Tracy St. John's Blog, page 18

When Matthew Met Irene

 As I mentioned Wednesday, First Mataras: Irene is the next Kalquor universe book upcoming. Since Clan Companions: Matthew is newly out, I thought I'd share an excerpt from that book to show how these two met.

As we join Matt and Clan Avir, they're in a small club where Matt just played a music set to an appreciative crowd. Little does he know there's a certain famous rimnastin band in the audience:

 

“That was another celebration-worthy performance. Solomon said the place is as full as Eightday and Nineday nights. Those who saw you last week brought friends.” Beaming, Masok rubbed Matt’s shoulder.

“I thought the place looked full, but I told myself it was just anxiety.” Matt shivered in pleasure. “I’m always so nervous at the start.”

“Word is getting around how amazing you are. Let’s grab you a drink, Mattie. Bohut or kloq?” Kom said after they’d gone. He waved to a waiter.

“Bohut.”

“Make it a round.” Avir grinned, took Matt’s hand, and kissed it.

“Put it on my tab. We’ll have the same while you’re at it, server.”

They jerked in surprise at the woman’s voice. Matt blinked up at the tall, grinning human female who offered her hand to him. “Hi, Matt, right? Great performance.”

He gaped at her, his hand floating toward hers as if in a dream. It couldn’t be, but there was no mistaking the identity of the six-foot Amazon or the three Kalquorians at her back. He glanced at Kom for confirmation he wasn’t hallucinating.

The Nobek’s eyes were wide. “Irene Jonson. Mother of All, it is you, isn’t it?”

The legendary lead singer for Casual Innuendo laughed as she shook Matt’s hand. “Guilty as charged.”

Matt gaped. Irene Jonson was shaking his hand. Her clanmates/bandmates were grinning at him.

Irene shook back her flood of waist-length mahogany hair. “Hi. I take it you’re the lucky clan of this talented guy? Nice to meet you. My clanmates, Dramok Sherv, Imdiko Jemi, Nobek Rusp.”

“As if I wouldn’t know. Matt and I are huge fans.” Kom exchanged bows with the band, as did Matt, Avir, and Masok.

“Please, sit.” Avir waved to the seat cushions Retel, Sanderson, and their clans had vacated.

“Thank you.” Irene sank easily to the seat across from Matt.

He was astonished to be face to face with the dark-eyed beauty, but it was impossible to not return her bright grin. “You’re playing three nights at the arena starting tomorrow.”

“They are? Matt, why didn’t you tell me? We could have gone.” Kom’s disappointment brought a stab of guilt.

“The shows are sold out.”

“We’ll get you backstage passes. Tomorrow? Two or four of you?” Sherv tapped his handheld.

Avir glanced at Matt and grinned. “Tomorrow is perfect for the four of us. I love your song, ‘Bin of Memories.’”

“Thanks. I love this guy’s singing and playing.” Irene’s attention hadn’t wavered from Matt for a second. “Two of those songs were yours, you said. Do you have more?”

“In different stages of completion.” Holy shit, he was talking to Irene Jonson about his music. Dramok Sherv was getting him backstage tickets. He was drinking with Casual Innuendo, who’d been among the pioneers of rimnastin music. He surreptitiously pinched his own leg to make sure he was awake.

“Why haven’t we heard of you? Which bands have you played in?” Jemi wanted to know.

“Nobody. I…I sang my first song in public just a few weeks ago.”

“He hasn’t been here long,” Masok supplied. “He hasn’t met any musicians beyond a few from open mic night.”

Casual Innuendo stared at Matt in open-mouthed astonishment. Irene shook her head.

“You started only a few weeks ago. That’s unreal. Crazy. Listen, you’re better than this little club. You should be playing theaters at the very least, in front of a full band. I noticed the orchestral instruments in the backing tracks. It would sound insane live.” She halted the gush of words and glanced at Sherv. “Can you imagine it?”

“Oh yeah. We’ll introduce him to our manager Parlek at the show. Make sure you bring your demos, Matt.”

Clan Companions: Matthew is now on sale!

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His past demons have returned, and only a Kalquorian clan can save him.

Matthew Larsen should be happy. Reunited with the Nobek he fell in love with years ago, welcomed into a clan determined to give him a better life, he has everything he never imagined possible. However, he’s haunted by the hellish past and certainty it will reclaim him.

Nobek Kom spent years searching for Matt. Their reunion and his clanmates’ acceptance of the troubled Earther seemed to be all that stood in the way of the perfect future. His Earther love isn’t so easily rescued, however. Even a warrior can’t protect someone against his nightmares.

Dramok Avir and Imdiko Masok are devoted to the beautiful Earther Kom brought home. Loving such a gentle soul isn’t a problem. Saving him from monsters, real and imagined, is another matter when Matt’s worst fears come true and the terrors of the past rise once again to drag him into the abyss. 

Buy now:

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WIP Wednesday - Thanks and Looking Ahead to First Mataras: Irene

 First and foremost, I'd like to thank everyone who read and reviewed Clan Companions: Matthew. I'm grateful so many enjoyed our adorable little guitar player. As the wife of a working musician, it was high time I wrote a story featuring such a character. 

If you read Matthew, then you met the woman he called "Irene Musical-Fucking-Goddess-of-the-Universe Jonson." She and her band Casual Innuendo were the pioneers of Kalquor's rimnastin music scene. Obviously, it's time to tell her story. We're going all the way back to the Alien Embrace era for this First Mataras tale, which will feature how Irene went from a budding opera star to fronting the hard and heavy sounds of rimnastin, featuring her clanmates Sherv, Rusp, and Jemi.

I'm working on the first draft of Irene, which I hope to have out sometime in the summer. The following excerpt is a very rough cut of Irene sneaking into a club in disguise and her first impression of Clan Sherv, notably Nobek Rusp. I hope you enjoy it.

 

The thunder of sound was almost a physical blow, and Irene stood frozen a few steps within the entrance in shock. Her senses reeled.

The bass thud had become a blistering thunder within the sound-canceling barrier that had kept the club from breaking the station’s noise level regulations. Irene was grateful her headgear and the hood tugged over it offered some buffering, but her ears would no doubt be ringing when she left.

When she’d recovered from her surprise, she moved further into the room, taking in her surroundings.

A long bar spanned much of one side of the club, and the clientele standing at it were predominantly Kalquorians, at least half wearing those black uniforms trimmed in blue, red, or green. The reds predominated, and Irene noted those men had the fiercest expressions, though they appeared relaxed and content for the most part. Even the pair slamming fists into each other’s chests in turn looked absurdly happy, laughing and growling at what was apparently a contest of strength or perseverance. Irene wondered if they’d end up caving in their sternums.

Others, again mostly Kalquorians, crowded the floor, milling around and shouting in companions’ ears. At about the halfway mark to the other end of the club, more stood grouped tightly, congregating at the stage’s edge. Thick arms swollen with muscles and tendons pumped the air in time with the driving beat that filled Irene’s body with a brutal pulse her heart tried to keep up with.

Her attention zeroed in on the stage as animals’ howls and growls filled the air and the audience cheered. Three men stood up there, Kalquorians.

She stared. Again, she was astonished into stillness, but not because of the sound, which for once in her life, took second place to sight.

The men were shirtless. Gleaming, muscular chests shone with perspiration, accentuating their brawn. The man beating a line of drums of various sizes and tones, which were set up on the left side of the stage, barely wore anything at all, not even shoes. His shorts weren’t skintight, unlike the pants the man screaming at the crowd wore, but they left little to the imagination. Irene gaped at the obvious bulges of the trio’s crotches.  

