Lord Benjamin Parker has been granted the serenity to accept the things he cannot change. He has been granted the courage to change the things he can. And he possesses the wisdom to know the difference.
Benjamin realizes that he has no passion for women, no desire to marry and provide an heir, but he must prove it to himself, once and for all, that what he feels is real. He’s tired of fighting his attraction to men, tired of worrying about the consequences of his desires, tired of going through the motions, and tired of the not-so-subtle hints from his siblings that it’s time for him to settle down. If he can engage in an encounter with another man, and finds that he enjoys that encounter, he will accept that he is an “unnatural” and will live the life he’s meant to live rather than subject a woman to a life of unrequited feelings.
There’s a medieval proverb that says, “a fox is not caught by gifts,” but Benjamin’s single and incendiary encounter with Cavin Fox nullifies that adage, because the gift that Benjamin gives the clever and elusive Fox snares him as surely as if he’d fallen into a steel trap.
Cavin Fox is a grifter and Benjamin was to be nothing more than his next mark for the evening. He was to seduce Benjamin and relieve the nabob of all his valuables, but instead, Benjamin stole Cavin’s heart when he entrusted the thief with his first sexual encounter with another man. It is more than Cavin’s conscience can bear and is enough to make the man begin to rethink his entire existence; it’s enough to make him wish he were someone different, to be a better man and to be a man who is worthy of Benjamin’s affection. ”The fox changes his fur but not his habits?” No, Cavin disproves that proverb as well; his transformation is complete when he falls in love with a man who is seemingly beyond his reach.
Brook Street: Thief is the story of two men from diametrically opposed social classes in Regency England and the way they find each other and connect in a time when the love they share dares not speak its name. Benjamin and Cavin overcome the obstacles that would otherwise keep them apart, believing that love will always find a way.
This is my first experience with Ava March’s work and I couldn’t be happier to have given this book a chance. The foundation has been laid for the next book, and while it’s not a continuation of Benjamin and Cavin’s romance, I do sincerely hope the two men make an appearance in Fortune Hunter because I liked them too well to let them move on just yet.
Buy Thief HERE.