M.A. Church's Blog, page 24

Welcome to Pucker Up Monday

It’s not what you think, lol. Since Mondays do tend to suck, I thought I’d try to start the week off right for y’all. 

Welcome to Pucker Up Monday

It’s not what you think, lol. Since Mondays do tend to suck, I thought I’d try to start the week off right for y’all. 

Tuesday Teaser

Chapter Six – Kit

THE NEXT few days were a whirlwind of activity , and the weekend had finally arrived. It’d been a good week. He and Beckett worked well together and even had exchanged phone numbers. He thought they were becoming friends. 

He’d also been told that someone would be tailing him after he left work too. Hudson had once again sent a picture of the dragon who’d be following him around after work. 

This time, though, his babysitter would just be keeping an eye on him. In other words, he wouldn’t be working with them like he did with Beckett.

Kit hadn’t been entirely sure how he felt about that, but it made sense. There wasn’t any point in only keep an eye on him during the day. That left all night for bad things to happen. At least Kit had been told. He was already paranoid enough without adding in someone following him that he didn’t know about.

Standing in the doorway of his office, Kit looked the space over with a critical eye. He’d finished painting the space and now had it furnished. He really liked the colors, and it gave the smaller room a bright, airy feeling.

He was rather happy with the outcome.

And speaking of happy outcomes, Beckett had been a godsend. Or maybe he should say a dragonsend. Was there such a word? If not, there definitely should be. 

Beckett hadn’t been joking when he said he was a book lover. He could talk about any author Kit brought up. They’d had long discussions over the classics—including funny little stories about a certain English playwright, poet, and actor from long ago that Beckett had met.

Shakespeare. Beckett had freaking met William Shakespeare.

It boggled Kit’s mind just how long Beckett had obviously been alive. In fact, he wasn’t entirely sure how old Beckett was. Was it polite to ask? Yeah, probably not.

Dammit. 

But after spending several days in Beckett’s company, it was fairly obvious the man was much older than he looked—and he looked to be in his early thirties at the very least.

And had Kit mentioned Beckett was drop-dead gorgeous? Kind too. He was always willing to lend a hand, whether it was something Kit or one of his employees needed. He treated everyone in the store with the utmost respect also.

Beckett was perfect in every way—and he did absolutely nothing for Kit’s libido. Not even a spark. Just nothing. Kit really needed to have a serious conversation with his libido. 

Maybe he could trade it in for a new one, because obviously there was something wrong with his. It made him want to beat his head against the nearest wall.

He’s only been half kidding about being terminally single, but it appeared his body took his comment as the gospel.

Fuck his life. 

“Hey. Ready to call it a day?” Beckett asked, coming to a stop next to Kit.

“Yup.” Kit followed Beckett to the front of the store, set the alarm, and locked the door. Beckett had made it a point to always walk Kit out to his car, which Kit appreciated.

Kit unlocked his car door and opened it. “Thanks. Have a good weekend. I’ll see you Monday.”

Beckett rested his hand on Kit’s car door. “Hey, listen, do you have plans this weekend?”

Oh no. Kit sincerely hoped Beckett wasn’t about to ask him out. The only feelings he had toward Beckett were those of friendship. “Not really. Why?”

“You know you have somebody trailing you, but if you do decide to go out, make sure you always stay with crowds. Just to be safe,” Beckett said. “I mean, in this day and age, that goes without saying anyway, you know?”

“Believe me, I know.” Kit wanted to hug Beckett. He really was the nicest person ever. “But no, more than likely I’ll stay home. I’m not really in the mood to party.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, but I do understand. Okay, I’ll see you Monday.” Beckett pushed Kit’s car door closed, waved, then walked over to his truck. 

Kit  started his car and pulled out of the parking lot, Beckett right behind him. He’d follow Kit all the way to his apartment complex before breaking off and heading home. Wherever home was for Beckett. 

Kit also knew what the dragon who was watching him drove. He thought his name was Leo. Maybe it was Leon. No, no, it was Leo. Like the Zodiac sign. Except he was a dragon, not a lion. 

But didn’t the sign have something to do with fire? Maybe? Which made sense, considering that Leo was a red dragon who breathed fire and… and good grief, can you say squirrel brain? 

Anyway, Beckett had introduced him to Kit. How Leo managed to sit there all night without drawing any attention was beyond Kit. But then again, Kit had no idea just how influential Hudson was. 