Warmth that had nothing to do with the body heat of so many gathered people filled her. Her lower guts trembled.

She’d had crushes and fantasies, of course. The curious feelings which she knew were taboo on her home planet had driven her to touch herself in her narrow bed in New York and learn of carnal pleasure. She was naïve about much when it came to sexuality, but she wasn’t entirely clueless.

However, the blatant vision of so much naked masculinity was a revelation. She was seeing men, really seeing men, for the first time in her shielded life.

They were beautiful. Even the drumbeater, with his long, shaggy hair and beard dripping sweat, was brutally gorgeous. His feet pounded the gray-floored stage in time with his drumming, which he alternated between fists, open palms, and thin polished sticks.

The music began to creep back into Irene’s consciousness when she recognized the sheer technique of his work, the perfect timing he managed despite snarling at the crowd and snapping his head from side to side or back and forth. As untamed as his work had initially sounded, Irene easily determined the rhythm and how he varied the tone by softening or intensifying his approach. His fills appeared at the perfect moments, never stepping on the work of his companions.

 End of Excerpt

Don't forget, Clan Companions: Matthew is now on sale!

 

Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, and print

His past demons have returned, and only a Kalquorian clan can save him.

Matthew Larsen should be happy. Reunited with the Nobek he fell in love with years ago, welcomed into a clan determined to give him a better life, he has everything he never imagined possible. However, he’s haunted by the hellish past and certainty it will reclaim him.

Nobek Kom spent years searching for Matt. Their reunion and his clanmates’ acceptance of the troubled Earther seemed to be all that stood in the way of the perfect future. His Earther love isn’t so easily rescued, however. Even a warrior can’t protect someone against his nightmares.

Dramok Avir and Imdiko Masok are devoted to the beautiful Earther Kom brought home. Loving such a gentle soul isn’t a problem. Saving him from monsters, real and imagined, is another matter when Matt’s worst fears come true and the terrors of the past rise once again to drag him into the abyss. 

Buy now:

Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, and print

Now on Sale - Clan Companions: Matthew - Happy Valentine's Day!

 

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Bedtime for Matt

“To hell with the slow strip.” Avir zoomed past Masok to pick up Matt and toss him onto the bed. The Dramok yanked off his boots as Matt laughed and pretended to attempt to escape. Avir dragged him back and made his trousers disappear.

“Much better,” Avir growled, rubbing his hands all over Matt, forcefully enthusiastic.

Matt was hard, exulting in the demand of his clan leader. When Avir grabbed his cock and pumped, he arched and shouted at the violent surge of passion.

“What do you want, Mattie? Rough or gentle?”

Matt stared at the muscled figure over him, felt how good Avir’s brusque handling was. “Rough.”

Avir tugged open the crotch of his pants. His cocks spilled out, engorged and slick with eagerness.

He took nothing off, but spun Matt onto all fours. His big paws laid hold of the smaller man’s hips and jerked him toward his shafts. He sank his primary into Matt’s ass, pushing deep without mercy.

Matt yelped and instinctively tried to pull free as heady hurt filled him. His cock bobbed enthusiastically, the burn of determined entry blazing a fiery path. Then came the violent bliss of Avir rubbing his cumspot.

“Where do you think you’re going? You’re staying right here while I fuck this delicious ass,” his lover growled, tugging Matt onto him.

Matt beat his fists against the mattress and clawed the sheets, but Avir only laughed. He skewered him, his shaft embedding to the hilt, his secondary rubbing against Matt’s lone sex.

“Take it, little man. Take my cock. Take it all.” 

Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, and print

His past demons have returned, and only a Kalquorian clan can save him.

Matthew Larsen should be happy. Reunited with the Nobek he fell in love with years ago, welcomed into a clan determined to give him a better life, he has everything he never imagined possible. However, he’s haunted by the hellish past and certainty it will reclaim him.

Nobek Kom spent years searching for Matt. Their reunion and his clanmates’ acceptance of the troubled Earther seemed to be all that stood in the way of the perfect future. His Earther love isn’t so easily rescued, however. Even a warrior can’t protect someone against his nightmares.

Dramok Avir and Imdiko Masok are devoted to the beautiful Earther Kom brought home. Loving such a gentle soul isn’t a problem. Saving him from monsters, real and imagined, is another matter when Matt’s worst fears come true and the terrors of the past rise once again to drag him into the abyss. 

Buy now:

Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, and print

 

On Sale - Clan Companions: Matthew

 

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A Kalquorian drinking game. Who wants to play?

“Leshella to celebrate.” Masok clapped.

“Isn’t it the high-end stuff?” Matt hadn’t tried leshella before.

“Only the best would do for this occasion.”

Kom went to the sitting room. He brought back three stemmed glasses from the bar and a pitcher, earning laughter.

“No,” Avir chuckled. “If you fill the pitcher, the rest of us will get only half a glass.”

“The pitcher’s for Matt. He deserves it. Haven’t you noticed he puts away a lot for such a little guy?”

More laughter, then Kom went back to the bar and claimed a fourth glass. They raised their drinks to each other.

“To our companion, our Mattie,” Avir said.

“Our perfect fourth,” Masok pronounced.

“Well worth the wait.” Kom’s happiness was of a serious sort, and he gazed at Matt as if he’d never look away.

“To my rescuers. I’m especially thankful for my Nobek, who refused to give up searching for me.” Matt’s voice came out choked.

Leshella was better than advertised. Matt was surprised at its smoothness and how easily it went down. His glass was half gone when he took it from his lips.

Kom snickered at his embarrassment. He topped off Matt’s glass. “Go ahead. I’ll be glad to take advantage of lowered inhibitions.”

“Ooh, I’ll dedicate a toast to that,” Masok cheered.

Avir’s eyes gleamed as he examined Matt from head to toe. “For every sip you take, we strip something off you.”

“I’ll be naked pretty soon. This stuff is great. Why don’t we drink it all the time?”

Avir grinned. “This bottle is the largest they make and equal to a middle manager’s monthly salary.”

Matt had no idea how much a middle manager made, but he supposed it meant what they were drinking was extremely expensive. “Here I am, guzzling like a fish.”

“We can afford it, but drinking it frequently makes it less an indulgence.” Masok polished off his own first glass and had another. “Go on and drink. I want those clothes off you.”

A spicy scent teased Matt’s nostrils. They were aroused. So was he. He tipped leshella in his mouth and let it sit on his tongue, enjoying the mellow, somewhat fruity flavor.

“Only one shoe or two?” Kom asked Avir.

“They’re a set. Both.”

“That’ll end the game quicker,” Matt pretended to protest as Kom yanked his shoes off and tossed them in a corner.

“Good. I want my prize.”

By the bottom of his second glass in, despite his attempts to prolong the anticipation, Matt was down to his underpants. The leshella had disappeared. It hadn’t gone far with the four of them drinking it, but he felt wonderfully relaxed and euphoric, save for the blatant erection distorting his last piece of clothing.

“Oops. The fancy booze is gone. Shall we pick this up tomorrow? Maybe you’ll have better luck then.”

“I never rely on luck when I can be devious instead.” Kom tugged at his waistband.

“Aren’t you cheating?”

“I’m the Dramok, and I make and remake the rules.” Avir grinned as he leaned over Matt. “Whatever is left comes off when the booze is gone.”

 

Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, and print

His past demons have returned, and only a Kalquorian clan can save him.

