The Way She Reads: Polyamory

Showing posts with label Polyamory. Show all posts

Sunday, 21 March 2021

Three Shots (A Poly in Pendleton Story) by Brigham Vaughn

Pages: 310

Release Date: March 10, 2021

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

A musician, a computer designer, and a tavern owner walk into a bar: it’ll take three shots to get this right …

When Reeve Jenkins picks up his guitar to sing at a local dive bar, the last thing he expects is to bring a guy home that night. Grant McGuire is a man drowning his sorrows in beer after a painful breakup. Having some fun in bed is easy for the two of them but while hookups are simple, pursing a relationship never feels quite right.

Rachael Bradford has seen plenty of attractive men walk into the Hawk Point Tavern but she’s too busy running the place to worry about taking any of them home.

The chemistry between them is off the characters but when Reeve and Grant offer her more than a quick fantasy, they’ll have to figure out how to navigate an openly poly relationship in the small town of Pendleton Bay.

Originally released in 2017, Three Shots has been re-written with an additional 40k words of content, set in the Pendleton Bay Universe, and re-edited.

Review

This was a re-read for me. I first read Three Shots in 2017. Then again, I’m not sure re-read is the right word here. While there certainly are strong similarities between the original Three Shots and this new version, so much has been added and changed that it was almost like reading a brand-new story for the first time. And while there was nothing wrong with this book when it first came out (after all, I give it five stars then too) there is no denying that the extended version is even better.

My original review mentions that the story managed to be deliciously enticing and incredible adorable at the same time, and that is something that hasn’t changed. The sexual encounters, initially between Reeve and Grant and later with Rachael too are hot, exciting, and imaginative. But, while I sure appreciated those scenes, they weren’t what I loved most in this story. What really stood out for me was the communication between these three protagonists. From the moment they meet they are open and frank with each other. There are no ‘misunderstandings’ based on withheld information in this story. Reeve, Grant, and Rachael know at all times what they can expect from the others and what is expected from them. Given that ‘conflict that could have been avoided if only the characters talked to each other’ is one of my pet hates in romance, you can imagine how delighted this set-up made me.

Not that Brigham Vaughn avoids complications, far from it. But the obstacles Rachael, Reeve, and Grant encounter are talked about and dealt with. The only real issues they face are caused by outside forces, more specifically by those who don’t understand and therefore don’t approve of a poly-relationship.

This story could have been written for me. Low on angst but high on feels, with characters who communicate well, hot sex scenes, and memorable secondary characters, I couldn’t have asked for more. What I am asking for, however, is more stories set in Pendleton. This little town is fast turning into a favourite (reading) destination for me.

Monday, 15 April 2019

Ace in the Picture by Jude Tresswell - Release Blitz

Book Title: Ace in the Picture

Author: Jude Tresswell

Publisher: Rowanvale Books

Cover Artist: Billie Hastie

Genre/s: contemporary M/M/M/M, crime/mystery

Heat Rating: 2 flames

Length: 63 000 words/ 251 pages (paperback format)

It can be read as a standalone, but is also the third book featuring the County Durham quad

Release Date: March 31, 2019

Add on Goodreads

Buy Links: Rowanvale Books | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Waterstones (UK) | Barnes and Noble

An art fraud, a polyamorous suspect, an asexual detective…

Blurb

Polyamory and asexuality meet in this third tale about a north-east England quad.

The police suspect Raith Balan of faking a painting. So do money-launderers who sink profits into art. Mike, Ross and Phil, the three men in Raith’s life, must prove his innocence. They’re hampered by their certainty that a member of the Fraud Squad is corrupt.

The senior investigating officer is Detective Sergeant Nick Seabrooke. He knows he is asexual, but is he aromantic too? As Raith’s lovers struggle to keep Raith safe and find the fraudster, the sergeant struggles to understand why the quad is often in his thoughts.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Raith stood in the kitchen in front of the calendar. His gaze shifted from the naked figure depicted on ‘October’ to the highlighted ‘Thursday 12th’ and back again. He pressed a fingertip to his lips, transferred a kiss to the mid-point of the figure’s shoulder blades and ran his finger down the spine—Mike Angells’ spine.

