Months after being released from captivity, secret agent Randal Blake is still reeling from the heights of pleasure and pain that the mysterious Sarceda introduced him to. Unsure that he is fit for active duty, Blake's boss sends him to do some training on a military base - but his convoy is ambushed, and Blake is once again taken captive. And who should pull the bag off his head, but Sarceda himself? He is full of devilish ideas for how to show Blake just how much he missed him, and the spy is like putty in Sarceda's hands. At times, Sarceda's cruel façade begins to crack, and Blake wonders if deeper feelings are developing.
Sarceda, however, has more sinister plans for Blake's future, involving the ruthless head of Colombia's biggest cartel, a renowned sadist. But as Blake begins to understand Sarceda's motivations and the terrible tragedy that has sent him on a lifelong quest for revenge, Blake realizes he must see it through - even if it means enduring greater pain and humiliation than he thought he could withstand. And rumors of betrayal by the very agency that is supposed to protect him leave Blake reeling. By the time Sarceda gives him his freedom, Blake is no longer sure where his loyalties lie...
Warning! This 14,000+ word story contains kidnapping, D/s elements, reluctant consent, bondage, knifeplay, whipping, and a slightly twisted happy-for-now ending! Adults only!
This segment begins with Blake back at work and recovering. Three plus months after his return, there is still some concern about his ability to return to active duty. The higher ups aren't convinced he will ever be able to, especially as long as he doesn't remove the collar Sarceda put on him.
Needless to say, they send him on a mission where Sarceda recaptures him and they go through the struggle of trust and needs and wants. The story centers around Sarceda seeking revenge from the drug cartel leader who killed his family when he was a boy. He uses Blake to accomplish this, which, in turn, solidifies Blake's position/importance to Sarceda.
I enjoyed this a bit more than the first, though I still wish it were longer and more drawn out. Jumping right into the next one to see what happens.
Sequel to Bound By The Enemy. In spite of the silly subtitle a surprisingly entertaining non-con/dub-con shorty including missing story bits from part one. The two shorts together, more background information and better fleshed out characters and this could have been a great novel...
I like that it has an actual plot. I'm annoyed that the entire thing is split into two parts that I have to separately procure, but I like that the story is finished.
I think i might have screwed up by reading this book before the first. I feel like i have missed out on Sarceda and Blake's beginning. I have no idea what happened between them to make them the way they are.
I loved the plot. It was very interesting and kept me on edge. The relationships were basically captor/captive, M/s, D/s and S/m. However, i had a hard time connection a few dots (which is my fault for reading the books out of order).
Sarceda is determined to get his revenge for the sake of his family's death. He will not left any type if feelings get in the way. Throughout i could tell that he had deeper emotions towards Blake but he just wasn't willing to sacrifice vengeance for love.
Blake is a difficult one to figure out. I am sure it may be easier after reading the first book. Anyways… the author keeps stating that Blake is broken. I disagree! Blake is NOT a submissive. Yes he was trained to deal with pain on another level and basically not feel it but that only made him a good person for Sarceda's end plan. Blake was a brat who needed serious discipline!
All together i had fun reading this. I had a hard time rating this but finally decided on 3 stars. I feel like all the characters were emotionally detached and unreachable. I couldn't connect to any of them so i took away a star. For me, the emotional connect i feel to the characters makes the story so much more.
This bore out the promise of the first volume, and then some. The relationship got even yummier in this installment, and took on more depth.
I really liked the way the author described the characters' interactions and I liked that both characters where so thoroughly tough guys. A couple of typos annoyed me, but they weren't excessive (I read the pdf from smashwords, and I guess they may have been loading/conversion errors). All in all, a very satisfying conclusion to the earlier story!
I'm still disappointed in the lack of character development. The interaction between Blake and Sarceda has advanced beyond just sex but the story is still lacking any believability. Alvarez was just an animal.
I had written a not very enthusiastic review of the first instalment of this series (Bound by the enemy), but thanks to this second instalment the entire storyline has finally got some depth and meaning. These books may not be considered as standalone stories; you definitively have to read them together otherwise you miss very important aspects of the characters and their motivations.
I really enjoyed books one and two in the series. I don't have any dislikes for these books. I would recommend these to other people and my friends too.