The Alpha Contract (Mismatched Mates #8) ~ Eliot Grayson

The Story:

Sometimes you get what you pay for. Sometimes you get more than you bargained for...

Brook's alpha-centric family doesn’t respect him. He'll only succeed his father as CEO is if he takes an alpha mate. But an alpha is the last thing he wants. Brook likes to be on top, in life and in bed.

A paid mate seems like the ideal solution. The alpha can run interference with Brook's family, but Brook will be in charge. When he hires Dimitri, a rough-around-the-edges criminal who's deep in debt and desperate enough to take any job, Brook expects a transactional relationship. One night together to form the mate bond. Simple.

Dimitri's never been with another man, but how bad can it be? Even if Brook is a snobby rich dude, like his family. Only he isn’t. He's funny, honorable, open-minded, and surprisingly vulnerable…and an unexpectedly willing lover. Dimitri's protective instincts are as aroused as his body.

Brook can’t help responding to Dimitri's kindness, humor, and ability to take charge, in bed and out—something that's never appealed to Brook until now. And that makes things anything but simple.

It's supposed to be a means to an end. A mutually beneficial arrangement. But for this to be anything more, they'll have to expose their family secrets and admit their real feelings…

---

Eliot Greyson's The Alpha Contract is the eighth in the Mismatched Mates series, but it can be read as a standalone. I had not read any previous books, although I have them in my TBR. I had no problems following along with the story; any mention of prior characters is brief and not pivotal to the plot.

The Alpha Contract is a lovely story about discovering that what you need may not be what you initially thought you wanted. It was a lot of fun to read, with a few twists and turns that kept you guessing. It was beautifully romantic, and as an observer, it was so obvious what was happening between Dimitri and Brook. Surprisingly, it was the 'straight' alpha who caught on more quickly, and this was a source of some of the humour in the story.

The Alpha Contract is told from a single POV, Brook's, and this is the only thing I would change about this story. It cries out for dual POV; I would have loved to know what was going through Dimitri's head at many stages of the story. He was such a snarky character with a delicious sense of humour. It certainly would have added to the story, even if it had only been an odd chapter here and there.

That is really a very minor issue, though! I thoroughly enjoyed this story and it was a lot of fun to read. The entire cast was so well developed, which ensured you loved Dimitri and Brook, and really wanted to cause bodily harm to Brook's family!

The Alpha Contract grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go. I had such a fantastic time reading this story. It was light but had emotional depth, which kept me engaged. There were many moments of humour and all the romance with lashings of heat. Although I haven't read the other books in the series, The Alpha Contract certainly whets my appetite for them, and I'm going to go back and start from the beginning.

If you are looking for a light but utterly addictive and engaging read, The Alpha Contract might be what you are looking for!

The Alpha Contract is available as an ebook