Fire and Ice by: Andrew Grey w/ Guest Post

Title: Fire and Ice

Author: Andrew Grey

Series: Carlisle Cops (Book 2)

Genre:  M/M Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Release Date: May 2015

Edition/Formats Available In: eBook & Print

Blurb/Synopsis:

Carter Schunk is a dedicated police officer with a difficult past and a big heart.  When he’s called to a domestic disturbance, he finds a fatally injured woman, and a child, Alex, who is in desperate need of care. Child Services is called, and the last man on earth Carter wants to see walks through the door. Carter had a fling with Donald a year ago and found him as cold as ice since it ended. 

Donald (Ice) Ickle has had a hard life he shares with no one, and he’s closed his heart to all. It’s partly to keep himself from getting hurt and partly the way he deals with a job he’s good at, because he does what needs to be done without getting emotionally involved.  When he meets Carter again, he maintains his usual distance, but Carter gets under his skin, and against his better judgment, Donald lets Carter guilt him into taking Alex when there isn’t other foster care available. Carter even offers to help care for the boy. 

Donald has a past he doesn’t want to discuss with anyone, least of all Carter, who has his own past he’d just as soon keep to himself. But it’s Alex’s secrets that could either pull them together or rip them apart—secrets the boy isn’t able to tell them and yet could be the key to happiness for all of them.

“It’s okay,” Carter soothed. He parked the car and hurried around, opened the door, and unhooked Alex from the seat belt. Then he pulled him out of the car and into his arms. He was shaking like a leaf. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Alex looked up at the building and shook in Carter’s arms. A car pulled in behind them, and Donald got out and strode over to where they were standing. “He’s mean,” Alex whispered as Donald stepped closer to them.

“No, he’s not. He’s just—” Carter smiled. “—grumpy.” He tickled Alex slightly, and Alex giggled and wrapped his arms around Carter’s neck.

“I’m professional, not grumpy,” Donald said and walked toward the front door of the hospital.

Carter followed along behind. “He is grumpy,” he said to Alex and walked inside.

Donald was already at the desk, and after a few minutes, he returned and motioned them to the chairs. “We need to wait, but it shouldn’t be long. I used your name as well.”

Carter looked at the woman behind the desk, and she smiled brightly at him. He sighed and sat down. Alex stayed on his lap, and Donald sat next to him. They didn’t talk, but every few minutes Donald shifted nervously. Carter kept his attention on Alex, but every few minutes he couldn’t help taking a peek at Donald in his suit and tie, all buttoned up.

Carter knew the exquisite body that lay hidden under those clothes. He and Donald had… well, they’d had a fling, a one-night stand that had ended up stretching out over an entire weekend a year earlier. It had been hot, sweaty, and Carter had thought well worth repeating as many times as possible, but obviously Icicle hadn’t. As soon as the weekend was over, Carter realized just why everyone referred to him as Ice, because Carter didn’t just get the cold shoulder; he’d had his nuts frozen off completely.

“You can go on through,” a nurse said when she came out to get them. Carter stood and followed her, still carrying Alex.

“I can take him. There’s no need for you to spend your entire evening here with him,” Donald said and carefully reached for Alex. He didn’t try to bite him again, but he most definitely was not happy, and after a few moments, he simply began to cry. Not whimpers, but out and out wailing, with tears of desperation.

“It’s all right. I’ll stay with him. Maybe he’ll calm down.” Alex practically jumped away from Donald and back into Carter’s arms. That seemed to settle things, and they walked together to an examining room.

Carter laid Alex on the bed and hoped he’d stay there. Thankfully it seemed comfortable enough, and Alex stayed still. Carter found the switch and dimmed the lights. Alex yawned, and Carter held his hand. Eventually the little guy fell asleep. “I have no idea how long he’s been awake.”

