Loving the Master (The Manse #2)

Title: Loving the Master
Author: Lynn Kelling
Publisher: Fantastic Fiction Publishing
Release Date: February 9, 2016
Genre(s): BDSM/Contemporary
Page Count: 322
Reviewed by: Vallie
Heat Level: 5 flames out of 5
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Blurb:

A full-length prequel to Bound by Lies.

Billionaire Dominant David Davenport needs a break from the loveless isolation imposed by wealth, responsibility, and the stress of running the Manse, his private gay club. While at lunch with an old friend, David finds himself enchanted by the charming and submissive nature of Shea Whittier, their young waiter. David offers to help the young man out with his personal troubles, never suspecting the danger he’s putting them both in.

Oh, Lynn Kelling, you’ve done it yet again! I absolutely loved this book!

The book plays on the billionaire Dom trope. David has money, a security details (more on that later), and a BDSM club on the ground floor of his mansion. He meets shy 18 year-old Shea and is completely enamoured by him. David wants to wrap Shea in a bubble and keep him safe from the world. And guess what? He sort of has to as Shea seems to be leading a pretty horrible life –the poor kid is victimised in every corner! So Shea moves into the macmansion, completely isolated from the world and under the protection of David.

But, there’s a twist. David’s evil dad –truly, a psychopath –sends his goons to interrogate Shea about his intentions. Shea gets horribly injured in the process. Those scenes were pretty brutal to read, I admit. But the hurt/comfort, dear lord! There’s a medical suite and 24/7 care for Shea. I loved how dramatic it all was. Shea is very needy and craves someone to lean on who’ll take care of him. I just have a weak spot for needy characters, let’s just put that out there. The co-dependency hit all of my buttons here!

Also, Shea is a virgin (double whammy!) and even though David is the big bad Dom, he is so freaking sweet with Shea, it’s unreal. Who would have thought their first time would be so freaking tender? David eased Shea into the lifestyle and took great care to ensure that nothing is overwhelming.

My favourite thing was the humour though, bar none. Every time I started getting to the eye-roll stage when David was talking his master/slave stuff, Shea would ask a question and bring everything back down to reality. A newbie would surely ask these types of questions, would laugh at certain things, would make fun. And Shea did! None of the wide-eyed ignorance-I’m-following-you-blindly shit. The kid was 18 but had a good head on his shoulders. He might have wanted a keeper, but he wasn’t helpless. And I loved that David and Shea held on to their D/s dynamic during sex but then veered straight into normal relationship status right after. Amazing!

A couple of things that bothered me: They never had any privacy, and I mean, NEVER. That damn security team was hovering by the door even when they were having sex. I thought that was completely over the top. Shea struggled to get used to it and so did I. Also, David was involved in other BDSM scenes while Shea was recuperating in the beginning of the book. He never made direct contact with the other sub, but he got off on it, and that put me off. David and Shea were open later on in the book and indulged in voyeurism, but until they were both present and consciously joining in those activities, it felt like cheating to see David alone in those scenes.

The drama with the “villains” was OTT as well, especially the way it ended. But who cares about that when the main parts of the book were so goddamn good. Emotional, needy, BDSM is badass and the author pulled it off masterfully.

Highly recommend!