Ace's Wild #10
After thirteen years together, Malcolm and Embry are all too familiar with their differences. Malcolm is free-spirited and spontaneous while Embry prefers having everything planned out.
A road trip to spend Thanksgiving with Embry’s family is met with a broken-down car, an unfamiliar town filled with amazing people, and one very interesting store that leads to a bet which could change their lives forever.
This year, Malcolm and Embry share a Thanksgiving like no other and discover that, even though they’ve been together for thirteen years, it’s never too late for some new tricks.
New Tricks is part of a multi-author series of books that take place in the same fictional town. Each story can be read in any order. The connecting element in the Ace's Wild series is an adult store owned by Ace and Wilder. The main characters from each book will make at least one visit to Ace's Wild, where they'll buy a toy to use in their story! The only characters who crossover to each book are Ace and Wilder. And with various heat levels, there's sure to be something for everyone!
I didn't think I would get to this novella until well into December but then when I was looking back at a book request post I made in a Facebook book rec group for Thanksgiving stories I saw that the author had did a little self reccing about an upcoming Turkey Day story she had. Well, I realized that there are far too few Turkey Day books out there that I knew I had to read New Tricks for my Tales of Turkey Day 2019 post. So I did a little tweaking of my holiday reading "schedule" and jumped in. I read Davidson King's entry for the Ace's Wild multi-author series in 90 minutes(give or take a little) and loved every second of it.
For those unfamiliar with the Ace's Wild series, the connecting theme is an adult store named Ace's Wild owned and operated by couple, Ace and Wilder, and can be read in any order as the only recurring point is the main characters visiting the store itself. New Tricks is book 10 and actually the first I read but it won't be the last.
I think there is a certain stigma associated with adult stores and that is everyone who goes in has a certain level of hard kinks. Now as I said this is the first of the Ace's Wild series I read so I can't speak to other entries but one of the things I loved most about New Tricks was the author was exploring the "softer" side of kinks. Malcolm and Embry might have walked into the store thinking they were reasonably vanilla in their sex life but by the end of the book they realized that a little spice was more their way. Maybe I'm just babbling but in my reading experience so many stories are either vanilla or hardcore and the "in-between" kinks get neglected so for that alone I offer a huge applause to Miss King👏👏👏.
Now let's talk Malcolm and Embry. I loved the whole setup of the pair being in a longterm committed relationship when the story begins, too often in holiday stories its the magic of the season that brings people together, so this was another plus. I just want to wrap Embry up in bubblewrap to protect him from his family. Don't even get me started on that Thanksgiving Dinner(at least his family's part). Sometimes strangers have the best way of getting to the point and making one see their mistakes through clearer eyes and thankfully Malcolm and Embry have broken down in a town with the kindest strangers around. I won't say more but I'll just add that there are those in the story(and I think you can guess who they are😉) I wanted to strangle and then there are those that I wanted to Mama Bear hug so tight and never let go.
New Tricks may not be the super-duper-uber-Hallmark-y sugary sweet holiday romance but it ticked all my holiday feels boxes. Whether you call it fate, destiny, powers-that-be, or a dozen other metaphors, Malcolm and Embry ended up in Vintage Ridge at just the right time in life.
RATING:
Chapter One
Malcolm
“You only have a quarter tank of gas left before you hit empty, Mal. You’ve decided on a crazy route to my parents’ and there’s no way of truly knowing when we’ll see a gas station again. I did however, see a sign a few miles back for one if you take the next exit. Better to be safe.”
It was times like this I had to remind myself I loved Embry Chaisten, my partner of thirteen years. My love for him outweighed the fact he drove me nuts sometimes. He was the order to my chaos, the plan to my spontaneity. Together we oddly made sense. But lately, with the holidays looming, he got worse. His anxiety spiked and with that, his need for order and control took the driver’s seat. I knew it even annoyed him sometimes.
“I have a GPS, Em. It tells me where all service stations are, just chill.”
His huff made me smile. We were headed down to Belle Isle, Florida, to visit with Embry’s parents for Thanksgiving. This would be the first trip we made to see them in five years when Embry and his family had had a huge argument. They’d never been pleased about their son being gay, and when he’d announced he wanted to marry me, it had sent them over the edge. It had ended with unforgivable words that had left thick scars. And we still hadn’t tied the knot.
I knew that with every birthday and holiday that had passed Embry by, he’d hoped he would get a call from his parents telling him they were sorry, and they wanted nothing more than for him to marry whomever made him happy. But he just got the generic cards and two-minute calls. I never brought marriage up to him, and I was content with how we loved, but I hated how Embry still let his family hold him back. I think when the invitation to come down for Thanksgiving this year was given, he was hoping this was it. Acceptance.
“You did get this beast serviced before the long drive, right?” He turned toward me, his gorgeous blue eyes sparkling, yet nervous. The sun glinted perfectly, making the auburn and golden streaks of his hair almost glow.
“I did.”
“You didn’t ask your friend Zell, did you? I researched him and I was right, no licenses, nothing.” He tsked and shook his head.
“No, I didn’t ask Zell to do it. I went to the mechanic by your work, remember? You picked me up when I dropped off my Land Rover.”
I peeked over at him and found him looking out the window. He didn’t answer me, just scrunched his nose and shrugged. When Embry felt out of his element, he got defensive. I often called him out on it, but I knew sometimes you had to let things go. He was likely a mess in that brilliant head of his.
