Because of you -- by Tara Sivec

"Because of You" is the second book of the series Playing with Fire by Tara Sivec. I already did a post on the first book "A Beautiful Lie". Here's the synopsis you can find on goodreads:

"Brady Marshall follows military protocol to a T, but it still results in the death of an entire team of Navy SEALS and puts his best friends directly in harm's way. He’s struggled not to drown in grief, guilt, and booze, but he's losing that battle quickly. When his baby sister flees her abusive husband and shows up on his doorstep with his 6 year-old niece in tow, he has no choice but to clean up his act. He will stop at nothing to protect them and never let them down again, even if it means taking a job that goes against everything he believes in. If protecting a pop star princess who thinks she's better than everyone means he can keep a roof over their head, what other choice does he have?
Layla Carlysle has lived a life of luxury. She's been a star since the young age of fifteen, and every record she releases shoots straight to the top of the charts. She has people surrounding her every single day telling her how amazing she is, how lucky she is, but she wants nothing more than to break free and do what she really wants to do: write her own music, sing her own songs, and find a way to finally be happy with her life. The only thing standing in her way is her mother, Eve Carlysle. Eve has controlled every single aspect of her daughter’s life and will stop at nothing to achieve fame and fortune. When an overly-amorous fan’s letters become increasingly more sinister, Brady will have to suck up his opinion of how the other half lives to take the job seriously. The pair will need to learn to trust each other and put aside their differences before the letters become a reality and someone’s life is in jeopardy."

We'll that summary says it all... this book is filled with action, mystery and passion. In the beginning the are both judgemental and think the worst of each other, but the attraction is undeniable.

When Brady sees the way Eve treats Layla when nobody else is around, he is shocked beyond words. He can't understand why Layla let's her own mother treat her like that. Then he starts seeing Layla's true colors and he is completely baffled: he's smitten with the real Layla, she is strong, funny, beautiful and self-confident, so why won't she stand up for herself???

Layla, on the other hand, sees Brady as a dark character. She believes her mother hired him just for show, and it's the truth, but what none of them realized is that he always takes his job seriously and she doesn't see why he keeps his distance from her.

After an attemped kidnapping where Brady saves Layla, they can't keep denying their feelings and things start getting hot... but it's not ment to be just yet. It'll take a litlle bit more of a push and pull for them to understand why the other is so important. After panty dropping sex in Brady's truck they become unstoppable. However, as always things get complicated and one of them has to behave like an ass... and yes, it's Brady. We understand why he does it, but in the process he causes more damage than both their hearts can hold.

Finally, we discover the truth behind the stalker and Brady saves Layla from what would have been a terrible death... but when she is recovering in the hospital he chickens out and Layla has to face all of that trauma alone. It'll take nearly four months for Brady to pull his head from between his legs.

"I don't care if we come from two different worlds or two different planets. I love you, Layla. If you let me, I will spend the rest of my life showing you just how much, every single day. Please tell me it's not too late. Tell me I didn'g fuck everything up with you"

Let's just say, I loved this book just as much as the first if not more. The next book in the series is called "Worn me Down" and is next in my list so you'll be seeing a post soon enough. And for all of you who don't know the fourth and last book comes out in August so we don't have to wait long!!!!!