Love Lessons (41 page)

“Mmm?” Vince nuzzled back.

Trey’s lips moved along Vince’s jaw, tickled his ear. “This is a date.”

Vince grinned and rubbed the scruff of his cheek alongside Trey’s. “Yeah.”

Those tickling lips brushed his lobe, and a tongue darted out, making Vince shiver. “I want another one.”

The tongue had made Vince shiver, but those words shimmied right down to the bottom of his belly. “Sure.”

Slim hands gripped his hips, fingers curling into his backside. “I want a kiss.”

The heat slid lower, setting all of Vince into a slow, steady burn. He didn’t say anything, just pulled his head back far enough to meet Trey’s gaze, angle his head and close in on his mouth.

It started almost sweet, but they were both hard, both kneading hands into each other, and fuck if Trey didn’t taste more exotic than anything in the world. He worried for a second that Trey would dislike the scotch on his breath, but then Trey pushed him deeper into the shadows, into an alcove behind the speaker, and Vince didn’t worry about anything at all.

There was something incredibly freeing about being this turned on and being somewhat secluded. They were hidden but at the same time couldn’t go too far because they were still, technically, on a dance floor in a respectable establishment. Much as he wanted to undo Trey’s pants and take his cock in hand, as ready as he suddenly was for that kind of thing, he couldn’t, and it was a little bit of a relief.

Instead he ground against Trey’s pelvis like he was trying to screw him to the wall, and the soft, gasping noises Trey made only inspired Vince to dig his fingers deeper into Trey’s backside. The kiss was deep and crazy, mouths mating, tongues tangling, Trey’s hands pulling Vince in closer and closer until they almost couldn’t breathe. Vince’s nipples pebbled beneath his shirt, so stiff they jutted like rocks, super-sensitized points that made him moan against Trey’s lips.

Eventually the delicious tease turned over though, and common sense warned Vince he needed to slow the fuck down or he was going to come all over the inside of his pants. Trey seemed to be in a similar place, because when Vince pulled back, easing out of the kiss slowly, Trey didn’t draw him back, just held on tight, breathing hard.

When he was able, Vince said, “Will that do?”

Trey smiled like the sun itself, and even in the dark Vince could see the sparkle in those eyes. “Yeah.”

He wanted a boyfriend. What he got was a hero.

From the Ashes

© 2013 Daisy Harris

Fire and Rain, Book 1

When an accident burns down Jesse’s apartment, he’s left broke and homeless, with a giant dog and a college schedule he can’t afford to maintain. And no family who’s willing to take him in.

Lucky for him, a sexy fireman offers him a place to stay. The drawback? The fireman’s big Latino family lives next door, and they don’t know their son is gay.

Tomas’s parents made their way in America with hard work and by accepting help when it was offered, so he won’t let Jesse drop out of school just so he can afford a place to live. Besides, Jesse’s the perfect roommate—funny, sweet and breathtakingly cute. He climbs into Tomas’s bed and tugs at his heart. Until Jesse starts pushing for more.

Their passion enflames their bodies but threatens to crush Tomas’s family. Tomas is willing to fight for Jesse, but after losing everything, Jesse isn’t sure he can bear to risk his one remaining possession—his heart.

Warning: Contains an angry older brother, judgmental best friends, a slobbering bull mastiff, and enough red-hot gay loving to make a porn star blush.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
From the Ashes:

“Alright. Let’s see this.” Tomas climbed out of the truck and locked the door. When he saw Jesse, his jaw dropped.

Jesse wore nothing but a pair of old, battered bunker pants, held up on his slim frame by suspenders. They weren’t Tomas’s, so he must have found them at a surplus store.

He’d smeared black makeup over his body, face and even through his hair. He looked messy and sexy. So hot Tomas took three steps to him and grabbed him around the waist.

“Fuck, Jess.” He mouthed Jesse’s shoulder, sucking hard on his neck. Tomas tasted makeup, but he didn’t mind eating a little wax. He needed to put a mark on Jesse before anyone else saw him looking so fine.

