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Deviations Submission by Chris Owen and Jodi Payne
(Deviations series Book 1)

Our story opens in an unnamed American city with 41 year-old Tobias getting dressed to go out.  He's a veterinarian with more money than you'd expect in that profession; later we find out that he has inherited considerable wealth.

Tobias is sophisticated and urbane.  He owns a farm in the country and a condo in the city.  He also has no one with which to celebrate his birthday that night, and he's headed off to an exclusive club to get his mind off his loneliness.

It turns out to be a members-only sex club for gay men, specifically for dominants and submissives, to meet one another. Tobias, a member for 19 years, is a well-known dominant. Everyone treats him like royalty.  The club's owner Bradford greets him personally and wants to introduce him to a submissive:  Noah, a 29 year-old cop.  Tobias and Noah shake hands, look each other over, and sit down for a trout dinner to discuss their options.

Attracted to each other, they start slipping into formalized roles.  Noah calls Tobias "sir" and Tobias calls Noah "boy."  They venture upstairs to have a session in one of the rooms furnished with a bed, a bathroom, and various bondage and punishment implements. Tobias directs the entire session, and Noah does nothing without permission. 

Sometimes he asks for permission to do certain things, and Tobias denies his request.  It is an unusually emotional and exciting encounter for them both.  Afterwards, Tobias gives Noah his pager number. Clearly, a relationship is about to start.

Tobias and Noah sign a formal contract, stipulating the rules of their affair. For the next several weeks, they explore their desires and fantasies at Tobias's farm.  Tobias has a very open-minded housekeeper, Mrs. Miller, who goes away each weekend so that they might be undisturbed.  He also has drivers who chauffeur Noah back to his precinct house every Monday.  In the meantime, he has his beautiful farmhouse at their disposal as well as several elaborate sets built into his stables where they can explore various fantasies.

No problems, right?  Well, Tobias senses himself falling for Noah way too fast, and is trying to rein in his feelings until he can examine them.  Noah, on the other hand, has had some bad experiences as a submissive, which has led to self-destructive habits such as not being willing to use safe-words to end a session that is getting too emotionally or physically painful. The two have to negotiate the uncertain terrain of their new relationship and learn to trust one another.

This is an unusual book. When most of us think of BDSM (Bondage & Discipline, Domination & Submission, Sadism & Masochism) at all, we probably tend to view it as a total con-game for the dominant who exploits the submissive. But in this book, Noah and Tobias have a strong emotional bond from their first night together.  Tobias goes to great lengths to protect and nurture Noah.

Both characters are appealing: perceptive, intelligent, empathic, and humorous. Noah has additional qualities of innocence and enthusiasm. Their commitment to BDSM is portrayed not as a weird perversion but as an emotional need for control and protectiveness on Tobias's side, and freedom (from thinking about himself) on Noah's side. The authors have put a lot of thought into the character details:  for example, the fact that Tobias is a veterinarian gives him some warmth to balance out his controlling dominant tendencies. If he were a doctor, he might have seemed inhuman. Likewise, it's good that Noah is a cop; as a submissive, he therefore doesn't seem too passive.

One further note here at ObsidianBookshelf.com:  the writing is so smooth and consistent that it is not apparent that two people wrote this book.  Usually with two authors, there is some obvious division of labor such as chapters that alternate two characters' viewpoints.  But the only viewpoint in this novel is Tobias's (with the exception of one chapter in Noah's viewpoint). Needless to say, the narrative also contains lots of hot sex! Deviations Submission is the first book in a series about Tobias and Noah.

Relevant Links: Erotica Bareback by Chris Owen Which One of Two Lovers Did I Like Best and Why? Deviations Submission is available on Amazon through this link:   Deviations: Submission (Deviations)

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