Brief Encounters

Title: For One Night Only
Author: Anne Brooke
Length: 10,000 words
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: m/m BDSM contemporary
Rating: B-

Blurb:
Jake Morrison’s position as Dom has been deeply shaken by his unwitting role in the recent death of his sub. When he’s allowed back into Langley’s Pleasure House after a six-month ban, he longs to make amends in any way possible.

Club-owner Langley’s surprising request for an unexpected encounter, however, tests Jake’s sense of purpose to the core. He’s willing to learn, but the lesson might not be one he expects…

Review:
This story is not really a romance and yet it’s also more than just erotica. It’s a story of redemption and forgiveness for the main hero Jake. In the past Jake had a reputation for coldness as a Dom and he was happy about that. He liked to keep things ‘to business’ and wasn’t interested in knowing about the problems that his subs may be having outside a scene. That life-view comes crashing around Jake’s ears when his selfishness leads to the death of his sub, Andrew. Six months later the ban from his club is lifted, but Jake still has a lot to atone for and the club’s owner Langley is the one to offer that second chance.

One of the things I particularly liked about this story was that we get to see the downfall of a formerly ‘smug Dom’. Jake is so self assured and gets off on humiliation play with his subs. His BDSM is essentially self-centred and his subs seem just like a convenient body with which to play, than people he is genuinely interested in. The scene were we see the last evening between Jake and Andrew left me squirming and uncomfortable, but it was necessary to show how wrong Jake’s mindset was at the time. This makes Jake’s remorse over what happened and his subsequent attempts to become a better Dom and man all the more satisfying. I can’t say I liked Jake very much, but I had an understanding of him and his motivations.

What didn’t work as such was that this story felt like the beginning of a much longer book. All the emotions are so condensed because of the page length that I longed for more. The story is essentially a flashback scene followed by a lengthy BDSM scene, which whilst really engrossing left me a little cold because it lacked the romance I wanted to see. There’s a possibility that the romance may develop later, but I would have preferred to see that progression, to watch Jake become a better man and fall in love and that just didn’t happen here. It’s possible that there will be a sequel and I’d be happy to read that, but I would have preferred a longer book to explore Jake’s redemption in detail rather than a series of disjointed shorts.

So whilst I love Anne Brooke’s writing and certainly enjoyed the intensity of the short story, I wanted more. However, if you like BDSM stories and aren’t too bothered about a lack of romance you should check this story out.