Riding Wild by Jaci Burton

Title: Riding Wild.
Author: Jaci Burton.

Publisher: Berkley Heat.
Series: Yes, Wild Riders.

Why: I entered an ARC contest on Jaci's blog and won.

Blurb: He's a Harley-riding ex-thief working undercover for the government. She's a gun-toting ex-socialite hired to protect a valuable museum exhibit. But in her attempt to stop a heist, she never anticipated having her breath and her heart stolen...

Mac Canfield was the last man Lily West expected to see again, never mind aim her gun at. But here he was, the bad boy who'd broken her heart years ago-still a thief, this time high-jacking a priceless artifact--and it was all she could do to push aside the memories of how it felt to have his perfectly chiseled body next to hers.

Mac was no less shocked to see the beautiful girl-next-door all grown up, threatening to shoot him on the spot. Little did she know she was blowing his cover-and now he had to figure out how to get her out of harm's way without succumbing to his crazy desire to take her on a hot trip down memory lane.

Unfortunately, Lily has no intention of going anywhere with Mac. Which means he has to resort to kidnapping. Unless, of course, she agrees to let him take her for the kind of ride destined to drive them both unbelievably wild...

Thoughts/Comments: As a fan of Jaci's books, especially her erotic romance, I was thrilled when I found out I won an ARC of Riding Wild because the storyline really intrigued me. Harley riding studs who work for a secret government agency... sweet, no?

I did think so, at first. But as I read farther into the story, I changed my mind. I was reading along feeling a bit disjointed from the story from the get go, feeling as if the plot were a cliche. Let me explain. Lily is an ex-cop turned PI, Mac is a Harley-riding undercover operative working for the government, and they had a "thing" 10 years ago.

The story starts with Lily working, testing security for a museum. She's standing outside surveilling the museum when she hears a motorcycle. Flashback to a fantasy of her and Mac that is WAY hot. She comes back to reality and steps back into her job, and watches as someone pulls up on a motorcycle, picks the lock of the museum door, and comes back out carrying and artifact. She confronts him and it turns out to be Mac. Both are surprised, she assumes he's still the thief he used to be, only having stepped it up to a much higher level. He assures her it's not what it seems, she doesn't believe him, then they start getting shot at. He kidnaps her and now she's got reason to believe not only is he a thief, but also a supplier for terrorists-- which, of course, is false.

So, she's kidnapped, by Mac, yet she's hot for him, in spite that and her assumptions. She says he doesn't trust her, he says she doesn't trust him-- and for the most part I think it's true on both sides. Then they have wild monkey sex--lots and lots of it. Lily drugs Mac, tries to run away, he catches her on his motorcycle in spite of being drugged and drives her back...drugged. Hmm. They get back to the monkey sex the following morning--still in the same place they were, not knowing a darn thing about one another, and yet not using a condom except for the first time.

The whole condom thing is a hot button for me, but what made me close the book and put it down was when Lily and Mac go visit her snobby father and, even though he is a jerk, she tells him that she and Mac are "going to bed so we can fuck". That was the show-stopper for me, the spot where I stopped reading.

So, while the sex is scorching, steamy, and will have you wriggling in your seat, the story just didn't work for me. Will I read the next one? You betcha.

Upcoming: Next in the series is Riding Temptation which comes out in October 2008.