Rob Colton's Blog, page 4

Guest Post: M. A. Church

Please welcome M. A. Church back to my web site. I know many of you are big fans of hers, just like I am. She’s here with the all new edition of Nighttime Promises.

Check out the exclusive excerpt, plus a cool essay. And don’t forget to check out the raffle link!

Buy Link: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-nighttimepromises-1908642-340.html

NOTE: This is a previously
published work. The title, author, and/or publisher may have changed.

 

Book
Description:

When you
wish upon a star… it comes true in ways you never expected.

Things have gone downhill since Sheriff
Bryan Coltrane got involved in the FBI’s investigation of a recent UFO crash.
Not only is a homophobic agent pushing his buttons, but he’s made contact with
one of the aliens…who wants him for a mate!

Daroshi, a warrior with tentacles from
the planet Maz’Rar, monitored the rescue of his captain, Ziang. Impressed by
the courageous and brawny human male, he wants Bryan for his own despite
knowing little about the race. Neither man is prepared for the problems arising
from Daroshi’s desires, or the passion exploding between them.

What’s an alien to do when his mate harps
on his civil rights and makes demands? He makes the wishes come true.

 

Excerpt:

“I’m giving up everything,
Daroshi. Everything.”

Bryan sat on a low bench that
now sported a dirt brown cushion. Daroshi shifted from foot to foot then
approached Bryan. Slowly he sat, and a tentacle moved closer to Bryan’s
shoulder. When Bryan didn’t say anything, the tentacle moved nearer, then rubbed
against Bryan. Both stared, neither saying a word. With a deep sigh, Daroshi
flipped his wrist com on and paged Ziang.

“Is there a problem?” Ziang
asked as soon as he answered. Since Daroshi hadn’t muted the com, Bryan could
hear the conversation.

“I have a request. We have an
hour before the jump. May I have permission to take Bryan back to Earth and
retrieve a few things?”

Silence.

* * * *

Are we alone in the
universe?

One of the most widely
asked questions you’ll hear today is “are we alone in the universe?” News
flash, folks—you’re in the minority if you believe no intelligent life exists
in the universe.

In the US alone, at
least half of all Americans believe we’re not
alone. Many staunchly believe there’s some form of life on other planets. Even
more say intelligent extraterrestrials have already come to Earth and have been
doing so for some time. 

Why do these people feel
this way? Well, there are multiple reasons why the extraterrestrial question
continues to gain popularity. Here are just a few:

1. The Size of the
Universe

Counting the stars in the universe is like trying to count the number of
sand grains on a beach… it’s just not possible. Although estimates vary among
different experts, the general consensus is that there are at least between 100
billion and 200 billion galaxies in our universe. Now, think about that for a
moment. That’s a lot of uncharted territory.

2. Whistle Blowers

The past few years have seen a surge of whistle-blowers who have come out
and said some remarkable things. The reality is hundreds of whistle-blowers who
have come forward have verified credentials and backgrounds.

3. The Evidence of UFOs

Within the past few years, dozens of governments admitted to allocating
resources and having programs to study the UFO phenomenon. 

4. Mass Mainstream Media
Attention

Media outlets of all kind are covering the topic, almost every movie that
comes out these days has something to do with space or some kind of
extraterrestrial intelligence. We’ve been bombarded with the topic for a while
now, so it’s not hard to see how it’s on the minds of many.

These are just a few things to think about. So, what do you think? Are we
alone in the universe? Bryan and Shawn would tell you—quite loudly, actually—that
no, we are not, lol. So what in the world possessed me to write a story
about tentacles? *laugh* Originally the idea came from an anthology submission.
While I’d written sci-fi before, tentacles was a new one for me.

Most of those stories I’d read were dark and
edging on toward scary. So I decided to do something different. My alien does
indeed have tentacles, but they look more like dreads and are on his head. On
the males of the species, they’re part of his reproduction system. So, yes, the
tentacles like to come out and play. *wink *

I didn’t make the 25K word count cut off. Not
only did I not make it, the story ended up close to 90K! It ended up with not
one, but two, humans and several tentacled alien warriors. What can I say? They
all had a story to tell.

It didn’t take long to see that while the alien’s
tentacles were very much a part of the story, the books themselves didn’t revolve
around just that. I actually ended up
devoting a lot of time to world building. The series starts on earth and then
ends up in outer space—on the alien’s planet!

 

About the
Author:

M.A. Church is a true Southern belle who
spent many years in the elementary education sector. Now she spends her days
lost in fantasy worlds, arguing with hardheaded aliens on far-off planets,
herding her numerous shifters, or trying to tempt her country boys away from
their fishing poles. It’s a full time job, but hey, someone’s gotta do it!

When not writing, she’s exploring the
latest M/M novel to hit the market, watching her beloved Steelers, or sitting
glued to HGTV. That’s if she’s not on the back porch tending to the demanding
wildlife around the pond in the backyard. The ducks are very outspoken. She’s
married to her high school sweetheart, and they have two children. She was a
finalist in the Rainbow awards for 2013.

For more information on other books by
M.A., visit her official website: www.machurch00.blogspot.com

 

Social
Media links:

 

Blog * Twitter * Facebook * The Harvest FB fan page * Goodreads * Amazon

 

There is a tour giveaway too:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ba112ffc1213

Wednesday Briefs: The Caretaker - Chapter 5

Here’s the next chapter of my Halloween short story.

Every Wednesday, I’m going to try to publish a chapter to this new story. Each chapter is between 500-1000 words and is inspired by a prompt (a choice between several given items, phrases or pictures).

The chapters will also be cross-posted to my GayAuthors.org page.

