Showing posts with label erotic romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label erotic romance. Show all posts

Saturday, April 29, 2023

Saturday's Series Spotlight: Desires by EM Denning Part 2



What He Hides #3
Summary:
Everett Butcher is a successful vlogger with a secret. By day, he’s The Crock Cock, the internet’s hottest, gayest, and most naked chef. By night, he’s ConcealedandCuffed, a secret submissive who bends to the random whims that hit his inbox. To protect his identity and his career, Everett is careful to never show his face and to never play with the same guy twice. But Everett is tired of online submission. It only reminds him he has no one. When Puck1730 messages him, his world flips upside down.

Xavier Jeffries knows he’s playing a dangerous game, but when he discovered his big brother’s best friend’s secret submissive blog, his inner Dom reared his head and he knew he had to have him. He’s been in love with Everett for years and he feels like it’s now or never. But will Everett forgive him for the dubious way he initiated a relationship?

As the big, in person, reveal looms on the horizon, both men are on edge. Will their online playtime translate into real life chemistry and will Everett forgive Xavier when he discovers it was him the whole time?




What He Fears #4

Summary:
For years Andrew warred with himself; if he went so long without realizing he was bisexual, what other things are inside of him that he has yet to discover? When he lands in the arms of Nick Young, the hottest cop he’s ever seen and Andrew is determined not to let his fear hold him back anymore. But Nick is a complicated man and Andrew’s pursuit of happiness will change both their lives in ways he never dreamed possible.

Nick Young
Nick would love nothing more than to settle down with Rory, his Dom, but his need to switch has been in the way of that ever happening. When a lost, confused, and very drunk Andrew slams into his life, Nick’s inner Dom wants to help the lost soul and soon a friendship develops into something more. As a switch, Nick has always struggled to reconcile the two halves of himself, just like he struggles to reconcile his two different relationships. But Rory sees a solution through the added complication of Nick’s feelings for Andrew.

Rory Gallagher 
Rory has loved Nick for years, and for years he's feared losing the man he loves. But solidifying a relationship with a switch wouldn’t be fair because Rory won’t give up top spot for anyone. When Nick confides in him about his feelings Andrew, his heart nearly breaks. He hates seeing Nick so conflicted. Rory would do anything for Nick, including enter into the most complicated relationship of his life. 

Can a Dom, a switch, and a man who is just now discovering all the truths about himself find a way to make a relationship work, or will Rory's scheme make his greatest fear come true, costing him two men he cares about?



What He Hides #3
1 
Everett 
Everett Butcher angled the camera so it wouldn’t show anything above his collarbones. He double and triple checked the angle before hitting record. His newest task from…whatever the random username was, told him to strip down, put on the frilly panties the Dom sent him and jack-off on camera. He wanted Everett, or ConcealedAndCuffed as his followers knew him, to come in the panties and send them back. What the random Dom lacked in originality he made up for in sheer perversion. 

The Dom all but begged Everett to show his face. They all did. But that was his first rule. No face shots. He had to be careful. If word got out about his secret submissive blog, he’d risked losing all the people who followed his other blog, The Crock Cock. Sure, he cooked in the nude, well, mostly. He wore an apron and nothing else. The cooking vlog paid the bills. Everett used the submissive blog to explore his kinks in a safe environment. 

He had rules. No faces. No names. No subbing for the same Dom more than once. That one he couldn’t enforce. If someone went to the trouble of making another account each time they made a request of Everett that couldn’t be helped.

Everett slid the ridiculously silky panties up his slender legs. They fit like a dream, except they were very clearly women’s panties. The silky fabric held his dick tight against his body. Everett put his hands on his hips so his pelvis would jut out and show off his package, then he did a little turn. He knew how to work the camera and the Doms loved it when he put on a show. 

All requests, once fulfilled, went up on his channel, but the Dom who submitted the request remained anonymous. Everett got lots of requests similar to this one. They often wanted him to wear specific things. He had a post office box so Doms could send him gifts and props they wanted to see him use. He’d amassed quite the sex toy collection. As for the pink panties, the Dom would have to do without them. Everett had a strict no returns policy. 

Everett swivelled his hips and ran his hands down his smooth torso. He edged toward his crotch, then moved his hands back and cupped his ass cheeks as he turned his back to the camera. People liked it if he drew it out and made them crazy. People pretended to want instant gratification when they wanted to be teased. They wanted what they couldn’t have, and no one was more off limits than Everett. 

Everett turned slowly. He rocked his hips and slid his hands all over his body. He turned to face the camera again and edged his fingers into the silk panties. He stroked his thick cock and pulled it out of the panties. A bead of pre-cum pooled on the end of his cock. Everett swiped at it with his thumb, then brought his thumb to his mouth and licked it off. Because the video would have sound, he made sure he moaned. He had to captivate his audience. After he posted a new video, his fans would decide if he did well or not. If he did well, he got a reward, but if they didn’t like it, he got a punishment. Sometimes, Everett thought they punished him for the fun of it and not because they didn’t enjoy the video.

Everett slid one hand into the panties and cupped his smooth balls. His other hand gripped his cock through the fabric and slowly stroked. He moaned and threw his head back even though that bit wouldn’t be caught on the video. He arched his back and pumped faster. His fingers slid past his balls and he gently stroked his perineum. 

The silky fabric rubbed against his shaft. Pre-cum seeped out of his dick and created an impressive wet spot in the pink frilly panties. His fans would eat that up. Everett rubbed his cock with renewed fervour. He let his fingers wander back a little farther, and he gently teased his rim. Everett shoved the panties down a little and moaned as he stroked his cock. He moaned again. Everett loved to be vocal during sex, even sex with himself, and his followers ate it up. 

He stroked his rim and jerked his cock. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He panted as he edged closer to his release. When he came he made a sound, half-whimper, half-moan. It was a desperate sound, in a higher pitch than his moans, but not quite a whine. Everett’s cock twitched, and the first shot of his release arched into the air and splattered against the wood floor. The rest dribbled down his cock and coated his fingers. Everett groaned. He stroked his still hard dick a few times, coating it with his cum. He made a show of tucking his wet cock back into the panties. Then, on a whim, he brought his hand to his mouth and licked his sticky release off his fingers. 

The finger licking would remain off camera, so Everett teased them. "Mmm. Tastes good." Everett smoothed his hands down his torso. His fingers fluttered over his stomach, then ran down his bulge. He caressed his now half-hard cock through the silk panties. 

"Thank you, Sir." Everett said. Then he sauntered across the room and stopped the recording. 

Everett shimmied out of the panties and back into his regular clothing. A pair of boxer briefs under his holey, black, skinny jeans and a T-shirt a size too small. At twenty-eight, Everett was technically too old to be considered a twink, but he was still built like one. Five feet eight inches tall, slender form, couldn’t grow more than ten chest hairs at a time, so he shaved them off. But there was no word for aged-out twinks. 

Everett tossed the soiled panties in the garbage, then shoved them down to hide them underneath last night’s take-out boxes. Everett’s phone vibrated in his pocket. His best friend from way back, Andrew, had moved his little brother, Xavier in with him. Everett didn’t remember much about the kid. The last time he’d seen Xavier had been at Christmas six years ago. 

"Hey, Andy, what’s new?" Everett grinned at the sound of Andrew’s exasperated sigh. 

"Don’t call me Andy." 

Everett leaned against the counter. He could practically hear Andrew’s eyes rolling. "I could call you muffin." 

"No. No food names. We’ve been over this. Buzz us in." 

"You know the intercom thingy has a button you can press, and it lets me know you’re there. You don’t have to call." 

"And touch that germy thing. No thanks." 

Everett walked over to the wall phone that connected to the intercom and pressed the button. "There. Now get your lazy ass up here already." Everett ended the call and left his phone on the counter. He retreated to the bathroom where he decided his platinum hair was the perfect combination of stylish, yet messy. He adjusted his leather bracelets. They were leather bondage cuffs, but most people thought it was a fashion statement. 

Everett liked the cuffs. Sure, he might not have a Master or a Sir and the only Doms he subbed for were random, faceless entities he met online, but the cuffs made him feel more himself.

Andrew pounded on the door and Everett hurried over to unlock it and let him in. 

"Hey man, got any of those cookies left?" Andrew grinned at Everett. 

