Unwrapping a Review of AT HIS MERCY, a Forbidden Lovers novel by Shelly Bell

Already a fan of Shelly Bell’s sexy stories after reading the Benediction and White Collared series, so when she asked me to read the first in her new series, AT HIS MERCY, a Forbidden Lovers novel, I didn’t even ask what it was about, I just said, ‘YES!’ and I am so glad I did. Not having had much time to read lately, I needed something that would whet my appetite for reading again, and that’s exactly what this wonderful erotic romance mystery did.

***eARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for AT HIS MERCY:

Angel in his arms . . . Devil at her heels

One, last no-strings night of indulgence. That's all Tristan wants before he begins a much-needed new chapter in his life. Instead, he finds an innocent angel in pink who brings him to his knees.

Isabella is done hiding from the world. . .and her haunting memories. Discovering courage in the arms of a perfect stranger, she finally lets go and sheds her inhibitions.

To Isabella's shock, she soon learns that Tristan is more than her mystery man-he's her professor. But Tristan isn't the only person who's found Isabella on campus. A dark figure from her past has come back for her. Now Tristan will risk anything to protect Isabella. . .even if it costs him his life.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabella Lawson survived a terrifying encounter. She put her life back together as best she could, and now she’s heading off to college in an attempt to improve her life, prove she can stand on her own, and to take control of a life that has felt out of her control since her ex-boyfriend tried to kill her. Having discovered the world of BDSM, she accompanies her cousin to her first play party. All she wants is to experience the freedom, the excitement, and the anonymity that the BDSM world provides before heading off to college and years of concentration on her studies. What she never expected to find was a man who would awaken her body, her mind, and possibly her heart.

Tristan Kelley’s world is bordering on the lowest point it can reach with an ex-wife who threatens him constantly with accusations of abuse even though she’d been a willing BDSM partner…but then it’s all about money for her. Speaking of money, Tristan is in need of a loan to build his new business. However, with his ex-wife dogging him with false accusations, and his finances gone, he has no choice but to try to rebuild his reputation and earn some money by taking an old friend up on a teaching position upstate as the best course of action. One year - he’s going to give teaching one year and then move onto bigger things. He hadn’t planned to spend his last night in the arms of an intriguing, sexy young submissive but he couldn’t resist the beautiful red-haired girl once she walked through the door.

After a night of passion, neither Tristan nor Isabella thought they’d ever see each other again. On the first day of classes, Isabella walked into the lecture hall of the professor who she was to work for, and whom she hoped would be the edge she needed to get into the Business Program only to discover the instructor substituting in his place is the same man she’d spent an amazing night with losing her inhibitions. Now she and Tristan have to figure out how to stay away from each other even as they can’t stop thinking about each other. What to do when desires grow stronger than doing the smart thing and what happens when pasts collide putting everyone and everything between them in danger.

AT HER MERCY had me hooked from the first pages. I love a good mystery and Shelly Bell does them better than most. As usual, I had a few suspects in my head but the guilty party was the last person I expected. Well played, Shelly, you got me.

Intrigue, sexuality, and the world of BDSM are the background players in this love story between two broken people. Tristan feels he’s failed everyone in his life and Isabella is unable to trust or allow herself the freedom to experience life because someone who she thought loved her, instead tried to do her great harm. Shelly conjures up characters that make us feel their pain, their frustrations, and their fears but also allows us to watch them grow and fall in love. While Isabella learns to open her mind and horizons to new goals, new sensations, and trust, Tristan begins to recognize and inspect his life in retrospect allowing him to begin to trust and love too. When the private walls of their world begin to crack and break, we feel the heartache of Tristan doing what is best for Isabella more so than him, and Isabella trying desperately to make him understand that her trust in him is so great that together, they can fight the bigger fight. The story comes together in a tense, edge of the seat ending with great resolution, a wonderful happily ever after and in the process, we learn things that pull it all together for both of them, as well as their friends. I’m very much looking forward to the next installment of the Forbidden Lovers series.

I highly recommend AT HIS MERCY, book one in the Forbidden Lovers series by Shelly Bell to anyone who loves an angst filled love story that will also steam  up the air around you while you’re reading.

Happy Reading Everyone!