Be sure to check out the free fiction from my fellow Briefs bloggers, available at http://wedbriefsfic.com/

I opened my eyes, but all I could see was a haze of gray.

My right arm burned, as if it was stabbed by a billion pins
and needles. It took me a moment to realize I had a metal cuff around my wrist,
which was connected by a heavy linked chain to a plate in the concrete floor.

I was laying on said floor, which was freezing cold. I could
feel the dampness of the concrete had saturated my clothing, and I shivered
violently.

The smell of mildew permeated the air, along with something that
was familiar. It reminded me of the smell of the ground after a hard rain.

Sliding the metal cuff a bit, I rubbed at my wrist. That
only made the pain worse. I felt blood trickle down my arm as I reopened a
wound. That fucking old man pierced my skin with his thumbnail.

Gross.

I blinked a few times, and scrubbed my fist across my eyes.
I was in a basement—maybe not a basement, but definitely underground. On the
opposite wall was a workbench with a small desk lamp that didn’t do much to
illuminate the place. I could make out shelves filled with jars, bottles, and
vials of various sizes.

Something moved. It slinked closer and closer until it broke
the haze.

Chris.

I pulled against the chain, trying to get closer to the big
man. His handsome face, with a strong, stubbled jaw, and piercing eyes was just
inches from me. But… weren’t Chris’s eyes green?

“Get me out of here,” I whispered. “Before he comes back.”

Chris leaned his head in closer and sniffed me. His lips
curled in a snarl as a growl built in his chest.

Instinctively, I pulled away.

A quiet cackle emerged from the dark.

“Young, feeble minds… so easily fooled,” the old man said as
he walked to his bench. He flipped a switch, turning on a series of wall-mounted
sconces. He didn’t even bother to turn around or look at me as he began
fiddling with a clay pot of dirt.

It was the old man who’d asked me for money. I’d fallen for
his stupid trick, and now I was the caretaker’s prisoner.

I turned back to Chris, only it wasn’t Chris.

It was the lupoid.

Screaming, I jerked away from the black furred beast. It
pounced on top of me, covering me with its massive body. Its fetid breath was
hot in my face as it used its muscled thighs to pry my legs apart. I kicked and
yelled, hitting it with fists and knees, making contact anywhere I could.

“Pet!” the old man
shouted. “Not yet. Once we have dealt with the order, then you can have him.”

Reluctantly, the lupoid backed away. Its dead eyes never
left me as it skulked back to the corner, where a mound of black dirt sat
inside an iron barred cell.

The caretaker squatted down and pulled a small metal cage
from under the work bench. I watched with revulsion as he freed a giant sewer
rat from the cage. It protested violently as it was held upside down by a rear
leg and examined.

The lupoid moved from his cell. Drool spilled from its mouth
as he swiped his tongue across his jowls.

The old man glanced back at the lupoid. “This is not for
you, pet.”

Growling, the mindless animal disregarded the warning, and advanced
anyway. The caretaker flicked his wrist and the beast tumbled backward as if
struck by an invisible force. With a whine, it slinked back to its cell, burrowing
until it was covered by the dirt, only its head visible.

The caretaker waved his hand and the cell door slammed shut.

He returned to his clay pot, and grabbed the squealing rat
with both hands. With a quick wringing motion, the rat was silenced. Holding
the rat above the pot, he bled every drop of blood into the pot, before finally
burying the rat in the dirt.

Holding both hands on the side of the pot, the caretaker
began to chant. His head fell back as his words grew louder. I had no idea what
he was saying, but something in my gut told me it was wrong. Tainted.

The chanting stopped. Exhausted, the old man slumped
forward. His chest heaved as he struggled to pull air into his lungs. His body
trembled and shook, and he used the edges of the bench to slowly move to the
shelf. In the center of the shelf was a box. The man opened it and pulled
something out. It looked like a large root bulb of some kind, covered with
dirt, dark and gnarled. I could smell its foul stench clear from the other side
of the room.

The caretaker scraped at it with his thumbnail, then began
rubbing the root up and down his throat and chest. As he took deep breaths, the
trembling gradually subsided.

I had no idea what that crazy old fucker was doing, but I
couldn’t look away. As he kept rubbing, a deep purple aura began to form around
him.

What the fuck?

The caretaker placed the root back into the box. He stopped
at the bench and stroked the side of the pot. “See you soon, pet.”

Oh shit.

Turning off the light, the caretaker left the room. A door
slammed shut behind him and his footsteps faded away.

The room was silent, but there was an odd sound coming from
across the room. Crackling. Slithering. Snapping. I didn’t want to think about
what was making it.

I wasn’t sure how long I laid there on the floor, in the
dark, but it had grown colder. My body shivered and my teeth chattered. Thank
god the lupoid was still locked in its cage, snoring like it had the worst head
cold in the history of… well, abominations grown in clay pots with tainted
magic.

A tiny click
startled me awake.

Laying perfectly still, I searched the darkness with my
eyes. I could still hear the lupoid snoring, so it wasn’t him.

The door slowly creaked open, and a figure slipped through.

“Hudson?” it whispered.

Chris.

I wasn’t going to be fooled so easily this time. But then
again, there was no aura around him, so maybe it wasn’t the caretaker.

Taking a chance, I whispered back, “Chris? Between you and
me, I think this is a trap.”

“We gotta get you out of here.”

The light clicked on.

“Well, isn’t this touching?” the caretaker mocked with a
cackle.

* * * *

Be sure to check out the free fiction from my fellow Briefs bloggers, available at http://wedbriefsfic.com/.

