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WORK TITLE: In Bed with the Billionaire
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.jackieashenden.com/
CITY: Aukland
STATE:
COUNTRY: New Zealand
NATIONALITY:
http://us.macmillan.com/inbedwiththebillionaire/jackieashenden/9781250077868/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; children: two.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Previously worked as a librarian.
AVOCATIONS:Reading.
WRITINGS
Also author of the novella Frankie, 2016, and the e-book One Night with the Master (also published as Black Knight, White Queen), 2017. Work has been represented in anthologies, including When He Was Bad, 2014.
SIDELIGHTS
Jackie Ashenden lives in New Zealand with her husband and two children. She worked as a librarian until the urge to write overpowered her love for the library. According to her home page, Ashenden is a “mild mannered fantasy/SF/pseudo-literary writer by day, obsessive romance writer by night.” Despite the reference to mild-mannered fantasy, the novels that pique the interest of critics are the steamy ones. Ashenden claims to have a penchant for “torturing” the alpha male characters who fall under the spell of her indefatigable heroines, with a special fondness for the rich and powerful who might be more vulnerable than they appear.
Romance Fiction
Taking Him is the story of New Zealander Ellie Fox and her lust for a man determined to resist her. She has nurtured a crush on Hunter Chase since childhood, and apparently he still thinks of her as his best friend’s little sister. In truth, this emotionally damaged hero sees Ellie as someone who deserves better, but her pursuit is as relentless as his repeated rejections. A contributor to Dear Author found Ellie’s persistence repulsive, selfish, and cruel. In Xpress Reviews, however, Susan Hayes focused her assessment on “scenes that will make you sweat, … definitely sexy and some might say kinky.”
Having Her is the story of Ellie’s friend Kara, who is desperate to offer her virginity to almost anyone. When a rash choice leads her into danger, it is Ellie’s brother Vin who comes to her rescue. One thing leads to another until they “develop a kinky relationship that meets both their needs,” according to Henry Bankhead’s summary at Xpress Reviews. Kinky sex leads to love and then to an accidental pregnancy. At this point, a blossoming series is sidelined for the debut of a new one that would win Ashenden an international readership.
"Nine Circles" Series
The “Nice Circles” series features the Nine Circles Club, a loose coalition of rich and powerful people driven by an obsession for revenge and justice. They work at the fine line between good and evil: which side of the line is not always clear. Their motives and targets may vary; what they share is a passion that will not be denied.
Mine to Take, the first novel in the series, is the twisted story of Gabriel Woolf, aka Gabriel Cross. A child of rape who was never allowed to forget it, he fought his way from poverty to success with one goal in mind: to destroy the man he blames for his mother’s rape, hotel owner Guy Tremain. The plan is to gather intelligence on the struggling hotel magnate by seducing the owner of his investment firm, Honor St. James. “The sex is dirty-sweet, with a dark lick of dominance,” hinted a reviewer in Publishers Weekly, but as a reviewer noted at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, in Ashenden’s novels “there’s always another delicious layer waiting for you.” Gabriel learns that Honor is actually Tremain’s stepdaughter. He cannot destroy one without harming the other. Gabriel must choose between vengeance and a chance at love.
The five-part series weaves threads of connection from one volume to the next—one hero, one villain, one target to another. In Make You Mine, Honor’s brother, international playboy and gambler Alex St. James, craves revenge for a perceived incident of sexual abuse. In You Are Mine, Ashenden pits notorious ladies’ man Zac Rutherford against the one woman who will not succumb to his charms, former sex slave Eva King, who may have been betrayed by a hired killer named Temple Cross. A victim in one volume surfaces as a villain in another, and vice versa. Violet may, or may not, be a step-sibling of Gabriel Woolf, and Temple Cross may be even more closely related to him.
In Kidnapped by the Billionaire, readers learn that members of the Nine Circles share a united goal after all: to neutralize the major players in an international sex-and-drug trafficking ring that has ravaged their lives and loved ones in one way or another. Billionaire mercenary Elijah Hunt has worked for a man named Evelyn Fitzgerald, a crime boss, for years, filled with disgust and hatred, while plotting his revenge against the man who destroyed his family. His plan to kidnap his boss’s daughter, Violet, backfires when one of the Nine Circles members assassinates the father first. Hunt kidnaps Violet anyway, planning to trade her to another crook named Jericho. The plan goes awry—again—when Violet, a friend of Honor St. James, proves tougher than he expected, assumes the role of his accomplice, and uses her body to penetrate the shield of hatred that has protected him from a lifetime of feelings denied.
In Bed with the Billionaire carries the “Nine Circles” series to a surprising conclusion. Female assassin Temple Cross is hired to kill the infamous Jericho, only to learn that his clandestine goal has always been to destroy the Fitzgerald empire, not to support it. Even more surprising, Jericho is the alias of none other than Theodore Fitzgerald, Violet’s brother and Evelyn’s son. A Publishers Weekly critic emphasized Ashenden’s “talent for creating fascinating, morally gray characters.” “The book … frolics in naughtiness,” reported a Kirkus Reviews contributor, but culminates in redemption, another theme for which Ashenden is known.
"Motor City Royals" Series
Not all of Ashenden’s alpha males are billionaires. Dirty for Me introduces Ezekiel, or Zee, who fled a wealthy family of criminals to find his own way on the streets of Detroit. A mechanic by day, gym owner and underground fighter by night, Zee fears no one—until he meets Tamara Eliot. Zee avoids women in general, especially women of means, but when she walks into one of his self-defense classes, he cannot resist offering her a ride home. Faced with an unwelcome marriage just days away, she cannot resist the offer. A reviewer at All about Romance advised: “If sexual tension in a romance is your thing, you are in for a treat.”
