Danger inspires fierce passion when a serial killer threatens Chicago’s Ferraro crime family in this novel in Christine Feehan’s New York Times bestselling series.
Vittorio Ferraro is a man whose family loyalty knows no bounds. He would die for his siblings and the people they love, but what he really wants is to start a family of his own. Deep down, Vittorio has always known finding a woman who could ride shadows would be nearly impossible—let alone one who could accept his particular needs—and he never expected to find her in the middle of a kidnapping.…
Grace Murphy has always been drawn to Vittorio Ferraro—or at least to the billionaire’s public bad-boy persona. Now that she’s under his protection and the sole focus of his intense caring, she can’t help wanting to get as close to him as possible. But Grace knows her presence is putting the entire Ferraro family in danger. Her monster of a brother will never let her go, but Vittorio has no intention of losing the woman whose shadow matches his own.
Praise for Shadow Keeper
“Shadow Keeper is, in a word, a keeper! If you love hot men, sexy women, the good guys winning against the bad guys, love (both sweet and ultra steamy), and family that stands together, then this book is all that and even more.”—Fresh Fiction
It was just her luck to be in the worst possible
circumstances when she met the hottest man in the entire world. Grace Murphy
wished the earth would just open up and swallow her, hospital bed and all. The
Ferraro family certainly had a strong sense of responsibility when it came to
someone getting shot in their parking lot. Even that was embarrassing, having
her own foster brother try to sell her into prostitution to pay his gambling
debts.
She was like everyone else, following the life of the
Ferraros in magazines bought at the grocery store or flipped through at the
beauty parlor. She’d always been drawn to Vittorio, finding herself reading
every single thing about him. Now, here he was in person, sprawled out in a
chair, more beautiful than the photographs could capture, as big as life.
Bigger even, the reality of him taking up an enormous amount of space, his wide
shoulders and long legs keeping her attention riveted on him.
She groaned aloud and covered her red face with one hand.
He’d been there every single day. Right there. In that chair. Pacing around the
room. Talking on his cell. It didn’t matter what he was doing, he saw to her
every need. He noticed before she did that her pain level was rising, and he
took care of it. He didn’t like the food they were serving her, and she was
given catered, very nutritious meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She
hadn’t been able to feed herself those first few days and he had been the one
to sit on the edge of her bed and feed her.
The first week after she’d been shot and operated on,
there’d been so much pain she could barely breathe, and she hadn’t been able to
fully comprehend who he was. Mostly, she’d slept and thought she was dreaming.
One of the nurses had referred to him as her fiancée and she had been confused.
She’d started to correct her, but then looked beyond her to see Vittorio
Ferraro hovering behind the woman.
Their eyes had locked. Had she known that eyes like his
existed in real life? She’d been captivated. Spellbound. Unable to think. Those
eyes had turned her brain to mush. Her heart had leapt to her throat. Grace had
felt as if he was willing her not to speak, not to contradict what the nurse
was saying—and she hadn’t. Then the morphine had kicked in and the pain had
gone enough for her to drift off.
“Grace?”
His voice. It was beautiful. Low. Soothing, yet at the same
time, there was absolute command, as if he ruled the world and knew it. She’d
heard that voice in the parking lot, stopping everyone, giving him the chance
to act, to save her from the two men Haydon was selling her to for his debts.
Vittorio remained silent after just saying her name. She
couldn’t help but look at him, that tone compelled her to raise her gaze to his
no matter how reluctant she was. It took her a few moments to gather the
courage to meet those eyes. Deep blue, like the deepest, clearest sea. She felt
as if she were drowning when she looked into his eyes.
She touched her tongue to her lips—the lips he’d personally
applied lip balm to—and lifted her lashes. At once she had the strange
sensation of falling, of tumbling into those dark depths, and there was no
saving herself. Her heart beat wildly and, in her veins, there was a rush of
heat that spread through her body like a wildfire.
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
She had no idea how he could make her want to tell him the
truth, no matter that she wanted to hide it from him. She didn’t want to admit
that he was the problem, that he was that fantasy she went to bed with every
night, and now he was there, larger than life, and way more than she could ever
handle. She’d watched him at every charity event, sometimes nearly forgetting
her job, which was to stay behind the scenes and make certain everything ran
smoothly.
“Grace.”
Again with the name. It sounded so different when he said
it. She’d always thought her name plain. Old-fashioned. When Vittorio said it
in that enthralling tone, she liked the way it sounded.
The idea of shadow riders very much appeals to me. Love the good guys winning and being sexy while doing it. I have read and loved ever book in this series. This one is no exception.
Vittorio is dominate. He wants to take care of his women. He never expects to find one that will let him and also be able to give him shadow rider children. An arranged loveless marriage is what he's expecting. But his brothers finding their women has given him hope. And when he runs across a women in danger at his club, he intervenes. Her shadow tells him all he needs to know but will she accept the dominate man he is? Good question.
Grace was raised in foster care with the worst of circumstances. Beaten and abused, she turns to another foster child for protection. But he's worse than the foster parents. Now she lives in fear of him. Being with Vittorio is the very first time in her life she has felt safe. But she can't just let him take over her life, can she? Maybe.
I love the world that Feehan has created. Shadow riders are ridiculously protective and bringers of justice. All of the Ferraro men have their quirks. They live a demanding life despite what the tabloids believe. It's interesting to see how much they demand from a relationship but also how much more they give back to their woman. It may not be a modern relationship but it's sexy and satisfying.
The story is always woven among the building of a relationship. This time, Grace is in danger. Vittorio is beside himself protecting her and caring for her. She's been shot and needs care. She lets him help her but he wants to always help her. And more. He's falling for her. The fear that she can't or won't accept who and what he is haunts him but he's the calm one. That nature helps him draw her into his arms and learn who he is.
There's also the growing tension with the Saldi family. The plot line spans the books and I assume it will be solved with Emme's book. I wonder about Emme and her love of Val. I personally hate Val. There may be more to the story that will change my mind but there is no changing the fact that he works for the Saldi's, is part of them. I really like the idea of this new guy that showed up in this book becoming involved with Emme. We'll see, I guess.
I really hope that we find ourselves in LA and NY as this series continues. I want more from these books and we're running out of Ferraro men. The cousins need to get their stories too.
All the books feel like they can be read stand alone. The author does a good job of explaining the world and family in each book. Once you read one, though, I'm warning you - you'll want to devour the rest.
Devouring every page will keep you up late to finish Vittorio's sexy story!