The real-life Mike walked into the room and filled the kettle.

“What are you admirin’?” he asked. “The model or the artist?”

Raith was the artist. “The artist,” he replied. “He’s classy. The model’s okay, I suppose.”

“Cheeky!” Mike admonished.

Changing the subject, Raith asked, “You know what day it is in two days’ time, don’t you?”

“In two days? Well, let’s see… difficult one… It must be Thursday. Aye, that’s right. It was Monday yesterday, so—”

“Stop teasing me! Do you think he’s forgotten?”

‘He’ was Phil Roberts, the man Raith had married 364days earlier.

“Don’t be daft. Of course not. You know Phil. His middle name’s ‘No fuss’.”

“That’s two names.”

“And that’s two cups of coffee. One for you. One for me,” said Mike, handing over a mug.

“None for me?” asked a third man who, yawning, had entered the kitchen. He hugged the two men already there.

“Sorry, Ross,” Mike apologised. “I didn’t make you one. I thought you were still asleep.”

“No. Just dozy,” said Ross sleepily. “I heard Phil’s car. Is it an emergency, Raith?”

“Not exactly,” Raith replied. “He went in early to cover for a colleague.”

Phil had helped to pioneer a form of rectal surgery that used nanocarbon patches to reconstruct torn tissue. He was a respected consultant at the hospital an hour’s drive away in Warbridge, County Durham.

“I’d better get sorted and get out myself,” said Ross. He was, amongst other things, a gallery proprietor in Gateshead, and his journey to work took longer than Phil’s. He yawned again.

“Are you feelin’ okay?” asked Mike, alert to Ross’s tone of voice. “It’s not like you to sound so unenthusiastic about work.” In fact, it wasn’t like Ross to sound unenthusiastic about anything. He was always lively—he personified keenness.

“I’m dead tired cos I didn’t sleep well. I had a strange text late on. You were already asleep. I don’t think you heard the phone buzz. Strange. Unsettling.”

“Oh?”

“How do you mean?” asked Raith. “We’re not going to get involved with more criminal activities, are we? I had enough of crime fighting last time!”

Even though Mike was no longer a detective with the Tees, Tyne and Wear Constabulary, the four of them were involved in a surprising amount of crime fighting. ‘Last time’ had involved an illegal immigrant, and the tensions that had arisen had threatened the survival of the quad.

That’s what they were: a gay, polyamorous quad. They lived in Tunhead, a hamlet in Weardale in the Durham hills. Once, Tunhead had rung to the sound of workers’ hammers hitting stone. In a way it still did: Ross had turned it into an arts centre full of smiths, sculptors and potters who wanted to escape the North East’s towns.

“Well, we’re not, are we?” Raith repeated.

“No.”

“Good. Well, my creations won’t create themselves. I’d better get off, too.”

In Raith’s case, ‘getting off’ simply meant walking twenty yards to his studio, a converted storehouse.

“You sure he hasn’t forgotten?” he asked Mike again before he left.

“I’m sure.”

“Okay then.”

“What’s that about?” asked Ross after Raith was gone.

“He’s bothered that Phil’s forgotten their anniversary.”

“He hasn’t.”

“I know he hasn’t. He’s takin’ him off on a trip sumwhere—but you know Raith. He needs everythin’ crystal clear and written in capital letters. And sumtimes, so do I. What was this message about?”

Ross pulled a face and explained. When he’d done so, Mike could understand his concern.

“He wouldn’t be so stupid, Ross… Would he?”

“Not stupid, Mike, but he’s gullible. He doesn’t always think. I just don’t know.”

***

The message stayed in Ross’s mind during the forty-mile drive to the gallery and he couldn’t forget about it once he was there. Some of Raith’s paintings hung on the gallery walls. They were mainly of Weardale’s waterfalls. After heavy rain, the falls transformed from gentle trickles into rushing, gushing powerful forces of nature that the four men knew could kill. They’d seen them kill.

Raith loved to paint the waterfalls. From a distance, his torrents looked alive. The effect was linked to his use of colour. Raith was a tetrachromat; he could see a host of hues in what, to most people, was a single shade. He painted for himself, though, not for fame or money—he had plenty of both, due to his skill with clay not brushes. Several of his wares were on show at the gallery, most tagged ‘sold’ with a price that would feed and clothe all four men for a long, long time. His sensually erotic sculptures, modelled on Mike and Phil, were always in demand and beautifully, lovingly executed. But today, Ross gave Raith’s erotica a miss. He stared, instead, at the waterfalls.

What might induce Raith to produce a piece of work “with intent to deceive”, as the legal phrase was?

That was what the worrying message had suggested. That Raith’s were the hands and eyes behind a painting that the police were interested in. They thought it was a fake. For the umpteenth time, Ross asked himself why?

Raith didn’t need fame and he didn’t need fortune, but did he need the challenge of outwitting the experts? Of copying another artist’s work so accurately that no one would notice the difference?

Surely not. Momentarily, Ross’s dark mood lifted. The only challenge Raith was likely to rise to was the one of finding ways to spice up the quad’s evening meals. Two nights ago, he’d ‘accidentally’ stumbled near the saucepan with a teaspoon of chilli flakes in his hand.

“Oh, look! They’ve fallen in,”he’d said apologetically.

Ross smiled when he thought about it, but anxiety soon returned. Could Raith be feeling resentment? Sometimes, that was the driving force behind a fraud. Failed artists whose work had been refused once too often. Failed artists who took I’ll show them!literally.

No. All Raith’s resentments were little ones that quickly blew over—feeling nagged for not doing his turn on the house-keeping rota, being yelled at for leaving clay-covered dirty washing on top of the pile of clean laundry. Raith took umbrage easily, but he’d be smiling again within the hour. And anyway, he wasn’t a failed artist. He was a very successful one.

He was a strange mixture though. That complexity was part of his attraction. It was part of what made him Raith. His skill was undeniable, but his mental health was fragile— ‘bloody unhinged’ was how Mike would describe Raith in less charitable moments. He could be unpredictable. He could be very violent. He had another side, though, and it was what Mike and Phil and Ross adored about him. Canny, clued up, an ex-con hard as nails… but at the toss of a coin, as loving, as sweet and as trusting as anyone they had ever met. Mike was as loving, and often as sweet, but trusting? No. Mike was ex-CID. It wasn’t in his nature to be trusting.

Which was why Mike was already making phone calls.

About the Author

I’m not Nick Seabrooke, the ace in the picture, but there are some firsthand truths peeping through the fiction. Like Nick, I’m ace and happy with it, but also, like Nick, I’m wavery on that ro/aro line–and that can cause some soul-searching. If the picture painted in the story is a very narrow one, it’s because I didn’t want to stray too far from what I know. The quad, however, are totally imaginary.

I blog at https://polyallsorts.wordpress.com. There are posts about asexuality, polyamory, beer, tattoos, book covers, and many other story-related items. There are photos of the Durham countryside, the setting of the stories, too. I’m always happy to receive and respond to comments. Well, if they’re friendly ones!

Author Link: Blog/Website

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Monday, 19 November 2018

Polyamory on Trial by Jude Tresswell - Book Blast

Book Title: Polyamory on Trial

Author: Jude Tresswell

Publisher: Self-published via Rowanvale Books

Cover Artist: Cerys Knighton

Release Date; August 31, 2018

Genre/s: M/M/M/M, crime and mystery

Heat Rating: 2 flames (Trigger Warning: references to rape)

Length: 63,000 words/ 236 pages

It can be read alone. A third story will be published early 2019 so it is part of a series.

Add on Goodreads

Blurb

A bittersweet story with two interwoven themes: a crime and mystery involving trafficking and a look at the workings of a polyamorous relationship.

A young Syrian needing treatment at Warbridge Hospital is seen by Phil Roberts, one quarter of a gay polyamorous quad living in north east England. The men in the doctor’s life are ex-cop, Mike Angells, gallery proprietor, Ross Whitmore and ceramist and artist, Raith Balan.