Wrong for Me is the story of Zee’s friend Levi, who has just completed an eight-year prison sentence. He spent those years dreaming about his best friend, tattoo artist Rachel Hunt. It was actually his loyalty to the friendship that landed him in prison. Rachel doesn’t seem interested in a reunion, however, until Levi threatens to buy her building and evict her business unless she yields to his demands. “Sexual tension drips off the interactions between them” as lust turns to romance, according to a reviewer in Publishers Weekly. The reviewer added that the underlying theme of sexual blackmail leaves an uncomfortable aftertaste that “makes the happy ending feel disappointingly unearned.”
Sin for Me, on the other hand, is a story of two people who already love one another. Gideon Black is another escapee from a Motor City crime syndicate. He struggles to stay on the right side of the law, and he works hard to protect the closest person he has to a family—Zoe James. She resents his overprotective role in her life, until the past creeps into the safe haven that Gideon thought he had given her. As love turns into passion, Gideon fears he may have to sacrifice his happiness to keep her safe. Ashenden continues to satisfy her readers’ demands for erotic, sometimes violent, sex, sweetened with an underlying message of redemption.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2016, review of In Bed with the Billionaire.
Publishers Weekly, October 6, 2014, review of Mine to Take, p. 50; April 13, 2015, review of Make You Mine, p. 64; January 4, 2016, review of Kidnapped by the Billionaire, p. 38; May 23, 2016, review of Dirty for Me, p. 52; October 10, 2016, review of Wrong for Me, p. 63; October 24, 2016, review of In Bed with the Billionaire, p. 63.
Xpress Reviews, September 27, 2013, Susan Hayes, review of Taking Him; February 14, 2014, Henry Bankhead, review of Having Her.
ONLINE
All about Romance, http://allaboutromance.com/ (July 12, 2017), review of Dirty for Me.
All the Books I Can Read, http://1girl2manybooks.wordpress.com/ (November 28, 2014), review of Mine to Take.
Dear Author, http://dearauthor.com/ (November 13, 2013), review of Taking Him.
Jackie Ashenden Home Page, http://www.jackieashenden.com (July 12, 2017).
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/ (August 13, 2015), review of Mine to Take.
Straight Shootin’ Book Reviews, https://straightshootinbookreviews.com/ (March 3, 2016), review of Kidnapped by the Billionaire.
Series
Talking Dirty
1. Talking Dirty With the Player (2013)
2. Talking Dirty with the CEO (2013)
3. Talking Dirty With the Boss (2013)
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Billionaire's Club: New York
The Billion Dollar Bachelor (2014)
The Billion Dollar Bad Boy (2014)
The Billionaire Biker (2014)
The Billionaire's Club: New York Boxed Set (2014)
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Lies We Tell
1. Taking Him (2014)
2. Having Her (2015)
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Seacliff
Hollywood Blackmail (2014)
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Nine Circles
1. Mine to Take (2014)
2. Make You Mine (2015)
3. You Are Mine (2015)
4. Kidnapped by the Billionaire (2016)
5. In Bed With the Billionaire (2016)
Mine (omnibus) (2017)
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Living In...
1. Living in Shadow (2015)
2. Living in Sin (2015)
3. Living in Secret (2015)
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Motor City Royals
1. Dirty for Me (2016)
Wrong for Me (2016)
Sin for Me (2017)
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Texas Bounty
1. Take Me Deeper (2016)
2. Make It Hurt (2016)
3. Make It Last (2018)
4. Make It Good (2018)
5. Take Me Harder (2017)
Take Me Longer (2018)
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Tate Brothers
1. The Dangerous Billionaire (2017)
2. The Wicked Billionaire (2017)
3. The Rebel Billionaire (2018)
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Billionaire Fairytales
1. The Billionaire's Virgin (2017)
2. The Billionaire Beast (2017)
3. The Billionaire's Intern (2017)
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11th Hour
1. Raw Power (2018)
Knights of Ruin
Ruined (2018)
Novels
Falling for Finn (2013)
One Night With The Master (2017)
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Novellas
Frankie (2016)
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Series contributed to
International Bad Boys
2. Never Seduce a Sheikh (2014)
7. Never Refuse a Sheikh (2015)
When He Was Bad (omnibus) (2014) (with Katherine Garbera, Kelly Hunter and Carol Marinelli)
Never Resist a Sheikh (2015)
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Jackie has been writing fiction since she was eleven years old. <
She lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her husband, the inimitable Dr Jax, two kids, two cats and some guppies (possibly dead guppies by the time you read this). When she’s not <
You can find Jackie at www.jackieashenden.com or follow her on Twitter @JackieAshenden
In Bed with the Billionaire
263.43 (Oct. 24, 2016): p63.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
* In Bed with the Billionaire
Jackie Ashenden. St. Martin's, $7.99 mass market (400p) ISBN 978-1-250-07786-8
The intense fifth and final Nine Circles erotic contemporary (after Kidnapped by the Billionaire), which crisscrosses the underworlds of Paris and New York, showcases Ashenden's <
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"In Bed with the Billionaire." Publishers Weekly, 24 Oct. 2016, p. 63. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA468771826&it=r&asid=108d3a5f2fddd93314a5a04da27e4d8b. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A468771826
Wrong For Me
263.41 (Oct. 10, 2016): p63.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Wrong for Me
Jackie Ashenden. Kensington, $9.95 trade paper (310p) ISBN 978-1-4967-0392-7
Ashendon fumbles the balance on her second Motor City Royals erotic contemporary (after Dirty for Me), set in Detroit. Rachel Hamilton and Levi Rush were best friends before Levi spent eight years in prison for manslaughter; they're not sure how to be friends again now that he's out, since Rachel never visited him. <
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Wrong For Me." Publishers Weekly, 10 Oct. 2016, p. 63. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA466616178&it=r&asid=88b54e51f82a094434f860c2d1532d29. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A466616178
Jackie Ashenden: IN BED WITH THE BILLIONAIRE
