- Shopping Bag ( 0 items )
Want a NOOK? Explore Now
A successful executive, M. Taylor Hamilton is on track with her ten-year plan. Too bad her personal life consists of hitting the gym and grocery shopping. Enter the seductive Adam Kirliss. They may have a working relationship, but everything changes at an office party when he handcuffs her to the rail of a yacht.
Taylor writes off the adventure as too much champagne, but when Adam challenges her to a date, she agrees to meet up with him. And follow his rules. They share a night of exquisite intimacy, brimming with both pain and pleasure. But afterward, fearful of losing her heart, Taylor pulls back emotionally.
Adam is determined to prove that she longs for the loss of control he can give her—and the passionate release it provides. How can he make her see that he wants her, and not just her body?
32,000 words
Taylor brushed a rebellious wisp of hair out of her eyes for the umpteenth time and sighed. Why her CEO insisted on having the entire staff out on his yacht for these little shindigs, she didn't know. Better to be behind her glass-and-mahogany desk, working the numbers.
Numbers had a nice way of adding up.
"Taylor!"
Ah, and there was J. C. Worthington himself. Taylor squared her shoulders, plastered on a smile and strolled over to her beckoning boss. She'd feel more confident in her usual suit, but Worthington had decreed cocktail attire for this celebration. Nothing that "smells of the office." Ha-ha.
"Taylor." He smiled in his grandfatherly way that fooled no one. "You look like you're still at work. This is supposed to be fun!"
"I'm having fun," she assured him, tugging the hair out of her eyes. "Your yacht is lovely, as always."
"So is the sunset and the view." Worthington gestured at a tuxedoed server and pressed a flute of champagne into her hand. "And we're celebrating tonight."
"Oh, I don't really—"
"Do I have to tell you to relax and enjoy yourself?" Worthington gave her a mock stern look, then laughed. "You worked hard for this contract. Live it up a little—I'll make it an order if I have to."
She smiled, but it felt thin. She gave the orders in her life and she liked it that way. But she also knew how to play the corporate game. She tipped her glass to Worthington and sipped, the champagne sliding cool and sparkling down her throat. He smiled his approval.
"That's better. Now where's Kirliss? Ah, there." Worthington beckoned to the long-legged man in black lounging by the rail. With his sleek dark hair and the impeccable lines of his suit, probably Armani, he reminded her of a jungle cat. "Adam, I'd like to raise a toast to you and Taylor. You two make an excellent team. To a bright and lucrative future!"
They obediently raised their glasses and clinked. Adam Kirliss sipped at what looked like whiskey, watching her over the sharp crystal rim with eyes nearly the same color. She'd become accustomed to his steady regard. The man negotiated like a predator, which she understood and appreciated. He'd hit on her once but had taken her cool refusal on the grounds of business well. She respected that too. Not every guy managed to be gracious about it.
"We're also celebrating Taylor's promotion tonight." Worthington slipped a brass strip out of his jacket pocket and displayed it with a broad smile. The new doorplate gleamed in the late evening light. M. Taylor Hamilton, Vice President of Development. "I'm hoping this might hold you off from taking my job for a few years."
"That, and the comfortable raise that goes with it." Taylor raised her eyebrows. Of course, becoming CEO was on her ten-year plan. At year eight, to be precise.
"Well done, Taylor." Kirliss shook her hand in congratulations. He held it just a bit too long, his long fingers strong and strangely hot against her skin. "You know, I've been wondering—what does the M stand for?"
"Mad Dog," Worthington inserted with crowing laugh.
Taylor returned the grin easily at the company joke. The guys all found it funny and she figured it only added to the image she wanted to project. Plus, she had no intention of ever revealing that the M stood for Molly. Her mother had named her Molly Taylor, so she could choose either an earth-mother image or go with M. Taylor for a more businesslike name.
She'd been Molly until third grade. Then she ditched the name, along with pigtails, dirty dresses and the naïve hope that her mother would change. M. Taylor she'd been ever since.