Everett rolled his eyes, but stepped aside so Andrew could come in. "Yeah, they’re in the jar. I swear you only come here for the food." 

"Damn right." Andrew called over his shoulder as he headed for the kitchen. "I’m a growing boy, I need my cookies." 

Everett laughed. "You’ve been over six feet tall for the past ten years. The only direction you’re going to grow is out if you keep eating the way you do." 

"It’s your fault. You make the food. I eat the food." 

"You ate half a pie last night, dude. Everett is right." 

Everett had almost forgotten Xavier, who waited outside his door. He turned his head to see a kid who was no longer a kid. The guy who stood with his arms crossed over his chest wasn’t the skinny, pimply, fourteen-year-old Everett remembered. He was still as tall as he was then though. Apparently, Andrew received all the height and bulk genes in the family. 

Xavier stood, at most, five feet ten inches. He had a slender frame like Everett. His hair was a light brown with a lot of honey blond highlights. His dark rimmed glasses gave him a sexy geek vibe. 

"Xavier. Long time no see. Come on in." Everett motioned for Xavier to come in as he mentally berated himself for thinking, even briefly, that his best friend’s little brother was hot. But the truth stood in front of him with green eyes, framed with dark glasses and a deep sexy voice that turned Everett’s name into the sexiest sound on the planet. 

"Good to see you too, Everett." 

"Your brother told me you finished culinary school."

"Yeah. I’ve been looking for work since I got here, but no luck so far." 

"I’ll give you the address of a place that’s probably hiring. Craig told me the owner, Steve, is having some staffing issues." Everett brought Xavier to the living room. "Hey, you want some wine? Craig left me a bottle of red that’s to die for." 

Andrew came into the room and passed Everett a glass of wine while he took a swig of the beer Everett kept in his fridge for him. "He’s not old enough." 

Everett watched slashes of scarlet embarrassment appear on Xavier’s cheeks. "Screw you, Andy, I’m legal." 

Andrew snorted. "Doesn’t look old enough." 

"I didn’t plan on letting him get white-girl wasted, Drew. He’s not a kid. He can handle one little glass of wine." 

"Please, Daddy?" Xavier stuck out his bottom lip and batted his eyelashes. And Everett was totally fucked. Xavier looked sweet and innocent and absolutely, deliciously corruptible. 

Everett wanted to kick himself. Why couldn’t Xavier have grown into a brick wall the way his older brother had? If he had, maybe Everett wouldn’t be thinking idiotic things about his perfectly pouty lips. It wasn’t Everett’s fault that even when he had been a twink, he had a thing for other twinks. And now he was a former twink who apparently still liked the fun-sized guys. Guys like Xavier, who were slender and graceful, who weren’t big and imposing and smothering. 

Andrew choked on his beer and pointed a finger at Xavier when he recovered. "Do not call me daddy, dude. That’s fucked up." 

Everett stood. "I’ll get him a glass." He punched Andrew’s arm on the way by. "And don’t look at me like that. One glass of wine won’t kill him. He’s an adult, dude."

"Barely." Andrew scoffed. 

"Fuck you, Drew. I’m not a kid." 

Everett silently agreed with Xavier. He certainly wasn’t a kid anymore and Everett’s traitorous dick had taken note. Glass of wine in hand, and dick hopefully under control, Everett returned to the living room. 

Xavier took the wine and smiled sweetly at Everett. "Thank you." He then shot a look of disgust at Andrew. "At least someone in this room treats me like an adult." 

Andrew shrugged and took another drink of his beer. "You’re almost eight years younger than I am. You’re my baby brother. I get to treat you like a kid all I want." 

Xavier flipped him off, but Andrew only laughed. 

Andrew was a jackass because Xavier wasn’t a kid. Everett was also a jackass because he noticed his best friend’s little brother wasn’t a kid. With any luck, Xavier would get a job soon and they’d hardly ever cross paths. 

Xavier looked at Everett. "I love your vlog, by the way." 

Everett barely managed not to choke on his drink. His cheeks heated until he realized there was no way Xavier meant his ConcealedandCuffed blog. But knowing that Xavier had watched him cook in nothing more than an apron both disturbed and pleased him. "Thanks." 

"Drew says you have a few sponsors in the works." 

Everett nodded. "Nothing is set in stone yet, but it looks promising." 

"Would you ever consider having a guest chef on?" 

Everett made the mistake of looking at Xavier. His pink lips smiled sweetly at Everett. His eyes—they were green, and Everett didn’t remember them being so intense. Xavier looked serious. Everett felt torn. He could offer Xavier a guest spot. It might be fun to cook with someone who had the same passion for food than he did, and his fans would eat it up. But he hesitated because getting naked in a kitchen with your best friend’s little brother seemed as if it might be a line that shouldn’t be crossed. 

"Let me shoot a guest spot, Everett." 

"Okay." Everett wanted to take back his response. It had been a natural reaction to the sudden change in Xavier’s voice. The serious, no nonsense command went straight to Everett’s submissive, and he answered without thinking. 

Xavier grinned. "Good." 

Everett was unequivocally fucked.




What He Fears #4
1 
Andrew 
Andrew sat at the bar with his back to the room. He stared into his beer and watched the bubbles dance around. He’d already checked out every single person in the bar and no one stirred any interest. And that was the problem. No one interested him. Almost no one. He did have some pretty unfortunate feelings for his best friend, Everett, but he would never like Andrew like that. He was all wrong for Everett and he knew it. That didn’t lessen the sting when he found out his kid brother, Xavier, had fallen for Everett and Everett fell right back. 

He should be happy for them. Somewhere down inside himself, he was happy for them. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be miserable for himself. Andrew finished his fourth beer and ordered a fifth. A pretty brunette with doe eyes tried to flirt with him, but he wasn’t interested. She did everything by the book, too. Stroked his arm, leaned in toward him. Flashed him her cleavage, but there wasn’t an atom in his entire body that took an interest in her. 

He could count the number of women he’d been sexually attracted to on one hand. Four. In his twenty-eight years, he’d been with four women. Andrew wasn’t the kind of guy who liked to play the field. He liked being in relationships. He liked the process of getting to know another person. His preferred snail’s pace in relationships didn’t always sit well with his would-be partners. Those four women were the only ones who had stuck with him long enough to break through his frosty defenses as one of his exes had put it. 

The first time he’d felt the stirrings of desire for his best friend, he’d freaked out. He’d never really thought much about men before that point. Sure, he could pick out a good-looking guy in a crowded room, but who couldn’t? The sudden interest his dick took in Everett had disarmed him. Andrew had never lusted after a guy before. It wasn’t long after that first inconvenient hard on he realized he’d fallen in love with his best friend. 

From then on, he’d been doomed. He stopped pursuing relationships with women. He knew nothing would ever come of his stupid crush, but he couldn’t help it. He needed to be around Everett so he could analyze his reactions to his friend. Fat lot of good that did him. 

There he sat, months later, with no answers and no friend because he had to go and be a jerk. Everett’s words still swirled around in his head and made his stomach lurch. Everett had been right. Andrew could be there for him after his attack, but he couldn’t be there for him now that he’d found some happiness. It was fucked up, but there it was. The bitter truth about falling in love with your best friend was that life wasn’t a romance novel and your best friend didn’t always fall in love right back. 

The last time he’d seen Everett had been a week ago. He’d climbed out of bed that morning, late, with a fuzzy tongue, a bitching headache, and a bad memory. He remembered Xavier coming home late, and he remembered going to bed. When he saw Xavier’s key sitting on the counter next to a crumpled wad of cash, the memories flooded back. God, he’d been such a jerk to his brother and for no reason. No real reason other than a case of hurt feelings. Feelings Xavier hadn’t been responsible for hurting. He had no way of knowing about Andrew’s seemingly flexible sexuality, or his feelings for Everett. 

What really hit Andrew had been seeing Everett. He saw the way Everett looked at Xavier. He saw the way they were with each other. Anyone with eyes could see that they were totally hooked on each other. It got Andrew thinking. How had Everett never realized Andrew was in love with him? Had he ever looked at Everett like that? If he had, how oblivious had Everett been to not have noticed? 

That made Andrew question himself even more. Had he ever really loved Everett? Was his attraction to him a fluke? He rubbed his temples. He tried to stop thinking about it, knowing he’d thought about it too much and had only created more questions for himself. Answers were elusive. Especially after six or seven beers. 

