About ASA:

Jay Crownover’s New York Times and USA Today bestselling Marked Men series continues with the much anticipated story of southern charmer and certified criminal Asa Cross.

Starting over in Denver with a whole new circle of friends and family, Asa Cross struggles with being the man he knows everyone wants him to be and the man he knows he really is. A leopard doesn’t it change its spots and Asa has always been a predator. He doesn’t want to hurt those who love and rely on him, especially one luscious arresting cop who suddenly seems to be interested in him for far more than his penchant for breaking the law. But letting go of old habits is hard, and it’s easy to hit bottom when it’s the place you know best.

Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the bottom looks like after a tragic situation at work threatens not only her career but her partner’s life. As a woman who has only ever had a few real friends she’s trying to muddle through her confusion and devastation all alone. Except she can’t stop thinking about the sexy southern bartender she locked up. Crushing on Asa is the last thing she needs but his allure is too strong to resist. His long criminal record can only hurt her already shaky career and chasing after a guy who has no respect for the law or himself can only end in heartbreak.

A longtime criminal and a cop together just seems so wrong . . . but for Asa and Royal, being wrong together is the only right choice to make.

4.5 Star Review by Lisa Kane

I have been anticipating Asa's story for a while. Which female would be able to tame this restless soul? Well he is about to be Royal flushed! Royal is a cop. (she lives in the apartment next to Nash and Saint) She's the one who arrested Asa the last time he got mixed up in some trouble. He was innocent, but the facts needed to be played out before he could be released. Ayden, Asa's sister was none to pleased with Royal for arresting her brother.

Lately, Royal's been acting strangely. She keeps getting drunk at the bar Rome owns and where Asa bartends. The drunker she gets, the more she comes on to Asa. As tempted as he is by the centerfold look alike, he's trying to avoid getting into trouble. And Royal-she's a whole lot of trouble! Royal's been off from work for a while, at least until the department has cleared her to go back. Her partner and best friend, Dominick was seriously hurt when a call they were on went bad. Royal blames herself and thinks she should have been the one who suffered, not Dom. Her guilt is eating her alive. She's acting out to avoid the pain and for some reason Asa is the magnet that draws her and helps to keep her centered.

Asa is about as damaged as a guy can get. He is more than aware of the sins of his past. He ran so many games, scammed so many people that he believes he's not worthy of being loved. He knows his sister Ayden loves him and thinks he is on the right road but even she is wary of him falling back into his old patterns. He is trying to keep his nose clean; he works like a dog at Rome's bar and is paying off his massive medical bills with every spare cent he has. (He was seriously injured when some unhappy "business partners" came to collect a debt he owed)

As much as Asa tries his best to avoid Royal, the more Royal is determined to catch him. And eventually this cop gets her man. As explosive as the sex is, there is a deeper connection between the two of them. But Asa knows he will screw this up, just like everything else he does in his life. Royal wishes he would just live in the moment, and try to leave his past behind.

One of the things I love the most about the Marked Men series is the reappearance of the characters we love so much-Rule and Shaw are married and expecting their first baby, Rome and Cora have a little one and he is branching out his businesses, Nash and Saint are living together and maybe wedding bells might be in their future, Rowdy and Salem are loving their lives together and Jet and Ayden have moved to Austin to be closer to Jet's work, but they are around enough to make sure they know what everyone is up to-these characters are old, cherished friends. And how they have all changed since Rule Archer sported his multi colored Mohawks and his "in your face" attitude!

There are tons of twists and detours for Royal and Asa. Of course when it seems like the puzzle pieces are all about to fit, someone comes along and knocks the pieces on the floor. It will take hard work to put it back together again.

Saying goodbye to this series is going to be tough. But clever wench that Jay Crownover is-she introduced us to a few new secondary characters and they will be getting their own series-The Saints of Denver. I'm just hoping my boys make an appearance or two.

We all had marks, some physical, some emotional, some that would never leave us, and many of those marks were of our own making as we all tried to get to the place we were supposed to be. Our marks defined us, separated us, and made us the men we were today.

EXCERPT

I gulped and fully expected Royal to stop what she was doing but she didn’t, and she didn’t bother to look up as I strangled out that we were fine and just needed the bill. The girl gave me a look full of knowing and, if I wasn’t mistaken, approval before she walked off. I curled my fingers at the back of Royal’s head until they were hopelessly tangled in her hair, and lifted her head off of my shoulder enough that I could kiss her. Her hand dipped even lower in my pants and I groaned against her tongue.

“You need to stop.” I rasped the words out because I really didn’t want to say them. We were in a public place, and while she might have a wild side, I doubted she would let me throw her on the cocktail table and fuck her like everything inside me was screaming to do.

She sank her teeth into my bottom lip hard enough, and when she coupled that with her soft hand squeezing the base of my dick, I was ready to come on the spot. “You need to stop, too.”

Her message was clear. She was all for games as long as they were fun and sexy, but she wasn’t going to be a pawn, and if I wanted to enjoy her while I had her, I better get my shit together real quick. She withdrew her hand, skating up under the hem of my shirt and letting her fingers run over the ridges of my abs. The scrape of her nails across my skin had me ready to go off like a rocket, so I threw enough money on the table to cover our bill and probably the table next to ours and dragged her out of the warehouse like it was on fire.

She laughed and it did something to the inside of my chest. I had put tears in her eyes first, but somehow she was amazing enough to understand the stuff I did better than I did myself, and now she was laughing about the disaster of it all. It was like the sun coming through the clouds on a stormy day. She was everything bright the darkness tried to swallow and I wanted inside of her so bad that I couldn’t see straight.

I pushed her up against the side of the battered car and closed my mouth over hers. I tunneled my fingers through the hair at her temples and kissed her with every bit of urgency I had. The funny thing was, I had to let go of some of the other stuff I was always holding on to in order to get the message across to her, and with the press of her mouth against mine, the brush of her tongue across my own, I couldn’t explain it but I suddenly felt lighter.

“I want to take you home and take you to bed.” I sounded rough. There was no smoothness in my typically practiced twang. I sounded impatient and needy, two things I don’t think I had ever been before this girl.

About Jay Crownover:

Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men series. She will also be introducing the dark and sexy world of The Point in a new series this summer starting with Better When He’s Bad. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.

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