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Sutton Capital #2.5

The Baker's Bodyguard

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ASIN: B00DTX8Z5M updated version found here

Jesse Bradley never thought she'd need help going out into the world. But, after her sister was kidnapped, she began to have trouble going anyplace alone. An anxiety attack would start if a stranger asked her what time it was. Before she knew it, she as making up excuses to stay inside. Where things were safe.

Zach Harris was going to change all that. The steamy, sexy bodyguard got her into counseling to help her overcome her fears. He went with her everywhere helping her learn to feel safe again.

Jesse and Zach both feel the insane chemistry sparking between them. But will there be more than just chemistry for these two?

This book alternates between making you laugh and making you hot with its steamy sex scenes as Jesse and Zach navigate their way through New York City.

138 pages, ebook

First published July 8, 2013

73 people are currently reading
647 people want to read

About the author

Lori Ryan

75 books625 followers

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5 stars
171 (28%)
4 stars
208 (34%)
3 stars
173 (29%)
2 stars
34 (5%)
1 star
10 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
Profile Image for Dorel.
4,340 reviews38 followers
February 6, 2017
This is the 3rd book I read by Lori Ryan. I loved this book's story line. I loved the desserts mentioned in the story sounded delicious. I loved the hot & steamy scenes. I loved Jesse's character. I loved how Jesse protected herself. I loved Zach's character. I loved the ending.
1 review
August 15, 2013
Light & fluffy? As whipped cream. But a fun quick read that I really enjoyed. If you like whipped cream - and I know that I do - I recommend this fun little novella. The plot was simple, but the novella is really about the characters - and the characters were likeable with a steamy relationship. It's currently free on Amazon, but even at the regular price well worth the money.
Profile Image for Crystal Yawn.
602 reviews3 followers
August 15, 2013
Great short read. Mrs. Ryan did a fabulous job describing her characters and a serious condition.
Reading about Zach helping Jessie overcome her fears while hes falling in love with her is wonderful. Great job on another splendid book.
Profile Image for Lisa.
72 reviews5 followers
August 16, 2013
The Baker's Bodyguard is a great novella. I loved reading about Jesse & Zach - it is a steamy and fun read! I ADORE the Sutton Capital Series - and each book in the series gets better and better! I love how Lori Ryan writes. I look forward to the next book in this series.
Profile Image for Lori.
1,113 reviews2 followers
August 19, 2013
Great fast story! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved the angst and all the sexual frustration. Zack and Jesse were strong characters who had a lot of chemistry. I only wish the end was a little longer so we could see more of their HEA.
1,217 reviews1 follower
August 6, 2013
Great book thought that Zach was going to mess up a good thing there for awhile. But he came to his senses and they worked things out.
Profile Image for Judy.
694 reviews82 followers
December 20, 2014
I discovered this series during a book blast tour for the first book in the series, Legal Ease. I didn't do a review during the tour, but the book nagged at me enough that when the second book, Penalty Clause came up for tour, I signed up for it and read and reviewed both of them. The third book, Negotiation Tactics was a 5 star read for me and I was thrilled to see that there was a novella available. Ms Ryan was stupendous enough to send me this story upon my request for review.

This is the story of Jesse, sister of Kelly from book one and Zach Harris, the bodyguard from book two. It has been about 9 months since Kelly was kidnapped and recovered. Unfortunately for Jesse, she is slowly becoming too afraid to go anywhere alone and too afraid to admit the truth to her family. She has even deferred her admittance into a prestigious culinary academy in New York where she planned on getting the training she needed to open her own bakery. Luckily for Jesse, her mother starts to suspect that something is wrong and goes to Jack, Kelly's husband for advice and counsel. Jack knows just the bodyguard slash victims advocate who can help Jesse overcome her fears.

