Review: No Flag by Liz Borino

Reviewed by Whuppsy
No Flag by Liz Borino
Lazy Day Publishing
Novel: 255pgs
3.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
For Mike and Will, “No Flag” meant “come home alive”, but will their love survive what happens next?

Captain Mike Kelley does not ignore his intuition, so when sexy bartender Will Hayes captures his heart, Mike embarks on a mission to win him over to a Domestic Discipline relationship. Will accepts with one caveat: Mike must promise not to renew his Army contract. Mike agrees, and they spend a year building a life together, getting married, and starting a business.

Only days before their café’s grand opening, Mike receives news that threatens everything he and Will have built. The Army invokes the Stop Loss military policy to involuntarily extend his commission and send him back overseas. Will, left alone to cope with the café, must rely on the support of old friends who may no longer be trustworthy. Through emails and Skype calls, Mike and Will keep their love and structure alive…until the day a horrific terrorist attack occurs on Mike’s outpost.

Mike awakens in a hospital with a devastating injury and no memory of the attack. As the only survivor, Mike’s memory may be the key to national security. Mike struggles to cope with his injury and Will struggles to support the man who always held him up. Both fear they have lost their previous relationship. Will has Mike back rather than a folded flag, but in the aftermath of war, can they rebuild the life they had before? Especially when those closest to them may not have their best interests at heart?

Review
Army Captain Mike Kelly meets Will Hayes at a bar where Will is the bartender. They go home that first night and…nothing happens. Nothing happens during the first two months of their relationship. Which by the way is driving Will crazy. Will finally confronts Mike regarding what’s going on. Mike lets Will know that he’s into Domestic Discipline. Will is taken aback regarding this new information, however, he’s intrigued by the thought and he thinks that being with Mike is worth it. He just has one caveat-Mike must not renew his contract with the Army, which Mike does. They sign a contract and move forward in their Love and Lives.

For a year, they’ve worked to make their relationship grow. They get married and start a business together. Everything is going so very well and then the bomb gets dropped. Mike gets called into the office and is told that they are extending his commission under the Stop Loss Policy. They are both understandably upset, but what can they do?

While Mike is away they keep in touch via email and Skype doing their very best to keep the home fires burning. Will is getting support from his friends from college-Seth and Casey. Things are moving along until Mike gets injured during a terrorist attack. Mike returns home fearing that he’s not able to be the man that Will needs him to. That he needs to be to feel whole.

Mike, however, is the only survivor from the terrorist attack and he’s being asked to give a briefing regarding what happened before, during and after the attack. Between this and Will’s “friends” Casey and Seth giving grief, how will this end?

This book was a really good read. I loved seeing the relationship between Mike and Will blossom and grow. To watch and see how they both dealt with the separation and aftermath of the attack. How friendships endure and fail. I will say however, that I wanted to smack Will a couple of times regarding his dealings with Casey. I also didn’t understand Seth’s reactions to what was going on, but I guess it added to the angst of the book.

It was a pretty well paced book. I enjoyed how it ebbed and flowed along. There was no time that I wanted to bang my head on the wall and wish it would move along. I also loved the way the book was set up. Starts with Will learning of the attack and moves back in time to when they first met. I also like that she named the chapters. It gave you a glance into what was going to happen. I liked that the book had some angst, but it was never overwhelming or didn’t drag on and on.

I would say that this is a great book to read. You’ll enjoy reading about Will and Mike make mistakes and find their balance again. If you have a few hours and want to read a book that you will fall into, this is the book for you.

3.5 Pants Off

Guest Post: Strength by Liz Borino

Help me welcome Liz Borino to Pants Off. She is talking about her new release and Action, and has included a sizzling hot excerpt. Give a warm welcome to Liz, and please do say hello.

Strength 

When I decided to write a book depicting a Dominate/submissive (D/s) relationship I was focused on making Steve a strong Dom. He had to be masculine, confident, strict, yet fair and loving. Yes, the last two are strong qualities. Originally, he was well built and intimidating, as romance heroes are usually portrayed. But then I said: What if his muscles don’t bulge through his clothes and he has no interest in intimidating his boyfriend, Zack, or anyone else, for that matter? What would that say about his true strength?

Before we answer those questions, let’s pose some about Zack. He’s Steve’s submissive. Does the sub have to be the opposite of everything required of a Dom: skinny, a little bit effeminate, and unsure of himself? Um…I was turned off just writing that description. I could never make it through a full book, much less a series, with a main character like that. So, what happens if Zack is the one with a sculpted body befitting of a Hollywood A-list actor? Now, we’ve got a successful man, surrendering himself to Steve. Allows himself to dominated, disciplined, and loved by a man he could overpower. But he doesn’t want to. Zack accepts the discipline at Steve’s hand—in fact, in the beginning of their relationship he requested the structure—because he craves it. More than that, he needs it to be the best man he can be. When Steve wraps his slender body around Zack as they make love—with or without a prior spanking—Zack forgets everything else exists.

