Archive for the ‘first chapter’ Category
Sorting Out is available now!
Dec 29, 2013 Filed under: BDSM, book release, contemporary, excerpts, first chapter, m/m, men in uniform, menage
Sorting Out, the sequel to Fitting In is now available at Amazon, ARe, BN, and Smashwords. Here’s an excerpt from Chapter One….
Jack heard the door open as he pulled a pan of hot caramel popcorn from the oven. Perfect timing. Mason was home and hopefully Gray had been able to get most of his paperwork finished, so the three of them could curl up together and continue their third run through the fourteen brilliant episodes of Firefly. Why oh why had it been cancelled and how had he not known about its awesomeness until Mason came into his life?
Their schedules had kept them apart for the last few nights and Jack had been looking forward to this all day, the three of them snuggled on the couch, watching TV until they started to doze off like an old married threesome. Who would need to go out with two amazing men at home? He could happily hole up for weeks just cuddling, fucking, and cooking for them.
Mason dropped his bag on the table and came up behind him. He kissed Jack’s neck as he grabbed a handful of popcorn that he immediately threw back into the pan, yelling, “Hot!”
“Of course it’s hot. It just came out of the oven.” Laughing, Jack grabbed Mason’s hand and kissed his palm. “Is that better?”
“No, but this will fix it.” Mason kissed him, sliding his tongue along the seam of Jack’s lips until he opened for his lover, letting him get a taste. Desire rose swiftly, and he clutched at Mason’s hips, pulling him in tight, letting him feel his cock, which was now hard and needy. Maybe Captain Mal would have to wait after all.
The sound of Gray clearing his throat brought them up for air. Mason stepped back, grinning at Jack. “That was a delicious hello.” He turned toward Gray, but when Jack saw the expression on their lover’s face, he knew they weren’t getting the same kind of greeting from him. He looked serious and…scared? Jack’s stomach knotted.
“What is it?”
“I need to talk to you. I waited until Mason was home, but I… Maybe you should sit down.”
“Gray, what’s wrong?” Jack asked, the caramel he’d tasted as he coated the popcorn lying heavy in his stomach.
Mason laid a hand on his arm. “Are you okay? You’re really pale.”
Jack ignored the question. “Don’t make us wait.”
“Thornton, the lieutenant from Major Crimes that I told you about—”
He glanced at Mason. “He’s been encouraging me to take the detective exam. He wants me in his unit.”
“But—”
Gray held up a hand. “Yes, it would mean we wouldn’t be partners anymore, but it would also mean we could be out if we wanted to. We’ve been talking about making a change, and you’ve known I was thinking about going for a promotion.”
“Yeah, but, I…” Nausea tightened Jack’s throat.
Mason reached for Jack’s hand and squeezed. “This could be good for all of us. Let’s think about it.”
Jack looked at Mason. He had known this would happen sooner or later. Gray was right about it being for the best, but Jack had continually pushed it to the back of his mind.
“I just want us to—” he started, but Gray interrupted him.
“I told him I’d take the exam.” Gray looked at the floor as he spoke.
“What?” Jack roared, fear replaced by anger that threatened to scorch him. “How dare you do that without talking to us!”
“I shouldn’t have, but he’d already asked me before, and I’d put him off. He told me I had to let him know today, and you said you’d support whatever I wanted so—”
“I didn’t mean for you not to even tell me. Couldn’t you have mentioned this when he asked you the first time?”
“I—” Gray ran a hand over his ruthlessly short hair. “I should have. I’m sorry, but—”
“But what?” Mason asked after Gray was silent for several seconds. Jack was glad he’d spoken up, because he wasn’t capable of saying anything nice.
Gray sighed. “I knew Jack would react just like this.”
Fuck you. “When it was still something to actually discuss instead of something dictated to me, I would have talked to you. Now that you’ve kept it from me and decided to just walk away—”
“I’m not walking away.”
