I really enjoyed this collection of stories. The blurb (which is really a series of reviews) says it all, as does the introduction.While a lot is predictable, there are some surprisingly touching stories inside. Once the initial Centurions group is set up, there are a few shorts stories about hooking up between different couples: Finding the inner man with a porn star. A man who has recently lost his leg in a bike accident. The naive, the jaded, the intelligent, the inarticulate. They're all different, reflecting the personality of the different Masters telling the story. I really enjoyed Master Butch amusing repartee as he takes on a notoriously pushy bottom.God knows I don’t want to look at your face when I fuck you.” “You’re not going to fuck me.”“Having your period?”“No.”“Hemorrhoids? Pregnant? Clap?”“No, I don’t like you.”“That’s harsh. And we’ve spent so much quality time together. I might cry.” He looked away. “Back to your life story. When did you start sucking cocks? And do you swallow? That’s part A and part B of the quiz.”The writing is easy to read and has some evocative imagery:"I’m not turned on by those handsome model types you see in the magazines, but when you see the real thing in person, you just know the Creator was having a great day when he made this one. This dude stopped traffic — literally. The fucking bar came to a standstill the first time he came through the door. You’d have to be blind, deaf, and stupid not to want to just breathe the same air he did."There are even hints that these tough guys are really soft underneath.“C’mon, Jeff, move with me. Be my boy and give your gift. I promise to treasure it. That’s it, slowly, slowly, taking long easy loving strokes . . . open, open . . . that’s it, keep moving. Feel my cock inside you. Feel it pleasuring you and taking pleasure from you.” He moved his ass perfectly, and we kept the pace together for what seemed like hours. “Talk to me, Jeff. Tell me everything you’re feeling.”It's a man's idea of "romance" and if taken as such, will please anyone who likes reading about hot men hooking up. But there's also wisdom there:There is no satisfaction if what happens in a session is the result of a moment’s weakness. The satisfaction comes from a man making a conscious decision, at a distance, in the light of day — safe in his own room.Although this is fiction fuelled by fantasy, at each story's core there is underlying respect for the needs of the person they are with, whether it be a desire for pain, humiliation or just affection, but even more importantly, there is self-respect. Not self-loathing. Given the era in which they were set, this goes a long way to explain why the Old Guard and the structures of SM and Leather provided an ironically safe haven.
