I cannot write this review without giving away – what I believe to be – a major spoiler. In BONDAGE everything comes together regarding Tobias, Noah and Phantom. I’ve grown with these men from a budding gay D/s relationship & friendship, getting to know each other, going through the motion in the individual ups and downs, and gradually something more blooms between the three of them. The previous three novels somehow prepared me for what was about to happen in BONDAGE and while I was not surprised it created a huge dilemma which made me wonder how the authors were going to handle it. And with it, I mean one Dom, with his two subs. I was pulled in to a three-way relationship and my instant worry was how this was going to work romantically, how each character will get what he needs, and once again I was amazed in the creative ability Owen and Payne showed to make this relationship work.Throughout each novel there was no doubt Phantom still had emotions for his former Dom Tobias, and that there was a unique connection between them. The friendship between Phan and Noah also strengthened with each day, so with these ties connecting the three characters together there was already a foundation for what was to come. Phan needed to do some rigorous emotional healing and a choice needed to be made by Tobias and Noah. With that choice made things inevitably shifted and that the situation was becoming far more difficult was to be expected. Tobias now needed to take care of two subs, each with their individual desires and approach from him as their Dom.
It, once again, showcased the formidable dialogues between Tobias, Noah and Phan. Each being very honest in revealing their feelings, how difficult this sometimes may be. It made me understand each of them on such an intimate level my emotional strings were inevitably pulled. The issues rose from Tobias needing to make choices in what he has time for in his day-to-day life, Phan dealing with vocalizing his needs and knowing he is wanted, and Noah furthers his exploration in this relationship. Ever single action was trying to bring them together in this threesome, it wasn't the easiest way to love or be in a relationship and they were well aware of this fact. Still, Tobias, Noah and Phan were determined not to let the difficulty hold them back. They would make this work on their own terms and let no-one come between what felt good for them.
I loved watching their advancements, their struggles, the unleashing of their passion, and I say watching because the evocative writing style made me see it all in the mind’s eye. The erotic pictures of Tobias, Noah and Phan going at it together - as well as separately - are permanently burned in my memory. Over the course of this novel this threesome had to undergo some changes, making some life altering decisions to head for an ending that was so good. I hated to leave them, I knew it was the perfect place for the men to be but I wanted to stay with them just a little longer knowing I could never experience this series a first time again. I knew that Tobias, Noah and Phantom were rock solid, having an incredible time together, completely devoted to one another and would work out all that life would throw at them. Leaving them as I read the final page was bittersweet and I knew the DEVIATIONS series earned their spot on my keeper shelves.
This three-way took me to emotional highs, gave me laugh out loud moments, gave me an intimacy with the characters I enjoy so thoroughly in a story and of course this wouldn’t be a DEVIATIONS novel if there wasn’t an amount of sexual foreplay, the back and forth of teasing innuendo and the vigorous sex-play of a Dom with his two subs. BONDAGE took it up a notch and swept me off my feet as Chris Owen and Jodi Payne broadened my horizon with three men I will forever cherish.
