The Harrisburg Railers series just keeps getting better and better. Last Defense features Max Van Hellren, a defenseman playing his last season of hockey, and Widower Ben Worthington who runs a no-kill animal shelter, and Bucky a Malamute rescued from a shelter. Like the other books in this series, it’s told in first person POV alternating between Ben and Max.

When Max and Ben first meet, in the arena where the Railers play, Max comes on strong to Ben; he wants him and isn’t shy about expressing that. Once the two finally hook up it’s hot!

This story has a little bit of everything – hot guys getting it on, mystery and suspense (who is vandalizing Ben’s animal shelter?) and humor provided by Ben’s two elderly aunts who participate in a lot of political protest marches.

It’s always nice to revisit characters from the previous books and we get to see of few of them in Last Defense. Stan – the main character from the previous book, Poke Check – added a lot of humor with his repeated request for an ugly dog with long teeth.

After Ben and Max finally stop fighting their feelings the only thing that might tear them apart is the secret that Max is keeping from Ben. Once he finds out what that secret is it’s not a good thing for Max at all.

Like most of the books in this series, Last Defense moved me to tears in places and in others I laughed out loud. The next book in this series can’t come too soon for me.

Reviews for RJ Scott

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“Nice dog.” I paused just this side of the players’ entrance at the deep voice coming from behind me. There was something about that man’s voice…the timbre of the bass or the way he spoke. Not sure what it was, but the last time he’d spoken to me my body had had the same kind of reaction. A spear of latent heat low in my belly followed by a shiv of icy dread.

“Thanks.” I wanted to stare at the door. Or run. I couldn’t do either of those, though, so I turned to face the bearded man. Christ, but he was fierce-looking. Like a Viking, with piercing eyes and an aura that screamed berserker. He was bigger than me. Taller by at least four inches and probably sixty pounds. He was wearing a suit, as Stan and Erik had been, but his looked incredibly fine on his burly frame. Dark blue with a silver tie and a white shirt. His biceps strained the material trying to contain them.“

His name is Bucky.” There now, I had spoken to the man who made my heart leap around inside my chest like a frog on a highway.

“Like Captain America’s sidekick?” He looked down at my worn T-shirt with Cap’s shield on it.

“Exactly like that.”

He took another step, which put him into my little personal space bubble, his gaze and mine locked. I wet my lips and jerked my chin up a bit. I wasn’t going to let some hockey player intimidate me.

“Cute dog. Hot owner.” He gave me a long, slow look, petted Bucky, and stepped around the dull-witted man trying to digest the fact Mr. Fear had said he was hot. “Are you coming in, or are you teaching your dog to open doors mentally?”

“I’m here to see Layton Foxx.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m here to participate in morning skate.”

“I know who you are. Max van Hellren. You played for Washington four years ago.”

He tugged the door open and settled a kind of bored look on me. “Yeah, that was me. You like Washington?”

“Hometown team.” Bucky barked to back me up. Max smiled. All the ferocity that oozed out of him dissipated when he smiled. The man was seriously fine.

“Maybe I can change your mind about which team to cheer for, Mr. Washington Fan.”

“Ben. My name is Ben.”

He nodded just once, his hand still keeping the door open. “Ben. I like that. Suits you. So, are we coming in or are we going to flirt here in front of Pete?”

A security guard peeked around the door and winked at me. I wanted to die. Right there.

“I don’t flirt,” I snapped. I stalked around Max and Pete and went off to find Layton Foxx. Determination hot in my breast kept me from looking back to see if Max was checking out my ass. I hoped he was and I prayed he wasn’t.

Harrisburg Railers Series

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