Title:Tied To Him
Author: Delilah Fawkes
Publisher/Year: Delilah Fawkes 7/13/13
Length: 206 Pages
Series: Billionaire’s Beck and Call #3
Overview
Jackson Pierce is a man with a secret…
Becoming Governor isn’t in the cards for billionaire and former D.A. Jackson Pierce unless he can squelch the unsavory rumors flying around. He’s not ashamed of his bad boy past being a dominant at a BDSM club, but he knows the revelation could ruin his political career before it even begins.
He’s skeptical of his campaign advisor’s idea–find a do-gooder wife to give him a more respectable image–until he meets Rose Turner, a former foster kid working in a local community center. Compassionate, feisty and passionate about helping troubled youth, she’s perfect for his needs. But as they get to know one another, his feelings for her grow all too real.
Rose Turner can’t take another heartbreak, not after being abandoned by everyone she ever loved. When she accepts Jackson’s proposal, she vows to keep her distance, but the more she gets to know him, the more she wants to let him in. But trust doesn’t come easy–if he wants it, he’ll have to earn it.
As the two draw closer, threats roll in: if Jackson doesn’t flip on education reform, a blackmailer will expose the fake marriage, ruining his career and tarnishing Rose’s reputation. But if he gives in, funding for the community center will be cut, and Rose’s kids will lose it all. With everything on the line, he must make an impossible decision as the clock runs down.
What’s a man of principle to do when everything he believes in falls apart?
My Thoughts
It’s nice to see how this series progresses, and it’s even better to see Max’s older brother Jackson coming into his own here. We learned in the last installment that there was a bit of a divide with the brothers from growing up, with Max assuming that Jackson took a role in the family outside the business out of spite, but it’s nice to see that it was instead a desire to follow his own passions. We knew of his political aspirations, so it’s great to see that at the forefront of this third book.
At the onset of this book, we learn that Jackson ha the same kinky tastes as Max and Chase, but that he’s chosen to put those in the past for the most part as he’s on his quest to be Governor. The issue that he’s facing now is that he’s learned through his campaign advisor that a woman that he ‘played with’ in the past as a BDSM club is now claiming that it was something more sordid than all that, and it’s going to compromise his campaign. What they decide is that he needs a bride who’s on the up and up to offset those rumors when they come out.
Enter our leading lady Rose – a woman who volunteers with homeless children, making them dinner each week because she knows first hand that sometimes the meals they get at school or the shelter are the only meals they get. She has been through the foster system herself and knows what it’s like to have few options and to finally find someone who cares for her in the way a child needs it.
When Jacks sees her in action, he realizes that she’s perfect for what his advisor thinks he needs, and now he has to convince Rose that she can take the offer of a lifetime – $5Million dollars for a year of her time and a marriage.
The journey that our story goes on from here is a sweet one. We see that she’s willing to ‘sell herself’ because she knows what she can provide for all those kids. She’s willing to set aside part of herself also because Jackson is attractive, powerful and he seems genuine. All the platforms that he talks about in his speeches align to what she wants to do to improve the quality of life for the kids she sees every day and that alone is enough to buy her time.
Jackson wakes up something inside Rose that’s intense. He treats her the way that she deserves and yet she struggles to accept it. They go on dates that mean something to her and they spend time that brings deeper parts of themselves out in the most genuine and sweet ways. All while teasing out the passion and chemistry that they have on such a dominant and powerful way. When they learn at their wedding that someone wants to out their secret behind the relationship and the wedding, we see the story take a turn for the worse.
Jackson enlists the help of Max and Chase and their wives to try to suss out who’s behind the blackmailing. Rose and Jackson go on their honeymoon and try to enjoy what their relationship has turned into, something that actually feels real to both of them, but there’s the undertone that everything will crumble. The threat from the blackmailer is that Jackson needs to change his campaign promises and give up a lot of what Rose believes in him in order to keep the lies quiet.
I’m sure that all the readers know who the blackmailer is, but in the story, the characters can’t quite sniff it out. They search in the office of the opposing candidate and come up empty. They sniff out Jacks’ office and come up empty. They have no idea who is behind it all, yet the threats keep on coming.
When Jackson realizes that he’ll have to do what the blackmailer wants in order to protect Rose as he’s realized and admitted to himself that he loves her, his plan backfires. She loses respect for how quickly he walks away from his beliefs…..and we see the story take a sad turn.
It’s a race to find out who’s behind the threats, while Jackson also has to figure out how to win Rose back. How to remind her that he’s a man worthy of her respect and her trust.
Similar to how all the other stories played out in this series, we see dynamic highs and lows, we see anxiety and we see romance. Tears, love, and heat….all wrapped up nicely in a bow. I’m sad that there are no other characters to take on this journey, but at least we got three books out of it. Enjoy!