition. When I think of something being erotic I think of it as arousing, sensual, and irresistibly risqué…like extra rich gourmet chocolate. I mean, you know it’s going to make you fat, but it tastes sooo good until you’re lulled into eating it anyway. An erotic love scene should be so seductive until it pulls you in, makes you want to read it despite (in my case, Christian values). But, nothing about the rough language and raw goings-on makes me want to read it even if I weren’t Christian. There’s no finesse or softness. They have sex like a prostitute and her john would…not like a rough neck with genuine affection for a good girl. The connection is there, the romantic potential is there in spades, even the physical chemistry is palpable in this one. So with all that, why kill it with crudeness?

FYI…Women do not refer to their own goodies as the “P” word. Yeah, they might use it to refer to some skank or her goodies, but not their own.

And of course, the ultimate WTF moment came seconds before the actual nookie went down. Literally, Charlie’s primed and Conrad is about to hit it…when He whispers, “I’m clean”. And she has the completely stupid thought that her bank account is empty but thank Gawd she’s been on 3-month Birth control since she was 15…even though she hasn’t had sex in years. (No joke. This is actually what she thinks as he utters the words “I’m clean”.) I don’t know which one is more ridiculous…the fact that she’s ok screwing a hitman she met 3 days ago bare back just because he verbally tells her he’s clean…Or that in the same breath she’s admitting that she has little money, yet had the business savvy to waste it on Birth control shots when she hasn’t had a man in years. I guess she figured that one day, out of the blue she’d fall in lust with the ghost of Johnny Stompanato and want to have unprotected sex with a perfect stranger without the pesky threat of pregnancy.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to just search the house for some condoms? It’s a guy’s house who was known to mess around on his wife, which means there’s condoms in a drawer somewhere. This is a perfect illustration for why erotic romances do not appeal to me…the fact that these sorts of conversations have to take place at all! If Charlie and Conrad were a normal couple in love, with some semblance of a dating relationship or normally progressing courtship, then last-ditch pre-sex disclaimers like…Relax Baby, I don’t have the Clap…wouldn’t be necessary. But that’s just me.

Random Thoughts: Or perhaps I’m just a raging prude hold over from Victorian times? I’ll let the readers decide.

Cool Points: Con walks a fine line between protective and controlling…and oddly, he doesn’t cross over that line. This is a major plus in my opinion. He’s bossy, tells her what to do, doesn’t give her a whole lot of explanation at first, but there is always this motivation of protection behind it. I got the distinct impression that if her life wasn’t in peril, he would have handled things much differently. And I liked that when Charlie disobeys him and goes rogue (with the shiv, the stun-gun, leaving the hideaway, the snares, eh, she followed very few of his orders now that I think about it)…Con just blows it off, he doesn’t double down on the whole…”My word is the law” speech. Thank goodness.

Edge of the Cliff: Nope, no cliffhanger in sight. Keep calm and read on. Everybody gets theirs and Berty gets stuck paying the piper. It couldn’t have happened to a nastier fellow. *grin*

The Verdict: Yes, its true, this book broke nearly all of my no-no rules, but I still kinda liked it. Geez, what is the world coming to when I can’t even count on disliking things I normally hate. *hunches up shoulders*

20 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Ed S.

So good!

Reviewed in Canada on September 24, 2023

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I really loved this story! Con and Charlie had such an intense relationship, you could feel their desperate need for each other throughout most of the book. Their love for each other made this a 5 star book.
And Nate was the best, so funny and endearing. He helped to make this story great! For sure I’m reading his story next!

J.Gibbons

Conrad, man of my dreams! 🥵🔥

Reviewed in Australia on June 24, 2023

Verified Purchase

I absolutely loved this book! I couldn't put it down, Celia is turning out to be one of my favourite storytellers!
Can't wait to read Nate's story!

Ciara

Dark and dirty

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2017

Verified Purchase

Conrad Mercer is the anti hero you will fall in love with. He watches out for Charlie and wants her but knows he shouldn't taint her so he stays away. Until they are brought together through unwanted circumstances.

From there, the story is fast paced, hot and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Con is given orders and normally he follows them, but this time is different. His heart is involved so he does something out of the ordinary and goes against the grain. He is determined to protect Charlie at any cost and Charlie feels the same and Con. She will do what is necessary to save her dark protector.

As with all her other dark stories, Celia really knows how to pull you in and keep you sitting glued to the story until the end. Fast paced, edge of your seat reading with some humour from my favourite side character in a story yet (Nate) provided everything that I love in a story from Celia.

2 people found this helpful

Kris

Great story

Reviewed in Australia on June 30, 2023

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Loved the story, the plot; every detail is so well written- the only thing I would’ve liked is more s*x between Conrad & Charlie ;)

Lisa Hershaw

Dark and dangerous

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

What happens when you get kidnapped because a man, you've never spoken to, he only watches you from a distance.

You end up embroiled in a war between the man who has been watching you and his boss. Danger is never far from what Conrad does for a living, but when he unintentionally gets Charlie involved he has to protect what is his, even though they haven't officially met.

Conrad will do all he can to protect Charlie, not matter how much danger is around the corner for them now they have enemies. Charlie is apprehensive about Conrad, even though he's dark and mysterious, he saved her, but she's still scared of him, yet attracted to him. Conrad is more than attracted to Charlie after watching her for so long, so will they give into the attraction amongst the danger.

Will they be able to survive unscathed in the action packed guns a blazing read.

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