As the blurb mentions, this is Asher’s story whom we met in Bought Deceit.  While I recommend reading Bought Deceit, I don’t think it’s necessary to follow this story.  Asher is one of the sex-trafficked slaves who was saved by undercover FBI agent Allsiter, who saved Dakota in Bought Deceit.

This story goes a little into Asher’s time as a slave since that was much of his upbringing.  It then moves forward to current time where he is now working and living on his own.  All is not going as well as Asher lets others believe though, and it isn’t until his best friend, Noah, moves in after leaving an abusive boyfriend that things start to unravel a bit for him.

Much of this story is Asher trying to survive in a world he never thought he would see.  Wishing death over his current situation more than not was the norm for him.  He then becomes torn with wanting Noah to find happiness and coming to grips with the kinks he longs to explore while simultaneously finding it harder and harder to handle his anxiety and panic attacks.

Noah finds what he’s looking for in Beckett, a dom he meets in a club visit.  Noah is the little of the daddy/little duo.  He loves and will do anything for his best friend, Asher, and watching him struggle is hard on him.  He and Beckett have to put in a little work to get the stubborn Asher on board with Beckett providing everything both Noah and Asher need, but they eventually get there.

Asher’s stubbornness to his own detriment was a bit frustrating for me, and I really struggle with the daddy/little kink.  However, I loved seeing Asher find happiness and a new lease on life and this trio seemed to be perfect for each other.  The slavery details are a bit rough, so if that’s a trigger, you might want to be prepared although the details aren’t too explicit.  I would have like to have seen a bit more of the transition from rescue to functioning adult in society, but overall, this was a well-rounded story from Ms. Winters.

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