And I’m hoping my next review isn’t so long in coming. Thanks for your patience. xox

AT HIS MERCY, a Forbidden Lovers novel by Shelly Bell, Forever Romance, now available in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

Review Stop on the Tasty Virtual Book Tour for BLACK LISTED by Shelly Bell with #excerpt & #giveaway

Welcome to my review stop on the Tasty Virtual Book Tour for BLACK LISTED by Shelly Bell, the newest Benediction novel and trust me, this one is explosively good. Stick around for an excerpt & fab giveaway too.

***eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest and unscripted review – I already bought my copy because this one is a definite re-read.

Blurb for BLACK LISTED:

She sacrificed everything to keep him safe…

Five years ago, con artist Lisa Smith broke the first rule of hustling when she fell in love with—and married—her mark, billionaire Sawyer Hayes. The erotic nights spent acting out her darkest fantasies with her husband and Master were the happiest of her life. But when her ruthless father demanded she kill him and take his money, she had no choice but to disappear without a trace…or lose him forever.

He’ll risk everything to have her again…

Now Sawyer has found her, and he has an indecent proposal: submit to him for seven nights and he’ll grant her the divorce she desires. Forced to pretend she no longer loves him, each night spent in his arms is exquisite torture as they reignite their intense passion through role play and ménage. But when a deranged killer out for revenge targets Lisa, she must finally trust Sawyer with the secrets of her past…or neither of them will live to see the future.

Warning: Scenes depicting BDSM, fisting, MMFMM, consensual non-consent, and references to abuse.

My Review:

Let me just say straight out…I love the Benediction series. I cannot get enough of it, and even though it is not a series for everyone, I think everyone should try it on for size just once. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I do either, but it is truly addicting.

We first met Lisa Smith in the White Collared books and frankly, I didn’t like her much. I thought her conniving and was always feeling as if Kate needed to watch her back with her. I guess there was a good reason for that…she’s a con artist. Not just someone who manipulates to get things her way but an all-out, criminally minded, con artist, who came from a family of con artists, and is now hiding out from them—and her husband, Sawyer Hayes.  

Lisa’s real name is Annaliese Hayes nee Hunt. She married Sawyer Hayes, the sexy billionaire computer genius who helped clear Rachel and Logan of murder in BLUE BLOODED. She married him because that’s what her father wanted her to do then divorce him for the money, only he changed his plans and decided she should kill him instead, and take it all. Only one problem with the old man’s plan…Lisa had fallen in love with Sawyer, so she took enough money to appease her hateful father, and left. She left the man she loved, the life she wanted with him, and took along with her a Black List that could put her entire family away for a very long time…her included. She warned her father that if anything happened to Sawyer, the list would go straight to the FBI. She gave up her life to save Sawyer’s. All was well until her picture appeared in the newspaper and Sawyer showed up at Cole and Danielle’s wedding.

Lisa asks him for a divorce. Sawyer says he’ll agree only if she agrees to spend one week as his submissive. Seeing that he was, and still is, her only Master, Lisa agrees because she still craves this man, still loves this man, and wants to protect him by making sure he goes away and stays away from her. The problem is…if Sawyer could find her…so could her father, her brothers and any one of the many marks, she’s defrauded over the years.

As I read each book in the Benediction series, I think Shelly Bell can’t possibly thrill or keep me enthralled as well as the one before but she can, and she does. Having just come off reading RED HANDED immediately before reading BLACK LISTED, I thought nothing could surprise me more, but it did.

BLACK LISTED, book three in the Benediction series by Shelly Bell is raw, rough, suspenseful, and not for the faint of heart when it comes to sex scenes but it’s also, beautiful, emotional, passionate, and overflowing with an intense love between two perfectly matched characters that are getting a second chance at love, marriage, truth, and the future. We are used to second chance romances where a couple who had unspoken feelings for each other come back together and reignite their love and relationship but this time, in BLACK LISTED, this is a married couple, a Master and Sub, two people who had already committed themselves and their hearts to a union torn apart by secrets and lies. It’s unique, it is heart wrenching, and we can’t help but be drawn into their world, their love, and feel the same sense of healing when the truths—all of them—finally come out.