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At First Blush by: Jeanie Grey w/ Interview

Title: At First Blush

Author: Jeanie Grey

Series: Nick & Serran Series (Book 1)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Self Published

Release Date: May 8 2015

Edition/Formats: eBook (May) & Print (June/July)

Blurb/Synopsis:

“There was no such thing as a soulmate. As for the intense connection…well, it must have been her imagination. There was no man who would instinctively understand her, no man who could read her mind. No man who could turn her on with just a look or a word, no man whose touch would override her reason and turn her into the embodiment of passion. And the sooner she let go of that fantasy completely, the sooner she could approach romantic relationships with a clear head and appreciate what she had instead of pining over everything she imagined she was missing.” 

SERRAN WINTERS is determined to let the fantasy of Nick Enfield go. So why does she find herself asking him to dinner while on tour with her latest romance novel? Perhaps it's because she feels safe in disguise as her pseudonym, Jane Garfield. Besides, it's only a couple of hours...until a hurricane leaves her stranded at his house for three days. 

Despite NICK ENFIELD’s deep hurt and growing bitterness since his divorce, something about the romance author entrances him from the first moment he sees her. But when he discovers she’s married, he’s determined to resist the intense attraction between them in spite of her mixed signals. If only his body’s reaction to her weren’t making it so hard to keep her marital status in mind. 

At First Blush is a story about fantasy versus reality in love and romance, the nature of attraction and connection, and the reasons we choose to fight or follow our impulses.

She’d been right all along; she should never have allowed him to touch her. This went beyond imagination. Beyond fantasy. Beyond anything she’d dreamed possible.

She’d kissed plenty of men in her adult life. Even a couple of women. It was usually a pleasurable experience, sometimes even arousing. But she’d had no idea that a mere kiss could set her whole body on fire and blow all coherent thought from her mind like leaves scattering before a strong wind. She’d never imagined that she had hidden within her an animalistic desire like the one that urged her to grasp his hair or grind her hips. She felt like she was floating and yet her body was heavy with desire too.

 How was she supposed to come back from this? How could she ever bear another man’s kiss, knowing that this…this magic was possible? She was spoiled for life.

But then he pulled back for a moment. “Jane,” he said, and it snapped her out of it immediately. She stiffened in his arms and tried to step away, but he held her firmly against him. His solid chest against her yielding one, the heat in his eyes, and the intense awareness of how perfectly their bodies fit together threatened to steal her thoughts away again, and the self-preserving part of her clawed at her to get out now while she still held onto a thread of her sanity.

“Please,” she said, her voice a whisper of desperation. “Please let me go.”

For a moment she thought he wouldn’t. But then he relaxed his arms a fraction, and the expression in his eyes changed. She sensed how hard it was for him to make his fingers unclench from around her waist and take half a step back. As soon as he did, she felt colder and had to resist the urge to follow him, to press her body against him and lose herself in his kiss once more.

Clenching her hands at her sides, Serran managed, “I— I need to go. Now. I need to go back to the hotel.”

Nick’s gaze was burning into her, but then her words seemed to register and his expression changed to one of surprise. “What? But…you can’t go.” His voice was soft, persuasive. He said it as though it were a fact rather than his wish.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, steeling herself against his charm. “No, I have to go. I can’t stay here with you. Please understand—”

“No, I mean you can’t go,” he said, and something in his tone made her pause.

She opened her eyes and looked straight at him.

“Listen,” he said.

She waited for him to go on, but he didn’t. Then she realized he meant listen as in, she was supposed to be listening for some other sound.

That’s when she heard the wind howling around the front porch of the house and realized it was raining hard. She turned her head to look out the window, but it was too dark outside to see.

“Because it’s raining?” she said, her brow furrowing now.

“It’s not just rain, it’s a hurricane.”

