A Game of Hearts by Deirdre O'Dare

Acclaimed photographer DeVore Weyrick lost the love of his life ten years ago, and when it came to his lovelife, became a recluse. Now, at one of the few social functions he steels himself to attend, he meets an amazing young man and suddenly begins to wonder whether he can find new life and new love. The game of hearts is always risky, but what if a part of your first love now lives within another man’s body?

Tim Hardesty was a preemie and always frail. As a teenager, an organ transplant was the only thing that could save him. Now grown to manhood, he is still struggling to break away from family ties and find a purpose for his life. It’s a thrill to meet the charismatic DeVore, an idol whose powerful photographs move many. But is this attraction his own or coming from the stranger’s heart now beating in his chest?

Genres: Gay/Contemporary/The Arts

Heat Level: 2
Length: Extended Amber Kiss (15k words) 

Read a short excerpt...

...Tim felt himself blush. He ought to be past the point of embarrassment by now because he’d come out a long time ago, but DeVore’s blunt question seemed to carry unspoken connotations and implications that had his cock twitching under the sheet and tingles racing along his nerves.

“Yes, I’m gay. I’ve known it since before I had the surgery at sixteen and I came out to family and friends as soon as I was back on my feet. No one had a huge fit, although my folks were not pleased. I’ve tried to keep a low profile to be sure it doesn’t cause them any problems. In some circles, Texas is still pretty conservative.”

While they’d talked, DeVore had edged closer. Now he sat near enough that he only had to stretch his arms to reach Tim, touch him, then grasp both arms after he took the near-empty mug from fingers gone almost nerveless and set it aside.

“Come here.”

Tim could no more resist that gravel-voiced command than he could have flown to the moon in his current state of undress. He shoved down the sheet and spread, heedless of showing the scar in the center of his chest that he made a habit of keeping covered. It wasn’t pretty, but DeVore didn’t bat an eye as his gaze slid right past it to all that lay below.

Tim twisted to get on his knees. His cock thrust out of a mat of dark curls, proud and already erect. That part he had no urge to hide. Off balance, he leaned too far forward.

With studied calm, DeVore caught Tim and eased him back onto his heels. The older man’s smile mixed wolfish eagerness, appreciation and a bit of triumph. “I believe I’m overdressed,” he said. “Give me a sec and I’ll fix that.”

He stood, tossing his shirt aside before he unbuttoned his 401 Levi’s and let them fall. He didn’t have anything on underneath the denim.

Tim could not quite control his gasp. Well-endowed didn’t begin to do the other man justice. I’d be proud to put a picture of that on my wall. Worth a wet dream any night. Holy Toledo.

Then DeVore’s arms closed around him, hauling him forward until their bodies were flush, almost welding together. After that, there was no time or room to think at all, only sensations...

Flesh and Kisses by Vivien Dean

The last thing Jett Walker wants is to attend his thirty-year class reunion, especially after spending all of high school in the closet. But then he learns the one person he was never able to resist will also be there—punk rocker Trev Chambers. Trev was the epitome of everything Jett wanted to be, and now he’s reuniting the band he made famous in the intervening years for a final blowout concert. Though nobody back home in Louisville knows he’s gay, Jett finally decides to go to the event. He needs closure, and one weekend pretending he’s straight is more than worth it.

When he discovers Trev lives less than two hours away from him, Jett seeks him out on a whim. The punk rocker has grown up, but as far as Jett’s concerned, Trev is more appealing than ever. And better still, he’s also gay, and available.

One brief conversation turns into a date, which raises the question...are Jett and Trev just living in nostalgia, or can they find a way to build a real future together?

Genres: Gay/Contemporary/The Arts

Heat Level: 3
Length: Extended Novella (35k words) 

Read a short excerpt...

...“You need to go,” Tatum announced without glancing up.

Electricity surged through him. “Why? What did you find?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“What do you mean, it doesn’t matter?” Abandoning any pretense that he was disconnected from this, he stood and twisted so they were shoulder to shoulder, his view the same as hers. She hadn’t opened a window yet, still scrolling through the links her search had produced. “Of course, it matters.”

“Why? You want to see this guy again, not because of who he is now but who he was then. I don’t see the harm in going for the concert and skipping all the rest of the reunion crap you have no interest in. It’s a lot cheaper midlife crisis than buying a sports car.”

“Ha ha.” But it lacked enthusiasm, his thoughts too much in turmoil at Tatum’s argument. “Not happening.”