Guest Post: Stormy Glenn

Please welcome Stormy Glenn to my web site. She’s here to promote her new release, The Bear Essentials. I’m not only honored to have the lead character (a bear shifter) named after me, but the book is also dedicated to me as well.

Thank you, Stormy!

I’m a huge fan of Rob Colton’s work. Several of his books are on my list of go-to books when I just need to get out of my head for a little while. After reading the Timber Pack Chronicles (again), a plot bunny began to bounce around in my head and my book The Bear Essentials was born. So, to Rob, I dedicate this book…

THE BEAR ESSENTIALS

Coming October 29th

Bear shifter Rob Colton is excited about the future, and after graduating, he is ready to start the next phase of his life. He never expects that life to include a frightened young man that darts out in front of his truck. But one whiff of Casey’s sweet smell and Rob knows his future was going to be brighter than ever. He has found his true mate.

Orphaned at an early age, Casey Newton has been bounced from foster home to foster home, never quite finding a place to call his own. When a big burly man decides Casey is his true mate, the cold and lonely world Casey grew up in begins to change. For once in his life, someone wants him.

But wanting someone and keeping them safe are two very different things. When the man that has terrorized Casey for most of his life comes after him again, can Casey trust Rob to protect him or will he be tossed away like he has every other time in his life? And will the bond between mates be strong enough to withstand losing everything they hold dear?

http://www.bookstrand.com/book/the-bear-essentials

STORY EXCERPT

Rob grinned when he heard his best friend’s unique ring tone blare on his phone. He tapped his Bluetooth earpiece, connecting him to the call. “Yo, dude, we did it.”

“Right?” Billy Ray Jenson replied.

“I can’t believe it’s finally over.”

“Yeah, man, school sucked.”

Rob couldn’t agree more.

“We still meeting out by the river tonight?” He couldn’t wait to celebrate.

He had wanted to drop out of school when he turned eighteen and go to work fulltime in his father’s construction company. His parent’s made him stay in school, and now he was glad they did, but the last few months had been the hardest.

Unlike the rest of the known universe, shifters had to attend an additional three years of school. Most humans assumed it was some sort of advanced college courses, and maybe that was true to some extent. The courses they took taught them about their bear history. It taught them how to control their beasts when they were faced with violence or situations that forced their bear to the surface.

It taught them how to be better bears.

“You know it.”

“You and Jed grab the beer,” Rob said. “I’ll bring some steaks.”

“Cool.”

Billy Ray was a man of few words, at least few comprehensible words.

“I need to swing by the house and grab few things then I’ll head out to the river.” And he wanted to talk to his parents now that he had finished school. He wanted to go to work for his father fulltime. He had been dreaming of working side by side with his dad since he was seven years old and picked up his first hammer.

“See you out there.” Rob chuckled as he disconnected the call. He was still reeling from the fact that he had finally graduated. It felt like he had been attending school forever and he had finally been set free. His bear wanted to roar.

“Holy fucking shit!” Rob slammed on the breaks, his eyes rounding as his truck slid to a stop mere inches from the small figure racing across the road in front of him.

Wide eyes the color of the warm caramel and edged with kohl peered up at him over the hood of the truck, big fat tears dripping from them down pale white cheeks. Time seemed to stand still as Rob sank into those big liquid eyes, drowning in them.

Then the man blinked, his dark thick eyelashes sweeping over his pale tear stained cheeks as he huddled further into his dark grey hoodie. He turned and started across the road again, the moment broken.

Rob stared after the lone figure, stunned by the overpowering emotions suddenly running rampant through him. He didn’t understand why his stomach clenched at the sight of those tears or why his dick became so hard he could have punched a hole through a steel plate.

But he was going to find out.

Rob growled as he drove his truck to the side of the road and turned the engine off. He jumped out of the truck and raced after the little man, catching sight of him hurrying down a dirt path on the side of the road that led into the woods.

He quickly caught up with his prey, barely panting from exertion. He grabbed the guy’s arm, his eyebrows shooting up when the guy instantly dropped to the ground and curled into himself.

“Please, don’t hurt me,” the man whimpered as he covered his head with his arms.

Rob growled, his gaze snapping back and forth as he scanned his immediate surroundings for signs of danger. Spotting nothing out of place, Rob lifted his nose and drew in a lungful of air. He smelled the forest—trees and dirt and the slightly musty smell of dead leaves.

And apples…cinnamon and apples.

Rob frowned in confusion. If he didn’t know better, he’d think someone was out in the middle of the woods baking an apple pie. God, he loved apple pie. It was without a doubt his favorite desert next to honey.

Nothing tasted better than honey.

Dismissing his wild thoughts, Rob turned his attention back to the man cowering on the ground at his feet. A deep mind numbing rage began to take hold of him when he noticed the bruises showing up through the rips in the man’s hoodie. There was even a trickle of blood at the corner of the man’s mouth, no doubt due from the cut on his fat lip.

Someone had worked this poor guy over, and hard.

Rob squatted down next to the smaller man. Jeez, he had to outweigh him by at least a hundred pounds if not more. The little thing was all skin and bones.

And bruises, there were a shitload of bruises.

“What happened, cub?” Rob spoke in his gentlest voice, which wasn’t easy when his usual tone was deep and rough. It matched his looks. He was big and fierce and made like a brick shit house. And for once in his life, he wished he wasn’t so intimidating.

The poor thing was going to shake apart.

“Sshhh, it’s okay.” Rob tried to sooth the man by rubbing his back. “You’re safe now. No one is going to hurt you.”

When a little of the tension eased in the man’s body, Rob lifted him up into a sitting position, surprised by how easily he could move the guy. He had lifted heavier bags of cement.

