Rules of Seduction
Serve #7
By: Joya Ryan
Releasing June 9th, 2015
Entangled Brazen
Blurb
He'll be the dream and the dirty fantasy...
Through with both her controlling ex and relationships, Ava Webber is determined to explore the spicy and sometimes forbidden appetites of the exclusive BDSM nightclub, Serve. Here, she'll get exactly what she needs...as long as it's from a man she doesn't know.
Nolan Hart ensures that Serve's clients get what they want, how they want it. But with one look at the curvy brunette, Nolan knows he’s the man to fulfill her desires. As the anonymous lover, he's Ava’s dirtiest fantasy. Outside of Serve, he's her charming, smartass friend.
But Nolan wants more. More than Ava is willing to give. And as long as the blindfold stays on, she'll never discover that the two men she's falling for are one and the same...
“I want to be consumed. In any way he wants to take me. Because the minute I step out of the scene, it’s over and back to the real world.”
It suddenly hurt to breathe. That sounded right up his alley. She wanted to get lost, taken over, but not in the real world. There wasn’t a man alive besides himself he’d trust not to abuse that privilege.
Then an idea struck him:
Why not me?
She wanted what he’d happily give her. In this short time, he’d already gotten a good sense for her. He could read her body, expressions, and cues.
He could take things in whatever direction the moment led. It was a dangerous notion, but he didn’t trust anyone else to have her. He’d make sure she got what she wanted without someone going too far or hurting her.
And she was offering everything. With the only catch of not seeing the man she was with. That was her one hard limit, and he could give that to her. Because if there was one thing he understood, it was hard limits.
He’d spent years wrapped up in women, moving from each one to the next in a quest to feel…anything. And every time, he found the threat of the future—unpredictable, unknowable—too powerful to ignore. How could he protect anyone longer than one scene at a time?
So he’d resigned himself to doing just that. No relationships. No chance for love. But at least he could guarantee each woman’s safety by assuring she was paired with the perfect partner.
But to have someone put themselves in his hands—literally. To trust their fate to him for more than a single scene. It sounded better than good and was the one thing he’d yearned for but seen no way to experience. Anyone who wanted him for more than one scene wanted him for a relationship, and he couldn’t have that.
He hadn’t found “the one,” and he never would. His friends were being taken down one by one with emotional monogamy, but it wasn’t in the cards for him.
This woman, though? There was a tiny gleam of something broken behind her eyes. Something she was outrunning. He could relate. She called to him in a way he couldn’t ignore. She wanted a tightly controlled scene, and because the fantasy would never escape into the real world, he could fulfill her desires and know that as long as she was with him, he would keep her safe.
“You’d let him have you. However he wanted. So long as his identity remained secret?” He had to clarify this just one more time to be sure she knew what she was asking for. Because he couldn’t turn her away, but he couldn’t turn her over to another, either.
“Yes,” she said. “I’ll leave it to him, and to you, to read me.” Her green eyes met his. “I trust you to pair me with the man I need.”
He nodded. Ava Webber had just sealed her own fate, and maybe even his own.
“Tomorrow night,” he said. “You’ll have the man you want.”
My Review
Though this isn't the first book I've read by Joya Ryan (I loved Chasing Desire), this is the first I've read in the Serve series...so I didn't have any preset expectations. My overall thought? LOVED it! Tremendously hot and sexy with just enough personal issues thrown in to create friction and that bit of drama, Rules of Seduction totally hooked me from the start and I just couldn't put it down.
Ava is starting over, trying to break away from her past. She shows great strength of character, and even though this story is not very long we still get to see her character grow once she goes to Serve and meets Nolan. Her need to keep her sex life separate as a fantasy is understandable given the little we know about her past. Nolan-now he's one you want to steal away and keep for yourself. The consummate alpha male, he has an innate need to protect, and is straightforward, very open, and oh yes...when you look up the definition of "hot and sexy" there's bound to be a picture of him sitting there.
The banter between the two of them, both inside and outside of Serve, is fantastic-made even better by how openly Nolan talks about everything. As for the chemistry between them-both inside the club with Nolan being Ava's anonymous lover ("Myth") and outside as friends-it is off the charts, making for some very powerful scenes (especially the ones inside...holy hot and steamy!). It had me hoping (okay, almost begging) that Ava would be able to reconcile Nolan's two personas and move on from her past with him.
*mild spoiler* And okay, I know the two stories are not anything alike with the one exception of the male lead having a secret, anonymous persona, but toward the end when Ava starts to wonder and suspect that Nolan is Myth...it reminded me of the final scene in You've Got Mail when Meg Ryan finally finds out Tom Hanks is her mystery man, and she tells him "I wanted it to be you"...yeah, I'm a sucker for that... *end mild spoiler*
Another guilty pleasure read for me from Joya Ryan...and while I would have liked to see more character development to give both Ava and Nolan some more depth, this is still a 5-star read for me, and is being added to my top recommendations list. Recommended for 18+ due to adult language and some seriously blazing sexual scenes.
*I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
I am a mother and a wife. I love to read, write, bake, cook, barbecue, baste, flambe'...basically anything regarding food you can assume my involvement. I also have terrible dance moves and unleash them upon the general public often.
If you want to know more about me or the books I write, come check out my site! www.JoyaRyan.com
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