Kylie sees the way Jensen looks at her. The dark promise in his eyes. That rough edge of dominance she knows he possesses. But dominance is the one thing that frightens her above all else. She and her brother barely survived a childhood steeped in violence and abuse. She could never give up total control and submit to a man. Especially a man like Jensen. Could she?
Jensen sees the shadows in Kylie’s eyes. Knows he has to tread very carefully or risk losing any chance he has with her. All he wants is the opportunity to show her that dominance doesn’t equal pain, bondage or discipline. That emotional surrender is the most powerful of all, and that to submit—fully to him—will fulfill the aching void in her heart in a way nothing else ever will.
Type: Erotic Romance
Heat: 3.5 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5
Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads
While I wasn't wild about the cover of this one what was inside the pages of Giving In totally made me ::shiver:: and in such a deliciously good way.
The gist is that Jensen and Kylie work together. And they drive each other mad...in different ways. Jensen has been totally flummoxed and enthralled by the closed-off prickly Kylie and Kylie...well, Jensen just sets her on edge and pushes all her buttons. And not in a sexy fun way until a work dinner ends with a horrible flashback that sets the two on a heartbreaking, sweet and sexy new path as they deal with undeniable attraction, losses and all of the things from their pasts that have left them both so very damaged.
"I won't play games with you," she whispered.I really wasn't sure about Kylie. This girl is broken. And she lashes out and is just a hard women to love and after meeting her in the previous book...yeah I wasn't loving her. But as Jensen starts to break down her walls...I fell. She really ended up breaking my heart a bit. She's had a hard life from the start. Lost everyone that meant anything to her and is really trapped emotionally by abuse she suffered when young. Flashbacks, panic attacks, and doubts she's worth anything to anyone anymore. I mean. Broke my heart. But she has a strength to her too and I liked seeing her try. Seeing her overcome parts of her past and trying to get past everything. And when she did start to come out of her shell she really shined and was a pretty great heroine.
His eyes lost the playful, flirty glimmer and his expression grew suddenly fierce and very serious.
"This is no goddamn game, Kylie. Not to me. Never to me. You are not a game. You aren't a challenge, a notch in my bedpost. I don't fuck around. I haven't fucked my way through countless women and I'm not some bored bastard who sees getting with you as a victory."
She was speechless. Utterly speechless. Her hands shook so hard that she had to put her water glass down because liquid sloshed over the rim, spilling onto the table.
"What do you want from me?" she croaked.
His gaze was direct and unflinching. Grim and unrelenting. "You. Just you, Kylie. And everything you have to give."
And then there's Jensen. Who honest to god I wanted to lick. All over. Holy freaking hot hero. *swoon* with a side of *pant* Banks just writes incredible heroes. Jensen is a quiet one. He sits back and observes and pretty much everything that comes out of his mouth will turn a girl into a puddle. He wasn't perfect and had a major freak out at one point (and I so wanted to shake him even if I got it) but I really adored him and that he knew what he wanted and was willing to do whatever it took to get it. He was patient and understanding, sweet and tender and just sexy.
He stroked her face again, pushing her hair back as he stared into her eyes. "It means that if we decide to take that step that I will willingly put myself in a vulnerable position so you feel absolutely safe. Whatever that takes. But baby, it doesn't have to be now. It doesn't have to be soon. It will be whenever you're ready for it to happen. I don't want you to ever be pressured to offer me something you're not ready to give. We have all the time in the world."
"You'd wait that long?"
She tried to keep the doubt from her voice but knew she failed miserably. Still, he didn't look offended or angry at her skepticism. If anything his look grew even more tender.
"For the right woman, I'd wait forever."
This one is BDSMy in a way but not your typical BDSM read. The D/s is more emotional in bent instead of physical since that would be a trigger for Kylie and her past. I liked the different feel of the sexual side of things. Things were sexy and heated up even if they went slow at the same time. If fit the two and their situation. There were some harder scenes as triggers were hit for both of them and they definitely got my pulse pounding as they dealt with the fall out and trying to work around each other's triggers. It made for some very interesting scenes as Jensen who was a total Dom gave up control to help Kylie feel safe. Different but, again, I liked it and it worked for me.
Overall, I enjoyed Giving In quite a bit. Banks surprised and delighted me with a sexy and emotional romance as two damaged souls found each other and started to slowly heal one another. I'm definitely looking forward to the final story in the trilogy and seeing what's in store for the next couple. I think fans of Banks will enjoy this one.
Have you read Banks? Have a favorite?
Do you have a favorite co-workers or enemies to lovers romance?
More Banks on herding cats!
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