Nikki grew up with an overbearing mother that forced her to compete in beauty pageants. Her life was completely regimented and she was expected to be perfect at all times. Nikki began cutting as a way to relieve the pressure from her life and later used it as a way to get out of competing. Moving to L.A., she was leaving all of it behind and starting anew. Nikki is a whiz in computer science and has plans to start her own company, but needs to learn the business side of her industry.

During the first week of her new job, Nikki’s boss has decided to use her as bait to coherce billionaire mogul, Damien Stark, into a meeting. At first glance, Nikki is stunned.

“He’s tall and so handsome that the word is almost an insult. But it’s more than that. It’s not his looks, it’s his presence. He commands the room simply by being in it, and I realize that Evelyn and I aren’t the only ones looking at him.”

As Nikki is ushered across the room by her boss to be introduced to Damien, their eyes meet and the world fades away.

“I see heat and purpose. And then I see nothing but raw, primal desire so intense I fear that I’ll shatter under the force of it.”

Nikki is dead set on resisting the lure that is Damien Stark, but the million dollars her offers her to pose for a portrait is the final straw. With only one stipulation. Nikki must give herself completely to Damien for the entire week the portrait is being painted. A million dollars could be everything to Nikki. She could really begin her new life and is enough start-up for her business. Besides, once Damien sees her scars he’ll be so turned off that he won’t want her or her portrait anymore, right?

I really enjoyed Release Me. Kenner’s writing was fabulous and her use of a main character as a cutter definitely sets this story above the rest. I’m an honest fan of the widely used premise of the billionaire alpha male love story, and this one was definitely one of the good ones. I couldn’t put it down and can’t wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

Memorable Quotes:

A fellow cheeky shoe lover/ranter…

“Very nice,” he says. “Perhaps you should put them on.”
“Nice?” I repeat. “They aren’t nice. They’re astounding. They cup my foot, show off my pedicure, slim my leg, and lift my ass just enough to make it look damn hot in this dress.”
The corner of his mouth twitches with amusement. “I recall. Truly, they are amazing shoes.”
“They also happen to be my first and only purchase from my frivolous Los Angeles shopping splurge.”
“Well worth the damage to your checking account, I’m sure.”
“Totally. But they are an absolute bitch to walk in. And now that I’ve taken them off I really don’t know if I can get them back on again. No, correction. I don’t know if I can get them on again and actually walk.”
“I see your dilemma. Fortunately, I’ve made a career out of coming up with solutions to such knotty problems.”
“Is that so? Well, please. Enlighten me.”
“You can stay here on the steps. You can go inside barefoot. You can put the shoes back on and suffer.”
“Somehow I expected something better from the great Damien Stark. If that’s all the brainpower it takes to become the head of a corporate empire, I should have jumped all over that a long time ago.”

Raising the roof!

“Damien,” I whisper, my voice a plea. But whether I’m begging him to stop or continue, even I don’t know.
His mouth is at my ear, his voice so carnal, so full of lust, it makes my clit throb. “I’m going to fuck you, Nikki. Pleasure? We’re going to blow the roof off pleasure. I’m going to make you beg for it. I’m going to claim you. I’m going to tease you. I’m going to torment you. And you’re going to come for me like you’ve never come in your life.”

Who knew exploring verbs could be so hot?

“It’s hard to be so close to something so precious and know you don’t yet possess it.”
“Possess?” I repeat.
His grin is slow and confident. “Possess. Have. Hold. Enjoy. Control. Dominate. Pick your verb, Ms. Fairchild. I intend to explore so very many of them.”

*Swoon*

“Look outside,” Damien whispers. “What do you see?”
“It’s sunset,” I say playfully as I look over my shoulder to once again meet his eyes.
He presses his mouth to my ear, and there’s nothing playful in his tone. “Never, baby. Between us, the sun is never going down.”

If you liked Release Me…

If you liked Release Me and would like to continue Nikki and Damien’s story, definitely check out Claim Me (Stark Trilogy #2) where some light is shed on Damien’s dark past and the secrets he’s been withholding.
For more billionaire alpha male love stories, and there are a lot to choose, but here are a few of my faves: The Up In the Air trilogy by R.K. Lilley, starting with Up In Flight and this trilogy has already been finished, so no pesky waiting for that last book to come out. Next is the This Man trilogy by Jodi Ellen Malpas, starting with This Man (final book of this trilogy due to be released July 2, 2013). And finally, with a much darker feel, the Consequences trilogy by Aleatha Romig, starting with Consequences (final book of this trilogy’s exact release date is not set).

Release Me is…