pain slutRating: 4.25
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Miles has decided that the time has come that he needs to give up kink. Miles is totally into pain play – blood, knives, the whole deal. But he is in the process of trying to adopt and he doesn’t think he can be a father and still let people shove painful things up his ass. Especially since the guy he just met calls himself a vampyre, and that may be more weird than even Miles can handle.

But Miles can’t just give us his need for pain; it’s a part of him. And Drix is an honest to goodness sadist, something Miles had practically given up finding. And Miles really likes Drix. He is kind and sweet and attractive. Not to mention he loves inflicting pain and is wiling to learn all about BDSM to help give Miles what he needs.

Miles has always been the serious, mature one in his group of friends. He plans and he analyzes and he keeps in control, even when he submits. But something about Drix makes Miles want to let go for once. And even though he planned on getting kink out of his system, Miles is discovering letting go is not easy, and ending things with Drix seems impossible. But Miles wants to be father and he worries that his private life will affect his success at adoption and parenthood. Now he has to figure out if he can have the kink he needs, parenthood, and the man he is growing to love.

Ok, so let me start with a story. Last summer, J.A. Rock and I went to a kink toy shop (as you do). I am not in the scene but I was entertaining myself looking at all the cool stuff (and testing out paddles and stuff on Rock even though she told me I was a wimpy hitter). So I look over at this one display case and it had all this medical stuff. Scalpels. Speculum. STAPLERS! Like the stuff of my nightmares. (I am a huge pain baby. I don’t just dislike pain, I am terrified of it. I can spend days agonizing over a trip to the dentist because I know I’ll have to get an injection. My doctors all know I am terrified of pretty much any procedure and need major handholding and probably some topical anesthetic before they even come close to me with a needle.) So I turn around and look at Rock with wide WTF eyes and she gives me an evil grin and says, “Oh, did I mention that all that stuff is in the book I am currently writing?”

So all that is to say, I approached this one with a bit of caution. I am a huge fan of Rock’s writing, but I worried maybe this book was going to be too much for me. And let me tell you, it is intense. Miles likes pain. A lot. I am not talking about a little flogging and some nipple clamps. I mean serious, heaving, want to vomit kind of pain. Knives, blood, staplers, cinnamon oil in tender and private places, punches in the gut, sharp things screwed against cocks. Serious stuff. But even being totally pain averse myself, this story totally worked for me.

First, I think Rock really shows why this is something Miles needs so badly. We see how much he keeps himself in rigid control, how high his expectations are for himself. Even when he is on the receiving end of pain, he still needs to direct things. So these intense scenes really show Miles grow over the course of the book from someone who needs to manage everything to someone who can let go to Drix, who wants to let go to Drix. Now I’ll admit, I didn’t find all of these scenes hot since pain isn’t my thing (though the one in the back of the car is super sexy). But I could get why it worked for Miles, and I loved seeing him grow over the course of the book and the way that he handled these intense scenes differently as he does.

Also, this book has a lot of lightness and humor to balance out the intensity. It doesn’t have quite the silliness as The Subs Club, the first book in the series, since Miles is a totally different POV character than Dave. But there is still this crazy group of friends sitting around eating subs and singing weird songs and just being awesome. So there is a nice balance here to the more intense scenes in the book.

This story is mostly Miles’ journey, but I really liked him paired with Drix. Drix is part of a group that sort of does vampire role play. At first Miles is kind of freaked out, but he also sees how happy and content Drix is. Drix is just much more in touch with what makes him happy than Miles is, and he is willing to do what he needs to in order to fix it when he is not. There is a nurturing side to Drix, even as he likes to inflict pain. These guys are so well matched and I loved how we see Miles’ growth through their relationship.

This story is the second in the Subs Club series, each book following one of four friends. I think this would work even if you haven’t read the first one as each book follows a new MC. However, there are some overarching plot issues related to the club, to the guys’ friendship, and to their overall growth that I think can be appreciated better if you have read them in order.

Despite being pain averse, I really liked this story and I am enjoying this series. I am super excited for the next book and we get bits of set up for the next pairing here that I think is going to be great. So if you like kink mixed with some humor and fun, this is definitely a series worth trying.

 

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