Braided: a Velvet Glove Novel

Velvet Glove #6

by Sean Michael

Peter and Paul run the body modification store at the Velvet Glove. They specialize in tattoos and piercing, using their own bodies as experimental canvases. These two have a special relationship, one as volatile as it is loving, as most of the members of the Glove are well aware.

Along comes Bowie, master masseur and strong, steady top. Attracted to the souloves, he gets involved with the volatile couple. Can he bring balance and happiness to their relationship? Can all three of them find a way to make their lives work together and for the better? Find out in this passionate addition to the Velvet Glove stories.

Previously published by Torquere Press.

Genres: BDSM, M M Romance, Romance, M M M, Erotica, Menage, Gay

233 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

Often referred to as "Space Cowboy" and "Gangsta of Love" while still striving for the moniker of "Maurice," Sean Michael spends his days surfing, smutting, organizing his immense gourd collection and fantasizing about one day retiring on a small secluded island peopled entirely by horseshoe crabs. While collecting vast amounts of vintage gay pulp novels and mood rings, Sean whiles away the hours between dropping the f-bomb and persuing the kama sutra by channeling the long lost spirit of John Wayne and singing along with the soundtrack to "Chicago."

A long-time writer of complicated haiku, currently Sean is attempting to learn the advanced arts of plate spinning and soap carving sex toys.

Barring any of that? He'll stick with writing his stories, thanks, and rubbing pretty bodies together to see if they spark.

Reviews

[Phaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh but this one was good.

Lots of sex, naturally, but it doesn’t feel as though it overwhelms the story. (Well, maybe the sex goes a little overboard for a while towards the end.)

And there is a story. The relationship between these three is complicated to say the least and the author doesn’t shy away from all the layered issues. No one, not even Bowie, gets away with always doing the right thing. But they convincingly learn together, among some major setback. That sense of progress and real development makes for a good story.

I particularly enjoyed that Bowie has no hang-ups about bottoming or doing subby things when it feels right. There’s not that much of the overly formal and rule-heavy type of BDSM in this relationship (yay!), but instead something that seems far more liveable and alive.

Nice, long story.

[Aղցela W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book 4 stars because it was oversexed and although I do like that I wish that it would have been more to the characters and I do like reading Sean Michael. This was book six in this series and I have not read the books before this but I will I would love to visit the Velvet Glove. The dynamic between Peter and Paul is entertaining to read about, especially once Bowie shows up and turns the status quo on its head. The twins' actions are random and often funny and sometimes too much, and Bowie takes it all in stride. This book shows that not all submissives are alike in what they want or need from a D/s relationship. Peter is fragile emotionally and requires what amounts to coddling, whereas Paul is fiery and needs near-constant supervision and frequent punishments. Paul is a little hard to like sometimes. He's selfish and throws temper tantrums like a child. There are some fights and outbursts and punishments that break up the monotony of the sex scenes a little bit, but if those conflicts had been explored in more depth, the story would have been stronger. Peter who is the gentle soul doesn't speak a lot, but he knows what he wants, and Bowie knows he has to listen to him and be patience and wait for his pet. Bowie is able to understand their diversity and manage them in different way. Together they build the family that Peter and Paul want so badly. And in the end the story was pretty good

[Marsha Spence · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of the Velvet Glove series!

[Elisa Rolle]

Peter and Paul are twin. And lovers. And friends. They are all for the other. But they need someone who balance them, a dom that understand the unsaid words between them. Bowie is that dom. He is quite and strong, like his gemini are loud and weak.

Peter is a gentle soul. He doesn't speak a lot, but he knows what he wants, and Bowie knows he has to listen to him and be patience and wait for his pet.

Paul is loud and active, but he is unsure. Apparently stronger than his brother, he hides his fear and has a loudy behaviour cause he doesn't want to be dismessed.

Both gemini are open and trustworthy. And Bowie is able to understand their diversity and manage them in different way. Together they build the family that Peter and Paul want so badly. And in the end, the need of the gemini to have a colorful plumage to be as much visible as possible will not be more necessary, cause Bowie can see them as they are, and not as they act.

As always, sex is enjoyble, often and hot.

A deep and heartwarming story, Sean Michael manage to create two wonderful characters, Peter and Paul, everyone with a strong personality and another character, Bowie, apparently more undertone, less colourful, but in the end the very core of this braided trio.

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/87...

[Tamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was so nice to finally get to really meet Peter and Paul. I've had snippets of them throughout the series and it's always good to finally get to know the characters. I can only say they were really lucky to finally meet Bowie. He was what they needed to have their relationship as brothers grow. We didn't know too much about Bowie before he came on the scene, but it sounds like he was comfortable with his life, but that he was searching. And found what he was looking for in two quarreling twin brothers who needed his firm hand. I'm starting to agree that often the "sex" seems to take precedent over the "love" and as I read more and more of the series, I find that I'm skimming through the sex to try and get to the real heart of the story.

