Title: Wicked Ties
Author: Shayla Black
Published in January 2007 by Berkley (Heat)
Genre: Contemporary Erotic
ISBN: 0-425-21361-7
"Have you ever wanted to put yourself in the hands of a man whose sole purpose is to give you pleasure?"
The intimate question appearing on Morgan O’Malley’s screen was not one she was prepared for, let alone prepared to answer, and it caused her to gasp. Turn Me On, her late night cable TV talk show, was a huge hit, and it has been picked up for yet another season. This is her job, her very own idea and in a way, her very own rebellion against her life. Morgan was researching the topics for the shows when she was contacted by this man, this Master J. The man intrigues her, and has an impressive but short bio, West Point graduate, ex-military with special forces, honorable discharge, and now professional bodyguard With only a few words he was in her mind and her fantasies, and it made her uncomfortable. Morgan is a woman who has spent her life living up to an image, first that held by her mother, then the one cultivated by her budding fame. The adversity she has been through has honed her, allowed her strengths to bloom, and her very independent nature to blossom. Brave, fiery tempered, and self-assured in her business dealings, Morgan is the epitome of the successful woman, the modern sophisticate who was now headed for bigger and better things in her life.
The questions asked, and answers she received from Master J stirred something primitive within her, and it made Morgan very uncomfortable. Agreeing to meet this man, made her feel worse, but she is willing to do almost anything for her show. In a way, her career depends on her abilities to put herself aside, and focus on what is important and the interview to learn about an alternative side of sex and pleasure, dominance and submission, with the Master known to her only as Master J falls in that category. The continued success of Turn Me On is very important to her, and so she resigns herself to the pre-interview meet. She has handled the other topics of her show, but for some reason this hits a raw nerve, and touches on some of her own dark fantasies. This man, this Master has had the nerve to open the door a crack, and for Morgan, the look inside was intriguing in spite of her reservations. In truth, this meeting and interview is the least of her worries at the moment, because danger is stalking her in the form of a warped and demented person intruding on her life. A side trip to from the haven of her brother’s house in Huston might further throw her tormentor off her trail.
"Can we meet tomorrow at 3?"
Those few words meant more to Jack Cole than this particular woman would ever know if he were lucky. Known in the world of BDSM as Master J, a highly sought out Master with legendary control, he was looking forward to the meet, to taking Ms Morgan O’Malley down the road of Dominance and submission and into complete surrender to him. This conquest, if one were to call it that, was the answer to his prayers, a carefully cultivated revenge on the man who ruined his life, stole his wife, and left him shattered in ways he understood only too well. You see, Jack Cole is the complete package, the total alpha male. Strong, dominant, a master of not only himself and his surroundings, but those within them as well. His natural instincts were sharply honed by his military training, and he excelled in his duty to his country. Jack’s very natural alpha tendencies demanded he take control, his background and lifestyle led him to the world of BDSM, and he excelled in all aspects. He is a man of intelligence, and he absorbed the lessons, learned even more, and still strives to grow. Jack knows what he wants, and at the moment his eye is on the prize. The revenge he has sought is at hand.
Jack demands a lot of truth in his life, and as a result has to be honest with himself. It forces him to recognize one fact: he is lonely. This never really bothered him before, but with this fleeting internet contact with Morgan, her questions stirring his libido, he has to wonder where this is leading. Revenge for certain, but a niggling in the back of his mind is annoying him. Grand-père is always harping on the family curse, about the men on his mother’s side of the family dreaming about the women who were meant to be their heart and soul mates. He has dismissed it as family legend, but his own dreams of a red-headed woman persist. Besides, this woman is definitely not a redhead. Sexy in the extreme, definitely. A means to an end, assuredly. A keeper? Nah, no way. Even if the visions haunting him were true, he has seen her photo, and she is not literally the woman of his dreams. The mystery woman is not real, and Jack realizes he must focus on the here and now, and put the nightmares and visions aside, shake of the lethargy, and tend to his business.
Hmmmm……What to say about this book. Dark, sexy, erotic, sensual, all of these are words that could describe Wicked Ties by Shayla Black, but they pale next to the truth. Wicked Ties is a thrill a minute. Petite, successful, and determined, Morgan O’Malley struggles with growing fame, dark fantasies, and a stalker. The show she hosts deals with sex and all its permutations. It is popular on the nighttime circuit, and the interviews she does are good, in depth, and informative. This has also been an eye-opening experience for her as well, because it has uncovered a dark part of her soul which she doesn’t want to acknowledge. Her mother ranted and raved, calling her depraved and abnormal, so did her former fiancé. With this in her past, she is most reluctant to take Master J up on his offer, a more intimate and hands-on look at his world. The conversation is interrupted by the waiter’s delivery, and the paleness blanching the colour from Morgan’s cheeks. Time comes to a screeching halt when the first shots ring out, and the alpha in Jack springs to the fore in protection mode. In that instant, he realizes one thing for certain. This is not your ordinary meeting.
From the first, Morgan is not what Jack Cole expected, and she continues to astound him. Many others would scream, faint dead away, but her response is flight, and live to fight another day. She is brave, and she has earned his respect, and now his protection. When Shayla Black sets up her hero, she really does it right, and she also gives him an equal, one who can match him stroke for stroke, mind for mind, and head to head. When Jack and Morgan butt heads, the sparks fly, the feeling are intense, and the erotically charged atmosphere is heavy with desire, arousal, need, and the ultimate emotion, LOVE. But before these two can reach an understanding, the air must be cleared, and both have secrets that threaten their joining. Wicked Ties is a sexual feast, a tasteful but erotic look into the world of Domination and submission. Strong, sexy, sensual, well written characters lead you through a world where sex is more than a passing fancy, where wicked fantasy thrives, and where a man or a woman can live their most intimate fantasies. It is a world where the loved one is protected, loved, cherished, and looked after in both body and mind. It is the world where Master J lives, learns, and wants Morgan at his side. Available from Berkley Heat in January 2007, Wicked Ties is not a book for the faint at heart. It is explicit in nature, but it is a wonderful read, and comes with my highest recommendations. A masterfully sensual work of eroticism and bondage, Wicked Ties is a book that I can’t wait to get in my hands, and has to be at the very top of your TBR stack!
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
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Check out Wicked Ties at Berkley, and read an excerpt