Oh, he’d definitely googled Hudson, and he knew the man was insanely rich, just like his good buddy Kage. No doubt about it, money talked. Must be nice.

Kit parked in the underground parking reserved for his apartment building. He lived on the tenth floor and had a fairly decent view, thank goodness. 

The layout of his apartment was one where you entered through the kitchen. The reason for that were the floor-to-ceiling windows at the other end. His apartment had lots of natural light, even if it was small. 

He hung his keys up next to the front door, then locked it. The kitchen was open concept to the living area with a small island between the two. The flooring was some sort of fake light gray hardwood and the walls were white. 

Even the cabinets in the kitchen were light gray. The countertops were gray marble. There was a whole lot of damn gray, so of course Kit combated it with pops of color everywhere. 

The living area only had enough room for a couch, a small chair, and the TV. The bedroom and bathroom pretty much followed the same theme: gray flooring and white walls. 

It wasn’t a bad apartment, it was just… an apartment. He’d grown up surrounded by nature with lots and lots of room to roam. Sometimes it was hard to breathe in this little boxy thing.

He’d kill to have a garden again.

Kit changed into pink yoga pants and an oversized T-shirt that looked as if it had been splattered with pink and orange paint. Tying one part of it into a knot on his hip, he padded out of his bedroom. Flipping his hair over his shoulder, he made a beeline for the kitchen.

Time for wine.

Curling up on the couch with his drink, he turned on the TV. It was a little early to think about dinner, so he decided he’d pick up where he’d left off rewatching Game of Thrones. Hello badass dragons! Then maybe he’d have dinner delivered from his favorite Italian restaurant down the street. 

Honestly, what could be better than that? Maybe if he said it a few more million times, he’d believe it.

Welcome to Pucker Up Monday

 It’s not what you think, lol. Since Mondays do tend to suck, I thought I’d try to start the week off right for y’all. 

Tuesday Teaser

 

Of course, Kit hadn’t explained to his employees why his ex-boyfriend was now an ex. All he’d said was that Don had done something horrible, and Kit had dumped him.

Which, basically, was true. Thanks to that, Kit had decided he was going to be terminally single.

“Right. But are they’re going to believe I suddenly hired a new employee with no warning, either?” Kit rubbed his forehead as he stared into space.

Finding out about paranormals was a huge pain in his ass. How did people deal with this stuff? Just lie all the time? He was a horrible liar. Just ask anyone who knew him.

“There’s no way around it, I’m going to have to act like he’s an employee. That’s the only thing that would make sense.” Kit sincerely hoped Beckett was willing to play along. 

While Kit waited on his food, he tried to get as much painted as he could. A picture of Beckett also came in. No doubt about it, the guy was good-looking, and in the picture at least, he looked friendly. Shrugging, Kit slid his phone back into his pocket. Frankly, after the disastrous ending of his last relationship, he was kind of off men at the moment.

About twenty minutes later, he scrubbing the paint off his hands so he could eat. Sitting at his desk, he dug in. He inhaled his sandwich he was so hungry. He’d really worked up an appetite paining, which was nice since that too had been off lately.

Kit had just eaten the last chip when another one of his employees popped her head into his office to tell him he had a visitor. Figuring it was Beckett, he cleaned up the remains of his lunch, tossed his trash, and made a quick trip to the employees’ bathroom to wash his hands.

Butterflies took flight in his stomach as he made his way up front. He was about to meet a real live dragon. That was excitingly terrifying. 

He spotted Beckett almost immediately, and he had to say, the picture really didn’t do the guy justice. He was simply gorgeous. As luck would have it, he was standing in a beam of sunlight that made his reddish gold hair blaze. 

“Hey!” Kit came to a stop in front of Beckett and held out his hand. “I’m Kit Meadows.”

Beckett shook Kit’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Kit. I’m Beckett Newhouse. I believe you’re expecting me?”

“Yes.” Kit took note of the red hair and brown eyes. “Why don’t we go back to my office?”

“Sounds good.”

As Kit led back Beckett back, the previous mentioned butterflies were now doing cartwheels in his stomach. And get this. Now that he knew paranormals existed, he was uncomfortable having one at his back. Which was silly, really. He had firsthand knowledge how useless he was at defending himself against one, so why worry about it, right?