(Oct. 1, 2016):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Jackie Ashenden IN BED WITH THE BILLIONAIRE St. Martin's (Adult Fiction) 7.99 ISBN: 978-1-250-07786-8
An assassin is hired to take out a notorious crime lord, but she finds herself caught in a web of desire and uncertainty when it turns out that the infamous villain just might be a hero. Seven years after her sister disappeared into the horrifying maze of a sex-trafficking ring run by an enigmatic man known as Jericho, assassin Temple Cross has been hired to kill him. It's a job she's pleased to accept, and she hopes to find out what happened to Thalia before he takes his last breath. Allowing herself to be caught in the slave trade gives her the opportunity to get up close and personal with Jericho, who's movie-star handsome and so sexually compelling it takes her breath away. Even more surprising, their incendiary attraction to each other keeps them both alive long enough to create an odd sympathy between them that leads to the realization that neither is what they seem, and beneath their cruel reputations and emotional armor, they are both righteous warriors whose missions have led them down questionable paths. After Temple learns the truth about what happened to her sisterand Jerichos role in her fateshe begins to dig deeper into his secrets, and as she becomes aware of the dangerous game hes playing, shes more worried about his survival than fulfilling her contract to see him dead. Jerichos many enemies are closing in, and just when Temple begins to believe in redemption, time may run out on their chance for a happy ending. Theres no question that Ashenden has a knack for redemptive characters, pulse-pounding conflict, and a roller-coaster plot, though the occasional slipped detail or not-quite-believable element pulls us out of the story here and there. The book dances on a dark edge and <
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Jackie Ashenden: IN BED WITH THE BILLIONAIRE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA465181953&it=r&asid=a935c2c3bfdad83ff4081326c62a835c. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A465181953
Dirty for Me
263.21 (May 23, 2016): p52.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Dirty for Me
Jackie Ashenden. Kensington, $9.95 trade paper (300p) ISBN 978-1-4967-0390-3
Ashenden, a veteran author of the steamy and sensual contemporary, launches a Detroit-based series that plays to her strengths and her readers' taste. Tamara Lennox is wealthy, ambitious, and determined to atone for the mistakes of her past. She just wants to finish her punishing internship at her family's investment firm and earn a permanent position there. Then she meets a sultry heartthrob whose past demons could reappear and sweep them both away. Zee West swore off getting involved with any woman--especially women from the other side of the tracks--but when Tamara walks into his gym, sparks fly. Tension and heat pervade the frequent sex scenes, which range from frantic to tender. There's just enough plot to be satisfying, and the damaged protagonists are easy to cheer for. Zee and Tamara are refreshingly mature as they navigate the transition of their relationship from a temporary affair to a full-blown romance. Readers will eagerly anticipate future installments in the series. Agent: Helen Breitweiser, Cornerstone Literary. (Aug.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Dirty for Me." Publishers Weekly, 23 May 2016, p. 52. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA453722493&it=r&asid=0b1a33365ed3fbce549dcbaf00e1c528. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A453722493
Kidnapped by the Billionaire
263.1 (Jan. 4, 2016): p38.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Kidnapped by the Billionaire
Jackie Ashenden. St. Martin's, $7.99 mass market (400p) ISBN 978-1-250-07785-1
The fourth Nine Circles romantic thriller (after You Are Mine) is as steamy, gritty, and explosive as the earlier installments. Elijah Hunt despises criminal kingpin Evelyn Fitzgerald, but he had to work for her while waiting seven long, hard years to take her down. When the Nine Circles Club gets to Evelyn first, Elijah still goes through with his plan to kidnap Violet, Evelyn's daughter. His new goal is to use Violet to lure out and destroy a different crime boss, but the Nine Circles--which includes Violet's best friend, Honor St. James, and Violet's half-brother, Gabriel Woolf (featured in Mine to Take)--has problems with that scheme. Meanwhile, Violet and Elijah are growing closer. The sex has tones of domination and violence, but underneath is tenderness and sweetness. Elijah and Violet grow with every trial and torture thrown their way as they learn to let go of their reservations and fear. Happiness is tantalizingly within their reach, and they just need to take a leap of faith. The ending brings redemption for Elijah while setting the stage for the next installment. Agent: Helen Breitweiser, Cornerstone Literary. (Mar.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Kidnapped by the Billionaire." Publishers Weekly, 4 Jan. 2016, p. 38. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA439804164&it=r&asid=1c23b67284187116deb93b32c517ae68. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A439804164
Make You Mine
262.15 (Apr. 13, 2015): p64.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
* Make You Mine
Jackie Ashenden. St. Martin's Paperbacks, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-1-250-05177-6
This outstanding, unabashedly sexy sequel to Mine to Take, continuing a series about a quartet of misfit billionaires, pulls out all the stops for emotional drama and exquisite passion. When playboy Alex St. James obtains an invitation to the legendary Apocalypse poker game at the Four Horsemen club in Monte Carlo, he knows he must play--not for money, but for a chance at revenge against the man who sexually abused him. He convinces Katya Ivanova, his icy, virginal bodyguard, to pretend to be his lover in exchange for extracting her fiance from Chechnya. Katya refuses to tolerate Alex's self-protective arrogance, breaking down his defenses with the skill of a martial artist, but their burgeoning romance puts them both at risk. Ashenden plays on the romantic trope of the sexy billionaire, but the core of the novel is a vivid story of how those who have been betrayed by family construct new connections for their sanity and survival. Agent: Helen Breitwieser, Cornerstone Literary. (May)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Make You Mine." Publishers Weekly, 13 Apr. 2015, p. 64. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA411471240&it=r&asid=2cfc56d4ddfff4553a4cc3b26ae64474. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A411471240
