Elijah “Eli” Sterling and Wade Royer are back together again after a nasty breakup. Eli still struggles with staying in one place, but is willing to try in order to keep Wade. Wade struggles with trusting Eli, always worried he will wake up one morning and Eli will be gone. When a former lover and the CIA come wanting Eli back, their relationship is tested as Wade’s jealousy and suspicions, coupled with Eli’s temptation to go back to the life he had, may prove too great a hurdle for the couple.

This is the third story in HelenKay Dimon’s Holton Woods series. The first two books in the series are focused on M/F relationships, and this story, book 2.5, features Eli and Wade, a favorite M/M couple from the first two books in their own novella. While the first two books focus is on M/F main characters, there is plenty of M/M romance going on with Eli and Wade…thus, they warranted their own book! I should warn readers, however, that this isn’t a stand-alone story. I suppose one could probably read it as so, but in order to really appreciate it fully, readers should start following Eli’s and Wade’s relationship back from the beginning of the series.

At bit of background. Eli is former CIA. He sought refuge at Holton Woods after being beaten and left for dead when his CIA team became more of a liability than an asset. Wade nursed him back to health and they began a tenuous relationship. Eli has had sex with both men and women, but sees himself not as being gay, always claiming it was just doing his job and getting close to who he needed to…until he met Wade. Now he spends his days at a desk investigating rather than in the field eliminating threats. As a loner, Eli finds himself depending on another person and it scares the hell out of him.

Now, in this third story, Eli and Wade are back together. Eli knows he needs to work on being in a relationship, when his whole life has been one to leave before becoming attached. Meanwhile, Wade has to work on his issues of trust and jealousy. When Eli’s past comes calling in the form of a former lover and the CIA wanting Eli back, Wade’s fears may become a reality.

The chemistry between these two men is off the charts. They light up the sheets. While the sex between these two is HOT, the love and affection between these two is palpable. I swear I melted every time Eli begged Wade not to give up on him. Visa versa, to watch this alpha-male Wade become so vulnerable after having lost Eli once already. It breaks your heart.

The downside of this book is that it is just a novella, so unlike the previous two books, there isn’t really a whole lot of other action going on aside from the romance. On the plus side, there aren’t a whole lot of other secondary characters stealing the show like Eli and Wade did in the previous books. Uh, yes…they stole the show, at least in my opinion.

If you haven’t read this series, I highly recommend it.

I requested this one back in the day as I had every intention of reading it. However, its been years and I still haven't gotten around to it and while I feel guilty at not reviewing a book I think that I need to admit to myself that I won't be reading this one anytime soon....if at all.