Yeah, no. He was not gonna relive that again. Nope.

“Come on in. I’m in the process of moving my office, so things are a mess right now. Sorry about that. Damn.” Well, he was certainly an idiot. “There’s nowhere for you to sit. Just a second, let me go grab a chair from our breakroom. Sorry.”

“Hey, it’s not a problem. I completely understand.”

“Be right back.” Kit hurried down the hall, grabbed the chair, and rushed back to his office. Seriously, where was his brain lately? He said it down in front of his desk.

“Thank you,” Beckett said taking a seat.

Kit collapsed into his desk chair and blew a stray stand of hair out of his face. “Really, I’m usually much more organized than this.”

“Kit, it’s okay. Hudson explained everything. Of course you’re rattled after what you went through.”

Kit leaned his head back and stared up at ceiling. “It’s been an adjustment, that’s for sure.” Kit straightened up in his chair and then made eye contact with Beckett. “Anyway, sorry you got stuck with babysitting duty, but I really do appreciate you being here.”

“Don’t look at it as babysitting duty, and I’m thrilled to be here. Hudson did tell you I love books, right?”

“Yes, he did.”

“And he did tell you that I am more than willing to help out around here, right?”

“He did. I don’t want you to feel obligated, though. I don’t know if you have another job or whatever, but—”

“It’s fine, I promise.”

“Okay. Okay. Sorry.” Lord, he had already apologized twice so far. He needed to stop that. Gah, what an impression he must be making. “I guess I’m still somewhat overwhelmed.”

“Again, that’s not surprising, all things considered. It’s going to be okay, Kit. I’m pleased to be here and more than willing to help out. And also? Just so we’re clear? You’re not a burden, just in case that thought may be lurking around in your head.”

“I mean… yeah. It is. And I am. I’m just sorry Hudson got stuck with… me.” Oh look, third time apologizing.

“My king was asked by his dear friend to watch over you. In other words, Kage honored Hudson by entrusting your care to Hudson. I’m honored my king gave that duty to me.”

“Wow, that’s…. Yeah.” What a beautiful thing to say. “Thank you. That helps.”

“I’m glad, because I meant it. Now, I see you’ve started painting. Would you like to have a helping hand?”

“Seriously?” Because really, who willingly offered to help paint? Who did stuff like that?

“Seriously. Between the two of us, I believe we can get this done in a matter of hours. I like the color, by the way.”

Apparently, dragons did stuff like that. More than happy to have help, Kit stood. “That would be awesome and thank you.”

 “I never would’ve thought of combining those two colors, but they definitely work together. You have a good eye.”

“I know, right, and thanks! Oh hey, by the way, I’m going to tell everybody here you’re a new hire,” Kit said. “For a bookstore, we’re pretty busy, and several of the ladies here have been on me to hire somebody to help me out. So I’m going to say you’re my new assistant.”

“Excellent idea. In that case, let me assist you in painting this room.” Grinning, Beckett stood too.

Laughing, Kit led Beckett over to the cans of paint.

Welcome to Pucker Up Monday

 It’s not what you think, lol. Since Mondays do tend to suck, I thought I’d try to start the week off right for y’all. 

Tuesday Teaser

Suddenly it hit Kit where he’d heard that name from. “Oh wow. Oh goodness. I remember Kage mentioning you now. You’re a… a… a….”

“Yes, indeed I am,” Hudson laughed softly.

“Did you know dragons were my favorite paranormal?” Kit whispered.

“I had heard that, yes. I’m honored that I’ve been asked to see to your safety. Will you allow me to do that for you?” Hudson asked.

The fact that his ex-boyfriend was a hunter and still on the prowl out there somewhere was enough to make Kit accept Hudson’s offer. “Yes. And thank you, I appreciate it. Did they tell you I own a bookstore?”

“They did, yes.”

“Okay, good. We’re a pretty easygoing group here. Also, I don’t know if Austin told you not, but we’re LGBTQIA+ friendly. So whoever you send needs to be aware of that. This is a safe place.”

“Believe me when I tell you that’s not a problem. We’re not hung up on labels like hum—that is to say, like others are.”

Kit caught the slip. Hudson had almost said humans. Paranormals were apparently very careful what they said over the phone, which makes sense. Maybe he needed to do that too. “I’m very glad to hear that.”

