★★★★ Much like hero Patrick, we get no more than a tease with this very short story, which introduces The Voyeur Series. To my surprise, (particularly after getting a version of the cover where he is looking at the reader), Patrick is NOT the voyeur. The heroine, Annie, is. What’s even more surprising is Annie, a maid, working at Le Petite Mort Club happens to be the younger sister of Vic, former marine who served with Patrick and club owner, Ethan. Though Ethan appears in every story, this is the first I’ve heard of Vic and Patrick, or that Ethan was a soldier though it’s possible it slipped my mind. Ethan was paying the bills for Vic’s hard-up family and Annie refused to accept his assistance, landing her in a position to be discovered during a very curious moment by a man who’s most intrigued by her fascination but thinks of her as a sister. Though we’ve barely scratched the surface, we know Patrick will be watching over the club while Ethan’s away, keeping an eye on Annie, keeping his hands to himself. So he says. I, for one, am not holding my breath.
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