My tormentor and Charlie both wanted to rack my body, one with pain and the other with pleasure.
Charlie Hunt was a temptation too difficult to resist. He thought he could protect me from the darkness and depravity, but it wasn’t thoughts of my safety that kept me up at night.
My tormentor had already taken his pound of flesh. Methodically ripped me apart until there wasn’t much left for Charlie or anyone else to love. There was only one thing left to take, and when he came back, I feared that my life wouldn’t be the only one forfeit.
That was the problem with the temptation of sin. Once you went down that path, all that was left was desire. And God help me, I wanted Charlie Hunt more than I wanted my next breath. It was a safe bet my tormentor could arrange that.
My Review
This book has a story that is inspiring for fiction but also dark. The book’s subject and the character’s history make the read exceptional. I love the honesty, the hot steamy scenes, and the overall story. Yes, it does have a trigger warning. Still, it is a fantastic stand-alone contemporary romance about overcoming your biggest fears and past and finding true love. There is no knight in shining armor in this but a tattooed bad boy with a penchant for blunt explicit conversations. Emily is the true hero overcoming her issues and her fears. This book was well written and an inspiring story focusing on a taboo subject but done very well and fictional.
This book has a trigger warning for dark themes and domestic abuse. However, I enjoyed the dedication despite the warning and looked forward to having this author approach this sensitive subject.
Emily has a scary past. She has escaped her tormentor but is still working past her life’s scars. I like that she is doing something for herself and covering up something she is ashamed of.
Charlie is very blunt but a bad boy tattoo artist; however, his convictions are surprising. He is sweet but has a prickly exterior.
Emily agrees to a date with Charlie, but as much as he wants her, and is sweet. Her past still traumatizes her. Things heat up, and this book gets steamy both in conversation and action. However, something more sinister lurks in the background, and I’m sure it will be a shock when it emerges.
Charlie is no knight in shining armor, but he respects women, which is amazing. I love that he is honest and blunt, even if he has a short attention span. Charlie does make a big mistake, but I can’t blame him for the honesty afterward.
I was right. This book gets spooky, but it also resolves a lot of the conflict of the past for Emily. We find out a lot of secrets. I love how this book ended.
“Doe, your ass has been mine since you walked through the door of the shop, you just didn’t know it yet.” His fingers left a tingling sensation in their wake as they made their way to the hem of my dress and started tugging it up to my waist. He palmed my bare butt before running one rough finger along the line of my thong and groaning, “Fuck, you wore a thong!”
Inked by Gladys Cross
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If you like this book you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories Bad Boy, Steamy and Dark Themes.
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