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Cautious

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One woman’s attempt at finding new beginnings.

One man’s desire to discover love in a heartbroken woman.

A sister having an affair resulting in an unwanted pregnancy.

After a recent breakup Misty is settling into single life when she's involved in an accident. The real problem for her lies in the fact that she can't get the fireman, the same man who rescued her, out of her mind and after a couple chance encounters, she can't get him out of her bed either. Reluctant to trust her heart to a man again, her efforts to push him away fail and when Misty's sister arrives and announces she's pregnant with Richard's child, Misty's life is once again turned upside down. It is the solace she finds in Aaron's arms and the all-consuming love she feels for him that helps her to realize that it's okay to forgive, forget, and trust again.

72 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 6, 2013

355 people are currently reading
1248 people want to read

About the author

Elizabeth Nelson

82 books300 followers
Elizabeth Nelson is a romance writer who loves to interlace reality and love with suspense and thrill. Her stories will tickle your fancy and leave you wanting more.

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5 stars
481 (23%)
4 stars
556 (27%)
3 stars
587 (29%)
2 stars
265 (13%)
1 star
131 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
Profile Image for Traci.
74 reviews1 follower
August 1, 2014
If you are strictly look for a book with lots of sex, this book is for you. I felt the author lacked in building the characters. The main character went from an abusive marriage and a week and a half later was in love with another man, who had to control her in the bedroom.
Then to find out your own sister had an affair and ended up pregnant! Needed a place to stay since her boyfriend dumped her. Tons of drama packed into a book with 162 pages. If the author would have taken her time on this book and expanded it, this book could have been much better.
Profile Image for Jenny.
38 reviews1 follower
May 12, 2015
Absolute rubbish. Despite being abused by her ex-husband and still mentally and emotionally recovering, Misty, our main character, decides to jump into bed with the first man she sees, who also happens to be good looking and rich. Who writes this crap?
Profile Image for ⒷⓞⓞⓚⓃⓔⓡⓓ.
943 reviews24 followers
April 16, 2013
The first time they meet, Misty Bauer is hurt in a car accident. Aaron Price is the fireman that rescues her. It's his deep blue eyes she can't forget. She never thought she'd see him again until the tv interview, then the grocery store bump in, then her stove catches on fire. It seems like it's a small world that they keep running into each other, and the temperature just keeps rising!

Aaron is pure alpha male, knowing what he wants and nothing can stop him from getting it. Misty on the other hand is apprehensive because of a possessive, abusive ex husband. Aaron has gone through his own problems in his previous relationship. But he is still determined to prove to Misty, she's the only one for him, forever. Aaron's aggressiveness scares Misty, but when Misty is betrayed, Aaron is there to comfort her.

This was a short read with a lot of steam!
Profile Image for Melissa.
1,004 reviews
March 8, 2013
"Cautious" was a fast paced romantic short story. Misty is coming out of a bad relationship and divorce. Aaron is a dominant, sexy, firefighter who saved Misty's life. Misty and Aaron's story is filled with drama a steamy love scenes. The story is very predictable and just OK in my book. The editing could have been a little better. If the plot of the story was a little more developed it might have made a good full fledged novel.
Profile Image for Ann.
2,120 reviews51 followers
March 12, 2013
2.5 stars. Aaron/H is VERY alpha. This guy is almost creepy intense. Liked the bk cover. Well, except for the "claw". Not sure what's up with that. Short story and a freebie.
Profile Image for Pam.
1,093 reviews1,073 followers
zzz_dnf
April 7, 2015
DNF @ 27%