“Tell me why.”

“Because nobody in Louisville knows I’m gay.”

“So?”

“So it’s not New York.”

“And you never have to see them again once you leave.”

“But they’ll know. They’ll talk.”

With an exasperated sigh, she lowered her phone. “Since when do you care about any of that shit? You’ve had a life here for years. When was the last time you apologized for who you are to anybody?”

“The day I left Louisville.” If she wasn’t going to look, he was. He took the phone from her grasp and clicked the first link that looked promising. “It’s too hard to explain. I spent years being afraid of what people might say if they found out. It’s like they have some sort of weird hold over me, where I’m sixteen all over again and nothing I’ve done for the last thirty years matters.”

“This isn’t high school. People get over that crap.”

“Maybe. I’m not sure it’s worth trying to find out, though…” He trailed off. One of the links she’d found hit the jackpot.

The article was in conjunction with a music festival in Pennsylvania from two years earlier. A music store was hosting local bands as a precursor to the festival’s start date, and along with promo shots of the groups, the reporter had included a picture of the store’s owner. Trevor Chambers.

The name wasn’t that uncommon. It could’ve been anyone, especially since the store was nowhere near Kentucky. Jett had picked the link because of the music connection, grasping at straws, really, but the photo proved his instincts to hone in on Trev were still solid.

He was dressed casually, in faded jeans that clung to his long legs, a plaid shirt hanging open over a plain white T-shirt. With his arms folded across his chest, he leaned against the plate glass window of the store behind him. The name, The Music Room, was painted in white and black on easy display. Nothing about his clothing or demeanor suggested the hungry lead singer from Godless Crisis.

It was the eyes that did the trick. The intense blue, even without the liner, cut through the fourth wall to bore into those on the other side. Pure Trev.

His dark hair had gone gray in the decades since high school, cut short and neat to highlight his square jaw. The heartbroken mouth that had seduced an MTV generation was set in a firm line, though Jett imagined that was more habit than personal malice. Still slim, chiseled in a way that only time could achieve. Beneath those unassuming clothes would be a body of fantasies, whether man or woman, young or old.

Jett couldn’t breathe. How was it possible Trev was more enticing now than he’d been when Jett was a walking hormone?

All he knew was that there was no way he wasn’t seeing this once in a lifetime concert...

Dreams to Sell by KC Kendricks

Keith Mitchell needs a new challenge in his life. When an old friend pitches him a business proposition, he agrees to pull up stakes and more to Marionville. Keith decides his new house will be in the style he’s always dreamed of having, even if he will live in it alone.

Realtor Terry Thomas has one goal in mind for his clients: find and sell them the house of their dreams. Recently widowed, Terry’s not in the market for companionship, or so he believes. His latest client is handsome, interesting and his age, but is he really ready to love again?

Keith becomes an eager suitor, waging a persistent siege until Terry gives into temptation. When Terry finds the right house for him, Keith redoubles his efforts to win Terry’s heart. After all, what good is a perfect house if the man of your dreams won’t share it with you?

Genres: Gay/Contemporary/BDSM (Light)

Heat Level: 3
Length: Extended Novella (33k words) 

Read a short excerpt...

...Terry held up a key ring. “Found ’em.”

Something else found me and it was the sudden realization we were alone in his house and his bed was not far away. I saw it in his glittering gaze he’d had the same thought. I swallowed, hard, as Terry licked his lips and moved to stand in front of me. He rested his hands on my shoulders. Cock swelling, almost breathless, I ran my thumb across his lips.

“Terry, this could get out of hand in big hurry.”

“I know.”

The world spun around me at those two simple words. I had to hold on and not push him too far, but I needed to have him in my arms. His grip tightened.

“Keith.”

I slid my arms around his waist and pulled him to me. He nodded, and I lowered my mouth to his. Little flames sparked behind my closed eyes as the feel of his soft lips seared my brain.

The memory of our chaste kiss last night fled as his mouth moved under mine, testing me. I clamped down on the urge to back him to the desk and bend him over it. His tongue licked over mine, and I threw caution out the window.

He was like a living flame against me. I feasted on his mouth and neck, oblivious to all but the taste of his skin. I relished the sensation of my stiff dick straining against the confining denim of my jeans. I held Terry tighter as he leaned into me. Our feet tangled with the edge of the rug as I stepped backward and we stumbled. The floor rushed to meet us, effectively ending one hell of a kiss. The air left my lungs as I landed hard on top of him. He rolled me beneath him, his rigid shaft pressed to my inner thigh. When I reached for him, Terry scooted away and smacked my hip.

