Lean on Me

Andrea has spent years looking for a dominant partner tough enough to stand up to the hard, street-raised men she knew growing up. When a friend gets her a trainee spot at an elite BDSM club run by the Shadowlands Masters, she is both elated and anxious about her chance.

Master Cullen is not pleased to be saddled with an inexperienced submissive who seems more likely to throw a punch than drop to her knees. He wants her gone. Yet his harsh treatment of her keeps giving way to moments of tenderness, and he starts to notice the vulnerable woman behind her guarded front.

Andrea is drawn to Cullen, though he has a reputation for a free-wheeling way of life. Her hopes fade when she learns he is also a police officer, not only a bartender, and her own past dealings with the law complicate things. Then another trainee accuses her of stealing, and she fears she has lost the man she wanted. This is the first book in Cherise Sinclair's Masters of the Shadowlands series.