An escape from the real world can only ever be temporary.

Rowan Stanton knows he is submissive. He loves to look after people but the country hotel he works at can’t quite fulfil his need to serve. When he succeeds at getting a new role as houseboy at The Retreat, an exclusive BDSM hideaway in the New Forest, he believes it’s his dream job. Inexperienced in many ways, he soon realises he’s not as prepared as he thought for the demands placed upon him.

Lorcan Wilder is young, rich and successful. He’s also haunted by nightmares and has sacrificed a decade to his business. Selling it gives him the freedom to explore his dominant side and four weeks at The Retreat are the start of a new life. He doesn’t expect the young submissive employed to serve him will have such a profound effect on him. Exploring and pushing Rowan’s boundaries is exactly what he needs to separate himself from his past.

Lorcan makes full use of The Retreat’s facilities from the genuine dungeon to the secret toys concealed in every room. He rediscovers his energy for life and gradually reengages with the world. However, his efforts to compartmentalise the past ultimately fail and he comes to realise what he’s always known – that true submissives have an inner strength he can only envy.

By the end of his stay, Lorcan can’t let Rowan go, though he thinks he must. What will convince him that’s he’s allowed a happy ever after and will he find the courage to accept it?

Look, we know how much I love LM Somerton’s writing, so I won’t even try to play coy. Her characters and books are rereads for me all the time. I have yet to read a story that hasn’t left me wanting more. Especially Stroke Rate, but that’s neither here nor there. 😉

This book, the first in a hopefully long series, introduces us to Rowan, a clumsy young man whose dream is to serve. He works in a hotel, and loves his job, but he knows there has to be something…more. When he finds out about a job at The Retreat, he never imagines that he’ll get an interview, let alone the job. But he’s determined that he’ll make his clients very happy.

Lorcan Wilder is a pretty straightforward kind of man. He loves submissive guys, and after spending his whole life amassing a fortune, he’s decided to treat himself to some time away at the ultra-exclusive Retreat. If he’s hoping to run away from the nightmares that plague him, however, he’s about to find out that those fears will always follow you.

Lorcan first meets Rowan in the hallway of The Retreat, where Rowan is waiting on his knees for the arrival of his first guest. Seeing Loran takes Rowan’s breath away. Unsurprisingly, it does the same for Lorcan, who is almost immediately taken with the young submissive.

And therein lies the tale of how Lorcan Wilder and Rowan Stanton get together. It does not, however, tell the whole story.

Rowan gets under Lorcan’s skin, into his heart, and becomes lodged in his soul. Everything about Lorcan calls to Rowan. He’s firm when he needs to be, but tender when it’s warranted. Rowan has always dreamed of being owned, and now that he’s met Lorcan, he wants him to be the one who has the keys to the cuffs.

There is one sticking point… Lorcan is plagued by nightmares, and one night, Rowan is the recipient of the terror Lorcan is experiencing. Will Lorcan be able to share his darkest moment with Rowan, or will the secret drive a wedge between them?

If you love LM’s books, get this one. If you’ve never tried one, why not start with a new series? You won’t regret it.

(Oh, and by the way, a certain brat makes a cameo!)