Deceiving the heroine

Karen Junker said:

I'd go for it for as long as it takes to get them out of the main room and into a private space, where he cleverly explains the deception and then talks her into working with him to achieve some plausible and noble goal. In the process of regaining her trust, they then later can have the brilliant sex, etc. Basically, I agree with Captcha.

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I think I've got all those elements - having great sex, admitting the truth, working together to achieve something and gaining her trust (can't say regaining because he never had it in the first place) - just not in the same order that you mentioned.

It's pretty clear that the scene as I envisioned it will turn some readers off, but that's just something I'll have to deal with. At least the scene will be at the start of the first chapter, so hopefully readers will know right away whether or not they want to go on.

Thanks for your feedback!

sunandshadow said:

It's supposed to be safe sex with a stranger...

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Heh. He wants it to be safe sex, and she certainly insists on that, but since he's in someone else's room he doesn't know where the sheaths are (if there are sheaths at all). And it would look suspicious if he started randomly opening cupboards and looking in boxes. I'm not even sure there'll be actual penetration under these circumstances.

LOL! I think if the madam offered them both a room, he would decline for that very reason. He doesn't mind being vulnerable with the heroine, but he wouldn't risk it with the proprietress of a brothel.

Besides, if the heroine was perfectly willing to have sex with him as-is, they could just go to his place or to her ship - no need to stick around in the brothel unless they needed props or something. And even I draw the line at bringing out the handcuffs on the first date.

He's definitely going to see past her scars, though. I plan for them to do some talking before the deed, because he wants to know more about her as well as have sex with her.

Hey everyone, an update to this thread.

The manuscript has been accepted by Samhain and will be out early next year. So if you liked the premise, you're in luck.

Hope this doesn't come off as spamming. I just remembered that some people had said they'd be interested in reading this.

Faye DC said:

To me, this is more like lying about your job or how much money you make to get a woman in bed (a dick-move, but not rising to the level of fraud needed to vitiate consent) than it is like lying about your very identity (which is definitely fraud, and DOES vitiate consent).

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And there are some romances which go all that way - like Lisa Kleypas's Stranger In My Arms, which is basically Sommersby with a happy ending.

She wanted to sleep with a stranger in exchange for money and does exactly that, she just didn't know that he doesn't do that on a regular basis.

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That's how I thought of it too. Thanks for your kind words!

Duppy said:

"Everyone acted honorably and intelligently" is a., unrealistic, and b, boring.

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Thanks! Besides, if he told the heroine, "I don't work here, but I think you're incredibly attractive. I'd love to get to know you better"... well, she'd ignore him. She's not there for that.

And if he told her he wasn't an employee, but offered her sex anyway, she'd turn him down. He's attractive, but she wants it to be a business transaction, nothing more. If she has sex with a man who might be interested in her, she'll have to tell him her name and he might ask about her scar and he might want to see her again. If she pays a whore, none of that applies.

I would personally have a problem with a man who routinely lied to women to get sex. But I have less of a problem with a man who sees one particular woman, wants her very much, realizes that she might want him too - provided he's a prostitute, and decides to be what she needs, for that one time.

If she were somehow vulnerable in the sense of being under-empowered (like, for example, being detained in immigration in a foreign country, yikes) then hell yes I would have a greater problem with his actions.

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She's emotionally vulnerable, but she's more than capable of taking care of herself otherwise. Plus, as an officer of the armed forces of another country, she's got that country's political weight behind her.

And yeah... I was once detained in immigration in Syria, my passport taken away while I sat alone in the airport, and no one would tell me what was happening. I was terrified. Anyone who would approach or manipulate a woman under those circumstances would be scum.

Just bumping this up to say the novel is out!

It came a long way since my initial post to see if anyone found the premise problematic. As the Smart Bitches Trashy books review put it, after the deception, the hero and heroine are pretty direct with each other. And it was just sheer fun to write.

Thanks also to AWers in the Story Research forum for answering my questions on how to create tidal waves. You all rock.

ViridianChick said:

Is this is the book with the redhead on the cover? The SB review was tempting.

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That's right! And she's in profile because we couldn't find a model with a third-degree burn scar across one side of her face.

Give in to the temptation! All new releases are on sale.