This story about a woman overcoming her fears and learning to live again was beautifully written. The chemistry between Jesse and Zach is a slow build, as Jesse comes to terms with her fears and learns to trust herself again. Zach is the right mix of tough guy, tough love and supportive friend. This was a 4 star book and one that I am so glad I got to read.
Profile Image for Amber.
93 reviews4 followers
September 9, 2013
Normally I am not a big fan of romance, but The Baker's Bodyguard had me hooked from the beginning to end. There's romance, humor, and a bit of anxiety. Jesse and Zach are very lovable characters. Being someone who also suffers from anxiety Jesse was very easy to relate to. The book is a very quick read since it is a novella, but Lori Ryan easily makes the story flow without missing a beat on the detail it takes to make a great story. The Baker's Bodyguard is written as a series, but is easily read as a stand alone also. I will definitely be getting the rest of the series. Ryan has me intrigued now.

Jesse's sister Kelly had been kidnapped. Without realizing the tole it was taking on her Jesse soon began her decent into a world of panic. she could only leave the house when accompanied by friends. She had put off going to school twice to keep from panicking in a place where she knew no one. After her family realizes what's going on her brother-in-law Jack comes up with a plan to help her regain her life. He hires Zach a bodyguard intent on helping Jessee get her life back. Can Zach help her gain control, or lose her mind being in the daily company of a man she so obviously desires?


Reviewed as part of a goodreads winner.
Profile Image for Renee Entress.
5,588 reviews77 followers
September 6, 2015
4.5 star

I was pulled right into this short story. The story has laughs, suspense, twists & turns, and heartbreak.

If you have not read the below I would recommend reading those books(s) first
Legal Ease (Sutton Capital, #1)
Penalty Clause (Sutton Capital, #2)

This is Jesse and Zach’s story. Ever since Jesse’s sister was kidnapped and brought back home Jesse has had anxiety attacks. The have slowly gotten worst and worst. Zach is called in to help Jesse. She is moving to a new place and starting school so Zach will go and protect her and teach her how to defend herself. Only problem is there is so much sexually chemistry between these two they might just light the kitchen on fire. When weird things happen at school and Jesse somehow gets pulled into the crazy she uses the moves that Zach taught her to get out of the trouble. But after one perfect night and a few mistaken words the relationship that was forming goes south. Can Zach grovel his way back into Jesse’s heart or has she removed him from not only his job but her life?

I loved these characters and also the side characters. I felt I was able to connect with the characters and the story was a great read.

I highly recommend this book.
Profile Image for Jen_C.
1,112 reviews56 followers
April 24, 2017
4-1/2 stars
I really enjoyed Jesse's story and who wouldn't love Zach? I love this series because the alpha male leads fall fast & hard and don't pussy foot around lying to themselves for months on end. Zach does make a big boo-boo, but realizes it quickly with a little help from his friends. The mystery part is really quick in this one, but it is a shorter length story. You may need a stash of sweets to eat while reading because they mention yummy pastries & desserts often.

There was a formatting issue where there was a space between the capital letter and the next letter of several sentences, so for those that are annoyed by that - you have been warned. I did not find it as distracting as the numerous grammar errors and misused words that can be found in a lot of ebooks. Those really make it hard for me to read as they pull me out of a story. This was more a minor annoyance.

