Book one in the Smuggler's Cove Series.
Wounded in Iraq,
Dean Hudson is forced to give up his dream of a career in the Marine Corps.
Nearly recovered from the physical wounds that left him scarred, he resigns
himself to a life alone, and begins to deal with the emotional and mental scars
the war left behind while he tries to rebuild a life. Having kept his
homosexuality a secret for so long, he doesn't expect to find love or
acceptance in the arms of a knight.
On the weekends, successful brewery co-owner, Dom Ethan Moreland dons armour
and a sword and fights other knights. The adrenaline rush and stress relief
provided by the atmosphere of the renaissance faire also serve as a constant
reminder of the love he still hasn't found and can't remember having.
When Dean meets Ethan dressed as a knight, he never dreams that he will find
happiness and love on his knees while submitting to Ethan.
Excerpt:
Dean nodded and shifted uncomfortably in
his seat, wanting to bolt. The crowded open area of the faire set his nerves on
edge, and he longed for peace and quiet and solitude. Jennie wriggled out of
his lap, and he waited for her to climb down to the bench in front of them to
join her two brothers before he edged away from Carla.
Dean rubbed his sweating palms on his
jeans, thankful the breezy day spared him the awkwardness of explaining why he
wasn’t wearing shorts. He hadn’t worn shorts since before his last deployment,
when his body and life were changed forever. It was a day like any other, but
one he would never forget the day of his last patrol. Two years later, he was
looking at an uncertain future as a disabled vet who couldn’t stand on his own
two feet without the aid of a cane.
He watched the maroon-clad knight, Ethan,
round on his opponent, swing his sword and drive the man to his knees. Kicking
him in the chest, he raised his hands in celebration as the man toppled backwards.
Half of the crowd cheered. The other half booed. An armour-less man dressed in
a black and white tunic bearing the colours and crest of the entertainment
troop rushed forward to help the defeated knight to his feet.
“Honour her majesty!”
One after another, the armoured men dropped
to one knee, heads bowed in the direction of a short, round, blonde-haired
woman, who despite her smile, looked as though she’d just tasted something
disgusting. Ethan stuck his sword into the dirt, removed his helmet then knelt
on one knee.
Dean inhaled sharply. Long, light-brown
hair was tied at the nape of the man’s neck, and beads of sweat ran down the
sides of his face. His angular jaw gave way to the subtle lines hidden beneath
armour.
“Ethan’s gay, by the way, and single,”
Carla whispered in his ear. “I thought you might like him.”
“You told me in one of the letters you sent
me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to play matchmaker,”
Dean said good-naturedly, hugging his sister.
“Why shouldn’t I want my brother to find
true love?”
He
wasn’t sure about true love, but Dean wondered what it would be like to get
fucked by Ethan. The single photograph Carla had sent him of Ethan was
decidedly less sexy than the sight on the field in front of him. Dean started.
How long had it been since he’d thought about another guy? Too long, he
chastised himself. There was no guarantee that Ethan was single, and Dean had
to meet a player he liked. He strongly suspected Ethan was a top, which suited
him fine. Dean had topped before, but he preferred bottoming. So had Brad, his
ex, so he’d ended up topping more often than not, wanting to make his lover
happy. It hadn’t been enough to keep Brad from cheating on him.
Dean remembered the day he’d come home
early and found Brad in their bed, technically Dean’s bed, with one of the
company clerks. Dean shook his head, pulling himself from his memories,
surprised to find all of the armoured men standing in the centre of the ring.
The combatants squared off. Dean winced when Ethan was hit first in the leg by
one person followed closely on the back of the helmet by the knight in the
green and yellow tunic.
“Come on, I’ll introduce you to him. You’ll
like him.” Carla giggled.
Dean smiled and nodded trying to keep his
excitement at bay.
“Ethan! Lord Blackmoore!” Carla called out,
drawing the attention of several knights.
“You fought wonderfully, as always,” Carla
said, hugging Ethan.
“Ethan, this is my brother Dean Hudson,”
Carla said, reaching for Dean. “Dean, this is one of my best friends, Ethan
Moreland, also known as Lord Blackmoore, one of the Knights of Steel.”
“Nice to meet you, Dean. Welcome home.”
Ethan held out his hand.
Dean moved his cane to the other hand and
shook hands with Ethan, who ran his thumb over Dean’s knuckles. Desire ran
rampant through Dean’s body, pooling in his groin at the contact. “Nice to meet
you too,” Dean replied, wishing he knew Ethan well enough to move the errant
strand of light brown hair that fell across one dark eye.
“You’re being summoned my lord,” Carla said,
turning from them towards the arena where the other knights had gathered.
“You will be staying for a while right?”
Ethan asked, looking from Dean to Carla and back again.
Dean saw the plea in sister’s eyes, pushed
aside his growing discomfort and nodded. He wanted today to be special for her.
On top of working, raising her kids and trying to have a life, she’d been
looking after him since he’d returned home.
“It was nice to meet you,” Dean said, half
hoping he’d get to know Ethan better.
“My pleasure, Dean. My pleasure,” Ethan
answered, running two knuckles along Dean jaw line. Dean thought he saw a look
of possession in Ethan’s eyes before the man turned and left them.
“Come on. Let’s go see more of the faire,”
Carla began as soon as Ethan was out of hearing distance. She hooked an arm
through his and pulled him away from the arena. “So, what do you think?”
“They do this for fun?” Dean looked around
at the vast array of costumes ranging from elegant to gaudy. He leaned heavily
on his cane, carefully picking his way over the rough terrain.
** You can find Knight of Pleasure Here**
Blessings,
Simone.
For the record, getting sick sucks. Big Time. I had planned on finishing Behind the Masque this month. It needed to be finished this month because there are other things I want to write. Getting sick was not in the cards, because I couldn't write. The couple of days I took off from the day job were mostly spent sleeping and coughing. With a little bit of stitching, because dragging myself out to the computer wasn't happening.
Ursula LeGuin passed away yesterday. You can read the story here. Today, I'm starting A Wizard of Earthsea. I have several of her books in my To Be Read pile, but haven't read any of them. I also have Left Hand of Darkness that I intend on reading this year.
