Another Way

How many of us compartmentalize our lives? Perhaps you have a work persona that is different from the person you are at home? Or, what your friends see is markedly different than what your family sees? This concept interested me when it came to Jesse, mainly because he would have just strolled along with his life in these small, little boxes if it wasn't for what Will asked for. How do you deal when separate parts of your life don't just merge, they implode with incendiary unrest?
Jesse lives with his girlfriend, is a full time manager at a bookstore while he contemplates getting his masters in history, is a submissive, and is in a D/s relationship with Will. His girlfriend, Adele, is only aware of two of those things and I'll give you three guesses as to which, but you're only going to need one. Jesse loves his life. He has a wonderful relationship with his Master. They get together once or twice a week and fulfill each other's needs in a D/s relationship. Everything is wonderful until one evening after their session, Will asks Jesse to stay, and a deeper level of intimacy occurs between them. And just before Jesse heads home the following morning, Will tells him he wants more, he wants them together in a full-time romantic relationship. This throws Jesse completely off guard and he hasn't a clue what to do.
Because this story is in Jesse's point of view, I had some difficulty getting a picture of who Will was. He was only a year older than Jesse but seemed so very confident with his place in the world. Except for when it came to Jesse and I think he, and the effect Jesse had on Will, frustrated Will to no end which is why he wanted more. As a Dom he is used to being in control so I think he felt a slight vulnerability at the effect Jesse had on his emotions. Will wants Jesse more than he's ever wanted anyone, and he wants all of him, his mind, body, heart, and soul. He doesn't want to share Jesse with Adele anymore, even though Adele has no idea about this hidden life of Jesse's.
What begins is a subtle and sometimes, not so subtle, dance between Jesse and Will. Jesse would like Will to simply command him, as his Dom, to leave Adele but Will refuses, and rightly so. Jesse doesn't know what to do and spends a lot of time simply pushing any thoughts and feelings about leaving Adele and having an intimate relationship with a man in public, completely away, as if that would make the problem disappear. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case might be, the intimacy between them continues to grow and Jesse is more torn than ever. He doesn't want to hurt Adele, but he's very much afraid he's in love with Will.
The author brought the conclusion of Jesse and Adele's relationship to a close sooner than I thought she would, which then proceeded to show me the real conflict to be worked out. How were Jesse and Will going to manage their D/s relationship, their romantic relationship, and their friendship? I really liked the way the author wrote this section. Jesse and Will struggled, but they dealt with it in really good ways. That's not to say that there weren't fights or hurt feelings, they just were able to communicate and get their issues out.
I enjoyed this story quite a bit. I thought the story was done really well, I liked both main characters, very much, and appreciated the secondary characters, also. All in all I thought it was well worth reading and I look forward to more.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews