HIS TO POSSESS – Opal Carew
St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-67464-9
March 2014
Erotic Contemporary Romance

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Present Day

Jessica Long is getting a coffee on her way to a career fair when she sees a man who looks exactly like Storm, the man who just broke her heart.  Except for the suit, he could be Storm, so she goes up to the man, but when he turns around it's definitely not him.  Storm is a rock singer with sinful tattoos and a carefree attitude, and after living together for several months he decided he wanted to go back on the road and just left, even though he knew he was breaking her heart.  Perhaps moving to Philadelphia and finding a job will give her a new start.  As it starts to rain, the man from the coffee shop stops his limousine and takes her to the career fair.  The next day when she goes to another fair, a friendly lady named Melanie introduces her to the hiring manager at her company, Ranier Industries.  When she gets offered a job as the assistant to Dane Ranier, she doesn't realize it's the man she met in the coffee shop and later spent the night with.

After their night together, Dane makes sure Jessica is offered a job at his company, and tells her he is willing to continue their relationship if that is what she wants.  Jessica can't help herself from agreeing to keep it strictly physical between them, no emotions, and Dane goes along with the idea, if reluctantly.  Jessica becomes Melanie's roommate, and Melanie tells her all about Rafe, Dane's brother who left the company a year ago, and never let anyone know where he was going.  Melanie has had a crush on Rafe for years, but knows he never felt anything for her.  Afternoon sex in the President's office is going swimmingly until Dane's brother Rafe returns, only it turns out Rafe is Storm, Jessica's lover who broke her heart.

When Dane must deal with Rafe and Jessica's old relationship, everyone must make a decision, and no matter what they want, things aren't going to remain the same, especially if Rafe wants to return to the family corporation he walked away from a year ago.

Opal Carew ratchets up the heat with this story of Jessica and Dane, two people instantly attracted to each other who have no qualms about taking it to the next level immediately.  Along with Jessica's taste for domination, Dane's personality and other ways of keeping Jessica under control rock both their worlds.  Told mainly from Jessica's point of view, and some of Dane's, Jessica wants to keep their relationship solely about sex, and no feelings.  Her skittish feelings come from Storm's sudden break up with her and not feeling like she has recovered from the hurt.  Neither one can figure out where their attraction is going, but it's not until Rafe, or Storm, returns that Jessica finally decides what direction she wants her life to take.

Secondary characters are Melanie, Jessica's friend, and Rafe Ranier, aka Storm, who upsets Dane and Jessica's relationship as he re-enters their lives.

HIS TO POSSESS is hot, naughty, and sizzling with the lust between Dane, Jessica, and Rafe.  Dane and Jessica start off by trying to keep their personal and work relationship separate, and when Rafe returns everything blows up in their faces.  Will Jessica go back to Storm, or has her relationship with Dane gone past that of casual sex partners?  Add in Melanie's secret love for Rafe, and we have action going on among everyone.  Rafe and Melanie's story, HIS TO CLAIM, coming in September 2014, continues their story and will surely be just as hot and scorching as Dane and Jessica's.  If you can take the heat, give HIS TO POSSESS a chance.

Cece Johns