"Romantica 'Sex-slave" Love Story"

Pale blonde Belinda has a D/s (dominant/submissive) contract with a wealthy man named Amir Khan, known to her only as 'Sahib'. She is the sex slave, he gets to call the shots. The rules of engagement include anonymity of true names and lives, and no falling in love. She professes not to like the demeaning orders, but the whole scene really turns her on. So she stays. She questions and comes to grips with her desires for this D/s lifestyle. Amir is incredibly powerful in the business world, thinks constantly of her beauty, but he has somehow lost his 'Noukrami', his name for her when she is the sex slave. She has vowed to change her life and start over, away from him. 'Sahib' has searched for her for weeks to no avail; she disappeared just as he had fallen in love with her.

Fates conspire and they accidently meet in St. Louis. Belinda must struggle with her attraction to Amir, the power he holds over her, and her anger over her perceived lack of control. Amir is not one to be put off and, armed with the knowledge of her true identity, pursues her with the thought of never losing her again.

This has many elements of romance, since it is really a love story, and you know he loves her from the very start. The sex is not too kinky. There is a scene where a man sees them through the office window, but otherwise the encounters are passionate, smooth, and rich. The dominance was more along the line of a strong and confidant lead while dancing, although sometimes the orders seemed a bit childish.("Stand over there." "Please undress me here." "I didn't say you could speak!")

I must say it was an alluring experience to pretend for awhile, even having personally always considered the idea of D/s to be totally gross. How refreshing Amir's forcefulness seems here, a man who really knows what he wants and how to seduce it out of a woman. He is never mean to Belinda. Curiously, I never once wanted to lecture her on women's rights or remind her that the sisterhood was powerful. The worst of it was that I started to find Amir attractive (see last paragraph) when I was sure I would not!

Belinda has much to resolve, and to her credit, does. There was a great deal of thought surrounding the concept of power, sexual power, who had it and how it was/could be used, which took BECKON way above the Susan Johnson boink- fest style of writing.

WHAT'S GOOD: Lots of sex, lots of tension, lots of sex thoughts, angst, indecision. Lots of passionate love that neither can admit to out loud. Recommended for people who DO NOT like D/s scenarios, because this could change your attitude about it. It is not a story about plot, but a story about relationships and feelings.

WHAT'S BAD: Aside from the cover (frightening!) I wished the hero had a better name -- I worry that the Spanish translation of 'Sahib' is 'Seņor'. Too pat a HEA ending to an otherwise strong scenario.

Reviewed by Dana Dietrick
Posted March 19, 2002