Mine to Take
261.40 (Oct. 6, 2014): p50.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
* Mine to Take Jackie Ashenden. St. Martin's Paperbacks, $7.99 mass market (400p) ISBN 978-1-25005176-9
Ashenden (the Talking Dirty books) breaks into print with a highly promising contemporary series about a group of self-made, damaged billionaires. Gabriel Woolf, born of violence into poverty, muscled his way into riches and has one goal in mind: ruining Guy Tremain, the man who raped his mother. Tremain's stepdaughter, hotshot investor Honor St. James, is the key to his revenge. Gabe offers to invest in Tremain's failing hotel chain if Honor gives him a personal tour of a luxury lodge in Vermont. His mission is sidetracked when he pushes the elegant Honor hard enough for her to push back, igniting an affair that may not survive family secrets, childhood betrayals, and Gabe's guilt over real and imagined sins. <
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Mine to Take." Publishers Weekly, 6 Oct. 2014, p. 50+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA385260807&it=r&asid=8a413b8864bd356582698ad647fcf800. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A385260807
Ashenden, Jackie. Having Her
Henry Bankhead
(Feb. 14, 2014):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
Ashenden, Jackie. Having Her. Samhain. (Lies We Tell, Bk. 2). Feb. 2014. 263p. ebk. ISBN 9781619218000. $5.50. BDSM, ROMANCE, EROTICA
Book two of the "Lies We Tell" series (after Taking Him) explores the backstory of Ellie's friend Kara. Distressed to be a virgin at the ripe old age of 25, Kara seeks help from Ellie's overprotective brother Vin when her solution, a one-night stand, turns dangerous. Vin's rescue includes a dose of criticism of Kara's behavior. After a brief standoff, Kara and Vin <
Verdict This very accessible BDSM erotic romance illustrates the healing powers of sexual role play and engages readers with issues of mental health in a straightforward and realistic fashion. The New Zealand setting and the well-depicted no-holds-barred sex scenes make for a high-interest read. Highly recommended.--Henry Bankhead, Los Gatos Lib., CA
Bankhead, Henry
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Bankhead, Henry. "Ashenden, Jackie. Having Her." Xpress Reviews, 14 Feb. 2014. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA362065497&it=r&asid=04b3f55e7334b2c0e60fe5d2822d61f8. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A362065497
Ashenden, Jackie. Taking Him
Susan Hayes
(Sept. 27, 2013):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
Ashenden, Jackie. Taking Him. Samhain. (Lies We Tell, Bk. 1). Nov. 2013. 211p. ebk. ISBN 9781619218215. $5.50. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Ellie Fox is a graphic computer game designer in New Zealand, with a new job in Tokyo. Hunter Chase was Ellie's brother's best friend and the man whom Ellie has had a crush on since she was a child. Both had less than ideal childhoods, but Hunter's left him decidedly bent, sexually. He had to remain in control and did not like people touching him. Could Ellie convince him to look at her as a woman instead of a child? Could Hunter overcome his need to shut others out of his life?
Verdict With characters you care about and some <
Hayes, Susan
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Hayes, Susan. "Ashenden, Jackie. Taking Him." Xpress Reviews, 27 Sept. 2013. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA349113854&it=r&asid=59e7ac3e45a9f46af089883884c11ec0. Accessed 7 July 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A349113854
Mine to Take by Jackie Ashenden
by Elyse · Aug 13, 2015 at 4:00 am · View all 14 comments
Mine to Take by Jackie Ashenden
Mine to Take
by Jackie Ashenden
November 25, 2014 · St. Martin's Paperbacks
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A-
Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Erotica/Erotic Romance
Theme: BDSM, Off Limits Sibling or Friend, Enemies to Lovers
Archetype: Billionaire, Motorcycle Club
First of all, if you aren’t reading Jackie Ashenden, you should be. Actually, let me clarify. If you like hot alpha heroes who are not douchebags, a high sexual content with some vague D/s themes, and contemporary stories rife with angst, then you should definitely be reading Jackie Ashenden. Taking Him ( A | K | G | iB ) and Having Her ( A | K | G | iB ) are some of my favorite contemporary romances (and feature gaming culture and cosplay BTW).
When I saw that she had a new series out, The Nine Circles series, I one-click bought that shit in record time, and the first book, Mine to Take doesn’t disappoint.
One thing I love about Ashenden is that she gives you angst, then puts more angst on top of it, adds a little hot sex, then adds some WTF angst so you’re like “I don’t know how this is working, but it is, so take my money now, please.”
For example, the hero in Mine to Take is Gabriel Woolf, a construction magnate who also used to be known as Church, the president of the Avenging Angels biker gang in New York. Because he can’t just be a rich dude, nooooo, he has to be a rich dude who used to bust heads as a biker gang president to keep drugs and shit out of his old neighborhood. Somewhere Charlie Hunnam just sat up, and he doesn’t know why.
Charlie Hunnam in dark surroundings and low light pulling a cigarette out of his mouth in an animated loop - you can only see the contours of his face and the smoke
Also Gabriel belongs to a Top Sekrit Uber Wealthy Angsty Dudes and Dudettes Club called the Nine Circles because OF COURSE HE DOES.
So anyway, Gabriel’s not doing so hot when the book opens. His mother has recently died of cancer and when clearing out her things, he finds a check for a million dollars among her possessions. Gabriel knows that he is a child of rape–his mother was a maid in a hotel and was raped by the hotel owner. He puts two and two together and realizes that the check was pay-off money she never cashed, and that her rapist was Guy Tremain now a big shot hotelier. The whole child of rape angst is a big part of what Gabriel who is he is–he knows that as he aged he began to physically remind his mother of her rapist and it’s something that’s haunted him. He also feels like the “bad seed” and so even though the book features some of the D/s themes I mentioned earlier, he’s adamant that his partners articulate that they are fully into what’s going on.
