His Rules by Anthology – multiple authors
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (229 pgs)
Other: BDSM, M/M, Anal Play, Forced Seduction, Toys, Spanking
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Fern

‘Time Out’ by Sean Michael

Val and Chaz broke up after Chaz safeworded unnecessarily during a scene. Can they find a way to come back together?

A few months ago, Chaz safeworded during a scene, just because he was feeling neglected and bitchy. Val was understandably upset that his sub lied, and the two of them split up. Now it’s months later and Val is miserable to be around, so his friend sends him to his private lake house to vacation and get over himself. At least, that’s what Val thinks is happening. In reality, Chaz has also been lured to the lake house and is waiting there so they can hopefully get back together.

Despite his shock at finding Chaz at the lake house, Val decides to do a scene. Will it be the last scene they share or will they find a way to move past what happened?

‘Strict Consequences’ by Morticia Knight

One proposition, one night. Could it be the beginning of a forever after for a Master and sub?

Garson teaches poetry and literature at the local college, but what he does on his own time is much different. His need for pain and dominance is strong, but his fear of letting go is stronger. He won’t let any Dom touch him sexually, and his other hard limits are even more extreme. But lately, his one hour a week sessions haven’t been satisfying him anywhere near enough.

Jarvis finds the bookish and reserved Garson captivating. His love of extreme pain is thrilling. But there’s also a hedonistic wanton hiding beneath the surface of the detached sub, and Jarvis aches to be the one who sets him free. After waiting for a year to crack Garson’s carefully controlled surface, Jarvis conceives of a plan.

Garson knows he shouldn’t give in to Jarvis’ proposition that they spend an evening getting to know each other, but the reward of unlimited time in Jarvis’ dungeon is much too tempting. Or is it actually Jarvis who’s the most tempting thing of all?

‘Tagging Mackenzie’ by L. M. Somerton

Achieving a Dom’s undivided attention can have unpredictable consequences.

Steele Denton’s business doing custom paint jobs for fast bikes is booming. He’s in demand and has a reputation for being a perfectionist. Tattooed and intimidating, Steele is also in demand as a Dom at his local BDSM club, Chain of Thorns. He requires perfect submission from any sub he deigns to play with.

Mackenzie Soames is desperate for Steele to notice him, but might as well be invisible. He has no idea how to get invited into the VIP members’ area that Steele rarely strays from, so he concocts a plan to get Steele’s attention. Kenzie is a talented graffiti artist with a secret identity, known only by his tag, a pair of handcuffs. He spray-paints a BDSM scene on a wall at the side of Steele’s workshop, hoping Steele will see the security footage and track him down. However, Steele is working late and catches him in the act.

Steele recognises Kenzie from the club and demands twenty-four hours of sexual slavery as penance for the graffiti. Kenzie has no choice but to agree and soon discovers that being Steele’s sub will either make him or break him.

‘Bad Idea’ by Lily Harlem

Bad ideas can sometimes be the best!

Roughneck Riders are not an MC club you mess with, least of all their rough and tough gang leader Heavy. But Heavy has a secret that has to be kept, no matter what—his heart belongs to a man. It shouldn’t. He’s supposed to be into women, like the other guys in the club. Junk is just too cute to resist, though. Add in his delectable body, his sweet submission and his willingness to accept Heavy’s sadism, and the couple are a perfect match.

Junk’s a probie, proving his worth to the club and demonstrating his mechanical know-how. He’s lived on the edge for a long time, flitting from one place to the next. But now that he’s settling in as a Roughneck, life is looking up. Not least because he’s in love—soul-eating, cock-thickening obsessive love. He can’t tell anyone about his desire for Heavy, but what he can do is push his lover’s buttons, all day, in full view of everyone, until he’s damned sure the night will bring a whole host of sinful delights and wicked punishments that will leave him marked, bruised and most of all, wholly satisfied.

‘Safeword’ by Samantha Cayto

A dangerous game turns into unexpected pleasure…

Carter’s dream of running from his abusive family into the arms of the perfect Dom has been shattered. Virtually enslaved by a vicious arms dealer, he has to submit to any man his master gives him to.

