The Tale of the Tawse / The Tale of the Tawse (ePub)

Freddie meets Shar in New York and, at the request of friends, puts her up in his spare bedroom. Shar works for the Peruvian Embassy of a small mid-Eastern nation, and has accompanied a group from her Embassy to a working holiday New York. Shar finds herself falling in love with Freddie, since they have kindness and cleverness in common. She also discovers that he's a Dom, though she doesn't experience that side of him. Freddie returns Shar's feelings, and they agree to meet wherever in the world they can. Later they travel to French Guyana's Devil's Island, where Shar asks to explore BDSM with him. She finds it intensely hot, and their relationship, now one of Dominance and submission, only strengthens.

On his way to meet Shar again, this time in Rome, Freddie meets the stressed-out artist Daphne, daughter of Scottish nobility, who needs help to organise an exhibition of her work, and to get away from her family. As they work together to make the exhibition a success, and give Daphne the courage to leave home, they also develop feelings for each other.

Shar is angry at first when she hears that Daphne needs a place in their lives and loves, but decides to try to understand it. The three of them agree to meet in Wellington, New Zealand, to see if their can make their loving, BDSM menage work.

"This is a surprisingly touching love story, sensitively told. As well as being that, it's incredibly steamy, as the lovers explore how their love can work when it is mixed with their needs to give and receive discipline, obedience and compassion. It's full of well-observed erotic detail: a perfect late-night read. Also, there's no cliff-hanger: this story does come to a real conclusion."

Gail Toohey, reviewer