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1st read - Oct 1, 2011
2nd read - Apr 1, 2014 - for 2014 Pushing Boundaries Challenge

[~ Lei ~ Reading Is An Adventure ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★☆
You know what you're going to get with a Michael's story - lots of sexin' and this didn't disappoint. I've had this for quite some time and finally took the time to read it this weekend.

Bowie meets the twins and can tell immediately they need a strong hand and someone to guide them and he's ready to step forward and be that guy. Each of the twins is alike and separate and Bowie has to work to understand each of them and fulfill their needs and he makes some missteps but I liked that he was willing to admit them and try harder.

He was unwilling to do anything with the twins that he hadn't experienced himself so I liked the scene when Peter brought out the sound and Bowie tried it so he could show how good it could be to Paul

Another winner from Sean Michael that I enjoyed.

[Trio · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a journey, I kept putting this one down and picking it back up again... I loved what SM did with the characters, the whole thing about the twins and their pasts was really interesting the way it wove through the plot though I would have liked more about Peter's story before Paul. I liked how Paul felt if he wasn't bad or a brat no one noticed him, that played in to the story well. And Bowie was terrific, the perfect Top for them. All in all not my favorite Velvet Glove novel but still very good.

[Sue Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite Sean Michael books; long and satisfying.

[Alicia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was bizarre... I started at #6 in this series because it seemed like a stand-alone and it was recommended as a taboo read so I wasn’t really interested in reading the other 5 previous books. Welllll... I felt lost as soon as I started reading this. I guess Paul and Peter were important characters in the other books? Because there was no introduction to who they were as characters, who they were to each other, what happened to them in their past, and an even bigger thing was the whole dynamic of the world in this story. They were called “souloves” but I had NO idea what that meant and it was never explained in the entire book. Is it their race? Is it another way to say soulmate? Is it another word for saying they were twins? Fuck if I know, and it bothered me the whole time I was reading this...

Bowie was new and the day he walked into their work area and started introducing himself and talking to Paul and Peter for the first time, they both basically whipped out their dicks and Bowie gave one of them some sort of leather cockring? And met up with them later that night and basically started their relationship right then and there. Bowie is a dom and he started that with Peter and Paul right away, but none of them really even knew each other so there was some arguing and frustration going on. Bowie acted like he knew what was best for them without even knowing them individually at all.

And when Paul ran away all of a sudden because he felt Bowie and Peter were better off without him... it just didn’t feel like the description fit well within the story. I understand why he’d feel that way but the situation just popped up out of the blue. And he came back and complained that he missed them, he was hungry, he couldn’t work, he was beaten up... but he freaking chose to leave! Ugh.

Also, we never even got the story of Paul and Peter. What happened to Peter when he was young? It mentions Paul and Peter were separated when they were five... but why? I don’t know if this was in previous books from this series but I was just frustrated that I never got the answer.

So no answers, no initial relationship building in the beginning, 90% of this story is sex scenes over and over again, and I’m left feeling confused with the story. Definitely not an enjoyable read for me.

[Mystisith · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's something about this writer that is addicting. The writing is honestly sub par especially when compared to modern authors BUT. His Doms are always romantic nurturing softies, even without being daddies. The way he writes hardcore scenes with a Dom that explains, soothes, reassures... Any sub would walk over broken glass for that, complete trust and devotion turning hard limits into soft ones just to make the Dom happy. One of the reasons why I'm reading his stories in small chunks. I need his sweetness overload to balance all the contemporary dark extreme BDSM out there. Make Love not War.
Here I loved the subs a lot. A dysfunctional twincest relationship with one having speech impairment and the other anger/volatile mood outbursts is not something you read about every day. The Dom arrives to fix their toxic behavior, in the name of love and it works. I enjoyed the dynamic with the bit of switching. Also, a Dom who wants to wear his subs mark? Hell yeah. Keep all the wedding dresses and 💍, I want that level of commitment instead. It's idealistic & simplistic at times but turns me into a pile of content melted reader so who cares. I want more. 💙

[L.G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 Star
I only have one word to describe this book: boring. Now don't get me wrong, there was sex from page 2 and it just kept going. But other than that nothing really happened. Maybe my expectations were too high but unfortunately this book didn't work for me. And I guess I could have lived with a book about the days of their lives and the evolution of their relationship (which literally started the day all 3 of them met), but the perspectives! I got so confused by the same name being used again and again, although it made no sense because it was clearly meant to be more than one person (especially Pete and Paul got mixed up regularly). But also the change in POV gave me whiplash, because there was no cue when the perspective would end and whose are you seeing.
I really struggled to finish this book and I feel bad, because I really wanted to like it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first story by the author and I have to say that little happened beyond sex. It is really wondrous the amount of sex the trio had. The twins were interesting and their interactions often funny, while Bowie's coming changed things.