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Thunderlight by: Adrienne Woods w/ Interview

Title: Thunderlight

Author: Adrienne Woods

Series:  The Dragonian Series (#2)

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher:  Fire Quill Publishing

Release Date: Nov 24 2014

Editions/Formats: eBook & Print

Blurb/Synopsis:

Vibrant, scale swathed wings… Abilities that can be harnessed by a chosen few… Dragons…

All this may seem like old news, but for seventeen year-old Elena Watkins the world of Paegeia is not finished revealing all its secrets. During a summer break intended for relaxation, she discovers that her harrowing adventure to retrieve the King of Lion sword wasn’t the destiny foretold by the cryptic Viden, a dragon with the ability to see a person’s true fate. The words inked onto the page of the mysterious Book of Shadows remains black and Elena must return to Dragonia Academy to discover their true meaning.  

Upon her return to the magnificent castle she has to face a challenge of a different kind, keeping her boyfriend Lucian McKenzie, the Prince of Tith and love of her life, away from the dangerous new student, Paul Sutton. As a Wyvern, Paul has made it his mission to claim Elena as his rider but he is proving to be more perilous than at first glance.  

Everyone knew that Wyverns were bad news, and just as evil as the darkness that lurked inside Blake Leaf, the Rubicon forced to fight against his inner nature every day. But Elena can see a small light lurking in the darkness, a destiny still unfulfilled; to prove that Wyverns can be claimed. 

Will Lucian’s dark secret about Wyverns and Elena’s need to prove their true nature cause their love to be torn apart? And which of Elena’s friends will be sacrificed this time if she is wrong?

  As we continued to look for the jerseys and get ready Isabel came up to give us a five minute warning. Blake had vanished around five, simply saying that he would meet us there. Sir Robert had given him his ticket before he disappeared so he would be able to find us.

  Ever since that night at camp when he got wasted and he put me under some sort of hypnotizing spell which almost made us kiss, which was seriously ridiculous as he despised me, he’d been acting like his old self; arrogant and a total dick. Something about Blake being wasted and for some reason always wanting me, was really freaking me out…but it also made me wonder about a lot of things he was hiding and maybe that those things only came out when he was truly drunk.

  I shook my head and the thoughts of Blake washed away as I grabbed my bag and followed Sammy to Sir Robert’s old Sedan.

  The drive wasn’t that long and I gasped when Sir Robert pulled into the parking area in front of a giant mountain. There were at least a million cars already parked in neat rows and the noise coming from inside the mountain told me that it must be the location where the Warbel games took place.

  Crowds of people wearing different colored jerseys, caps and scarves huddled around. Some even carried flags and I saw a yellow flag with a huge hornet on top of what looked like a raider.

  Raiders were flying objects that made me think of an enhanced skateboard.

  Everywhere in Paegeia’s parks, and ports, people flew on them. You needed a special license for one and I tried so hard to suppress my laughter when Becky told me that her next try would be her fiftieth or so to get hers. Becky wasn’t one of the safest drivers out there. I still wondered every time I was her passenger if the inspector that gave hers hadn’t been smoking weed or something.

  We climbed out of the car and a feeling of excitement rose inside my chest as I followed the Leafs into the opening at the bottom of the mountain. It was dark as the only light came from tiny globes mounted in the wall. It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the soft glow of the lights as we piled into another tunnel.

  People pushed and shoved us as we tried to make our way to our seats. The pace we moved was reasonable for such a big crowd, but it was still too dark and too cramped up for my liking. We finally stopped when the people in front of us didn’t move. I hated every second we had to wait for whatever held up the crowd to pass. I was feeling jumpy and took huge breaths as the heaviness on my chest came back, mixed with a shot of adrenaline.

  “Are you okay?” Sammy asked softly and I realized that I was squeezing her hand really tightly in my own.

  “Sorry, just crowded. What’s happening at the front?”

  “It’s normal, we are close to the check-in point.”

  I flinched as a huge horn blew right behind me. It echoed off the wall and sounded like an archangel announcing doomsday.