“You like?” Jesse rubbed closer.

The rigid material of Jesse’s pants contrasted with the soft, smooth skin on his chest. It was all Tomas could do not to lay him down in the parking lot. “Fuck yeah, I like. I may make you wear that around the house.”

Jesse laughed. “I should make you wear it.” Tomas kept groping him until Jesse gently pushed him away. “Stop kissing me, or we’ll never make it to meet the guys.”

Tomas put his forehead to Jesse’s shoulder and breathed in his scent. Jesse must have just put on deodorant because Tomas caught a whiff of it from the splay of hair poking from under his arm. He never would have thought deodorant was hot, but on Jesse it smelled like heaven.

“Fine. We’ll go to the party.” Tomas took Jesse’s hand as he started walking into the crowded streets. Even with guys everywhere, Tomas noticed him and Jesse getting some interested looks.

Jesse giggled. “You told me you weren’t going to wear a costume.”

“I’m not.” Tomas lifted an eyebrow.

“Mesh?” Jesse plucked at the front of Tomas’s shirt, right near his nipple. “I can honestly say I never would have expected to see you wearing a mesh shirt. A chain, okay. But mesh?”

Tomas reached down and swatted Jesse’s butt.

“I like it.” Jesse leaned away enough to roll his gaze over Tomas’s outfit. “It’s a little Jersey Shore, but you look sexy.”

“You saying, ‘You can take the boy out of the suburbs, but you can’t take the suburbs out of the boy?’” They stopped at an intersection, and Tomas wrapped his arm around Jesse’s waist. He leaned in to kiss him.

“Hey.” Jesse blushed on his cheeks and across the top of his chest. “Watch it with the public displays of affection. What if one of your buddies is around?”

Tomas frowned. “That doesn’t matter.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, more out of habit than anything. “I told Rick about us.”

“When?” The light turned to walk. Everyone around them poured into the intersection, but Jesse stood there, a rock in the river, looking at Tomas with concerned eyes. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”

“I didn’t.” Tomas touched Jesse’s arm, urging him to cross while they still had the light. When they were walking side by side, he slipped his hand down Jesse’s arm and wove their fingers together. It felt different than it had before—more meaningful.

“He was running his mouth off. And he would have found out eventually.”

“Oh. Well…” Jesse bit his lip. Maybe he was holding back an I’m glad, or Good for you, or something else about how Tomas had done the right thing. Tomas was glad when Jesse kept those thoughts, if he had them, to himself.

Jesse kissed Tomas on the cheek. He didn’t say anything else, just swung their arms, enjoying the Halloween crowd.

“You sure we can get in?” Tomas stopped in front of the club. There were at least another dozen guys outside, talking or waiting for friends.

“Yeah. We have tickets.” Jesse flashed them at the bored-looking drag queen sitting on a stool by the door.

“ID?” She cocked a drawn-on eyebrow at Jesse.

He handed her his card, and Tomas did the same.

“Go on.” She jerked a thumb at the door.

Jesse gave Tomas a big, bright smile and led him through the doorway.

That smile slayed him, and Tomas forgot all about Michael and the crap at Haunted Trails. Jesse was cute and adorable and sexy as all fuck. They were going to have an awesome night.

Not needing the coat check, they pushed through to the main area of the club. The floors thudded with bass. Red, green and purple lights beamed down from the ceiling. Mirrors coating the walls reflected hundreds of guys flashing skin.

The atmosphere sank under Tomas’s skin until he was high on just being there. His pulse picked up, and excitement flooded his brain and his dick. Pulling Jesse closer, he kissed him like he would fuck him right in front of everyone. There, at a club where everyone was drinking and grinding and screaming their heads off, Tomas couldn’t see any reason to pretend they weren’t crazy about each other.

“Want a drink?” he shouted into Jesse’s shoulder.

“Yeah.” Jesse palmed Tomas’s pecs through his shirt. “God, it would be so hot if you had your nipples pierced.”

