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The Protectors #7
บอดี้การ์ดยอดรัก / Roarke's Wife
การแต่งงานที่ปราศจากความรัก
คลีโอ แม็คนามาร่าจำเป็นต้องหาสามีให้ได้.. คนที่จะทำให้เธอตั้งครรภ์ ปกป้องเธอจากฆาตกรในเงามืดบอดี้การ์ดไซมอม โร้คเข้ารับหน้าที่ดังกล้าวอย่างกล้าหาญ ทว่าคลีโอนั้นเป็นมากกว่าที่เขาร้องขอ .. ทุกสัมผัสระหว่างกันให้ความรู้สึกร้อนรุ่ม ทุกสายตาแม้เพียงเหลือบมอง ก็ทำให้ความปรารถนาคุกรุ่น
โร้คทำหน้าที่สามีอย่างเคร่งครัดจริงจัง..ทุกข้อ.. และเขาจะทำให้คลีโอได้มีลูกสมใจปรารถนา ทว่ายามอยุ่ในวงแขนของเธอ โร้คได้พบความสุชสงบอย่างที่ไม่เคยรู้สึกมาก่อน.. แต่ก็รู้สึกถูกคุกคามด้วย เพราะไม่เพียงแต่คลีโอเท่านั้นที่ตกอยู่ในอันตรายเสียงต่อชีวิต โร้คเองก็ตกอยู่ในอันตรายที่เสี่ยงต่อหัวใจด้วย
คลีโอ แม็คนามาร่าจำเป็นต้องหาสามีให้ได้.. คนที่จะทำให้เธอตั้งครรภ์ ปกป้องเธอจากฆาตกรในเงามืดบอดี้การ์ดไซมอม โร้คเข้ารับหน้าที่ดังกล้าวอย่างกล้าหาญ ทว่าคลีโอนั้นเป็นมากกว่าที่เขาร้องขอ .. ทุกสัมผัสระหว่างกันให้ความรู้สึกร้อนรุ่ม ทุกสายตาแม้เพียงเหลือบมอง ก็ทำให้ความปรารถนาคุกรุ่น
โร้คทำหน้าที่สามีอย่างเคร่งครัดจริงจัง..ทุกข้อ.. และเขาจะทำให้คลีโอได้มีลูกสมใจปรารถนา ทว่ายามอยุ่ในวงแขนของเธอ โร้คได้พบความสุชสงบอย่างที่ไม่เคยรู้สึกมาก่อน.. แต่ก็รู้สึกถูกคุกคามด้วย เพราะไม่เพียงแต่คลีโอเท่านั้นที่ตกอยู่ในอันตรายเสียงต่อชีวิต โร้คเองก็ตกอยู่ในอันตรายที่เสี่ยงต่อหัวใจด้วย
464 pages
First published July 25, 1997
17 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
Beverly Barton
300 books708 followersBeverly Marie Inman was born on 23 December 1946 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, USA. Daughter of Doris Marie and Walter D. Inman Jr. A born romantic, she fell in love with The Beauty and the Beast epic at an early age, when her grandfather bought her an illustrated copy of the famous fairy tale. Even before she learned to read and write, her vivid imagination created magical words and fabulous characters inside her mind. Movies fascinated her, and by the time she was seven she was rewriting the movies she saw on television and at the local theater to give them all happy endings. By the age of nine she'd penned her first novel. She wrote short stories, TV scripts, poetry, and novels throughout high school and into college.
After her marriage to Billy Ray Beaver, the "love of her life", and the births of her two children, Beverly continued to be a voracious reader and a devoted moviegoer, but she put her writing aspirations on hold until her children were teenagers. At every age of their lives, from infancy to adulthood, the children had been a true joy to her. She devoted herself to her husband and children and considered herself one of the many selfless "supermoms" who put their family's needs first. She believed she had had it all, just not all at the same time.