  The crowd barely moved now, and I felt like punching the guy when he blew on it a second and third time. The other people thought it was funny, and I wished that I felt the same spirit inside of me, but this dark passageway seriously was starting to creep me out.

  After a few minutes, I could finally see the outline of what looked like five cubicles and people moving into rows. We took the one closest to us and waited until it was time to present our tickets. Ours had blue dots on them and I still had no idea what I was going to find myself at tonight.

  It took a couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust as we entered toward a lighter room. Six black elevators, three on a side opposite one another, made my heart jump a bit faster.

  In Paegeia, an elevator wasn’t just an elevator. It was how the people of Paegeia traveled around the world, if you were a dragon, and inside Paegeia, if you were human. I hadn’t experienced it myself and had only seen them once inside their funny looking tubes when we went to fetch George at the Wall when he’d come back from the other side. 

  “Are these the same elevators they have at the Wall?” I spoke softly.

  She laughed at the small shake in my voice. “No, Elena. They are normal elevators.”

  People surged forward again as they maximized the elevator’s weight limit and I saw Sir Robert pushing the blue button. He wore a black t-shirt with a pair of jeans and a baseball cap. Wrapped around his neck was a green and black stripped scarf.

  Sir Robert Leaf was Sammy and Blake’s father and, The Greatest King That Ever Lived, King Albert’s dragon. He looked nothing like the figure inside the museum of Etan, and he was nothing like I’d imagined. He was kind, always friendly and no matter how much Blake pissed him off, he would give me a soft look and a friendly smile. It was hard to imagine that he was Chromatic, a Night Villain, and one of the vilest dragons that roamed this world. The people of Paegeia didn’t address him as Sir Robert anymore. Some of them even thought that he’d had something to do with betraying the King, but I knew better. He missed his Rider every single day; he missed his Dragonian.

  His wife, Isabel, stood next to him with her arm wrapped in his. She wore a parka with a green and black striped beanie. A huge smile, along with pure excitement, was written all over her face. She was the spitting image of her sister. She had a twin sister who I was very familiar with. The first time I saw her I’d thought for a second that Constance, the doctor at the Infirmary was Sammy and Blake’s mom.

  Sammy had doubled over with laughter when she saw the expression on my face when I first met Isabel. She was a Swallow Annex just like Constance and I was sure if you put them together, you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart just by looking at them. She was also just as kind as her twin and made me feel at home the first moment I stepped inside their house.

  The elevator screamed as we ascended into the peak of the mountain. It felt like forever and a million things that could go wrong filled my head. The door finally opened and we all had to get out so that a couple at the back could exit.

  When the door opened for about the fifth time, we spilled out.

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Day and Knight by: Dirk Greyson w/ Interview

Title: Day and Knight

Author: Dirk Greyson

Series: Day and Knight (Book 1)

Genre: M/M, Contemporary, Adventure

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Release Date: May 4 2015

Edition/Formats: eBook & Print

Blurb/Synopsis:

As former NSA, Dayton (Day) Ingram has national security chops and now works as a technical analyst for Scorpion. He longs for field work, and scuttling an attack gives his chance. He’s smart, multilingual, and a technological wizard. But his opportunity comes with a hitch—a partner, Knighton (Knight), who is a real mystery. Despite countless hours of research, Day can find nothing on the agent, including his first name!

Former Marine Knight crawled into a bottle after losing his family. After drying out, he’s offered one last chance: along with Day, stop a terrorist threat from the Yucatan. To get there without drawing suspicion, Day and Knight board a gay cruise, where the deeply closeted Day and equally closeted Knight must pose as a couple. Tensions run high as Knight communicates very little and Day bristles at Knight’s heavy-handed need for control.

But after drinking too much, Day and Knight wake up in bed. Together. As they near their destination, they must learn to trust and rely on each other to infiltrate the terrorist camp and neutralize the plot aimed at the US’s technological infrastructure, if they hope to have a life after the mission.  One that might include each other.