A warm body bumped into Andrew. He didn’t realize how drunk he’d gotten until he had to clutch the bar in an effort to stay seated on his stool. “Holy sshit.” He slurred. He turned his head to look around and his vision swam. How much had he drunk? Weren’t bartenders supposed to cut you off before you got shit-faced? 

The warm body that crashed into him belonged to some middle-aged dude who looked just as drunk and twice as lost as Andrew felt. 

“Sorry.” The red-rimmed eyes held his gaze as the sad-sack drunk helped Andrew steady himself. He almost offered to buy the guy a drink, misery did love company, after all, but the guy disappeared into the crowd before he could get his thick, drunk tongue to work.

Andrew ordered one more beer. He ordered one more beer one more time, maybe two. The room had tilted half an hour ago and he couldn’t feel his face. He gazed down at his feet. He somehow had to convince them to carry him to the bathroom. 

The room swayed when Andrew turned his head to the bartender. “One more.” He shoved the empty glass toward the bartender who threatened to divide into two people right in front of him. Andrew rubbed his eyes until the double vision ceased. His empty glass was gone, and a new one had yet to take its place. The bartender—bartenders? Was there two of him?—gave him a sad look. “Sorry, pal. You’ve hit your limit. You need a cab? We’re closing soon.” 

Andrew shoved to his feet. “I’ll walk. ‘S’not far.” That was a lie. He lived way too far to walk, especially with summer fading into autumn. Night time temperatures were unpredictable and tended to be either slightly too warm, or far too cold to be running around, drunk out of your head without a coat. 

Andrew stumbled through the bar until he found the men’s room. Relieving his too-full bladder and not piss half way up the wall or on his shoes as he struggled to stay upright was a feat and a half, but he managed. After washing his hands and splashing some water on his face to try to sober himself up a little, two men, who were obviously en route to a hook up burst in. Andrew watched through his beer goggle eyes as they stumbled, groping and kissing, into the stall. 

What would it feel like to be able to grab someone and lose himself in them? To drink in the feel of their skin under his hands and the sounds that caught in the back of their throats. What would it feel like to be pinned down and fucked within an inch of his sanity? Andrew tried not to think about Everett, but he couldn’t help it. He’d imagined Everett pinning him down and fucking him senseless. He snorted. That was never, ever, ever going to happen. 

He had to stop thinking about Everett like that, because now, whenever he did, he imagined Xavier with him. The images disgusted and tortured him in equal measure as Andrew drunkenly ambled his way out of the bar and into the crisp night air. 

Andrew inhaled through his nose and caught a whiff of stale beer. He reeled in disgust when he realized he was most certainly the source of the unpleasant smell. He cupped his hand in front of his face and exhaled into it, then breathed in through his nose. Bad idea. His stomach jolted and twisted. Andrew swallowed hard and dropped his hand. He’d walk home, he decided. There was no way he would get into a cab and risk the motion setting off his suddenly tender stomach. He might be drunk off his ass, but there was some scrap of humanity left in him. No one liked cleaning up some drunk asshole’s beer vomit. 

Andrew staggered down the sidewalk, dodging light poles that danced in his way. He had a nasty run in with what he thought was a newspaper box and it nearly knocked him over. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he became vaguely aware of the red and blue strobe lights that pierced the night. But home was… somewhere. Maybe close. Maybe not. Andrew stopped, swayed, and squinted at the street sign. 

“You okay there, buddy?” 

Andrew heard the deep voice and tried to turn to see who it belonged to. But somehow his legs didn’t want to work properly, and when he turned, his feet tangled and he crashed into a solid wall of muscle. Strong arms grabbed onto him. 

“Easy there, pal. How many have you had?”

There wasn’t a hint of reproach in the man’s voice, only gentle concern. Andrew forced his head to turn, and he looked up at the guy. The guy with a badge. The guy with the deep voice had a badge. A cop. His beer addled brain struggled to catch up. Shit. He’d drunkenly stumbled into a cop. 

“You okay?” 

“I’m fine.” Andrew struggled to straighten up, but his feet stopped working entirely. That’s when he realized the cop still had his arms around Andrew. He was very possibly the only thing holding him up. 

“You got a name?” 

“Andrew.” He frowned as his stomach clenched. His stomach seemed to be the ringleader in a sudden, violent mutiny. He clutched onto the cop’s arm and turned his head. Bending over, he aimed his face away from the cop as best he could before what felt like gallons of foam and stomach acid erupted like a fizzy volcano and splattered the sidewalk. Andrew stared at the steaming liquid with tear-filled eyes. He always cried when he got sick. “Sorry.” 

The cop patted Andrew on the shoulder with one hand and held Andrew’s bicep in a firm grip with the other. Andrew thought it was especially sweet that the cop wasn’t going to let him fall face first into his own vomit, which was a distinct possibility. 

“If you’re done, Andrew, I’d like to sit you down in my squad car and get you some water. Think you can handle walking ten or fifteen feet if I help you?” 

“If I can’t manage, you’ll have to carry me.” Andrew said as he straightened up. The world tilted and tried to throw him down, but hot cop held him up. He stared at the cop, which was probably rude, and decided that yes, even in his drunken state he could appreciate an attractive person. Hot Cop had dark hair, curly and cropped close to his head. His five o’clock shadow looked thick and coarse. He had an olive complexion that gave him a nice, permanently tanned look. 

The cop opened the back of the car and helped him sit down. He put a hand on the back of Andrew’s head to keep him from smacking it on the car. 

“Hang tight.” Hot Cop shut the door and Andrew leaned his head back and willed the world to stop spinning. The door opened, and a gust of cool air made Andrew snap his eyes open. 

“Here.” Hot Cop twisted the cap off a bottle of water and handed it to Andrew. “Drink this.” 

“What’s your name?” Andrew said as he took the water. He had to concentrate on getting the bottle to his mouth and tipping it without making a mess, but he managed. 

“Nick. Nick Young.” 

“Nice to meet you, Nick.” 

“Are you going to be sick again, or do you think you’ll be okay to take a short ride with me?” 

“Where are we going?” Andrew asked as he let Nick take the bottle of water from him. 

“Down town.” 

Andrew sighed and closed his eyes. “Shit.” 

His night just got a whole lot worse.



Saturday's Series Spotlight
Desires
Part 1  /  Part 2

Desires: New Beginnings



Author Bio:

E. M. Denning is a writer from British Columbia. She loves her family and animals, and anything cute and fuzzy. She writes romance for the 18+ plus crowd because she's both a hopeless romantic and a dirty old woman.

You can find her on her website, Facebook or on her blog.


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What He Hides #3

What He Fears #4

Desires Series

Desires: New Beginnings Series
What He Learns #1

What He Finds #2


Monday, December 19, 2022

πŸŽ…πŸŽ„Monday's Mysterious MayhemπŸŽ„πŸŽ…: Moving Mountains by SJ Coles



Summary:

Secret Santa
Jacob would move mountains to spend Christmas with someone special. A suspicious death and Park Ranger Cody Spencer will help him do just that.

Special Agent Jacob Miles was looking forward to spending Christmas with someone special, but the job always gets in the way—or so his FBI agent ex keeps telling him. So, it’s looking like another lonely holiday at home.

But first, he’s got to get to the bottom of a suspicious death in the picturesque mountain town of Silveridge, Colorado. A local drug dealer has been killed, and the local sheriff’s minimal investigation seems to suggest that something’s not quite right.

Jacob isn’t thrilled to be sent undercover a week before Christmas to look into what he is sure is a case of country-cop incompetency, but then his local contact, Park Ranger Cody Spencer, has him looking at his trip, Christmas and the case in a whole new way.

Can Jacob decide which matters more, the case or his heart, before the holiday is over and one—or both—are lost?



“He’ll be there, Jacob.”

“I’ve been waiting an hour,” I grumbled, trying to remember the last time I’d been in an arrivals lounge so cold that I could see my breath.

“As far as he’s concerned, you’re a federal insurance investigator,” Henrik replied, his voice annoyingly flat, even over the phone. “They’re not gonna roll out the red carpet.”