Matthew Larsen should be happy. Reunited with the Nobek he fell in love with years ago, welcomed into a clan determined to give him a better life, he has everything he never imagined possible. However, he’s haunted by the hellish past and certainty it will reclaim him.

Nobek Kom spent years searching for Matt. Their reunion and his clanmates’ acceptance of the troubled Earther seemed to be all that stood in the way of the perfect future. His Earther love isn’t so easily rescued, however. Even a warrior can’t protect someone against his nightmares.

Dramok Avir and Imdiko Masok are devoted to the beautiful Earther Kom brought home. Loving such a gentle soul isn’t a problem. Saving him from monsters, real and imagined, is another matter when Matt’s worst fears come true and the terrors of the past rise once again to drag him into the abyss. 

Buy now:

Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, and print

 

On Sale Now - Clan Companions: Matthew

 

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Breakdown

“Matt? Can you hear me?” A voice over his music.

His vision drifted upward. He couldn’t feel his body, but he comprehended he raised his head. Up, up, up. Two men standing before him. One, a handsome Earther who looked ready for a golf course. His mind drifted for a moment, as he wondered what golf was and how he knew the word. A stretch of green grass rose in his mind’s eye, the same shade of green as the tunic he wore. A tunic, but no pants. Why wasn’t he wearing pants? Where had he lost his pants?

“Matt?”

The other man was speaking. Dark face, purple eyes. Kalquorian eyes. Different men who had such eyes swam before his vision. Good men, wonderful men, men he loved…

No. He wasn’t supposed to. The monster would come for them if he knew.

“Matt, it’s Dr. Retel and Dr. Sanderson. Do you know us?”

He wasn’t sure. They weren’t the men he thought he should be with. Who was he supposed to be with? Again, dimly familiar faces and names teased the border of memory. The leader. The caregiver. The warrior…

“Kom.” A wavering voice spoke one of the names he’d searched for. He glanced around for the speaker. He couldn’t spot him, but the name was called a second time. “Kom.”

Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, and print

His past demons have returned, and only a Kalquorian clan can save him.

Matthew Larsen should be happy. Reunited with the Nobek he fell in love with years ago, welcomed into a clan determined to give him a better life, he has everything he never imagined possible. However, he’s haunted by the hellish past and certainty it will reclaim him.

Nobek Kom spent years searching for Matt. Their reunion and his clanmates’ acceptance of the troubled Earther seemed to be all that stood in the way of the perfect future. His Earther love isn’t so easily rescued, however. Even a warrior can’t protect someone against his nightmares.

Dramok Avir and Imdiko Masok are devoted to the beautiful Earther Kom brought home. Loving such a gentle soul isn’t a problem. Saving him from monsters, real and imagined, is another matter when Matt’s worst fears come true and the terrors of the past rise once again to drag him into the abyss. 

Buy now:

Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, and print

 

Now on Sale - Clan Companions: Matthew - Read Chapter Two Now

 

A little extra incentive for you to discover Matt Larsen's story...Chapter Two! He gets his first look at his new home and Clan Avir gets their first hint their companion-to-be might find it difficult to settle into happily-ever-after.

Or go ahead and grab the whole story at Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, and in print.

 

Chapter Two

“Still no problems with the new arm and hand then?” Masok had opted to sit on the back bench of Avir’s personal shuttle next to Matt. He leaned forward, gripping Kom’s shoulder.

The long wait to have his Nobek home for good was over. Masok didn’t understand why Kom hadn’t returned to Kalquor as soon as he’d found Matt. His protests the Earther needed time to settle in and feel safe had been ridiculous. Safe on a rough-and-tumble cargo ship where Kom had lost his arm? How could such an environment offer Matt any sense of security?

Nobeks were an odd breed, however. The warrior’s mentality when it came to what constituted danger was far different from a nurturing Imdiko’s.

Kom waved away his concern with a grin. “It’s all good. The prosthetic beats what I had. Do you know the tools, devices, and weapons I can attach in place of my hand? How much is in my savings, Avir?”

Their Dramok laughed, his usually intense features softening. “A couple of cartons labeled ‘hand substitutions’ have already arrived at the home. How many more could you ask for?”

“All of them.”

Masok chuckled and turned to the small figure sitting beside him. Ancestors, he’d never get over how sweet Matt looked. He had to keep reminding himself the Earther was a full-grown man, not a doll to be carried. “I’m so thrilled you two are home. How are you, Matt? Good?”

“I’m okay.” Matt smiled to show how okay he was, and Masok had to resist sitting the beauty on his lap. It was no wonder Kom had driven them crazy by searching for him, though the odds had been stacked so high against tracking him down.

“Did someone else give you these clothes?” He kept from grabbing Matt by tugging on the collar of his shirt instead. The fabric was rough, as if it hadn’t been quite finished. “They’re too big. They look cheap, too. Look, this is unraveling here. Kom, you said you’d bought him a decent wardrobe.”

“I did!”

“I picked them out. I think they’re okay.” Matt sounded defensive, but he didn’t appear embarrassed. Masok guessed he simply refused to allow Kom to take the blame.

Kom had mentioned Matt had issues with feeling undeserving of nice things. Even so, there was no reason for their soon-to-be-official companion to go around looking like a waif.

As if hearing his thoughts, Avir threw a warning glance over his shoulder at Masok. He set the automatic pilot and twisted in his seat to better talk to him. “Earthers probably have a different view of fashion than we do. As far as Kom’s choosing nicer clothes, what did you expect from a Nobek? Especially a Nobek who’s a nudist?”

“Clothes are for those whose bodies are better left unseen,” Kom proclaimed loftily. “Matt and I are walking pieces of art.”

“You’d better put me on a really tall pedestal so I can be appreciated then. Provide a magnifying glass while you’re at it.”

Laughter filled the shuttle at Matt’s rejoinder. Masok had noticed he was always ready to poke fun at his height.

“You and I are going shopping for decent clothes at the soonest opportunity,” Masok promised him.

“I don’t need anything. What I have is fine.” There was a minute hunching of his shoulders.

Masok refused to let the jab of sadness he felt show. Kom had overstated Matt’s emotional state, but there was no doubt he’d been through the wringer.

The Earther had come from a world that refused to accept who he was and would have tortured and killed him had he been discovered. And those terrible stories of what his father Sven had done…

It would be all right, Masok promised himself as he patted Matt’s thigh and received a sweet smile for the attention. Kom loved their new companion unconditionally. Avir cared about him, thanks to their few visits and many coms. Masok adored him and was certain real love was mere weeks, maybe only days away.

Love was the best cure for everything. Matt’s past injuries, although admittedly severe, would be healed in no time at all.

* * * *

Matt bit his lips together to keep from laughing. They were in the housing complex’s confusing corridor, a few feet from Clan Avir’s door, and Kom was already pulling his clothes off. His tank top went first, displaying a torso crisscrossed with scars. They enhanced his muscular build. A couple steps later, the Nobek paused long enough to pull off a slip-on shoe. Another step, and the second shoe was in his prosthetic hand.

“Kom.” If Avir was rebuking him, it was lost in the chuckles rolling from his lips.

The handsome clan leader wore a crisp shirt. His well-cut trousers were neatly pressed. He looked every inch the successful business executive, even on his day off. Matt had been impressed with Avir from the moment he’d set eyes on him.

“I’ll keep the shorts on until I’m inside.” The door to the clan’s home opened before Kom, and he took a step. “I’m inside.” Shorts flew at Avir’s face. Displaying amusement, the Dramok snatched them out of the air and gestured to Matt and Masok to precede him.  