Jack snarled at him. “We’re partners, Gray, and now we won’t be.”
“We’ll still be partners in the way that really counts.”
Would they? “What about Mason? Didn’t you think maybe he wanted a say in this?”
Mason glanced at Gray, and suddenly, Jack knew. “You told him, didn’t you? When Thornton first asked you, you fucking told Mason and not me.”
Gray closed his eyes and took a long, slow breath. “He told me to tell you, told me I shouldn’t wait, but I wanted to think about it. I didn’t want to upset you if I was just going to turn it down.”
“Newsflash. I’m upset.”
“Jack—”
Mason started to interject, but Jack held up his hand. “There’s no point in talking anymore. Gray’s made his decision. Thank you for actually trying to bring me into it.”
“I made up my mind to take the exam. That doesn’t mean I’ll take the position. That’s why I wanted to talk.”
Jack shook his head. “You’ve made up your mind. I can tell. If you get the job, you’ll take it.”
“I want to stop hiding,” Gray said. “But I want this to be a decision we all three make.”
“No, you just want me and Mason to agree with you,” Jack said, venom in his tone.
“That’s not true. I…fuck, Jack. I love you.”
Jack’s anger deflated, leaving him feeling wrung out and hurt. “I can’t imagine being a cop without you.”
Gray took a step toward Jack. “I’ll still be here.”
“We’ll all be together.” Mason spoke at almost the same time. He sounded scared, desperate. Fuck Gray for putting Mason in the middle like this, for going to him when they’d sworn they’d keep everything out in the open.
Like the time you talked to Mason about Gray seeming depressed, and he encouraged you to talk to Gray, but you didn’t. Is that what you mean by out in the open?
God, Jack hated that sanctimonious voice in his head.
He held up his hand, knowing he’d cave if Gray touched him. He’d let Gray have his way and forget how angry and hurt he was until it simmered long enough to explode again. “If you really wanted to discuss it, you would have talked with me the minute you started seriously considering taking the exam.”
“Would you have listened? Really listened?”
Jack wanted to scream that he would always listen to Gray, always consider what was best for his lover without being selfish. He wanted to stop being scared he couldn’t hold it together as a cop if Gray weren’t by his side, but he couldn’t make the words come.
Instead, he grabbed the pan of caramel popcorn and flung it across the kitchen, enjoying the ear-splitting clatter as the pan bounced on the tile. Then he stomped to their bedroom and slammed the door.
Seconds later, he heard the front door bang shut.
New Release! Fitting In
Feb 24, 2013 Filed under: BDSM, bears, book release, contemporary, D/s, first chapter, m/m, men in uniform
Fitting In is now available at Amazon, ARe, BN, and Smashwords. Get your copy today!
Blurb:
Two cops walk into a bar. Mason, the bartender, waits for the punch line, because no way in hell are these ridiculously hot men real cops. They’re straight out of a cop-fetish fantasy. But he quickly learns that Jack and Gray are the real deal, and they want him in the worst way.
What starts as a night of hot, three-way sex becomes a lot more. The two cops fulfill Mason’s submissive fantasies, but they also meet a more basic need, comfort. They want to take care of Mason, to offer him unconditional friendship, but their concern for him unnerves Mason more than even the kinkiest sex.
To find happiness with his new partners, Mason must change his belief that love is as much a fantasy as a pair of gorgeous, handcuff-wielding cops landing in his bed.
Excerpt:
Two cops walked into a bar. Mason, the bartender, waited for the punch line, because no way in hell were these ridiculously hot men real cops. They were one hundred percent fantasy material. He hoped to hell they were strippers, and they’d be willing to do a private performance for him.
Their dark blue uniforms were snug, hugging their bodies in all the right places. The taller of the two men was big enough to bench-press Mason. His shirt looked like it might burst at the seams, and Mason hoped it would. Dark, wavy hair fell over his forehead and softened the hard lines of his face. His eyes were dark without being warm, just right for a cop.
