I loved Mercy, book one in HelenKay Dimon's Holton Woods series, so I squealed in delight when offered the chance to review book two, ONLY. Unfortunately, ONLY did not work as well for me. ONLY can be read as a standalone book, but a richer appreciation of the story can be had by reading this series in order. The series is based around a gentleman's club in Washington DC, Holton Woods, and the men of power who are members.

Sebastian Jameson is a lawyer turned negotiator who is a savvy power broker in a town of powerful characters. Bast is professionally degraded and personally traumatized by his ex-wife's publication of two tell-all books about their marriage and the raunchy threesomes that she insisted he partake in. The only women that are interested in Bast now are those who know about his past and want some wild and degrading bedroom escapades.

Kyra Royer has known Bast for years as a close friend of her brother Wade, a big brute with wicked sniper capabilities, now acting as bodyguard and bouncer at Holton Woods. Kyra decides to act on her long term desire to be an exclusive partner with Bast. But first she has to convince him that he wants her, and only her, in his bed. While I'm a fan of the big brother's best friend trope, I did feel Kyra had to work too hard to get Bast to be interested in her.

I did not care for either Bast or Kyra, so while I enjoyed the sex scenes, I was not rooting for them to find their Happily Ever After. Kyra agrees at the beginning of the book to just a sexual relationship, knowing that she wants more but Bast doesn't. Then she becomes angry because he's not acting like he's in a relationship. This two-faced behavior is one of my top two peeves in romance novels. Kyra was also too volatile, and I found her to be immature and unreasonable, flying off the handle at the smallest provocation.

That being said, Bast gave her more than just small-sized provocations. He is an uncommunicative jackass. Much of the conflict in the book felt unnecessary and artificial. Most of the problems in the book could have been avoided by a few simple conversations. The sex in book two is just as raw and graphic as in Mercy and will satisfy erotic romance readers' desire for outstanding bedroom scenes. The great sexual chemistry could not compensate for my dislike of the main couple and their behavior, though.

There is a wonderful secondary romance continuing in ONLY between Kyra's brother Wade and Eli, a burned CIA spy. I enjoyed them more than Kyra and Bast, and rumor has it there will be an upcoming novella focused on the two men. I also love the glimpses of Becca and Jarrett's ongoing HEA from book one. While I did not care for the characters, I do like Dimon's writing enough that I will pick up book three to find out where the series takes us next.