Matt had never been to the clan’s home. He hadn’t been to Kalquor until that day. The Rogue had kept busy carrying cargo between planets, colonies, and space stations, but rarely had it scored shipments to Kalquor. Most of its work had been supplying Earth II, created for the displaced people of Matt’s shattered world.

He was curious about how wealthy Kalquorians lived, but he had to acknowledge Kom’s incredible physique first. How could he not? Kom, though possibly too scarred and craggy for most to consider handsome, was gorgeous to Matt. He couldn’t get his fill of looking at the man.

One side of the Nobek’s lips lifted in acknowledgment of Matt’s appreciation, and secret fire lit in his eyes. It was the sort of heat that said they’d appreciate a hell of a lot more of each other as soon as possible.

Warmth in his groin warned Matt. It was no longer just the two of them, and he hadn’t attempted any intimacies with Avir and Masok yet. He reluctantly pulled his gaze from Kom to take in his surroundings.

He gaped. They lived in no mere apartment. It was a palace.

Everything was shiny. The polished floor appeared to be inlaid marble, beige with dark blue rectangles, sectioning off a pair of non-identical but complementary conversation areas, as did the leaf-cutout divider. Inside the rectangles, thick rugs with matching abstract designs invited bare feet.

Overhead, chandeliers hung over each area. The closest was a swirl of intersecting circular patterns, gleaming a mellow gold in the soft light. The second was a design similar to what Matt had seen in pictures of mansions on Earth, golden arms dripping crystals and pinpoints of light.

Huge vid-windows adorned by taupe draperies beamed in views of the pink-sanded beach and green-tinged ocean. They rightly took the place of paintings or photos, leaving the partitions of white walls bare. The wall on the end closest to Matt boasted a massive fireplace of rounded white rocks. A bar with sparkling mirrors and glassware twinkled at the opposite end.

An ivory sectional lounger, easily capable of seating half a dozen, curled around a sleek table on one side of the divider. A chocolate twin paired with a pair of metal and carved wood tables on the other. Various flowering plants dotted the area, adding splashes of stunning color to the regal space.

Matt’s heart slammed into overdrive. He was to live here?

“I guess it’s a little luxurious compared to the Rogue?” Avir’s tone was teasing. He beamed proudly to have impressed Matt.

“It’s beautiful,” he croaked. His gaze once again swept over the greeting room, where the clan would entertain guests. He noted the length and width of the drapes, the lushness of a potted tree and how much room there was between it and the wall. The loungers sat several inches off the ground on sturdy legs…room for someone his size to crawl under and hide.

Searching for areas to retreat was second nature. While he recognized he was doing so, Matt didn’t deny the urge. He’d be okay with Kom’s clan, he knew it for a fact, but it was good to be aware of where the nooks and crannies were if the need arose.

“Your suite won’t be quite so overwhelming.” The Nobek’s voice roused him from his scrutiny of the room and its options for asylum.

His suite?

Matt recalled himself and realized Avir’s and Masok’s warm gazes had grown concerned. Kom looked resigned. Matt hurriedly slapped on a smile he hoped said “wow” instead of the desperate urge to find safety. He shoved aside the sick feeling he had no business moving into such a manor to live with such a wonderful clan.

“Amazing. Are you sure you aren’t royalty? A king or queen would be at home in this room.”

Avir relaxed, his strong, handsome features brightening as he chuckled. “It’s meant to impress. We’ve made a lot of important deals here with compatible business leaders and clients.”

“How many businesses do you own?” Matt flailed for stable ground, mundane conversation. Anything to slow the rapid thudding of his heart.

“We have seven, which seems to be the limit on how much two men can successfully oversee and still manage a little downtime.”

“If we weren’t so hands-on, we could own more. I think we’re doing enough,” Masok agreed. “We invest in a number of companies, however, so we’re well-diversified.”

Seven successful companies. Matt’s mind boggled.

“Let’s have a look at your rooms. I hope you won’t be let down after seeing the greeting room. They’re nowhere near as fancy,” Masok urged, his voice betraying excitement. “And there’s plenty of opportunity for you to make them your own. In fact, if you want to toss everything in the trash and start from scratch, don’t be shy.”

Breathing was becoming an effort, but Matt kept his smile in place. “I don’t need much. You could have put me on a closet shelf, and it would have been plenty. I fit in most small spaces.”

He earned a round of laughter. He noticed Kom’s sounded forced. The Nobek had noticed Matt was struggling.

I’m okay. For him, I’ll be okay.

Doors bracketed the large bar at the opposite end of the room. They took the opening to the right. “The other door leads to the formal dining room,” Masok explained as he led the way down a long corridor. The marble flooring continued, and landscape paintings taller than Avir lined the walls. He was the biggest of the clan, around a foot and a half taller than Matt.

Matt was used to being the shortest person in the room, but he felt very small in this home, a scurrying mouse who didn’t belong. At least Kom gave him a sense of not being so out of his element as the nude Nobek strode confidently. He looked as strange in the posh surroundings as Matt felt. It helped.

The corridor was long. The apartment, if it could be called that, was huge. Matt had lost count of the doors and rooms they’d passed. Fuck, he was already lost. Lost in an apartment, of all things.

“This is what would be your office, or sitting room, or just ‘get me the hell away from those guys’ space,” Masok said as he slowed before a door, which slid soundlessly into the wall. “I went for the vibe of comfort and fun, but again, whatever doesn’t work, pitch it. You won’t hurt my feelings.”

Matt followed him in, trying to quiet the shaking that had begun. His first reaction to the room was relief. It was nothing like the opulent greeting room or the endless hallway.

It resembled a cozy but well-appointed den. He blinked at an entire wall that was taken up by a vid screen.

“The entertainment system is the same each of us has in our suites,” Avir explained. “Gaming, shows, music, live broadcasted events…all accessible by voice command, and in your native language. Go on, give it a try.”

Matt stared at the vast blackness of the vid monitor. “Um. I don’t…I’m not sure…”

“System, play last year’s Sick Creation concert on Dulzee Four,” Kom said.

The screen glowed to life, and Matt was suddenly in front of the four-man Earther rock group as they blasted “Terrible to be Here.” He stepped back as pyros and lasers blasted.

“Whoa.” His eyes were wide. The picture was as crisp as if he were there on stage among the band, the sound perfectly live. His grin was real as he glanced at Kom in delight.

“Better than being there in person, right?” The Nobek laughed.

“Amazing! This is supernova. I never want to watch shows on my handheld again!”

“Yeah, you’ll absolutely be spoiled for viewing after this. System, off.”

Masok was beaming at his success. Matt hesitated, then hedged toward him, carefully wrapping his arms around the Imdiko’s waist to show his gratitude for the excellent room. Masok’s return hug contained no tentativeness, and he kiss the top of Matt’s head too.

“How about the rest of it?” he enthused. “Is the furniture okay?”

The sage green couch and chairs were Earth-style, but big and roomy enough to accommodate Kalquorians. Matt thought they were perfect for cozying up on to watch the vid or read or whatever else he wished. Colorful throws and blankets were slung over the backs in fashionable cascades. The tables were simple but well-constructed, as was the desk where a computer waited. A hover chair floated next to it. There was a cooling unit filled with a number of Earther snacks, water, juices, and bottles of kloq, a low-alcohol drink. The floor was carpeted in a blue Matt suspected matched his eyes. A few large vid frames on the walls displayed his favorite bands and art depicting musical instruments.

“Those can be switched to show whatever you wish, including live feeds of the beach,” Masok told him. “I didn’t get anything else decorative. Such items should be personal to you.”