In her mid-30s, Beverly returned to her former passion — writing — as a hobby, but before 40, she decided that she wanted to make writing a full-time career. And when she rediscovered an old dream — of becoming a published writer — no one was more supportive of her aspirations than her family. Her children were her greatest cheerleaders and her husband was her biggest supporter. After writing over 40 books and receiving numerous awards and nominations, as well as having books on the USA Today list and consistently on the Waldenbooks bestseller list, her career was indeed a dream come true. Having a fantastic family and fabulous friends, as well as making a living doing the one thing she had loved doing since childhood, she considered herself truly blessed. Beverly died suddenly of heart failure on 21 April 2011.
After her marriage to Billy Ray Beaver, the "love of her life", and the births of her two children, Beverly continued to be a voracious reader and a devoted moviegoer, but she put her writing aspirations on hold until her children were teenagers. At every age of their lives, from infancy to adulthood, the children had been a true joy to her. She devoted herself to her husband and children and considered herself one of the many selfless "supermoms" who put their family's needs first. She believed she had had it all, just not all at the same time.
In her mid-30s, Beverly returned to her former passion — writing — as a hobby, but before 40, she decided that she wanted to make writing a full-time career. And when she rediscovered an old dream — of becoming a published writer — no one was more supportive of her aspirations than her family. Her children were her greatest cheerleaders and her husband was her biggest supporter. After writing over 40 books and receiving numerous awards and nominations, as well as having books on the USA Today list and consistently on the Waldenbooks bestseller list, her career was indeed a dream come true. Having a fantastic family and fabulous friends, as well as making a living doing the one thing she had loved doing since childhood, she considered herself truly blessed. Beverly died suddenly of heart failure on 21 April 2011.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 20, 2013
Setting: Dundee agency; McNamara estate in River Bend, Alabama; McNamara fertilizer plant; country home, Laurie Falls (20 miles from River Bend);
Theme: falling in love; figuring out who is out to harm her and the business; old family laundry;
Characters:
Simon Roarke: Dundee employee; ex Green Beret; late 30’s; handsome; brush with death last year when shot on duty; mom died when he was young, father took off, raised by aunt/uncle who viewed him as a cheap farm hand, joined army out of high school, fell in love when in Miami on leave a year later, married, wife wanted him to leave the service – which he loved; about to divorce, but she is pregnant; stay married another 2 years, with him gone more than home; finally divorced; loved his daughter, but only a few visits; exwife slipped into depression (which she fought since a teen) and into drinking… she takes child in car when drunk, and kills baby, and severely injures self, now in a mental institute and guilty Simon pays her bills, even though she generally doesn’t recognize him if he visits; ready to get out of dangerous assignments;
Hope/Laurie: ex-wife and daughter (who died when she was 3 years old); his heart ache, his guilty; the reason he has cut himself off from his emotions;
Cleo McNamara (Cleopatra Arabelle McNamara Roarke): approaching 30; parents died when young; raised by great uncle and his daughter/her aunt; favored by her uncle; taken into business, where she showed an aptitude and interest and concern for the community; pretty; stubborn; one past lover – but before marrying him, she found him in bed with her jealous cousin; began dating childhood friend and coworker Hugh at uncle’s suggestion, uncle wrote will deeding her the company if she marries and produces a child within a year – thinking he’d push her to commit to Hugh and not be like his spinster daughter; but a week before he died, when in hospital, Cleo walks in on Hugh and her jealous cousin Marla (see a pattern?); if she does not fulfill the will requirements, the plant will be sold and proceeds divided among family; someone took a rifle shot at her at her uncle’s funeral; she hires Simon to be her body guard/investigator/husband/sperm bank for one million dollars – though he makes it clear that once she is safe, he is out of there, and wants nothing to do with her baby;
Beatrice McNamara:
Cleo’s aunt, and mother figure who raised and loved her; she loved Perry when young (and still loves him), they were engaged, no sex before marriage – and her jealous sister seduced Perry in a weak moment… and ended up pregnant – so Beatrice let him go to her sister; and they all live Uncle George’s house ?!; she sends him looks over the years, they spend some quiet, friend time when they can; she is in Cleo’s corner all the way;
Hugh Winfield: Cleo’s childhood friend and coworker; his family and her family go back generations; romances Cleo, but more as a means to an end; easily falls under jealous Daphne’s spell… suspect for the sabotage in the plant, if his future is tied to Daphne’s.
