Two unlikely people meet under erotic mystery circumstances. Both have something to lose in order to win. But is the cost too high? Lucas and Ava live two very different lives and are seemingly opposite in just about everything. They can be one another's greatest support or biggest regret. Only time will tell which it will be.
Lucas is a dark man with dark tastes. Ava is light, sweet, and direct. On paper she could never fulfill all Lucas' darker needs but he's incredibly drawn to her and as the competition progresses he is more determined than ever to mold her into what he needs.
Ava, on the other hand, is determined to show him another reality. She is intensely attracted to Lucas and even his darkness isn't a complete turn-off. She grows more and more fond of him and is opening her mind and body to types of pleasure that she never thought she'd enjoy before. Lucas helps her discover parts of her sexuality that would have been ignored and overlooked forever and while she's grateful for that, she's also so very afraid of what that means for her identity. Knowing herself and fighting for her voice all her life has led her to this point, what will happen if the 'Ava' she's always known changes?
As they work together to win the competition secrets are revealed, desires are altered, and decisions must be made. When everything comes to a head no one is sure of what the future will look like and who will remain standing.
I liked the end and where they all ended up. The majority of the story made me uncomfortable, though, but not because of the BDSM or anything, it was more a sense of frustrated discomfort because of Lucas' expectations. He expected Ava to conform and even when he admired or acknowledged her lack of a proper submissive attitude he still reverted back to what was most important for him rather than them or even her. I get that he needed time to come to terms with it all but it lasted for pretty much the entire story.
Ava stood up for herself and did her best to open Lucas' mind to pleasure and intimacy in different ways and I liked her strength, logic, and reason. She was compassionate and kind and self-assured. In almost every way she is Lucas' complement. With her brightness and heart she had the potential to balance Lucas' desires and motivations. Uncle Harv and Mason could see that so it was just up to Lucas to open his eyes to what he could have.
My biggest frustrations are these. First is the lack of Lucas' POV for his reconciliation of thought. Who he was before and who he chose to become after things went down with Uncle Harv was where the focus should have been. It was fine to read about Ava's time between the competition and resolution but what should have preceded that was Lucas' mind. The whole story is about his emotional and sexual perspective, his need for change. He had the most to reconcile and come to terms with but that whole evolution was missing. A few lines of explanation to Ava isn't going to cut it for me.
Second, when Lucas comes to Ava with the box during the reconciliation part it frustrated me because when he should have said, "I don't need this but I want this. Please share this with me," he instead came out with a rather lackluster confession and apology and then jumped straight into the Dommy attitude that didn't work for Ava before. And Ava gave in!! Not that she shouldn't have, but there was no thought other than she missed him and loved him and so therefore all the things that were wrong before are suddenly not an issue. "I didn't trust you before and now that we've had time apart and I've missed you I suddenly trust you to hurt me without hurting me." Nope. Not buying it. I just didn't like that part and thought it was an ineffective way to blend their two sexual penchants together.
So overall the story was pretty good. When the feels were there they were very much there, but when ego, pride, pasts, and rigidity took the fore then it dwarfed the feels so much that I was left feeling uncomfortable. The end was pretty solid but a little rushed until we get to the bathroom scene. That was really one of my favorite parts so that was a really great way to end the story. With that moment I was almost willing to forgive the things I felt were truly lacking. Almost, not quite, but almost.
The 2.5 stars above will be rounded up on review sites but I feel so ambivalent about the story. One minute I'm reminiscing about the hot scenes and the ridiculously cute bathroom moment at the end and the next I'm stuck with not-so-great feelings about Lucas through almost every other moment. And there you have it, I'm sure a lot of people will love this story because it's well written and the MC's are pretty likable. My issues are just a little harder to get over for me, I suppose.
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