Cautious was not a story for me, thought it would be a cute read, but nothing held my interest much.
395 reviews12 followers
April 21, 2019
This was one of the weirdest books I've ever read. This was absolutely terrible, I can't think of any other way to put it. Misty leaves her cheating, controlling husband for a guy who is just like him just not as extreme. First off, there were too many coincidental chance meetings after her accident. Second, both main characters have accidents that put them in the hospital and they require no recovery in the days after. Their bodies seem totally fine and for some odd reason, Misty remembers exactly what the fireman who helped her looks like even though she was dazed and out of it after the crash. Aaron also automatically assumes that she's single and tells her she's going on a date with him, he didn't even ask to make sure she didn't have a boyfriend. She immediately accepts the invitation and sees hints of his controlling behavior, the exact same as her husband but doesn't see the similarities between them. Aaron has no sense of what boundaries and privacy is, they have sex on their first date, and he says he'll give her a day to herself to think, wtf kind of thinking is that? They had ONE date, she has no obligation to go out with him again, or tell her what she can and can't have. The very next day her sister lets in some guy they barely know and he crawls into bed with her as if they're a couple. I don't even understand how a woman doesn't get concerned and creeped out by this kind of behavior, let alone someone who just left a controlling, mentally abusive, husband for the same thing but it's different with someone else. He got angry with her for not answering her phone all of a day because she had other things going on, got upset that she might not feel the same way as he did about her or heaven forbid if she changed her mind about dating him, oh well, that's her choice.

The feelings he has for her after a few hours of knowing each other is extreme, he's never felt that way about a woman but they never even got into deep conversation with each other, all they did was flirt and then moved right into sex. There was nothing there for them to start having real feelings over, it was all about sex and physical attraction. This is NOT what love is, this is scary, controlling, stalker behavior that real women need to look out for in a man because it can get you killed or stuck in an abusive relationship. Most men who act like this in reality aren't going to be like Aaron, controlling but safe, would never lay a hand on you, and knowing when they're overstepping your boundaries. They will be controlling and extremely dangerous to the point where they'll snap and kill you, or they'll be controlling and unhealthy to stay with because you're always miserable and arguing. This book made no sense, felt like it was written by a teenager, and half of the book is just sex scenes that you can skip over to get to the actual story, what there is of it, that is. If all you want is a quick instalove fix or need to get off with words instead of porn, this is the book for you. If you need substance, story, and characters who you can at least like, keep moving right along and don't look back.
Profile Image for Lorraine Anton.
2,982 reviews11 followers
October 5, 2017
Great

Misty just got out of a bad relationship. She was in an accident, Aaron saved her.
Then another freak accident in her home. Aaron shows up again.
The sexual tension is heavy between them. He is a little on the controlling side or so she thinks, she just left that kind of relationship behind, never again.
Her sister moves in with huge problem and a secret.
Love, sex and more sex.
They do say "Love at first sight"
Fast paced.
This is my second choice for one of my BNB
It doesn't have anything in ( ) after it
So
#12 BNB Challenge
Profile Image for Stacey.
429 reviews39 followers
April 11, 2019
Should have stuck to my rule of not reading anything with less than 3.5 stars but it was a freebie that had sat on my Kindle forever.

This is a very short read covering 3/4 (very busy) days where she meets a controlling guy who decided they’re going to date (seriously). She tells him to slow down on that first date but he still pushes her into having sex (and again, and again) and then all of a sudden the book ends and they live together in a controlling relationship forever after...

The plot twist, which I won’t spoil, is literally the only interesting thing about the book.
Profile Image for Nicola Dean.
272 reviews3 followers
July 21, 2022
3 stars

This was an ok read but it don't really wow me.
It was a little unbelievable that Misty would bump into her rescuer in the supermarket and that he would then be her landlord's step son.

I didn't like Misty's sister and I wouldn't have forgiven her for her deceit.

If you want a quick read book full of sex, this is it. If you want a storyline / plot look elsewhere.
Profile Image for Drew.
35 reviews1 follower
October 7, 2025
I wouldn't say this was necessarily a bad book, and I might be being a bit harsh with my review simply because the trope wasn't really for me. Firefighter saves damsel and she ends up falling for him. Yeah, not for me but potentially good for someone who's into hot firefighters.
2 reviews
February 25, 2018
Not terrible


The action was great, but there wasn't much of a plot. Could have used more story line to make it great
Profile Image for Liz.
104 reviews5 followers
November 2, 2019
Great short story