Phil is troubled. Is his patient in the UK legally? Who has caused his injuries? Is trafficking involved? As the foursome struggle to find out, hampered by the fact that Mike is no longer a detective, cracks begin to appear in their relationship. Can four men be equals? Is their lifestyle viable? Meanwhile, there are cracks of a different sort to deal with—and the job of doing so seems to fall exclusively on Mike’s broad shoulders.

Buy Links: Rowandale Books | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Available as paperback, ePub, Mobi and PDF from Rowanvale Books and all usual distributors.

Excerpt

(Mike is talking about honesty, which, together with openness, love and passion, guide the quad’s approach to life. His little ‘asides’ feature at the end of the chapters.)

You could say that there are the big honesties, and there are the little honesties as well. The little ones involve the practicalities of livin’ as a foursome. Four blokes together. Shoppin’ to get, meals to cook, washin’ to sort, the loo to clean, the garden to dig, the bills to pay... all the usual family practicalities. But in a poly, we’re equally in charge, equally responsible. Theoretically, that is. One of us seems to think that it’s beneath his dignity to use a mop and that cleanin’ the loo should be left to his minions. He cleans up after himself—I’d shove his bloody head down the toilet bowl if he didn’t—but the proper wash, the one with the detergent and the disinfectant? No way. So, sometimes, we just have to be very honest and tell him he’s a shiter, or rather, Ross and Phil tell him, and I try to look threatenin’. It’s hard, cos I often want to laugh. He comes up with such a load of bollocks for excuses! Then he sulks, or gets in a strop, because he feels we’re gettin’ at him, but we have to. It’s the thin end of the wedge otherwise. He’ll shirk everythin’ if we don’t get tough and lay down the law. That’s what I mean by the little honesties. If sumthin’s wrong, then we have to be upfront about it and say so, even if it causes bad feelin’ for a time.

But I think you probably meant the big honesties. Keepin’ secrets. That sort of thing. Obviously, by their very definition, I don’t know if the others are keepin’ secrets. And yes, I would keep sumthin’ secret if I thought that sharin’ it would place the other guys in danger. In fact, I have done that, and so has Ross. But, to me, that’s not dishonest. Personally, I would never tell the others a lie, a big lie, the kind that’d rock the boat. I might not tell the whole truth, but I would never tell an untruth, if that makes sense. I think our quad’d crumble if we weren’t honest with each other. If there isn’t trust... There has to be trust.

About the Author

I write about gay polyamorous men, but I’m a monogamous female. I’m also asexual. I have no problem imagining the lives of my four men, though, as long as there’s no me (or any other female) in the scene. The term for this dissociation is anegosexual, I think.

I have a lot of hobbies, which is just as well as I spend a lot of time with my imagination and I need to be metaphorically tied down to the real world. I dance, I sing, I play the guitar (the last two, badly), I love geology and I’m interested in languages, and, of course, I love to write.

Author Links: Blog/Website

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Wednesday, 14 February 2018

Between the Studs by Brigham Vaughn - Release Day Review

Length: 33,511 words (Novella)

Genre: MMF Poly Contemporary Romance

It will also be available on Barnes & Noble

Between the Studs on Goodreads:

Blurb

After a busy and successful year at her bakery, divorcée Aimee Lucas decides to splurge on a bathroom renovation. The owner of Lucas’s Fine Cakes and Pastries is tired of lackluster Valentine’s Days, so she’s looking forward to a solo celebration this year. Why bother with a mediocre date when she can relax in a tub with a glass of wine?

Joshua Ward and Matt Mitchell co-own a construction company, but there’s a bit more to their partnership than they let on. Although both men have caught the eye of many a homeowner, they never mix business with pleasure.

When Aimee hires J&M Construction to remodel her bathroom, she never expects to find a date. Much less two.

As the project continues, Aimee, Matt, and Josh find themselves drawn to one another. Matt and Josh are happy together, but they’re looking for a woman to be their third, and it quickly becomes clear Aimee might just be whom they’ve been searching for.