“I’m sending a man called Beckett Newhouse. He’s one of mine. Beckett is roughly six-foot-tall, has collar-length golden red hair and brown eyes. Make sure you check for that, Kit, because anyone I send who belongs to me will have some color of red hair and brown eyes. It’s, ah, a trait.”

That was odd, but whatever. Kit had no idea what Hudson meant by trait. “Could you maybe send a picture of him?”

“Good idea. Um, I don’t know if I have one. Let me…. Just a second.”

Kit could hear Hudson mumbling to somebody. 

“My assistant is taking care of that. I’ll send it to you just as soon as I have it. I’ll be sending Beckett to you today,” Hudson continued. “He is there to protect you, but I promise he’ll be more than willing to help out with anything you should need.”

“Oh, well, thank you, but I don’t want to take advantage.”

“Beckett’s a bookworm.”

“Ah, I see! That’s perfect, actually. In that case, he probably will enjoy this. Maybe tell him to dress very casually too. Jeans and a shirt are fine.”

“I will certainly do that. If you need anything, anything at all, please feel free to contact me. This is my personal cell I called on, so you will get me if you call.”

“Thank you, again, and I appreciate that.” Although Kit couldn’t see a reason why he’d need to call the dragon king. 

God Almighty, he was talking to a frigging dragon king. 

“Alright, then, I’ll text you the picture as soon as Connie sends it to me. Expect Beckett this afternoon. Have a good day, Kit. It was nice talking to you,” Hudson said.

“Same to you. And thanks again,” Kit said and disconnected the call.

He placed his hand on his chest in an effort to calm his heart. He had just spoke to an honest-to-goodness dragon. A dragon! And not just any dragon, either. Oh no. A dragon king. A dragon king who seriously had the sexiest voice in creation. Was that a thing? Could their voice mesmerize humans? 

Actually, that was kinda scary.

Questions. Sooooo many questions. Which, unfortunately, he’d probably never get to ask. Would it be rude to ask the dragon coming to babysit him things? Like, all the things? Yeah, it probably would be.

Holy shit, a dragon.

Kit was pretty sure that he’d read every book, ever, about dragons. And movies. Couldn’t forget the movies. He hadn’t really cared about the human actors, all he wanted to see was the big ass dragons.

The sudden loud knock on his office door jerked Kit out of his musings. One of his employees stood there grinning.

“Hey, it’s coming up on lunch time. We’re going to place an order from that sandwich shop down the street. Do you want anything?”

“Yeah. I do. Wow, I hadn’t realized it was lunch time.” Kit gave his employee his order, fished out some money, and gave it to her. 

As he watched her leave, a thought hit him. Shit, how was he going to explain Beckett to the staff? They didn’t know about Nox and the attack. Shit. Shit. Shit. And Beckett was going to be there that afternoon. 

The only thing Kit could come up with was that he hired a new employee. The folks who worked there wouldn’t believe Beckett was anything but that. 

Kit couldn’t even say Beckett was a boyfriend because everybody at the bookstore knew Kit had recently been in a relationship that had ended abruptly and rather nastily. 

Of course, Kit hadn’t explained to his employees why his ex-boyfriend was now an ex. All he’d said was that Don had done something horrible, and Kit had dumped him.

Thursday Book Recommendation

 

These are books I’ve read and really enjoyed. Most of what I talk about will probably be paranormal/scifi but not always. Although it’s rare, I do read some contemporary. 

This week is:  Werewolves Hate Clogs (La Famiglia Mostro Book 1) by K.L. Hiers

Blurb: 

Othniel “Neil” Ricci has a sweet new gig working at his uncle's flower shop—good hourly pay, free room and board, and he has absolutely no idea that the city is apparently infested with monsters.

That is, until he does.

Louis Morénas-Mostro is a werewolf and an underboss in the monstrous crime family who rule over everything that goes bump in the night. When a prized magical artifact becomes inadvertently attached to Neil, Lou is determined to get it back at any cost.

...Even pretending to date him.

Neil finds himself at odds with an entire monster family, their rebellious enemies, and his own growing attraction to Lou. He hopes he lives long enough to find out if their explosive chemistry can lead to something real, but first he has to make sure he doesn’t end up as monster kibble.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C47KB3WH

(I laughed all the way through this one)

Tuesday Teaser

 

KIT COULDN’T do it. 