I peered out at the deserted forecourt. The sidewalks were blanketed in snow, as crisp and white as sugar icing. On the other side of the road, tall, dark fir trees, similarly frosted, stretched toward the ice-colored sky. Beyond them, the mountains loomed. The black ridges, forest-sprawled slopes and white-capped peaks looked like they’d been laid out especially for a Christmas postcard. But I knew no picture would ever truly capture the scale of it all. It was so… I wasn’t sure.

I shivered—and not entirely from cold. I’d felt many things in my life. But never…small.

“Jacob, still with me?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here,” I said, turning to scan the empty arrivals lounge, an overly grandiose name for the Formica-tiled room with its single bench that I found myself in after I’d wrestled my case in from the snow-drifted runway. My fellow passengers had long since departed. Not even the coffee counter was manned. “So…can you talk?”

“About what?” he said, tone guarded.

“What am I really doing here, Henrik? A week before Christmas, reviewing an open-and-closed accidental death?”

“You’re there to follow the evidence…like always.”

“A local lowlife crashed his snowmobile and broke his neck,” I muttered, perching on the ice-cold bench and pulling the files from my bag. “Probably had too much eggnog. Why is it even on our radar?”

“Randall thinks there’s more to it than that.”

“Why?”

“Silveridge had a thriving marijuana trade until it was legalized, and now meth and blow have filled the trade gap. The victim, a guy called Bobby Briarsfield, is small-time, but his brother is the main pusher in town. Then there’s this other guy… What’s his name?” He muttered and I heard the sound of clicking keys.

“Samson Litefoot. I’m looking at his rap sheet here—some minor possession and distribution charges but nothing recent. I don’t see the relevance.”

“Old reports say Litefoot has tried to muscle in on Briarsfield’s turf in the past.”

“Randall suspects foul play?”

“I would say so. And there’s more.”

“More?”

“Litefoot is the local sheriff’s nephew.”

I paused. “So, the Deputy Assistant Director thinks some family favors are being called in?”

“That’s what you’re there to find out.”

“Good to know, because I did wonder if she’d sent me out here for some other reason…?”

The temperature dropped a further few degrees in the silence that followed.

“She doesn’t know about us,” Henrik eventually replied. “And she never will. Right?”

I sighed, my annoyance deflating like a balloon, leaving a hollow emptiness in its place.

“If it’s drugs,” I said, “why aren’t I working myself into the gangs?”

“There must be a reason she’s given you this cover. Work with it. Now, are we done?”

“Apparently so.”

Another pause…even fuller than the last.

“Jacob, do we need to talk about this?”

Don’t say anything. Let it go. “You specifically said there wasn’t anything to talk about.”

Why can’t I ever listen to my own advice?

“Jackie…” The conciliatory tone. This was the one he used when he didn’t want to talk but still wanted sex. “Don’t be like this. We had fun, didn’t we?

“Fun. Sure.”

“You know what this job is,” he went on. “Relationships just don’t mix.”

“I just wanted Christmas day together.” I cursed my big mouth—one I was usually so good at controlling.

“Agents, guy agents, fooling around is bad enough. God only knows what would happen if we let it get any further.” His tone was flat again. End of discussion. Case Closed. “Now, can we just quit while we’re ahead, like we agreed?”

I rubbed my hand over my face. My head was aching, and it wasn’t just from the flight on a plane that had been less comfortable than a ride-on lawnmower.

“Fine.”

“Good,” Henrik said, brightening. Damn him. “Now get your head in the game. I’m sure your contact will be there any minute.”

“Tell me why I’m staying with a park ranger again?”

“Randall thought it was better for your cover. Federal budget cuts are all over the news. Even putting you in the box rooms of one of those high-end ski lodges would look suspicious. Besides, he’s local. Get close to him. See what he knows.”

I flicked to the last page in the file.

Ranger Cody Spencer, US National Park Service.

No record of a date of birth and no information older than his employment with the service. I frowned at that, then at the photo of the green-eyed, honey-blond ranger grinning at me in a way that screamed anything but professionalism. His uniform appeared to be too big for him, he had a chipped tooth and what looked like a fading black eye. Good looking, that was for sure—even beat-up—but young, naive. Trouble.

“The guy’s address isn’t in the file.”

“I get the idea it’s not really marked on the map…”

“Fucking great.”

“Cheer up, Jacob. You’re in the Rockies at Christmas time. I can think of worse places to be spending the holiday.”

Luckily a Jeep roaring into the slush-rimed forecourt prevented me from voicing the first comment that sprang to my lips.

“He’s here.”

“Good luck.”

I cut the call with a little more force than was necessary and plastered on the bland, polite smile of a bored, slightly impatient federal administrative employee.

A young man in a large coat and a wide-brimmed ranger hat climbed out of the Jeep and entered the lounge with flushed cheeks, wet-speckled clothing and the scent of snow and pine. He spotted me and grinned. It was the same wonky grin as in his file photo, but he’d had the chipped tooth fixed and, somehow, in the flesh, it looked less goofy and more boyishly charming. His skin was a similar rich, warm tone to the honey of his long hair. He’d tied it back from his face but still some strands had escaped, curling behind his ears. His eyes under the electric light were the strong green of holly leaves, and he hurried forward with the long, loping stride of an athlete.

My breath caught in my throat, and for a second I forgot to school my face. Rebound reaction, I reasoned silently, smoothed my expression and took his offered hand.

“Agent Grant?” he said as he shook my hand vigorously, his grin widening as his eyes flicked over my face. “Ranger Spencer. Cody. So sorry I’m late, man. The plow had to head north before clearing the way out here.” He shrugged. “Skiers have to get to the slopes before they let the likes of me outta town. But then they’re paying my wages, so I guess I can’t complain. So, this all your stuff?”

I looked down and my single small case. “Uh, yeah.”

He arched an eyebrow as he examined my woolen overcoat, cashmere scarf and patent mules. “You not got anything, you know, outdoorsy?”

“I have boots…in the case.”

“Okay. That’s something,” he said, grabbing my case before I could protest. “Let’s hit the road. It’s fucking freezing in here.”

He strode for the exit. I blinked when I saw he wore his hair in a long braid. It bounced against his bulky mountaineer jacket, reaching halfway to his belt, and was tied with a colorful beaded ribbon. I fought to stop my gaze from traveling any lower as I stepped outside where, thankfully, the icy air swiftly extinguished any stirring heat.

“You…uh. You look different to your photo,” I ventured carefully. Spencer shot me a grin over his shoulder.

“Not what you were expecting, huh?” he said with a playful wink that made my stomach clench.

“I—”

“Hey, it’s fine,” he went on, wrenching open the back door. “Who wants to be predictable?”

“I guess.”

He slung in my case then opened the driver’s door. “The pic the service sent will be from when I was a trainee. They never bothered to take a newer one. Not much cause to use ID around here.”

I fumbled the passenger door open with stiff fingers and climbed gratefully into the warm interior. Spencer pulled out before I’d fastened my seatbelt.

“And you?”

“Me what?” I muttered, distracted, wrestling with the jammed belt.

“What’s your story?”

“My ‘story’?”

Spencer shrugged. “You don’t look like I pictured, either.”

“What did you picture?” I said, finally clicking in the belt.

“Old. Fat. Bald.” He grinned at me again. “Sorry. You hear ‘insurance’ and your brain just goes there. But I should know by now not to listen to my brain.” I tried to figure if there was something in the way he was looking at me, but then he slammed on the brakes to turn onto the main road.

“Don’t know what to tell you. I just audit federal expense claims.”

“I guess that must be…interesting.” His grin took all the sting out of his sarcasm, but I had no problem appearing irritated.

“It can be.”

“Like this case, huh?” he said, slamming on the indicator and taking a turn onto a winding road with snow piled head-high at either side. “Called all the way out here right before Christmas, just to look into an accident.”

“The death happened on federal land,” I said, watching his face out of the corner of my eye. “I’m checking that all the right costing procedures were followed.”

“Maybe not so interesting then.”

“I’m sorry, Ranger Spencer—”

“Dude,” he laughed, pulling the wheel over to take another bend so fast my case slid across the back seat. “No one calls me that. It’s Cody.”

“Perhaps you could just concentrate on driving?”

The ranger chuckled again but he did at least take the next bend in the correct lane. We began to pass buildings, mostly single-story constructions with neon signs and faded paint—a motel, a strip mall, a diner, a shut-up souvenir shop. I frowned, wondering where all the ski lodges and boutiques were.

