Bound For Trouble by EM Lynley

 Daniel “Deke” Kane is a broken man, facing the end of his career in the FBI. He’s on desk duty after a botched drug raid left the suspects and two children dead. He’s got one chance to prove himself, or the only thing he’ll be investigating is the Help Wanted ads.

Ryan Griffiths has been on the run for ten years. Forced onto the streets when his father kicked him out, Ryan earns his living in other men’s beds. Finding his john dead in a hotel room drives him under the radar until a favorite client gives him a chance at a safe, clean life. But Ryan’s relatively stable new world shatters when Deke Kane catches up with him.

When Deke’s tasked to take down a drug dealer with terrorist ties and a taste for the dark side of BDSM, his only chance to get close is the suspect’s interest in Ryan, and he convinces Ryan to become a confidential informant. In return, Deke offers Ryan immunity from his past. As Ryan falls under the drug lord’s domination, Deke finds himself falling for Ryan.

Once in a great while you come across a love where the two people must love each other from a distance and never admit their attraction.  This is the story of Ryan and Deke.  With a mutual goal in mind, to arrest the criminal Deke must focus on the case and try to repair his reputation with the law enforcement community while Ryan must try to help Deke while not falling back into the addiction he is trying so hard to escape.  Both with tragic pasts, will be faced with the chances to fall back into old patterns of life or continue to forge a new way and hopefully be able to express their desire for the other. 

Ryan is a young man who needs sex to survive.  His addiction was taking him into some shady areas of life till one of his customers offered him a chance at a real job out of the industry and a chance to go to college.  The only requirement was he would never go back to dancing and having meaningless sex with customers.  This was going well till he was approached by the law to help them capture Petrov, a Russian criminal.  Ryan knew about this man and what he was doing and felt backed in a corner by the police so he agreed but now he was going to have to balance his commitment to Deke and his promise to the man who took him out of the industry.  Finding that he could serve drinks and “customers” in another club that Petrov went to, he was required to make Petrov fall for him.  This would require Ryan to step into the world of BDSM as a sex addict trying to heal. 

Deke was in a fog himself when the case fell on his desk.  After a bad conclusion to a case Deke was in charge of, children died and his nightmares were unrelenting.  He ended up at a desk following cybercrimes so the case of Petrov was his big break if he could accomplish it. His boss was a female who kept coming on to Deke, not realizing that Deke was gay so while he was dodging her advances he was face to face with someone that he would be attracted to, his new pawn in solving the crime, Ryan.  He will be forced to watch Ryan try to get Petrov to fall for him while battling his desire to protect Ryan and have him as his own.  Deke is also going to get a taste for the lifestyle of BDSM and all that could bring.  It feeds into his natural Dom side but the thought of practicing it was intimidating.

This book was really a great read with the emotions of love and desire that couldn’t be confessed, the battle of watching the one you want with someone else and the knowing what you need versus what you must do to get a dangerous criminal off the streets.  The suspense was heavy with this one and the hot factor was off the charts.  I found the author added enough dark and twisted to the story that kept me on the edge of my seat as well when Petrov became harsh and abusive.  Human emotions and the restrictions placed in front of them was also an overriding theme in this book and added to the intensity for me. 

I highly recommend this book to the readers.  The only thing that kept me from giving it a five star was I felt there was more lagging than there needed to be in places and some of the scenes felt to drawn out.  I believe with the amount of activity that went on in the book the author could have found a better balance but with that said, I still loved this book.   

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