Appassionato
Dream Marked 1

Professional Reviews

4.5 TEA CUPS: "This was easily one of the best ménages I’ve ever read. Leaf soars past the elaborate premises many authors use to explain why threesomes are socially acceptable in their special ‘town’. Appassionato’s passionate trio doesn’t bother to explain or justify their relationship, which allows Leaf to focus on the meat of the story. And, wow, what a story! The buildup is simply delicious. Emma doesn’t even meet Duncan and Jake until a quarter of the way into the novel, but we don’t miss out on the building of their relationship one bit. Through a mysterious ‘bonding,’ the three of them are suddenly able to feel one another’s emotions and to communicate using telepathy. They talk to one another that way, and they have a few steamy encounters while dreaming. This is one of the most unique plot ideas I’ve ever seen, and Ms. Leaf’s amazing writing talent swept me away. And the story doesn’t stop there. At the heart of this novel is a drug cartel that wants to capture bonded couples to manufacture their blood into a drug. While this isn’t a new concept, Ms. Leaf definitely makes it her own. The sex scenes were great, though some of the acrobatics were difficult to picture, but Ms. Leaf’s ability to build characters and suspense kept me hanging on every word the entire way through. The novel is too long to read in one sitting, which I loved. I really, really wanted to spend more time with the trio—so much that I read it twice." -- Clare C, Happily Ever After Reviews

4 STARS: "Appassionato is exactly what fans of M/M/F ménage romance enjoy. The leads are interesting characters readers will be invested in and the plot suspenseful. This is an excellent short novel that both ménage fans and new ménage readers can enjoy. When high school librarian Emma starts to passionately dream about super-rockstar Duncan and his manager Jake, she knows something inside her is changing. Emma begins to display physical symptoms of addiction and shares telepathy with the two men whom she hasn't met yet. Emma then learns the two previously just-male-friends have the same symptoms and an insatiable sexual desire. Suddenly the news is ablaze with a strange "bonding" pheromone affecting some couples--including the trio of Duncan, Jake and Emma. When the three finally meet face-to-face, they can't deny the emotional and sexual connection that bond them together. However, strange kidnapping of bondmates start happening, including two of Emma's students. Now in addition to figuring out their new relationship, Emma, Duncan and Jake's lives are at risk, too. Duncan, Jake and Emma are wonderfully developed characters. I enjoyed hearing about their pasts, including Jake outing Duncan's bisexuality on Oprah, and Emma's struggle with her weight. Because Jake and Duncan had been childhood friends, they know all about each other, but the telepathic bond between the men and Emma allow readers to get to know them along with Emma, and I liked that a lot. I love it when authors have sexual build up and allow emotions to develop between romantic leads and that's what Ms. Leaf did here. The trio have fallen in love before they initially meet in person so when they do, it's incendiary. So while the sex is scorching hot, the emotional connections between the trio added depth and heart to their sexual interactions. For instance, Jake always thought he was straight, so he has a lot to accept in his new relationship with both Duncan and Emma, and this struggle was very well written. The plot too was very good and kept me reading. The initial suspense of why Emma was suffering these symptoms was interesting but then once the kidnapping of bondmates started, the plot soared. The mystery plot was fast paced and didn't interfere with the sexy romance but rather enhanced it. This strong plot development elevated a good book to a great book. Appassionato is a wonderful M/M/F ménage story. I loved the characters, their incendiary relationship, and the suspenseful plot. I've read book two of the series already and adored it as much as this first book. Erin M. Leaf is now on my auto-buy list." -- J9, The Romance Reviews

Excerpt

STORY EXCERPT

“Emma! You’re finally here! Oh my God, guess what?” Julie rushed over and hugged her.

Emma juggled her lunch bag and the books she was holding, trying not to drop her hot coffee. “Julie, careful, I don’t want to sacrifice today’s coffee to the floor. It was bad enough to go through the whole day yesterday caffeine deprived, I don’t want to do it again today.” Julie immediately pulled back, catching the book that slid from the top of the pile before it could hit the ground.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m just so excited! Emma, you won’t believe what happened!” Julie hopped with excitement as she followed Emma into the library office.

Emma smiled. “You found your grandmother’s long lost purple afghan?”

Julie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no. Try again!”

“Um, your great-uncle Ted died and left you a million dollars,” Emma teased as she walked to her desk. She put the coffee down with a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, I wish.” Julie snorted. “You suck at guessing.”