“Look. If last night was some huge drunken mistake for you, then fine. I can deal with that. But I don’t think we do things when we’re drunk that we wouldn’t do when we’re sober. The alcohol lowers our inhibitions so we end up doing what we really want to do. So deny away and hide behind some façade that you were drunk and all that, if you want.”

“I didn’t say that. God. You jump to the worst conclusions, and for the record, you can stop trying to analyze me. I’ve had a ton of people do that over the last few years, and they got nowhere, so what makes you think you’ll get any farther than the professionals? If you want to know something, then ask, and if I don’t want to answer, I’ll tell you to fuck off.”

“Okay. Are you gay?” Day asked.

“Fuck off,” Knight answered.

“Why were all kinds of professionals trying to analyze you?”

“Fuck off. Are you gay?”

“Fuck off.” Two could play that game.

“Okay. I think we’ve gotten the picture that neither of us wants to talk about all this shit.”

“We sure as hell don’t. But one thing we can both agree on is that after last night, whatever we want to call ourselves, there’s something about each of us that we both need to figure the hell out.”

“Fuck off and amen,” Knight answered and closed his eyes. “This fucking conversation is making my head hurt.”

“No. I think the fucking conversation actually happened last night, and if I’m remembering correctly, there wasn’t a lot of actual conversation going on.” Day shifted slightly. “Regardless of what we feel and how uncomfortable we are, we do need to talk this out.”

“Fine,” Knight breathed. “But not when we’re hungover.” He put his arm over his eyes, refusing to look at anything. “We need to be sober for that. So lie down and help me keep the damned room from spinning for a while, and then we can leave this cabin so maybe I can jump over one of the railings, because I think I’m going to die and that will make the whole damn thing a hell of a lot less painful.”

Day smacked his arm. “Fuck off,” he said with surprising gentleness, and then he settled and the room grew quiet.

It took a while, but the room stopped moving, except for the rocking of the ship that he couldn’t do anything about, and slowly he felt more and more human. Eventually he got up and went into the bathroom for some more water and decided that taking a shower might make him feel better.

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Double Trouble Luv by: L.M. Preston w/ Interview

Title: Thundering LUV      

Author: L.M. Preston

Series: Summer LUV Series (#3)

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Phenomenal One Press

Release Date: May 7 2013

Edition/Formats Available In:  Ebook Only

Blurb/Synopsis:

Sorina’s life has gone downhill. Helping her family regain all they’d lost weighed heavy on her mind. However, when her mother sacrificed their rent money for a ticket to an Amusement Park, Sorina felt things were changing. And it only got better. That day she’d met Tristan, who’d asked her for one small favor, one that would change her life forever.

Double Trouble Luv is a book 3 Stand Alone in the Summer Luv Series that includes:

Flutter of LUV and Thundering LUV.

“I’m,” cough, “ok-ay now.” Several more coughs escaped as I held up my hand in surrender.

He started rubbing my back. Oh my God. I actually shivered. I don’t think I’ve ever been close up to any guy who looked this good, much less touched by one. My coughing stopped, but yeah, I faked a few more just because I didn’t want him to stop rubbing me.

“I’m sorry I caused your coughing fit. I shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that.”

I swallowed and released the breath I’d been holding. “Not a problem. I’m alright now,” I squeaked. No, please tell me, I didn’t just make that sound.

“You really okay?”                      

“Yes.” And I was staring again. He had to have the longest lashes I’d ever seen on a guy. His hair was that messy kind of wavy. It fell just so to the side just above his eyes. My fingers itched to touch it. His lips slim on the top and full on the bottom made me bite back the crazy notion to kiss him.

Then the side of his mouth kicked up in a smirk. “Can I ask you a big favor?”

“Anything.” Did that breathy answer just come through my mouth? Get a grip, Sorina. He is so out of your league.

“Are you sure about that? That’s giving a guy way too much to think about you know.” He laughed.

