Preston's Christmas Escape
Summary:
Naughty in Pendleton #5
Actor Preston Graves' Kinky Secret Exposed!
Preston Graves is a household name among the TV-watching masses. Handsome, accessible, relatable. But when his not-so-vanilla personal life goes public, he high-tails it back to his home state of Michigan for the holidays—to the man (and Dom) he once loved.
Blake Aldrich tried love, twice. When it didn’t work, he retreated to focus on his pottery. He finds success but he’s never forgotten what he lost. His lover. His submissive. His best friend. Now Preston is back, invoking a childhood pact and dragging a Hollywood-sized mess into Blake’s tidy life.
The lure of a sub in Blake’s woodland retreat tempts him and the lacy surprises under Preston’s clothes are a present he can’t resist unwrapping. The heat between them ignites and their old feelings come rushing back, but Tinstletown is still calling Preston’s name.
Blake will have to choose whether to follow the man he’s always loved, or be left out in the cold.
Preston's Christmas Escape contains predicament bondage, lingerie, paparazzi, and a second chance at love. Although set in the Pendleton Bay world, it can be read as a standalone story.
One
A glance at the sleek designer watch on Preston Graves’ wrist told him he was running late. He dashed through the house—equally sleek and designer—in search of his phone and finally found it on the kitchen counter next to the fruit bowl where he’d tossed it last night when he’d stumbled in around 4 a.m. Battery was definitely dead. Ugh, of course it was.
He’d just stuffed the device in his pocket when the intercom crackled to life and Allie Barnes’ voice came through. “Preston, I’m here but—”
He hit the button to open the gate before she could finish. “For once you’re on time,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll meet you out front.”
“Wait, Prest—”
No, he wasn’t waiting.
She did this every damn time. She came in, saying she had to pee, and got distracted, then an hour later when he finally herded her through the door, they’d missed their reservation. Not today. Preston strode to the front door, unlocked it, and pushed it open. A bright flash of light and sudden roar of noise made him flinch.
What the fuck?
Eyes watering, he blinked and instinctively reached for the sunglasses on top of his head. But when the flash of cameras and the shouted words finally registered, he stumbled back, blindly feeling for the doorknob. It had automatically locked behind him and he pressed against the sun-warmed wood, the onslaught of voices and words and flashes of light dizzying and disorienting him.
A reporter thrust a microphone in his face. “Do you have any comment, Preston?”
Another shouted, “Would you like to comment on the photos?”
“What is your response to your fans’ reactions to the news that you’re kinky?”
“What were you doing at a BDSM club?”
“Is it true that you’re gay?”
“How long have you been involved in kink?”
“Has Allie Barnes been your beard this whole time?”
He recoiled as the questions came faster and faster, the voices beginning to overlap, melding into a cacophony of noise and chaos. His heart raced out of control, his brain frantically scrambling to think, form a plan, but there was just helpless, panicked bleating inside his head.
Oh God, what the fuck happened? How did they find out?
Terror clutched at Preston’s throat, making it impossible to move or speak and the shouted words became white noise as he went lightheaded with fear.
A sharp whistle cut through the air, making even the paparazzi stop and turn. They parted enough for Preston to see a bright flash of blue from an SUV. A familiar voice shouted, “Preston, get in!” and he went limp with relief when his brain came back online.
He used the momentary distraction to shove his way through the crowd, and Allie threw the door of her SUV open just in time. He dove in, scrambling gracelessly into the seat and yanking the door shut as she pulled away with a squeal of tires.
“What the fuck was that?” he yelled.
“You’ve been discovered, Preston.” Allie’s voice was calm, but her knuckles were white where she gripped the steering wheel. “Put your seatbelt on.”
“No shit I’ve been discovered,” he snapped. His fingers trembled and it took him three tries before it clicked into place. “I’d figured out that much. How?”
“You had no idea?” She turned the corner sharply, throwing him against the door and leaving rubber in her wake.
“No! I don’t know what the fuck is going on. I got in around like four in the morning and crashed. I woke up with just enough time to shower and get dressed. My phone has been dead all morning.”
He fumbled in his pocket then plugged it in using her charging cable.
She glanced over. “Use my phone if you need to. It’s there in the console.” She rattled off a passcode and he reached for the sparkly pink thing and punched it in.
He held his breath as he searched for his name. A slew of lurid headlines greeted him, one jumping out immediately.
Actor Preston Graves' Kinky Gay Secret Exposed!
He groaned when he saw what site it was on. CelebGossip was the worst.
“I’m not fucking gay,” he muttered. “I’m bi. You’d think they could get it right in the headlines.”
“Yeah well, we know how concerned the gossip sites are about the accuracy of reporting,” Allie said with a roll of her eyes.
“Seriously.” He took a deep breath and kept reading.