Frankly, I hope Shelly never ends this series but I know it will happen eventually…happily, these are stories I will be revisiting many times in the future. I highly, highly recommend that if you love good suspense, characters rich in realism, a world of the sexually unusual—one that intrigues and makes you wish you were brave enough to venture into—and experiencing love that you wish could exist outside the realm of romance novels then please…read BLACK LISTED by Shelly Bell, and welcome the addiction.

Happy Reading Everyone! 

Amazon | B & N | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo

Excerpt from BLACK LISTED:

Lisa turned and caught sight of Rachel walking toward her with two men by her side.

It took only a moment for it to register.

The long blond hair she loved to tug on during rough sex.

The stubble lining his jaw that used to scratch the skin of her inner thighs as he worked her over with his mouth.

The roguish and lighthearted appearance he maintained in public and the dark dominance that lurked beneath the surface.

It was him.

He was here.

Her Master.

He had found her.

She blinked a few times, trying to see if maybe she was imagining that the man she’d run from four  years ago was suddenly only feet away and talking with her friends as if he knew them. That was impossible, right?

Her heart galloped a wild beat, and the sounds of the crowd disappeared under the roar of her pulse.

She wanted to run from him.

She wanted to run to him.

All the sorrow and regret she’d buried deep down inside came rushing back with a force that nearly bowled her over. And when the ghost from her past stood right in front of her and looked at her like a stranger, the glass of red wine slipped from her shaking hand onto the green grass, the liquid pooling beneath her heels.

Seemingly oblivious to her shock, Rachel smiled, a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. “I’d like to introduce you to Logan’s friend, Sawyer Hayes. Sawyer, this is Lisa Smith.”

Logan’s friend? Sawyer was Logan’s friend? This was the man who had helped Rachel and Logan in Las Vegas when they were framed for murder and running from the FBI?

“Hello,” Sawyer said cordially, standing so close she could feel his body heat radiating off him and smell a scent that reminded her of the best days of her life. “It’s nice to see you again, Annaliese.”

Her mind was a jumbled mess.

Like she was prey caught in the sights of a hunter, she became entrapped in his eyes.

She couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t speak.

Couldn’t move.

“You know each other?” Rachel said, her brows wrinkled in confusion.

“You could say that,” Sawyer said slowly, still holding Lisa captive with his eyes. “She’s my wife.”

“Lisa is the woman who conned you?” Logan asked incredulously.

Shame heated her cheeks, and she suppressed the threatening tears. Her friends would hate her when they discovered what she’d done. Not that she deserved any less.

And what did it matter? She was about to lose everything. She wouldn’t be surprised if she was arrested at any moment.

Rachel took her hand, but she still couldn’t look away from Sawyer. “I’m sure if she did, she had her reasons.”

Yes, she had her reasons. Dark, dangerous reasons that sometimes woke her out of her sleep in the form of violent nightmares.

And now with Sawyer’s appearance, her nightmares were one step closer to becoming true.

About the Author:

A sucker for a happy ending, Shelly Bell writes sensual romance often with a bit of kink and action-filled erotic thrillers with high-emotional stakes for her alpha heroes and kick-ass heroines.

She began writing upon the insistence of her husband who dragged her to the store and bought her a laptop. When she’s not working her day job, taking care of her family, or writing, you’ll find her reading the latest smutty romance.

Shelly Bell writes the Benediction series for Avon Red Impulse and the forthcoming Forbidden Lovers series for Grand Central Forever.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Unwrapping a Review of RED HANDED, a Benediction novel by Shelly Bell

The Benediction series by Shelly Bell continues to blow me away. I know I’ve read them out of order, but it doesn’t matter…I’m totally addicted. RED HANDED by Shelly Bell had me hooked from page one and she surprised me with a bang of a bad guy in the end.

***purchased for my own reading delight but sharing an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for RED HANDED:

Shelly Bell returns with another steamy and suspenseful thriller set at the exclusive sex club Benediction …

An exhibitionist who's waited her whole life to be seen … 

After her stepmother is abducted, Danielle Walker has no choice but to follow the kidnapper's cryptic instructions. Under the guise of a sex slave trainee, she must infiltrate Cole DeMarco's BDSM club and find evidence of his offshore bank account … or she'll never see her stepmother alive again. But Master Cole is no stranger, and despite the dark past they share, Danielle cannot resist his magnetic pull.

