“Dark, perverse, and unbearably erotic, Pretty When You Cry is Skye Warren at her gritty best.”
~ Anna Zaires, USA Today bestselling author of Twist Me
A new dark romance novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderlust and Prisoner…
I came from a place of dirt floors and holy scriptures. They told me the world outside was full of sin, and the first night I escape, I find out it’s true. Ivan saves me, but he does more than that. He takes me. He makes me his own girl.
My conditioning runs too deep. Ivan sees what I am.
That’s the thing about showing a mouse to a cat. He wants to play. And it’s terrifying, even for me. Because the only thing darker than my past is his.
“Candace,” he says in the same deep voice of my dream.
And there’s a look in his eyes, the same look Leader Allen gives Mama. The same look he started giving me. That look is the reason Mama sent me away.
“You’ll stay here,” he says softly. “I don’t want you to dance, but you can stay.”
The allure of it beats through me, a heart of its own, thumping away to a dream that isn’t mine. Safety. Home. I want those things, but I want freedom more. I want the flash of lights and of skin. I want the power those women had onstage.
Ivan wants to put me in a cage, but what I really want is to fly.
“Okay,” I lie, because one sin becomes many. Leader Allen taught me that, and he was right. I’ll convince Ivan, though. One day I’ll dance on that stage, and Ivan will watch me.
One day he’ll teach me everything there is to know.
“Good girl.”
The praise washes over me, undeserved and darkly pleasurable, a stroke along my spine. It feels good, but I know what it is. A trap. A chain around my ankle to keep me on the ground. In this moment, it locks me so tight that I’d accept anything he did to me. If he were to touch me the way the woman with the kind eyes meant. The way Leader Allen touches Mama during prayer.
Ivan leans down, and I hold my breath. Large hands take hold of the blanket, lift slightly. I feel everything between us—anticipation and denial, lust and fear corded together. We feel them together, breathe them in through the air, pulse them with each beat of our hearts. It’s a kind of knowledge, this feeling, connecting a thousand nerve points to the core of my body. This is what he meant by teaching me. This and so much more.
Then he pulls the blanket higher, tucking it around me. “Good night,” he says, eyes glittering in the dark.
He is silver and light, made even brighter by the shadows behind him. It’s strange, the disappointment I feel that he isn’t going to touch me. He isn’t going to teach me. Not tonight. “Good night,” I whisper back.
Then he’s gone, shutting the door against the dark, locking me in. And I slide away into sleep, without dreams, without color, with only the shameless black of contentedness, knowing I am safe for the night.
Other books in the series
Tough Love (Stripped #0.5)
Love the way you Lie (Stripped #1)
Better when it Hurts (Stripped #2)
Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of dark romance such as Wanderlust and Prisoner. Praised as a “true mistress of dark erotica”, her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. She makes her home in Houston, Texas, with her loving family, three dogs, and one evil cat.
Author links
My Review
Poor Candace, she grew up in a religious household where they taught perverse religious teachings. The punishments were determined by how she behaved. She finally escaped one night and she only was able to travel as far as she could, since she didn’t have much funds. Where did she end up? In front of the Grand.
Ivan was the reclusive owner of the Grand, a strip club and it is also a meeting place for other certain nefarious dealings. He found Candace and he immediately took her with him and put her under his care and under his wing. Candace ends up becoming Candy , the hottest stripper at the Grand and Ivan and Candy have this Daddy/ little girl type relationship. Candy is so in love with Ivan but you really do not get a read on what feelings that Ivan has for Candy. Well, you can tell that he likes treating Candy likes “his little girl” while Candy really is in love with Ivan.
Meanwhile Candy’s past has come back she believes to cause trouble for her now. There are threats aimed at Candy and the Club. Candy immediately thinks past she left behind—they now want her back. The twists and turns of this story take on a painful life and choices that she makes could impact the outcome of her and Ivan’s HEA. There is suspense and danger woven into the thread of this story . Will Ivan finally admit his love and will Candy make her choice to stay and fight for THEIR love?
I loved this story , loved the dark erotic undertones it brought to the forefront. The story flowed so well. I am glad that Ivan and Candy’s story got told. This was such a thrilling and deeply sexual story that I enjoyed reading the twists and turns. The MC had an unusual story that probably wasn’t what most were expecting to read but I loved this story and cannot wait to read what is next for this series.
Ivan was the reclusive owner of the Grand, a strip club and it is also a meeting place for other certain nefarious dealings. He found Candace and he immediately took her with him and put her under his care and under his wing. Candace ends up becoming Candy , the hottest stripper at the Grand and Ivan and Candy have this Daddy/ little girl type relationship. Candy is so in love with Ivan but you really do not get a read on what feelings that Ivan has for Candy. Well, you can tell that he likes treating Candy likes “his little girl” while Candy really is in love with Ivan.
Meanwhile Candy’s past has come back she believes to cause trouble for her now. There are threats aimed at Candy and the Club. Candy immediately thinks past she left behind—they now want her back. The twists and turns of this story take on a painful life and choices that she makes could impact the outcome of her and Ivan’s HEA. There is suspense and danger woven into the thread of this story . Will Ivan finally admit his love and will Candy make her choice to stay and fight for THEIR love?
I loved this story , loved the dark erotic undertones it brought to the forefront. The story flowed so well. I am glad that Ivan and Candy’s story got told. This was such a thrilling and deeply sexual story that I enjoyed reading the twists and turns. The MC had an unusual story that probably wasn’t what most were expecting to read but I loved this story and cannot wait to read what is next for this series.
My Rating: 4.4 stars ****
***A gifted copy was provided by the author for my honest review****
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