Review: Beyond Eden by Kele Moon

Three lifelong friends find themselves tangled in a web of love, pain and dangerous secrets in this erotic Garden of Eden tale.

Tall, dark and handsome Danny Carlow has always gotten whatever he wants except for the two he wants more than anything--his best friends, lovers Paul and Eve. Determined, he waits like a snake in the grass, poised for the right moment to offer them a temptation too delicious to resist.

Artist Eve Everton makes the painful decision to leave her true love Paul for the siren call of New York City. Ten years later, with her life in shambles, she returns. When Paul's waiting arms aren't available, Eve falls for Danny's charm and finds herself a willing accomplice in the dangerous games Danny plays.

Former college football star Paul Mattling is now a successful attorney with a bright future ahead of him. But behind those brilliant blue eyes are secret desires for a taste of the forbidden. Will he play it safe or give in to Danny and Eve and bite the apple?

Reader Advisory: Not for the faint of heart, the pain in this story is vivid and real, the emotions even more so. Haunting and poignant, Beyond Eden presents a darker side of BDSM. You might gasp. You might cry. You might find yourself reading it again and again.

My Review

Wow! What a phenomenal book! This is one of those books that is really hard to review because if you give away too much of the plotline, you take something away from the reader.

Beyond Eden is the story of three childhood friends finding one another again. Eve, now 28 comes back home to Tampa after a 10 year stint in New York. She runs into Danny, her childhood friend, whom she adores and who has always been in love with her. He invites her to dinner, to the house he and Paul now share. At hearing Paul’s name again, Eve remembers the last time she saw him, when he made love to her the night before she left for New York. The man who has always held her heart.

Danny sets out to seduce Eve, much to now-engaged Paul’s chagrin. Danny has always loved Eve immensely and would have followed her to New York, had she had been his. He would have never let her go. Eve falls easily under gorgeous Danny’s spell. Danny tells Eve the stunning truth; that the only reason he ever stayed away from her was because Paul and Eve were his best friends and he wanted them to be happy together. Danny and Eve have incredible chemistry and I have the distinct feeling that Danny could seduce the doves from the trees.

Once Paul sees Danny has set his sites on Eve, we see how Paul and Danny’s relationship has been for the past 10 years and how deep their entanglement goes. Paul is a hard core sadist. Raised by a Marine Corps father, pain is the grounding force in Paul’s life. Danny, while not a masochist at heart, has loved Paul his entire life and long ago became the Master who would meet Paul’s needs while protecting him from going too far.

What is so amazing about this book is it shows how Dominance and Submission can be shades of gray. That it is possible for three people to be in love with one another. But it also shows that it is by no means easy. Paul hides almost completely from who he truly is, having the most vanilla fiancé on earth! A marriage setting the course for a brilliant political career, Paul refuses to back out of the wedding because if his family knew who he truly was, he would be disowned, if not killed.

Danny’s ability to be the master any sub needs, sparks a need in Eve, that she never knew existed and when Eve finally submits to Danny, the fire burns brightly. Danny has a gift when it comes to Dominance and it’s amazing to read. But what will happen when Eve learns of Paul and Danny’s relationship and all it entails?

This entire book, I felt like I was on an emotional roller coater. I felt like my chest was in knots and there was a twist in my gut. There were times when I hated a certain character, only for me to do a complete 180 the next chapter, because the reasons why that character behaved as they did would be revealed. And then I loved them.

This is a wonderfully written novel and a definite recommended read. The only reason I’m not giving 5 kisses is because I would have liked the very end to be fleshed out a little more. I felt a little short changed.

 

 

Eve moaned into his mouth, his tongue sliding past her lips in a way that stole her breath. Her bare breasts felt so good pressed against his hard chest. She wrapped her arms around him, needing him closer, wanting to feel as much of him against her as
possible. She realized a part of her had always ached for Danny. Loving Paul like she did had distracted her from it when she was younger. Now kneeling with him on the kitchen floor, the two of them kissing as if they needed the connection to stay sane, she knew this could have easily happened at any time, with or without Paul’s permission.