“Whew. The next time we trip, you’re going down first.”

Panting, I turned my head and stared at him. “You sound a little breathless.”

“Do you want to take this upstairs?”

I opened my mouth to speak and a raspy croak came out. I coughed to clear my throat, aware he was flat on his back laughing at me with his hand down the front of his pants. He smirked when he saw me staring.

“I needed an adjustment.”

“You’re not alone. Upstairs. Is, um, that a good idea?”

“Hell, no. You know we’re lucky we didn’t bite off each other’s lips.” Terry rolled over and pushed up onto his knees and held his hand out to me. “Let’s at least get off the floor.”

I grabbed his hand and yanked him down on top of me. His mouth took mine in a bruising kiss. I thrust my tongue deep, and he followed when I retreated. Back and forth we tested and teased until he sat up, straddling my hips. I held my hands up to him, and he laced his fingers through mine. His chocolate brown orbs looked black as he held my gaze.

“Do you think we can go upstairs and keep things light?”

I blew out a deep breath in the vain attempt to settle my frantic heartbeat. I knew what he was asking and “light” was already too late for me. I wanted him for more than an afternoon. I knew we’d be great together in bed...

Winter Games pax winner

Thanks so much for hanging out with us this week, and we hope you've enjoyed what you've discovered about the Winter Games pax! But now it's time to pick the winner for giveaway, and the winner is...

Sula!

Please contact me at vivien_dean@yahoo.com, so we can get your books out to you.

Don't forget to check back with us in September when Silver Foxes, our pax all about older heroes, will be out. See you then!

Working to Win by Sean Michael

While doing a pair of sports nuts for the Winter Games PAX was tempting, I’d just finished writing speed skaters (Silver Edges). So I figured it was time to pick a different type of games that could be played in the Winter.

Then along came Jason and Bryan, who not only discover power play games, during winter, but they are also in the winter of their relationship, metaphorically speaking. I really liked the symmetry of that and went with it.

Together for more than six years, lovers Jason and Bryan rarely see each other anymore. Their jobs are running them ragged and keeping them apart. It’s gotten so they barely even communicate.

But a trip to a winter cabin for a long weekend, a last-ditch effort to rekindle their romance, reveals a side to the two men the other never knew existed, and their weekend suddenly includes power-play games.

Is this new aspect of their relationship doomed to fail, or will it help them find what they both need to make their lives work again?

It’s available here for 35% off the cover price!

There is an excerpt on the publisher’s site, but I thought I’d share a different one with you. I kept it PG! Well, mostly.

*_*_*

Jason was having the best dream. He and Bryan were making love and it was just like in the beginning, all heat and excitement and need. Moaning, he pushed closer, rubbing his prick against heat as the dream continued.

“Jason…” Bryan arched, sliding against him.

Fuck, it was so real… He reached out, finding Bryan’s flat, warm belly.

“Fucking love your belly.” He stroked it, cock rubbing against Bryan’s thigh.

Bryan chuckled softly. “You’re asleep. Untie me.”

“What?” He blinked awake, Bryan right there.

Man, when was the last time he’d woken up and Bryan was still in bed?

“Untie me and you can go back to sleep.”

“No way, man. I wanted to wake up with you and I did. Now comes the cuddling.” Cuddling and a little conversation. Possibly more orgasms. Okay, definitely more orgasms. He pressed a kiss to the side of Bryan’s mouth. “Besides, I don’t want to sleep. I want to get you all sticky.” He wanted to play.

“You can’t just leave me here to hang out,” Bryan complained.

“Oh yes I can.” He kept moving, shifting so he slid along that sexy belly.

He buried his nose in Bryan’s neck, wanting to leave a mark, knowing he shouldn’t. But goddamn it, this was his lover of six years. He found a spot on Bryan’s collarbone that would be hidden by one of those starched shirts. Opening his mouth, he wrapped his lips around the skin there.

“Oh…” Bryan’s toes curled, one leg drawing up.

Groaning, he kept sucking, kept pushing.

“You’ll leave a mark, Jason.”

That wasn’t a stop.

“That’s the idea, babe.” He scraped his teeth over the spot.