“Wait! Where are we going?” I said as Cody slowed to turn onto one of the pot-holed side-streets.

“I figured you might want some breakfast? The tourist places will rip you right off, but I know this great place downtown—”

“I’d prefer to go straight to the scene, please.”

Cody raised his eyebrows again, turned the blinker off and steered back into the traffic. “You’re the boss.”

Soon we had to slow as the traffic increased. The buildings grew bigger, were better maintained and clad in varnished pine. Restaurants, bars and skiwear shops cluttered the broad sidewalks, which teemed with people carrying skis, snowboards or shopping bags. The shopfronts were decorated with spray-on snow and flashing lights. Christmas trees in ornamental pots glittered with silver ornaments and fairy lights.

“I hope you like Christmas,” Spencer said as he came to a halt at a crossing. A harassed-looking nanny corralled a group of children across to a Santa who stood outside a department store with a collection bucket and real reindeer. “It’s kind of a big deal around here.”

My thoughts went immediately to Henrik, to the room I’d booked at the Plaza. My plans for champagne on the flight and to finally tell him…

“I’m here to work.”

A fine line appeared between the ranger’s caramel-colored eyebrows. “Yeah, I’m not much for this overpriced, commercial stuff myself,” he said. “But spending a day eating and drinking too much with people you care about?” The frown melted. “I live for that all year round, man.”

Thankfully he had to do some creative steering around a couple of kids on mopeds, so I was spared from thinking of a reply.

We turned a corner and the sunlight flashed off the glass-fronted facade of a lodge set on a bluff overlooking the town. It dominated the mountainside, its windows stretching from the ground to the apex of its many-pointed roof. Even at this distance, I could see the line of limousines and sports cars queuing for the valet station.

“Yeah, it’s quite something, ain’t it?” Spencer muttered as he caught my look. “The Redrock Hotel, haunt of the super-rich and mega-famous.”

“You don’t sound like you approve.”

Spencer shrugged. “It’s bringing in money, no doubt about it, but most of it ends up in the owners’ pockets.”

“Some would say that’s how business works.”

He glanced at the hotel with a guarded look in his eyes. “I guess. But the Waltons have muscled out a lot of the local businesses. Then they hire all their staff from out of town. When so many of the locals are struggling to find work…” He shrugged again. “Just don’t seem right, that’s all.”

Gradually, the buildings thinned, and we were on winding roads sloping uphill. Soon Spencer pulled into the lot of a large, squat building. Its doors were open, revealing a workshop filled with flying sparks and echoing with the clamor of banging tools. I looked over as the ranger switched off the engine.

“Where are we?”

“You wanted to go to where Bobby crashed, right?”

“My report said Briarsfield had his accident on the northwest route of Silver Peak.”

“Uh-huh,” Spencer said nodding to the line of snowmobiles at the side of the building. “And that’s how we get there.”

Spencer had climbed out before I could reply. I hurried after him.

“My map clearly marked the northwest route as a road,” I said, as Spencer raised his hand in greeting to a large man with a beard and bulky knitted cap who emerged from a side door.

“Two please, Joch,” Spencer said, and the big man nodded stiffly, gave me suspicious look and disappeared back through the door. “It is a road…in the summer,” Spencer went on, then grimaced. “Well, ‘road’ is a stretch. It’s a logging track. But either way, at this time of year it’s under eight feet of snow. Why do you think the guy was on a ’mobile in the first place?”

“I assumed it was snowy,” I said flatly. “But I also assumed you would have a vehicle that could cope.”

“She can cope with most things,” Spencer said, smiling back at his Jeep, “but not northwest Silver in December. Ah, thanks, Joch.” He added this last as the burly man appeared again and tossed two sets of keys through the air. Spencer caught them then held a set out to me. “You know how to drive one of these? If not, we can always double up.” His grin widened. I snatched the key.

“I know how to drive one, thank you.”

“Great. Saddle up, cowboy.” Spencer said, then took off his hat, pulled on some gloves, goggles and a helmet and straddled a snowmobile. I eyed my own warily. The chassis was scratched and the windshield had been fixed with electrical tape. “Budgets aren’t what they were,” Spencer went on, following my look. “But she’s safe enough. Joch’s good at his job.”

I muttered under my breath, accepted the goggles and helmet he held out to me and mounted my own machine. The ranger revved his engine and raced out into the snowy lot. I followed at a more sensible pace.

He led the way down the side of the workshop and out into the open space behind it. The snow was drifted almost ten feet deep. A route had been cut through, leading into the trees. Spencer increased his speed. I gritted my teeth and followed suit, alarmed by the rattling of something in my engine. The wind bit through my coat and trousers and made my cheeks burn.

Spencer wove between the trees, spraying snow from his treads as he took the corners. I attempted to keep up without getting a face full of snow at every turn, but the path was narrow and twisting, and my machine was lurching and juddering like it might fall to pieces any minute. Thankfully it wasn’t long before we were turning onto a broad, clear slope, with the mountain’s lower peaks towering overhead. A number of flashy, high-powered vehicles zoomed past us and sped out of sight.

We crested a shoulder of the mountain and suddenly Silveridge was spread below us like a scene from a snow globe. The white-covered roofs glittered in the sunlight. Even the ostentatious bulk of the Redrock Hotel looked charming in its miniaturized state.

We reached a fork and Spencer slowed and took the narrower track. Then he slowed further, pulled in and cut his engine. I did the same and climbed off, stiff and shivering.

Spencer pulled off his helmet and paced to the edge of the track where a jumble of boulders marked the edge of a sheer slope that knifed into a valley below. I stepped to the edge and looked out at the uninhabited stretches of the National Park beyond Silver Peak. Everything was black and silver, green and white. The wind was fresher than anything I’d ever tasted. The cold was pure, the silence complete. At that moment, in that place, we could have literally been the only two people on the planet.

“Yeah, I like this view, too,” Spencer said. I looked over at him, but he was gazing at the landscape. “Depending on what mood the place is in, you can feel like you’re where you’re finally meant to be.” His smile was different—softer, more sincere. “Or that you’re venturing somewhere you have no business poking your nose.”

I blinked and schooled my expression, then turned back to the track. “So, this is where Briarsfield was found?”

Spencer nodded. He indicated scuffs of red paint on the boulders. “They said he plunged headlong into it. Some early snowboarders found him. Pathologist said he had a broken neck and a crushed skull.”

I bent to examine the scratches then studied the wide, snowy slope and the thin cluster of saplings about a dozen feet away. “It’s not the sharpest turn we’ve done,” I murmured. “How did he miss it?”

Spencer shrugged. “Had one too many with lunch, perhaps. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“I’d be impressed at anyone getting this far if they’d been drinking.”

“Bobby was used to functioning under the influence.”

“You knew him?”

Spencer scratched his chin. “Yeah, I knew him.”

I tried to read his face, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes. “What was he like?”

Now he looked at me, puzzled. “Why?”

“My boss if big on details,” I said. “Was it normal for him to come out on a snowmobile after he’d been drinking?”

Spencer surveyed me a moment longer then shrugged. “I hadn’t had too much to do with him recently. We went to school together, but his brother farmed pot, back before it was legalized. Bobby fell in with his crowd young, dropped out of school, started dealing to the tourists.” Spencer shook his head. “Then when the bottom fell out of the marijuana business, he started stealing, getting into fights. Seemed I only really saw him when he was sitting in the cells as the station.” He sighed, gazing wistfully at the scratched rock. “Guess it was only a matter of time before karma came calling. Just”—he winced, lifting his gaze—“no one deserves that.”

I paced around the rocks, then walked the width of the track. There were snowmobile tracks here, too, fresh ones layered over old.

“A busy route, this?”

“One of the main ones to the more advanced slopes,” Spencer gestured up the hill. “Not as busy as those on Red Peak. They’re managed by the Redrock. But this way gets some traffic during the day.”

“The pathologist’s report said he’d probably died sometime early evening the day before he was found. Where would he be going at that time? It would be starting to get dark.”

“I couldn’t tell you,” Spencer said, peering up the slope. “Meeting someone perhaps? Good place for a hand-off up here, in the dark. No one else around.”

“But no witnesses saw anyone else coming on or off the slope at that time?”

“No. And Cherri said she couldn’t get anything from the tracks ’cause it snowed in the night.”

“Cherri?”