Gabriel intends to find the man who raped his mother and destroy him, and the way he’s going to get to Tremain is through is hot stepdaughter Honor St. James. Honor runs an investment firm and his currently looking for investors to prop up Tremain’s failing hotel business, so Gabriel pretends to be interested in order to dig up more information on Tremain.
Probably you can see where this is going…. Honor and Gabriel find out they have great chemistry, but just stay really good friends and sometimes play online Scrabble. KIDDING. Honor gives Gabriel a tour of one of the hotels in snowy Vermont and the UST is through the roof:
She could feel his hips against hers, the ridge of his cock pressing between her thighs. Large and hard, just like the rest of him. She found herself looking up into his eyes. They were black as night, a velvet kind of darkness that would wrap her up and drown her in sensuality. In heat…
He’d be rough. Would probably hold her down. And he’d fuck her, make her take him and she’d love it. The ultimate rush…
He gave her another one of those husky laughs. “Looks to me like we’ve got an interesting week ahead of us, hmm?” Then before she was ready–way, way before–he let her go, stepping back and turning toward the door to the bedroom. “Think about my question, Honor,” he said casually as he went ahead and pulled it open. “I want the answer as soon as I’ve finished my shower.”
She couldn’t think. Her brain felt fuzzy, the blood hammering in her veins. How on earth had that happened? “What?” Her voice sounded all thin and breathy. Dammit. “What question?”
“I thought I was clear. But if you want me to repeat it, I will.”
It was a struggle but she managed to pull herself together enough to say, “Oh you mean the question about us fucking?” She was pleased with herself as to how casually she said the word, since she almost never cursed. “I can tell you the answer right now. Never, Mr. Woolf. You and I will never start fucking.”
Gabriel’s smile was that of a predator. “Keep telling yourself that. But you and I both know I could have had you over the arm of that couch not five seconds ago. And you wouldn’t have stopped me.”
She had no answer to that. Because she suspected the bastard was right, she wouldn’t have.
Of course Honor and Gabriel do start fucking, and that presents all kinds of problems. Honor is a buttoned up, in-control type of woman and she doesn’t like that Gabriel definitely makes makes her lose that control no matter how good it feels. Gabriel also starts freaking out at how much he actually likes Honor–SHE MAKES HIM SNUGGLEY GODDAMNIT–given the fact that he’s out to destroy her stepdad.
Honor is very close to Tremain. Her real father killed himself and left the family mired in gambling debt, and Tremain swooped in and saved everyone. She feels beholden to him, which is why she invested all of her money in his failing hotel chain. When Gabriel finds that out, he realizes that by ruining Tremain, he’ll be ruining Honor, too.
And because that’s not enough reason for these two not to work out, Gabriel is also friends with Honor’s brother who has been estranged from the family since he was 16 and has no intention of making contact again, so Honor’s sore about that and Gabriel is also aware he’s smexing his friend’s sister. Like I said, Ashenden’s books are like angst Gobstoppers—<
Dude with big biceps in a tight grey t-shirt pouring a box of Gobstoppers into his mouth - really weird commercial imagery on Amazon for this one While I really enjoyed the first 90% of this book, I was a little disappointed at the end.
We don’t get full resolution, which I kind of expected because there’s a larger conflict/villain that carries into the other books in the series.
What bugged me was that
Click for spoilers!
Even with that little hiccup, I immensely enjoyed the start of this series and am looking forward to the rest of the books. If you like sexy biker gang president CEO heroes who are bossy in the bedroom–and let’s be honest, who doesn’t?–then consider picking up Mine to Take.
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Nov 28
Review: Mine To Take – Jackie Ashenden
by 1girl2manybooks on November 28, 2014
Mine To TakeMine To Take (Nine Circles #1)
Jackie Ashenden
St Martin’s Griffin
2014, 400p
Copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Gabriel Woolf has dragged himself up from nothing to be something. From a background of poverty, escaping that into a life with a motorcycle club and now he’s a (mostly) respectable businessman and owner of a construction company. But although Gabriel maintains a veneer of respectability, underneath he’s burning for vengeance. He wants nothing more than to ruin the life of the man he believes ruined his mother’s life. Ever since his mother’s death recently, he’s been plotting and planning just how to go about bringing about his downfall.
And he’s not above using Honor St James, the stepdaughter of the man he wants nothing more than to destroy. Honor is beautiful and innocent but she also has information, information that Gabriel wants. Nothing is off limits in how to get it but what Gabriel didn’t count on was how much he was going to want Honor. She has a lot to offer, more than anyone has ever been able to offer Gabriel before. More than he ever knew he wanted…. or deserved.
Honor St James had a lot of responsibility at a young age. And even now, she feels the pressure to keep everything together – to save her stepfather’s company and also her own investment. At first Honor resists Gabriel and the sheer force of his personality. But he stirs something inside of her that no man ever has before and the urge to just give up control to him is strong. She needs to convince Gabriel that there’s more to life than looking for vengeance, but once she tries to show him, he wants to drive her away. But she’ll go back to him, over and over again until she proves to him that there’s more between them than just the physical.
Mine To Take is the first in a new series from Jackie Ashenden that very loosely spins off from the Billionaire’s Club and by that I mean Gabriel Woolf appears in the final book of that series briefly, just enough to introduce him to readers. Gabriel was born into poverty, clawed his way out via becoming a messenger boy for a motorcycle club and then joined himself, working his way up the ladder into power. Then he left, extricating himself from the club and starting his own business. He’s now incredibly wealthy and a member of the Ninth Circle, aka the Fucked Up Billionaires. They look out for each other, loosely watching each other’s backs, pledging loyalty but distance. They hold semi-regular meetings to check in, discuss any issues. One of the members brings an issue to Gabriel’s attention and it’s the perfect ‘in’ for him to put in place his ultimate plan of vengeance.
