Closed Door Romance Logo

Closed Door Romance Verified

Amazon

A Gratuitous Guardian

by KJ Tilford

Genre:

Publisher

Series:

Book #

3

Point of View

Found a trope you love? → Tap it to explore more ❤️

Content Guide

This guide helps readers understand the content of this book.
Click the ⓘ icons to see how each level is defined.

Intimacy Level

Innuendo Level

Swearing Amount

Violence Level

Age Recommendation

LGBTQ Content

Trigger Warnings

, , , , , , ,

Synopsis

Sasha

After my brother was killed in the line of duty, his best friend decided it was his job to take care of me. Too bad for him, I don’t need anyone to fight my battles for me. However, when I turn down his pity job offer, Gavin makes it his mission to force me to accept his help, even going so far as to move away from his lucrative practice in the city to work with me at the small town clinic in Silver Creek, MT, while our regular doctor is away on an extended vacation with his new wife.

He thinks proximity will be enough to change my mind. I think he had his chance to be in my life years ago when I bared my soul to him, only to have him crush me without a second thought. Now I only have one goal: survive the next two months working alongside my unwanted protector with my heart intact before sending him packing.

Gavin

I made mistakes I’m not proud of, but my best friend’s death has forced me to rethink everything and appreciate all the things I previously took for granted. Now I’m determined to fix what I broke, starting with the woman I never thought I could be with, who now occupies my every thought and is the motivation behind every unexpected decision I find myself making. She may think I’ll go away quietly when these two months are done, but I don’t plan on going anywhere without her ever again. Brace yourself, Sasha, because I’m coming for you.

The Gratuitous Guardian is the third book in the Silver Creek Sweethearts Series. As with all of KJ’s stories, this book is a clean romance with emotionally in-depth characters, plenty of laughs, and also difficult situations that the characters navigate with the help of their friends, family, and faith. Each of the Silver Creek Sweethearts books are interconnected standalones and while each book can be enjoyed on its own, for the best reading experience, it is recommended that you read the books in order.

TW: Death of a sibling, PTSD/mental illness, mild depiction of medical emergencies, threats of violence (not between MCs)

Reader Reviews

Have you read this book? Help other readers by leaving a review.

No reader reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Leave a Review

Reviews help other readers know what to expect from a book.
Please avoid spoilers and be respectful in your review.

Other Books in this series

Find Your Next Closed Door Romance

Stop guessing — find books that actually match your preferences
Filter by intimacy level, tropes, and more in seconds

Find books you'll love

600+ books • Filter by exact content levels • Built for closed door readers

Facebook Twitter Youtube

Physical Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands or affectionate touching
  • Compliments or confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces or cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters are only referred to from the past, not described or shown on page
 

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in the underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied but not described
  • Feeling warm or flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls or groans
  • Thinking or speaking about desire in a non-descriptive way
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level, though this may be unpopular if they are not married
 

Level 3

 

  • Hands moving, still not in the underwear zone
  • French kissing with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions that still follow these guidelines
  • Feeling hot or sweaty
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, or panting
  • More frantic moments and some loss of control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If characters lie down together, there should be little description of contact or movement
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with a fade to black scene
  • Focus stays on the emotion
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged or committed couples

Innuendo Levels

Level 0 — None

  • No sexual innuendo
  • No suggestive humor
  • No crude or sexual jokes

Level 1 — Minimal

  • Minimal innuendo or double meanings
  • Light teasing
  • Mild crude or dad humor
  • Not frequent or strong

Level 2 — Moderate

  • Moderate suggestive humor
  • Double meanings
  • Sexual tension
  • May include crude or sexual jokes

Level 3 — Heavy

  • Heavy innuendo
  • Strong suggestive dialogue
  • Frequent crude or sexual humor

Swearing Levels

Zero

  • No swearing

Mild

  • Up to 10 uses of “hel*” or “dam*”

Moderate

  • 10+ uses of “hel*” or “dam*”
  • And/or use of bodily swear words like “shi*,” “as*,” etc.

Severe

  • 30+ swear words
  • And/or any use of the F-word one or more times

Violence Levels

Zero

  • No on-page violence

Mild

  • Violence is present without detail or only referenced vaguely
  • May briefly mention blood or injuries
  • Comparable to a G-rated movie

Moderate

  • Violence is more frequent and/or more detailed
  • Can be more intense
  • Injuries may be lightly described
  • Comparable to a PG-rated movie

Severe

  • Violence is more detailed and frequent
  • Blood may be mentioned and injuries may be described in detail
  • Comparable to a PG-13-rated movie

Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands/Affectionate touching
  • Compliments/confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces/cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters from past only referred to, not described or on-screen

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied not described
  • Feel warm/flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls and groans
  • Thinking/speaking about desire non-descriptive
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level – but may be unpopular if not married

Level 3

  • Hands moving, still not in underwear zone
  • French kiss with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions still follow guidelines
  • Feel hot, sweating
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, panting
  • More frantic and lose some control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If they lay down together anywhere, use little description of contact/moving
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with fade to black scene. Keep focus on the emotion.
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged/committed couples.