Spencer smiled crookedly. “Sheriff Heart.”

“And does the sheriff often discuss her cases with you?” I asked casually, as I watched the small figures of snowboarders zigzagging down the white face of the mountain above us.

“Okay, mister, I know what you’re really asking,” Cody said with a knowing tilt to his mouth. “But you’re barking up the wrong tree. We all pitch in together here, is all. And Cherri and I go way back.”

I studied his face but saw nothing except guileless good humor, so I turned away.

I paced the scene again, from the rocks to the cliff then back to the trees. Spencer watched, his expression mildly curious. It was on my second lap that I spotted a notch in the bark of the one of the saplings. I knelt closer and examined the graze, thin but deep, revealing the lighter wood underneath.

Spencer frowned as he came over. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” I said, standing. “Where’s Briarsfield’s snowmobile now?”

“They hauled it back to the workshop,” Spencer jerked his thumb down the hill. “Though Joch didn’t find any faults or anything.”

“I’d like to take a look for myself,” I said. “Just to be sure.”

Spencer regarded me again. “You’re a stickler, huh?”

“Most federal employees are,” I said mildly.

I expected him to be offended but he laughed—that same open, unfettered sound, like the wind in the trees around us. “Whatever, man. I’m sure Joch’ll be happy to oblige.”




It's Christmastime, and there are bigger surprises waiting to be uncovered than the ones wrapped up under the tree. It's the most wonderful time of the year, but these secrets could have heart-breaking consequences.



Author Bio:

S.J. Coles is a Romance writer originally from Shropshire, UK. She has been writing stories for as long as she has been able to read them. Her biggest passion is exploring narratives through character relationships.

She finds writing LGBT/paranormal romance provides many unique and fulfilling opportunities to explore many (often neglected or under-represented) aspects of human experience, expectation, emotion and sexuality.

Among her biggest influences are LGBT Romance authors K J Charles and Josh Lanyon and Vampire Chronicles author Anne Rice.


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Saturday, August 13, 2022

Saturday's Series Spotlight: Desires by EM Denning Part 1



What He Needs #1
Summary:
A Disillusioned Dom
A Devastated Sub

When Craig walks into the first kink club he’s been in for months, the last thing he expects to see is his former Dom, Tim, wearing a collar. If learning his ex is a switch isn’t shocking enough, Craig quickly finds himself on the wrong side of his ex's Dom. When the reunion turns ugly, another Dom swoops in and saves the day, and Craig is too shaken to argue when the sweet Dom steps in and takes care of him.

Alan noticed the boy the minute he walked into his club. It was hard not to. He was beautiful, sad, and fully clothed. Once the boy is in Alan’s arms he knows he doesn’t want to let him go, maybe ever. He worries that even though his hardcore Dom days are behind him, his experience will scare Craig and he’ll lose the chance to have something real with him.

Their relationship quickly heats up, but Craig can’t stop wondering if an inexperienced sub will be enough for a seasoned Dom in the long run.



What He Craves #2
Summary:
Matt Simpson is notorious for his bad decisions. From his rocky teenage years to his tumultuous early twenties, he's made a lot of mistakes. His latest, greatest, and perhaps stupidest of them all was his recent pursuit of his boss, the unattainable Steve Paulson. Desperate to make the man notice him, and knowing Steve would never get involved with an employee, Matt quits his job.

Unfortunately, Steve still won’t touch him. To make matters worse, his new job falls through and his older brother won’t hire him. Matt can’t bear to ask Steve for help, and soon he finds himself out of money and out of options. When Steve finds him living in his car and demands that he go home with him, Matt obeys, but living with the man he's wanted for two years proves to be frustrating as well as explosively hot. As Matt begins to explore his submissive side under Steve's firm guidance, his insecurities haunt him. What does a homeless, jobless kid with a string of failures behind him have to offer, even if Steve did want him for more than a brief fling?



What He Needs #1
1 
Craig 
He shouldn’t be nervous. He’d done it before. He’d walked into clubs before and never felt the sickening swirl of his stomach as its contents prepared for launch. Craig swallowed, then popped another antacid into his mouth and chewed it up. 

He could do this. He needed to do this. He normally hated the club atmosphere, but it had pleased Tim to take him places and show him off, and if he hoped to move on, he needed this. He had needed to get over Tim. He needed someone who would give him the things Tim gave him and there was only one kind of place where you were guaranteed to meet the kind of person Craig needed to meet. Tails had a reputation as a popular kink club. Tim had never taken him to this club, and Craig hoped that he’d be able to go in there. He’d tried to visit a different club a few weeks ago but couldn’t make it past the bouncer. 

It was a place he’d frequented with Tim and the bouncer recognized him on sight. He looked at him with those big, sympathetic brown eyes and Craig’s insides liquefied. He quickly lost his nerve and hurried back the way he came. Everyone understood what happened to him, well, everyone in that circle knew. It was why he hadn’t talked to any of his former kink friends since Tim left him. Maybe if he did, he could at least figure out what he did to drive Tim away. Perhaps he could find out why he came home from work one day to find all of Tim’s stuff gone. 

Craig cursed himself and wiped away an errant tear. He needed someone to get him out of his head before he lost his mind completely. Tim had been perfect for him. Roommates at first, then friends, then lovers. One fateful night they stumbled into something more; something that took everything they had together and made it all that much better and more powerful and meaningful. Or so Craig thought. 

They spent a year together exploring the lifestyle. Both newbies, they muddled through a little on their own before Tim insisted they join a club and do it right. Everything seemed perfect. Tim was a good Dom. Sure, he made a few newbie mistakes, but Craig made some mistakes as a first-time sub. Despite the times they stumbled, discovering his need for submission had to be the best thing that ever happened to Craig. Even when Tim wanted things that Craig didn’t feel comfortable with, he still relished belonging to him. Craig figured that even though they were out of sync to begin with that over time they’d get better at the whole Dom/sub dynamic of their relationship. 

Then Tim left. 

Now, eighteen months later, Craig’s life was a wasteland, and he had tired of it. Tired of being tired. Tired of being angry and miserable and feeling like a total failure. He needed to get out of his head. He needed to break the sick cycle of thinking that had him awake most nights. 

Craig stepped out of the cab a few blocks from the club and walked the rest of the way. He kept his head down and stuffed his hands in his pockets and returned to the club he’d visited a few days ago to set up a membership.

Most places used the same basic set up, go in one door, sign in while they reminded you of the basic rules, gave you a color-coded club standard BDSM wrist band indicating Dom or a sub, available or unavailable. Then you got to enter the world of kink unfettered. 

Craig hated places like these, but they were better than meeting someone on a random app. He didn’t like the idea of meeting a complete stranger who liked to tie people up. At least the club provided a controlled environment with people employed to keep their patrons safe. 

It was little comfort. 

Craig ordered a juice from the bar and looked around. He’d already been here once, for a few minutes, but during the day when the place was empty. Now it crawled with leather covered studs of all varieties. Craig raked his eyes over the crowd and took a deep breath. In a minute he’d get up the courage to throw himself into the fray. He drank his juice first, sipped it slowly until he emptied the glass. When he’d returned the glass, he took a deep breath. In another minute he’d slip into his sub mindset and maybe then a hot Dom would approach him and make him soar and forget about Tim. 

Tim, whose eyes met his. 

Tim, who he hadn’t seen in eighteen months stood ten feet from him. He looked at Craig with wide eyes and a slack jaw. Someone next to Tim put a hand on his shoulder and leaned in. That’s when Craig noticed the thick, black collar around Tim’s neck. 

Tim had a Dom. 

Tim was a sub. 

Before Craig could wrap his mind around Tim being a sub, or a switch, or there, ten feet from him, Tim moved closer. Craig stood stock still like a cornered rabbit, too afraid to move.

The juice in Craig’s stomach churned. He didn’t understand anything anymore. He’d avoided all the clubs Tim used to drag him to for this exact reason. It wasn’t fair. Tim left him and now, the one time he’d gathered the courage to enter a club, Tim not only turned up, but as a fucking sub. A collared sub with a mammoth-sized Dom. 

Only a few feet from him, Tim stopped. His master’s hand lay on his shoulder and Craig’s fist tightened. The fact that Tim had a master enraged him as much as it confused him. 