Big liquid brown eyes peeked up at Rob through a fall of honey blond hair. Rob reached down and gingerly touched the man’s swollen bottom lip, grimacing at the wince of pain that crossed the guy’s face.

“What happened to you, cub?”

“They took my bike.” The words were whispered in the sweetest voice Rob had ever heard. It wrapped around him like a blanket of tranquility he had never felt in all his years. If he had been a cat he would have purred.

He wasn’t a cat.

“Who took your bike, cub?”

“Casey,” the man said as his eyes flickered up for a moment before darting away. “My name is Casey Newton, not cub.”

Rob chuckled at the small flicker of defiance he could see in those warm caramel brown eyes. He knew who Casey was. While they didn’t run in the same circles, Rob had seen the man around town. He might not have known his name until now, but he knew who Casey was.

“I like cub.”

And he liked this particular cub. The draw to cradle Casey in his arms and hold him close, protecting him from all the evils in the world was riding him hard. Rob had felt the same way each time one of his siblings came into the world, just never to this magnitude.

He’d kill a rock for his mate…

Fuck.

(Keep reading for an adult excerpt!)

ADULT EXCERPT

Rob fisted a handful of Casey’s hair and pulled gently until the man’s head was tilted back and then he lowered his head, pressing their mouths together in a gentle kiss.

There was a quality to kissing Casey that was unparalleled to anyone Rob had kissed in the past. Casey didn’t just press his lips to someone’s and move them around a little bit. He leaned into the kiss and put his entire body into it.

It was a kiss for his tired soul to melt into.

As his tongue explored at its leisure, Rob gently stroked the lissome body pressed against him. Needing just a little bit more, Rob slid his tongue inside the warm heat of Casey’s mouth, tasting him, devouring what the man had to offer.

As he pulled back, he nipped Casey’s bottom lip with his teeth.

“I ache, Rob.” As if to emphasize his words, Casey rubbed against Rob, leaving no doubt as to what he meant. Casey’s cock was like a steel rod in his pants.

Rob swallowed hard as the lust igniting in his gut burned away his ability to breath. He glanced toward the kitchen where he could hear his parents talking in low voices. He knew he would get his head handed to him if he took Casey upstairs and claimed him as he really wanted to do. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t take the edge off until he could.

He lifted Casey up in his arms and carried him out of the living room and down the hallway to the guest bathroom. He stepped inside and set Casey down on the bathroom counter before turning back and locking the door.

Once he turned back to Casey, he leaned in for another kiss. Their lips met again but this time it wasn’t the slow tender and gentle thing it had been before. This time it was out of control, maddeningly frantic, needy. Blood pounded in his brain, leapt from his heart, and made his knees tremble.

Casey’s skin was flushed, his beautiful face transformed by the flush of desire. Rob hadn’t thought Casey could get any better-looking, but staring down at the man, he knew he had been wrong. His mate was breathtaking.

He was one lucky bear.

Rob leaned forward, inhaling Casey’s scent from collarbone to ear, taking in the scent of cinnamon and apples. The sweet fragrance rushed back into Rob in a wave of intoxication. Smelling Casey was hardening his cock. Rob loved the smell of the man, was addicted to his delicious flavor.

There was a pull that was almost maddening in his mind. Rob wanted to sink deep into the man’s soul and never come out. It was a need so strong that Rob let it wash over him and carry him under.

He glanced down at his mate, staring as he snaked his hand into Casey’s jeans and massaged the heated flesh tenting up his pants. It was hard, but felt like liquid silk under his fingers with the pre-cum leaking over Rob’s fingers.

Lifting his hand to his mouth, Rob sucked his fingers in, the tangy taste rolling over his taste buds like nectar to a bee. He groaned, licking each finger clean before he pulled at the waistband of Casey’s pants, chasing the material down Casey’s body until he could toss the fabric aside.

Casey lay there on the counter, stunningly naked, exposed to Rob’s appreciative eyes. He drank the man in as he pushed Casey’s thighs apart.

He found himself wanting to rub his scent all over Casey again. The urge was strong, compelling him to lean forward until his stomach was touching Casey’s erection. He rubbed his body over Casey’s length, feeling the pre-cum trailing over his skin.

“Rob?” Casey asked.

Rob grinned as he dropped down until his head was even with Casey’s weeping cock. He licked a path down Casey’s abdomen to his cock. He nuzzled in the wiry curls before licking his way up the fully hard shaft and sucking at the engorged head to savor Casey’s pre-cum.

Casey groaned out his pleasure as Rob swallowed the erection to the root. Using his tongue, Rob laved the tender depression beneath the swollen crown and then tongue-fucked the tiny slit, licking away the salty taste of Casey’s desires.

“Please,” Casey hissed as he gripped the edge of the countertop until his knuckles turned white.

Rob placed Casey’s feet on his shoulders and then pushed his knees apart. He wished he had a camera to take a picture of what was most definitely the most erotic sight he had ever seen. His jeans became tight, quickly growing uncomfortable.

Rob splayed his fingers over Casey’s nicely rounded ass cheeks and pulled them apart before abandoning the man’s cock and lowering his head to lick at his tight puckered hole. The high keening cry that came from his mate made Rob’s bear rumble. The desire to take Casey and claim him was riding him hard and it was all Rob could do to keep his bear at bay.

He concentrated on pleasing his mate, which seemed to satisfy his bear. Making sure he left plenty of spittle behind, Rob swallowed the man’s cock again. At the same time, he pushed his finger into Casey’s ass, curving his finger up to reach that special spot.

