"Three terrific BDSM erotica stories"

"Mastered" by Ann Jacobs

Rocky Delgado is a homicide detective and a Bruce Willis look-alike -- and a dominant who seeks a submissive to cherish as well as master. Sandra Giancone is a cool, self- controlled prosecutor, who secretly longs for the Master who moved away, a master who was somewhat abusive but still the most exciting lover she's ever had. The only hint that she's less than vanilla is her pierced tongue. When she loses an important case due to a police screw up, she agrees to have a drink with Rocky -- and this time, when he repeats his oft-suggested offer to help her relax in bed, she agrees. The quick way he takes control of her in the bedroom is the start of a steamy relationship. But can it last, when Rocky wants forever and Sandra isn't sure she can handle it 24/7 with a husband who's also her dominant?

Lots of volcanic sex scenes (the boat scenes nearly melted my Rocket reader), with believable characters who actually have lives outside the dungeon and the self doubts and flaws which plague all of us -- and a solid understanding of the psychology of dominant and submissive alike. Rocky is the kind of man every woman dreams of, an alpha male who can tender as well as tough. Sandra is someone we can identify with, a woman who is superbly capable at her job, able to handle blue collar cops without breaking a sweat, yet who longs to be dominated in the bedroom. SHE is the real thing, the sort of submissive woman I can identify. O is fantasy. Sandra is real.

"A Choice of Masters" By Joey Hill

Sir Thomas is a knight who seeks to rescue a legendary Lady Lilith from the mage who has made her his sex slave. In order to do so, he has become a sexual dominant, having been trained by followers of the Old Religion who are masters of sweet magic. Lilith is bound to crave sex from any man's hand or cock, but she is never permitted to achieve her own satisfaction from the act. She can only be set free by a spell which incorporates sex magick, elemental magick -- and her own free choice of masters. Can Thomas, knighted as a boy at the hands of King Arthur at the last battle of his reign, persuade her that she is worthy of salvation and love? Can Lilith find it within herself to choose love over degradation, freedom over guilt?

This isn't a typical bdsm story at all. It is, instead, a fragile fantasy with bdsm scenes that are highly erotic and utterly part of the plot -- without them, there is no story. Thomas is hardly the "typical" dominant of porn -- he craves to liberate a woman, and by enslaving her, set her free. Broken, tormented Lilith must find within herself the belief that she is worthy of his efforts and choose him. Even the villain isn't a cliche, but a good man who has made himself a slave to his need for vengeance, and is thus as much enslaved as his captive. Hill's style is lyrical and sensual, and she display her usual command of magic and sexuality, mysticism and D/s. A beautiful story that will linger in you mind long after you finish the last page.

"Death Row: The Mastering" by Jaid Black

When Nicoletta is bought as a slave wife by a gorgeous young Arab man, she counts herself lucky. In a future world where woman are bred for beauty and become the chattel of whoever purchases them at auction, she finds a co-wife who becomes a friend and a husband she adores. But even then, in the back of her mind, is the hope of freedom on the perhaps mythical woman-run planet of Kalast. But her husband Abdul changes, becoming a cruel and monstrous stranger as the result of biological experiments by the ruling all-male Hierarchy to which he belongs and she is forced to flee into the wilderness where she is captured by reptilian beast men who use her as the lowest sex slave. Yet despite her anger at her husband, part of her still longs for him. And in this most abject of positions she learns the truth -- about herself, about Abdul, about the Hierarchy's experiments -- in this futuristic take on Beauty and the Beast.

I'll be completely honest. I didn't expect to like this story because I'm not a big fan of capture/forced sex stories and because I hadn't liked the two previous tales I read by Jaid Black. This story changed my mind. Although it is a bit choppy and moves back and forth in time, making it sometimes difficult to follow, it is well worth the effort because it is an ultimately gentle hymn to the eternal nature of love and its ability to heal old wounds. I'll definitely try others stories by Black now.

WARNING: There is a scene of rape in the Jaid Black story, involving a human woman and an alien, and the heroine is a slave wife (non-consensual slavery). The language is frank and four-letter at times, so don't expect to read about "throbbing man roots".

I highly recommend this excellent collection of stories, all of which are sensual, enjoyable and moving.

Reality Check: In "Mastered", the heroine is grateful the hero didn't command her to wear nipple clamps all day. She should be. Every book and article I've read and every experienced Dom I've talked to recommends NOT leaving on nipple clamps longer than 15 minutes, because they compress tissue and cut off blood supply to the tissues. Nipple jewels or nooses or nipple shields can be left on longer. But real clamps -- standard tweezer, square, alligator or even the homely clothespin -- should not. I highly recommend that those who want to try bdsm in Real Life take the time to read nonfiction on the subject and learn what is safe and what is not.

SENSUALITY RATING: VERY hot, with bondage, sex toys, and other kinky sorts of sex.

Reviewed by Gillian Fitzgerald
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted May 19, 2004

Summary

Death Row: The Mastering by Jaid Black
August 8, 2250 AD: Abdul Kan is dead. After enduring twenty- five years of a forced polygamous marriage, Nicoletta Kan is free to leave the harem bed and make her own choices.

But someone is watching Nica, someone is hunting her like prey. Someone Nicoletta had never thought to see again in her most terrifying nightmare...or her most fevered fantasy.

Choice of Masters by Joey W. Hill
Thomas has led his life according to the tenets of chivalry laid out by King Arthur. Now his deepest desires and his unshakable honor have joined in single purpose. His soulmate, Lilith, whom he has met only in dreams, is bespelled by a wizard. For five years she has been forced to exist as Lord Zorac's prisoner in a state of high arousal, unable to gain fulfillment.

To free her from her torment, Thomas must perform the sensual Rite of Awakening and convince Lilith to accept his word and hand as that of her true Master. But Lilith's punishment is more than the capricious act of an evil wizard and all is not as it seems...

Mastered by Ann Jacobs (Lawyers in Love #3)
Ice Princess. That's what her ex-lover called prosecutor Sandra Giancone. But she can't help it that his plain vanilla lovemaking left her cold. She needs a man who can see past her carefully regulated exterior. A man who can strip away her control and release her desire.

Her best friend, chief of detectives Rocky Delgado, has been carrying a torch for her for years. But he never imagined that good girl Sandy might be the submissive of his wildest dreams. When an unexpected discovery tips Rocky off to Sandy's secret, Rocky uses tender force to prove she can be both loved and Mastered.

Sexual Content: E-rotic. Genre: BDSM.