“It’s perfect.” It was simpler than the greeting room, which was a relief, but nothing in the room was cheap. Matt quailed to think how much Masok must have spent on him. He swallowed a sudden lump in his throat and blinked his blurring vision clear.

He saw nowhere to hide. Maybe there was a closet in the room he could fit in.

“Okay, okay, you have to see the next room now.” Avir had quietly watched the unveiling, but he was fairly bouncing as he stood next to another doorway. He gave Masok a mock glare. “I was allowed a little input when it came to decorating this one.”

“I’ll give you your due. Avir did all the research for the second room and coordinated with Kom on specific items he knew you’d prefer.” Masok gave Matt a gentle push toward the Dramok. “My efforts will be forgotten the moment you see it. Go ahead and be amazed.”

Matt felt more dread than anticipation as he approached Avir and the doorway. They’d gone too far in fashioning the luxurious den. Why would they go to such lengths for him? Avir and Masok barely knew him. He hadn’t earned the gifts they so eagerly offered.

He went into the next room and gasped. It was a music room.

The walls were adorned with acoustic padding, the sort used in professional recording facilities. The padding was interrupted by lighting strips, which managed to look decorative as well as functional. There was a ledge extending from a wall, ample space to accommodate a number of recording devices. At the moment, there were only two sets of speakers on its surface.

What grabbed and held Matt’s attention were the instruments: a baby grand piano, gleaming black, sat in the corner. On the wall, objects of art themselves, hung a violin, a mandolin, and several guitars, electric and acoustic. He stopped breathing when he saw the Martin hanging on his right.

He glanced at Kom, who watched him closely. “Is that the D-45? The one we saw—”

“In the Earther salvage shop on the Adraf station. I told Avir, and he had them ship it here.”

“If there’s a better instrument, I can send out feelers for it,” Avir said. “Kom said you were pretty excited about this one, though.”

“It’s…it’s…” Matt couldn’t vocalize the beautiful instrument was a holy grail. He drifted close, staring at the spruce and rosewood body, the mahogany neck, the gloss finish that hadn’t faded with the decades of its existence. The gold tuners showed some wear, and the strings would have to be replaced, but there’d been no signs of warping. When he’d been allowed to strum it in the shop where he’d seen it, the incredible deep tone had resounded straight to his soul.

It drew him. He reached trembling fingers toward it, this hallowed beacon of music, his being aching to make it sing. At the last second, he stopped.

He burst into sobs.

 

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His past demons have returned, and only a Kalquorian clan can save him.

Matthew Larsen should be happy. Reunited with the Nobek he fell in love with years ago, welcomed into a clan determined to give him a better life, he has everything he never imagined possible. However, he’s haunted by the hellish past and certainty it will reclaim him.

Nobek Kom spent years searching for Matt. Their reunion and his clanmates’ acceptance of the troubled Earther seemed to be all that stood in the way of the perfect future. His Earther love isn’t so easily rescued, however. Even a warrior can’t protect someone against his nightmares.

Dramok Avir and Imdiko Masok are devoted to the beautiful Earther Kom brought home. Loving such a gentle soul isn’t a problem. Saving him from monsters, real and imagined, is another matter when Matt’s worst fears come true and the terrors of the past rise once again to drag him into the abyss. 

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Now on Sale - Clan Companions: Matthew - Read Chapter One Now

 

It's here! Now available for sale at Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, and in print.

Read on for Chapter One of this story of loss, heartbreak, love, and reaching for impossible dreams.

 

Chapter One

The nightmare giant stood over Kom’s lifeless body. Matt screamed, and the monster turned to him. It reached from an impossible distance, but he knew it would catch him.

He turned and ran. Fell. He scrambled in the sudden darkness, searching for a place to hide. He found it, a hole in the ground, perhaps a cave. He crawled inside.

A hand like a manacle grabbed his ankle. It pulled him out, into dimly lit surroundings. He screamed and flailed, fighting the monster.

“Matt! Wake up!”

Kom’s voice. As Matt was dragged from beneath the bunk in their shared quarters, there was Kom himself, scarred but whole. Alive. The monster was gone. Reality flooded in and reminded him of where he was.

Sobbing, Matt leapt at the Nobek, his arms wrapping around Kom’s neck. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Hush. I’m here. You’re safe.” Kom sat cross-legged on the floor and gathered Matt against his chest. He rocked him and stroked his long, blond hair.

Matt wept, as much from shame as the terror of the nightmare. No matter how often he suffered the same horror, it never failed to devastate him. The only change in seven months was Kom’s presence in it. His Kalquorian friend had been cast in the starring role of Matt’s greatest fear.

As Matt’s hitching breaths eased and his shaking calmed, Kom asked, “The monster, huh?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Did I die this time?”

“I’m sorry.”

Kom sighed. He placed a finger under Matt’s chin and lifted his tear-streaked face. Their gazes met. “You know I’m a bad motherfucker to keep coming back from the dead.”

Matt choked a surprised laugh. “You must be.”

Kom grinned, softening ruggedly handsome features, but there was darkness in his purple eyes. Guilt stabbed Matt. Kom dealt with so much shit from him.

“No, you don’t. No blame for nightmares you can’t help.” The Nobek’s lips pressed his.

His touches were almost always gentle, but his kisses rarely were. He kissed as if he’d devour Matt. Passion lit, strong and heady…but it failed to replace his fears.

The monster was in his head. It snarled to him that it stood outside the door of their quarters, ready to burst in and catch them, two men, sharing an embrace it cursed as foul. Matt’s palms slammed Kom’s chest to push him away.

Matt wasn’t weak. He’d been in the military years before and trained to fight. Kom had instructed him in Kalquorian hand-to-hand techniques too. He worked out regularly under his friend’s guidance and was in the best shape of his life, toned with a decent amount of muscle.

Matt was small, however, even for a human. He stood five-foot-two in his shoes, barely up to his companion’s chest. He was no match for a Kalquorian, especially Kom, a battle-tested warrior Nobek. Kom was almost a foot and a half taller and pure muscled brawn. He didn’t shift an inch despite Matt’s panicked shoving. The kiss continued until Kom was ready for it to end.

Over the past seven months, they’d done this dance more often than Matt could count. When Kom’s hand slid over his crotch and Matt grabbed his wrist to try to stop him, familiar words rose over his frightened pants.

“Easy. You’re safe. No one’s going to hurt you or me. There’s nothing to be afraid of, Mattie.” The strong-featured face hovering over his was as intense as ever, but a smile hinted at Kom’s lips. His cat-pupiled eyes were calm, his voice quiet. “You’re nowhere near Mercy Colony. Sven Larsen has no idea where you are. Earth is gone, and no one, especially your father, can judge you for who you are.”

Kom’s touch was magic despite the fears it awoke. Heat poured into Matt’s groin. Senseless fears refused to let him go, but his cock stiffened in Kom’s hot, calloused grip. The Nobek insisted Matt sleep nude, an exercise in affirming he was free to live and love as he’d been born to.

It was the only therapy they’d come up with for the lingering trauma dogging Matt’s every waking and sleeping minute. That, and the sleeping medication administered three times a week under Dr. Doljen’s watchful eye.

“Don’t. Don’t,” Matt whimpered, though the coils of terror were unraveling as Kom masturbated him to full erection. He was merely holding his beloved’s wrist, resistance ebbing in the distance. “I can’t.”

“You’ll come for me,” Kom promised. “We’ll prove once again you can, and no one will be hurt because of it. We’ll do this until the nightmares give you up.”