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, they all have decisions to make. Can Matt and Josh broach the subject without losing their customer? And will Aimee decide she just wants a fling with the hunky contractors, or is it time for her to take a leap of faith on something more?

Excerpt

Paula nodded knowingly when Aimee finished. “They’re totally into you! I definitely didn’t get any cozy chats with them over coffee or flirtatious banter.”

“Yeah, but both of them? I mean, are they just hedging their bets? Figuring I’ll choose one or the other?”

“Maybe.Maybe not though. They could just be into that.”

“Into what?” Aimee’s eyes got big as she realized what Paula meant. “Oh. You mean …?”

“Mmhmm.Maybe they like gettin’ it on together with a gorgeous woman.”

Threesomes. Well that wasn’t something Aimee had ever considered. Well, there had been the one time in college where she’d sort of ended up in bed with a couple, but she hadn’t been into the girl enough to go down on her and it had involved a lot of drunken fumbling. It had been sort of hot though, she mused.

But two guys? That was something altogether different. And this was no college experimentation. She was a grown adult for goodness sake. She owned a house and a business. She couldn’t really be thinking about it. Could she?

“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” Paula teased.

“No!” Aimee protested. But Paula’s arched eyebrow and the disbelief etched on her face prompted her to clarify. “I mean, yes, I’m thinking about what you suggested but not because I’m considering doing it.”

“Why not?”

Aimee sputtered. “Because that’s crazy! And so not me.”

“When was the last time you got laid?”

“Way too long ago,” Aimee admitted. “But come on, I can’t just answer the door tomorrow in lingerie and fuck me heels and say ‘hey boys, wanna fuck me?”

Review

Between the Studs is a wonderful read. It gave this reader exactly what she wanted from a poly romance.

For starters, we’re meeting three wonderful characters. The whole story is told from Aimee’s perspective, which makes sense because the whole poly idea is new and scary to her. But through her eyes we get to fully appreciate Josh and Matt; and boy is there a lot to appreciate. Not only are they, as the title implies, total studs, they are also funny, charming, thoughtful, considerate, and incredibly sexy.

I so enjoyed Aimee’s journey from just enjoying having the two men in her house while they worked on her new bathroom, to cautious flirting, through a few doubts, to a night of out-of-this-world and mind-blowing sex. And then, just when you think that Aimee has found her happiness, the novelty of it all combines with her personal insecurities and… Let’s just say I wanted to slap her at that point. Not because her feelings, doubts, and reasoning didn’t make sense, but because I couldn’t stand her potentially throwing away the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Of course, the fact that her initial decision upset me so much, only proves how invested in the story and the characters I’d become by that point in the story. And the process she has to go through to get over her insecurities and reach the point where she is willing to follow her heart, even if it does mean taking a leap of faith, is exactly what makes this novella so much more than an erotic short. Because while this novella certainly is incredibly sexy, it is also the story of one woman who had been left once too often, finding the courage to embrace life again. And while I can’t deny thoroughly enjoying the sexy times between Aimee, Josh, and Matt, it was the rest of the story that made this book unputdownable for me.

I have to warn you though; Aimee’s baking plays a star role in this story and I have to admit the descriptions of her creations had my mouth watering. This may be one of those books you shouldn’t read while hungry J

If you’re in the mood for a well written, charming, very sexy and delightful story this Valentine’s Day (or any other time of the year), I highly recommend Between the Studs.

Friday, 26 January 2018

Love Times Five by Lily G. Blunt - Release Blitz with Review

Title: Love Times Five

Author: Lily G. Blunt

Cover Art: Jay Aheer at Simply Defined Art

Release Date: January 19, 2018

Genre/s: paranormal, gay romance, contemporary, polyamory

Length: 77, 000 words

Add on Goodreads

Blurb

There’s safety in numbers and plenty of love to go around.

When Colin searches for his missing colleague and buddy in the hills of northern England, his life is changed forever. Not only does he find Shaun living in a cabin with the mysterious and undeniably gorgeous Zach, but he also discovers the reason Shaun went AWOL in the first place. Colin wants to draw his friend away to safety, but Zach soon mesmerises him, and he’s happy to stay in his company, for now.