“Okay, okay. You have a hot date with the new art teacher?” Emma smirked at Julie as she organized her books, carefully stacking them between Julie and her coffee cup. The more protection her precious coffee had from her exuberant friend the better.

“The new art teacher is, like, eighty,” Julie said scornfully, ignoring Emma’s chuckle. “Okay, no more guessing. I won tickets!”

Emma grinned at Julie’s beaming face. “Tickets to what?”

“Tickets to go see Duncan Green in concert! Front row! And you’re coming with me!” Julie looked like she was about to burst with excitement.

Emma blinked, wondering when her life got so weird. “You won tickets to see Duncan Green? And you want me to go with you?”

“What are you, a parrot? Yeah, remember I was trying to win tickets all last week? I texted a zillion times and I won! I’m so excited! And of course I want you to come. I’ve been trying to get you to listen to his music for ages. And he’s hot. You’ll love him. He’s tall, dark, and handsome.” Julie rubbed her hands together.

Emma laughed. “He sounds like the hero from a romance novel. Okay, okay, I’ll come. Sounds like fun.” She took a sip of her coffee, wondering if she was going to regret this. “You know, I had a dream about him last night,” she said. She watched Julie’s face light up.

“Yeah? He’s so gorgeous, and his voice! Wow. I just melt when I hear him sing,” the younger woman rhapsodized.

“Yeah, must be all those songs you forced me to listen to at lunchtime. Now you’ve got me dreaming about him.” She shook her head, trying to make herself believe that what was going on with her was as simple as a dream. At least she hadn’t had any more of the weird hallucination episodes! “Hey, who is the other guy that hangs around Duncan all the time? He doesn’t play in the band but he’s always there. Curly dark hair, green eyes?”

Julie smiled. “Oh, that’s Jake Mackenzie. He’s Duncan’s manager or something. He’s his best friend. He’s been with Duncan almost from the beginning of his career. I think he even helps write the music, but you never see him onstage.”

Emma nodded encouragingly. “Why doesn’t he perform too?”

“Something about how Duncan is the star, the one who wanted to be famous. Jake’s been interviewed with Duncan, and he always says that it’s not his dream to be a rock star.”

Emma frowned, remembering too well how it felt to play the piano when she dreamed she was Jake. “Really? I thought I heard somewhere that he could play piano?”

Julie shrugged. “I don’t get it either. I love when they do interviews together because Jake manages to embarrass Duncan all the time. He’s the only one who can do that because Duncan is pretty much shameless. The last time they were on Oprah, Jake accidentally outed Duncan.”

“What?” Emma was confused. Duncan couldn’t be gay because she specifically remembered him thinking of himself as bisexual from her dreams. She blinked. Am I really thinking I know anything about him just because I dreamed it? I must really be losing my mind, she thought.

ADULT EXCERPT

“You smell amazing,” Jake muttered, then pushed her thighs open wider. “I want to lick you until you scream.” Emma shuddered and almost lost her balance as he ran his thumbs down her labia, but Duncan caught her, hands on her hips, eyes staring down at Jake. He looked like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to kiss the other man or devour her. Emma groaned, sensing his conflict. Duncan was looking at Jake’s mouth where the other man had his lower lip caught in his own teeth, and Emma’s mind caught a flash of Duncan’s desire to suck on that lip. She opened her legs wider, wanting to see them kiss again. She pushed at Duncan’s shoulders until he dropped down. He went willingly, kissing her mound before leaning in and capturing Jake’s mouth right between her legs. Emma would have fallen if Duncan hadn’t still been holding her up. Jake had one thumb against her clit as the other slid inside her body. She shook, already on the edge. If he would just move his finger...

He didn’t. Instead he kissed Duncan, his whole focus on the other man. Or not? Emma concentrated and slid into Jake’s mind. He was enjoying the kiss, but very carefully not moving his hands, wanting to prolong the pleasure. She didn’t know where he found the control to manage it but couldn’t help but be impressed. Then Duncan pulled away and stood up. He caught Emma’s eyes and deliberately unbuttoned his jeans. She trembled as Jake pressed his thumb against her core, rubbing gently, but not enough to make her come.

“Jake, please,” she gasped. Jake chuckled and slipped away, ignoring her moan of protest. He tugged her to the bed and pushed her until she sat, then he unbuttoned his jeans and shoved them down with his boxers. His cock sprung out, the tip red and wet. Emma licked her lips, wanting to taste. Duncan groaned and she looked at him, jeans unzipped, his erection pushing against the soft cotton of his briefs.