He lifted Matt onto the bed they shared. Matt’s legs hung off the edge, spread apart, and Kom kneeled on the floor between them.

“Don’t.” Matt’s voice was a thin whisper. He’d already surrendered, though his gaze slid to the closed door of their small quarters. Part of him defied any logic. It insisted the door would slide open, and the monster would stride in to enact vengeance.

“My poor, sweet little man,” Kom sighed, staring at the shaft in his fist. He bowed over it.

Matt cried out as his cock was enveloped by warmth, as Kom’s rough tongue stroked its underside. As long, sleek black hair spilled down to hide his features, falling over Matt’s lower abdomen. As Kom’s head bobbed over him, as he sucked and swallowed.

There was no resistance now, though in the power of subconscious sway, Matt’s gaze found the door repeatedly as swells of bliss made his sight hazy. He bit his lip in an effort to silence the moans, keeping anyone listening in the corridor beyond from discovering what they did, but as Kom urged him toward crescendo, exhalations of rising excitement escaped with increasing frequency.

“Can’t,” Matt groaned as exhilaration filled his groin. “Don’t make me,” he added as a thrilling ribbon of exquisite sweetness began to unfurl. “Stop!” he wailed as it barreled through his cock.

All was tumult and frenzy as rapture jolted his senses. Kom’s mouth and throat pulled rhythmically, swallowing the bursts of passion emptying Matt’s loins. Matt jerked beneath him, for a few seconds blessedly free of the phantoms haunting him.

He was still uttering tiny sounds of gratification when Kom curled them together on the bunk, pulled the covers over them, and ordered the lights off.

Spooned in the warm curve of the bigger man’s body, Matt came to himself by degrees. The rigid, slick thicknesses against his buttocks recalled him to his lover and what he’d done for him.

“Do you want me to—?”

“Try to sleep. Tomorrow’s a big day.” Kom kissed his temple and cuddled him closer.

“I want you to feel better too.”

“I’m fine, beautiful. Sleep.”

Guilt was a ready commodity, easy to come by. Matt wished Kom would let him jerk him off. It was the least he could do after the Nobek had snapped him out of the nightmare’s tendency to spiral him into the depths of shame and hurt.

They’d been together seven months. They were regarded as a couple by those who knew them. Yet the most they’d indulged in as lovers was mutual masturbation and Kom sucking Matt off after his nightmares.

Matt had yet to attempt fellatio on the Nobek who’d saved him. Actual intercourse wasn’t even up for debate. On his best days, he thought he might be ready for the next step as far as physical relations were concerned, but Kom wouldn’t hear of it.

“One step at a time,” he’d insisted when Matt tremulously brought it up. “I couldn’t handle it if you fell apart on me during an act that should be only absolute pleasure. There’s no rush. We’re together, and we’re staying together. The rest will happen when you’re ready.”

Matt was grateful Kom was so careful, but remorse grated on him. The Nobek wasn’t getting a fraction of the attention he deserved.

He wanted Kom as intimately as he could have him. He was eager to show his lover how much he meant to him. He wanted to share himself completely.

But always in the background, and often in the forefront of his mind, the monster was there, shouting at him it would destroy the joy he’d found with another man, as it had done before.

“Sleep, Mattie.” Kom slung a leg over his. He wrapped him in his concern, in his love, in his eternal readiness to forgive the endless irritations Matt thrust upon him.

“I love you, Kom.” The words were pathetic when he had so few actions at his command to back them up. It was no wonder Nobeks refused to speak them to other men.

“My beautiful man,” Kom whispered. His tone was happier than it should have been.

 

* * * *

 

Kom stepped to the hatch of the cargo transport vessel Roguefor the last time, feeling unreal to close this particular chapter of his life.

I’m opening another. Hopefully, it’ll be happy. He glanced at Matt, who stood at his side. The sight sent doubt thudding through him.

Matt was pale-skinned as a matter of course. “Nordic bloodlines. I didn’t get the height, but I have the skin. If I were any whiter, I’d be mayonnaise,” he’d joked.

“You taste a hell of a lot better than mayonnaise,” Kom had answered, grinning when Matt blushed.

He was white, all right, more so than usual as they readied to leave the Rogue. It made the blue of his eyes stand out. His lips, a fascinating shade of pink, were a stark rose color at the moment. They darkened when he was emotional, whether the feelings were good or bad.

Kom had a good idea of which way Matt’s feelings were tending at that instant.

Though he was obviously tense about the coming face-to-face encounter with Kom’s clanmates…not for a mere week’s visit, but a reunion that was to hopefully last the rest of his life…Matt yanked on Kom’s heart in a way no other man ever had. He appeared vulnerable, igniting the protectiveness native to a Nobek warrior. Beyond his anxiety, however, was a sweet, guileless visage Kom was certain had never turned angry his entire life. Fearful and sickened, yes, but irate? An enraged Matthew Larsen was impossible to imagine.

He summed up the word adorable. A cute snub nose. Round cheeks. Those plump lips, which pooched when he was upset. He had an impish smile capable of halting Kom’s heart when it made its too-seldom appearance. It transformed Matt into a being too endearing to deny him anything.

A true Nobek wouldn’t speak of love for another man, but a mere glance at Matt filled Kom to the brim with the sentiment. It took every ounce of his strength to avoid reaching for him, to escape grabbing him, holding him close, and stroking his silky, shoulder-length blond hair. It was on the tip of Kom’s tongue tell him for the millionth time everything would be all right and no one could hurt him now.

“I never thought this day would come. It’s nice you wore clothes for such a momentous occasion.” Captain Bernadette Miller interrupted Kom’s thoughts. She grinned at him in his tank top and shorts, but her eyes were bright with tears.

Matt snickered, his expression lighting for a moment before worry clouded it once more. Bernadette tipped him a wink, her own stern features easing. She returned her attention to Kom. She understood how uncomfortable Matt grew when someone gazed at him for a few seconds. Particularly when the person looking at him was a fellow human.

Kom smirked, pretending he felt no grief at leaving his longtime friend and employer. “You’ll miss seeing a real man around the ship.” He glanced at her clanmates, particularly Nobek Halmiko.

As Dramok Tumsa chuckled and Imdiko Doljen’s eyes rolled, Halmiko motioned toward his pants crotch, pretending he’d open it. “Want to see who measures up? I’ll give you a real chance. We’ll compare my secondary to your primary.”

Bernadette scowled. “Thanks for reminding me of what I won’t miss.” Then her eyes misted over, and she gave Kom an awkward hug. “Take care of yourself. Larsen, don’t take any nonsense off this idiot, okay?”

“I’ll try, but nonsense is what he does best.”

They probably laughed too hard at Matt’s rare attempt at humor, but the sense of loss was overwhelming.

I’m doing this. I’m leaving the Roguebehind. When Kom glanced at Matt, however, his resolve firmed. The Earther was the reason he’d absented himself from his clan and roamed space in what should have been a hopeless search. He’d found Matt, and the hour had come to give him a happy home and the stability he’d been denied. When the hatch opened, he said goodbye to his friends and left his home of more than two years without a backward glance.

Matt was on his heels as he descended the ramp. His fingertips ghosted against Kom’s elbow, left bare by his sleeveless tank, but he didn’t grab on as the Nobek knew he wished to. When they were around others, particularly strangers, he wouldn’t go further than that almost-contact.

