DARKEST DESIRE – Tawny Taylor
Black Gryffon , Book 2
Kensington Aphrodisia
ISBN:  978-0-7582-6566-1
September 2012
Erotic Romance

 Michigan - Present Day

When Lei Mitchell watches Malek Alexandre, her brother-in-law, at a private bondage club working his submissive, she can't believe her unwitting attraction to him.  But after years as a prostitute, Lei is just barely able to be around males.  No way is she ready to even think about being intimate with anyone, including kissing them.  Drako, her sister Rin's new husband; Lei, and Drako's other brother, Talen, all live together in a large house and everyone is excited when Rin gets pregnant.  When Drako takes Rin to Spain for a vacation, Malek pays his brother Talen to leave them alone for two weeks and give him a chance to get closer to Lei.  Malek and his brothers belong to the Black Gryffons, and within the next couple weeks it is Malek's duty to get married and produce children in order to continue the line of Black Gryffons.  But when two girls that Lei and CIA agent Holloway freed from prostitution end up dead, Holloway lets her know he needs information about The Secret from Malek, and Lei is the only one who can get it.  After being attacked, Malek and Lei run away as Malek tries to figure out why someone is trying to hurt them, and also keeping sometime lover April away after Drako suggests her for a wife.

Malek wants to marry Lei, but knows her past will not let her accept affection or touches.  But Malek is willing to use his control to wait until she learns that she can trust him, if she will only marry him.  The Black Gryffons insist he has about two weeks to get married, and if Lei doesn't accept, his brother Drako has the right to pick his wife; probably April.  After Lei is attacked in their home and Malek is severely beaten, they escape.  But somehow April and Holloway find them, and when Holloway kidnaps Malek, Lei takes all his pain pills.  If Malek is gone because of her troubled past she doesn't deserve to live.

Lei keeps the secrets of her connection with Holloway and his threats to force her to get information from Malek, and Malek keeps the secret about his true life from Lei.  The only thing I couldn't believe was that Malek had no weapons or investigative ability to find out who is after them and to protect them after the first attack.  Who doesn't get a gun when someone tries to beat you to death and you know they'll try again?  Malek's handling of Lei as he gently tries to get her used to his touch, and more importantly believe that she is worthy of love, and especially his, hits all the emotional high spots.

Tawny Taylor has written a story about a truly damaged woman.  Lei was sold by her mother into a life as a prostitute, and it completely damaged her emotions and intimacy; she's only able to truly love her sister Rin and her husband Drako.  Malek has a hidden life as a Black Gryffon along with his two brothers, and we really don't learn much about him except he slowly comes to realize he will never enjoy life again unless Lei becomes his wife.  And with only weeks to pick a wife, Malek even refuses to consider anyone else Drako suggests.  Various situations and mysterious men are chasing Lei and trying to get to Malek through her, and her mental condition is very fragile.

Secondary characters include Holloway: is he really a CIA agent who helped save several of Lei's friends from a life of prostitution, a blackmailer trying to get her to betray Malek, or is he part of CHIMERA, determined to destroy the Black Gryffons?  Rin is Lei's sister who sold herself to Drako for the money to save Lei. RIn and Lei's love for each other has its roots in their relationship with their mother.  Drako and Talen are Malek's brothers, part of a secret order called the Black Gryffons.

DARKEST DESIRE, which is extremely thrilling and full of danger, will definitely be more enjoyable if you have read Book 1 in the Black Gryffon series, DARKEST FIRE (March 2011).  I wasn't really sure what the Black Gryffons are, and how the three brothers and The Secret are interrelated.  But the men are hot and devoted, and their loyalty lies with each other and protecting The Secret.  Lei and Malek have a rough road to love and intimacy, but it's worth it for each of them.

Cece Johns