Say YesRating: 4 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novella


James thinks he is a good Catholic son and he has managed to keep all of his thoughts about dating men firmly locked down. But when his father dies, his wealthy mother cuts him off while he is still in college. Taking a job in a clothing store, James meets Charles.

Charles is wealthy, well dressed, dominant, and thrives on control. He has no use for commitments, only pleasure and partners to play with, and then he meets James. James makes Charles long for something more than he has been getting, but Charles has been burned before. Still, James’ defiant banter is a complete turn on and Charles can feel the submission locked inside James. But nothing can be gained or enjoyed without James’ complete consent and Charles will do whatever it takes to hear that three letter word from James.

James is pretty lost when we meet him. His mother summons him to her estate to alert him that his father has died and then informs him he will be cut off. When James meets Charles, it’s somewhat of an erotic fantasy come to life. With James needing to measure Charles for a suit, he of course has to be on his knees. It’s coy and entertaining and the guys have a great dynamic right up front.

Even though Charles is dominant, he has reason to be afraid of opening himself up emotionally and there was a sliver of his vulnerable side offered. This side was well needed as it slightly tempered Charles’ behavior. Charles is used to going after and getting what he wants in the way that has worked best for him and possibly the only way he knows how. He has his sights set on James, it’s his first challenge in a while, and he’s not taking no for an answer.

There is not a lot of history given on either man, but Gray manages to offer a glimpse of both men with few words. The story is about present day and their relationship in the moment. James has denied himself his entire life and Charles is right there offering him everything, yet James does not make it quite so easy for Charles at all.

The book offers highly charged sexual interactions with a slant toward BDSM. Gray captures the feeling of the beginning of a relationship when attraction is new and captivating as the focus here is on the men first coming together and the initial power struggle. The ending did open up new insight into both men without any time for discovery and that tease of new information drew the focus away from the events at hand, which was distracting to the buildup of the finale. But it did set the guys up in their moment and they certainly could have more stories to tell.

Say Yes would be a good choice for a shorter book that offers heated scenes with light BDSM tones and an erotic power exchange.

He tightened his grip on James’ throat and crushed their mouths together. James parted their lips willingly, and Charles got his first intoxicating taste.

Holy hell. He was done for.

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