Despite the fact that Gabriel is a fraction too Alpha for my tastes, I actually ended up liking him and I felt really sorry for him. The fact is, he’s the result of an assault on his mother and it seems that when he hits a certain age, he must begin reminding his mother of the person that committed the crime against her. A staunch Catholic, she feels shame and guilt, spending hours confessing, hours that Gabriel has to listen to as he sits outside the confessional, waiting. I feel as though that’s something no child should ever have to experience, have put on them. Gabriel has definitely had a rough childhood, he’s lacked a lot of things but specifically love and gentleness. He was indoctrinated into a club or gang at a young age, but despite a lack of strong, positive role models he has managed to come out of the dangerous lifestyle more or less intact. Gabriel has trouble forming connections with people though, something that’s clearly obvious when he begins interacting with Honor that he doesn’t understand what’s going on with them. He can’t understand what’s different about her, why he feels different, why she can make him lost control like that.
Honor is the sort of character that unfortunately, I’m growing a bit bored of reading about. On the outside she seems like her life is perfect, the poor little rich girl. But she’s known tragedy, she’s known poverty, she’s known fear and she’s known uncertainty. She had to look after her mother, she’s had to grow up much faster than she should have and she’s always in control. Now she’s a successful businesswoman (although what her company does I really don’t know) but when she meets Gabriel he sees in her that she’d like to give up to some of that control to him, she fantasizes about being restrained, or helpless. It’s nothing really new anymore, it’s getting really tedious to read. Why can’t these strong, independent women exercise some of that strength in the bedroom? Demand control? There is a scene or two in this book where Honor does do that, she does exert control and will over Gabriel, forcing him to be the passive partner and they’re some of the better scenes in the book. I enjoyed them much more than the other intimate scenes, mostly because Honor seemed more alive in them.
The thing is, I’m not sure this book did enough in the end, to convince me how Honor and Gabriel fell in love. Their interactions are kind of irritating in the beginning, Gabriel spends a lot of time kind of needling her, or bossing her about and Honor seems to keep coming back for more. There are a few scenes where he confesses things to her and she shows her support, that she will always be there for him but ultimately, there wasn’t enough there for me to see it. Gabriel does treat her abominably at one stage but Honor seems to forgive him all very swiftly and things are fine again. The other thing is Gabriel has a burning need for something throughout most of the book and just as he’s about to find out what he (and therefore, the reader) wants to know, he decides he doesn’t really care anymore and walks away. Now I get that Honor showed him there was more to life than trying to extract his vengeance, etc but…. now I want to know the answer to the question Gabriel was asking and it’s gone no where! As this is a series and it looks like that story is going to continue through each volume, I may eventually get my answer but it was a big build up in this book for little pay off, which was quite a letdown.
The character that most interested me in this book was Eva and I’d like to read her book. I’m just not sure if I want to keep reading the books in between this one and hers. Next up is Honor’s brother Alex, another member of the Ninth Circle. This one was okay, not bad but also not something that really hooked me in. I’m not sure if these sorts of stories are for me, perhaps I prefer my heroes a little less in your face.
6/10
Desert Isle Keeper
Dirty for Me
Jackie Ashenden
Buy This Book
Dirty For Me is the first story in Jackie Ashenden’s new Motor City Royals series, set on the gritty streets of Detroit. Zee escaped from his corrupt father, adopted his current name, and set out to support himself by picking up the mechanics trade. He works at a garage now with colleagues he calls his family, runs his own gym, and at night he expresses his frustrations by engaging in no-holds-barred underground fighting. He definitely doesn’t run in the same circles as Tamara who shows up with a friend taking one of his self defense classes – one of the rich women who’ve heard about the tattooed hottie and his lessons.
While Tamara watches the class from the sidelines in her expensive clothing and clutching her designer purse, she can’t take her eyes off the rough, dangerous instructor. And when her friend heads off with her new classmates to a local bar, Tamara insists that she can get herself home – though on the streets looking forlornly for a cab she looks like a lamb being led to slaughter. Zee knows he should stay away but he can’t help it – he’s drawn to her like a moth to a flame even though she’s exactly the kind of woman he’s vowed to stay away from. Offering her a ride home, Tamara accepts and the sparks between them turn into an inferno, resulting in the best fuck of her life in the back seat of his car. Shaken out of her complacent life, Tamara returns to Zee for more of the passion he’s shown her. She’s only got a few short weeks before her controlling parents have her locked up tight in a relationship with a man they’ve chosen, one who fits their high society lifestyle. Zee and Tamara both have secrets in their past that have affected their paths – can they overcome them and build a new future together?
If you’ve never read a Jackie Ashenden book before–and really, if you have–and <
Zee’s background is one of wealth, power and corruption. His father is a businessman who dabbles in as much illegal activities as legal ones, and throws his weight around in physical and financial ways. He wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, and when Zee got involved with a naïve and innocent young woman as a teenager, his father took care of things his way. The death of the woman he loved in a deliberate car accident was the impetus for Zee to run away, shedding his real name and anything to do with his father along the way. He’d made his way to a teen drop in center and become friends with Gideon, Levi, Zoe and Rachel, and ended up working with Gideon when he opened his auto garage on Royal Road. He has plans now to expand the gym he started, getting his own teen program up and running, teaching martial arts and self defense classes. It’s a far cry from his upbringing but he’s happy there and loyal to his friends. Pretty little rich girls aren’t for him though, reminding him too much of the girl he lost and the mistakes of his past.