His partner was shorter, about Mason’s own five foot eleven or so. He had buzz-cut dirty blond hair and blue eyes. He looked younger than his partner, like he hadn’t been out of the academy for long, but he was just as ridiculously hot as the bigger man. His looks were the all-American-boy type. He’d probably played baseball in school and won the heart of every girl he smiled at. He was a perfect counter to his partner’s rough, domineering appeal. They could play a scintillating game of good cop, bad cop, and Mason would love for them to play it with him.
If Mason were in a porno, the cops would cuff him and drag him to a back room where they would proceed to plow his ass until he couldn’t stand up. Sadly, this was real life. They were probably relentlessly straight and only here for a beer.
They headed toward the end of the bar by the register where there weren’t any customers during the midafternoon lull.
“What can I get for you, officers?” Mason asked.
The big one smiled. “Anything cold.”
The shorter man punched his partner’s arm. “Nothing. Thank you. We’re here on official business.”
The big man rolled his eyes. “Can’t I at least get a soda?”
“Fine. Two Cokes please.”
Mason was glad to have the simple task of scooping ice and pouring fountain drinks to distract himself for a few minutes. What official business would they have here? While the occasional fistfight broke out, most typically during the NCAA basketball tournament, Nathan’s Public House was hardly a hotbed of crime.
He picked up the drinks and faced them again, willing his hands to stop shaking. It wasn’t like he hadn’t served plenty of attractive men in the past. What was it about these two that had him so stirred up?
He set the drinks on the bar in front of them and watched as they both took a sip. His cheeks heated when he realized he was staring, openmouthed, at the flex of muscles in the bigger man’s throat as he swallowed.
Focus, Mason, focus. “So…um…what kind of business brings you here?”
The shorter man smiled and held out his hand. “I’m Officer Jack Abney, and this is my partner, Gray Sadler. We want to talk to the staff who were working last night when Gino’s was robbed in case anyone might have seen or heard something that will help with the investigation.”
Mason took Jack’s hand. His skin was softer than Mason expected, and he held Mason’s hand a few seconds longer than he needed to. “Um…I’m Mason Shields.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Shields,” Jack said, grinning.
Mason thought he might melt, but this wasn’t a time to become a puddle of lustful intentions. The robberies had shaken up most of the business owners in the part of downtown Durham where Nathan’s was located. The break-in at Gino’s was the third one in the area, and all the robberies were believed to have been inside jobs pulled off by well-organized professionals. The occasional group of kids breaking a window and trying to get into the till or taking valuables customers foolishly left lying on the seats of their cars wasn’t uncommon, but this type of systematic criminal activity was something new.
“I was here last night, but until I heard sirens, I had no idea anything was going on. It was really crowded, and I had a long line at the bar so I was focused on making drinks and keeping customers happy.”
Jack stood up and looked toward the windows. “Not much of a view of the place either.”
Mason shook his head. “Once the lights go out over there, I can’t see a thing, especially with people blocking my view out front.”
His partner, Officer Sadler, looked at Mason then, his dark eyes calculating. “We understand one of your servers worked at Gino’s until a month or so ago.”
“Yes, Gwen did.” The idea of Gwen working for a band of criminal masterminds was ludicrous. She could barely manage to serve a couple of tables without fucking up their orders.
“Was she working last night?” Gray asked.
Mason thought through the evening. Gwen had been there, but he didn’t remember seeing her after the dinner crowd left, and he’d wondered why they were understaffed when the rowdy game watchers filled the place up. “She was, but her shift must have ended by nine.”
“Is that unusual?” Jack studied him as carefully as his partner had. Having the two gorgeous men staring at him was doing unsettling things to his insides, and his expanding dick was making his pants uncomfortable.
“I guess so. Kinda. Usually most of the waitstaff works until eleven on weekends, but I really don’t think—”
Jack held up his hand. “Just routine questions.”