Undercover agent Damien Crow is close to putting away the arms dealer he’s been hunting for years. All he has to do to gain the man’s trust is ‘play’ with the pretty boy with the frightened eyes and alluring corset piercing down his back. Being straight and not a practicing Dom, he has doubts he can pull off the effort. One look at his playmate changes his mind. The stakes are high, and he must put on a good show.
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At first, Carter assumes Damien is just another brutal Dom to survive. But the big, brooding man reignites his passion and gives him something Carter hasn’t had in years—a safeword. It might be his last chance to enjoy being a sub and he embraces the role no matter what the consequences.

‘Earning His Leathers’ by S. Dora

Call him old-fashioned, but Connor believes a man should earn his leathers.

Connor Lee is very much into both men and BDSM. He already knows he’s a dominant within the game of sex and power. He just wants to become a damn good master. When he gets the opportunity to become part of an exclusive group of men who share his philosophy, he’s willing to submit to their rites of passage.

His appointed tutor isn’t Connor’s cup of double espresso by any stretch of his imagination. Stone Carver is dark, tall, muscled and he has the face of a man who has seen one fight too many. Stone notices Connor’s hesitation and sends him away to find someone to have fun with and return when he has made up his mind.

Connor meets Jesse, who is everything he has ever dreamed of, and he wants nothing more than to stay with the sweet—potential—submissive. He decides, however, to meet the challenge of submitting to Sir Stone and promises to return to Jesse after he has earned his leathers.

During one long day of pain, pleasure and a smidgeon of humiliation, Sir Stone teaches Connor more than he had bargained for. But has he learned enough to be the Dominant Jesse deserves?

Time Out – by Sean Michael
Val and Chaz had broken up and even after a few months Val still felt grumpy and sour. He was sick of himself and ready for a fresh start. Deciding time away would be best he agrees to his friends’ offer of some time in his vacation home. Only Val discovers Chaz is there. Can they try once more to make things work?

I really enjoyed this story and feel that Mr Michael did an amazing job balancing it out. Chaz and Val have broken up because they each felt betrayed by the other – for different reasons. While they’ve both tried to move on, they still love each other deeply and want to reconcile but aren’t exactly sure how to do it when their feelings of betrayal still linger. I loved just what an excellent balance there is to this story. The problems are genuine – not wishy-washy or silly plot devices merely to create tension – but they’re also not insurmountable. I didn’t feel like one party had to cave in to the other or make an about face just to get back together. They each had to work at rebuilding their relationship – there wasn’t some easy “magical” answer to them get back together either. I found it well paced and really well thought out.

This was some excellent, emotional and strong writing that I really admired. Add in very kinky, steamy hot sex and a happy ending and I know this is a short story I will be rereading over again.

Strict Consequences – by Morticia Knight
After a rotten day at work Garson needed the focus a hardcore session at Club Consequence usually gives him. About to leave when he finds there’s no rooms free, Garson falls into conversation with his favourite Dom, Jarvis. Jarvis has an alternative plan that threatens Garson’s careful routine. Is his desire deep enough to let go and trust the strict Dom?

This is a great story and I loved both Garson and Jarvis’ characters. Garson is a creature of routine – something I could empathise with. He’s taken great pains to structure his life exactly how he needs it, to protect his heart. Jarvis is clearly drawn to the sub and is determined to show Garson that rules were made to be broken. The chemistry between the two was smoldering and I loved the give and take between them. I loved how the author showed us step-by-step how Jarvis not only broke down each of Garson’s walls, but led him exactly where they both wanted and needed to be. It was a beautiful thing to read and I loved every moment of it. The happy ending was like the icing on the cake. Perfect.

Tagging Mackenzie – by L.M. Somerton
Kenzie is seriously in lust with Dom Steele Denton, but the strict Dom seems to have no interest in him at all. Deflated, Kenzie leaves the club unfulfilled and decides to indulge in his only other passion – tagging. Steele is determined to make Kenzie his, but has been holding back, unsure if the slender, tender man really has the backbone to fulfill Steele’s deep needs. When Steele catches the man tagging his business, Steele has the perfect opportunity to put them both to the test.