Uncle George: his will is the one that set up Cleo’s dilemma; apparently really wants her happiness; he loved Cleo
Orlie and Perry Sutton: Beatrice’s sister, and her professor husband; Orlie convinced when 5 year old Cleo comes to live with them, that she was actually Perry and Beatrice’s child; she pushed her into the pool, hoping she would die and go away – and Perry covered for her; she is high strung, high maintenance, likes her position in society; Perry quiet, tries to appease wife, retired university professor, had been indifferent to Cleo as growing up, a concession to wife; and she is the one who has made 4 attempts on Cleo’s life – if she’s gone, her family is taken care of… and she crazily thinks she gets rid of her husband’s illegitimate daughter… and she jumps from balcony to death rather than get arrested;
Trey and Marla: Orlie & Perry’s son, and his quiet wife; he has been spoiled and indulged; works at plant, and truly believes that the plant will fall in the economy, and they should sell now – so that he gets his portion now; he actually ends up to be the one sabotaging the plant – the computer billing/order and some accidents around the plant – he gets 5 years in jail – and comes back to work for Cleo – a changed man.
Daphne: Cleo’s older cousin; jealous of Cleo since she came to live with them – because she took Beatrice and George’s heart; Orlie and Perry’s daughter; gorgeous, sexy, and not afraid to use it; seduced and married cleo’s first fiancé, and seduced and almost married Cleo’s almost second fiancé; comes onto simon a few times, but he puts her down…
Ezra and Pearl Clooney: the household staff since before Cleo came to live with them… and plain speaking support for Cleo
Summary:
Simon does a good job of playing the impassioned groom – and he enjoys the attraction, and admires and respects the person of Cleo, wanting to protect her – but he keeps a small part of him apart; but she quickly falls in love;
He brings in more Dundee employees to help figure out what’s happening – could one fertilizer plant be able to able to support such expenses?
It takes it a bit longer than seems reasonable to figure out who’s doing what… but they figure it out… and Simon leaves… and 6 weeks later, after figuring out he cannot live without Cleo and their child, and fate points him to a farm with his daughter’s name, and close to Cleo’s plant… he figures fate is telling him it is time to put the past behind… ahhh
Memorable scenes:
Though attracted to each other from the get go, Cleo decides they should wait a couple of weeks before making love – time to get to know one another, though she does ask him to sleep in the same bed with her… after a week both are crazy with desire, but both are being stubborn – he’s not touching until she invites – she’s sticking to her guns… oops…not…they both make the first move;
After married to Simon for a few weeks, they’re having great sex, and putting on a good show of genuine newlywed happiness, in spite of her family’s suspicion that this is a marriage of convenience – Hugh gets Cleo alone – and says she should have gone to him to fulfill the requirements of the will; when she asks him about Daphne, he indicates he’d have his cake (her) and ice cream (Daphne) too – after all they weren’t highly sexual with each other… wow…\
Orlie’s attempts on Cleo – deadly spiders taken from her husband’s university lab, hidden in her bath towels – she sees spiders before they can harm her, and calls Simon in to rescue her from bathroom); adding rat poison from husband’s green house into tea mix that only Cleo drinks (Cleo gave her afternoon tea to Aunt Beatrice to calm her down – and aunt is poisoned – Simon recognizes the symptoms, gets her to hospital, and sheriff takes tea to plant for testing – so able to id poison and give aunt appropriate antidote); places 4 party buzzers on bottom side of horse saddle, so that horse throws Cleo when she sits her horse – hits head on rock, and has a concussion, but nothing more (when she finds out she is pregnant); after Cleo gives them a month to move out, she gets her daughter to distract Simon, and she hits Cleo on side of head and pushes her into pool (Roarke pulls her out, gives her mouth to mouth resuscitation);
In the seven years since their hasty marriage of convenience, Roarke had gone from being a lonely, cynical man who lived his life on the edge, to a contented family man (2 sons and a daughter on the way), a gentleman farmer living the good life that had once been only a dream for him.
