Reviewed at http://scorchingbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/a-nix-bdsm-review-secret-hear...

Angela Vernon walked out of the Aerie after admitting to one of her closest friends that she was in love with her husband. Xavier was everything that she wanted her Dom to be but he could never be hers. The day she cut ties with that club she ceased to be a sub, preferring instead to be the one in control so her heart never felt the pain again. Then her friend Angela died of cancer and it became impossible to go back, impossible not to disrespect her memory by longing for a man she could never have. For three years she managed to avoid him, until a patient brings them back into contact.

Xavier never understood why Angela walked away from the Aerie. All he knows that now she’s back, she’s the only woman who has lit his interest since his wife died. Unwilling to let her walk out of his life for the second time, he will do anything she asks; even play submissive for her. Once he gets her back into bed, he isn’t leaving. But he doesn’t know her secrets and he doesn’t know that she will fight to avoid being in a relationship with him.

The first thing I need to say about this book is how stunning the cover is....it’s gorgeous! This is the final instalment in this story arc with the Aerie Doms. I was warned that it may not end the way that I thought it would and they were right. I expected an extremely hardcore BDSM book but that wasn’t what I got. The man that had been made up to be the Dom of all Doms didn’t have a storyline that met with my expectations of him; I was refreshingly surprised. This one felt much more like a love story because these two had a previous connection that was reignited; I believed in the tale because I believed in this previous connection.

The thing I always find with Doms is the more Dominant they are supposed to be, the harder I find it to relate to them. I didn’t find that with Xavier. He was a man that was open to the idea of love but hadn’t met anyone that could hold the candle to his deceased wife. I liked that he hadn’t closed himself off, that he had given himself room to grieve but wasn’t shutting the door to his heart completely. He is the one who actively pursues Angela, the one who batters down her defences when it should have been his that were raised. I did love him. He was suave, charming and completely open with his emotions....the perfect man!

Angela was fooling herself if she ever thought she was a Domme. She was a sub; she was just a sub for only one man. Xavier had wormed his way into her heart when he was her best friends’ husband; it would be inappropriate to let herself feel that she had a realistic chance of having a relationship with him...no matter how hard he pushed. Angela was a character that I liked, but one whose decisions I couldn’t get on board with. She played make believe Domme because she was trying to protect herself but I just hated the lie to both herself and her subs! I liked her and Xavier together.... especially the tub scene *fans*.

Overall, this wasn’t the ending I was expecting but I liked the surprise of the story. I had more belief in this tale because I’d met Xavier throughout the series and because I knew they had a previous connection. I liked it; it was a sexy story with complex characters and a complex plot.... this series is definitely worth a read! ( )