Stay With Me

by A.J. Jarrett

Dear Author,
I'd like the sub to be someone in law enforcement a detective possibly. This guy is very in control in his working life and it seeps into his after work hours. He's also not very communicative. His Dom is an ER nurse or an artist or some profession not in law enforcement, who's friendly, laid back, perceptive about people. Someone that people easily trust and follow instructions from. They could be about the same age, or the Dom younger.

I want there to be contradictions in what people would normally perceive a Dom or Sub would be like. I don't know how long the author's story will be, but how the two met and then grew into this relationship would be great. BDSM and HEA a must.

The emotional aspect of the sub learning to give up control and trust is another part I'd like. I also like shibari or kinbaku in the story obviously, lol. No humiliation, beatings or infidelity once they're together. I want the sub to have his trust and control limits pushed. Maybe he's developed trust issues. Maybe a work partner or love partner he'd trusted turned out bad and almost got him killed. Some reason he doesn't trust or give up control now.

Photo Description: A man sitting in a chair with his backed arched. He is bound in rope. Very erotic picture.

This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

Read the story here or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 9.

Genres: M M Romance, BDSM, Contemporary, Short Stories, Romance, Contemporary Romance, LGBT

48 pages, ebook

First published July 6, 2012

About the author

AJ Jarrett is happily married to her best friend and the mother of four, yes, four children. Born and raised in Missouri and loves the area most of the time, until it snows a ton. She enjoys reading and reads a lot. When not reading she can be found propped up in her favorite spot on the couch with her laptop plotting her next story or finishing one of her WIP.

Can visit her blog or feel free to email her at: aj.jarrett@yahoo.com

Reviews

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice take on a D/s relationship. The prompt photo for this story is actually my most favourite pic of rope bondage ever!

The story is short but full of events and, what's more important, of emotions.

Gabe is a police detective, a quite bulky police detective. He's just saved his partner's life (or health at least!) which earned him a few cracked ribs and a visit in a hospital.

Lucas is a nurse attending Gabe in the hospital and.... a Dom in his free time.

After some minor misunderstandings and squabbles (and after Gabe is released from hospital) thay agree to meet up. Both Lucas and Gabe had some romantic/traumatic past in their lives so they are so tentative, so unsure at the beginning of their relationship. Especially Gabe, who only now explores the D/s lifestyle and his submissive nature...

The story isn't really heavy on BDSM... The biggest turn on for Lucas (and consequently for Gabe) is the shibari and that's mostly what we see in their role play.

I felt so much for Gabe, for his pain (his dad had left, then his mum had died and then his shitty cop boyfriend left him after 8 years of being together!). And although Lucas has also had a few painful turns on his way, Gabe was my favourite ;) I loved his hesitant moves towards Lucas, his haphazard guessed at what to do and what is allowed around a Dom?! That little scene when Gabe pinned Lucas down on the couch and then pulled back and cowered - that was so fricking adorable! And Lucas' reaction too! Lucas, on his part, reads Gabe so unmistakably despite his "big bad cop" demeanor - that was sweet!

This story is really short but has some good, unexpected twists... with this one at the end that scarred the shit outta me!!! Thank you very much!
Highly recommended!

[Penumbra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the prompt I submitted to the Love is Always Write event. The prompt is of a hunky male tied up with rope and posed in a chair.




I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, “Of course she gave this story five stars, it was her prompt.” If you did think that, you’d be wrong. If you’re open minded you’ll find out why I did.

AJ followed the prompt I gave to a “T.” Everything I wanted in the story she filled. There was the angst and the HEA. There were the characters which fit the careers and the personalities I imagined. AJ even threw in the accident at the end of the story. And most of all she wrote about how the two characters grew into a relationship and the sub learned to trust again. So yes, I believe this story deserves five stars.

Now I’ll talk about the details. Stay with Me started right in the middle of the action. I like when a story does that. I don’t want to have a long wait until something starts to happen.

I liked the way Gabe was written. He was scared, tightly wound and grouchy with ‘shields up.’ He reminded me of a small puppy that wanted to be loved, but had been mistreated and so he either fled or lashed out in order to not get hurt again. But he wanted to love and be loved so much. I ached for Gabe. I loved Lucas. Perceptive and gentle, he is able to stand up to defensive Gabe and is not afraid to go after what he wanted. I even liked Eric, Gabe’s friend. Everyone should have at least one friend in life that accepts you the way you are, no matter how grumpy.

