These are in the ranks of my least favourite couples in the M&M world. They are more than 10 years apart in age, and what they have in common is an interest in the law and BDSM. I genuinely don't see these two as long term partners... I feel like if they didn't have a long term link, this relationship would have flamed and died. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Sexy novella that introduces two characters who have some major issues to overcome and a lot of growing up to do.

Opening Sentence: Mitchell Bradford stared down at the phone and wondered if he could somehow manage to reach through it and strangle the man on the other end of the line.

The Review:

Adored is a sexy novella set in the Masters and Mercenaries world by Lexi Blake. This is a world where mercenaries spend their free time participating in the BDSM culture, a few even own businesses that help support it. The two main characters in this novella are only participants of the BDSM culture. They do refer to the mercenaries as the story goes along. Adored is also a part of the 1001 Dark Nights series. This series is a collection of naughty, steamy tales that Scheherazade tells her King in order to prolong her life. I have enjoyed this series as it has introduced me to any authors I may not have normally read.

Mitchell Bradford is a high priced lawyer who mainly deals with corporations. Laurel Daley is his assistant who helps him keep his practice and health in check. Laurel is Mitchell’s best friends’ sister. He gave her a job after she left school at her brother’s request. He never expected her to be so attractive or so good at her job. Mitchell doesn’t want to compromise his friendship with Will if he sleeps with Laurel so he fights off the attraction. Laurel doesn’t make it easy on Mitchell. She wants him to give in. She even joins Sanctum, the BDSM club that Mitchell belongs too in hopes that he will become her Master. Then one night the pull of the attraction is too much. Laurel’s life is threatened and they give in to the passion they have been fighting.

Mitchell is a broken man. He doesn’t believe in relationships anymore and he believes Laurel deserves better than him. Mitchell is a complicated character. He is hard, then he is loving. He alternates back and forth with his feelings towards Laurel. His relationships have always ended badly so he believes that Laurel will turn on him too, it’s only a matter of how fast she will hurt him. I felt bad for Mitchell but I had problems with him giving Laurel the appearance of freedom but secretly hiring a bodyguard to follow her around. Mitchell’s life is the one that is threatened but Laurel is bearing the brunt of the fallout.

Laurel didn’t have the best of upbringings either but she always had her brother and sisters by her side. Mitchell has also help Laurel through some schooling that she otherwise wouldn’t have had without his help. She owes him a lot. Laurel is one of those characters that believes that she can “fix him” and help him get over some of the issues he has. Although, she does contemplate giving up and that he can’t “be fixed”. She also tries to make him jealous quite often. One of them is by joining the BDSM club Sanctum.

Adored is really hard for me to classify because it is one of those life lesson stories and the couple has to decide whether they can make it together or separate. This novella worked for the couple, speeding up the events and the time they spent together. I’m not sure I could have taken Mitchell’s possessiveness much more than that. The novella does go between Mitchell’s and Laurel’s perspectives, letting us know why they make the decisions they make.

I really enjoyed different aspects of this story. The beginning really did hook me in. Although, I do think some events happened predictably, there were still some surprises. I really enjoyed the supporting characters, one character in particular whose story I would like to see. Because of these wonderful side characters who filled a lot of this story, I do want to go back and learn more about them. This novella even foreshadowed a future event that really hooked me.

Notable Scene:

“Come on, baby.” He started to help her to the stairs.

“This is the main stage.”

“Yes, and this is a teaching scene. The new Doms are all expected to attend. We wouldn’t want to be late, would we?”

There were a lot of people and they were about to watch Mitch tie her up. What was she doing? She was pregnant. She was going to be a mom. She shouldn’t be out here.

“Laurel?”

She realized she was standing there and everyone was watching them. Mitch was going to be angry. He’d planned this whole scene and he wouldn’t like her messing it up.

“Laurel?” He stepped back down and stared at her for a moment. His eyes were cold and she felt frozen in place.

He was going to give her an ultimatum now. It was what he did. It was how they seemed to work, or rather how he worked. She’d figured out that she had to adapt to him if she wanted to be with him.

Maybe that wasn’t the best way to live.

He stepped up close and she waited for him to tell her to get on the stage or accept whatever punishment he was going to give her, and then she would have to make a choice. God, the moment was here and she wasn’t ready for it. She wasn’t ready to leave him, but she also wasn’t sure she wanted to go on that stage.

His hands sank into her hair, but instead of tugging on it and forcing her to look at him, he pulled her close and settled her against his chest. “Baby, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Shhh. If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. We can spend the rest of the evening watching scenes and then go down and have a nice dinner. It’s going to be alright.”

FTC Advisory: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated provided me with a copy of Adored. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )