The Fifth Favor

by Shelby Reed

[EBookObsessed]

Billie Cort is a writer for Illicit magazine and for her next assignment she is being sent to interview a male escort at the high-priced and exclusive women’s club. Adrian is more than just an escort, he is every woman’s fantasy. He is beautiful, charming and knows just what you want and you will leave his company completely satisfied.

Billie is not immune to Adrian’s charms. He weaves a web of sexuality around Billie, but she refuses to just be another customer to Adrian. She knows there is more to Adrian than the shiny facade that he uses to seduce women. As a reporter, she won’t be satisfied until she knows more of the true man inside Adrian the gigolo.

But Adrian doesn’t remember the man he used to be, he has been living the life of an escort for eight years and the world of Avalon has become his reality. Adrian is uncomfortable with the feelings that Billie stirs inside of him. They are foreign and fixating on Billie is unproductive to a man whose job it is to please several woman each night.

Billie is sweet and almost naive for a reporter and Adrian is torn between wanting to break down her barriers and show her true desire and fear that being with someone like him would sully Billie’s gentle soul.

THOUGHTS:
I always love when a story takes me by surprise. The book jacket declares that this is a story about Adrian breaking down Billie’s inhibitions. So I expect a sex book where Adrian is showing Billie new sexual positions and opening her up (so to speak) to sexual experimentation.

Wrong! Although there some sex in the book, it was no more than your average romance story. In fact, Adrian fights his desire to take Billie to bed because she is so good and he is so wretched. This is not a story of Adrian breaking down Billie’s sexual barriers, but of Billie breaking down Adrian’s emotional barriers.

Now there is plenty of sensuality. When Adrian is working his seduction on Billie, I found myself as drawn in by him as she did. She truly is the moth to the flame. (Me next!!) But also like Billie, I enjoyed seeing Adrian without his mask of reserve. Adrian is very uncomfortable with how Billie makes him feel. He services many women each night like an automaton because he withholds his climax, but when his mind wanders to thoughts of Billie, he no longer has that iron hold on his response. He does try to get Billie to become a client at the Avalon so that he can have her in an environment that is safe for him. This way he can have her physically and keep her away emotionally.

The madam of the house is set up as a villain. She wants to keep her top earner who she personally is attracted to, and she’s a real bitch. She does things like setting Billie up to see Adrian “at work” and tries to have one of her other escorts seduce her, but she doesn’t hit the evil hard enough to make her a really interesting character.

I did have some small issues with the story like why would Billie attend a party at the Avalon when Adrian doesn’t want to see her, and where she knows he’ll be working, and she knows it is fishy that she’s being invited. So why go? You know it’s not going to go well. Small story bits like that bothered me, but overall, I enjoyed watching Billie try to get to the heart of the Adrian and in doing so, showing Adrian the way back from his soulless existence.

Received an ARC courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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