“Okay. Maybe it would be better if you talked to my manager.”
“We will,” Gray assured him. “But right now, we want to talk to you.”
His voice was low and sexy. If Mason didn’t know better, he’d have thought Gray was flirting with him, but he had to be imagining it. Jack was staring at his partner like he’d lost his mind.
Mason looked back at Gray and was caught by his cool gaze. He bit into his lip, needing the sharp pain to break the spell and allow him to look away. Gray exuded dominance. Mason had no doubt he was a man who expected to get his way, and Mason would be happy to give him just that. The thought of being pinned under him and told exactly how to please him made Mason shudder.
Needing to break the tension vibrating among the three of them, Mason said, “The bartender knows all, is that the theory?”
“Something like that.” Jack’s sly grin made Mason’s knees weak. These two were going to be the death of him.
The officers asked a few more questions, but Mason truly didn’t have anything useful to tell them so they moved on to questioning the servers.
He was glad there weren’t many customers in the bar because both cops had asses worthy of his devoted attention. He sighed as he watched them while pretending to wipe down the bar. What he wouldn’t give to peel them out of their tight blue pants and get a closer look.
The intensity of his attraction puzzled Mason. Gray’s size and dominating presence pushed all his buttons, setting off submissive fantasies that had him reeling. And Jack, Mason could imagine him reveling in a hard, rough fuck or giving the orders himself with the confident air he used for interrogation. If the two men had told him to drop his pants and bend over the bar, he truly might have done it, which unnerved him. While he’d had his share of hook-up sex with no names exchanged, he wasn’t usually quite so slutty.
Maybe the fact that it had been months since he’d bothered to find a partner at all was part of the problem. He’d never really enjoyed the anonymous club sex, but he’d learned the hard way that depending on someone to be there for you was pointless, so he wasn’t much for relationships either. Hitting the clubs was the easiest way to take care of his sexual urges. He’d stepped out of his comfort zone often enough to keep from dying of unfulfilled lust, but the last few times he’d hooked up with someone in a grungy bathroom, he’d felt more sick than satisfied after it was over. For the last few months, he’d reveled in his nerdy side, the side of him that still hoped to go back to college, get his degree in chemistry, and then move on to grad school. Instead of going out he’d been spending his time off reading scientific journals and watching his favorite Star Trek episodes over and over. Perhaps he was experiencing temporary insanity from lack of sex.
Arresting Love – Chapter One Sample and a Contest
Jan 2, 2013 Filed under: book release, cowboy, first chapter, m/m, paranormal, shapeshifter
Here’s the first chapter of my brand new release, Arresting Love (Wild R Farm 2). Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win book 1 in the series.
Arresting Love (Wild R Farm 2) by Silvia Violet
http://www.amazon.com/Arresting-Love-Wild-Farm-ebook/dp/B00AUVNSF8
Blurb:
Billy Lawson is jealous. Every day he watches his boss, Cole, and his boss’s lover, Jonah, prove again and again how deeply in love they are. Billy’s never had a real relationship, and he didn’t believe true love existed until Cole proved otherwise. Now, he longs for what Cole and Jonah have.
When he meets Levi, a scared, wounded shifter who needs his help, he ignores the chemistry that flares between them, thinking he’d be taking advantage of Levi at a vulnerable time in his life. Before Levi can convince Billy they were made for each other, his past catches up to him, and both men must fight for a chance at love.
Excerpt:
The crazy cuckoo clock his boss’s lover had rescued from the farmhouse attic began to chirp, signaling the start of a new year. Cheers went up from the hands, and Billy watched his boss, farm owner Cole Wilder, pull Jonah to him for a kiss.
Billy took a pull from his beer and tried to make himself look away, but he couldn’t keep from staring as Cole staked his claim, seeming to devour his young lover. Jonah gave back as good as he got, and Billy’s cock stirred in his pants. The two men were beautiful together.