Casey bucked, driving his cock deep. Rob sucked harder. He wanted, needed, his lover’s seed in his mouth. When Casey cried out and filled Rob’s mouth with his release, Rob swallowed greedily, savoring the salty taste of his lover’s cream.

Rob fumbled with the buttons on his jeans, frantic. His balls burned, and at this intensity, Rob knew he wasn’t going to last long. He jumped to his feet and shoved his jeans down his thighs. Grabbing his aching shaft, Rob began pumping his hand at a frantic rate.

“Rob.”

Rob’s eyes snapped to Casey. He felt his balls draw up tight to his body when the man lifted his hoodie up to his throat, baring his stomach and chest. “Come on me. I want to smell like you.”

His mate’s simple request was all it took for Rob to find his release. Rob came with an incoherent, hoarse shout. He spurted hot jets of cum all over Casey’s naked skin, marking him in a way that every bear would understand.

Wednesday Briefs: The Caretaker - Chapter 4

Here’s the next chapter of my Halloween short story.

Every Wednesday, I’m going to try to publish a chapter to this new story. Each chapter is between 500-1000 words and is inspired by a prompt (a choice between several given items, phrases or pictures).

This week’s post was 803 words, inspired by the quote “Brother, can you spare a dime?”.

The chapters will also be cross-posted to my GayAuthors.org page.

Be sure to check out the free fiction from my fellow Briefs bloggers, available at http://wedbriefsfic.com/.

 


“Chris? What are you doing?”

The warble in my voice gave away how nervous I was.

I felt the bed dip with Chris’s weight, and I was keenly
aware of his closeness. I could feel the heat of his body. I could smell his
odor, a combination of musk and sweat. He clearly hadn’t showered since the
fight.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

That did not sound like Chris. “Did Grant send
you in here?”

“Yes.”

“Figures.”

“Look, both of us want you to be okay. But we also need to
make sure the things you’ve seen are kept secret.”

I sighed. “If I told anyone, they’d just think I was crazy.”

“I know it’s a lot to digest. I’ve spent my life training. I
was barely walking and I’d sworn an oath to guard the caretaker… to fulfill my
family’s destiny.” Chris scoffed. “And for what? It’s all gone to shit now.”

Chris sounded tired. I didn’t know what to say, and I was sure
he didn’t want my pity. “Sorry.” Damn,
that sounded lame.

“I gave up everything, Hudson.”

“Yeah. You could have had me,” I joked. Immediately
regretting my words, I let out a nervous snort of laughter, while simultaneously
praying Chris hadn’t heard me.

Chris didn’t say a word.

The prolonged silence quickly became awkward.

I was about to get up when Chris moved. The weight of his
body pushed me down, pinning me onto the mattress. I opened my mouth to speak,
but Chris captured my lips with his. When his tongue pushed forward, I allowed
him entry.

Snaking my hands around his back, I pulled him down, wanting
more of his weight on me. I’d wanted this for so long, I didn’t stop to think
of the consequences.

Chris pulled his head back. “I’ve never kissed anyone before,”
he whispered. “Not like this.”

“Me neither,” I answered back.

“What a sad lot we are.”

I laughed. “Yeah.”

“Can I kiss you again?”

I tilted my head up, answering him without words.

Chris shifted, moving between my thighs, pushing them apart.
He nipped at the soft skin under my ear, then began sucking. His beard stubble
scraped my sensitive flesh. I moaned, writhing underneath him. I could feel
Chris’s hard cock pushing into me as his hips rolled in a rhythmic motion.

I moaned. “Oh god.”

Pushing my hips up, I ground my hard-on into Chris. Even
through our clothes, I could feel the heat of his erection against mine. Damn,
he felt big. I wanted him so bad, without clothes. I wanted to touch him, to
taste him. But I couldn’t stop myself.

We kissed deeply as our movements became more frantic. His
tongue pushed in and out of my mouth, mimicking the motion of his hips. I
thrust back against Chris as he rubbed against me.

“Chris,” I murmured against his lips.

As I came undone beneath Chris’s thrusting body, he suddenly
froze. With a stifled groan, his body shuddered.

“That was—”

“Wow.”

We both spoke at the same time. Chris began to laugh
lightly, and I joined him.

Shifting his weight, Chris pulled back and moved from on top
of me.

“I should get cleaned up. I’m a mess.”

“Me too.”

* * * *

Hefting my backpack further up onto my shoulder, I quickened
my pace. I really wanted to get home before dark. It was bad enough it was
misting outside, almost raining, but not quite.

If I didn’t have an important test, I would have just
skipped class. Maybe my professor would have given me an exemption for being
chased by a hell hound, but something told me that wouldn’t go over so well.

I should have just skipped regardless. With all that
happened in the past couple days—being chased by a beast, making out with
Chris—I wasn’t really able to concentrate anyway.

“Brother, can you spare a dime?”

The voice caught me off guard. Chris and Grant would cuss me
out for not paying attention to my surroundings. A harmless old man sat on the
street corner, his back against the building. Dressed in tattered rags, he held
out his hand, palm side up, and it trembled uncontrollably from the strain of
the stretch.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a wad of crumpled
bills and some change. I gave the old man a sympathetic smile as I dropped the
money into his open palm.

The man turned his palm upside down, and the money dropped
to the pavement. Before I could react, he grabbed my wrist. I tried to pull
free, but his grip tightened and his fingernails dug into my skin.

Pain like liquid fire radiated up my arm and my vision began
to darken.

As he yanked me forward, I screamed.

* * * *

Be sure to check out the free fiction from my fellow Briefs bloggers, available at http://wedbriefsfic.com/.

Wednesday Briefs: The Caretaker - Chapter 3

Here’s the next chapter of my Halloween short story.