So, does strength come from bulging muscles and a booming voice? Maybe one kind, but those weren’t the heroes I wanted to write. I believe there’s more power in Steve use of reason instead of force to show Zack what’s needed. And for Zack to trust him enough to agree, even when it’ll hurt? There’s no weakness in either of these men.

Blurb:

When the bright lights and flashing cameras of Hollywood capture your every move, how can you fulfill your deepest desires? For Zack Greene, a formerly out-of-control actor, and Steve Michaels, the director who unearthed the heart of the man beneath the ego, it’s a constant struggle.

In public, Steve and Zack are the picture of professional partners. However, behind closed doors, their partnership is taken to a new level. They engage in a carefully constructed Dom/sub relationship that not only brings them pleasure, but keeps Zack from slipping back into his wild ways.

Their delicate balance is thrown askew when a producer on the show threatens to expose their lifestyle, while taking advantage of Zack in a moment of vulnerability. Will Steve be able to ease the pain and save the love they share? Or will they come apart when they need each other most?

*Warning: Light BDSM, D/s relationship, spanking, and hot m/m sex*

Action: Amazon AllRomance (with excerpt) 

Excerpt (NSFW)

They reached the clearing and Steve slid the bag down Zack’s back. It touched the ground in the same instant as Steve brought their lips together. A shiver cascaded along his spine when Zack’s tongue begged entry to meet with his. Steve held the back of his head and didn’t release the kiss until they had to catch their breaths.

Zack opened the backpack and took out the quilt, spreading it over the grass. Steve knelt next to him. He kissed all over his face, stopping at his mouth, cheeks and chin, before nibbling on his ear. “Christ, Steve,” Zack groaned. Heat radiated from his skin and the blush returned, spreading from his forehead down to his now exposed torso.

“Is this what you imagined would happen at the waterfall, love?” Steve asked between kisses and nips around his neck, after removing his own shirt.

Zack shook his head. “No matter how many times I’m with you over the years, it’s always better than I imagine it will be.”

Steve stopped and gazed into his partner’s eyes. The response, too raw not to be honest, compelled him to share a slow, gentle kiss. “I love you.”

“I…need you.”

The words, more powerful than any others, matched the desire and love in his eyes. Steve unfastened Zack’s pants and inched them and his boxers down his legs until he lay bare surrounded by the beauty of nature, his collar the only item which remained. Another kiss and Zack worked the rest of Steve’s clothes off. He then traced Steve’s body with his gaze and then the tips of his fingers. Steve leaned back on his hands, exposing his excitement, which Zack captured in his mouth, sucking to the hilt. “Love, you’re too good. Lie down,” Steve said and Zack answered the request by dropping the now slick cock and turning on his hands and knees. “No, I want to see you.” Steve pushed on his hip and guided him onto his back.

Zack rested flat on his back and met Steve’s hungry gaze. “What do you want?”

Steve propped his head on his elbow and stretched next to his boyfriend. The deep colors of the setting sun cast a darker tone to his tanned body. Zack’s blonde hair fanned like a halo on the blanket. His nipples stood erect, begging to be claimed, and Steve wasn’t one to deny such compelling pleas. He flicked a pointed tongue over one then the other. Zack scratched the back of his head as their breathing hitched. Steve kissed down his body, bypassing the erection between his legs. He brought Zack’s legs to his chest, which the blond man secured. Steve answered his quizzical look with a smirk. He tickled Zack’s inner thighs and sac with his mouth, but his prize lay behind. The sun now reached the wrinkled entrance. He pursed his lips and sent a puff of hot air to the sensitive skin. Zack jerked up and squeezed his eyes tight, but Steve steadied him and said, “Keep them open, love. I told you I want to see all of you.” The command may have been a mistake because when Zack met his eyes again, the desire torched Steve’s self-control to the point he had to pinch the base of his cock to slow down his release. Once under control, Steve poked his tongue along the rim, flitting inside, just far enough for a needy shiver to take over Zack’s body. “Ready?”

“Yes…please.” Zack handed him the lube, blue lust shining brighter than ever through his half-closed lashes. “But, you didn’t answer my question.” Steve raised an eyebrow as he slicked them both. “You didn’t tell me what you wanted,” Zack staggered.

Steve bent to kiss him as he lined himself with the entrance and Zack hooked his ankles behind his waist. “I thought for sure I made clear that I want you. Always.” They kissed as they thrust, becoming physically closer each time. Their hearts beat as one.

In the pond underneath the waterfall, Steve and Zack swam together, the water cool enough to be refreshing, but warm enough that neither rushed out. Steve held Zack’s back to his chest and kissed his neck, but stopped, not wanting to chance arousal again. Dusk fell fast.

“Steve?” Zack tilted his face up.

“Hmm?” The chirping changed from birds to crickets.

“I’ll always want—and love—you, too.”

Steve turned Zack around and locked eyes. “I don’t ever want to lose us.” 

Zack whispered, “Me, either.”