[Mary Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book of love

3 men find love 2 are brother separated they found each other and love each other they fight like brothers till they meet there Master

[Charly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of sex with not much else going on to break it up

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 6/10

PROS:
- The dynamic between Peter and Paul is entertaining to read about, especially once Bowie shows up and turns the status quo on its head. The twins’ actions are random and often funny (putting the key for a door in their apartment “in the deep freeze,” for example), and Bowie takes it all in stride.
- There’s something unusual about all of the characters in the Velvet Glove universe, and it’s fun to discover what strange things each new couple/group will be into. With Peter and Paul, it’s dying their hair and skin outlandish colors so that they have an otherworldly look to them.
- This book shows that not all submissives are alike in what they want or need from a D/s relationship. Peter is fragile emotionally and requires what amounts to coddling, whereas Paul is fiery and needs near-constant supervision and frequent punishments.
- There is some fairly heavy drama in the story, but it didn’t feel contrived to me. Yes, the boys go off the deep end a few times, but they do so only after talking quite a bit first. Only when that doesn’t seem to be working does one of them snap.

CONS:
- Paul is a little hard to like sometimes. He’s selfish and throws temper tantrums like a child.
- The majority of Michael’s stories are very heavy on sex, but this one has little else besides sex. There are some fights and outbursts and punishments that break up the monotony of the sex scenes a *little* bit, but if those conflicts had been explored in more depth, the story would have been stronger.
- The editing issues are pervasive.

Overall comments: The relationship here is very similar to the triad depicted in Baked: one Dom and two subs who are twins, one of whom enjoys pain but tempers his need for it because his brother is frightened to see it. I liked this, but I wasn’t overly impressed. It doesn’t have too much going for it besides the sex.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about three men working to make a relationship work. It is not a perfect relationship; there are upsets, hurt feelings, quarrels, misunderstandings, and Paul feels left out, unaccepted, and unneeded at times. Worse, Paul leaves his two lovers once and while details are not given he gives blow jobs for money while he is he gone, lets men beat him, and lets someone have such rough sex with him that he bleeds. These things are mentioned but not shown. I rather felt that his lovers should have been more upset about this aspect of his time apart from them. Parts of this story were heart breaking, and while Paul seems happy at the end of it, he still is not sure he is needed. Sad. However, the ending is, except for that, a happy one with a beautiful HEA for the three.

To me, the story is not instant love more a realisation of mutual need. The story shows three men who need each other and the love gradually develops. Peter and Bowie are always committed to the relationship, and Paul eventually commits to it.

There is a lot of hot sex in this story, but I feel there is a plot {the three need each other but it's not easy to make the relationship work}.

I love the length of this book. I loved all three characters. I'd love to see more of them and see how they are doing. I would love a sequel that shows Paul secure and needed and feeling accepted for who he is, not who he feels he should be.

There is a lot of attention to detail in this story, which was great.

The story does contain BDSM, fisting, spanking, twincest, threesome, sounds/wands, etc. All very well written.

This story is part of a series but can be read alone.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took me four tries to get past 12%. I’m not sure I would have ever made it further than that if it weren’t for the fact that I already owned it, and I could use the fisting scene toward the MM Scavenger Hunt. I just had such a hard time getting past the instantaneous meet-and-jump-into-bed thing, and the twins were so immature. This honestly felt less like a BDSM story and more like a Daddy/boy story. Add in the crazy ever-changing skin/hair colors and I just felt no connection whatsoever to the characters until about 80% in.

I did like that Bowie was not the stereotypical alpha dom. He could be stern but generally used a patient, gentle hand. Peter was the easiest to like, sweet and eager to please, and by the end of the book he’d grown a backbone and self-confidence. Paul took me the longest to appreciate, but ultimately he was the only character I felt any connection with. The character growth of the twins was gradual and enjoyable.

The book was generally well edited. There were a handful of spelling errors, but none that pulled me out of the story. There were a couple accidental character attribute switches that made me need to read a sentence or paragraph again. Toward the last quarter of the book, it was sometimes confusing which character the narration was following when the three were together. The word “oh” was used 252 times over 233 pages.

This book was mostly a string of sex scenes, and I appreciate more plot with my porn. I’m not sure I see myself reading more from this author.

