Re-released in a second edition with new scenes. Julian Lodge has everything a man could want. He’s rich, successful and owns the most exclusive club in Dallas. But something is missing. Finn Taylor has worked his way up in the world from humble beginnings in Willow Fork, Texas. The only thing he still loves in his hometown is Danielle Bay. He never told her he was actually bisexual, and he never confessed his love for her. Now she’s getting married, and Finn is sure he’s lost his chance with the only person he’ll ever love. Julian’s vacation to the Barnes-Fleetwood ranch brings them all together. After Dani jumps into Julian’s car while fleeing her wedding, Julian knows he has to have her. But nothing is easy in Willow Fork. A danger from Julian’s past threatens them all. Julian will have to convince both Dani and Finn that being his will be the best decision they ever made.
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EXCERPT:
“What on earth is that look for?” Julian stared down at her, his lips pulled up in obvious amusement. Finn leaned over so he could be heard over the loud music. “I think Dani is enjoying her role as town harlot.” Julian frowned. “Harlot? Why would she be a harlot?” Dani and Finn laughed together. For the first time, they completely understood something Julian didn’t. “This is a small town, Sir,” Finn explained. “All anyone is going to talk about tomorrow is the fact that Dani Bay snuck up the stairs at The Barn with two guys. Trust me, she is going to be called all kinds of names. Mostly to her back, though.” She shrugged. It was to be expected. At least no one would be feeling sorry for her. Julian’s face went dark, and his fingers tightened around hers. “They had better not say anything where I can hear it.” He relaxed and nodded down at her. “I’m going to speak with Jackson, dear. You and Finn stay together. We’ll be leaving shortly. We’ll retrieve Finn’s things and go back out to the ranch.” He turned and walked off, supremely confident that his orders would be met. He turned back suddenly. “And stay out of trouble.” Dani grinned. He didn’t look so confident that she would follow that edict. He walked away. She watched his gorgeous ass as it disappeared into the crowd. When she turned, she noticed that Finn was watching, too. “I’m sorry.” Finn pulled back slightly, his hand coming out of hers. That look was back in his eyes. “Are you going to be an asshole?” she asked. “What?” “I thought we worked through this, but it looks like you’re going to be an asshole.” She wasn’t putting up with it. Maybe she would have before but being with them had changed her. Being with Julian and Finn together seemed to have altered something fundamental in Dani. It had been beautiful. She’d never felt as deeply as she did when they were kissing her, loving her. There had been that terrible moment when she was sure Julian was leaving, but he’d stayed. He had to care about her. He cared, and Finn cared. She wasn’t going to let anyone take that away from her or make her feel ashamed. That was hers. Finn stared almost blankly and then shook his head. “I’m sorry. I spent so long trying to hide this from you.” “Hide what? That I knew you were gay? I was well aware of that. Why did you get upset because I caught you drooling over Julian’s ass?” His eyes slid down. “Damn it, Dani. This is why I stayed away. I knew it should be only the two of us, but I wasn’t sure I could do it. I’m not sure I can stay away from men.” Julian was shaking his head at Jack, who seemed to be teasing him something fierce. Dani stared at him for a moment. She noticed she wasn’t the only one. All around her, other women had their eyes on the hot new guy. They could look, but Julian was hers. He might not know it, but she planned on keeping him. And Finn. As soon as they ironed out a few things. “And it never occurred to you to say, hey, Dani, here’s the problem. Let’s see if we can solve it? No, you decide to keep your mouth shut and almost let me marry someone I didn’t love because you didn’t want to admit you’re bi.” “Damn it, I didn’t want to lose you. I love you, Danielle. You’re the only thing in my life that’s permanent. I would rather keep you in my life than lose you because I can’t be normal. It should be two people. A marriage should be two people.” Oh, yes, she had to fix his way of thinking. “Says who? The old biddies at church? Screw them. Why does everything have to be one way? What we did up there didn’t hurt anyone. It isn’t anyone’s business but ours. I love you, Finn, but I think I’m falling for Julian, too. Can you handle that?” “I can certainly try, baby. I was willing to love you from afar. I prefer loving you up close.”
REVIEW:
3.5 stars
***
This book was a pretty good addition to this sexy, fun series! This is an MMF romance between Julian, Finn and Dani/Danielle. Julian Lodge is a bisexual, BDSM club owner and dom. He has recently let his sub go and feels at loose ends so he goes down to visit some friends (Jack from earlier books in this series) in their small Texas town to regroup. Finn and Dani have been best friends since they were kids. Finn has always been out as gay. Now he is living in the city and Dani is left in their small hometown. She is getting married to a jerky guy from their town. Finn comes down to her wedding. He plans to tell her that he is really bisexual and he doesn't want her to get married, and that he is in love with her and wants to be together. But before he can object at her wedding, Dani turns runaway bride and runs out of the church. She happens upon a man driving a car and jumps in to get away. The car belongs to Julian and he wants to help the upset bride so he takes her with him to his friends' home. They quickly begin a D/s sexual relationship, and when Finn shows up and professes his love to Dani, he joins in the group as a second sub. The group has a good bit of drama, trying to work out how their relationship will be, if it can last, and also trouble with Dani's mean sister and someone from Julian's past with evil intentions, but it all works out in the end.
The story was very good and interesting. The writing was great, as always with Ms. Blake's work.
I did like Julian, Finn and Dani. Julian was very closed off with Finn and Dani throughout the whole book. He had to learn to love and let them in. I had a hard time feeling the love between him and the other characters because he never let his guard down or acted like a normal person. He was in full, strict dom mode all the time. I had a hard time understanding how Dani and Finn could love him when he was so closed off. I believed Dani's love for Julian, even if I didn't understand why, but it took me awhile to feel the love from Julian to either of them or from Finn to Julian. I did feel Finn's love for Dani, and vice versa, but I didn't feel a lot of chemistry between them. They had a very "buddy", BFF vibe. Finn was supposed to top Dani in the relationship, but he seemed too weak to be above her in the relationship chain. There was not enough happy times shown between the three of them. Also, there was so much focus on Julian's character, that I didn't feel like I knew much about Finn's character. I just didn't love the way the characters' relationships developed and didn't feel like they were a cohesive menage trio until the end. I did feel like most of the wrongs in the relationship were righted by the end and I did feel them finally come all together. I just wanted that to come a little sooner for me to enjoy the book more.
Overall, though, I did enjoy this book for the interesting, enjoyable, engrossing story and the very good writing. The characters were complex with lots of depth. I was happy with where Finn, Dani and Julian ended up and felt secure in their HEA. I look forward to more from this fun, sexy series and Ms. Blake!
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.
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