Close protection industry is currently one of the fastest evolving sectors in global security right now. It pertains to the risk moderation and security precautions that are taken for the well-being of various individuals particularly VIPs. This service is delivered by different British close protection companies to numerous organisations that need executive security solutions for their high-ranking members of staff.

 

So in case you’re a business proprietor who requires professional security for yourself or your team, hiring close protection agents is an excellent idea. But since there are plenty of British close protection companies out there, it wouldn't be easy to choose which one to work with. To help you with this matter, here are some of the things which you need to take into consideration before working with such specialists.

 

 

1. They are resourceful

 

The first thing that you must check is if they possess a combination of intelligence and determination - described as resourcefulness. This is crucial as changes in requirements, venues, or tasks can take place any time at their line of work. It is vital that they are creative problem solvers and quick thinkers, allowing them to provide excellent outcomes in any kind of situation. Also, they must not be too shy to ask for what they need to get the work done. At the same time, they should be able to work on their own and give exceptional results through progressive thinking.

 

2. They've got professional commitment

 

Apart from being innovative, it's important that close protection operatives are committed to their job. They should know that the privacy and security of their clients should come first. They must be capable of setting their individual concerns aside and just focus on their job. These operatives should know that their main goal is to get the job done as efficiently as possible. In cases of actual danger, they have to stand by their clients whatever happens.

 

3. They have the required experience and training

 

Because you’re working with British close protection companies for increased security, it’s very crucial that their agents have the necessary credentials. They should be well-experienced and fully trained in providing protective services. It is necessary that they've got some police and military experience in sectors such as the Police Close Protection Units or British Special Forces. Additionally, it is essential that they have worked with notable industrial executives and high profile individuals in the past. This way, you can be assured that they have the essential specialist knowledge and skills and can put them into actual work.

 

4. They have discretion

 

Complete discretion is expected from close protection operatives in every matter. They must know their place as security personnel and maintain their credibility at all times. They should be aware that every detail or piece of information they acquire at their work should not be disclosed to unauthorised people. Furthermore, they should know that sharing of sensitive information can place their job at stake, or may even result in loss of client’s trust.

 

These are some of the characteristics that you need to look at whenever hiring British close protection companies. By considering all the points mentioned in this post, it will be simple for you to locate the best company to hire. Bear in mind that having an exceptional security operative by your side offers the assurance that you are completely safe wherever you go.

Close Protection Ficlets - Cordelia King... 3.5 Stars.

4.5 Stars.

Luca





Ryder






890 Pages,50 chapters.....this one would normally not be on my radar......BUT....I read a friend's review and followed her updates and just had to read it and I'm so glad I did.Let's face it...a book that took me a week to read and I didn't lose interest,to me that's an indication of a good book.

Let's get down to it....there's an age difference and please don't judge me but I find that so hot.

Luca is young,highly promiscuous....but you have to understand his past to understand the way he is.

Ryder is 28 and has his own past to deal with.He is Luca's bodyguard but this isn't a typical story at all.They are definitely both attracted to each other but there's so much more going on....it's not a fluffy relationship at all.


This is a hot one,without a doubt.Luca is just so filthy dirty and likes to be in control but there's a lot more to the book.

This is definitely the longest book I've read but it's tantamount to the Authors writing that it didn't feel that long,it completely held my attention......my only negative is that I wanted an Epilogue....I felt as though I'd gone on such a journey with these two that I wanted just a bit more at the end...

Book – Close Protection
Author – Cordelia Kingsbridge
Star rating - ★★★★★
Plot – incredible, heart-warming, hard-hitting
Characters – touching, feisty, unique

Movie Potential - ★★★★★ (But it would need to be R rated ;) )
Ease of reading – very easy to read
Cover – Nice, but doesn't do the story justice
Suitable Title - Perfect
Would I read it again – Definitely. Regularly.

I have two words for you – powerful and speechless.

It's the morning after finishing the book and I can't quite decide where to start, what to say or what to do with myself. There will be a gaping hole, for days, where this book has been for the past few days, since it was recommended to me.

I'm going to rely on some notes I took, during reading, to get my through this review, until I can think of what I want to say.

First off, let's talk about the characters:

I absolutely love the way that Ryder puts Luca off balance, the second they meet. They're two such different people that, when they clash, it's fireworks. Ryder is this physically strong and mentally damaged guy, who prefers to keep his mouth shut and get on with his job. Luca couldn't be more different. Sexually indiscriminate, with a nervous disorder that makes him go seeking the nearest male for control, he's got in his fair share of trouble, for an eighteen year old.

Luca is a master manipulator and seducer, even with straight men, so when he turns on the charm with Ryder, it's more thrilling to see Ryder disapproving and rejecting that side of him. But, the moment Luca is real and genuine, often without meaning to be, that's when Ryder crumbles and melts inside. From this moment, you know it's going to be explosive between them.