(ARC review): That is one hot piece of cover! Awesome-sauce. Just by seeing the cover, without reading any description or anything, I was like "Hell yeah, I'm reading this!!" So I did. The first thing that makes it attractive, considering the genre, is the fact that it's rather short. I mean it's like 32k words I think, some 90 pages or something. Considering some novels I've read in the same genre, I find this generally to be on the plus side, as it's long enough to make it hot and charged and awesome, without stretching thin a plot that was sketchy at best to begin with. This length of book permits enough character building to make it cool, get a healthy dose of one on one action, and move happily on. The plot is not necessarily a breath of fresh air, I mean we've all seen the up-tight high-powered shark that needs some spanky to unwind, right? And yet somehow it never gets old; just like the uber-awesome hotstud falling for the odd quirky girl and loving her eyes out never gets old as a plot. There's a part of us that just loves the idea so much, we'll go through 1 mil versions of it and love them all if they're done well enough. But Taylor is not quirky; she's high-powered, she's beautiful, strong, successful. Not a trembling flower waiting for thorough pollination, she's out there making honey, you know? I loved that about her. Adam was interesting too, I mean I was totally into them as characters right off the bat. And I actually liked them more as I read on, their chemistry was very interesting, and they had awesome relationship dynamics. So this is the case of characters I liked on their own and in combination even more. It's a rare case, sadly. The spanky part of it was hot, not too strong in my opinion; what I mean by that is there was usual tying up, some probing (not giving you details, stop staring :P), but nothing outlandish or disturbing. As far as BDSM erotica goes, this a fairly easy read, in my opinion. It wasn't all smex, there were feelings involved, and here's where we'll go into the part that made this a 4 butterflies, and not the 5 that it could have been. After reading it, the length wasn't such an advantage as I'd initially pegged it for, and here's the why: I felt that the angle of the author was so good, the characters so charismatic, and their dynamics so interesting, that parts of the book as is felt too short. I mean, there was enough substance to go on a more lengthy exploration, in fact I felt it sort of demanded more exploration. The sort of metamorphosis that their relationship triggered called for a more detailed, longer story. Don't get me wrong, if you like hot stories, and some power-play, you'll most likely love it as it is (I think), but if you'll like it like I did, you're gonna want to have read more of it. But overall, I say give it a try; it's short, it's hot, and it's sort of sweet, all things considered.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.A fun, fast, erotic, sweet read. M. Taylor Hamilton is the vice president of her company. She has always put her professional career first and loved being in power and control. She has not gone by Molly since third grade because she wants the image of a strong woman. But when a business associate, Adam Kirliss, decides he wants to take control of her on the top of a yacht during a company party, Taylor decides to enjoy it. All she has to say is Sapphire and he will stop. Taylor never backs down from a challenge.
What was supposed to be a fling turns into her agreeing to a date the next night. Kirliss shows her one wild night of great sex and passion. She enjoys it to the fullest until the next day he still demands more of her. He wants it all. A long walk on the beach, laying out in the sun all day, a barbecue for dinner, and for her to spend the night again. Taylor puts her guard back up and sneaks out. But when Kirliss doesn't come after her she wonders if maybe she wants it all with him too.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.AMR0406
Posted January 9, 2013
This is the first book that I have read that includes bondage. I wanted to know what this BDSM was about but had hesitations and didn't want to just pick up a random book about it. So, I chose this one specifically to read because I have gotten to know the author, Jeffe Kennedy, have read another book of hers (Rogue's Pawn) that was not erotic and really liked her writing.
Adam Kirliss has been interested in Taylor Hamilton since the day he met her. The are business associates and have worked together on a lot of business deals. The one time he does try to ask her out on a date, but she refuses. He learns that she does not date at all. He then realizes she is a lot like him and might need a little encouragement to release the inner Taylor that he knows she keeps locked up.
Taylor is a strong, independent woman who needs to be in control all the time. In the board room. In every aspect of her life. She dreams of letting go of that control, but just can't bring herself to do it. At a company party Adam offers Taylor a chance at something in which she simply can't bring herself to say no.
The main scene in this book is what really makes up the a lot of the story. Holy. Cow. It was more than I expected in a lot of ways. More story. More emotions. More intimacy. More love. Yes, I did say love. There were some parts where I thought the hero, Adam, took things a bit too far. He realizes that later, though. I didn't expect Taylor to be so strong either. What I didn't expect was the love Adam had for Taylor. I was surprised at the gentlness he showed for Taylor. Walks on the beach, steaks on the grill, and cuddling. It was so incredibly sweet. Of course, when it involved Taylor's heart, that is when she uses the safe word - Sapphire - and leaves Adam.
It doesn't take Taylor long to realize she is miserable without Adam. He has been the only one to get past her defenses and to her heart. She does finally realize how much she loves Adam and invites him back into her heart the only way she knows how. I thought the ending scene was absolutely perfect for this story.