The voyeur who's always been watching … 

As Danielle begins uncovering Cole's secrets, the artistic voyeur arouses her deepest desires, and she surrenders to a fiery passion she never expected. But with time running out to save her stepmother, Danielle and Cole will face off against an evil growing more ruthless by the day … and discover a twisted web of lies, betrayal, and murder that neither saw coming.

~*~               ~*~                ~*~               ~*~

Danielle Walker wakes in the night to find a stranger in her home, her stepmother’s life being threatened, and she’s given instructions to retrieve bank account information hidden in a place where no one but one man has access…the private quarters of the owner of the most prestigious sex club in Michigan—Benediction. So her only choice is to become a sex slave in training under the one man who has haunted her dreams and sexual fantasies since she was a teen—Cole DeMarco.

Cole DeMarco is surprised but pleased that Danielle Walker, the daughter of his former partner, has submitted an application to sex slave training at Benediction but he can’t help but wonder what she’s up to, and if she’s up to all it means to be a sex slave. When unusual things start happening with Danielle in the center of the action, Cole is determined to discover who, and for what reason, is behind it all. 

Danielle may have set out to seduce him but she ends up being seduced by the world of delights available to her and Cole at Benediction.

RED HANDED, the actual book one of the Benediction series by Shelly Bell simply blew me away. Having read these out of order didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of the series at all but I am surprised that the first real Benediction book turned out to be one of the best. Having already read BLUE BLOODED, I knew somewhat what to expect but in fact, I had no idea just how seductive the world of BDSM as Shelly paints it could be.

The characters, the mystery, the suspense, and the sensuality of RED HANDED is what hooked me in, seduced me, if I may say, and now has me totally addicted to this series. Shelly’s characters are alive and people that I would love to know in real life…especially the men. She kept me on the edge of my seat not knowing who might be behind everything but I have to admit, who it was…I never saw it coming. She got me and that’s usually very difficult to do.

The Benediction series by Shelly Bell, as well as the White Collared books are not exactly for everyone but if you’re willing to take a step on the wild side, or if you read the dreaded SHADES books, then I highly, highly recommend reading RED HANDED by Shelly Bell. Darlings, the SHADES books haven’t got a clue as to how hot, how amazing, how inviting, and downright exhilaratingly sexy, BDSM can really be.

Happy Reading Everyone!

RED HANDED, a Benediction novel by Shelly Bell, Avon Impulse, available now in print, and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

Unwrapping a Review of Shelly Bell's White Collared series - MERCY, GREED, REVENGE, & PASSION

In all honesty, I wish this series had been one book or two at the most because I can’t imagine having had to wait between installments for this one to play out. Take my advice and purchase all four at once, load them on your reader and have them ready to read one after the other. Yes, they are that good, and that addicting. Rather than review them individually, I’ll give you a few thoughts on each but review them together as a whole.

***purchased for my own personal reading but sharing my honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for MERCY - Part One:

The first sexy installment in Shelly Bell's four-part serialized erotic thriller about a young law student who must go undercover at a sex club to prove her client is not guilty of murder.

Driven by ambition …

Third-year law student Kate Martin outran her tragic past to become an intern for her idol and secret crush, the powerful attorney Nicholas Trenton. She is thrilled when Nick assigns her to represent his best friend and client, millionaire Jaxon Deveroux … the prime suspect in his submissive wife Alyssa's murder.

Seduced by desire …

Kate knows they have only a few days to find the real killer, and since signs point to a member of the BDSM community, she volunteers to go undercover as Jaxon's submissive at Benediction—the private sex club where he is a member—to covertly investigate Alyssa's last few months. For years, Kate has kept her dark fantasies a secret … but a chance to explore them with sexy, dominant Jaxon is just too tempting to pass up.

An amazing and engrossing start to a mystery that even when you think it’s solved, it’s not. The first installment of this fabulous series teases and cajoles you into the mysterious and misunderstood world of BDSM. Kate is attracted to two very Alpha males while involved in a relationship that has never been exciting for her but instead, just safe. Eager to please her boss, Nick Trenton—one of the men she fantasizes about—and advance her career, she can’t help but imagine herself in the arms of their client, a man suspected of killing his wife in a decadent and abusive fashion thus putting her life and her career on the line. The knowledge that Jaxon and Alyssa Deveroux were heavily into BDSM does nothing to deter but instead, incites fantasies she’s always had but never admitted, even to herself.