Theme: falling in love; figuring out who is out to harm her and the business; old family laundry;
Characters:
Simon Roarke: Dundee employee; ex Green Beret; late 30’s; handsome; brush with death last year when shot on duty; mom died when he was young, father took off, raised by aunt/uncle who viewed him as a cheap farm hand, joined army out of high school, fell in love when in Miami on leave a year later, married, wife wanted him to leave the service – which he loved; about to divorce, but she is pregnant; stay married another 2 years, with him gone more than home; finally divorced; loved his daughter, but only a few visits; exwife slipped into depression (which she fought since a teen) and into drinking… she takes child in car when drunk, and kills baby, and severely injures self, now in a mental institute and guilty Simon pays her bills, even though she generally doesn’t recognize him if he visits; ready to get out of dangerous assignments;
Hope/Laurie: ex-wife and daughter (who died when she was 3 years old); his heart ache, his guilty; the reason he has cut himself off from his emotions;
Cleo McNamara (Cleopatra Arabelle McNamara Roarke): approaching 30; parents died when young; raised by great uncle and his daughter/her aunt; favored by her uncle; taken into business, where she showed an aptitude and interest and concern for the community; pretty; stubborn; one past lover – but before marrying him, she found him in bed with her jealous cousin; began dating childhood friend and coworker Hugh at uncle’s suggestion, uncle wrote will deeding her the company if she marries and produces a child within a year – thinking he’d push her to commit to Hugh and not be like his spinster daughter; but a week before he died, when in hospital, Cleo walks in on Hugh and her jealous cousin Marla (see a pattern?); if she does not fulfill the will requirements, the plant will be sold and proceeds divided among family; someone took a rifle shot at her at her uncle’s funeral; she hires Simon to be her body guard/investigator/husband/sperm bank for one million dollars – though he makes it clear that once she is safe, he is out of there, and wants nothing to do with her baby;
Beatrice McNamara:
Cleo’s aunt, and mother figure who raised and loved her; she loved Perry when young (and still loves him), they were engaged, no sex before marriage – and her jealous sister seduced Perry in a weak moment… and ended up pregnant – so Beatrice let him go to her sister; and they all live Uncle George’s house ?!; she sends him looks over the years, they spend some quiet, friend time when they can; she is in Cleo’s corner all the way;
Hugh Winfield: Cleo’s childhood friend and coworker; his family and her family go back generations; romances Cleo, but more as a means to an end; easily falls under jealous Daphne’s spell… suspect for the sabotage in the plant, if his future is tied to Daphne’s.
Uncle George: his will is the one that set up Cleo’s dilemma; apparently really wants her happiness; he loved Cleo
Orlie and Perry Sutton: Beatrice’s sister, and her professor husband; Orlie convinced when 5 year old Cleo comes to live with them, that she was actually Perry and Beatrice’s child; she pushed her into the pool, hoping she would die and go away – and Perry covered for her; she is high strung, high maintenance, likes her position in society; Perry quiet, tries to appease wife, retired university professor, had been indifferent to Cleo as growing up, a concession to wife; and she is the one who has made 4 attempts on Cleo’s life – if she’s gone, her family is taken care of… and she crazily thinks she gets rid of her husband’s illegitimate daughter… and she jumps from balcony to death rather than get arrested;
Trey and Marla: Orlie & Perry’s son, and his quiet wife; he has been spoiled and indulged; works at plant, and truly believes that the plant will fall in the economy, and they should sell now – so that he gets his portion now; he actually ends up to be the one sabotaging the plant – the computer billing/order and some accidents around the plant – he gets 5 years in jail – and comes back to work for Cleo – a changed man.
