The sequel to Whatever You Like,  Any Way You Want It, features the romance between Remington and Zandra. Remington runs a security consulting firm, having been discharged under unclear circumstances from the military three years prior where he had been working as a SEAL. Zandra has been his friend since they were young children. He’s had strong romantic feelings for her for years, but has never done anything about it.

Zandra on the other hand values her friendship with Remy and has only in the last six months started to see him in a new light – a far more dangerous and attractive light. Realizing that Zandra is finally seeing him as a man and not just as a friend, Remy makes his move. But he’s also hiding something from her, a secret that when she finds out might blow all his good intentions and her faith in him out of the water.

The story is told in dual points of view which I really enjoyed as I always like to know the thoughts of both characters in the relationship. Remy’s feelings for Zandra are made clear from the first chapter:

Remy Brand had a secret. Not the kind of secret he’d been sworn to keep in his former life – secrets involving classified intelligence and covert operations in dark, treacherous jungles. Secrets that were matters of national security. No this secret was far more personal. Far more dangerous.

He was in love with Zandra. Madly, deeply, hopelessly in love with the woman. And it was killing him. Killing him.

While they are in St. Lucia, celebrating the marriage of his brother Roderick and new wife Lena, Remy finally lets slip some of the emotions that he feels for Zandra, in his eyes and in his touch. Her reaction to it gives the sense that Remy is going to have his hands full convincing Zandra to give him a chance:

When they reached the door to Zandra’s room, Remy had brushed her cheek lightly with the back of his knuckles and mouthed, See you soon, before sauntering down the hall to his own room. Long after they parted ways, the warmth of his touch had lingered on her skin. Technically nothing had happened between them. Yet something had definitely changed. Zandra sensed it, like a tremor erupting beneath the ground before an earthquake erupts. It scared her shitless.

Zandra is a highly attractive, business minded, smart, capable woman. But she’s had a traumatic childhood (one that Remy is privy to) and this has given her pause in trusting men. She’s afraid that their friendship will be ruined if they sleep together, and she values that friendship more than anything.

Remy appears on the surface to be a more casual laid back man than his twin brother. He’s still an alpha male, still the man in pursuit, but he generally takes a more congenial approach to life – except where his business or his family and friends are concerned. When push comes to shove, he’s not afraid to do what is necessary to protect them. Up until now he’s not pressured Zandra for anything more, but seeing the flicker of desire in her eyes (finally!) pushes him to show her what she’s been missing.

The sex scenes are hot, emotional and feature prominently throughout, as I expected would be the case having now had a taste for how this author writes. Though Remy is the instigator, they are both equal partners in the bedroom and don’t shy away from expressing what they want.

The sex in this book is a little more daring than I’ve seen in other Harlequin books. Interestingly, Whatever You Like was published in October 2010 and Any Way You Want It was published in November 2012. In between that time, the phenomenon known as Fifty Shades was published. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not, but the sex scenes in Roderick’s story, although very steamy, were pretty traditional. On the other hand in this story, you get some voyeurism, role play and toys (helped in part by a very interesting visit to a museum of sex in London). It may be that the author felt that romance readers were willing to accept more variation in the bedroom after the success of Fifty Shades. At any rate, this one adds some kink.

Zandra’s escort agency is her pride and joy and plays a key role in the story. Her choice to run this kind of business, which is more often thought to be a call girl agency by the public (and which she constantly seems to have to defend) causes conflict with her estranged and abusive father. He’s running for Mayor and the last thing he wants is the scandal of her business ruining his chances. The concept that working for an escort agency would be empowering for women was a bit overdone in my opinion. But I admired her backbone and willingness to stand up to the public and her father in promoting her right to run any kind of business she wants to.

Along with Zandra’s father, the Brand family is more developed here as secondary characters, siblings to Roderick and Remington being featured in such a way as to introduce the possibility of future stories in the series. The camaraderie of the family, and the witty and humorous dialogue resonated with me as I also come from a large family.

This story definitely had a more serious tone to it due to the nature of Zandra’s childhood and the conflict with her father. I found it to be a well written and entertaining plot and a believable and sexy romance between Remy and Zandra. I give this one a B+, and I hope we’ll see more of the Brand family in the future.