Kom heard his sharp intake of breath as they entered the din of Kalquor’s capital city’s spaceport. Not only did tall, dark-skinned, black-haired Kalquorians swarm the docks, but also a fairly large number of Matt’s fellow Earthers, a similar race of various colors and sizes.

Matt whimpered. His fingers brushed Kom’s elbow and disappeared, seeking and rejecting shelter at once.

At the foot of the ramp Kom turned to him. Matt’s gaze darted in every direction, instinctively searching for a threat while pretending casualness. No one standing farther than Kom would notice his minute trembling.

Kom restrained the urge to snarl at those who passed them and openly stared at Matt. Well-fed and healthy under Kom’s care, a far cry from how the Nobek had found him, he was that damned cute. Many couldn’t resist gawking when they saw him. His wide-eyed alarm while he attempted to appear nonchalant was easily misconstrued as an innocent’s avidly curious gaze. Only Kom knew he was on the brink of bolting to find a place to hide.

I should have brought him home sooner, where we could find help beyond sedatives. Kom had hoped remaining in the Rogue’sfamiliar environs would better ease Matt into normal, everyday life and loosen past ties that kept him knotted in fear and dread. After several months, he’d seen no sign of recovery.

“Kom! Matt!” Masok’s delighted shout rose above the port’s thunderous voice. The Imdiko appeared ahead of Avir, both hurrying to greet them.

Kom’s heart swelled, and he prodded Matt forward, eager to greet his clanmates. They’d been more than kind to allow him to search for Matt for so many years when he should have been home with them. He vowed to show his overwhelming gratitude as soon as possible.

Masok’s glee was evident in the wide grin spreading over his earnest, pleasant features. Muscled but trimmer than his clanmates, he was a stirring sight to Kom in his casual but fashionable shirt and shorts. His waist-length hair was plaited in a braid, which swung as he rushed to them.

He planted a hearty, cock-stirring kiss on Kom’s lips. “How’s the arm? Is it still working well?”

“Couldn’t be better. Wait until I show you the new moves I can do with it.” Kom waggled his brows suggestively and flexed the prosthetic arm. His former limb had been mangled in an attack on the Rogue some months ago, shortly after he’d found Matt.

The prosthetic was a top-of-the-line model. It would have appeared to be the arm he’d lost, but for the missing scars and where it divided at the wrist from his new hand, a separate unit. Microprocessors fed information to his brain and almost made it feel like the appendage he’d been born with.

“And here’s this gorgeous sweetheart! Welcome home at last, Matt!” Masok grabbed the blonde and picked him up for a hug.

Before Kom could react to the alarm bursting over Matt’s face, he was also grabbed. “My Nobek!” Avir’s kiss was just as passionate as Masok’s had been. His workout was almost identical to his Nobek’s, though he wasn’t quite as defined. Avir felt damned good despite Kom’s concern for Matt. “It’s so good to say hello without a goodbye in the near future!”

“Yeah, it’s wonderful,” he answered breathlessly, trying to return the affection and check on Matt too.

“Are you excited? Glad to finally put down roots?” Masok had set Matt down, but he was petting his hair and fussing over the small Earther, somehow missing how wildly Matt examined their surroundings and the people passing them.

“Hold on there! Where do you think you’re going with our little guy?”

The two Nobeks who’d filled out Kom’s security team on the Roguecharged from the ship’s hatch. Berkan and Dakmo playfully nudged a laughing Masok aside and focused on Matt.

“Come on, Matt, you aren’t really leaving us for thosethree?”

“Cause two of us Nobeks are definitely worth a Dramok, Imdiko, and…wait, what’s Kom again?”

“Some sort of mutant offshoot impossible to categorize. He definitely doesn’t deserve you, Matt.”

Perhaps Matt had noted the approving attitudes of Kalquorian and Earther passersby as they carried on. Maybe it was because he was comfortable with Berkan’s and Dakmo’s outrageous flirting. Maybe it was because he realized the trio of Nobeks present wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him. In any event, his rising panic abruptly departed.

“I’ll miss you guys.” Sincerity rang in his voice. It renewed clamoring from the pair of rough, bearded thugs to reconsider leaving them.

Berkan and Dakmo had been infatuated with Matt at first sight. Kom realized they only half-joked, and they’d run off with the Earther if they had an actual chance. Nonetheless, he took no offense at behavior most Nobeks would have beaten the shit out of them for. He’d known them for years, and they wouldn’t step over the line where Matt was concerned. He let them carry on for a few seconds before growling a warning.

“You have our com frequencies,” Berkan whispered loudly to Matt after they said their goodbyes. “When you’re ready to return to us, let us know.”

“I guess we’d better not mess up,” Avir chuckled to Kom, his beefy arm around his waist. His handsome face beamed from Kom to Matt and back. “He’ll have his pick of suitors if we don’t keep him happy. Welcome home, Matt.”

He released Kom to hug the calmer Earther. Matt’s smile was tentative, but Kom thought it was because he was still a little shy where Avir and Masok were concerned. Their few visits over the past seven months had been brief. Most of the relationship they’d forged with the Earther had been over vid coms.

Matt’s gaze flicked here and there, but since no one reacted to his embracing a man, there was no freakout. Kom mentally sighed in relief.

Masok nudged him and whispered, “Why were you so worried? He seems perfectly fine to me.”

 

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His past demons have returned, and only a Kalquorian clan can save him.

Matthew Larsen should be happy. Reunited with the Nobek he fell in love with years ago, welcomed into a clan determined to give him a better life, he has everything he never imagined possible. However, he’s haunted by the hellish past and certainty it will reclaim him.

Nobek Kom spent years searching for Matt. Their reunion and his clanmates’ acceptance of the troubled Earther seemed to be all that stood in the way of the perfect future. His Earther love isn’t so easily rescued, however. Even a warrior can’t protect someone against his nightmares.

Dramok Avir and Imdiko Masok are devoted to the beautiful Earther Kom brought home. Loving such a gentle soul isn’t a problem. Saving him from monsters, real and imagined, is another matter when Matt’s worst fears come true and the terrors of the past rise once again to drag him into the abyss. 

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Releasing Tomorrow! Clan Companions: Matthew

 

The nightmare comes true

The group crowding around him moved apart a little, and he saw the club beyond them, the people crowding tables and enjoying their night out.

His gaze fell on him, standing between a couple of tables a few feet away. He watched as Matt was embraced and kissed by men.

A thrill of terror rushed through Matt. It’s just your imagination, like before. He isn’t here.

But it was the monster he always saw in his hallucinations, his father Sven. This time it was his uncle Valter, and he was walking toward Matt. He was there, and he was coming for them.

Matt staggered back a step. Kom looked in the direction he stared. His smile fled in an instant, and a growl issued from his lips as he took a step that partially obstructed Matt’s view.

“What—?” Masok started.

The familiar snarling voice rose above the nearby conversation. “Step aside. I will speak to my nephew!”

“Son of a bitch!” Avir swore. He pushed Matt further back, also moving to block Valter from reaching him.

“You were warned to leave him alone.” Matt couldn’t view Kom’s expression, only his and Avir’s wide torsos as they formed a living barricade between nephew and uncle.

“Get out. Matt’s nothing to you.” It sounded as if Avir spoke through gritted teeth.

“He’s a foul, hell-bound pervert, as are you. This is his only chance to repent his crimes. Matthew! Stop hiding behind these deviants and do your duty to the man who raised you!”

There was a strange roaring in Matt’s ears, overcoming Valter’s hectic shouts. Darkness crowded the edges of his vision and crept inward.

From a great distance, he heard himself say, “No. No, I can’t. I can’t. No more.”