Every Wednesday, I’m going to try to publish a chapter to this new story. Each chapter is between 500-1000 words and is inspired by a prompt (a choice between several given items, phrases or pictures).

This week’s post was 928 words, inspired by a photo of a wolf.

The chapters will also be cross-posted to my GayAuthors.org page.

Be sure to check out the free fiction from my fellow Briefs bloggers, available at http://wedbriefsfic.com/.

I shuddered as a cold breeze flew up the back of my thighs
and my ass. “Brr!”

“We should get out of here,” Grant said.

Chris nodded. “Agreed.”

“Yeah,” I quickly agreed. “I’m freezing my ass off.” Not to
mention, I was filthy—and the silence of the surrounding lupoid-infested woods
was freaking me out. I reached back and grabbed the tattered Fred Flintstone
costume and made another futile attempt to cover myself. Feeling
self-conscious, I looked over at Chris, following his gaze to my backside. “Are
you checking out my ass?”

Grant scoffed. “Duh.”

The end of Chris’s “lightsaber” smacked Grant in the back of
the head.

“Ow!” Grant tried to grab the saber from Chris, but the big
guy was too quick. The wooden pole smacked the knuckles of Grant’s right hand. Grant
yanked it back with a cry. “Ow!”

“Knock it off,” I grumbled, moving between the two children.
“Can we get out of here before that thing comes back?”

“Here.” Chris shrugged off his outer robe, and I was taken
aback by his display of chivalry.

He tossed the robe at me and it smacked me in the face. “My
hero,” I groused as I caught the robe before it fell to the ground. I pulled it
on and started walking.

I was proud of myself for ignoring how warm the robe was,
and how good it smelled.

* * * *

Once we were back at mine and Grant’s apartment, I took a
long, hot shower. As hot as I could stand it. Knowing that beast had marked me
somehow, I used up half a bottle of shower gel and practically scrubbed off a
layer of skin. The heat relaxed my muscles, though my scraped up and bruised knees
were making themselves known more than ever.

“Katniss.” I scoffed. I couldn’t help but pout as I toweled
myself dry. “I’m Neo, if anybody. Or Master Chief…”

When I looked at the empty bathroom counter, I cursed. In my
haste to get to the bathroom, I didn’t bring a change of clothes. Securing the
towel around my waist, I exited the bathroom.

Grant and Chris were in the living room. They abruptly
stopped talking. I noticed Chris’s eyes lingering on my nearly naked body. With
a grunt and a scowl, he turned his attention back to Grant.

Ass.

But… That was the second time tonight I’d caught Chris
Huntington checking me out. Was this something that happened frequently and I
just never noticed? As intrigued I was by the attention, I was more concerned
with the fact that a big furry monster was after me. Chris and Grant knew what
was going on, and I wanted answers.

That didn’t stop me from letting my towel drop a bit as I
went into my bedroom to get dressed.

When I returned, Grant was on the phone and Chris was
picking at the paint on his broom handle. He wouldn’t look me in the eye. Pushing
off the couch, Chris went to the kitchen and began rummaging through the cupboards.

“Okay, bye.” Grant hung up the phone and tossed it on the
couch next to him. “I updated Mom and Dad. They said to sit tight, and to be
careful.”

“Sit tight. Right. So, what’s after me?” I asked. “What the
hell’s a lupoid?”

“You saw it.” Chris popped a chip into his mouth. “If you forgot what it looked like, I can show you a picture.”

“Maybe we could trap it and talk to it. If we get it to turn
back, maybe we could reason with it. It could just be looking for its mate.”

Grant rolled his eyes. “Someone’s been reading too many
romance novels.”

“It’s not a man,” Chris said with his mouth full. “It’s an
abomination of the natural world, created from tainted soil with tainted magic.”

“It guards the caretaker,” Grant added. “No thought, no
emotion. Only instinct.”

They’d mentioned the caretaker before. “And who is the
caretaker?”

“The caretaker is entrusted to protect the sacred circle of
stones.”

Chris snorted, his voice low and angry. “He’s become twisted
and evil. He has tainted the circle with his filth. I told Aunt Norma he needed
to be put down.”

My mouth dropped open and I turned to Grant. “Wait. Your
parents know about all this?”

Grant shrugged. “Sure.”

“Your mom, the sweetest lady on Earth? The one who just sent
us a care package filled with homemade cookies?”

Chris snorted as he flopped down onto the couch with a bag
of chips. “Aunt Norma’s a regular Carol from Walking Dead. She runs the order.”

“The order?”

“The order was sworn to protect the caretaker. Until he
turned dark.”

I looked between Grant and Chris. Neither spoke. They sat
quietly waiting for my reaction. “You’re both freaking crazy. I’m going to bed
so I can wake up from this nightmare.”

Turning on my heel, I returned to my bedroom and slammed the
door behind me.

Not bothering to turn on the light, I sat down on my bed and
sighed. I had no idea how to process what I’d seen, what I’d learned tonight. If
I packed up my shit, I could be on the road in no time. I could get away from
all of this mess.

Three raps on my door pulled me from my thoughts.

“Go away.”

The door opened. A large body stood in the door frame, silhouetted
by the hall light.

Chris.

He shut the door behind him with a click and the room went dark.

* * * *

Be sure to check out the free fiction from my fellow Briefs bloggers, available at http://wedbriefsfic.com/.

Wednesday Briefs: The Caretaker - Chapter 2

Here’s the next chapter of my Halloween short story.

Every Wednesday, I’m going to try to publish a chapter to this new story. Each chapter is between 500-1000 words and is inspired by a prompt (a choice between several given items, phrases or pictures).