Tamara is following the road her parents have set out for her. A tragic event in her past resulted in the loss of her brother and her guilt over what happened has set her on a permanent path of atonement. They’ve found a suitable man for her in New York, and while up to this point Tamara was faithful to him, she suspected he had other women on the side, a fact he confirms in a phone call. It’s a relationship of convenience (on his side, not hers), but there is no love lost between them. When Tamara’s father spills the news that her mother and Robert (the ‘boyfriend’) are planning a surprise engagement party, Tamara can feel the trap closing in on her, but doesn’t know how to escape it. She’s working as an intern at her father’s company with a manager who clearly despises the fact that she’s the big boss’s daughter and goes out of his way to make her miserable. She can’t afford to lose the job and disappoint her parents yet again. Her night with Zee was the first time she’d felt free, that she could let go of the tight control she’s kept on her life since her brother died. She wants that feeling again. She’s desperate for it again. And if it means she has to seek Zee out and offer herself up to him, she’s ready and willing to do it, if he’ll have her.
It soon becomes apparent to both Zee and Tamara that the shields they’ve put up to ward off any intimacy are cracking. Sharing their emotions and thoughts wasn’t supposed to be part of the plan but it happens and they quickly find that it’s not only sex they want from each other. But Zee’s father isn’t finished with him yet, and the second half of the story is intense and action packed as Zee and Tamara work to find a way to free themselves from their pasts. There is also a set up for the next story in the series, as Zee’s friend Levi is set to be released from prison and clearly he and Rachel have a past to deal with. The streets of Detroit are a perfect backdrop for this gritty and intense romance. If you like bad boy heroes and opposites attract stories with a healthy dose of super steamy scenes and a compelling and action packed plot, Dirty For Me is for you.
November 12, 2013
REVIEW: Taking Him by Jackie Ashenden
JaneC- ReviewsAustralia / Contemporary6 Comments
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Dear Ms. Ashenden:
I really love your voice but man this book did not work for me. The heroine came off terribly selfish and given the extent of the hero’s emotional abuse, her constant pushing didn’t come off well. So the guy’s not into you. I get it, but stop making him feel guilty for it.
Ellie Fox is in love with her older brother’s best friend, Hunter Chase. Hunter has adored Ellie as a little sister but because of his past believes she’s better off with someone else rather than him. Ellie is preparing to leave for a new job in Japan and wants to try one last time to get Hunter into bed with her.
She pushes and pushes his buttons knowing that Hunter has never been anything but kind to her. And frankly despite declaring she was a fully grown 25 year old woman, she acted like a child. Refusing to come home from a bar when she was drunk, unzipping her clothes and exposing her breasts when he asked her not to. (I kept thinking of what would I think of the situation if the roles were reversed and Hunter had his salami out and was shaking it at Ellie saying ‘look at me. look at me.’)
Ellie is unable to understand that when Hunter verbalizes his no, she should back away. I guess this is reversed forced seduction? She sees desire in his eyes and despite him adamantly wanting to avoid her, disregards his stated wishes and pursues him. But it wasn’t even her pursuit of him that really bothered me but it was the way that she threw his friendship in his face and basically told him that if didn’t fuck her, he was hurting her.
His gaze didn’t waver. “I don’t want you. I never have.”
Shit. Wrong again. It could get more painful.
Don’t cry, dammit. Don’t be so pathetic.
“Why?” she couldn’t stop herself from asking. “Am I not pretty enough for you? Not sexy enough? Is that it?”
“No, Christ Ellie, no. It’s not any of those things. I don’t…feel that way about you, all right?”
“And I can’t change your mind?”
Something moved in his eyes but it was gone before she could tell what it was. “No. I’m sorry, you can’t.”
Ellie swallowed. “Okay, fine.” She struggled to keep her voice level as years of forbidden fantasies came crashing down around her ears. “I got it. Loud and clear.”
“I’m not saying this to hurt you.”
Well, you have.” Oh she’d love to pretend she didn’t care, but the fact was that she did. Very much. And there was no reason for him not to know that.
So guilt trip for not wanting to have sex with her. The unease over Ellie’s portrayal in this book deepened when we learn more about Hunter’s past. Granted Ellie isn’t privvy to what the reader knows but it’s hard to eliminate that information when confronted with Ellie’s actions. Hunter wanted Ellie to back off because it was painful for him and I wanted Ellie to back off too. And given that she was leaving in three weeks, I wished she’d acted a bit more maturely. Of course, if she did there wouldn’t be a book. And I’m sure I am supposed to understand that without Ellie’s persistent pursuit, her forced seduction of Hunter, he’d never be able to get over his demons and have an HEA.
I get that intellectually but my emotional response to the book was a recoil. Maybe if this had been told solely from Ellie’s point of view, it would have been easier to root for her and want a positive outcome but knowing Hunter’s deep painful secrets made Ellie’s behavior all the more egregious in my eyes. I realize that’s unfair because Ellie’s in the dark, but my reader response was to tell Hunter to run far away from Ellie.
It’s a dark book and I appreciate the role reversal, although it might not have been a conscious one. Without a clear line of consent, Ellie’s pursuit of Hunter left a bitter taste in my mouth. C-
Best regards,
Jane
Review: Kidnapped by the Billionaire by Jackie Ashenden
March 3, 2016 • Review • Leave a Comment
Review: Kidnapped by the Billionaire by Jackie AshendenKidnapped by the Billionaire by Jackie Ashenden
on March 1, 2016
Genres: Erotica, Romantic Suspense
Series: Nine Circles #4
Published by St. Martin's Press
Source: NetGalley
Copy for review provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
five-stars
He kissed her the way he'd run her down, conquering her, taking her...
A priceless plan. An illicit attraction.