When Cole finally pulled back, the look on his face made Billy’s chest ache. No one could miss seeing Cole’s love for Jonah. They had a bond that was strong as steel, and Billy was jealous.
Four years ago when he’d been hired as barn manager at Wild R Farm, Billy had developed a crush on Cole, but he’d quickly realized Cole would never see him as more than a friend. He’d accepted that. He treasured their friendship, and he’d never forgotten that Cole had given him a chance when he could have hired someone better educated with years more management experience. But watching Cole and Jonah together made him long to connect with someone. Having a man look at him the way Jonah looked at Cole would be a taste of heaven.
Billy drained the rest of his beer. That line of thinking would do nothing but depress him. He needed to be thankful for what he had. The chance of finding the kind of love Cole and Jonah shared was nearly non-existent. He was starting another year doing a job he loved on a farm where he didn’t have to hide the fact that he was gay. Considering he’d been kicked out by his family at seventeen, he’d done a damn fine job of pulling his life together.
It wasn’t in his nature to be morose, but he’d be turning thirty this year, and he was getting tired of living in a bunkhouse, no matter how much he enjoyed the company of the hands he shared it with. He was weary of men who wanted nothing more than a hard, rough fuck behind a trailer at a horse show. He wanted a home and someone to share it with. Age was making him soft.
He stepped onto the farmhouse porch and took a breath of the chilly night air. He shivered, but he’d rather be out here than in the crowded house especially in his current mood. He leaned against the porch railing and listened to the rush of water in the stream that ran behind the house as he tried to push his depressing thoughts away. One of the horses whinnied, and he wondered if going for a midnight ride would help.
“What you doing out here?” Cole asked, stepping out on the porch and letting the screen door slam behind him.
Billy shrugged. “Just gettin’ some fresh air.”
Cole frowned. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, you know I don’t like crowds.”
Cole snorted. “Me either. I’m about to get rid of everybody since we’ve rung in the New Year. This whole party thing was Jonah’s idea. I had a much better plan for the night, but he wouldn’t listen.”
Billy forced himself to smile. “I’m guessing your plan involved Jonah naked and flat on his back.”
Cole grinned. Then he narrowed his eyes and studied Billy. “Are you sure you’re all right? You’ve been grouchy for weeks now.”
Billy raised his brows and looked pointedly at Cole.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m grouchy all the time. I know it.” Cole said.
Billy rolled his eyes. “Damn temperamental wolf.”
Cole snorted. “I’m better than I used to be, now that I’ve got Jonah.” As soon as those words came out, Cole tensed.
Jonah’s brother, Nathan, had kidnapped Jonah, drugged him so he had to remain in horse form, then sold him. Fortunately, he’d ended up at Cole’s friend’s horse sanctuary. As Cole and the rest of the crew at the farm fought to keep Jonah safe, Billy ended up in a fistfight with Nathan. In the aftermath, Cole finally realized Billy had hoped for more than friendship between them. Fortunately, Cole hadn’t freaked out, but he was still sensitive about talking to Billy about his relationship with Jonah. Billy wished he’d just get over it.
“You’re right. Jonah’s been good for you.” Billy clapped him on the shoulder, and Cole looked his way, tension easing.
“You should take some time off,” Cole said. “With planning the addition to the barn and new horses coming in, you’ve been working non-stop for weeks.”
That was true, but when he was working, Billy didn’t feel lonely, and he didn’t have time to be jealous of Cole. “I don’t mind. I’d rather be working with the horses than doing anything else.”
Cole frowned. “When was the last time you left the farm?”
Billy shrugged. “I don’t know. I went into town a few weeks ago.”
Cole raised his brows and glared.
“I’m fine. Really.”
“You need a vacation.”
Billy shook his head. “I’m happy here. There’s nowhere else I want to go.”
