Emma is a reporter who works for a tabloid magazine. Her latest assignment is to infiltrate the local BDSM club TropiX and report on who and what she sees there. However, Emma is a reporter with a conscious. She is hesitant to take this assignment because of who she'll see there, and then have to report about it. Emma is also a reporter who really gets into her stories, becoming an active participant with her subject, which has included bungee jumping and scuba diving. This latest assignment is one that Emma is looking forward to since she wants to explore her sexual boundaries.
Adrian is a Neurosurgeon who is trying to get a staff position at the local hospital. He is also a Dom who has been absent from the scene for 6 months after his last sub was a little too masochistic. His two close friends Carter and Cynthia decide that it's high time Adrian get back into the scene and set him up with their new friend Emma.
Both Adrian and Emma are attracted to each other at first sight, but because Emma is new to the scene, Adrian doesn't want to train her. But attraction cannot be denied, and the two hook up.
Emma has feelings of guilt about her job, especially since trust is a huge component in their Dom/sub relationship and every time the mention of work comes up, Emma changes the subject. She plans on telling Adrian the truth after they have been together for a few weeks, but fate intervenes.
The tabloid world is cut-throat and while her piece on TropiX is good, it isn't juicy enough, so Emma's boss sends in a co-worker who is very hungry for dirt. He not only captures all the goings on in the club, he also captures Emma and Adrian in the middle of a scene. Pictures and names are printed in his article and he gives Emma a co-byline, using her real name, not the pseudonym that she usually writes under. The information is presented to Adrian at a charity dinner, in front of his boss. He is immediately fired, and leaves Emma, after she insists that she had nothing to do with this version of the article, and that she was planning on telling him her real job later that night.
Carter and Cynthia realize that what Adrian and Emma have is worth saving, so they do everything in their power to get Adrian to see that Emma was telling the truth, that she had nothing to do with the damning article. Adrian is head over heels in love and wants to make amends with Emma. He now has to convince Emma that he does trust her after all.
My one complaint with this book that I have is that it was too short! I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well thought out and developed. I so could see this book expanded upon and made into a full length novel, but at least as far as short stories go, it had a beginning, a middle and a conclusive ending. The BDSM was actually quite mild, but I think that aspect actually took a backseat to the love story developing between the two main characters.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable read!