"A scorchingly hot exploration of bdsm—not for the faint of heart"

Lindsay and Shana were best friends in high school, and Shana has always protected Lindsay when she could, though she wasn't able to prevent her rape at the hands of her mother's boyfriend. She was there to support Lindsay and even testified against Lindsay's molester in court These days, Lindsay runs a freelance landscape pond design business, while Shana, a track star in high school, is a supermodel who is pitching a line of girls' running shoes to an athletic shoe company. But business can't compete with her fear, when she stumbles across pictures of a bound Lindsay being erotically tortured on a website called Scarlet Cavern. Shana discovers the site while exploring her own kinky fantasies — but she is sure that Lindsay isn't being whipped of her own free will, because being in control is vital to Lindsay after her experiences. Shana's already attempted to join Scarlet Cavern, but a recommendation from a current member is required. She is forced to turn to Recovery for help in freeing her best friend.

Ranger and Galen of Recovery check her out thoroughly enough to know she isn't trying to bring Scarlet Cavern down because she has a grudge against one of its members, who are rich and powerful. They agree to take her case — but Galen is unsure about assigning the gorgeous and very macho Ranger to the case because of his connections to the Cavern, but agrees to let him do it despite his misgivings. Part of the deal is that Shana agrees to turn herself over to Ranger completely and to obey him without question, though she can choose to walk away at any time. Of course, she has no idea that it means being gagged and bound and tossed into the backseat of her own car and carried away to an unknown destination. Ranger explains to her that the only way she will be able to penetrate the Cavern is if she can convince them she's a willing submissive who wants to test her limits there — and that means she must truly understand submission, by becoming one. He will spend the next few days training her, a crash course in bdsm.

Will Shana break under Ranger's skilled hands? What hard truths will he make her face? Will Ranger drift into the dark side he thought he left behind? Will they rescue Lindsay?

Shana's descent into the deepest sexual submission is a fascinating journey. She's a strong, intelligent, spirited woman who has recognized her own fascination with kinky sex, but who isn't willing to face the fact that it arouses her the way vanilla sex never could — until Ranger forces her to accept that part of herself. Her surrender is hard- won, and her reactions to the various sorts of sexual torture and to Ranger's continual demands that she go one step deeper are psychologically believable, though very intense, as she fights her way through anger and fear to submission that is unbearably sweet and sexual pleasure she never dreamed she'd experience. Ranger himself, a natural Dom who fled the lifestyle after a girl accidentally died at the Cavern, is equally complex, a man who needs to control a woman but who hates that part of himself. Together, this unlikely duo find salvation in mutual surrender.

This is a very dark book, and it treads the thin line between consent and non-consent. While Shana gives Ranger an overall consent, she really has no idea what he has in mind, or what activities will be explored — in a sense, it is consensual non-consent, so if you like your kink sweet and gentle, this is the wrong book for you. As Ranger says "We're walking a fine line between consent and coercion." Naked and chained, Shana is utterly at his mercy — though she knows that a word will set her free. This is edge play of the scariest kind, scary and almost non-consensual, but Shana never uses the word that will free her instantly. The sex scenes are hot enough to melt your hard drive, and they not pretty or gentle at all. In fact they are the kind of play that experts recommend you do only if you're prepared to deal with a sobbing submissive, because rape/capture fantasies can trigger unexpected responses. So while I don't recommend doing this at home unless you're very experienced at bdsm, I can recommend this as a hot read with believable characters, strong writing, and some home truths about submission and submissives. This is a raw and gritty book, painful at times to read, but worth the investment of time and emotions, and it does have a happy ending to keep you reading, because you really want to see these two get it together.

REALITY CHECK: The only issue I have is the idea that Lindsay's submissive needs are perhaps linked to her earlier abuse. Some psychologists have theorized this, but the few hard studies that have been done, while not necessarily using representative samples, indicate that submissives (male or female) were abused or raped in approximately the same percentage as in society as a whole. The experienced people I've talked to in the bdsm lifestyle — with one exception — about this issue of abuse have also told me that in their experience, people who've been abused tend to prefer the Dominant role because it allows them to be in control (although in reality the submissive controls because s/he can end a scene merely by using a safeword). The scanty research backs up their anecdotal evidence. Certainly, some submissives have suffered childhood abuse, but they are a minority. Just wanted to clear that up.

Sensuality Rating: Very kinky sex, including bondage, sex toys, anal play, whipping, chains and a threesome---Triple X rated and very dark.

Reviewed by Gillian Fitzgerald for Sensual Romance.

Reviewed by Gillian Fitzgerald
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted December 30, 2004

Summary

When she spotted a video on the Internet of her best friend being sexually abused, model and businesswoman Shana Galliher contacted Recovery Inc. to help her rescue Lindsay from a place called Scarlet Cavern. From the moment she spotted her operative Ranger, she saw a man as seductive and dangerous as a burning candle or a blazing structure. If she'd ever met a more nakedly sexual creature, she couldn't remember. Watch it, Shana, she told herself. You don't know him, and you sure as hell can't trust him. What she couldn't possibly comprehend was Ranger's connection to Scarlet Cavern, and he wasn't about to tell her. Instead, he focused on introducing her to that dark, dangerous and seductive world in a way she'd never forget, and maybe never recover from. At first Ranger is very hesitant to introduce Shana into the lifestyle maintained by the owners of Scarlet Cavern. Her determination to save her friend makes him realize she will find a way into the bowels of hell with or without him. Finally, knowing he has no choice, Ranger agrees—but on his conditions. Shana must undergo training in the dark world of bondage and underground movies. She must learn to lean on Ranger, to become, in essence, his sex slave. What she doesn't anticipate is her growing attraction to Ranger and his growing need to have her in his life. The training is intense, sometimes painful, but extremely arousing. And it is only the beginning.