“Craig. It’s good to see you. How are you?” Tim smiled, but Craig knew him well enough to know that it was fake, as fake as the rest of him. Betrayal fuelled Craig’s anger. He wanted to be anywhere but here. 

“Go fuck yourself.” Craig turned to leave, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. 

“You’re a nasty little sub, aren’t you? That’s my boy you swore at and I expect you to apologize.” 

Craig spun around and knocked the Dom’s hand off his shoulder. “Don’t touch me. I’ll talk to him however I want. I may be a sub, but I’m not your sub.” 

Tim didn’t say anything. He stood there and let his master grab at Craig and bark at him to apologize and he stood there and watched with complete disinterest. As if Craig never mattered to him at all. 

Craig glared at Tim as angry tears sprang to his eyes. He didn’t care if Tim saw him cry, it wouldn’t be the first time. “You’re a piece of cowardly shit.” 

“I told you not to talk to my boy like that.” 

Craig flinched at the Dom’s voice. Powerful and commanding, the tone was also edged with a bit of anger. Craig took a step back. “Screw you.” He knew he shouldn’t get so mouthy with a Dom, but his heart hammered as his vision blurred. At the same time, he couldn't catch his breath. Worse, his brain didn’t appear to be in control of his mouth anymore and he heard himself yell. “Screw you and screw him too.” Craig turned to leave, but the Dom caught his arm. 

Before he could wonder what would happen next, another man came over and pulled the Dom’s hand off Craig’s arm. 

“What’s the trouble over here?” He had to be a Dom. Not as tall or as wide as Tim’s giant of a man, he oozed a certain presence and had to be important because the angry Dom suddenly curbed his attitude. 

“This little sub here seems to have a problem with my boy. They exchanged words and I want him to apologize.” 

“Fuck you, you shit.” Craig’s voice cracked. “And fuck him too.” Craig panted, and fresh tears streamed down his cheeks. The other Dom appeared to be trying to spin it to make him look like the bad guy, and he might be, but all he wanted to do was leave. The guy should’ve let him go. 

A hand touched his shoulder. “Kneel down, boy.” 

Craig dropped to his knees without giving it a thought. He didn’t dare disobey that voice. That deep, smooth baritone that didn’t bark at him to obey as the first Dom had done, but commanded obedience, nonetheless. 

The Dom put a hand on Craig’s head and smoothed his fingers through his short brown hair. “Breathe, boy. Just breathe.” 

Craig no longer obeyed on instinct alone. He found himself wanting to please the man who came to his rescue. 

“What’s going on here?”

Craig heard the Dom start to answer, but he got cut off by the second Dom. “I want to hear it from your boy. What did you say to him to upset him?” 

“Nothing, Sir.” Tim almost stammered. 

“Nothing?” Craig heard the total disbelief in the Dom’s voice. “Didn’t look like nothing.” The Dom stroked his fingers through Craig’s hair and Craig took another deep breath, one that somehow helped release the pressure on his lungs. “One minute the boy is at the bar, then you come sauntering over and he goes ten shades whiter and I want to know why.” 

“I was only saying hello.” Tim mumbled, and Craig stiffened. He wanted to get to his feet and punch him in the face. Or grab him and demand answers. Or run away. Then the gentle fingers continued stroking his scalp; he understood the silent command and forced himself to relax. 

“I think it was more than that.” A tense silence followed, and part of Craig wanted to lift his head so he could see what was going on, but he kept his head bowed and his eyes lowered. He knew that if he looked at Tim, he’d lose it all over again. “I’m going to insist that you leave this sub alone from now on.” 

“But…” 

“Do not argue with me, boy.” When the second Dom spoke to Tim in that tone, Craig’s blood heated with arousal. “The boy is obviously distressed and whatever the reason, you’re the cause. Do not approach him again. Get your boy out of here, Paul, he’s pissing me off and so are you. I better not hear so much as a whisper that you’ve talked to, looked at or approached this boy in any manner. Do you get me?” 

Silence. 

“Come on, boy. Time to play.”

Craig lifted his gaze enough to watch two sets of feet turn and leave. Then he buried his face in his hands. 

The hand that had been playing with his hair smoothed down his back. “You okay, boy?” 

Craig couldn’t respond. His throat squeezed shut with despair. He shook his head instead. 

“It’s okay. I’ll take care of you.” Craig didn’t protest as the Dom pulled Craig to his feet. Shame burned through him and he bowed his head to hide his tear stained face. He couldn’t believe that he lost it in front of everyone. Craig melted into the warmth offered by the Dom’s arm when it slid around his waist. He found himself being led into the back through an area that was marked employees only. The noise in the club faded a bit, then all but disappeared when the Dom kicked a door shut behind them. 

The Dom took a seat on an oversized sofa and pulled Craig down next to him. He slipped his fingers through Craig’s hair and cradled him against his chest. Despite his efforts to compose himself, Craig broke down. He clutched the Dom and let the tears come. He whispered soothing words to Craig and when his sobs softened, and his breathing evened out, he didn’t disobey the sweet Dom when he gave him one more command. 

“Sleep, boy. I’ve got you.”




What He Craves #2
Matt 
Okay. Okay. Maybe he wasn’t totally fucked. Cam had to hire him back. Sure, he absolutely loathed working for his brother, but Cam would have to give him a job. He couldn’t tell Cam that he’d quit his job at the restaurant in a fit of jealous rage because people flirted with Steve and he flirted back, and Matt had tried for two years to make Steve notice him, but he wouldn’t of course, because Steve, the honorable shit, didn’t fuck his employees. Matt forced himself to take a deep breath. Breathe. He had to remember to breathe. He had to be cool. 

He’d had another job lined up, he thought. He showed up a few days ago, ready to work. They’d told him he could start that day, but a manager came out and informed him that he’d given someone else the position before Matt got hired. His assistant manager somehow screwed up. Matt didn’t have a job after all. 

That only left Cam. 

Matt wiped his sweaty palms down his jeans and sauntered up to the shop. Cam inherited the garage from their dad when he died, and he’d done a great job turning it around. He’d totally revamped the poor reputation their dad had left behind, and business had been steady for a while now. Cam would have no problem hiring him back. Cam had to hire him back. By rights, the shop should have been half Matt’s, but their homophobic asshole father had written Matt out of the will. Cam got everything and most times it didn’t bother him because Cam always did his best to look out for Matt. 

The bells above the door jingled when Matt pulled the door open. Suzie looked up from her spot at the front desk. He remembered the first time they’d met, and she asked him on a date. Turning down a sweet girl like her had been hell, but, well, wrong equipment. If he wasn’t mistaken, she’d since turned her affections toward Cam, who probably had the same shit rule Steve did about not getting involved with employees. Some guys are no fun at all. 

“Hey, Suzie. Cam in the office?” 

She nodded. “He’s in a bit of a shit mood today, so be careful.” 

“What’s going on?” Cam had always been easy going and laid back. But everything he did had been organized and calculated and well planned. Basically, he was the opposite of Matt. 

“Something about a supplier overcharging for stuff. Shipping delays on top of that which makes him have to readjust when people get their cars back.” Suzie shrugged. “It’s been a rough week.” 

Well shit. This wasn’t good. Matt took a deep breath and tried not to climb the walls. “Thanks for the heads up.” The walk down the short hallway to Cam’s office felt like the march of death. Matt wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans, again, and wondered if his life would flash before his eyes. Death might be welcome at this point, Matt thought as the knot of anxiety in his stomach turned into a boulder. 

He knocked lightly then entered the office. Cam had the phone pressed to his ear, as luck would have it, he seemed to be talking with the parts supplier to find out what the hold up was. Matt sat in one of the two chairs across from Cam’s desk and folded his hands in his lap. He hated coming to Cam begging for a job like a stupid kid, but maybe he was. He’d quit his job so he could have a chance at boning Steve. That wasn’t something a normal twenty-five-year-old did, was it? But Matt had never been normal. He’d always did stupid shit before he thought it through. It’s how he’d always been. Sometimes it worked out, and other times he ended up here, in Cam’s office. 

Cam had ended the call without Matt noticing because he’d been silently freaking out. 

“Matt.” Cam spoke, and Matt snapped out of his doom spiral, sort of. At least enough to pay attention to what Cam was saying. “What brings you by?” Cam’s tight voice had and edge to it that indicated Cam knew what was coming. 