“Uh-huh. Be good…”

“Being so good.” He was. He was being fan-fucking-tastic. He scraped his teeth against Bry’s skin, hard enough to sting.

Jerking, Bry’s belly rubbed against him in the best way. Mmm. Someone liked that. So he did it again.

“No biting. Be good. Untie me.”

What Jason was going to do was gag Bryan.

Until next time
Sean Michael
Smut fixes everything
http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com/

*_*_*

Working to Win by Sean Michael is now available at Amber Allure.

If you'd like the chance to win the entire pax collection, just leave a comment on today's post. On Saturday, a winner will be picked at random from all the comments made this week on the blog. Comment on all, and that's multiple chances to win!

Another Excerpt from Project Snowflake by Heidi Champa

Project Snowflake is loosely based on an experience a friend of mine had working at a radio station one winter. She and her co-workers got trapped several times by blizzards, leading to all kinds of interesting stories. That inspiration led me to do the same thing to Brenton and Spencer, to find out what would happen if the two of them were trapped at the television station because of a snowstorm. The following excerpt is a little bit of that interaction. Hope you enjoy it!

*_*_*

My restless mind was making it impossible to sleep. I rolled over and stared at the ceiling when I felt my cell phone buzz in my pocket. When I looked at the screen, I saw Spencer’s name. The text wanted to know if I was awake. I thought of ignoring it, but instead I responded. It only took a few seconds for him to reply and ask me to come to his office.

I started to get up, but stopped myself. I thought of his words that afternoon and how much it hurt. Going to his office would only make that worse. There was nothing left to say. Then I thought about the kiss in the break room. As confusing as it all was, it’d felt so good. My mind warred with itself for a long time, but in the end, I knew which side would win out. Practicality and reason would have to take a back seat to lust on this one. There was nothing wrong with break-up sex, after all.

I tiptoed out of the room and headed for Spencer’s office. Blue light shone from the crack under the door. I stopped and closed my eyes, the voice in my head telling me to go back to the conference room. Instead, I knocked lightly, then pushed the door open. Spencer lay on his couch, headphones attached to his laptop. He sat up quickly when he saw me, shock all over his face.

“Brenton, hey. I didn’t think you’d show up. Not that I’d have blamed you for ignoring my invitation.”

I stayed close to the door, still unsure whether I should stay.

“I wasn’t sure I should come. I mean, I almost didn’t.”

“I’m glad you did,” he whispered, as he got up. I pressed my back against the door. He set his laptop aside and ran a hand through his hair.

“I couldn’t sleep. I was trying to watch a movie, but it’s not helping. You don’t mind that I texted, do you?”

I slipped my hands in my pockets and rocked onto balls of my feet, a nervous habit I hated.

“I don’t mind. I couldn’t sleep either,” I said in a whisper. I noticed the station’s promotional blanket on the floor and chuckled. “I see you found your blanket, Spencer.”

He picked it up and tossed it onto the couch before responding.

“Yeah, it was in my closet.”

We stood looking everywhere but at each other for a moment, before I decided to take a chance and ask what I wanted to know. It was late and I was still high on sugar from all the candy. Plus I had nothing to lose. He’d already dumped me, after all.

“Why did you kiss me earlier?”

His eyes dropped to the floor, and I waited for his answer.

“Well…because I really wanted to.”

I moved away from the door, expecting him to retreat, but he didn’t. I smiled, my heart racing.

“Oh. I thought after our talk earlier, we wouldn’t be doing that anymore.”

“Yeah, I mean, we shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have…”

We stopped for a moment, our eyes locked.

“But we did. And now I’m confused,” I said, as I took another step.

Spencer gave a weak laugh and moved forward.

“Yeah, I’m confused, too.”

“Maybe we should talk about it. You know, try and clear things up.”

He nodded, and we got closer still, our faces inches apart.

“That sounds smart, Brent,” he whispered, before pulling me into his arms.

“I totally agree.”

The last word was barely out of my mouth before his lips touched mine.

*_*_*

Project Snowflake by Heidi Champa is now available at Amber Allure.

If you'd like the chance to win the entire pax collection, just leave a comment on today's post. On Saturday, a winner will be picked at random from all the comments made this week on the blog. Comment on all, and that's multiple chances to win!

You Can Go Back Home Again by Vivien Dean

Like a lot of authors, I tend to gravitate to certain themes when I write. It's more than wanting to write romance because I love the act of falling in love. It's about exploring ideas or people or even locations because they resonate in some way with me.

