Allyson James kicks off this erotic anthology, Private Places, by a quartet of some of the best writers in the business with her story about The Decidedly Devilish Duke of Bretherton, Michael Beaulieu. When he encounters his lost love, the widowed Amelia Lockwood, now penurious, he plays a hand of cards to free her of her debts and then parlays this into a successful bid for marriage. Although they still have deep feelings for each other, it is difficult for them to let go of years filled with resentment and guilt. Will the attempted blackmail by Amelia's former brother-in-law finally enable them to place these to rest?

With Michael Ms. James has created the quintessential bad boy, the rogue in need of reform. Of course, who better to accomplish this than Amelia, the woman left behind, the one who has stayed in his mind for ten long years. Yet in the Decidedly Devilish Duke, this somewhat predictable plot line seems fresh due to the remarkable character development the author is able to achieve in such a short story. For this reason, I do believe this is my favorite story of the four.

Next is Claudia Dain's A Night in the Theater, in which two courtesans, Zoe Auvray and Sophia Gray plot their moves in order to land the best protectors. However, they have different goals. Zoe, fresh from Paris, just wants someone to set her up as a mistress, while Sophia has decided she will only be satisfied with marriage to a duke. As Zoe navigates complex subtleties of the evening at the London Theater, the unexpected twists make her goal more difficult than she first thought. Not to mention that her chosen target elicits emotions she hadn't realized she is capable of.

Ms. Dain does an excellent job bringimg the reader into what by all accounts was a superficial, amoral life style. More frequently we see this from the other side, the wronged wife or the jaded, wealthy man looking to rid himself of the clinging, avaricious mistress. Make no mistake, Zoe and Sophie are both avaricious and entirely self-centered. Zoe especially has no compunction whatsoever about the fact that her target, the Duke of Aldreth is married, and only unhappy with his wife because she is too delicate for frequent intercourse. In fact, it speaks volumes for Ms. Dain that she is able to make the reader care about the out-come for two young women who appear to be entirely without a shred of conscience between them. And yet, again this seems to be an accurate description of A Night at the Theater with the English ton of that period.

Then comes Shiloh Walker's Hunter's Mercy. Jack Callahan is returning home from war where he had watched his best friend Richard die and made a death bed vow to him to watch over his little sister, Mercy. Richard had known for years that Jack was a shifter (a huge black hunting cat) but Mercy did not. Upon his arrival he immediately encounters Mercy in the middle of a battle with some feral wolves, and is shocked when she shoots him with silver after he saves her life. He soon discovers that her emotions have been in a cold freeze since the death of her husband in an attack by some ferals, and she is determined to kill every "monster" she can in revenge. Jack is sure there is more to the story than she is saying, yet hopes that his love for her will get her past this. Just when he is getting close to her they are attacked and Jack is forced to shift in order to save her and the others they care for. Will Mercy be able to see past her trauma and accept Jack for all that he is?

Shiloh Walker paints an intense emotional landscape in Hunter's Mercy, colored with Mercy's deep anger, fear and resentment regarding her beloved husband's death. Ms. Walker does an excellent job slowly revealing the truth about the events surrounding that, and also Jack's dismay at learning the whole story. The physical attraction between the two, combined with the connection of having grown up together and sharing their mutual history with Richard makes for a strong bond. However, Ms. Walker makes the reader wonder just what it will take for a woman such as Mercy to recover from the agony of watching her mate be slaughtered right before her eyes. And if another man's love can ever be strong enough to surmount that anguish.

Finally we have Robin Schone's The Men and Women's Club, which is set in the late 1880's. In her forward Ms. Schone sets the stage, advising the reader of the somewhat twisted attitudes held by those on London at that time, a simultaneous fascination with and repulsion of sexuality. In this story the founders of a secret society to re-examine sexual mores (the Men and Women's Club) have been reported and are now faced with trial for their "depraved" activities. Michael Manning and Ardelle Denison will most likely lose their prestigious jobs come morning, but Michael is far more interest in gaining closure from their sexual encounter two years prior when he lost his virginity to this woman ho had not been a virgin. His relentless digging reveals truths Ardelle had not wanted to share, and in the process finally bursts her reserve, but will this allow her to freely give herself to him…and damn the consequences?

Robin Schone's contribution is what firmly puts this volume in the erotica category. Although the others certainly contain hot sex scenes it is Robin who puts it over the top with her signature spare, yet explicit dialogue and descriptive action sequences. With this method, which she employs with such unerring skill, the reader is allowed to fill in the blanks. The one issue I would have is that it is a sequel with a whole lot of missing back story which at times made it difficult to follow even though I had a passing familiarity with the original story line. However, given the length restraints, I'm not sure how she could have done much better. Regardless, it is a very powerful piece and an excellent way to finish Private Places.

Reviewed by: Lynn