Almost from page one, you get a flip-flop of POV's. This is great, because you get to see Luca's side of things, but you also get to see Ryder's. With each character having a different objective, this is really important. Luca wants nothing more than to seduce Ryder, because he's hot, strong and a massive challenge – and he keeps refusing his advances – but Ryder's internal struggles against Luca's honest are nothing against the main objective: keeping Luca safe from a crazy stalker.

At every turn, Luca and Ryder clash. When Ryder is brutally honest about how he sees Luca and how he feels, it's the first time that Luca cares about someone else's opinion of him. They get under each others skin, but they also accept and understand that their opinions of each other matter. Luca learns that, sometimes, only the people who matter the most, are capable of really hurting.
“Ryder had accomplished something nobody else had ever managed.
He’d made Luca feel dirty.”

I think it's really important to the plot and the progression of Ryder and Luca's relationship that about 60% of the story involves them NOT being together. Ryder dates Andy, who is a lovable and sweet pediatric nurse, because he wants a normal, adult relationship, despite being crazy about Luca. Luca, in turn, begins an “unofficial” relationship with new friend Ashton, after seducing him. While they both have emotional and physical relationships with these other people, the chemistry between them sizzles.
Ryder and Luca share a few really HOT moments together, throughout this time. Though their relationships work on paper, and a little part of you almost wishes that Luca and Ashton end up together with Ryder and Andy an item, you also know, deep down, as they do, that Ryder and Luca belong together.
No matter how hard Luca tries to seduce Ryder, he never realises that he doesn't have to. He already has, through being real and vulnerable and honest.
You know they'll find their way to each other, but you also understand how important it is for Luca to have this time with Ashton, who proves to be a real friend.

Plus, having them effectively date other people allows for moments like this:
““I have a date.”
Judging by Luca's reaction, Ryder might as well have slapped him in the face. He
blinked and drew back, hurt flickering in his eyes before being replaced by cold anger. “A date,” he repeated, voice flat.
“Yes.”
“Have fun.” It sounded more like, I hope you die.”

Since Luca is a bit of an emotional wreck and has an anxiety disorder, it's perfectly natural when we get to see him undergoing therapy sessions. These are really special and important moments in Luca's story, because he needs this time to get his head sorted out. I often asked myself, while reading these parts though, just why his mother waited so long.
Evelyn believes that Luca has a sex addiction, but never does anything about it other than trying to either refuse him the opportunities to have sex or lets him run wild. Though we, as readers, know that it's really Ryder who opened Luca's mind and heart to the possibility of a real relationship and made him see how manipulative and cruel he'd once been, I still think this issue should have been addressed, and it wasn't.

Luca is one of those amazing characters who can be smarky and flirty one minute, but real and honest and vulnerable the next. I think that's why he and Ryder work so well. Ryder is the balance and Luca is the unpredictability in their relationship.

With no set relationship and no spoken commitment between Luca and Ryder, it's perfectly natural and acceptable that they spend 60% of the sex scenes with other people. 1 – it's part of Luca's nature and 2 – it's part of their dynamic that they take so long to get together.

The majority of the intimacy between Luca and Ryder is emotional, anyway, which makes their connection feel so much more real. And, this is why the story is absolutely HUGE. It's 50 chapters, but it's well worth it. The progression is the important part and that's why it needs so much time.

There is a light D/s theme in the story, but it really is light. It's all about Luca taking up his natural role of dominant to Ryder's naturally submissive side. This only works in the bedroom, because Ryder is the bodyguard and Luca accepts that he's a strong, necessary wall of protection around him. The fact that Luca can then turn that strong man into mush, in the bedroom, is what makes them work.
It's nice to see that the younger/physically smaller MC is the Dom, for a change. Just because Luca is small, doesn't diminish the emotional hold he has over Ryder. He's a spitfire and can wrap any man around his finger. But, what makes his relationship with Ryder work is that he doesn't have to manipulate Ryder. Ryder is all too ready to give in to any command Luca may give him. That doesn't stop him being the worry-wart, always afraid that their 10-year age difference will make their relationship wrong or inappropriate somehow. It takes all of Luca's fire and resilience to make them work, so they can get past that.
Together, they're the perfect blend of emotional instability and physical strength.

Ryder can be vulnerable with Luca and vice versa, but they both find balance and what they need in each other. It's only together they they're complete and become better man.
““You saved my life the day those men tried to abduct me.” Unable to help himself,
Luca brushed the snow off of Ryder’s cheek. “But the truth is, you’d already saved me
long before that.””

For all of Luca's anxiety, he can be strong and calm enough to do what needs done, right at the time Ryder needs him most. This is only possible because of the way that Ryder treats him. Ryder is his centre; the thing that calms and soothes him, but he's also what opens his heart and mind, so that he can find that inner strength. But, at the same time, Ryder allows him to open up and BE vulnerable, something he'd never allowed himself before.
““Will you come back?” he asked.
“I haven’t really left,” Luca said over his shoulder as he shut the door.”