I found this to be a fun and lighthearted story. I loved Kenzie’s reckless tagger side – and could easily understand how the addiction to that thrill meshed with his addiction to submission. Steele was a strong Dom, and I thought the two men were very well suited. Steele was wickedly creative when it came to making do without a playroom – I doubt I’ll ever look at a mechanic’s garage in quite the same way again! I was only pulled away from enjoying the story a few times by small niggles that didn’t appear too realistic – how many men keep floggers or dildo-like devices in the drawers scattered around their workplace without being caught and teased mercilessly by their co-workers? – but overall they were small things when compared to the steamy, sexual chemistry burning off the pages.

A smoking hot, deliciously naughty read.

Bad Idea – by Lily Harlem
Heavy is the leader of a bikers group, Junk one of his riders. The two men might have to hide their attraction, their relationship, but that doesn’t mean they can’t indulge in their very kinky desires whenever possible.

This is a hard but hot and kinky short story. I really appreciated how the chapters switched from Heavy’s point of view to Junk’s – it allowed me to understand both men’s motivations clearly and follow the story seamlessly. It’s written in the first person, but blends so well I still enjoyed the flow and didn’t lose a step. There’s a Happy For Now ending, but I felt it was perfect and realistic with the characters and their situation. Steamy hot and deliciously kinky, this was a lovely read.

Safeword – by Samantha Cayto
Carter is in an abusive relationship, his Master loaning him out to help cement his business deals. While unwilling, Carter knows he can’t escape and has accepted this as the price of living life on his own terms, as a gay submissive man. Given over to Crow for two days, Carter is initially scared of the large, gravelly Dom. Can Crow gain Carter’s trust and show him what it really means to be a sub?

While unwilling with his Master passing him around, Carter does sortof choose to remain in the abusive situation he’s found himself in. I found this aspect at the start of the story a little murky. Carter doesn’t actively try to escape – but he does inform the reader that they’re on an isolated island, too far from the mainland to swim and he can’t drive a boat. While it’s clear Carter is resigned to his current lot in life, I feel this definitely fits many of the aspects of “Forced Seduction” or an unwillingness to the rules of their Master/slave relationship. This might be a trigger or no-go area for some readers. I found it pulled my heartstrings, but wasn’t so brutal or explicitly described that it turned me off, but at the same time it really pushed my boundaries and I can’t admit to liking that part of the storyline.

Having said that: the situation changes for the better fairly promptly. Crow isn’t what he seems, nor is the situation the two men have found themselves in. It’s difficult to explain further without spoilers, but suffice to say while the threats and abuse are real, so too is the care that grows between Crow and Carter. While I’d describe this as quite a dark story, there’s definitely hope and light. A hopeful ending rounded things out perfectly for me. This definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but for readers who like a biting edge to their erotica this might be a delightful surprise.

Earning His Leathers – by S. Dora
Connor loves leather and is delighted to find a small leather shop on one of his walks. But Connor wants to earn his right to wear them, and when he’s directed by the store’s owner to a certain building, Connor can’t resist the temptation to really give it a try. What he finds with Stone Carver is so very much more than he ever could have expected.

I really enjoyed this story – it’s a very different look on the story of how a Master can come to be a Dom/Master. I was intrigued by Connor’s character from the start, and although his attitude to the BDSM lifestyle was a little different I found it really interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed following along as Connor and Stone trained together and found Connor’s mindset in particular interesting. I also liked the premise of the club and the manner in which it was set up and portrayed. While the ending felt rather rushed and a little unrealistic (I don’t believe anyone can learn everything in hardly a day…) I did enjoy the reflective, almost philosophical leaning to the plot and interactions and that made me not only think harder on BDSM as a whole – but also the subtleties and interactions between a Dom and his sub that have rarely crossed my mind.

This story made me really sit back and think, to analyse the relationships and turn things around in my head. I found it delightfully refreshing and novel. While there’s not as much sex (or explicit kink) as your average BDSM story there’s still plenty of action, but it’s the discussions, learning and thought processes that I found most riveting in this story. A great read and completely different from any other BDSM story that I’ve read before. Lovely.