This was a quick easy read. Very sweet and cute. Definitely made me wish there was a sequel. Definitely recommend.
706 reviews55 followers
March 24, 2021
So much Smut from the beginning. Definitely a spicy read. If you dont enjoy characters falling in love way too quickly then I would avoid this book.
Profile Image for Romaine Heart.
2,337 reviews30 followers
March 5, 2022
A beautifully written love story that will take your breath away. A short story geat before bedtime.
Profile Image for Lela Renee Pyle.
12 reviews
June 27, 2024
ending

The ending could have better one and explained more about the future. Kind of left you hanging at the end
Profile Image for Gloria.
250 reviews
dnf
August 19, 2024
First off, the chapters are VERY short. Page 26 was already in chapter 3. Plus, the first date & they already want to pound each other? No chemistry. No buildup.
Profile Image for Donna.
1,177 reviews
September 2, 2024
Weak

Not really a story. Just sex and no back story. And very unrealistic. I think if there was more to the story it would have been much better.
Profile Image for Robin Bernholdt .
42 reviews1 follower
September 20, 2024
The love interest is so creepy? He calls himself an alpha male, and comes on way too hard, way too fast
11 reviews
June 29, 2022
Thumbs up

I couldn't put this book down, is very well written and easy to get into their he story like I did certainly worth reading.
1,693 reviews2 followers
February 10, 2022
This book did not hold my interest at all! Im sad to say that this was quite a boring read!
Profile Image for Michelle Bowman  / We Love Kink .com.
468 reviews23 followers
February 28, 2013
While reading Cautious, I kept looking at the bottom right corner of my kindle…you know the spot that displays the % you are through the book and I was getting mad. Not because I wanted the story over, no damn it…I wanted MORE! And I still do.

Poor Misty, to move to a new town and not 3.5 weeks later has her world rocked, in more ways than one, by a car accident. Then to wake up in the hospital realizing that yes thank goodness she is alive and it could have been worse, but that she had no money or car to leave said hospital so she had to call her sister, Amanda…..and these two don’t have your typical loving sister relationship. And to top it off the stove in her apartment catches on fire. Wow. Someone pour this poor women a stiff drink, cause I think she needs it!

One good thing to come from that bad accident, Aaron Price a.k.a. Mr. Sexy Prince Freaking Charming/Hero with the eyes bluer that the water in the Cayman Islands (is how Misty described them) and a smile to match it! I mean who wouldn't want to get rescued by this sexy firefighter? And his dominant side, yum! *swoon* I was telling Misty, just give in to him, and just do it…him….whichever.

Amanda, what to say about this girl, tsk tsk! Now I don’t have a sister but isn't it somewhere in the sister code book that you don’t do that? But I felt for her. She really is truly alone. She is lucky her sister is forgiving, because I know I would not have been. (And yes I had what she did pegged the moment she started talking about it.)

The sex between Misty and Aaron is hot! No other way to explain it! :-)

A quick read, but a very enjoyable read! Very recommended!!!!

view more of our reviews at welovekink.com
Profile Image for Doralinda.
43 reviews
November 3, 2016
The book felt too rushed.

Instead of Aaron, the hero of this book, being your typical alpha character in a romance, he gives off the creepy stalker vibe.

He meets the heroine in a grocery store (after pulling her from the wreckage of a car accident the night before) basically tells her she's going to go to dinner with him.

They go to dinner on his boat, and of course, they have sex - I'm not prudent, so it wasn't a big deal - but he immediately called her baby afterwards, and does the whole "You're mine" thing.

The creep stalker vibe, of our hero gets worse, when he's trying to reach the heroine who he just barely met by calling multiple times, texting and going by her apartment "a few times", he recounts a past relationship with a woman who had "stolen his heart the moment they met. Just like Misty." Keep in mind, all these phone calls and texts and driving by her apartment is only 1 day after their first date/hook up - creepy!

You know how serial killers and other psychopaths in movies say "Just like my mother" before they try to kill someone? That's what the line in the book reminded me off.

