Missing, But Not Dead by Christiane France

(Part of the Amethyst Cove Mysteries series)

When Greg Stewartson, ex-cop, private investigator, and half-owner of Amethyst Cove Security & Investigations, meets Ash Tyler, a handsome and very sexy nurse, their mutual attraction turns Greg’s world upside down. Greg would love to just concentrate on their budding romance, but he also wants to help Ash find his biological family—the one Ash says he had before he was taken into care, adopted and moved from California to Michigan more than twenty years ago.

As Greg begins investigating, he also starts to wonder, if the missing persons were Ash’s real family, what made them vanish almost as effectively as if they’d never existed in the first place?

Genres: Gay/Contemporary/Mystery/Detective/Series

Heat Level: 2
Length: Novella (19k words) 

Read a short excerpt...

...Ash took off his shoes, tucked them in his pockets, and rolled up the bottoms of his pants. I followed suit with mine and then wriggled my toes in the wet sand. Walking barefoot on the beach definitely counted as one of life’s small pleasures.

“This is one of the things I missed most when I lived in Detroit,” Ash said with a sigh. “Strolling along the beach at night and trying to imagine what lies beyond the horizon. When I was small I liked to imagine there were islands out there where the sea creatures spent their evenings having fun and socializing with their friends. Didn’t you have imaginary friends when you were a kid?”

“I had enough with two brothers and a sister.”

“You were lucky.”

“I guess.” There were times I could cheerfully have drowned all three, but I’d had a great childhood. Kids needed playmates and I could understand an only child like Ash using his imagination to create what nature had denied him. “What about real friends?”

“I had a few before Jack took sick, and we kept in touch for a while after I went to live with the Tylers. But you know how it goes.”

“Life moves on.”

“Sure does. Things happen. People change. I tried to find some of them the first time I came back. One of them was in prison on a charge of attempted murder, and another had joined the military and was somewhere overseas. My best friend back then lived in the apartment next door, so I went over and talked to this guy who told me he was the super. He said if my friend and his family ever lived there he knew nothing about it. The units were rented out on a monthly basis for cash only, and he’d never known any of the tenants to leave a forwarding address when they vacated. I then asked if records were kept of former tenants, and he said there was no point. The information they gave was mostly fiction, so the no lease, no check policy worked fine for all concerned. After that I gave up.”

We’d reached the giant pile of rocks marking the southern end of the beach. Over time, the rocks had settled into a haphazard collection of nooks and crannies. I found a spot that had room for two and was high enough we wouldn’t get wet if we’d misjudged the time of the next incoming tide. I beckoned for Ash to follow. The rocks were still warm from the sun and I could hear soft music playing somewhere nearby. I leaned back and closed my eyes. “This feels like heaven.”

Ash sat beside me and placed a hand on my stomach, then he leaned over and kissed me gently on the lips. “And how’s this?”

“Fantastic.” Between the music and the murmur of voices I knew there were other people enjoying the night the same way we were. This was what passed for Lovers Lane here in the Cove. It was where the kids came, along with anyone else who was concerned with keeping their private affairs private. And if there were those who wanted to play peeping Tom, too bad. It was now too dark for them to see much if anything. I cupped Ash’s face in my hands and deepened the kiss.

He moved his hand lower, and, as he touched my shaft, I felt it swell and lengthen. I pulled back a little and sighed with pleasure. “That feels amazing. Just don’t stop.”

He unsnapped my jeans and lowered the zipper. I eased my legs apart to give him access, but his cold hand came as a surprise and I tensed.

“Relax, babe.”

I sucked in a breath. “Your hand is like ice.”

“That’s okay. It adds a little extra thrill.”

“You think?” Actually it did. His cool fingers on my hot flesh felt a tad kinky, and I decided I liked the feeling. Then his mouth replaced his hand and it took every bit of my self-control not to lose it then and there...