Firecracker by Jaye Valentine
Firecracker starts as a kinky tale and ends like a romantic romp. Isaac and Jeff are in a committed relationship but Isaac likes to play the field. But not behind Jeff’s shoulders, on the contrary, Jeff is even the one who plans everything to let Isaac play safe and sound. When Isaac does his kinky role play, Jeff is always there, enjoying the show but also being alert and avoiding danger. After all, Jeff is a cop and he knows how to protect Isaac.
I like the intake on the story that the author explains through Isaac’s words: both partners agreed to have an open relationship, even if, truth be told, all we see Isaac doing, is having oral sex with strangers in an alley and on a parking lot, he doesn’t go over that; from what I understood, it’s only Isaac that needs the “variety”, Jeff plays along to make Isaac happy, but he would be content also with the two of them alone. Isaac on the other hand, is not unaware of Jeff’s preferences, and when pressured from Jeff, he admits that, if it arrives the time when Jeff is no more comfortable with their agreement, he would be willing to stop it. As Isaac explains, what he does with strangers is no more of what he would do with a sex toys, the man attached to the sex toy is not important, and instead with Jeff is true love, and that is the most important thing. An example of that is Leo, who plays with them, but then he goes to sleep in the guest bedroom... like a toy they used and then put in his box... all right, Isaac is tender with him, he even kisses him goodnight, but nevertheless, the one with whom he goes to sleep is Jeff... sleeping together in their bed is way more intimate than having sex!
So yes, the novella apparently starts in a very unromantic way, daring to test the boundaries romance readers usually put, like exclusivity and no-cheating around, but in the end, Isaac and Jeff prove to be a very romantic couple indeed, and what they have is true love. Again, Jaye Valentine wrote a very “kinky” romantic story.
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