God knows, he’d tried, but he just couldn’t get past what happened in his office. Every time he stepped in there, his skin crawled and his heart beat faster, which made his head hurt.

People thought vampire-like teeth were sexy. People were idiots. He still had nightmares about those long, sharp fangs sinking into his neck. It felt like two large gauge needles piercing his skin. 

It hurt, and there was nothing sexy about that. At all. And there was nothing sexy about feeling that… that… thing sucking his blood, either.

Kit’s shoulders slumped. Dammit. He had to stop thinking that way. Nox wasn’t a “thing”. He shouldn’t call any paranormal that, and Kage had been quick to point that out. It was insulting. And Kit knew all about how insulting language could hurt somebody. 

He was a perfect example. He was a gay guy with a slightly fem, androgynous look who like to wear things that were not considered ‘boy’ clothes. 

Although today was the exception to the rule because of, well… reasons. 

So, he was trying to modify his language, because he knew firsthand how hating on somebody because of how they were born was simply ridiculous. But he also couldn’t get past what Nox had done to him in his office. And now Kit couldn’t stand to be in there.

Thus the “reason” why he was dressed in plain old jeans and a simple T-shirt on this bright, lovely day.

Good thing there were other empty rooms in the building. His original office might’ve had biggest window and all, but it was going to be a storage room now. Or something. What it was not going to be was Kit’s office.

It took most of the morning, and involved asking favors from his staff, but Kit got his office equipment moved to a different room. It did have a window, although it overlooked the parking lot. Meh. At least he had natural light.

Once he got everything situated how he wanted it, and plugged in again, he stood in the doorway surveying the room. Yep, it was definitely smaller. And the plain white walls offended him on a personal level. He liked color.

And speaking of color, he had the most perfect idea of what colors he wanted to do his new office in—seafoam green and apricot. In fact, outside of the office furniture, everything else had to go. He was going to start completely over.

He made arrangements for a charity to come pick up everything, then went shopping. Retail therapy was good for the soul.

SEVERAL HOURS later, he was back with all his goodies. Again, he had to ask this staff for help getting the things to his office. Which, in retrospect, he probably should’ve gone shopping then moved into the new room. But oh well. 

He wasn’t sleeping all that great, so he could blame his lack of planning on that. Oh, and he’d also gotten paint. Which, again, he probably should’ve painted first too. 

It wasn’t that large of a room, fortunately for him. He got the tarp down over the floor, threw his hair up into a messy bun, and got down to business. 

Okay, so yeah, it didn’t take long for him to figure out that he really should’ve painted the walls first, but it was what it was. At least he had two of the four walls done. Progress! 

Grabbing a bottle water, he collapsed into his office chair. Whoo wee, he was going to feel this tomorrow, especially in his arms. Maybe he should start going to the gym in his apartment complex.

He was still debating the pros and cons of that when his cell phone rang. Pulling it out of his jean’s pocket, he frowned at the number. It wasn’t one he recognized, although his phone said it was a valid number.

Shrugging, he answered it. “Hello?” 

“May I speak to Kit Meadows, please?”

Whoa. That was one sexy voice right there. It gave him a nice little tingle. “This is Kit.”

“Hello, Kit. My name is Hudson Redmond. I’m Kage and Austin’s friend. I believe Austin spoke to you about… shall we say… protection due to an unfortunate situation that involved you?”

Whatever tingle Kit had going on, dried up like water in the desert. Suddenly it all came flooding back—his boyfriend’s betrayal, Nox’s attack, beings who looked like demons and used the shadows to travel, the werewolf, Austin struggling to breathe… all of it.

“Kit?”

Kit yanked himself back to the present. Now was not the time to take a side trip into that nightmare. “Yeah, yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to…. I had a moment there.”

“Completely understandable. I’ve had several moments here lately too. Now, as I was saying, I’m friends with Kage and Austin. Actually, Kage is my best friend.”

Suddenly it hit Kit where he’d heard that name from. “Oh wow. Oh goodness. I remember Kage mentioning you now. You’re a… a… a….”

“Yes, indeed I am,” Hudson laughed softly.

Welcome to Pucker Up Monday

It’s not what you think, lol. Since Mondays do tend to suck, I thought I’d try to start the week off right for y’all.