“I got laid off. I need a job, Cam.” Totally not the truth, but Matt couldn’t tell Cam the truth. 

Cam shook his head and raked a hand through his thick blonde hair. “Matt. Come on, man. I thought we went over this.” 

Matt’s already rampant heart kicked it up a notch and the boulder of anxiety in his stomach spread out to each limb. “Cam, please. I got laid off. It’s not my fault. Just for a few months. I’ll find a new job. Please.” 

Cam shook his head. 

Shit. 

Fuck. 

Shitcrapmotherfuckingfucknononononono. 

“Matt. No. I’m sorry. There’s unemployment. You have enough hours banked to qualify, and you were laid off. You’ll have no problem getting it. I’m sorry. I love the shit out of you, but you know you can’t work here. You need to stand on your own two feet.”

Matt nodded and tried to swallow past the giant lump in his throat. “Yeah. Fine. Okay. Uh…I should go do that then.” Matt got up and left before Cam could say anything else. Unemployment. Yeah. Okay. Easy, right? Except the record of employment in his pocket that he’d grabbed with his last check clearly stated that Matt hadn’t been laid off. Still, there might be a chance. 

As Matt pulled out of the parking lot, he looked back and saw Cam in the doorway of the shop, watching him go. Fucking Cam. He got it. Matt understood that Cam had bailed him out of every scrape, jam, and fucked up situation he’d dug himself into since kindergarten. His argument that Matt needed to live an adult life and fix his own mistakes had been a compelling one. That didn’t make him hate Cam any less for sticking with it this time. 

Matt let out a shaky breath and drove to the unemployment office. Maybe Cam had been right. At some point, Matt had to start cleaning up his own messes and fixing his own mistakes. At twenty-five years old, Matt had to stop being a fuck-up. 

With his unemployment application sent off Matt could concentrate getting ready for the grand opening of Steve’s new club. A club he should’ve been working at. Matt shoved those thoughts aside and got ready. 

He pulled on a pair of shorts that probably didn’t quite fit, and that’s what made them his absolute favorite. The shiny red shorts hugged his ass and showed off his entire package. It would be impossible for Steve to ignore him. In the mood for a bit of fun, Matt impulsively slathered himself with some glittery body lotion. He twisted and turned in the full-length mirror. He gave his ass a playful swat. Perfection. 

Dinner time had come and gone, and Matt hadn’t eaten. He should’ve taken the time to whip something up in his little kitchen (aka his hot plate and toaster oven) before he went to the club, but he wasn’t hungry. His nervous stomach knotted. It filled with butterflies and what-ifs. When it was finally time to leave he didn’t want to trudge down the street in nothing but his tiny shorts. He slid into a pair of track pants and pulled a T-shirt on over top. On his way out the door he grabbed a jacket. 

The club was in full swing when Matt arrived. A jolt of nerves had him considering slipping in the back through the employees' entrance, but he didn’t want Steve to see him go in that way. He wanted Steve to see him walk in the front doors like any other patron. Cam might not have hired him, and it may not have gone entirely well with the unemployment office, but this was his big moment. Everything would be worth it soon. 

Stripped down to only his bright red shorts, Matt took a deep breath. He stepped into the club with his head held high and a smile far brighter and more confident than he felt. Like the magnet that he was, Matt’s gaze found Steve in the room almost immediately. He was tall and broad and commanding. Matt took a breath, adjusted his package, not caring who saw him, because, hello, kink club. 

Even from across the room Matt saw something flare in Steve’s gaze. Lust? Want? Need? Did Steve crave him the way he craved Steve? Matt drifted toward him, weaving through the crowd. Each step brought him closer to Steve, who couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Matt. His dick twitched—that had to be a good sign, right? For the first time since Matt quit he felt as if he’d made the right decision. 

“Steve.” Matt tried to sound more casual than he felt as he stood both too close and not close enough. “The place looks great.” 

Hope flared in Matt as Steve’s gaze raked over his scantily clad body. 

“Are you covered in glitter?” Steve raised an eyebrow.

Matt smirked. It was cocky and in that moment, so was he. He reached for Steve, slid a finger down the center of his shirt. “Play your cards right and you could be covered in glitter, too.” 

Heat and lust flashed in Steve’s eyes and for a fraction of a second, he looked at Matt, truly looked at him and saw him. Then the mask fell back into place and Matt’s heart shuddered to a stop. 

No. 

Steve took a step back. “Make sure you grab some food before you go. It’s on the house tonight, Matt.” Then he took a step back, but the sudden distance felt like miles, oceans, light-years. Whatever the unit of measure, Matt felt as if his chest would cave in under the weight of disappointment. 

“Steve, I…” 

“Have a good night, Matt.” 

Steve spun on his heel and walked away. Dismissed, Matt stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. How had everything gone so wrong so fast? He’d come on a little strong. Maybe that had been where he went wrong. Maybe the short-shorts and the body glitter and the blatant flirting were too much. Steve owned a kink club. It was Matt’s wet-dream come true, but maybe he’d fucked this all up. He should’ve stayed working for Steve. He could’ve come here and seen what Steve liked and he could’ve been that. 

Ice swept over Matt and before he knew exactly how he got there, he stood on the street in his T-shirt and track pants. He walked home with his arms wrapped around himself. Every so often he paused to rub his chest as if he could ease the ache somehow. He’d been rejected before, but this hurt. He’d lusted after and been in love with Steve for as long as he’d known the man. Okay, so it started out as lust, and he didn’t know Steve that well, but yeah, he loved him. He loved the way he commanded a room. He loved the way all his staff loved him and respected him.

Matt entered his apartment. It wasn’t much. A dingy room in an old hotel. A tiny kitchenette sat next to an equally tiny bathroom. The rest of the space stood open. His bed also served as his couch. His dresser doubled as his TV stand. The small, dim space could use a paint job, but the rent was affordable, and it was his. It was the first place he ever had all on his own. If he didn’t have a massive pile of credit card debt, he’d be able to afford something way nicer. Matt curled up in his bed and didn’t move for three days. 

Three weeks later after the most depressing search for employment he’d ever been on, he came home to a letter from the unemployment office. Declined. He’d quit his job and therefore they decided he didn’t qualify. 

The paper trembled in Matt’s hands and he sunk down into his bed. He scrubbed at his face with his hands. Matt’s impulsive decisions had landed him in yet another impossible situation. Cam refused to hire him. He absolutely couldn’t go back and beg Steve for a job. He’d quit with hardly any notice. He’d told Steve he found a better job and wanted to move on. Steve would’ve filled the position by now and Matt didn’t want to risk Steve having to make a choice between him and a new hire. It wouldn’t be fair. Besides, Matt didn’t think he could face Steve ever again. 

Already strapped for cash after making the minimum payments on his credit cards, Matt packed what he could into his car. Doom swirled in Matt’s stomach as he dropped his keys in the landlord's mailbox. The key hit the bottom of the mailbox with a hollow ping that ricocheted through Matt. He’d hoped to escape eviction by lucking out and getting unemployment. 

One month after quitting his job, Matt parked at the far end of a grocery store parking lot. He wrapped himself in a blanket and tried to reconcile himself to the fact that he officially lived in his car. He spent his first night homeless not sleeping. Cam’s words from the last time kept circling around and around in his head. You fucked up again, Matty. I can’t believe this. You never think do you? Ever. Shit. Dammit. Fine, you can work here, but this is the last time I bail you out, do you understand? You’re twenty-two, Matty. You’re an adult. Start acting like one. 

The next morning Matt parked his car in a different spot and spent the day looking for work. The day ended up being the same as every other day he looked for work in the past month. Not hiring. Not hiring. Not hiring. We’ll keep your application on file. Thanks for stopping by. Not hiring. Not hiring. Not hiring. 

His second night on the streets, Matt cried himself to sleep.



Saturday's Series Spotlight
Desires
Part 1  /  Part 2

Desires: New Beginnings



Author Bio:

E. M. Denning is a writer from British Columbia. She loves her family and animals, and anything cute and fuzzy. She writes romance for the 18+ plus crowd because she's both a hopeless romantic and a dirty old woman.

You can find her on her website, Facebook or on her blog.


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EMAIL: emdenningauthor@gmail.com



What He Needs #1

What He Craves #2

Series


Desires: New Beginnings Series
What He Learns #1

What He Finds #2