I never wanted to go to Belle Isle for Thanksgiving. I wanted to stay in Queens and have the holidays with my very loving, very inclusive, very non-conservative family. My mother had a way with Embry, and my dad thought he was hilarious. Not that Embry intended to be funny, my dad just thought he was. We were a huge family with my four brothers and two sisters, and we supported each other. Completely opposite to the Chaistens.
Embry’s father had also made it known that he considered Embry being a teacher less than. Embry enjoyed teaching high school history. He lit up when he told me about a student who finally got something he’d been trying to drill into their head for weeks. He loved his job and he couldn’t even share that with his family.
His mother wasn’t much better. She’d never stood up for her son and had a sneer that would freeze fire in its place. Her opinions were cutting to everything Embry was as a person. When they’d called three weeks ago and told Embry they missed him and asked him to give them another chance, he’d clung to it. I didn’t want to go, but I knew Embry loved his family in his own way and I wanted to support him. The condition was that we drove there and didn’t fly. I thought it would give Embry time to calm down and maybe have a small adventure.
“How long have we been in the car? Feels like a million hours,” Embry said as we passed another exit.
“Just over two hours since we finished lunch. Good thing you teach history and not math.” I chuckled when Embry rolled his eyes at me good-naturedly. It was about a sixteen-hour drive to Embry’s folks, but we agreed to do it in two days so we wouldn’t show up at an ungodly hour. There was no chance in hell I was staying with Embry’s parents, so I’d booked a room at the nearest hotel to their house. I figured I’d tell Embry when we got closer to Belle Isle.
“We should stop soon. I need to call my mother and let her know we’re on schedule. She’ll be grateful for the update.” I knew he was saying that more for his own benefit than mine— convincing himself she’d want to know.
“I’m the one driving, go ahead and call her while we’re on the road.”
His head whipped in my direction and I wanted to laugh at his expression. I was sure it scared his students, but I just thought he was adorable.
“Mal, you know how unsteady a call is if we’re moving! The call could drop and then my mother would think I hung up and…”
“And you’d have to call her back and say you didn’t? If you think she wouldn’t understand a dropped call, then you’re not ready for this visit, Em.”
He released a sigh, his shoulders sagged, and I knew he was wound tight. He needed a break.
“How about this, we’ll stop closer to the ocean, have some coffee, maybe pie?” I winked knowing it was a weakness of his. “You can call her and let her know, and then we’ll drive a few more hours before breaking for the night. Sound good?”
“It’s a plan?” He asked because I didn’t do plans. I was a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of guy. But plans made Embry feel grounded.
“Yeah, Em, a plan.” I pulled over and checked the map on my GPS. “Okay, let’s head toward Raleigh. We just have forty-five minutes to get there. Then we’ll drive closer to the shore and you can call your mom. We’ll have been driving for over eight hours by then and we’ll both appreciate a bed.”
Em nodded, pleased with the plan, and his body immediately relaxed. I put the new destination into the GPS and pulled back onto the highway. Worrying about Embry’s parents exhausted him. I wished he’d let me deal with things more. He had to have his order and his way, but his way wasn’t working, especially lately. Sometimes I wished I could push his boundaries and help him let go. Show him how freeing and amazing it could be to just go with the flow for a bit.
I’d need some sort of a miracle to put a plan like that into action. Of course, I should be careful what I wished for; karma had a funny way of helping a guy out. We had just passed a sign that said Welcome to Vintage Ridge when there was a horrible sound coming from the car, followed by smoke, and a clang and a crash.
“What the hell?” Embry shouted.
My Land Rover bucked and then like a switch turned off, it stopped.
“Damn.” I hit the steering wheel in frustration and dared to look over at Embry. His eyes narrowed and his lips were thinned out. His beautiful pale skin began to turn a lovely shade of red, and when he opened his mouth, I waited.
“You did take it to Zell to service it, didn’t you?”
“No! I took it to the place you recommended and look what happened.” I gestured to the lightly smoking hood of the car.
“Sure, blame me. I suggested the place, I expected you to do your research, Mal.” He folded his arms over his chest and glared at me.
“I’ll call our roadside assistance. Maybe now would be a good time to call your mom and tell her there may be a delay.” I hopped out of the car to make my call without waiting to hear Embry’s reply. I loved him and I understood him, but sometimes, it was best if I stepped away.
Luckily, roadside assistance said there was a service station in the town we had just entered and I took the time, while I watched Embry through the windshield talking to his mother, to order an Uber.
I couldn’t for the life of me understand what happened to the car, but judging from his expression, I knew whatever the mechanic told me was going to be less painful than what Embry’s mother was saying to him right now.
Ace’s Wild is a multi-author series of books that take place in the same fictional town. Each story can be read in any order. The connecting element in the Ace’s Wild series is an adult store owned by Ace and Wilder. The main characters from each book will make at least one visit to Ace’s Wild, where they’ll buy a toy to use in their story! The only characters who cross over to each book are Ace and Wilder. And with various heat and kink levels, there’s sure to be something for everyone!
Davidson King, always had a hope that someday her daydreams would become real-life stories. As a child, you would often find her in her own world, thinking up the most insane situations. It may have taken her awhile, but she made her dream come true with her first published work, Snow Falling.
When she's not writing you can find her blogging away on Diverse Reader, her review and promotional site. She managed to wrangle herself a husband who matched her crazy and they hatched three wonderful children.
If you were to ask her what gave her the courage to finally publish, she'd tell you it was her amazing family and friends. Support is vital in all things and when you're afraid of your dreams, it will be your cheering section that will lift you up.
EMAIL: davidsonkingauthor@yahoo.com
New Tricks #10
Ace's Wild Multi-Author Series
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