b is for beg coverRating: 4 stars
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Length: Novel

 

Blake is used to being the brother who doesn’t quite have it together. He is a triplet and Archie and Corey seem to have their lives organized (and their parents’ approval), but Blake struggles a little. He works as a model, a job he loves, but that leaves him without a steady income. Blake dropped out of college and his brothers occasionally have to bail him out with rent. Blake also can never manage to make it anywhere on time, but he is reliable where it counts, particularly when helping to care for his niece.

When Blake is hired for a job modeling lingerie, he meets photographer, Calvin. The two flirt a little and hit it off, but both are professional enough that nothing comes of it. Cal also introduces Blake to his close friend Gabe, an artist who works with ropes. Gabe is often looking for models and Blake would be perfect. With both Calvin and Gabe interested in Blake, after the jobs are over they invite him to a play party to see if he is possibly a good fit as a sub for one of them. To their surprise, however, Blake is interested in both men.

Calvin and Gabe have been close friends for years, but have never considered playing together or getting sexually involved. But neither can deny Blake when he suggests the three-way scene and it turns out to be super hot for all of them. Gabe and Cal are wary of complicating their friendship, but they also realize that they work well as a team and that the physical connection between them comes much more naturally than they expected. In fact, it is becoming clear that all three men fit together and soon things are growing increasingly serious. Blake, Gabe, and Calvin never imagined that a hot night of play would turn into something more, but the feelings between them are real, and soon the triad finds themselves with a love that could last a lifetime.

B is for Beg is the second book in Colette Davison’s Alphabet of Desire series. The trilogy follows the triplets, Archie, Blake, and Corey, as they find happiness with their Doms, who happen to all be close friends. The stories follow parallel timelines (and, in fact, Davison notes at the end that the books were written simultaneously), so we see many familiar events here from A is for Aftercare, but with different characters’ POVs. So while the plot of this book stands alone fine, I think this story is much richer having read the first book. It’s fun to see familiar events happen from a different viewpoint, as well as learn what was happening with Blake and his men at various points in Archie/Hamish’s journey that we weren’t seeing in Aftercare.

We met Blake in the first book and he is sort of considered the triplet who doesn’t quite have it all together. And in some ways that is true, but we see here that Blake has grown up a lot, but his family often still sees the man he was years ago. Still, the steadying presence from Gabe and Calvin does help him, particularly in gaining the confidence in himself, as well as a willingness to speak up on his own behalf. While the focus of the series is mostly on the triplets, we also see some issues explored for Gabe and Calvin. The two men have been close friends, but never sexually involved, nor have they played together. So there are some nice scenes where we see the guys talking through what it would mean to actually get involved with one another, rather than just both simultaneously playing with Blake. Gabe also has some body image issues, fearing he is not attractive enough due to his weight, particularly compared to muscular Calvin and lithe Blake. However, Davison describes these stories as steamy and low-angst, and that is definitely the case. While these issues come up, nothing is really presented as a potential impediment to their relationship and even Blake’s long-term problems with his parents are mostly resolved in a night. So this is definitely a light and easy story, and one without much conflict.

There is also a light and sweet tone to the BDSM. The story is definitely kink heavy, but the intensity is pretty mild. Gabe is a ropes expert and the kink element is primarily focused on making Blake feel good through tying him up and pleasuring him. The ropes scenes are well done in that Davison finds a good balance between describing the various rope designs and how Gabe is tying Blake, while also not going overboard on the detail. Blake also likes to wear lingerie, so that plays a big role, as well as some light orgasm delay/denial. I’ll also note that while Gabe/Blake also refer to each other as Daddy and Boy (versus Calvin who goes by Sir), there isn’t a strong Daddy/boy dynamic here. Gabe tends toward a little more nurturing as a Dom than Calvin, but there is not much beyond that. I enjoyed the relationship among the three men and think it works well, so it wasn’t a problem for me. I’m just mentioning it in case you are really looking for a strong Daddy/boy vibe, since I don’t think you will find that here.

Overall, I found this a really enjoyable second installment in this trilogy. I like the way Davison is playing with the overlapping timelines and the way each story explores a couple/triad, while still connecting to the series. We get a few glimpses into Corey’s journey here, so I am looking forward to seeing how things play out in the final book.

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