Passing hikers, Wes and Dane, need some assistance, and the three men are willing to oblige. Thus begins a friendship that develops into much more.

The five men each have their own secrets. Some are shared, others are kept hidden. It’s only a matter of time before they are exposed and the consequences could change everything for them all.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords | PayHip

Review

Love Times Five turned out to be a most wonderful surprise. It was my first book in which five men come together in a relationship, so there was that. But it was also one of the first times I read a book in which the supernatural creatures and humans not only interact without any obvious issues, but also fall for each other without any need or expectation for the humans to also transform. I love books that manage to surprise me because they’re unlike anything I’ve ever read before and Love Times Five certainly was such a book.

The story starts slowly, although not with a fair amount of nail biting tension. But the slower pace is necessary. Since the book has five main characters, it is important that the reader gets introduced to each of them thoroughly first. As it was, I still felt I got to know Zach, Shaun, and Colin better than Wes and Dane, but I can’t say it lessened my reading enjoyment or left me with unanswered questions.

I loved that the author didn’t use the usual (and by this stage probably done to death) stereotypical representations of werewolves and vampires. Of course there were one or two ‘facts’ about these creatures that couldn’t be omitted, but overall, this felt like a fresh and therefore very interesting, approach.

While this is certainly a very sexy story, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the sexy-times, overwhelmed the story. Quite the opposite in fact. From the start of the story there’s an undercurrent of danger, and while the reader has a good idea what form the threat takes, the actual moment when it all came to a head still managed to shake me. I loved that.

If I’m sorry about anything, it is that the ending of the book left me with some questions relating to the future of this fivesome. Not that it made the book feel incomplete as a result; the characters haven’t figured it all out for themselves yet by then. But that’s the entire point, I would love to have discovered how they would eventually reconcile the differences between them … or not. Maybe there’s a sequel to look forward to?

Overall this is a wonderful read for anyone who enjoys sexy men, the supernatural, the paranormal, and a romantic read with an edge of danger.

Read Excerpt #1 HERE

Excerpt #2 from Chapter 1

Colin yelped and stumbled back. The penknife fell from his grip as he connected with the solid ground and landed on his arse.

“What the fuck?” Colin gaped at the wild beast in front of him, not five feet away, and apparently protecting Zach, who stroked the wolf’s back as if he were petting a huge dog.

Colin blinked, hoping to clear his vision. Had he knocked his head? Was he dreaming? Had he been drugged too?

The wolf sniffed the air and pawed the grass, its tongue now lolling to the side of its mouth. Teeth, sharp and white and scary, distracted Colin from the animal’s other features. The scent of damp fur and woodland soil filled his nostrils, and warm panting breath ghosted over his face.

The wolf was real enough. No vision. No dream.

“What the fuck?” Colin said, keeping his eyes fixed on the animal as it slunk away to the trees. His heart pounded and his mind was a whirl of confused thoughts. He tried to swallow around a thick lump in his parched throat. “What the fuck just happened?”

Zach said nothing but offered a hand to Colin, which after a few seconds pause, Colin grasped. Between the two of them, they easily hauled his bulky frame to standing. He scanned the grass for his knife, relief racing in his veins when he spotted it nestled among two nearby clumps of greenery.

Colin glanced away from the knife in the direction the wolf had headed. Could it really be Shaun? “I don’t understand.”

“Of course, you don’t.” Zach’s mouth curved into a warm, genuine smile. His eyes glimmered, and some of the tension lifted from Colin’s shoulders. “You must be Colin. Shaun’s sexy boss. He’s told me all about you.”

“What?” Colin’s pulse still pounded, and confusion turned his thoughts to sludge, but his heart fluttered at the hope those words kindled. What the hell was happening? What was this arsehole saying? Shaun had never tried anything on with Colin, not even when they’d been drunk. And had Shaun really… turned into a… what the actual fuck?

“You didn’t think he was interested in you?” Zach arched an eyebrow, and his eyes sparkled. Again.

