I won a date with a billionaire. He promised me three things:A crash course in BDSM,A toe curling night,And then he’d show me the door. End of story. Or is it?StephanieMaybe I was crazy for agreeing, but for once, I just wanted to feel something. Anything. I’ve spent my life running away from men who get too close. Call it a combination of emotional baggage and a fear of commitment. Either way, … emotional baggage and a fear of commitment. Either way, I’m a virgin who gets to have the night of my life with a billionaire dom. It’s a dream come true, right?
If only.
I thought I could just forget it all when it was over. I’d throw it in with all the other crap in my past and move on. Except the dom isn’t ready to move on.
Tristan
I had one rule: no attachments. One simple rule, and then she happened. Stephanie Holland. The one who decided to dump a big, flaming pile of complicated on my life and then disappear.
I shouldn’t be surprised she ran off. I practically kicked her out the door, didn’t I? Old habits die hard, I guess, but this time I haven’t been able to get her off my mind. Month after month and it just gets worse.
Maybe I could break the rule just once. Hell, I don’t even need to break it. I’ll just give it a little bend for her and then she’ll be off my mind.
One way or another, I’m going to wrap my tie around her perfect little wrists again. The only question is whether I’ll have it in me to show her the door again.
As always, this is a totally SAFE, full length book with a happily ever after, no cheating, and plenty of steam.
A free copy of my books, His: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance, and Mine: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance are included with The Dom’s Bride. The Dom’s Bride is approximately 48,000 words and ends at about 27%.
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I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
The phone call that once again denies her of the one thing she wants most in this world just happened. Tonight she is to attend an auction, but her heart just really isn’t into it. Stephanie decides it best to sit in the back and away from people. Things seemed to be fine until HE sat down next to her. Out of all the available seats, why did he have to choose this one. Then as the bachelors who are to be bid on are called to come to the stage, this stranger hands something to Stephanie and gives her specific instructions. Okay, a bit pushy and arrogant. As the bidding happens, Stephanie sees this strangers reaction to the only other person bidding, she has to help.
Being on of the bachelors to be bid on for a date for this auction was his way in basically, and his way out of the claws of someone he doesn’t want bothering him anymore. He spots a woman sitting alone and away from all the others, and something stikes Tristan hard and instantly. He sits next to her and takes in what she is up to and her reaction….perfect. He hands her something and gives her instructions, then Tristan makes her a promise. A promise that he intends to keep.
Tristan’s instructions were followed just like he told her to, and now he is going to keep his promise. There is something different about Stephanie and Tristan is fully aware of that. Starting to realize that he can read her is just another thing he recognizes that is different. Stephanie is very inexperienced in all of this, she is still a virgin, but the feelings she seems to get around Tristan is not to be ignored. They end up getting extremely “fulfilled” on their date night. Tristan has a dark side to him, and Stephanie fills his need. Just like that he asks her to leave. No thank you, no emotions, just empty all but angry words of get out.
Four months later, Tristan is going to face his troubled past, aka his father. When he gets there the scene is what he expects. Only the reason for his dark side and the images that haunt him all the time is not the woman passed out next to his father, no this is a new one. A sudden movement and person emerges as well, this person is about 4 years old. Already aware of the situation, Tristan asks a couple of questions, and then sees something he recognizes. That is all he can take, he proceeds to do something very unlike himself, and yet something selfless. Tristan and Cole (the 4 year old) end up at Stephanie’s office.
Once there Tristan will deal with no one but Stephanie. She is, to say the least, baffled at his sudden reappearance and bossy arrogance. Once she asks about Cole, and answers are given, it is all Stephanie can do to not pose the idea of him pretending to be together with her so she has the upper hand in the permanent solution for Cole, and her for that matter. Agreements made, and put into place. Stephanie and Tristan become more than acquaintances now, she is a roommate. Only Tristan and Stephanie know that this situation may lead to a slippery and at the end painful relationship, however they both put those feelings aside for Cole’s sake.
A visit in a cafe with his father sets Tristan in a little drama, a surprise visit from a social worker who announces what happened, when no one else would know. The secret of how the social worker finds out of an “concerned person tip” leads to Tristan finally coming clean with Stephanie about what happened and why Cole is with him now. Tristan is asking for “dates” with Stephanie, and they indulge each other. The tip source is confronted, the truth of about why Stephanie wants Cole in her life so bad is told, and things keep progressing between these two.
On one date night, something different and special happens and then something gets said, catching both off guard, but both state it and show it towards each other. A court date, an awarding of the one thing so precious to both Tristan and Stephanie happen. Seeds of doubt fill Stephanie’s mind, due to things said at the beginning of this bargain. A surprise change of how their future ends up going also happens. Fast forward into their happy ever after and another surprise is given, and this time Stephanie is the one able to grant the surprise that helps advance their happy ending.
Penelope did a great job with this book. I loved the characters and their pasts. I was hooked on Tristan and Stephanie from the beginning. My only complaint was that I wish it was longer because I felt there was so much more story to tell. But it was a phenomenal read any way.