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Redemption by: Viki Lynn & Vina Grey w/ Interview & Giveaway

Title: Redemption

Author/Authors: Viki Lyn & Vina Grey

Series: Deliverance Series (Book 1)

Genre: M/M Fantasy

Publisher: ViVi {Self Published}

Release Date: April 2015

Edition/Formats: Digital (Kindle Only)

Blurb/Synopsis:

Thou shall not kill.

Archangel Raziel had no choice. He would break the Infinite’s commandment again to save his lover, Uriel, from a demon’s talons. Yet even the Infinite’s most trusted archangel cannot avoid punishment. Forced to go through the Cleansing, Raziel loses his memories and is renamed Izar, a Protector sworn to kill for the angels.

Years later, Izar is summoned to work alongside Uriel to capture a killer. Izar is shocked when his bloodlust spikes hot for the archangel. But a relationship between Protectors and angels is forbidden. As they rush to find the killer, their passion plays into the demon’s plan. Izar will have to choose between life and death if he is to save Uriel again.

His eyes widened, and he stepped back as the blond angel turned to him. Oh the Infinite almighty…his cock leaped, spreading a shockwave throughout his lower half.

Golden waves of hair and milky skin, a white robe draped seductively around a tall, slender body, eyes bluer than any sky Izar had ever witnessed. The sight of the archangel caused a loss of equilibrium.

The archangel’s perfect brows lifted slightly at Izar’s feeble attempt to appear in control. Oddly, the angel seemed familiar, but they had never spoken or been in the same room together. Izar would have remembered that face. He’d seen the prince of the Cherubim from a distance, but never this close, this personal, this…distracting.

The quicksilver lust on seeing this vision shocked him. He wasn’t attracted to forbidden fruit. He didn’t need the trouble. He was a practical man, especially when it came to where he put his dick. Protectors were forbidden to lay with angels, except for the Sanctuary’s healers.

Turning away from the seductive vision, he drew in a breath. He should have attended the Sanctuary for relief before coming here. His physical reaction to this archangel confirmed the danger of waiting too long to eradicate his sexual lust. He’d already pushed his limits, and if he didn’t get to the temple, he’d fall ill, or worse, lose control of his actions.

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Desires' Guardian by: Tempeste O'Riley w/ Guest Post

Title: Desires’ Guardian  

Author: Tempeste O’Riley

Series:  Desires Entwined, #2

Genre: M/M Erotic Romance, with lite BDSM/Kink

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Release Date: June 6 2014

Edition/Formats Available In: eBook, Print

Blurb/Synopsis:

 Most people see Chase Manning as the party-boy twink he seems on the surface. Only James, Chase’s BFF, knows the depth of his loyalty and the extent of the wounds Chase carries inside. When Chase meets Rhys Sayer things don’t go well, but he can’t shake his attraction to the huge, sexy man.

Rhys is a man of contradictions and fear—a strange combination for a PI and bodyguard. He’s in a bad place emotionally when he sets eyes on Chase for the first time. When Chase puts the moves on him, Rhys insults him, thwarting any possibility of a relationship. Rhys doesn’t see himself as a complicated man, but he dreads the very kind of connection he desires.

Just as they’re trying to overcome their uncertainties, Chase is put in harm’s way. Luckily Rhys and their friends have all the right talents to help Rhys save the man of his dreams.

“Rules?” Rhys asked, and then laughed. When Chase merely nodded, he sobered and leaned forward. “You’re serious?”

With another nod, he began his short list. “My name or a pet name if you prefer, but no previous lover’s name. Ever. Punctuality is a must. If you can’t make it, let me know. Oh, and I don’t share.”

“Anything else?” Rhys asked, the look on his face a cross between amusement and confusion.

Chase thought about it for a moment. Was there? “Nope,” he said and smiled. “You?”

Rhys shook his head. “I’ve never had anyone give me rules before.”