The progression of the relationship was terrific. I love that the relationship didn’t start as ‘instant love,’ instead it was ‘attraction,’ which I believe happens. As Gabe learns to trust, he falls in love and so does Lucas.

There were a couple surprises in the story I hadn’t expected. The cities that Gabe and Lucas had lived in and where they now lived are places that I’ve lived or where my relatives live. Talk about a sweet addition to the story! It put a big smile on my face.

When AJ got to writing the bondage, I was more than ready to read it.

"I had a friend from college who introduced me to his Dom. The man was older and more experienced in the scene then I was at the time. He taught me a lot of what I know and the one thing he taught me that I fell in love with was using ropes. The proper name is Kinbaku." Lucas's eyes lit up as he talked about his passion.
"It's Japanese for tight binding. Over the years the modern term became Shibari, which means the same. The artful use of twine to tie up objects and such. They'd use thin ropes and tie the knots into patterns. When done correctly, it's beautiful." His words came out a little hoarse, as if just talking about it aroused him.

I could feel Lucas’ love of Kinbaku and liked how the topic was introduced to Gabe. I will be honest and say that I could have had more extreme bondage and BDSM, but that is personal taste. I’ve read other reader’s responses and realize that the lightness of BDSM in this story suits many other people just fine.

Lastly, I really liked how AJ created an accident that happened to Lucas similar to what happened to Gabe at the beginning. It was like a nice and tidy bookend to the story. And it all ended in a HEA, my favorite kind.

Thanks AJ, you did a terrific job following the prompt and creating characters that I cared about. If you decide to continue on with these two in a future story, I would be happy to read about them.

[Julesmarie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love at first sight is hard to pull off, and I'm one who usually has quite a bit of tolerance for insta-love if it's done right. The insta-attraction between Gabe and Lucas I bought at first, but everything after that just seemed to be way too much way too soon.

1.5 stars rounded up for being free

[Emma Sea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story with an HEA: I love it when the sub is a big, older guy in a position of authority. Very, very mild D/s and one shibari scene. Three stars, plus an extra for being a LIAW freebie.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pace the Story was odd to me and I didn't like the MC for most of the time. He acted inmature to me. Also, the first encounter of Gabe and Lukas felt more like a sexual assault for me. It's not okay for a Nurse to act like this on the clock.

[SJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fearful of love, big guy cop meets a younger, smaller, and loving Dom. This was a well written story and I enjoyed reading it. I like how Lucas said to Gabe that if you feel attraction you should act on it instead of waiting for every star to align.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Offered for FREE from M/M Romance Group, Love Is Always Write: Volume Nine.

I wasn't sure about this one but it was so sweet and nice. It was nice that Gabe and Lucas had had similar circumstances with their past relationships, but they handled it so differently, one positive one negative. I was starting to get a little annoyed with Gabe's daddy issues, I mean, it happens, get over it. But Lucas was just so wonderful it made it all OK, and it had just the perfect hint of D/s.

[Bookbee · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I have neither a sadistic nor masochistic bone in my body, this scenario of D/s suited me well. The kinbaku, something I really enjoy, was not as emphasized as I would have liked. I had a WTF moment when Gabe jerked off just 24 hours after fracturing ribs. For me that seemed totally unbelievable since the pain from arm movements, breathing and muscle contractions from orgasm would be excruciating.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[qx · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - Sweet story. Thank you A.J. Jarrett, for donating your story, time and talent.

[Helen Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really love the story.

[Rissa (an M/M kinda Girl!!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short story for the M/M Romance groups LiAW event! I loved Gabe & Lucas (and even Eric) I hope we'll get a peek into their lives again one day!

[Nikko]

I didn't like this one maybe its because the way the supposed dom talks to his supposed sub sounds like he is scolding a kid.. I didn't even finish this..

[Katy Beth Mckee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story of finding something special and deciding to give it a chance. It is also about overcoming past hurt.

[Lila Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and sweet take on BDSM.

[Gigi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best prompt picture ever?! Yep! A nice little BDSM shortie to get your blood pumping.

[Ayden · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars... only because it was too short & quick.

[Cecilia Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story, loved it!