This first installment ends with a warning, perhaps she should take it.

~*~                      ~*~                        ~*~                      ~*~

Blurb for GREED - Part Two:

In the second installment of Shelly Bell's four-part serialized erotic thriller, law student Kate Martin enters a world of dark secrets and seductive fantasies at the exclusive sex club Benediction.

Restrained by duty …

Reeling from a threatening phone call and frightened that her past will be revealed, Kate turns to the one man she can still trust: Nick. She can't deny her attraction to him, yet she craves the passionate connection she has with Jaxon.

Bound by passion …

Undercover at Benediction, Jaxon introduces Kate to the sensual pleasures found in exhibitionism and voyeurism. While they mingle with the club's patrons, Jaxon and Kate unearth clues about his wife Alyssa's last days that could lead them to her killer. But as she investigates further, Kate is shocked to learn of a cold case that is eerily similar to Alyssa's murder … and when the evidence ties Jaxon to yet another death, Kate begins to question everything she knows about her enigmatic lover.

We venture deeper into the world of BDSM with Kate and Jaxon while truths are exposed from all directions, and we continue to stumble over clues pertaining to Alyssa’s murder and Jaxon’s involvement. It’s getting complicated as Kate begins to succumb to the new world she’s exploring at night while trying to do her job during the day, and keep her distance from Jaxon.

This installment ends with an attack that will surprise you.

~*~                       ~*~                         ~*~                        ~*~

Blurb for REVENGE - Part Three:

In the third sexy installment of Shelly Bell's serialized erotic thriller, Kate will finally entrust Jaxon with her secrets, but the lies he's told have the power to break her heart … and threaten her life.

Motivated by honor …

After a gruesome discovery, the men in Kate's life unite to protect her from imminent danger, but Jaxon becomes consumed by the fierce desire to possess her fully. Kate trusts him enough to surrender to him in the bedroom, but she still fears the vulnerability of complete and utter submission.

Enslaved by pleasure …

Jaxon continues to push Kate's sexual and emotional boundaries, penetrating her defenses and crumbling the walls she has built around the painful memories of her past. But just as she opens her heart and accepts a future with Jaxon, the devastating truth about Alyssa's death shatters the tenuous bond they share, testing their relationship and propelling her directly into the path of a desperate murderer. 

Kate is discovering she enjoys the world Jaxon is showing her but she still can’t bring herself to succumb completely to it, especially with her past rearing its ugly head at nearly every turn. Having thought she’d put it completely behind her, she’s coming to realize that it doesn’t take much to bring it screaming back to the forefront…just a little investigative ingenuity. When the truth of Alyssa’s death and the time leading up to it is revealed, Kate isn’t sure what or whom she can trust anymore.

This installment ends with Kate learning she’s not the dangerous person she’s come to think she is.

~*~                         ~*~                       ~*~                      ~*~

Blurb for PASSION - Part Four:

In the thrilling conclusion of Shelly Bell's White Collared series, Kate and Jaxon are finally free to put the past behind them, but a shocking betrayal could have deadly consequences that neither saw coming.

Compelled by truth …

With Alyssa's murder solved, Kate attempts to fix the damage to her relationship with Jaxon, but with his reputation and career destroyed by false accusations, Jaxon asks for time to consider their future. Yet as hard as Kate tries, she can't extinguish her desire for Jaxon, or forget the pleasure she's found in submission.

Dominated by love …

In an attempt to convince Jaxon they truly belong together, Kate allows him to dominate her completely, signifying her trust and proving her love. But just as everything she's ever dreamed of is finally within her grasp, Kate discovers a chilling secret from Alyssa's past that brings her world crashing down … and reveals a murderer hiding in plain sight. 

This installment will have you questioning everything that you thought you already knew and start questioning where the investigation has already taken you. That’s all I’m going to tell you because if I say anything more, I’ll be giving up too much information and you have to experience it for yourself.

The White Collared series by Shelly Bell is an extraordinary, exciting, steamy hot as all get-out story line, and definitely makes FIFTY SHADES OF GREY pale in comparison. This is the real emotion, psychology, and excitement of the world of BDSM. Shelly Bell has done an incredible job of presenting this hidden world in a way that we can all understand and hopefully, appreciate. Whether it is your cup of tea is up to you but as a reading experience, it rocks big time. This is a series that most certainly has to be read in order to capture the full impact of the story, the mystery, the romance, and the eventual happily-ever-after.