Chase’s cell rang, drawing his attention. He held up one finger, pulled it out, and checked the screen. James? Clicking the accept button, he answered, “Hey, hun? Aren’t you and stud-boy supposed to be in bed, not coming up for air for the next week or something? What’s up?”

“I’ve got a five-minute reprieve,” James quipped, his voice bubbly and happy as Chase hadn’t heard it before. “But I had to call you to let you know our news!”

“It’s Sunday. What possible news could you have?” Did neither man know what a honeymoon was for?

“Yeah, well, we only just got the news that Danni’s grandparents dropped the custody suit. Finally. Seth is over the moon happy, as am I.”

The rustling of cloth and murmuring in the background distracted Chase for a moment, but then what Jamie said sank in. “Wait, dropped as in no more courts, social services, et cetera?”

“Yep! Can’t believe it. It’s been so long we’ve been fighting to keep our little girl, and now they decided to drop the suit.” James’s voice dropped to a whisper as he continued. “Wish I could adopt her, but Wisconsin won’t allow gay second-parent adoptions.”

“I know, but this is great news. When you get back, we’ll all have to go out to celebrate!”

Someone tapped Chase on the shoulder, startling him out of the conversation. He blinked and looked up to see Rhys leaning over the table. “What’s going on? What was dropped?”

“Hold on, Jamie,” he said. “The custody battle for Danni, that’s what. Isn’t that great?”

Rhys jumped out of his seat so fast, Chase lost track for a moment. He scooped Chase up in his arms and swung him around. “Yes! That’s wonderful.”

“You wanna put me down now?” he asked, thrilled for James, Seth, and Danni. He was secretly pleased at how easily Rhys could pick him up, even if the coffee shop wasn’t the best place for such actions.

“Oh, sorry.” Rhys set him on his feet before returning to his seat, grinning the whole way. His cell was out before he managed to get butt to chair.

“Is that Rhys?” James asked.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “We grabbed coffee and a snack and were talking when you called. He’s telling Dal and who knows who else.”

“Great! We’ll call a few more people, but I really want to focus on my husband.” James laughed, then sighed. “Still can’t believe he’s really my husband.”

“I know, but he is, and I’m so freaking happy for you. Now, go sex your man, or let him sex you. However that works for you two, and enjoy your time away. You deserve to be happy.”

“So do you, Chase,” James countered.

“I am,” he snapped. He took a breath, annoyed with his outburst.

“Chase? What’s wrong? I thought things were good with you and Rhys.”

“They are. Forget I said that?”

James laughed loudly. “Just promise to be careful and talk to him. I still don’t know what set you off last time, but I really do think he’d be good for you. And you for him.”

“I know, and I’ll try. Now, shoo. Go do sexy things while we finish our rules listings and I get more caffeine.”

“Yes, dear, go give your obligatory prayers to the Goddess Caffeina. Love you.”

“Love you too,” he replied, then clicked “end.” Chase waited while Rhys finished his call, then grinned.

“Looks like today is a good day for the future, huh?” Rhys gave him a meaningful look, which Chase failed to ignore, making him squirm in his seat.

“Seems so. Now, did you have any rules to add?”

“Don’t think so.” He looked down at Chase’s empty cup and bare napkin. “You ’bout done?”

“Yeah. Scared you off already?” My rules shouldn’t bother him.

The deep, rumbling laugh soothed his suddenly tight nerves. “No, sweetheart. I thought we could go for a ride together. I know you rode your bike,” he continued, gesturing to the helmet on the seat beside him.

“Yeah, guess I did. Wait, you want to ride with me? On my bike?”

Rhys nodded and grinned. “It’s not as nice as my Softail, but it’s still a sweet bike. So yeah, why not?”

“Just surprised me. No need to get feisty.”

Rhys tended to their trash, and in moments they headed out the door and toward Chase’s metallic blue Sabre.

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