[Norah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm where do I start with this read. Firstly I should give a short synopsis of the book.peter and Paul are twins who run the body modification shop at the velvet glove bdsm club.one is a piercer the other does ink,they have a special love a special bond,in comes bowie, the new masseuses.hes a strict Dom type and he instantly knows after seeing the twins and hearing their banter he has to have them both as his subs.and so starts the trials and tribulations of the three men. So now for my view on the tale , I have to say my thoughts and views bounced all over the shop.i totally loved both the twins,especially Peter,loving sweet and just plain adorable Paul on the other hand was feisty paassionate and prone to being a tad naughty but. Still you cNt help but love him too.now for my biggest peeve was Bowie, I know doms are suppose to be strict and in charge but to me he was over the top,I know I enjoy the hot sex scenes in my stories but please you can't tell me every problem can be solved with hopping in the sack,.i mean one twin is upset so a quick hot session of sex and ropes will make it all better,I feel a little mean saying that but truly I'm not one who usually skips parts in a book but I found myself doing just that.i guess if a book is judged on how it makes you feel I should have given it a higher rating cause geeze did my emotions bounce around.anyways it's an ok book concept was good but it just wasn't one I will do again,

[A.B. Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this one. For a number of reasons, it made a nice contrast to a lot of the other books in the series. A top who didn't object to being fucked. Who didn't come across as a know it all, never wrong top and biys who weren't perfect.

Like a lot of Sean Michael's books we just see them having sex, but in this case a lot happened off screen we just didn't see it.

Paul away from the club, Peter and Bowie missing him, Peter and Bowie's confrontation with Mal. Their jobs. Peter's past. These were all mentioned in passing.

Most writers would have shown these angsty moments, but Sean doesn't.

If it had been anyone else I might have objected, but at least I got a hint of deeper and more rounded characters and that was good.

Most boks in the series have just been about a kink and that seems to be the book. Because this book revolves around twincest and threesomes, rather than a toy or sexual practice, there was a lot more variety and depth. The needs of each were explored more from a personality point of view.

There was kink there, but it was varied and done to create an effect rather than because it was the set piece. In fact Bowie came across as a person who thought about what he was doing and why. He reacts to situations and builds them to his ideas and is not afraid to go with the flow. All welcome changes to the usual Sean Michael comfort read.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stars: 3.5/5

Overall
If you want hot sex, and lots of it, then pick up this story! If you want deep plot, go else where. If you want character studies, you'll find it here. If you want deep, overwhelming emotions, this probably isn't the place. So am I saying this is worth it? Yes. As long as you go in knowing what you're going to get, you will be happy with what you get in the end. The writing was enjoyable enough that half way through (when I realized there wasn't really going to be much plot), I shrugged my shoulders and kept reading. I love plot-drive
Warning: Contains BDSM involving fisting, twincest, sounds/wands, threesome and more

Click here for the full review

[Emmie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, just not my cup of tea. I read a different book in the series and liked it, but this one was just tough. The constant skin dyeing and hair colors. Literally, all I could think of was skin cancer and the lack of safety precautions. Plus- I didn't buy the Bowie love at first sight, I could have done with a work up of a few days. Peter's stuttering was tough to read also. I would have preferred the twins to be a little less categorized, the complexity was as deep as their need to dye each other opposite colors. Like the shy stutterer is really deeply stronger and the loud one is super needy inside. Maybe I'm harsh on the two, but this book was just not for me. I would recommend you review the others in the series perhaps.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to admit I didn't finish.... I was about 3/4 of the way done and found myself skipping the sex scenes hoping to find a story!

I really wanted to like this one after not really caring for Bent but I think I just don't like this author very much.

Once again too much sex which was redundant and got boring (can't believe I'm saying that again) and not enough story

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is fucking good !!!!!! i just love peter !!!!! just got to my heart and cant stop imagine him !!!! one thing left to say : Sean Michael you are freaking good !!!!!just freakin'fucking good!!!

[Ivana]

Not going to rate this one as it's now going to my shelf as a DNF. I just couldn't continue...it was incredible hot but there was nothing else there for me. I need a connection in the story and this just didn't grab me.

[Skye Blue ☆*~ﾟლ(´ڡ`ლ)~*☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Sean Michael, so you know it's going to be full of hot sexy times. This did not disappoint.

It kept trying to insert some plot....but really, there's no much there.

Nice fisting scene. Two sounding scenes.

Hot read.

[DeeNeez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been a long time since I’ve read any of the futuristic Velvet Glove club series. This one is about the twins Paul and Pete finding their Dom, Bowie, the new massage manager. Yes, it’s all about kinky sex with very little plot. But dang it was good.

[Renee (ren213) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical Sean Michael but I really liked the twins. They were cuties.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally I love Sean Michael's books, however this one seemed to be just too much sex. Definitely PWP.
I know that 2 of the menage were younger men but I dont know where they got the stamina from..

[clear skies]

lolx2.

Isn't this the same as Gemini by Chris Owens? Or did Chris Owens just copy Sean Michael.

[Chancey "Does not give out 5's like candy" Knowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not on Kindle or Cloud - Originally updated December 23rd, 2011

[CI · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very emotionally moving development of a D/s relationship