Give this one a try.
Profile Image for Black Butterfly.
2,630 reviews39 followers
August 17, 2013
BK#2.5 IS A NOVELLA, BKS#1-2 WERE FULL LENGHT NOVELS. ALL HAVE BASIC SIMULARITIES BUT I ENJOYED ALL OF THEM. IF YOU LOVE ROMANCE LIKE I DO THAT'S A GIVEN BUT I REALLY DON'T CARE AS LONG AS I GET MY HEA, I'M GOOD! JESSE THE MAIN CHARACTER IS A SISTER TO KELLY, WHO WAS IN BK#1. JESSE IS EXPERENCING PROBLEMS, STEMMING FROM SOME TRAUMATIC THINGS HAPPENING IN THE 2 PREVIOUS BOOKS. THIS WAS VERY SWEET, SEXXY BOOK, FOR SOME REASON I FOUND THE SEX IN THIS ONE WAS STEAMERY & SEXXIER THAN THE FIRST TWO BKS. IT WAS H.O.T.!
Profile Image for LaFleurBleue.
842 reviews39 followers
May 27, 2014
A bit predictable. The heroine seemed a bit weak at first, though I liked that she was aware and ashamed of her ungrounded fears, or so she thought. The hero personality was schematic at best, no past, no personal history, nothing specific that I had not read many times about a bodyguard. The ending was a bit rushed and in my opinion, they were more playing house in the penthouse of a big hotel rather than really live together.
It was nonetheless rather enjoyable.
Profile Image for Jacob Proffitt.
3,311 reviews2,154 followers
June 3, 2014
An enjoyable novella, though lightweight (as you'd expect from the series). Nothing new or groundbreaking, but serviceable. I still hate the proliferation of chapters, but at least this time the characters seemed more or less their age (though Jesse seemed a little on the young side but not so much so that it hurt the story any). At least Zach was believable as both a good guy and a bodyguard. And Jack makes a good fairy godmother...
Profile Image for Andrea Akers.
1,030 reviews6 followers
March 14, 2015
Great novella

Great story about Kelly's sister Jesse and her former bodyguard Zach. A little short so the suspense buildup is very quick but the love story is pretty intense. Enjoyable story
Profile Image for Lisa.
95 reviews
July 21, 2013
This is such a fun read. I really love all the characters in the series so far and can't wait to read Chad's story.
265 reviews
August 19, 2013
good short quick book. sex scene was good the h and H were nice and likeable. a little short for me.
Profile Image for Elisa.
3,228 reviews40 followers
December 10, 2016
A great short sweet romance featuring Kelly's sister Jessie and Kelly's bodyguard Zach.
1,603 reviews12 followers
May 6, 2020
This is a good romance novella, with a likable couple, but I thought Jesse's reaction to her sister Kelly's kidnapping was a bit extreme. I get that everyone reacts to things differently, but I was just surprised that she developed such severe anxiety when she wasn't the one who was kidnapped.

I liked both Jesse and Zach, and thought they were good together. I did think, though, that their starting a relationship when he was her bodyguard was not a good idea. It was unprofessional of him, and wrong of her to ask it of him. Then, when he thought he had made a terrible mistake with her, she got ridiculously angry -- when she knew they should have waited to get involved until he was no longer her bodyguard.

I enjoyed the novella, and liked that Zach was so good for Jesse. It was a quick, entertaining read. It gets 3.5 stars from me, rounded down to 3 stars.

For those who care, this book does contain quite a bit of sex, so it might bother anyone who prefers clean romances.

By the way, I will not show as a verified purchaser of this book on Amazon -- because it was a free novella downloaded from the author's website.

My rating system is below.
1 star -- Hated it, or did not finish. I usually only give this rating if some of the content is truly objectionable to me, like if one of the main characters does something really awful, and gets away with it.
2 stars -- Didn't like it. This rating usually means that I thought the writing wasn't very good, the editing was terrible, I didn't like the characters, or it had other major flaws.
3 stars -- I liked it, but had some minor issues with it. This rating means that there were minor editing issues, the story needed more character development, it was just too unrealistic, or had some other fairly minor issue. The majority of books I read get this rating – I do not consider it a bad rating.
4 stars -- I liked it a lot. This is a high rating for me, and I rarely give a higher one.
5 stars -- I loved it, and will probably read it again. Very few books are good enough to get this rating from me. The ones that do are usually classics.
Profile Image for Shaly.
1,198 reviews
May 8, 2018
Okay so I don't get it, Jesse had all tons of anxiety because her sister got kidnapped, smacked around and was going to get auctioned off to the highest bidder? Her sister, not her, but her sister who moved on with her life after her ordeal? I don't get it. I mean I understand that she would feel some sort of way because this was her baby sister and they almost lost Kelly but not a single thing happened to Jesse so I can't figure out why she had such a crippling fear, to the point that she almost became an agoraphobic. That's like the most absurd thing I ever heard of, I mean do things like this actually happen to people? Its just that nothing happened to her, like absolutely nothing so why such fear, I mean needing a full time bodyguard because she was scared shitless over something that happened to her sister, who didn't even live that close to her? That shit is just fucking ludicrous and a waste of money, well maybe not for someone like Jack whose a damn millionaire but putting your entire life on hold just because of a supposed threat...all in your head...again strange.
Profile Image for Lisa Gibbs.
802 reviews2 followers
January 10, 2020
Jesse Bradley is Kelly Bradley's sister and when Kelly was kidnapped a while back it affected not only Kelly but Jesse as well. Jesse slowly dropped out of life. She would only go places if her friends could pick her up and drop her off. She asked her dad to drive her to work every morning. She kept putting off going to culinary school, she could not face going for fear of a panic attack. Her mom finally added up all the signs after she came home from a club one night nearly in tears.

