Lord of a Thousand Steps(Love in Laguna #4)
By Tara Lain
Blurb:
Braden’s life is chaos. Just out of the closet and going through an ugly divorce from his wife of fifteen years who’s trying to take custody of his two children, he desperately resolves not to succumb to a completely inappropriate attraction to Ian—even though his kids adore both the man and his crazy cat.
When Rico proves to be a snake in the grass and Ian exercises his powers of seduction, what starts as a “friends with benefits” fling turns into real life real fast. Can Ian give up his romantic dreams for an “old guy” who didn’t come out until he carried a mountain of baggage? It’ll only take a thousand steps.
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Excerpt
“Daddy! Daddy! Look at the kitty.”
The high-pitched squeal cut through Ian’s foggy brain.
Anderson shifted on his belly, then started to vibrate.
Ian opened an eye and met two gigantic blue ones only a couple of feet away. The little girl squatted down beside him on the sand in her Frozen bathing suit, gently petting Anderson’s head and getting the motorcycle response. Ian grinned. “Hi.”
She eyed him with a grain of suspicion, but the allure of the purr proved too great and she kept petting. “Hello. What’s his name?”
“Anderson.”
“That’s a most unusual name for a cat.”
He snorted, and one of her little brows rose in an expression so far beyond her years—which appeared to be somewhere around five or six—that Ian almost snorted again. Almost. One didn’t face such disdain lightly. “Yes. I suppose it is. Have you ever heard of Anderson Cooper?”
“Uh, I believe so.” She raised her head, looking behind Ian, and said, “Have I heard of Anderson Cooper, Daddy?”
Daddy? Okay, he hadn’t moved so as not to disturb the petting frenzy. Now he scrambled to sitting, getting a yowl from Anderson, and looked behind him. Well, holy shit.
Braden Lord leaned against the rocks, one hip cocked slightly, and Ian knew that because he wore very little on those hips. Just a pair of slim-fitting board shorts that cupped an ass on its way to legend and thighs Ian could only imagine in X-rated postures.
“Hi. I mean, I didn’t see you there. Sorry.” Ian brushed sand from his legs and tried to find some moderately respectable posture that wouldn’t show his half-masted cock.
“Providing a resting place for fifty-pound felines does tend to keep you in one place.” Lord laughed. “Don’t see mountain lions much on the beach.”
“Never know when you might need protection from small angels in Frozen bathing suits.”
The little girl had flopped on her butt and now proceeded to pile sand on top of Anderson, who cooperated by stretching to his full, massive length. She gave Ian that eyebrow again. “Are you referring to me?”
Best sidestep that one. Ian extended a hand. “How do you do. I’m Ian Carney. I work for your—” He glanced up at Braden. “—daddy.”
She took his hand and shook it seriously. “I’m Mireille Lord. And I really like your cat.”
“What a pretty name.” It sounded like Mir-ray. “I’m sure Anderson likes it too.”
“Thank you. My daddy picked it out.” She glanced up at Braden as she piled more sand on the cat. “Have I heard of Anderson Cooper, Daddy?”
Braden replied very seriously, “He’s a news reporter, Mireille. You might remember him because his hair is the same color as the kitty.”
“I see.” She gave Ian an approving grin. “How very clever of you.”
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review. ***
All Ian ever wanted was a family of his own. Sure, he has his brother and his brother's fiancé, but he longs for a loving husband of his own and thinks he's found it in his boyfriend Rico. When Rico goes away to take care of his ill father in Mexico City, Ian's life just gets a bit more complicated as he starts to be attracted to his boss's boss's boss, Braden Lord, 15 years his senior and who comes with a lot of baggage.
Braden is in the middle of an ugly divorce, trying to keep his sexuality under wraps so he still has a chance to get joint custody of his children, who are the only good thing that came out of a marriage he fell into when trying to prove he wasn't gay. His attraction to his very young intern is a temptation that he simply can't give into, as it will likely complicate everything for him. However, after Ian's boyfriend shows his real colors and Ian is set up on seducing Braden, there's little Braden can do to resist him. Unfortunately, giving in doesn't mean that all of Braden's baggage will automatically go away.
This book was just about as delightful as the other books in the series. I just loved Ian and Braden, but above them, I loved Braden's kids, Jo-Jo and Mireille and Ian's cat, Anderson Cooper, who not only provided some sweet and angsty moments for the couple, but gave a lot more depth to the story. Ian was very young, barely twenty-one, but seemed very mature for his age. I just loved how taken he was with Braden's kids and the way he pursued Braden. There were just a couple of instances (with his ex) in which I really would've liked to slap some sense into him, Braden was going through a lot, and it was lovely seeing how much it meant to him to have Ian's support. I really loved that he was such a great father and that he tried to put his children first most of the time. They had great chemistry and were both hot and sweet together.
All in all, a cute, sweet and fun read, with some angst thrown in for good measure and a great addition to the series! Very recommendable!
Rating: 4.5 Stars
I'm a pretty big Tara Lain fan so, of course, I was all about this book. It did not disappoint.
Ian Carney only has one more year as an architecture student and then hopefully his dreams of working for a prestigious firm will come true. As an intern with Lord and Kendrick, he seems to have a leg up. When he gets the chance to work with the firm's CEO Braden Lord on a project for one of the firm's biggest clients, Ian finds that he's more than a little bit attracted to the man. Of course, it may just be that he's missing his boyfriend Rico who is currently in Mexico taking care of his dying father.
Braden Lord has been trying to get his personal life in order since admitting to his wife that he's gay. Now he's in the middle of a nasty divorce and custody battle with a woman determined to make his life miserable. It's even beginning to impede on his firm. Getting to know Ian is great but the timing couldn't be worse. Ian is too young, 15 years younger than him, not to mention he's his intern. The last thing he needs is more fodder for his wife's lawyer to use against him. But when Ian bonds with his children and they become friends too, he can't deny he wants something from the man. If only Ian wasn't waiting for his boyfriend to return.
When Ian finds out the truth about Rico, he decides it's time he and Braden stop dancing around their attraction for each other and he proposes a friend's with benefits relationship. Ian begins to show Braden the wonderful world of gay sex. Before long though both men will have to admit they both want more.
My only complaint is that there is a lot more angst than I thought necessary. These two men were perfect for one another, even with a big age gap and an imbalance of power that comes from the boss/employee relationship. We all know it's going to be a happy ending but it takes a very long time to get there and I really wished it wouldn't have.
As for the characters, I loved them. Both Ian and Braden are great and they have wonderful chemistry. Braden charmed me with his vulnerability. They both are funny and great with the kids which was very endearing.
The kids are great as well, Braden's daughter is so sweet and precocious I had to laugh. She reminded me so much of my own daughter who has people in stitches with her "smart beyond her years" conversational skills. Her love for Ian's cat Anderson was hilarious. I loved those interactions.
Overall, I loved it and definitely recommend Lord of a Thousand Steps.
5 Stars!
Available for purchase at
Paperback from Dreamspinner
Available for purchase at
Paperback from Dreamspinner
Available for purchase at
You can order the paperback here.
About the Author
Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 32. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Paranormal Romance, Best MĂ©nage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soul-mate husband and her soul-mate dog near the sea in California where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!
You can find Tara at Lain
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Thank you both so much for reading Lord of a Thousand Steps. *happy dance* So glad you liked it!! : )
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome. I love this series! đź’ś
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