Daphne: Cleo’s older cousin; jealous of Cleo since she came to live with them – because she took Beatrice and George’s heart; Orlie and Perry’s daughter; gorgeous, sexy, and not afraid to use it; seduced and married cleo’s first fiancé, and seduced and almost married Cleo’s almost second fiancé; comes onto simon a few times, but he puts her down…
Ezra and Pearl Clooney: the household staff since before Cleo came to live with them… and plain speaking support for Cleo
Summary:
Simon does a good job of playing the impassioned groom – and he enjoys the attraction, and admires and respects the person of Cleo, wanting to protect her – but he keeps a small part of him apart; but she quickly falls in love;
He brings in more Dundee employees to help figure out what’s happening – could one fertilizer plant be able to able to support such expenses?
It takes it a bit longer than seems reasonable to figure out who’s doing what… but they figure it out… and Simon leaves… and 6 weeks later, after figuring out he cannot live without Cleo and their child, and fate points him to a farm with his daughter’s name, and close to Cleo’s plant… he figures fate is telling him it is time to put the past behind… ahhh
Memorable scenes:
Though attracted to each other from the get go, Cleo decides they should wait a couple of weeks before making love – time to get to know one another, though she does ask him to sleep in the same bed with her… after a week both are crazy with desire, but both are being stubborn – he’s not touching until she invites – she’s sticking to her guns… oops…not…they both make the first move;
After married to Simon for a few weeks, they’re having great sex, and putting on a good show of genuine newlywed happiness, in spite of her family’s suspicion that this is a marriage of convenience – Hugh gets Cleo alone – and says she should have gone to him to fulfill the requirements of the will; when she asks him about Daphne, he indicates he’d have his cake (her) and ice cream (Daphne) too – after all they weren’t highly sexual with each other… wow…\
Orlie’s attempts on Cleo – deadly spiders taken from her husband’s university lab, hidden in her bath towels – she sees spiders before they can harm her, and calls Simon in to rescue her from bathroom); adding rat poison from husband’s green house into tea mix that only Cleo drinks (Cleo gave her afternoon tea to Aunt Beatrice to calm her down – and aunt is poisoned – Simon recognizes the symptoms, gets her to hospital, and sheriff takes tea to plant for testing – so able to id poison and give aunt appropriate antidote); places 4 party buzzers on bottom side of horse saddle, so that horse throws Cleo when she sits her horse – hits head on rock, and has a concussion, but nothing more (when she finds out she is pregnant); after Cleo gives them a month to move out, she gets her daughter to distract Simon, and she hits Cleo on side of head and pushes her into pool (Roarke pulls her out, gives her mouth to mouth resuscitation);
In the seven years since their hasty marriage of convenience, Roarke had gone from being a lonely, cynical man who lived his life on the edge, to a contented family man (2 sons and a daughter on the way), a gentleman farmer living the good life that had once been only a dream for him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2020
Different read with a very convoluted family situation.
Greed, spoilt children and jealousy makes this all just a bit sad really.
Simon was just too unbelievably good hearted, paying for his ex-wife’s hospital incarceration after she killed their daughter. Simon is allowed some angst but he was too mired in his guilt to be a healthy person.
Cleo was the only one worth liking. She deserved better.
Pearl the housekeeper had a good head on her shoulders too.
Aunt Beatrice had never married as she was pining for Perry the weak a-hole.
If the Uncle, Perry, had not been such a weak man all those years ago, none of this would have happened. First off, he gets tempted into having sex with Oralie, the sister of Beatrice, the woman he really loves. Oralie ends up pregnant, so he marries her. Then he stays living in the same house with Beatrice. Talk about rubbing her nose in it.
Just couldn’t understand why Perry, his wife and children were freeloading, instead of having their own house. I think Oralie wanted to rub Beatrice's face in the fact she had lost her man.
The fact Perry covers for his wife trying to kill a five year old child, was just disgusting, and it was extremely annoying that Perry gets a HEA with Beatrice too after all he did in the past. Just a big no for me.