A common idea I come back to time and time again is that of loss. In all its forms. It could be the loss of a loved one, the loss of a place, or even the loss of self. When I sat down to write A Flight in Ice, I knew fairly quickly that it was going to be about all three of those. 

The loss of place came first. A winter story demanded a cold location, and as an ex-Michigander, I relished the idea of going back to it. Like Connor, my hero, I left Michigan behind years ago, to forge a new life beyond its borders. Thankfully, my story has a much happier ending than his did, but I'll admit, I get nostalgic about moving back every once in a while. Michigan will always have a place in my heart, with memories both good and bad, but more importantly, it helped forge who I am today. 

Connor flees his California life in an attempt to hide away from his problems, but that just brought to life the second issue of loss in the story. Everything he's had has been stripped away from him, forcing him to focus on discovering who he is and what truly matters to him. The loss of his longtime partner is hard for him to adjust to, even if he knows that it's for the better. It's all three of these issues that drive him throughout the story and color his first interactions with Jerry.

In the following excerpt, Connor has been getting cabin fever, so when he discovers Jerry has a snowmobile, he jumps at the opportunity to go out for a ride...

*_*_*

The first time I went snowmobiling, I was eleven years old, and my best friend finally agreed to ask his father if he would take us out. Larry was a bit of a wimp when it came to anything physical, but except for that, I pretty much adored him. He was funny and smart, and he had a beautiful smile. I didn't realize until much later that he was probably my first real crush, but by then, he'd moved away and I was doing everything I could to hide the fact that I was gay.

I'd loved it, though. The rush of air across my cheeks, the sense of flying across the snow. I used to imagine that I was racing to save the world from impending apocalypse, or that I was transporting a crucial medicine in a world destroyed by technology to a hidden outpost in the middle of nowhere because that was the only place that was safe from the cyborgs.

I might've read a few of Dad's disaster books when I was a teenager.

And watched Terminator 2 too many times. For a gay fifteen-year-old with limited resources, Arnie in his prime was too hard to resist.

I was more excited about going out now than I would've been a couple weeks ago, but then again, I was a different man than I'd been then. I loaded a cooler with the foil-covered lasagna, some frozen garlic bread, and the rocky road I'd been saving, dropped it in the passenger seat of the pickup, and sped down the road to Jerry's house with my pulse racing in anticipation.

He came out as I pulled up, dangling a pair of keys. "Trade you."

I swapped out the cooler with a grin. "I'm the one getting the better end of this deal."

"Only because you haven't seen me eat yet." Setting the cooler inside the door, he left it behind to lead me around the end of the house. "The snowmobile's in the barn. Come on."

Time and temperature had weathered the old barn to a mottled gray. I'd helped Mr. Zielinski paint it when I was in high school, but it was chipped and faded, untouched after all these years. The hinges squealed as Jerry hauled aside one of the double doors. Normally, the sound would grate on me. Now it heralded an escape.

"Tank's full." He led me straight to where it sat near the door, grabbing the corner of the tarp that covered it and pulling it back. "You can go straight out the back of the property to hit the fields."

There would be trails through some of the trees, as well, but I was caught up short by the snowmobile he revealed. "You have a Bearcat." An Arctic Cat Bearcat, to be exact. A newer model than the one Larry's dad had owned, but a real work machine nonetheless.

"My father used to help haul things for people," Jerry said.

"It has two seats." I pointed out the obvious. "Why don't you come with me?"

With a sheepish grin, he shook his head and backed away. "I don't want to intrude. You go ahead. Have fun."

"Do you ride?"

"Sure."

"And you trust a guy who hasn't been on a snowmobile in over a decade?"

"I don't think you have a death wish, and you're definitely not stupid, so yeah, if you trust yourself to go out, then I trust you, too."

But now that I knew it would hold both of us, I wanted him to join me. In a way, it would be like going out with Larry and his dad, and I craved the reminder of a simpler world. Nobody in California would ever hand over the keys to a vehicle to a veritable stranger. Another huge difference about coming back home. Jerry was the symbol of everything I'd hoped to regain by returning.

*_*_*

A Flight in Ice by Vivien Dean is now available at Amber Allure.

If you'd like the chance to win the entire pax collection, just leave a comment on today's post. On Saturday, a winner will be picked at random from all the comments made this week on the blog. Comment on all, and that's multiple chances to win!