OVERALL

There's an excellent balance of danger, romance and humour throughout the entire story. The characterisation, plot, romance, D/s element, storytelling and the criminal aspects of the story were all so perfectly weaved together that there's not much I could say, in a negative way.
The sex is explosive – no matter who it's with. There are regular, very hot, sex scenes, but the most touching, intimate moments are between Ryder and Luca. And, most importantly, they happen when they're not touching or being overtly sexual. That's what makes this so incredible.
I cried a few times, because I was emotionally invested in these characters and their lives, right from the story. My interest never wavered/faltered, despite the length and I'm still trying to think of how to express what this book made me feel, although I finished the book hours ago.
However, I would have liked an Epilogue of some sort, because I feel it stopped a little short. Considering the book was so long, so that it could cover the complexity of their relationship, I would have liked a little chapter at the end, maybe a year or two later. I'm not sure what I want it to say, but I feel that it's not quite finished.
Honestly, however perfect this story was, I felt a bit of a dip in the last few chapters, that told us more than it showed. There seemed to be a little rush to get to the end and it limited the impact of some of the scenes.

Favourite Quote:
““You saved my life the day those men tried to abduct me.” Unable to help himself,
Luca brushed the snow off of Ryder’s cheek. “But the truth is, you’d already saved me
long before that.””

-

If you're interested in reading this book, it can't be bought at a book store or downloaded from an e-book retailer. It can only be read online:
here at Fiction Press: https://www.fictionpress.com/s/2968339/1/Close-Protection
and here at LiveJournal: http://ckingsbridge.livejournal.com/822.html

Small power bottom manhandling a big hunky guy at his taste. Hot sex. Plenty of smexy times. What's not to like?



The book is very long, but it doesn't feel that way. Imagine, 890 pages. I had to charge my kindle because the battery didn't last (not that I always remember to charge it, anyway). My mother words: "You read this book and it never ends but you can't stop reading, and when you are not reading it, you think about reading it". I think that thought is compatible with my own.

If I judge the book with a minimum of objectivity I have to admit it sounds like sci-fi if not like soap opera. I criticized in [b:Play Me, I'm Yours|17609253|Play Me, I'm Yours|Madison Parker|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1363142868s/17609253.jpg|21947627], YA, that one of the MCs was into BDSM before beginning the relationship with the other MC. But in that book it felt like an eyesore: it wasn't meant to be there. Here Luca has been controlling men around since he's 16 and he has slept with more people than he can count. But his personality matched up his actions. His confident presence was displayed in cocky and nonchalant provocations and shameless manipulations. He exploits his looks, charm and charisma to play with people's desires, in a praying mantis sort of way. He has such a remarkable personality I never doubted of his power to handling men like puppets. He was the whole time taking the lead and he has everybody wrapped around his little finger.

That's why his mother only hires female bodyguards or ugly males... except for Ryder, what was she thinking?



Ryder is a righteous and honorable person and professional to the bitter end, so he doesn't bend to Luca's insistence, which doesn't mean it's a piece of cake to reject Luca's insinuations. An ex-soldier himself, he is strict and assertive, and his principal looks for new ways in his repertoire to push all his buttons, trying to shatter his impassive attitude.

Which was fun as fuck.



Don't get it wrong. It's a tar baby, of course. But this story was also oh-so-very-sweet. I didn't expect it. Yes, my mother kept telling me I had to read the book because they were "so cute" and she knows I can't resist cute characters. It's my weakness. And when the sweetness is in a "mature" sort of book (meaning, not YA), I just got more curious.

Luca has just been expelled from his third boarding school in Switzerland due to "improper behavior" and you can guess which kind of. No other school accepts him so he is forced to come back home in the States, which is dangerous as hell, as menaces are more real than in Europe. That's when Ryder becomes the leader of the bodyguard team and has to prevent those menaces from coming true. If that wasn't enough, the shit hits the fan when Luca begins receiving letters and presents with connections to his past from a person who calls himself "the Admirer", and his modus operandi suggests he's serious about his intentions and that he is supported by a mole in the house.



The mystery doesn't call my attention as much as the love story. Luca has never been exclusive, and he demonstrates it. Ryder tries to distance himself from Luca but at the same time he can't help himself from sharing his opinions about Luca's definition of a hobby. Jealousy and possessiveness take place in a normal basis, from both sides. When one of them wants, the other one gives his back. When the roles are reversed, it happens equally. This dance sounds frustrating and childish but it's not. There are issues Luca and Ryder have to sort out, inside their heads and in the core of their relationship. Ryder can't think about being the boyfriend of a 18-year-old, whereas Luca doesn't think he can control his need to control and sacrifice an important part of himself. At first you believe there is no way for them to find a common path, to reconcile their desires and feelings. But the advantage of having a book so long is that there is enough time and space for the characters to evolve and change coming to terms with their consciences and natures.

Did I mention the sex is hot? There are power exchanges, too. Just saying.



Don't let the length of the book discourage you. It's worth it.



You're the Only One I Want