Crossing the Lines by M.Q. Barber

A safeword won’t save her from love.

After six months of cavorting in her neighbors’ bed, Alice admits signing the contract to be Henry’s sexual submissive is the best decision she’s ever made. He delivers on his promise to give her sexual satisfaction. But submitting to his dominance alongside his long-term lover shows her the sharp line between sex and love. Henry loves goofy, eager-to-please Jay. Neither man has promised to love her.

Hiding her feelings grows harder every night she spends with them. As they struggle with wounds old and new, her emotional turmoil threatens to shred their arrangement. Is it time to bow out before they show her the door? Or can a triangle be the shape of true love?

CONTENT WARNING: Explicit sex, graphic language, BDSM, bondage, spanking, M/M/F ménage, M/F sex, M/M sex.

Ms. Barber has created a wonderfully delightful addition to her Neighborly Affection series. In Crossing the Lines we are once again treated to front row seats as the relationship between Alice, Jay, and Henry develops further, much to Alice's dismay. Yes, the poor girl never saw it coming, she didn't understand what we the readers already knew, that she was NOT a new sex toy with a pulse being added to Jay and Henry's Friday night playtime.

While I as the reader may have already known that Alice's status was far more than she thought it to be, that did not make her discovery of it any less anxiety riddled as I have become fully invested in this trio. Nor did it mean that there were not revelations to be made that the reader was not fully aware of; after all, Henry is a Dom and he doles out information on a need-to-know basis and we, dear reader, did not need to know before Alice.

But Alice was not the only one to struggle with self-realizations in Crossing the Lines. Jay and Henry both had their own demons and self-doubt to deal with. Because the biggest impetus for Jay and Henry’s moment of doubt is a definite spoiler I will not discuss it directly, but I will say that the incident is vital to the future of the trio's relationship moving forward. How it ultimately affects their relationship remains to be seen, but I will be waiting impatiently for the next book in the Neighborly Affection series to find out.

My appreciation goes to Ms. Barber for yet another well written ménage book. The precision with which the author writes makes it practically impossible to not know whose thoughts and words are being shared and she accomplishes it without interrupting the flow of the story. I've had the misfortune recently of reading a ménage in which I frequently got confused as to which "he" was speaking and was forced to reread passages in the book multiple times in order to figure it out, thus interrupting the flow and reducing my enjoyment of the book. My only complaint is that the book is now over but at least I can reread it as many times as I want while I await the next installment in the series, so please write quickly.