I highly recommend each book in the White Collared series by Shelly Bell, MERCY, GREED, REVENGE, and PASSION because one without the others would be a travesty in reading. Take a walk on the wild side and trust me, if you even half-way liked FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, you’ll fall head over heels in love with Shelly Bell’s works because that other one looks so dull in comparison.

Happy Reading Everyone! 
**Also, if any of you review regularly on Goodreads, Avon Books would love to send you egalleys in exchange for an honest review. If you're interested, click here to sign up. xox

About the Author:

A sucker for a happy ending, Shelly Bell writes sensual romance often with a bit of kink and action-filled erotic thrillers with high-emotional stakes for her alpha heroes and kick-ass heroines. She began writing upon the insistence of her husband who dragged her to the store and bought her a laptop. When she’s not working her day job, taking care of her family or writing, you’ll find her reading the latest smutty romance. 

MERCY, GREED, REVENGE, and PASSION, White Collared novellas by Shelly Bell, Red Avon Impulse, available in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

    

Review Stop on the Tasty Virtual Book Tour for BLUE BLOODED by Shelly Bell with #excerpt + #giveaway

Welcome to my Review/Excerpt stop on the Tasty Virtual Book Tour for BLUE BLOODED, book 3 in the Benediction series by Shelly Bell. This is my first experience with a Benediction book and I was not disappointed, in fact, I am now hooked. I need to catch up. Stay tuned for an excerpt after my thoughts, and a giveaway.

This one releases tomorrow! A must read!

***eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for BLUE BLOODED:

In the next sexy and suspenseful Benediction novel, an investigative reporter and an ex-soldier witness a murder outside of an exclusive sex club and while on the run, uncover a deadly conspiracy that begins with mobsters and corrupt FBI agents... and ends on Capitol Hill.

A woman who refuses to be tied down...

Investigative reporter Rachel Dawson is always looking for her next big story. While working on a feature about BDSM, she lands a one-night, no-holds-barred pass into the exclusive sex club, Benediction. Rachel doesn't have a deviant bone in her body—or so she thought—until the infuriating, ex-soldier Logan Bradford convinces her to try rope bondage under his capable hands. But a steamy night turns deadly when Rachel and Logan witness a gruesome murder.

A Dom who's determined to bind her to him...

Framed for a crime they didn't commit and hunted by corrupt FBI agents, they flee. As Rachel and Logan search for evidence to clear their names, the attraction they've been fighting ignites into fiery passion. Love is the last thing Rachel wants, but night by night, as Logan binds her body, he unravels the knots around her heart. And when they uncover a shocking political conspiracy, Rachel will stop at nothing to reveal the truth…and it just might kill her.

My Review:

Wow, Wow, and WOW! I was hooked from page one and had I the time, I have no doubt I would have read this in one sitting. BLUE BLOODED by Shelly Bell is fast-paced, action-packed, sensual, sexy, and downright excitement filled with every turn, twist, and white-knuckle page turn. Shelly has packed in everything that could make a story grand, exciting, sexually adventurous, romance driven, and character exceptional. I don’t know if the first two books are this good but I surely plan to find out.

Rachel and Logan burn up the pages with the sexual tension that exists between them from the start but as you start to see the control shift and wobble between them, you feel the attraction grow and become more. Logan is all about control but when he thinks he can no longer maintain it, he surprises you. Rachel is also all about control but when she gives it over to Logan, she realizes that there is more to control than who is pushing the buttons. It’s about give and take, and control becomes more about allowing someone to do what he, or she, needs to do rather than doing it for them.

BLUE BLOODED, book 3 in the Benediction series by Shelly Bell is most definitely erotic romance. It takes you into the world of BDSM, its light, its darkness, its smells, sounds, pain, and pleasure. However, it doesn’t saturate the pages with it, but rather turns the sexual adventures into yet another in-depth and living character in the story. Whereas it might not be for everyone, I highly recommend it…you can always skip the erotic sex scenes…for the story, the emotional relationships, the surrendering of one strong dominating personality to another and vice versa. BLUE BLOODED is a thrill ride, not only for the erotic sexual scenes but also for the imaginative and terrifying plot line which could so easily happen in today’s world…truth always is more strange, and more often, terrifying than fiction. I am absolutely so eager to experience more of the world of Benediction.

