"Sensual and compassionate exploration of love with physically handicapped man."

Eight years ago, prosecutor Andi Young had a wild weekend with sexy Dominant Gray Syzmanski, a studly DEA agent, who then left on a secret mission to South America. Two weeks later, Andi found herself pregnant with Gray's son -- and tried desperately to contact him, only to be rejected by his wealthy mother and to get the tragic news that Gray had died on the mission. She gave birth to his son, Brett, and has concentrated on rising through the ranks in the Tampa prosecutor's office and being a single Mom. Gray has ruined her for other men.

And then Andi learns that Gray is not dead -- he was a prisoner and he and others finally managed to escape. He's back in town and working as a criminal defense lawyer, but the years of imprisonment have taken their toll, leaving him badly scarred and barely able to walk with braces. She decides to tell him about their son, and Gray is amazed. Andi is determined to rebuild their relationship and prove to Gray that he is still a Dominant and the only man she wants, but Gray has strong doubts. Can he satisfy a woman who needs to be ravished when he has so many physical limitations? Sure he can get it up, but she has to be the one who's on top -- and he doubts that will be enough for her. It's up to Andi to convince him that Dominance is in the mind, not the legs.

Jacobs has a talent for creating richly developed characters whose flaws only make them more appealing. Feisty Andi is a woman with a huge heart and a stubborn streak who's never forgotten the one man who lit her fire in a way no other man can. Gray has utterly believable doubts about his capacity to give her the lusty sex and protective dominance Andi craves, yet he never becomes whiny or weak. Instead he's a strong man trapped by god- awful circumstances, his face maimed by scars, unable to drive at night because he lost an eye, afraid that the surgery which will end his pain will leave him completely paralyzed and impotent. He worries that he can't be a real father to an active little boy (who is one of the more likable and realistic children I've come across in a romance, and who is wisely kept off screen most of the time) or a real husband to this woman whose memory kept him alive during the eight horrible years he was imprisoned.

There's unflinching honesty in the stark depictions of Gray's physical handicaps, and Jacobs doesn't downplay the difficulties the couple face -- that alone would make this book stand out. The sex scenes are raw and painful and scorchingly sensual, as these two find their way around physical limitations. I fell in love with Gray because he proves so well that dominance is a mental trait, not a physical one. He reminded me of another wounded dominant hero who captured my heart when I was 11 -- Jane Eyre's sardonic Mr. Rochester. Like Rochester, this hero is one of a kind, and his lady is more than a match for him. There aren't many romances which handle a theme like this well, and very few writers would even attempt it. Jacobs not only attempts it, she succeeds gloriously in weaving an unforgettable love story that manages to be both unfailingly honest and wildly sexy at the same time.

Sensuality Rating: very hot monogamous kinky sex, including oral, anal, and use of sex toys; frank discussions of sexual limitations due to physical disabilities.

Reviewed by Gillian Fitzgerald
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted May 31, 2004

Summary

One hot weekend eight years ago was all they had before Gray was captured on assignment and presumed dead. Andi moved on, made a good life for herself and their son...until Gray returned, a battered warrior but still the powerful dominant who'd spoiled her for other lovers.

Gray wants Andi desperately, but he dares not love her until she teaches him it's his mind and heart—not a perfect body—that makes him her perfect mate.

Sexual Content: NC-17. Genre: BDSM.