He’d spent his late teens and early twenties wandering, finding work where he could, never staying anywhere long. Now that he had a place he felt safe and accepted, he never wanted to leave.
Cole leaned closer and sniffed. It had taken Billy a while to get used to Cole’s werewolf habits, but now he took such things for granted.
“Something’s bothering you,” Cole said. “I can smell it.”
“I’m just keyed up. It’s probably the barn addition. I want to be sure I’ve got all the details right before we break ground.”
“You need to relax,” Cole insisted.
Billy scowled. “The last thing I need to is sit around on my ass. You know I can’t stay still long.”
“Maybe you need to learn how. You’re taking a three-day weekend starting next Friday, and I won’t listen to any complaints.”
Three whole days to think about everything he didn’t have instead of concentrating on what was right in his life. “Where the hell do you expect me to go?”
Cole frowned. “I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out and let you know.”
Billy glared at him. “You’re not sending me on a trip.”
Cole growled. “The hell I’m not. Consider it a bonus.”
* * * *
Billy put up a token fight, but in the end, giving into Cole’s plan was the only option since he threatened to bodily remove Billy from the farm. So, against his wishes, Billy had driven to Nashville, checked into a fancier hotel than he’d ever stayed at in his life, plopped down on the bed, and stubbornly started making spreadsheets for the next week’s horse training rotations. Cole could make him leave the farm, but Billy would be damned if Cole would keep him from thinking about farm business.
A few hours later Billy ordered a burger and watched a pointless movie filled with motorcycle chases and things blowing up. At least the fast-paced film distracted him from the quiet of his room. At the farm, he was never lonely for long. Here, in a hotel room, it was painfully obvious he had no one to share this forced vacation with.
He survived the evening holed up on his own, but the next day he got restless and decided to go for a walk. The temperature was hovering around freezing, and the wind cut right through his fleece-lined jacket. He noticed some beautiful carvings of horses in a gallery window. Danielle, the farm’s head trainer, would love them.
The gallery appeared to be having a craft fair, and he decided to take the opportunity to get out of the cold. He found the booth with the horse carvings. They were so detailed and life-like they looked like they might take off running despite being only six inches high. He purchased a galloping stallion for Danielle then spent nearly half an hour talking with the artist and his partner. They reminded him of Cole and Jonah. They had the same settled, unabashedly-in-love look about them. He sighed as he waved good-bye and headed back into the cold.
He shivered as he stepped out of the gallery. The wind howled along the storefronts, and it felt as if snow was on the way. He scurried across the street into a coffee shop. He’d joked about designer coffee plenty of times, preferring his brew strong and black, but he was supposed to be on vacation, and he did have a thing for chocolate. So, after a casual glance to make sure he didn’t see anyone he knew, he ordered an enormous mocha with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles on top.
He sat down with his drink and pulled his tablet from his satchel. He read some articles on the care of newborn foals. Then he scanned through some of the horse care message boards he frequented. By the time he’d finished his drink, he was jumpy from the caffeine. He couldn’t sit still any longer. He walked around the city for a while, trying to ignore the cold that seemed to settle all the way to his bones. He hated winter. He’d much rather be dripping with sweat on a burning August day than checking the sky anxiously for snow. Sooner than he wanted to, he headed back to his hotel where he flipped through channels and paced the room.
When the silence got to be too much, he decided to go find a bar. He didn’t think there was a chance in hell he was going to meet someone who was interested in more than a quick fuck, but if a warm body next to his for a few hours was all he could have, he’d take it. He was on vacation after all. Maybe with a few drinks in him, he wouldn’t care so much.
He did a search for gay bars in the area and found one a few miles away. He considered walking so he could drink as much as he liked, but when he glanced out the window a wet mix of sleet and snow had started to fall. No way was he walking in that crap. He shouldn’t drive in it either, but he couldn’t spend one more minute in the hotel.
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Wild R Farm 1: Finding Release is available here.