“Hm?” Tomas puffed up his chest, giving Jesse more to hold on to. He loved the way Jesse bit his lip. “I’ll take that under advisement.” Tomas tweaked Jesse’s bare, pink nipple, imagining it speared through with a flat steel bar. “Maybe we could get it done together.”

“Fuck, I love you.” Jesse made a sound like a whimpering puppy and pressed their lips together in a messy kiss.

Tomas grabbed his back, trying to show him with his arms and his tongue that he loved him too. He could tell by Jesse’s split second of tension that Jesse hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

He’d meant I love you the way he’d say, I love this movie, or I love it when you make me come. Not in the bone-deep way Tomas felt.

“Let’s get that drink.” Tomas half dragged, half urged Jesse toward the bar. He shuffled them forward, pressing kisses into Jesse’s neck and rubbing his dick against Jesse’s ass. Again and again, he replayed what Jesse had said. Jesse loved him, at least enough to say it accidentally.

The wrong secret can poison everything—even if it’s kept with the best of intentions.

Weight of Silence

© 2013 A.M. Arthur

Cost of Repairs, Book 3

Gavin Perez knows he’s a living cliché. He works a dead-end job, shares a trailer with his waitress mom, has an abusive, absentee sperm donor, and he’s poor. So color him shocked when middle-class, white-bread Jace Ramsey agrees to hang out with him.

Granted, Gavin is trying to make up for dumping a bowl of cranberry sauce on Jace at Thanksgiving. And boy, is Gavin forgiven, over and over again…until Jace goes back to college for finals and stops returning Gavin’s calls.

Back home from the semester from hell, Jace doesn’t want to do anything but sleep through the holidays. It’s easier than coming out to his family—or facing Gavin’s hurt. But Gavin’s ready forgiveness draws them back together, and Jace won’t be able to stay in the closet much longer.

Nor will he be able to keep hiding his pain. He trusts Gavin with his body, maybe even with his heart. But can he trust that a devastating secret that’s eating him up inside won’t destroy everything—and everyone—he loves?

Warning: This book contains one slightly hyperactive hero from the wrong side of town, a frustrated college student looking for a little life experience, and an unexpected romance amid dark secrets that just won’t stay buried. Also contains references to physical abuse some readers may find disturbing.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Weight of Silence:

At precisely 1:21 p.m., Gavin Perez dumped an entire serving bowl’s worth of cranberry sauce on the most adorable boy he’d ever seen. Gavin knew the exact time of the saucing because his mother had just asked him for it (the time, not the sauce), and the only reason he wasn’t looking in front of him was because he’d glanced down at his cell phone.

Head down + Push door = Disaster.

He couldn’t blame his mother. She’d asked an innocent question. Gavin should have stopped walking long enough to check his phone and answer her question. Should have. Did not. Usually did not and/or could not. They’d never had the money for an official doctor’s diagnosis, but Gavin had all the major traits of adult hyperactivity.

Plus he’d read a bunch of books on the topic. After twenty-three years, he figured he knew a heck of a lot about himself, including his incurable need to multitask from waking to bedtime. He also had a long mental list of mishaps and accidents caused by his need to be on the move and going at optimum speed. The cranberry sauce collision just jumped to the top of said list.

And to be fair to himself, the incredible cutie he’d sauced hadn’t seen him either, or gotten out of the way. They were both trying to go through the same door at the rear of the diner—Gavin into the back room and Cutie Pie out of it and into the dining room. The door had a wide window at eye-level, probably to prevent such accidents during regular business hours, and neither of them had used it.

Gavin had stopped short the moment he realized he’d caused an accident, and Mama ran right into his back, which nearly made him ram into the door a second time. He grabbed it as it swung back at him, ignored Mama’s curious squawk, and peeked around the corner.

Cutie Pie gaped down at the huge splotch of red goo clinging to the front of his white dress shirt. Most of the sauce was still in the bowl, but some had dripped to the floor and onto his shoes. He hadn’t even looked up yet to see who’d dressed him up like a Thanksgiving turkey. But in a diner as small as Dixie’s Cup—and with so many people rushing around getting food out to the counter—they’d already drawn a small audience.