Dirty Little Secret

"In every other aspect of my life, I need control, but this, in these moments and if I find the right Dom, I'm able to get out of my head and just be." "I know how much you want to be good for me, Professor, and I want that too." "You want to keep me your dirty little secret?" "You are my dirty little secret." "You're allowed to do this, little dreamer. You're allowed to have this." "I want you to be proud of me. I want to be the best boy you've ever had. Pleasing you pleases me, Sir." "You don't even know what you do to me, James. I'm so f****** addicted to you." "This man is so f****** beautiful, so f****** mine. I don't ever want to let him go. I want more, yes, but maybe I want it all." "It's such an honor to be wanted by him, to be chosen by him, and I will spend the rest of my life cherishing that." "I'll be your Sir, your boyfriend, your partner, your best friend. We're in this together now, for as long as you'll have me." "I've never wanted someone this much, never craved someone the way I do him, and not just for sex either. I want to crawl inside his brain and figure out what makes his tick. I want to learn all I can about him--how to please him, torture him, how to ease the pain I know lives inside him." "I'm his good boy, his good hole. I please him and pleasure him, and it makes me feel more at home doing this for him than almost anything else does." This was such a phenomenal book. I have loved everything Riley has written and this story is…

Dirty Little Secret is a tender, steady‑burn MM romance with power dynamics, caretaking, and unexpected family at its heart. This story surprised me in the best way. I went in expecting a professor/student romance with a D/s edge, and I got that…but what really hooked me was how deeply emotional and grounded Colton and James’ journey becomes once life throws them something neither could have prepared for. Colton, 28, is the kind of caretaker Dom who doesn’t posture or perform. He’s steady, observant, and quietly protective, he’s the kind of man who notices when you haven’t eaten, when you’re spiraling, when you need grounding more than you need rules. James, 40, is brilliant and composed on the surface, but underneath he’s lonely in a way that aches. Their early meetups, anonymous, app‑based, uncomplicated, have this simmering chemistry that feels both intentional and inevitable. And then everything shifts. James’ mother dies, and suddenly he’s guardian to two siblings he never knew existed: Sadie (11, heartbreakingly guarded) and Nash (15, angry at the world and trying not to show how scared he is). Watching James try to step into this role, fumbling, grieving, overwhelmed, was so raw. Watching Colton quietly step with him was even more powerful. The professor/student twist is handled so well. Colton walks into class expecting a normal semester and instead finds the man he’s been kneeling for standing at the front of the room. The shock, the tension, the recalibration…