Preston Graves built his career on a squeaky-clean image, but the CelebGossip site exclusive photos below show a whole different side of the Saving Hollywood actor.The images below are shocking and graphic depictions of the actor in an underground kink club in L.A. Sources say that Preston was spotted playing with a Dom for hire and that he had an ongoing relationship with the man, who goes by the name of Master Lawrence.The discovery of Preston Graves’ secret life as a gay submissive throws his entire relationship with co-star Allie Barnes into question.Though fans have shipped their relationship for years, neither of the stars nor their representatives have made an official comment confirming or denying it. The couple is frequently spotted enjoying cozy brunches and dinners at the hottest L.A. restaurants. Often seen on each other’s arm at parties and red-carpet events, the notoriously private stars’ behavior has led to public speculations that they are dating.Is his relationship with Allie Barnes just for show?Check out the exclusive photos below and decide for yourself. We certainly think so.
Allie swerved again, twice in quick succession, and Preston’s stomach lurched dangerously.
“Oh, God, I’m going to be sick,” Preston groaned. He dropped the phone into the cupholder and covered his mouth.
“Not in here,” Allie said firmly, “I just got this thing detailed. Let me be sure I’ve shaken our tail and I’ll find somewhere to pull over.”
“We’re being tailed?” he yelped, craning his neck to see behind them.
“Why the fuck do you think I’m driving like this?”
“You always drive like this,” he muttered.
“I do not!” She landed a swat on his arm and the car veered to the right.
He yelped again. “I don’t want to die like this!”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic!” She swerved left around another corner, then an abrupt right at the next light.
He gulped, stomach protesting again at the sudden, dizzying direction changes, and he clutched at the ‘oh shit’ handle, closing his eyes.
Oh God, no, that was worse. He opened them again, watching in terror as she wove through traffic.
“You’re not a stunt driver, Allie,” he reminded her. “I know you had a few hours of training for driving the ambulance on the show but that doesn’t count!”
“Gah, you ruin all my fun.”
But she slowed a little and his stomach settled enough for him to safely take a few breaths.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said in a dry tone as he unclenched his fingers from around the door handle, muscles aching from the white-knuckle grip. “Is my panic ruining your enjoyment of the crisis I’m currently in!”
“Yeah, just a little bit.” Her tone was cheerful, and he shook his head. If he didn’t know her so well, he’d be fucking annoyed, but she was always like this. Sarcasm was their love language.
Platonic love language, that was. Much as fans did ship them hard, they’d never been a couple in real life. Oh, they’d implied it, but it had never been confirmed or denied by either of their PR teams or the network, and that was what they all wanted.
Allie wasn’t his beard, per se, any more than he was hers. But they had a mutual agreement that both of their lives were easier if fans were focused on the “are they/aren’t they” of their relationship.
They played it up sometimes, just for fun.
It gave Preston enough of a cover to do his own thing quietly and discreetly—or so he’d thought—and for her to do the same. And he didn’t mind the steamy on-screen scenes they did together. They’d just never lead to anything off screen.
Some fans shipped his character with that of his co-star Jay Morton as well. Preston and Jay got along well on and off screen, but they’d both been downplaying the “I date men” part of their sexualities, so they’d never let it develop into anything.
Hell, Preston hadn’t dated anyone in years. It was easier that way.
“I am grateful for the rescue,” Preston admitted to Allie, slumping against the seat as the adrenaline began to wear off.
He was even more grateful when she pulled in behind a convenience store and put the vehicle in park. They were well-hidden enough that they could probably hide out here for a few minutes. Preston let out a relieved groan that they were no longer moving and then the enormity of what a mess he was in, hit.
“Oh fuck, how did this happen?” He unclipped the seatbelt and turned to face his friend. He caught a glimpse of himself in the side mirror, face chalk-white, shell-shocked expression. Yeah, that pretty much summed it up.
Allie twisted in her seat and gave him a look.
“Well, you took your clothes off and got tied to a cross by a big, strapping man, who beat you and shoved a dildo up your ass, and someone got pictures of the whole thing.”
The queasiness in Preston’s stomach returned three-fold and he clutched his midsection.
“Do you know what the worst part is?” Allie asked.
“No?”
“I had to find out you were kinky on Twitter.” She crossed her arms and scowled at him. “Rude! I thought we were close.”
“It’s on Twitter?” he said weakly.
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s everywhere.” She raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow and flipped her straight blonde hair over her shoulder. “You better give Vanessa a call. I’m sure you have about four hundred messages waiting from her.”
Saturday's Series Spotlight: Part 1
Author Bio:
Brigham Vaughn is on the adventure of a lifetime as a full-time writer. She devours books at an alarming rate and hasn’t let her short arms and long torso stop her from doing yoga. She makes a killer key lime pie, hates green peppers, and loves wine tasting tours. A collector of vintage Nancy Drew books and green glassware, she enjoys poking around in antique shops and refinishing thrift store furniture. An avid photographer, she dreams of traveling the world and she can’t wait to discover everything else life has to offer her.
Her books range from short stories to novellas. They explore gay, lesbian, and polyamorous romance in contemporary settings.
To stay up to date on her latest releases, sign up for the Coles & Vaughn Newsletter.
SMASHWORDS / PINTEREST / SCRIBd / B&N
EMAIL: brighamvaughn@gmail.com
Preston's Christmas Escape #5
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