Sapphire is a wicked sexy BDSM novella about control-freak and workaholic business woman, M. Taylor Hamilton. Watching her mother lose control of her life and having to take care of herself at a young age, Taylor strives to be nothing like her by remaining in complete control at all times, in every situation, and never losing her head over a man. But when a fellow businessman that she previously shot down corners Taylor on her boss¿s yacht and pushes her into an illicit erotic encounter, Taylor¿s icy control starts to crack. Adam Kirliss sees the real woman behind the hard exterior in Taylor, M as he calls her, and wants to bring that woman front and center, not just for himself but for Taylor too. He can see that Taylor needs to let down the wall to fully enjoy life, she just needs a little push in the right direction. But when Adam lays it all out will he end up pushing Taylor too far, causing her to run? I really enjoyed this novella. It has light BDSM to it with a subtle sub/dom theme, and I say light because compared to some other BDSM novels I¿ve read it is but that doesn¿t mean that you won¿t get wrapped up in the story, and in more ways than one! ;) I absolutely loved Adam Kirless, he wanted Taylor, did his research and then set out to have her in a way that not only made her finally see him, but see her true self as well. Adam was intuitive to Taylor¿s needs, seeing past her icy defense mechanisms. He knew that she needed to be pushed and pushed hard to conquer her fears but made sure not to cross any extreme boundaries and to let her adjust to the situation before moving onto each step. He was dominating when needed but at the same time, gentle and caring. His character had many faucets and I adored every one! Taylor had such a tall and thick wall around her that it was hard to connect with her character at first but as Adam breaks that wall down and Taylor starts to let go, I, as the reader, began to see more and more into her psyche and form a connection with her as the story progressed, while at the same time Taylor is learning more about herself and becoming comfortable in her own skin as well. The pace of the story was good, the sex scenes intense and incredibly flammable, the relationship was believable, and the characters captivating. Sapphire is about the true purpose behind BDSM, breaking a person down and then building them up to be even better than they were. A very satisfying erotic novella in every way!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.MFRTX
Posted November 2, 2011
I loved how the story started with a bang. It just didn't let me rest until I read the complete story. I couldn't get enough. It is a blazing hot story.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.FranJessca
Posted October 27, 2011
I haven't read Erotica in awhile and when I got a chance to read and review "Sapphire" by Jeffe Kennedy...I jumped on it. What captured my attention the most was the description of the book and then the cover. A book that shows someone in handcuffs has to be good, right?
From the beginning to the end, this book is intense. M. Taylor Hamilton is one woman who thinks work is her life. She never has fun and never gets loose. Until she is put into a enticing and sexy situation with sexy, mystery and out of control Adam Kirliss on her boss's yacht. They've always had a working relationship and she never gave him a chance for anything else...but when he starts showing a darker side and makes Taylor do things, she never thought she would allow...Taylor starts realizing maybe she has another side to herself, that she may like better.
Adam's main focus to break Taylor from her stiff life and make her realize she can lose control every once in awhile.
What Adam does to Taylor though, is just way overboard KINKY.
Jeffe definitely had the sex scenes get really steamy and erotic in certain parts of the books. Taylor had to trust Adam with her body and her emotions when it came to Adam's sex control. I don't think I would allow some guy who I hardly know take control like Taylor did with Adam....until Jeffe described Adam a little more in the book and then I changed my mind. Yum!!!
Adam is definitely a perfect match for Taylor and I'm glad he got her to open up and break her shell. At the end of the book it takes a twist which opens up Taylor even more. I love it!!
I gave this book 4 stars because it definitely had me keep reading until the end. I had to stop reading certain parts just to cool down though. =)
My hubby has always wondered why I loved reading romance and erotica. Books like this give me ideas on what we could together. =) Thank you, Jeffe Kennedy for some ideas that I definitely wouldn't mind trying out...although their is one thing I won't try...it's just too far out there for me. LOL
I definitely will be keeping up with Jeffe's books now after I read this book and I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes erotica. I even recommend for anyone who isn't comfortable with erotica. This book will take you out of your comfort zone...and who knows, maybe bring out another side you never knew about, like Adam did to Taylor.
Anonymous
Posted December 24, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted November 11, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted November 9, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
A successful executive, M. Taylor Hamilton is on track with her ten-year plan. Too bad her personal life consists of hitting the gym and grocery shopping. Enter the seductive Adam Kirliss. They may have a working relationship, but everything changes at an office party when he handcuffs her to the rail of a yacht.
Taylor writes off the adventure as too much champagne, but when Adam challenges her to a date, she agrees to meet up with him. And follow his rules. They share a night...