The roaring eclipsed everything then. He felt as if he were falling, but his sight had been reduced to a pinhole, through which he couldn’t see anything. Couldn’t see Valter attack his clan, couldn’t see him hurt them. Then the mote of light winked out.

The roaring died, replaced by silence. Quiet darkness swallowed Matt.

 

Releases tomorrow! Pre-order or buy print version now:

Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, print

 

His past demons have returned, and only a Kalquorian clan can save him.

Matthew Larsen should be happy. Reunited with the Nobek he fell in love with years ago, welcomed into a clan determined to give him a better life, he has everything he never imagined possible. However, he’s haunted by the hellish past and certainty it will reclaim him.

Nobek Kom spent years searching for Matt. Their reunion and his clanmates’ acceptance of the troubled Earther seemed to be all that stood in the way of the perfect future. His Earther love isn’t so easily rescued, however. Even a warrior can’t protect someone against his nightmares.

Dramok Avir and Imdiko Masok are devoted to the beautiful Earther Kom brought home. Loving such a gentle soul isn’t a problem. Saving him from monsters, real and imagined, is another matter when Matt’s worst fears come true and the terrors of the past rise once again to drag him into the abyss. 

Pre-order or buy print version now:

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WIP Wednesday - Clan Companions: Matthew

 

A place in the clan

Kom stared at him for a couple of beats. “Put your guitar away and come here.”

There was something dangerous in his tone that raised the hairs on Matt’s body, but it was a command he didn’t dare refuse. Especially since he knew what it meant.

He hung the guitar and shuffled toward the Nobek. At the sight of the bulge in Matt’s pants, a grin spread over Kom’s lips, making him more dangerous, more sexy, more exciting.

Kom’s cocks lifted higher. He jerked his head toward Matt’s sitting room. “Clothes off and get on the lounger. I’d undress you myself, but I don’t want to rip your nice, new things and have Masok yell at me.”

Matt hurried into the next room, shedding shoes, socks, shirt, pants, and underwear as he went. The images in of the clan making love continued to play in his mind, exciting him. Though Kom hadn’t dared go beyond sucking his cock, Matt had plenty of fantasy material to replay to render it a satisfying encounter.

“Lie on your back.”

Matt obeyed. Kom was on him in an instant, blanketing him, kissing him with a thoroughness that sent blistering heat straight to his groin. Matt moaned and rubbed against the Nobek’s abdomen, hungrily returning the kiss.

Kom stroked calloused hands down his ribcage, to his hips and thighs. Up again. He lifted enough to caress Matt’s chest and abdomen. He seized Matt’s clamoring cock, rubbing it up and down until the smaller male cried a warning.

“Did we get you hot, little man?” Kom’s strokes slowed, and he masturbated his own thick members in turn while stimulating Matt.

“You were amazing. I wish I’d watched you to the end,” he groaned, fighting the urge to come, battling the images in his head exciting him too much too soon. He concentrated on tracing the swells of Kom’s chest, on fingering his dark nipples, on exploring his abdomen, on caressing the slick, tapered tips of his lover’s cocks.

“You didn’t wish to join us?”

“And ruin the moment? You were too perfect together.” He’d had no place imposing his presence on them.

“Matt. There will always be room for you.”

Kom punctuated the assertion by delivering another blinding kiss. He began to work down Matt’s body, his mouth leaving a wet trail as he homed in on his cock.

It was only then that Matt saw Avir and Masok standing over them. They were naked and erect. He gasped, and not just because of what Kom’s mouth did to him.

 

Releasing February 10, 2023. Two days! Pre-order or buy print version now:

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His past demons have returned, and only a Kalquorian clan can save him.

Matthew Larsen should be happy. Reunited with the Nobek he fell in love with years ago, welcomed into a clan determined to give him a better life, he has everything he never imagined possible. However, he’s haunted by the hellish past and certainty it will reclaim him.

Nobek Kom spent years searching for Matt. Their reunion and his clanmates’ acceptance of the troubled Earther seemed to be all that stood in the way of the perfect future. His Earther love isn’t so easily rescued, however. Even a warrior can’t protect someone against his nightmares.

Dramok Avir and Imdiko Masok are devoted to the beautiful Earther Kom brought home. Loving such a gentle soul isn’t a problem. Saving him from monsters, real and imagined, is another matter when Matt’s worst fears come true and the terrors of the past rise once again to drag him into the abyss. 

 

Releasing February 10, 2023. Two days! Pre-order or buy print version now:

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Releasing Friday - Clan Companions: Matthew - Pre-Order Now

 

Acceptance

Matt spread his hands helplessly. He was unable to understand how his brain could insist on one thing when he knew another. How could his lovers fathom it when he wasn’t capable of doing so? “Did you ever think I might be too messed up to keep around?”

A growl trickled from Kom. Avir shook his head, protest written all over his face.

“Listen.” Masok guided him to the lounger. They sat, the Imdiko holding him close. “You haven’t had any experience among people who’ll accept you as you are. But we do accept you. There’s nothing you could do to stop us from caring about you. Nothing you might do would make us want you to leave.”

“But—”

“No.” Avir knelt by his feet. He grabbed Matt’s hands and pressed them to his lips briefly. “No buts. You’re part of this clan. This is where you belong, with us, for the rest of our lives. Case closed.”

Did they mean it? Avir’s and Masok’s faces had blurred, thanks to the tears standing in Matt’s eyes. He couldn’t see their expressions well, but their tones had rung in conviction and feeling. He drew a shuddering breath.

“Thank you. I’ll try to do better, I really will.”

“You’ll do the best you can, which is good enough,” Masok said. “If you get scared, it’ll still be fine. We’ll be here.”

“Damned right. No more job interviews, no more leaving you alone until you can handle it,” Kom vowed, sinking onto the lounger and crowding close.

Matt gazed at him, misery threatening. Kom had already sacrificed so much for him. His gaze fell on the artificial arm, the gap between it and the robotic hand. If Kom hadn’t spent years searching for him, he’d have been at home instead of hurt by an explosive.

“Mattie.” The Nobek’s eyes narrowed, perhaps discerning where his thoughts had gone. “My breed lives to protect and fight for others. Keeping you safe is what I was born to do. Not keep order at the docks, not test pilot shuttles, not train retired Nobeks for productive last years. You, Avir, and Masok are my primary concern, above all others. You know why.”

You know why. It was the closest a Nobek could come to an outright declaration of love. Matt swallowed, warm gratitude bringing the hint of a smile. “I know.”

“Come here and let me show you.” Calloused fingers gripped his chin, pulling him into Kom’s kiss.

 

Releases this Friday! Pre-order or buy print version now:

Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, print

 

His past demons have returned, and only a Kalquorian clan can save him.

Matthew Larsen should be happy. Reunited with the Nobek he fell in love with years ago, welcomed into a clan determined to give him a better life, he has everything he never imagined possible. However, he’s haunted by the hellish past and certainty it will reclaim him.

Nobek Kom spent years searching for Matt. Their reunion and his clanmates’ acceptance of the troubled Earther seemed to be all that stood in the way of the perfect future. His Earther love isn’t so easily rescued, however. Even a warrior can’t protect someone against his nightmares.

Dramok Avir and Imdiko Masok are devoted to the beautiful Earther Kom brought home. Loving such a gentle soul isn’t a problem. Saving him from monsters, real and imagined, is another matter when Matt’s worst fears come true and the terrors of the past rise once again to drag him into the abyss. 

Pre-order or buy print version now:

Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, print