Anyway - he's remembers how the woman he lived with left him and how he had punched holes in 3 walls and broken a window. He tells himself that he's not controlling just dominate in the bedroom and then dials the heroine's number again. The author ends that scene stating "he had to "refrain from throwing his cell phone at the wall."

I didn't do more than skim over the sex scenes - they were okay.

I'm thinking it should have been 50% longer for the author to let the readers know more about the hero and heroine and make you believe this relationship.

This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Crystal.
89 reviews3 followers
March 4, 2013
The biggest downsize to this for me was how rushed it felt. I thought the storyline was great, some editing could have been better, but overall it was ADORBS and felt fairytale and realistic at the same time to me. A major draw for me was that Aaron and Misty both questioned how they could be feeling so strongly for someone they just met, and even said that it had to be crazy and couldn't be love. I know that love is easy for some, and possible after a few meetings, but it seems that so many books focus on the love at first sight without question. This book had an intense series of chance meetings, and then a first date. even then, they were attached, but not declaring love for each other. Misty attempted to save herself from a possible controlling situation, and shared her feelings, showing me that she had backbone and a brain. Aaron listened to her fears, and attempted to, in the short span of the book, respect her fears and make a few adjustments of his own to at least give a relationship between them a fair chance. Then there was their respective sisters, which gave us a slight indication of what they were without each other, but mostly I felt like Aaron's sister was filler and not a well thought out situation. I would have loved to see Elizabeth take a little more time with these characters, and give us a little more on them individually.
Profile Image for Deborah.
347 reviews22 followers
May 22, 2014
This story had the potential to be really great but, it was rushed. I don't know why the author decided to cram everything into such a short read, it left me feeling... incomplete.

Misty has recently divorced her verbally abusive, cheating husband and moved to a new town. She ends up in an accident and is rescued by a man named Aaron. Misty later finds out that he is a fire fighter and the stepson of her new landlord. He asks her out on a date, she sleeps with him on the first night and decides to take things slow afterwards. Aaron shows up at her house the next day like a stalker because she isn't returning his calls and she decides to sleep with him again, then he decides that he is in love with her only after a couple of dates.
She finds out that her sister Amanda, who has been staying with her and helping her out is pregnant by her ex-husband, she is mad for a few days, decides to forgive her and thats all that we get out of her sister and ex-husband part of the story.
The author throws in a part about Aaron's stepsister but, that story falls short as well.
Profile Image for Lariza.
368 reviews75 followers
March 12, 2013
This was a great book! I really enjoyed Misty and Aaron. Misty is down on her luck with men and is looking for a new start. Her new life begins with a car accident (poor girl) where is rescued by the hunky Aaron! Even in her foggy state she is immediately captivated by his eyes! I loved Misty I felt her apprehension and unwillingness to jump into a relationship too soon- her life with Richard wasn't easy. Aaron was not only a sexy firefighter, but sweet, sincere and determined! He was willing to take things slow for Misty he wasn't overbearing or controlling; yet, he wasn't giving up easily on the possibility of love for both of them!! Holy moley- the scenes between Misty and Aaron wow way to turn up the heat!! I loved how Misty could forgive her sister for what she did yes it was a harsh betrayal, but she was able to get past it because of Aaron's love! Great short read I highly recommend it!
Profile Image for Brittany Price.
267 reviews9 followers
February 20, 2015
This was a quick read, but I think it would’ve been better if it was spaced out a bit more and not crammed into a short story. I wanted to know more about the characters’ pasts, like the spousal abuse Misty went through. There was more branch out possibilities that I would’ve enjoyed reading. More drama with the exes is always a favorite. The detailed steamy scenes were great, but it always annoys me when the characters have known each other a day, but act like they’ve been together for so much longer. Too unrealistic. There needed to be more time passage throughout the book. I loved the alpha fireman, Aaron. He was so protective and caring. I wasn’t as much of a fan of Misty. She recently left an abusive marriage, but jumps right into the next guy’s bed. Yes, Aaron was irresistible, but she could’ve tried a little harder. She was too much of a trusting person for someone with her past. Overall, it was entertaining and steamy enough to be worth the read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews

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