Enter Jack Sutton, billionaire CEO of Sutton Captial, he comes up with a plan to help his sister-in-law get her life back. He hires Zach, a bodyguard who once guarded his wife after she was abducted. Zach and Kelly have had a "thing" for each other since Zach was Kelly's bodyguard.

Jack sends them to New York so that Jesse can begin her dream of attending culinary school. Things heat up from there and passion ignites.

This was a short but sweet love story. It's a great beach read or for a rainy day. There were some laugh out loud moments. All in all it was a fun read.
Profile Image for Candy Laine.
Author 7 books8 followers
March 11, 2018
Jessie was not kidnapped, Kelly was. Jessie was not kidnapped, Jill was. Jessie has no right to feel this anxious, but she does. She is unable to step out of the house alone without fear crashing into her. She tries to hide it, but the effects of her stress just seem to paralyze her. She thinks she has managed to hide the truth from everyone close to her. Then her mother notices her state and takes her case to her brother in-law Jake.

Zach helped Kelly feel safe after her kidnapping. He was the head of a private security firm and understood that victims of violent crimes take some time to ease back into normal routine as they work through their fears. Now he needs to do the same for Jessie, but can he retain his objectivity around her? Jessie is his wet dream, but one he can’t afford to touch.

Six weeks in New York alone in a penthouse suite with her is going to play havoc with his control.
Profile Image for Melanie Marnell.
4,219 reviews34 followers
May 1, 2020
Jesse needs help to break the stranglehold fear has on her still a year after her sister's kidnapping. Jack in his own take charge way sets in motion a plan that will help Jesse get her culinary schooling done then open her own bakery with his backing. Zach's company is hired to act as Jesse's security and set her on the road to recovery. Zach takes the job himself. How can he not? He's been interested in Jesse for a while. What he doesn't know is that she wants him too. The whole scenario makes for some interesting complications.
Profile Image for riana.
414 reviews
December 31, 2024
this is the lovestory of kelly’s sister jesse and zach.

it was cute fun novella. i enjoyed the realness of jesse’s character and how her trauma really showed in this book

zach was a bit of a lost puppy when in came to jesse and i actually laughed at him rather than got mad??? BC IT WAS ALSO ENDEARING TO SEE HIM GROVEL SO MISERABLY AND CLUELESSLY

3.5 stars
Profile Image for Sharon Rudolph.
2,134 reviews
August 2, 2017
I really enjoyed this novella! It was a quick, fun read that had me laughing through the book.
2,205 reviews
February 25, 2018
A really good book. Now I will go back and read the others as I didn't realize how closely they connected even if it was a stand alone. Alot of depth and emotion, and of course a HEA.
Profile Image for Maggie2u2000.
1,075 reviews3 followers
June 27, 2018
Love this series

I have really enjoyed reading this book and I literally couldn't put it down. GREAT SERIES and you will not be disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews

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