This week’s post was just over the 1000 word limit, inspired by a photo of a starry sky.

The chapters will also be cross-posted to my GayAuthors.org page.

Be sure to check out the free fiction from my fellow Briefs bloggers, available at http://wedbriefsfic.com/.

The door shut with a bang behind me and an icy breeze swept
up the back of my legs. I reached back and tugged down the hem of my tunic.

I reeked of beer.

Near the corner of the house was an outside faucet. Tucking
the inflatable club between my legs, I bent down, turned the faucet on and
rinsed the beer off my hands. Having no towel, I wiped them dry on my costume

As I stood, I wrapped my arms around my body. I felt the goose
bumps rising on my skin. A gentle breeze wafted through the trees. The sounds
of leaves rustling and crickets filled the night. The waxing moon hung high in
the air. The milky way was visible in the sky, but clouds swiftly moved,
partially obscuring the moon. I wondered if it was going to rain.

Abruptly, the sounds stopped.

Creepy.

I cut my eyes toward the back door.

Twigs snapped. Leaves crunched.

I peered into the trees, but saw nothing.

Just darkness.

I was about to turn when the darkness shifted. The dark leapt from the trees, a large mass that
landed in a crouch several feet in front of me.

Startled, I let out a scream.

The beast rose to stand on his two feet, and I realized it
was a man.

It was just a man. Two arms, two legs. “You scared me.” My
voice shook and I instinctively took a step backward.

He cocked his head to the side as he stepped closer. Moving
from the shadows of the trees, the moon lit his features. His eyes were dark,
hidden by a prominent brow. His hair was wild, with pointed ears peeking out
the sides of his head. He sniffed the air with an elongated snout. He wore no
clothes—his costume was completely covered in fur. It looked like he wore
gloves and shoes that gave the appearance of hair, except for over-sized claws
jutting from the tip of each digit.

I let out a breath. It was just some dude in a werewolf
costume. But…

“My, what a realistic costume you have.” I chuckled
nervously, feeling exceedingly awkward. I didn’t like being alone with him. He was
creeping me out big time. I gripped the inflatable club, holding it tight in
front of me with both fists.

His eyes watched me like a predator. He opened his mouth,
exposing pointed teeth. He tugged between his legs, drawing my gaze downward.

The fucking costume was anatomically correct.

Oh hell no!

I drew in a breath and swung the bat as the monster advanced
on me. The club hit his chest with a bop
and bounced away. With a dismissive swipe of a hand, his claw pierced the toy,
and it popped like a balloon.

I threw the limp piece of vinyl to the ground.

Before I could get away, the monster was on my back. I
slammed face-first into the ground, and all of the air exited my body. My torso
jerked as the wolfman yanked at my underwear and shredded the back of my tunic,
exposing my ass to the night air.

I dug into the dirt, clawing, trying to pull myself forward.
Inhaling deeply, I tried to draw air into my lungs.

The beast’s weight settled on me and I screamed.

It came out as a hoarse croak.

Oh god, I was going to die. Just like that guy from my
biology class.

Coughing and gasping for breath, I reached forward, trying
to grab anything I could find. My fist slapped onto the toe of a leather boot.
Looking up, I saw Chris brandishing his lightsaber… a.k.a., a painted mop
handle.

I tried to tell him to run, but nothing came out.

Chris swung his saber and it connected with the monster with
a sharp crack. The weight left my body as the thing roared in anger.

I flipped onto my back and watched Chris battle the costumed
beast. He swung over and over, connecting with the monster’s head and torso. It
swatted at Chris futilely, growing more and more agitated every time it was
blocked by Chris’s fist or the mop handle.

The skill and strength with which Chris fought stunned me.
He was obviously practiced in fighting this way.

With a roundhouse kick, Chris connected with the thing’s
chest, sending it backward onto the ground. The beast righted itself
immediately. Chris advanced, pushing it backward into the trees.

“Hudson!”

Grant was suddenly at my side, crouched as if ready to
pounce.

Oh great. In
addition to a Jedi master wannabe battling a psycho killer in a werewolf
costume, I now had a psych major with delusions of grandeur coming to my rescue.
A few after-school karate classes, and now Grant thinks he’s some kind of ninja.

Chris emerged from the trees.

Grant stood. “What was it?”

“Lupoid,” Chris replied.

“Shit,” Grant cursed. “Did you get it?”

“No. Once we got under the tree cover, it turned and ran.”

Grant began to pace. “What do you think it wanted with
Hudson?”

Chris shrugged. “What lupoids always want. To feed or fuck.”
He glanced down at me, and his eyes roamed my body.

I pushed myself onto all fours, then to my feet. As I stood,
a wave of dizziness overtook me. A firm hand around my bicep steadied me. I
looked up at Chris. “Thanks,” I croaked. This was as close to him as I’d ever
been.

But Chris wasn’t paying attention to me. “We should have
taken out the caretaker before the super blood moon eclipse.”

Grant sighed. “Well, hindsight and all.” He crinkled his
nose as he looked in my direction. “It’ll be back.”

Chris’s face scrunched in disgust as he let go of me. “Yeah.
He’s been marked.

”The fuck? These were not the guys I grew up with. I’d never
in my life met the Jedi and ninja who talked so casually about caretakers and lupoids.

I looked between Chris and Grant. “You guys are certifiable.
You know that right? Wait a minute. Is this some elaborate Halloween trick?”

Grant shook his head. “Sorry.” He turned back to Chris. “We
can’t let the lupoid or the caretaker get Hudson.”

