Velvet Dragon by Sean Michael

 

Velvet Dragon is a new book in the Velvet Glove series by Sean Michael. I've really enjoyed this series, as it has shown different couples with very different ideas of what BDSM means to them. Some stories are more physical, others are more mental. Velvet Dragon falls more on the mental end of the scale.

Here's the blurb:

Serius is an expert in whipping; his beauty is a riding crop, but he's an expert with all manner of whips, floggers and paddles. He's also a man looking for someone special to be his sub; he believes in order, discipline, submission, but he also wants a challenge. When Hercules promises him the perfect sub in exchange for his working at the exclusive Velvet Glove, Serius believes it's possible he just might find the man he's looking for.

Dragonne has the appearance of the perfect sub, but the truth is he's never truly submitted. He's never been pushed past his boundaries, never had to use his safeword, never been broken. He has built a wall of control around his core, and wonders if anyone can breach it. Can these two men find what they're looking for in each other?

I'm not sure the blurb really tells us much about this particular story. Yes, Serius is good with whips and the riding crop, and he does use these items on Dragonne to an extent that most submissives would not be able to handle. But the extreme stuff is mostly glossed over. The true "breaking point" with Dragonne is mental, not physical. He's been trained to control everything - feelings, emotions, level of pain, etc. He thinks he is submitting, but when he's told he's not, he has no clue how to do more than he is. What he doesn't understand is that he is submitting his control to them, and Doms don't want his control, they want to make him lose his control.

Serius figures this out, so we see a lot of non-BDSM activities... like eating and drinking from each others mouths. Yes, it's written very sensually, but it lasted too long for me. But I suppose it had to last that long, because it's the feeding, drinking, kissing, talking, and cuddling that work to break through Dragonne's control, not so much the intense BDSM play. 

BDSM elements:

• Bondage and Discipline:  0 of 3.
• Dominance and Submission:  2 of 3.
• Sadism and Masochism: Yes, though it's not the focus of the story. 2 of 3. 
• Extra Point: Yes

As for the writing elements -- the plot was the story of the relationship, and this was a different path to a BDSM relationship than I believe I've seen written before, so points for creativity. Pacing had some issues. Prose and dialogue were fine. Character development was well done. World-building was consistent with previous stories in this series.

• Book Rating:Velvet Dragon: 7 of 10
• BDSM Intensity Level: 5 of 10
• Heat Level: 3 of 5

Velvet Dragon was not one of my favorite stories in this series, but I appreciate that Sean Micheal continues to show us the various ways that people can incorporate BDSM into their lives.

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