Happy Reading Everyone!

Excerpt:

Puffing on his Cuban cigar, the Senator reclined in his chair, a tumbler of scotch on the rocks in front of him. He stared down the two men sitting on the other side of his desk, daring them to repeat the words that had just been uttered.

Sweating profusely, FBI Agent Seymour Fink tugged on his tie, his Adam’s apple bobbing above the buttoned collar of his shirt.

For a moment, the Senator considered retrieving his gun from his desk drawer and shooting the agent in the head, but he couldn’t risk getting blood or splatters of brain matter on his tuxedo. After all, he had an important dinner to attend in an hour and didn’t want to disappoint his wife.

He downed the rest of his drink and then shook the ice in the glass the way he’d like to shake the mobster who was fucking with him. “Tell me what you’re going to do to fix the problem,” he said calmly, unwilling to allow this minor bump in the road to waylay his plans.

There were only a few problems in the world money couldn’t solve, and this was not one of them. His men were loyal to him because he paid them to be loyal. They believed in his cause because he paid them to believe in his cause. The whole goddamned US of A was manipulated by money, making it possible for great men like him to become even wealthier.

But he was different because unlike most men, he cared more for this country than he did money.

“Do, sir?” Using the sleeve of his suit jacket, Agent Fink wiped the sweat from his brow, cigar smoke circling around his head like a boa constrictor. “I’m not certain we should do—”

“You listen to me, you little prick. There is nothing that will stand in my way.” The Senator hurled his tumbler against the wall above the fireplace, shattering the glass into a million tiny pieces. “Do you understand me? I’ve got your balls in a vise underneath my blade, so let’s try this again. What are you going to do to fix the problem?”

These agents had been instrumental in helping him to get the charges against Anthony Rinaldi dropped in exchange for the mobster’s valuable foreign contacts. A few months ago, the FBI had arrested Rinaldi for the extortion and kidnapping of Danielle Walker and, in the process, had discovered the bodies of thirteen young women buried on his property. But thanks to Agent Richard Evans and Fink, vital evidence had disappeared from the FBI’s possession, helping the judge in the case, a man all too easy to blackmail due to his expensive cocaine habit, to render his decision in dropping the charges. In exchange, Rinaldi had brokered a deal with a Congo mafia leader, and an item found exclusively in the Congo region was about to arrive in the United States. Now that the ship had sailed and all the components were successfully in place, Rinaldi’s usefulness had come to an end.

Seymour swallowed convulsively. “No one was supposed to get hurt.”

“Don’t pull that bullshit now. You knew when I approached you that lives would be lost for the greater good,” the Senator said. He handed off his cigar and nodded to the other agent, a bruiser of a man whom he’d chosen not only for his twenty years of service to this country but for his lack of empathy. Agent Richard Evans understood the risks involved in his job, the three bullets he’d taken in the chest a testament to that fact.

Evans pinched the fat cigar between his fingers and, in a flash, locked his partner’s head under his arm, pinning Fink’s hands to the table and singeing the top of one with the foot of the cigar. Fink screamed, his smaller body thrashing wildly as he fruitlessly tried to escape from his partner and the pain he was inflicting.

The acrid scent of burnt flesh overpowered the cigar’s sweet one, a smell he would forever more attribute to power.

By the time Evans released him, Fink’s skin had turned pasty white, his shirt completely drenched from his sweat. He breathed heavily, nodding. “Consider the problem solved, sir. By this time tomorrow night, Rinaldi will be dead.”

The Senator leaned back in his chair and smiled.

God bless the USA. 

About the Author:

A sucker for a happy ending, Shelly Bell writes sensual romance often with a bit of kink and action-filled erotic thrillers with high-emotional stakes for her alpha heroes and kick-ass heroines.

She began writing upon the insistence of her husband who dragged her to the store and bought her a laptop. When she’s not working her day job, taking care of her family, or writing, you’ll find her reading the latest smutty romance.

She currently writes for Avon Red Impulse, Loose Id, and Soul Mate Publishing. 

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