Before Colin could commit himself to an answer or ask any questions about the precarious state of his sanity, there was movement to his side.

Shaun stood naked, his hands cupped over his groin, a little unsteady on his feet. “Chuck us your T-shirt, Zach,” he rasped, not making eye contact with Colin, his cheeks scarlet.

Without hesitation, Zach shed his top and threw it at Shaun, leaving his own fine torso on display. Smooth, defined, firm—perfect. No wonder Shaun had hooked up with him. Colin wouldn’t stand a chance with this guy in the picture, even if Shaun had liked him once upon a time.

Why was he even thinking about such things right now? He’d just seen Shaun turn into a wolf, and now he was back again as himself. And shortly before that, this ridiculously handsome man had been sucking on his neck and was now acting as if he knew things about Shaun that Colin didn’t even know. Was he losing his mind?

Colin dragged his gaze back to Shaun, his chest and nakedness now hidden from view by the oversized T-shirt. He staggered closer to Colin, his legs unsteady as if he were drunk. Shaun collapsed into Colin’s arms, maybe a deliberate move rather than an uncontrolled stumble. As much as Colin wanted to hug him to his chest, he needed answers. Anger bubbled to the surface and exploded. Colin gripped Shaun by his biceps and held him back at arm’s-length.

“What the fuck is going on? What did I just see?” It took all of Colin’s willpower not to shake the answer out of Shaun. “And what’s this fucking guy been doing to you?”

Shaun trembled beneath his touch, and his voice was hoarse and uneven, not its usual sweet timbre. “It’s okay, Col. I promise you, I’m okay now.” He placed his palm on Colin’s shoulder. “I know it’s a lot for you to take in all at once. I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to explain before.”

His words didn’t tell Colin anything. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were leaving and where you were going? I’d have listened… and helped you.” What the fuck could Colin have done to help if Shaun was a—?

Zach cleared his throat, distracting them both. He moved closer, running his long fingers down those taut abs of his until they came to rest on the waistband of his perfectly clinging jeans.

Shaun gazed at Zach, over his body, the renewed flush of arousal evident in his eyes. Colin’s heart sank but gave a hopeful flip when Shaun looked back at him with that same darkened expression. “Hey, how about we go inside? I can get dressed, and then explain what’s been going on with me.”

For a moment, Colin feared he might be overpowered or drugged or something like that once they got him inside the cabin, perhaps in the same way Shaun might have been. He eyed his knife lying on the ground, tempted to bend down and scoop it up for some protection.

Zach chuckled, and in a smooth yet swift motion slid past Colin. “I think you dropped this.” His mouth nestled close to Colin’s ear, his voice deep, his breath cool. A curl of interest coiled its way around Colin’s groin at the closeness of the man. Zach gripped Colin’s hand, turning his palm face-up, and placed the missing knife softly against his skin.

Colin couldn’t help but let out a gasp. He hadn’t witnessed the knife being retrieved from the ground. Whoever this man was, he was fast. He would probably dodge any knife or fist that Colin hurled his way. No way was Colin walking from this meadow without finding out who this man was. He pocketed the knife, despite his doubts about its usefulness now.

Zach glided away, entwined his fingers around Shaun’s hand, and pulled him towards the cabin. With an encouraging look over his shoulder, Shaun waved his free hand behind him. “Come on. We need to talk.”

Colin really had no choice, so he followed them. He needed to find out what had happened to Shaun and what the hell was going on between him and Zach.

About the Author

Lily G. Blunt enjoys writing contemporary gay romance and paranormal stories. She loves to explore the relationship between two or more men and the intensity of their physical and emotional attraction. Angst often features in her stories as she feels this demonstrates the depth of feelings between them. Lily is often inspired by the lyrics to songs and is forever writing imaginary scenes and plots in her head. Only a few of these ever make their way to the page.

Lily reviews for several blogs and has recently launched Gay Book Promotions, an online book promotion service for authors of LGBT+ romance and fiction. She loves to hear from readers and other authors.

Contact and Social Media Information