Sunday, July 9, 2023
🎇Sunday's Safe Word Shelf(Independence Day Edition)🎇: Star-Spangled Showdown by Hank Edwards
Williamsville Inn #6
A fireworks salesman intent on making his mark in his family’s business.
A twice divorced father in desperate need of a sale and a new love life.
A week-long town celebration that sparks their competitive natures.
Owen Gillespie is no stranger to competition. But his plan to spend Independence Day week at the Williamsville Inn before pitching his fireworks proposal is derailed when he meets a handsome and snarky man in the elevator.
Dom Mitchell has two marriages behind him and three kids he’s supporting. His bisexual awakening has opened him up to dating men for the first time, but he isn’t looking for a serious relationship; he’s in town to sell a fireworks package.
When both men realize they’re vying for the same business, they decide to turn it into a competition. But things slip out of their control when the mayor learns of their agreement and proposes some challenges of her own. These two corporate rivals will need to work together even as they’re competing against each other to woo the mayor and other city officials, all while keeping their mutual attraction a secret and their hearts in check.
At the end of the week, only one of them will be leaving town with a signed contract, but the sparks between them are undeniable, and their love life might just be the most dazzling display of all.
This funny, snarky, and steamy story about corporate rivals turned lovers with a slight age gap and a spanking fetish is set in the Williamsville Inn world but can be read as a standalone story.
When the doors opened on the third floor, Dom led the way down the hall. He looked over his shoulder and said, “Want to just come to my room real quick while I change shoes?”
“Yep. That sounds good.”
They passed Owen’s room, and he didn’t even glance at the door, his eyes instead locked on Dom’s ass as if they had a mind of their own. What was going to happen inside Dom’s room? Would Dom turn and kiss him? Throw him on the bed and strip his clothes off him then stuff his cock down Owen’s throat before ramming it up his ass?
Owen’s breath came in short pants, and his head spun. He wanted this, that was for sure. God, how badly he wanted Dom. But would it be wise to do this his first day—hell, his first few hours—in town? What if they had sex and then Dom was done with him? They were staying on the same floor, a half dozen rooms away from each other. Did Owen really need that kind of distraction as he worked on getting a contract signed with the city?
He stood a couple of feet back, watching wide-eyed as Dom slid the keycard into the lock and pushed the door open. Owen followed him into the room, his head feeling light enough to disconnect from his shoulders and float up off his body.
“Your room pretty much the same layout?” Dom asked as he kicked his flip-flops off by the dresser and scuffed the soles of his feet along the carpet as he approached the closet.
“Yeah. Yep.”
Owen stood by the door with his back to the wall, mouth dry as he watched Dom move about, picking a pair of low-rise socks from a drawer and sitting on the edge of the mattress to put them on. He was afraid to step any farther into the room for fear of losing any semblance of control and throwing himself on the man. What had been fun and flirty in the elevator and pub now felt dangerous and nerve-wracking.
What was wrong with him? If anything happened it would just be sex, that’s all. Sex between two consenting men.
But there was more than that between them already. Owen could feel it. And if Dom couldn’t feel it, or if Dom didn’t want to feel it, Owen didn’t think he’d handle it very well.
Suddenly, Dom stood before him, running shoes laced onto his feet, and a sexy half-smile curling up one corner of his mouth.
“Before we head out again, how about one more thing?”
Dom’s voice was soft, almost a whisper. He took off his Yankee hat and leaned in, stopping before his lips made contact. Owen sucked in a breath. His heart pounded and blood rushed through his body. A ringing started in his left ear. He could feel the brush of Dom’s dark, almost black whiskers mingling with his own ginger-colored beard.
“This okay?” Dom asked, his breath warm against Owen’s skin.
Owen drew in a breath, pulling Dom’s exhalation into his lungs. “Yes.”
The kiss was soft and sweet. There was no tongue, not even a quick lick across Owen’s lips. Owen trembled, and when Dom pulled away, the warmth of his mouth lingered. Owen opened his eyes to see Dom smiling. He had no idea what to say. It felt like every circuit in his brain had been thrown, and all he could do was stare.
“You good?” Dom asked.
The circuits snapped back into place, and Owen smiled. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Dom cupped a hand against the side of Owen’s face and brushed his thumb along his cheek. “Good. I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now.”
“Thanks.”
Dom chuckled. “You’re welcome, I guess. Now, how about we go find that waterfall?”
“Um, yeah, sure. Okay. Let’s go.”
When Dom stepped back, Owen turned for the door and pulled it open, stepping out in the hall. What the hell had just happened? And what the hell was going to happen next? Over the course of a few hours, this typical sales trip had become completely upended.
Hank Edwards has been writing gay romantic fiction for more than twenty years. He has published over thirty novels and dozens of short stories. His writing crosses many sub-genres, including romantic comedy, contemporary, paranormal, suspense, mystery, and wacky comedy.
He has written a number of series such as the funny and spooky Critter Catchers, Old West historical horror Venom Valley Series, suspenseful Up to Trouble series, and the very erotic and very funny Fluffers, Inc., He is also part of the shared universe Williamsville Inn series of contemporary gay romance books that feature stories by Brigham Vaughn as well. He's written a YA urban fantasy gay romance series called The Town of Superstition, which is published under the pen name R. G. Thomas.
No matter what genre he writes, Hank likes to keep things steamy, kind of sassy, and heartfelt. He was born and still lives in a northwest suburb of the Motor City, Detroit, Michigan.
Star-Spangled Showdown
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