Fit to be Tied by Kate Willoughby

Sexy Nerd?? What was the phrase at the end of “Revenge of the Nerds” movie… something along the lines of guys with brains know best how to please a woman. Well this one does, and he has a fancy way of tie-ing (Shibari) them up as well.

Ten years ago, Sadie thought Max was a scrawny, hopeless nerd. She even said so to his face in front of the student body.

Today, Max is still a little nerdy but in a “My, Clark Kent, what broad shoulders you have!” way. And when she ends up as his temporary house guest, she discovers a lot more about the new him. He’s amusingly fastidious, independently wealthy, and most importantly, able to make her wet with little more than a commanding stare.

There’s just one thing she still needs to find out: what the heck is behind that black door—his bedroom door—the one he asked her not to open?

Sadie Corbett is a wanderer. The daughter of a Navy man, she was raised traveling, moving often and has never lost the wanderlust. Taking jobs as they come and moving where and when the fancy strikes her, her major goal is to live in all 50 states (um, okay). Currently, she is in L.A. working on the Butterfly Extravaganza and staying with her friend Becky. She has also landed an extra job of “bug (spider) wrangler” for a movie and has come to museum for help. The spider (for the movie) is having problems, maybe sick, and the museum’s live insect area has a specialist. He just happens to be someone she knows from high school, Max. She both “spent time with him” and treated him cruelly afterward in front of her popular girlfriends. Now he is even more attractive then the nerdy kid she use to know. Hopefully, he will let her make up for the way she treated him back then in the best of ways while helping her with the spider.

Maxwell Brody remembers Sadie well. They almost had sex in his car during a football game, but a security guard interrupted that moment. The next day at school, Sadie was mean to him in front of her friends, not that he really expected anything different, but it still hurt. He is not that nerdy kid anymore, but still has the urge to finish everything he starts, no matter how long it takes. Ten years is a long time, but this “project” may be the best he has ever undertaken.

When Becky’s boyfriend shows up from Iraq on leave, Max offers to let Sadie stay in his guest room. She knows he is smart, but his house is really nice and more than the museum job could pay for; so he is doing well for himself somehow. And while he wants her, he does not want her to feel like she is trading someplace to stay for ‘bed favors.’ She offers to cook and clean until she gets paid and can pay rent. But Sadie has also been flirting with Max from the moment she saw him and doesn’t give him much time before making a real move. Not that Max hesitates on taking her up on the offer. They do start something of a relationship. But he does hold back on his bedroom and his secret desires…

Turns out he likes to tie up his lovers. Not just a little kink either, but Shibari – the art of “Japanese rope bondage.” He has even written a book about it and holds demos at the local BDSM club. He is interested in exploring this with Sadie and she talks him into taking her with him to the club for one of his demos. During a night of introducing her to Shibari (very light, beginning stages), he learns the hard way she has had a very bad experience of forced BDSM.

They both are into and seem to be falling to for each other. But can they really have a relationship if not all their needs are being met? But can Sadie overcome her past attack? And Sadie now knows about his desires, so there is no going back or pretending…

Fit to be Tied is not really a BDSM story as much as a relationship story. Max has a particular kink, the Shibari, but still enjoys regular sex as well. He is more dominating than regular guys, but is not really a ‘Dom’ as in the BDSM scene. And he does have some OCD issues, but not overwhelming or life effecting (and Sadie finds then kind of cute, luckily). Sadie’s wanderlust may be a little bit of her childhood left over (i.e. needing to grow up still) but she managers to function well enough that I can’t say much there. She does have very legit issues over resisting being tied up and Max handles it beautifully.

Fit to be Tied is an entertaining way to spend the evening. This quick read is hot (yes, graphic), at time sweet, and just a touch kinky. Being married to my own slightly nerdy guy, I had to check out Fit to be Tied and am glad I did. Oh, and I don’t think I am going to forget “thermal friction rod” anytime soon (yes, you can guess that joke).