“Jesus, Jake,” Duncan breathed. Emma agreed, licking her lips again. She reached out, but Jake stepped away.

“Uh uh. If we don’t get Duncan naked, he’s going to trip and kill himself and then we won’t get to fuck him,” Jake stated, a thread of humor beneath the desire-tinged hoarseness of his voice. Emma blinked then flushed at his bald statement. She was amazed by his courage. She didn’t know if she would’ve had the fortitude to deal with a sudden bisexual bonding as well as he had. Since he’d made the decision to accept what had happened, he’d embraced his newfound attraction to Duncan whole-heartedly. She caught him smiling at her and blushed as she felt him reading her thoughts.

Duncan laughed. “Who says you’re going to fuck me?” Then he pushed his jeans down and Emma stared. He had the largest cock she’d ever seen. Not that I’ve seen that many, she thought. How could she have missed this the last time they were naked together?

“Uh,” Jake tried to speak, then licked his lips. Emma realized that the other man was as astonished as she was. Jake tried again. “Shit, man, you could cause some serious damage with that thing!”

Emma grinned as Duncan walked over to his friend. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” Duncan said as he slid his hands down, capturing Jake’s dick in his palms. He pressed closer, folding his own cock into his hands as well. Jake gasped, clutching at Duncan’s biceps. Emma couldn’t look away as Duncan leaned in for a kiss as he gently moved his fingers around both of them. She could tell the exact moment Jake gave into Duncan’s superior experience, shuddering and pushing his hips closer.

“Duncan, if you don’t stop, I’m going to come,” Jake said after a moment, his voice shaky as Duncan mouthed over his jaw, rubbing his face against the other man’s stubble. Duncan stilled, then stepped back. He looked dazed. Jake gripped his cock hard, then let go and turned to Emma.

“Lie down, honey.” Jake pushed her down on the bed and then urged her up until her head lay on the pillows. Her legs trembled as he palmed them open, cupping her mound with one hand while his other drifted up to her breasts. She turned her head at the sound of a drawer opening and realized Duncan was rummaging through her nightstand. He pulled out lube and a strip of condoms.

“You’re a girl scout,” he teased, tossing the supplies on the bed. Emma smiled, then arched her back as Jake plunged his fingers inside her pussy, avoiding her clit.

She gasped. “Please, Jake, come on—” She thrashed her head, as he slipped a finger over her center.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you there,” Jake said, settling down. He breathed on her, then dipped his head, licking her clit with small, delicate strokes. Emma moaned, closing her eyes. She didn’t even protest when she felt Duncan hold her hands down.

“You’re so beautiful like this, spread out for us.” Duncan leaned over her, pressing his cock into her hip as he leaned down to kiss her. Emma opened her mouth, reaching for more, but he was already licking down her neck, sucking hickeys into her skin. He didn’t pause until he reached her left nipple. She held her breath, trying not to wiggle and dislodge Jake between her legs, but then Duncan bit her and she couldn’t help it, she bucked against their hands, desperate for more.

“Please, please, please,” she heard someone begging, then realized it was her. She caught flashes of herself in the minds of Jake and Duncan—her body, stretched out on the bed. Her hair mussed against white sheets, her curves so delicious—she couldn’t believe they thought of her like that. They thought she was beautiful. She opened her eyes to see both men looking down at her, Jake’s fingers still stroking where his mouth left off, Duncan licking the nipple he’d just nipped. She felt her orgasm come over her in a tsunami of need. She couldn’t think anymore. She just wanted and wanted until she thought she’d die of it.

“Easy, honey,” Jake murmured. He sucked her clit back into his mouth, tonguing her more thoroughly now, but never letting her fall over the edge. Every time she came close he backed off. She moaned, grabbing at the sheets and then at Duncan’s hair, incoherent. She heard the sound of a wrapper and dimly realized that Duncan was rolling on a condom. She forced her eyes open just in time to see Jake move to let Duncan take his place. She arched her back, still clutching Duncan’s hair. Jake watched Duncan press his cock down, playing the thick head over her clit until Emma shifted her hips, trying to slip him inside.

“Take a deep breath,” Duncan said, the strain on his face making him look even more gorgeous than usual. She obeyed and he eased the head of his erection inside. She pulled on his hair and he smiled, then pressed in a tiny bit. Her eyes widened as she felt exactly how big he was.

I’ll fit, don’t worry, he thought to her and Emma nodded. Just relax, sweetheart. He pushed in a tiny bit more, his cock so thick that she could feel his length scrape against her clit. It felt divine.