Having fun rereading some of these oldies through my library.
Greed, spoilt children and jealousy makes this all just a bit sad really.
Simon was just too unbelievably good hearted, paying for his ex-wife’s hospital incarceration after she killed their daughter. Simon is allowed some angst but he was too mired in his guilt to be a healthy person.
Cleo was the only one worth liking. She deserved better.
Pearl the housekeeper had a good head on her shoulders too.
Aunt Beatrice had never married as she was pining for Perry the weak a-hole.
If the Uncle, Perry, had not been such a weak man all those years ago, none of this would have happened. First off, he gets tempted into having sex with Oralie, the sister of Beatrice, the woman he really loves. Oralie ends up pregnant, so he marries her. Then he stays living in the same house with Beatrice. Talk about rubbing her nose in it.
Just couldn’t understand why Perry, his wife and children were freeloading, instead of having their own house. I think Oralie wanted to rub Beatrice's face in the fact she had lost her man.
The fact Perry covers for his wife trying to kill a five year old child, was just disgusting, and it was extremely annoying that Perry gets a HEA with Beatrice too after all he did in the past. Just a big no for me.
Having fun rereading some of these oldies through my library.
January 12, 2025
หนังสืออีกเล่มของเบฟเวอรี่ที่อยู่ในระดับสุดยอดสำหรับแม็กซ์ พล็อตเรื่องเน่าสนิทสุดคลาสสิกสำหรับแม็กซ์ เรื่องราวที่นางเอกต้องหาซื้อผู้ชายมาเป็นพ่อพันธุ์ในกับตัวเองตามพินัยกรรมของคุณปู่ที่กำหนดให้เธอแต่งงานและมีลูกภายในเวลาที่กำหนด และบรรดาญาติที่คอยแก่งแย่งชิงมรดก และมุ่งปองร้ายเธอ หนังสือที่พล็อตดูงี่เง่าสนุกขึ้นมาได้เพราะตัวละครที่ยอดเยี่ยม แม็กซ์ชอบทั้งโร้คและคลีโอ โอ้ยพูดแล้วอยากกลับไปอ่านอีกรอบจังเลย
May 31, 2023
I loved this book and couldn’t stop reading. Simon agrees to marry Cleo. He’s a bodyguard and will keep her safe. Just how many people are trying to kill her? Loved being on edge. I felt for them too as he’s afraid to love her. So happy they finally got their happy ever after. I highly recommend this book.
November 5, 2019
I liked the two main characters, but I didn't understand why the Sutton part of the family was allowed to live in the family home. The plot had lots of twists and turns in it as Simon and Cleo tried to find out who was trying to murder her. The author is a good writer.
August 23, 2021
I was pissed off at the hero for his stubborn about his feeling toward heroine
August 17, 2025
not the best int the series but certainly not the worst and there is a bit of intrigue. A good read if you're into bodyguard/forced proximity trope
November 1, 2010
เป็นเล่มแรกที่ได้อ่านของนักเขียนท่านนี้
ติดใจมากมาย .. เล่มนี้อยู่ในชุด Protector
มีตั้ง 30 เล่มแน่ะ แต่แปลแล้ว 2 เล่ม
มีติดใจบอดี้การ์ดคนอื่น ๆ อยู่ เลยไปโหลด e-book มาแล้ว
แต่ไม่รู้จะได้อ่านเมื่อไหร่
ติดใจมากมาย .. เล่มนี้อยู่ในชุด Protector
มีตั้ง 30 เล่มแน่ะ แต่แปลแล้ว 2 เล่ม
มีติดใจบอดี้การ์ดคนอื่น ๆ อยู่ เลยไปโหลด e-book มาแล้ว
แต่ไม่รู้จะได้อ่านเมื่อไหร่
August 1, 2010
There is nothing like a good book that contains characters with CHEMISTRY!
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August 16, 2008Roarke's Wife (The Protectors) by Beverly Barton (1997)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews