#BookReview: Baiting the Maid of Honor by Tessa Bailey - 5 Wine Glasses

Title: Baiting the Maid of Honor 
Series: Wedding Dare #2
Author: Tessa Bailey 
Format: ebook, 127 pages
Published: June 9th 2014 by Entangled Publishing (Brazen)
ISBN: 1622667263 
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | ARe
Source: Publisher
Reviewer: Linda
Rating: 5/5

A sexy category romance from Entangled’s Brazen imprint…

He’ll own her from the very first touch.

Julie Piper and Reed Lawson have nothing in common. She’s a people-pleasing sorority girl hiding behind her perfect mask. He’s a take-no-prisoners SWAT commander who isolates himself from the world. But when they’re forced together at their friends’ posh destination wedding, one thing is clear—Reed wants Julie more than he wants his next breath. Which is why he’s not about to stand by when she’s dared to seduce another man. 

Julie wants neat, tidy sex, so she could get back to what she does best—making everybody else happy. She never expected to slip into a dark bedroom and have her mind blown by rough, demanding hands, and a sinfully filthy mouth—neither of which belong to the best man.

One night should have been all Reed needed to get the blond temptress out of his system, but when one taste is nowhere near enough, he’ll be forced confront the effects of his hellish past. One that may push Julie away forever... just when he realizes he can't live without her.

Thoughts:
"Girls, come on over and meet the groomsmen. Hands off the groom himself, but otherwise it's open season."

BAITING THE MAID OF HONOR by Tessa Bailey is the second erotic romance in The Wedding Dare series.  It's a very entertaining, relatively quick read at just 127 pages.  All the tales in the Wedding Dare series take place around the wedding  of Kady and Colt.   Kady and Colt's story was told in Laura Kaye's prequel novella, Dare to Resist.  BAITING THE MAID OF HONOR can be read as a standalone if that is what you desire, but your enjoyment will be exponentially increased if the series is read in order as follows:

Dare to Resist by New York Times bestselling author Laura Kaye (prequel)
Falling for the Groomsman by New York Times bestselling author Jen McLaughlin, w/a Diane Alberts (#1)
Baiting the Maid of Honor by New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey (#2)
Seducing the Bridesmaid by New York Times bestselling author Katee Robert (#3)
Best Man with Benefits by USA TODAY bestselling author Samanthe Beck (#4)

BAITING THE MAID OF HONOR  is the utterly captivating story of Julie Piper, the maid of honor/wedding planner and Reed Lawson, a groomsman.    

Julie, our bubbly, sweet, Southern Belle heroine, takes her responsibilities seriously and she was completely focused on ensuring that her friend's wedding went off without a hitch.  However, being a highly organized perfectionist, stress was taking its toll.   This story opens as Julie takes advantage of a short lull in the festivities to go outside to try to relax her tight shoulders and take some deep breaths.  Her quiet time is interrupted by a rude, arrogant man who also speeds up her heart-rate.   When she returns to the party, she's not happy to find out that man is one of the groomsmen.  It doesn't matter, as Julie has her sight set on another who fits in her plan for a perfect happy-ever-after.

Reed, our ultra-sexy alpha hero, was enjoying a few minutes to himself on the dark patio before joining the wedding get-together when he finds himself turned-on by a beautiful woman who doesn't realize she's not alone.  Reed is a SWAT comando, not a social butterfly and he doesn't do entanglements.  He wasn't looking forward to this week of social engagements leading up to his friend's wedding UNTIL he discovers that the mystery woman is the maid of honor.  Perhaps the week might have some ingratiating moments after all!

Oh my!  This titillating tale of opposites attraction was steamy perfection as it kept me riveted from the first page to the last!  I loved both Julie and Reed.  Reed wore the naughty bad boy persona with perfection;  I fell in lust with his HOT, panty-melting dirty talk!  He was positively sinful and had a sense of danger about him that made him irresistible to a good girl like Julie.  Their dialogue would leave me gasping one minute and giddy the next.  Julie had some southern sayings that made me laugh out loud.  As a teaser, following please find a few of my favorite quotes:

"You've had me hard for days, baby. I want to fuck you more than I can breathe." 
---
"If you need servicing while we're stuck in this fancy-ass hotel for a week, I'm going to be the one to do it. No one else. Not Golden Boy. Not even your right hand. And when you slip between your sheets tonight, think about this. I will service you so hard you'll be booking another week here just to recover."
---
”Are you always this inappropriate?” ... “Even when a lady has shown exactly zero interest?” ...
“Baby , if that was zero. I can’t wait to see what ten looks like.”
---
”Would you like me take off my pants now so you can really be impressed?”
Almost every scene in this book was a favorite.  To highlight just one seems a crime but ...  I won't soon forget how Reed played their initial sexual encounter in Julie's room when she thought he was someone else. 
 "Aren't you going to at least kiss me first?"
"Kissed where?" His voice was a rough , almost inaudible whisper that bathed her in blistering heat.
"Your mouth?  Or the slick little pussy you're hiding from me?"

I was shocked while I undeniably melted for this deliciously wicked man!   Supporting characters were great, too, and Tessa did an incredible job integrating each of their stories seamlessly into this one.

This was the first book I've ever read by Tessa Bailey but it most definitely will not be the last!  I loved her writing.  The characters were genuine and realistic and the plot was extremely well-crafted.  Each scene was executed with aplomb.  This was definitely my favorite tale of the series so far and I didn't want it to ever end.  If you love scintillating romances with a touch of humor. I highly recommend that you pick up BAITING THE MAID OF HONOR!