It was with a heavy heart that Eve fell back against the floor with Danny over her. It felt like a betrayal when she knew a part of her had always wanted this. Even still, she was burning for more, her back arching up in a silent offering as her fingers tangled in Danny’s hair. His lips trailed down the curve of her neck, his tongue dragging slowly over the line of her collarbone, making her moan from the sensual, possessive way he did it.

His hands slid beneath her, forcing her to curve into his embrace. His eyes met hers over the curve of her breast, the dark orbs swirling with something decadent and overwhelming. Eve felt herself being held captive by his look as she watched his tongue drag slowly over one aching nipple, making it bead in pleasure. She had to fight against closing her eyes in bliss when he took the pink tip into his mouth, sucking on it hard, his teeth scraping against it in a way that had her hips jerking up against him. When his lips trailed over to her other breast, she finally gave in, the ecstasy forcing her eyes closed.

Her fingers tightened in Danny’s hair when he abandoned the torture of toying with her breasts, his mouth moving lower as his hands slid down her back. Eve’s entire body clenched in anticipation when he pulled at the button on her jeans and slowly undid the zipper.

“Lift your hips.”

Eve did as told, opening her eyes to find Danny still studying her face. His gaze was sharp and penetrating as he tugged at her jeans roughly, making her gasp out loud because her skin was already sensitive.

“You’re aching, aren’t you?” Danny asked her as he pulled her jeans down her thighs, pushing them past her knees. “Your pussy is wet and throbbing for me, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Eve admitted softly, his words making her body clench tightly in pent-up need.

“Tell me what you want, Evie Girl,” Danny said in a low, compelling voice that made Eve want to do whatever he asked. “What makes you hot?”

Eve kicked off her jeans, using her foot to push them aside as she lay there on the kitchen floor with her chest heaving. “What do you think makes me hot?” Eve asked, feeling exposed and naked wearing only a pair of black panties for modesty.

Danny’s hand trailed over the flat plane of her stomach, his fingers dancing over her skin teasingly. “Does my mouth make you hot?” He lifted his eyes to hers and licked his lips, his tongue running over his full bottom lip. Eve’s stomach clenched in anticipation and she knew he felt it because he gave her a knowing smile. “Do you want to know what it can do?”

Eve nodded frantically. “Yes, I want that.”

“Where?” Danny asked, his voice still seductive as his hand moved lower, his fingers teasing her through the thin silk between her thighs. Eve moaned and arched into his hand instinctively. “Do you want my mouth here? Is that what you’re begging for?”

Her eyes rolled back in desire as she arched into his hand once more. “That’s it,” she admitted, her cheeks flaming from his words and the knowledge that her body was betraying her so completely. “Lick me, Danny Boy. Please.”

“Gladly.”

That one word set her on fire. Her body was tight and throbbing as Danny’s hand slid underneath the lining of her panties, pushing them slowly down her thighs. He was moving too leisurely. It didn’t matter how sexy he looked when he moved in that slow, deliberate way of his, like a cat stalking prey. She pushed his hand aside and took over the task of ridding herself of the most expensive pair of underwear she owned, its presence nothing but a hindrance that she kicked off impatiently.

“Open to me.” Danny stared at the small triangle of red hair between her thighs intently, making her shiver with both anticipation and fear of revealing herself to him. There was no privacy with him, no soft lighting and concessions for modesty. He
wanted her stark and exposed. But she was too desperate to deny him. She opened to
him like he asked, draping her leg over the other side of him, leaving herself completely bare to his penetrating gaze. His fingers reached up to trace the line of her sex that was swollen and aching for him. Eve whimpered from his teasing, making an evil smirk tug at his lips. “You are wet for me. I knew you would be.”

“Please, Danny Boy,” Eve sobbed in complaint, her hips pushing up against his hand in a silent plea for attention. “Stop torturing me.”

Rating:

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