Cameron Greeley had spent a lot of years trying to put the memory of Gabe Holder behind her. But now he’s getting married to the wrong person and, despite the way they parted, she can’t let that happen. Kidnapping Gabe and taking him to an isolated cabin, she treats him to hours of the hottest sex either of them could imagine. In one all-too-short evening they indulge in every erotic act she can think of and then she dumps him back at his house, the memory of those hours eating at her. Will he let her go, or will he come after her, taking her into his bed and into his heart?

Now this is, pure and simple, an out and out sexy love story. It has the familiar story line of a love that once burned hot between two people, which was abandoned by one party or the other, but which has continued to plague them both in the subsequent years. What makes this story somewhat unique is the determination of Gabe’s friends and housekeeper (who is really like a mother to him) to upend any plans by one of the parasitic women in the community who is broadcasting to all who will listen that she and Gabe are just about to be married. As the story unwinds, it would appear that this is mostly a figment of her imagination, but Gabe has let it continue, lost in his world of self-pity and just living his days in something of an emotional fog. His friends are truly worried that his emotional inattention may cause some serious hurt in his life and he will find himself ensnared to a woman he really not only doesn’t love but one he is not sure he likes very well.

Cameron Greeley is an attorney in Houston and it is to her that Gabe’s friends turn, asking her to come up with some way to get his attention to the extent that he will once again take charge of his life and his future. They know that even after all this time, she stills cares deeply for him. Cameron’s memories of their young-adult affair as well as her own surprising attitude of “what the heck, grab life’s joys when you find them” cause her to formulate the kidnapping plan and to carry it out with the collusion of Gabe’s housekeeper and friends.

Bound to the bed with fur-lined handcuffs, Cameron has her wicked way with Gabe, driving him wild and letting him know that this is “payback” for a lot that was never settled between them. She also lets him know that she and others are not willing to allow him to move blindly into a marriage that is prompted by inattention on his part and greed on the part of this other woman. She gives him a long and exciting exposure to what he will be missing if he turns away from her.

This is an erotic, fast, sizzling read, easy to read and fun to read, but also with the underlying sense that whether it be sex or any other “tool,” it is often our friends who care enough to help us recognize those in our lives we truly value. The authors have packed a lot into just a few pages, but they have made the story work. I loved the housekeeper—wiley and caring all wrapped up together. We could all use someone who cared about us that much in our lives.

I give this short story a 3.5 out of 5.


You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place