Seven years ago, billionaire-turned-bodyguard Elijah Hunt lost everything he had-his family, his future-and now he wants revenge. But when he decides to kidnap the daughter of the man who ruined his life, Elijah gets a lot more than he bargained for. Violet Fitzgerald is nothing like her corrupt wealthy father. In fact, she's so disarmingly independent-and irresistible-that she just might be dangerous...
And a love that's too good to be true.
Violet never thought she'd feel a connection to her captor. But there's something beneath Elijah's steel-bodied exterior that makes her want to know him more deeply...and surrender to his every demand. But once Elijah's erotic fantasies become a reality-and he and Violet develop a real romantic connection-he finds himself in a quandary: Is he still the one in control? Or has Violet imprisoned him-body and soul?
If your first thought upon seeing the title of this book is ‘Oh, no, not another Billionaire hero (with dominant tendencies) /virginal heroine story!’ you can rest assured that while the semantics are there (yes, he’s a billionaire, yes, he kidnaps the heroine, yes, she is a virgin), as part of the Nine Circles series by Jackie Ashenden it’s actually a taut erotic suspenseful thriller and not just a run of the mill story. As the fourth book in the series, there is an overall story arc that continues from book to book which makes the series best read in order (though each story has its own standalone couple romance). The background to the series is that there is a group of men and women who form the Nine Circles club and all the current members (Gabriel and Honor (book 1) Alex and Katya (book 2), and Zac and Eva (book 3)) are pursuing one goal – to find out the truth behind a shadowy group of men involved in the seedy underworld of human and drug trafficking who use international casinos to do their dirty work. The members of the club have a personal connection to the group they are hunting, whether by blood or otherwise, and they are getting closer to their goal of finding all the people involved and shutting down their operations. But they’ve hit a snag – in the form of cold-blooded mercenary Elijah Hunt. For seven long years, Elijah has worked for a man he despises. He has witnessed atrocities and stayed silent, all part of his long-term revenge plan to make someone pay for the death of his wife.
When one of the Nine Circles members kills his employer before he gets the chance to, he is enraged, and determines that the only way his plan will move forward is by trading in another pawn (in this case his dead employer’s daughter Violet) to one of the other men running the show, a shadowy figure named Jericho. Violet is totally innocent and uninvolved in the horrific dealings of her father though she always suspected something wasn’t quite right in her high society life. Desperate to escape the cold hardened killer who has kidnapped her, Violet shows an inner strength that Elijah doesn’t expect, and one he reluctantly admires even as he plans to trade her in as a bargaining chip on his path to bloody revenge. But Violet sees a different side of Elijah then he shows to the rest of the world, a vulnerability in some of his actions that show her the man he used to be underneath his icy facade. When the attraction between them can no longer be ignored, they enter into a sexual relationship, one Violet knows is a manifestation of Stockholm Syndrome but one she is helpless to resist. Will Elijah go through with his plans or will Violet break through those barriers and stop him in time?
I can always count on Ms. Ashenden to bring her A game into everything she writes, and that’s the case here. She is somehow able to make the cold and ruthless character of Elijah (a secondary character in previous books clearly following his own agenda) into an empathetic hero. Of course, that’s because until now, we didn’t know Elijah’s motivation for working for a man we knew to be a monster. But now that the truth has been revealed, that his wife was murdered and he has been on this path of revenge for years, it makes his actions much more palatable. I really liked seeing underneath his icy surface, to the heart of him, the one that only Violet has been able to expose. So while Elijah initially comes across as cold and unfeeling, it’s not long before we see the truth – that those are the aspects of his personality that are visible to the naked eye. He’s a tough, physically scarred man, with an equally scarred heart, and it was very emotionally satisfying to see Violet repairing some of that damage.
Violet herself knows what it’s like to wear a mask of indifference. She’s played up the role of spoiled society girl as a way of masking the hurt of never feeling accepted or loved by her parents. The death of her father and her subsequent kidnapping barely ripple the surface of her mother’s concern, and Violet’s fear of no-one even realizing she’s gone missing causes her to look inward for strength. Her attempts at escape don’t work, but they do succeed in making Elijah take a closer look at her – a look that reveals his desire to subdue this woman in any way he can, even if it means using their attraction against her. What results are some steamy erotic scenes between them as they connect physically, leading to an emotional connection that angers Elijah as it threatens to wreck all his plans. But Violet won’t be subdued, and as the story plays out, she becomes no longer a captive but an accomplice.
The characters from the first three books are integral here as well, as Honor is one of Violet’s few friends (and contrary to Violet’s concerns, realizes that she is missing and is looking for her), and there are more surprising connections between the Nine Circles members and Violet herself. Violet must make some tough decisions when faced with the choice of whose side to choose, and in turn, Elijah must do the same. It’s an exciting and suspenseful read, full of action and sex, and a fabulous addition to the series. We do get a happy ending for Violet and Elijah, but we are left with some unanswered questions that will lead into the next story. 5 stars!
Elijah walked to the kitchen doorway, looking out into the cavernous apartment space. Violet was standing by the windows, talking on the phone, her back to him. The fading evening light touched the tips of her hair in red gold and turned the exposed skin on the back of her neck the same color. She looked small against the high windows. A brave woman and strong, yet vulnerable too.
A certainty he couldn’t remember feeling before settled down through him, and ignoring it seemed wrong.
No. He couldn’t let anything happen to her. He wouldn’t. He would find a way to make sure she stayed safe, and fuck whether that mattered or not. Because the fact was that it did.
She mattered. To him.
The thought sat in his head, and by rights he should have shoved it away since feeling anything at all for anyone wasn’t allowed. But he didn’t. He let it sit there, the dark hunger inside him rousing in response. Wanting. Wanting her.