Book Review of The Professional: Part 2 by Kresley Cole

He makes the rules...

Mafiya enforcer Aleksandr "The Siberian" Sevastyan’s loyalty to his boss is unwavering, until he meets the boss’s long-lost daughter, a curvy, tantalizing redhead who haunts his mind and heats his blood like no other. Ordered to protect her, Sevastyan will do anything to possess her as well—on his own wicked terms.
Rules are made to be broken...
PhD student Natalie Porter had barely recovered from her first sight of the breathtakingly gorgeous Sevastyan before the professional hit man whisks her away to Russia, thrusting her into a world of extreme wealth and wanton pleasures. With every day she spends under his protection, she falls deeper under his masterful spell.
Are you ready to play?
Yet all is not as it seems. To remove Natalie from an enemy’s reach, Sevastyan spirits her into hiding. From an opulent palace in Russia to the decadent playgrounds of the mega-wealthy in Paris, the two lovers will discover that even their darkest—and most forbidden—fantasies can come true...

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Life continues to get even more chaotic in this sequel that picks up immediately where the last book left off.  In this installment Sevastyan introduces Natalie to a whole new side of life, a darker and more erotic one, even though their joining will lead to something permanent.  Natalie's left conflicted as she's enthralled by but uncertain of being tied down to a man she knows little about.  But he knows she's the one for him and uses every bit of sensual persuasion he can to win her over.  Their battle of wills is tragically interrupted though when her father Paxan and their newly-formed family are betrayed and Sevastyan puts his life on the line to take her on the run to find a safe place from their enemies.  Their journey leads them to the glitz and glamour of Paris and Natalie desperate to learn more about Sevastyan's past and the darkly sexual needs he's tempted her with but been holding back from for fear of hurting her.  Just when it looks like she'll start getting answers the curtain is drawn and we're left with another cliffhanger that had me screaming in frustration and desperately counting down the days until the next chapter opens.

When I first met Natalie I liked her no-nonsense attitude and strong-willed nature to fend for herself.  This time around I found her a bit ungrateful when it came to Sevastyan and a bit wishy-washy about their relationship.  She knew what would happen if they got together but then complained and whined about the unfairness of the outcome.  She wanted Sevastyan but it seemed as if it was only for sex and protection....nothing more substantial.  The stereotypes seemed reversed here as she was acting like a player and he the committed lover.  

Sevastyan's actions throughout this story continued to win me over and is the main draw for me in this series.  He's quite open about what he wants from Natalie and is more than willing to give her everything she wants.  He's darkly sensual, loyal, and would literally die for her.  When such a sexy man makes those kinds of promises, there's no way I'd say no!  His past remains a mystery though there's a few hints he gives that points towards a physically and emotionally scarring childhood that he's slightly ashamed of yet resigned to.  He knows Natalie wants to know more about him and though it's very hard to open up he does try to do so.  I fell even more in love with him knowing how much he's willing to do for her, no matter how difficult, to keep her in his life.

As their relationship progresses the sexual interludes get hotter.  The sexual intensity is off the charts at times and left me parched with all the steaminess.  There is a small hiccup to their sexual happiness though as his fear of hurting her has him starting to hold back after seeing the marks he's left on her.  But once again, his desire to make her happy and give her her deepest desires has him introducing her completely to his alternative lifestyle which is where we leave off.  I'm intrigued by what's next and how their relationship will work as he continues to do what must be done to keep her safe.  His life isn't clean, it's bloody, and I'm not sure Natalie's too accepting of it.  What I do know is that there's lots more steamy encounters to come, lots of BDSM scenes, that I look forward to.  As long as the compelling Sevastyan remains, then I too will remain as I'm completely obsessed with this sexy and mysterious man.

My rating for this is an A-

*I received this book from NetGalley for review in exchange for my honest opinion.