Lucia Roa needs a miracle to keep her fledgling event planning business from going under. When she gets word about the opportunity of a lifetime to do a Valentine’s Day party for an elite club in Washington D.C. she jumps at the chance, only finding out that the party isn’t for just any club, it is for the premier private BDSM club, Wicked. Desperate for a chance to make the social and professional connections that this job would offer, she agrees to a most unconventional business arrangement with the handsomest man she’s ever met.

CEO Isaac O’Keefe swore off relationships years ago after having his heart broken and his bank account emptied by his gold digging first wife. He thought he’d managed to keep his heart under lock and key, but when Lucia walks into his office he is instantly drawn to the fiery beauty in a way he’s never felt before. He convinces Lucia to take the position as event planner for Wicked’s Valentine’s Day Party, but in order to make the event a success, something he needs to happen to secure his place on the board at Wicked, he must give her a crash course at all the dark pleasures BDSM has to offer. What starts out as a business partnership quickly turns into something more as Lucia breaks down every wall around his heart without even trying. Isaac must then make a choice, push Lucia away and continue to live a safe, but lonely life, or open himself up again to the greatest pain and pleasure in the world. Love.

When Lucia first met Isaac she was interviewing to plan a party for an exclusive club. She was recommended for the job by her mentor Mrs. Sara Florentine, however when she finds out what kind of club it is she’s not so sure she wants the job.

Isaac has to call Sara and the discussion he has with her is interesting to say the least. Of course he sticks his foot in it and Lucia stalks off considering not taking the job no matter how much money and connections she could make.

It takes quite a bit of convincing but Lucia decides to keep an open mind, and visit the club with Isaac. It’s not the first visit that got my attention so much as the one where Laurel, another submissive and costume designer dresses her for the night.

This is a favorite scene when he sees her.

He moved to the table and leaned against it, trying to appear like he hadn’t been eagerly waiting for her. He caught a glimpse of gold jewelry and sparkles adorning her leg before the rest of her appeared and he forgot to breathe. Intense emotions and lust flooded him, and he tried to control his expression, to not let her know how much her beauty affected him.

In his experience once a woman knew he’d fallen for her, she’d then use her beauty and his desire against him. His ex-wife certainly had, and although Lucia was nothing like her, he still couldn’t help trying to hide the strength of his attraction from her. A small, vulnerable part of his soul was afraid of what she would do if she knew how much power she had over him. If Lucia asked for the sun, he’d burn himself up trying to get it for her. And now, standing before him like every erotic fantasy come to life was a woman who personified beauty. He’d move mountains and drain seas for the honor of her company. His mind spun, torn between his body’s craving for the beautiful woman before him and his need to protect his heart. Then she smiled at him, and there was such shy pleasure in her eyes that he couldn’t help but give her his honest reaction. He let the heat, the ball-tightening need burning him from the inside out show in his eyes, and her breath came out in a soft gasp as her gaze went dark and liquid.

She wore what could only be described as an intricate piece of gold and diamond body jewelry that covered her from head to toe but left most of her flesh deliciously bare. A bikini top covered her breasts, and a tiny scrap of fabric shielded her pussy from his ravenous view. On her arms and legs she had glittering chains wound about in an appealing way. Her feet were bare, and the chains going down her legs attached to gold rings on her toes.

He tore his gaze from her body and watched her face as she took the last few steps. Her hair lung loose down her back like a cloak. A bright blush lit her cheeks, and she clasped her hands together over her midriff, her fluttering fingers trying to hide the round curve of her belly that he found so fucking hot. How Lucia couldn’t recognize her own beauty surprised him. If she’d been one of the socialites he’d grown up with, she would have been winding him around her little finger right now with coquettish looks and suggestive comments. Lucia’s honest and unsure response enchanted him. The Dom part of him wanted to hold her, to let her know that he was pleased with her, that her efforts to look beautiful for him were the greatest gift she could give him. The old wounds that his ex had left on his heart ached, and he tried to pull back emotionally.

She must have noticed his efforts to distance himself, because her gaze dropped to the floor. Her voice came out soft and hesitant as she asked, “Do you like it?”

Dammit, he’d made her feel unsure about herself all because of his fucked-up head. While he couldn’t be everything she deserved, he could at least be her Master. That part of him wasn’t conflicted. His dominant side knew exactly what she needed and strove to fulfill her every desire. She’d trusted him to be her Master, however temporarily, and he wasn’t going to fuck that up. Unable to stop himself, he took her hands in his, then pulled them away from her body, putting the feelings he couldn’t speak into his tone. “You are the most exquisite thing I’ve ever seen.”

She flushed and looked down at herself. “I feel like Jabba the Hutt’s slave girl from a porn version of Star Wars.”

His laughter burst from him, and he grabbed her in a hug, pressing all that softness up against himself. It was torture to not ravish her right here. “My slave girl.”

Laurel came down the stairs with a swath of gold fabric. “Hey, get your hands off her. I want her to look good when you arrive at the club. So that means no messy, sweaty encounters in the limo.”

He pulled himself together and released Lucia. The affection that he couldn’t show her as a boyfriend he could show her as a Dom. It was expected, a part of the intricate dance of dominance and submission that Laurel knew so well. Hopefully she wouldn’t notice that this time, he actually did feel a proprietary hold over his submissive that went way beyond a casual BDSM physical relationship. “Actually, I drove tonight, so while I’d love to do terrible things to the lovely Lucia, I’m afraid I must attend to her safety first and get her there in one piece.”
Mayburn, Ann. My Wicked Valentine (Club Wicked) (pp. 71-74). Honey Mountain Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Planning the party is the least of Lucia’s worries as pictures arrive in her email of her wearing that gorgeous outfit and others obviously altered to show her in compromising positions and a demand for her to step back from planning the Valentine’s party at Wicked.

Isaac jumps in to support her and in spite of himself he finds a growing attraction to Lucia that he can’t seem to block. As he runs hot and cold with her she loses her cool more than once and surprises him with her skills both martial art and others.

Laughter, Suspense, Tears and Kindle Melting Heat will keep you turning the pages.

5 Contented Purrs for Ann!

Ann Mayburn

With over forty published books, Ann is Queen of the Castle to her husband and three sons in the mountains of West Virginia. In her past lives she’s been an Import Broker, a Communications Specialist, a US Navy Civilian Contractor, a Bartender/Waitress, and an actor at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. She also spent a summer touring with the Grateful Dead-though she will deny to her children that it ever happened.

From a young Ann has had a love affair with books would read everything she could get her hands on. As Ann grew older, and her hormones kicked in, she discovered bodice ripping Fabio-esque romance novels. They were great at first, but she soon grew tired of the endless stories with a big wonderful emotional buildup to really short and crappy sex. Never a big fan of purple prose, throbbing spears of fleshy pleasure and wet honey pots make her giggle, she sought out books that gave the sex scenes in the story just as much detail and plot as everything else-without using cringe worthy euphemisms. This led her to the wonderful world of Erotic Romance, and she’s never looked back.

Now Ann spends her days trying to tune out cartoons playing in the background to get into her ‘sexy space’ and has accepted that her Muse has a severe case of ADD.

Ann loves to talk with her fans, as long as they realize she’s weird, and that sarcasm doesn’t translate well via text.