I clucked my tongue and rolled my eyes. “What, so now you’re
gonna tell me I’m like the chosen one,
prophesized to save the world?”

Grant snickered. “Sorry, Katniss. You’re just a piece of
lupoid ass in this story.”

* * * *

Be sure to check out the free fiction from my fellow Briefs bloggers, available at http://wedbriefsfic.com/.

Wednesday Briefs: The Caretaker - Chapter 1

I’m starting up a new short story in time for the Halloween season. It’s tentatively called “The Caretaker” but I might change that.

Every Wednesday, I’m going to try to publish a chapter to this new story. Each chapter is between 500-1000 words and is inspired by a prompt (a choice between several given items, phrases or pictures).

This week’s post was 928 words, inspired by a photo of a drooling baby.

The chapters will also be cross-posted to my GayAuthors.org page.

Be sure to check out the free fiction from my fellow Briefs bloggers, available at http://wedbriefsfic.com/.

What the hell are you
still doing here?

My inner voice was right on the money. What was I doing
here? I only came to the party because my best friend Grant begged me to.

“Come on, Hudson,” he’d said. “It’ll be a blast. We’ll get dressed
up, have some drinks and chill. You’ll meet lots of guys…”

Agreeing to come was arguably my second major mistake of the night. The first was, hands down, letting
Grant pick my costume. Being so last minute, I didn’t have one lined up, but
Grant said he had a caveman costume that would be perfect for me. I should have
followed that up with additional questions. I looked damn ridiculous.

Despite what Grant said, the costume’s orange color did not
look fabulous against my skin and dirty blond hair. The shortness of the “dress”
only accentuated my chicken legs—it did not make my calves look hot. And the
blue necktie did not make my eyes pop.

Standing against the wall dressed like a tragic-yet-slutty
Fred Flintstone, I nursed the same cup of beer Grant handed to me right after
we’d gotten here. Grant was nowhere to be found, naturally having ditched me
mere minutes after arrival for his flavor of the month.

Tramp.

As much as Grant annoyed me, I never could stay mad at him.
I’d known him since I was a kid, when his family moved in next door. Being a
latch key kid raised by a single mom, I spent a lot of time at Grant’s house,
with his family. Grant was like a brother to me.

The party was hot and it was crowded. There was barely
enough room to breathe. The house was packed with bodies, jumping and gyrating
to the auto-tuned wailing of some pop princess. If I hadn’t ridden here with
Grant, I would’ve left by now. But there was no way I was walking home by
myself—not at night. Certainly not wearing this costume. It felt like my ass
was hanging out the back, and I found myself constantly tugging at the flimsy
garment’s raggedy hem.

Hell, it was only last week a guy from one of my classes
disappeared and was later found dead, a bloody mess not far off the trail that was
a shortcut to off-campus housing. This stupid blow-up club Grant gave me
wouldn’t do me any good if I was attacked walking across campus.

I shuddered just thinking about the number of times I’d
walked that trail.

Out of habit, I reached for my hip before I realized I didn’t
have any pockets. Like a dumb ass, I left my phone back at my apartment so I
wouldn’t lose track of it. I regretted that. I could be checking my email, or
Twitter… or requesting an Uber.

With a sigh, I took a sip of my beer and looked around.

Across the room, standing a head taller than the dozens of
drunkards, I spied Chris Huntington. Like Grant, I’d known Chris pretty much all
my life. He was related to Grant somehow—something somewho once removed on his
mother’s side. Everyone just said he was Grant’s older cousin to keep it simple.
Even though he’d moved here from Scotland when he was a kid, he still had a bit
of an accent that was really sexy.

Speaking of sexy… the sight of him in those Jedi robes holding
a lightsaber had the inner nerd in me wanting to go all hand solo in the bathroom.

Not that he wasn’t a hot Obi-Wan Kenobi, but knowing what
was hidden under those long, flowing robes, Chris would have made a better
Thor. That costume would have shown off his massive physique. And there was the
one time I spent the night at Grant’s house and saw that hammer of his live and in person. A string of drool might even had
fallen from my mouth. I knew then and there that Chris Huntington was going to
be my first.

Whew, it’s hot in
here.

My hot flash cooled damn quick when Chris caught my eye,
scowled, and promptly turned his back to me.

I should have been used to the cold shoulder by now, but it
still hurt. As much as I tried, I would never forget the ultimate in
humiliation when I tried to tell Chris I
liked him. I could still feel his
hand on my breastplate pushing me away, with a look of pure horror on his face.
“Hudson. That is never going to happen.”

God, I was a stupid
kid. Kid? That was so like a year ago.

Okay, now I was really ready to go. I turned to go look for
Grant, and a slutty Captain America bumped directly into me, sloshing my beer
all over my hand.

“Oh my god!” I cried as the cold liquid hit my skin.

“Fuck, man,” Captain slurred. The remainder of my beer
sloshed across his chest, and the white star began to smear, dripping down into
the stripes painted on his bare stomach. “My cosh-tume!”

I wanted to tell him that wearing a speedo and painting his
body red, white, and blue wasn’t really a costume, but that would’ve fallen on
deaf, drunken ears.

“Sorry,” I said with a shrug. I wasn’t sorry.

He belched in response.

The stench of stale beer slapped me in the face and I turned
away before I got sick all over the man’s rapidly melting “costume.”

I needed fresh air. Wading through the crowd, I pushed
through the back door.

* * * *

Be sure to check out the free fiction from my fellow Briefs bloggers, available at http://wedbriefsfic.com/.

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What happens when the spirit of vengeance finds someone to care about? Find out in Andrew Q Gordon’s ‘Purpose’ http://thndr.me/4Jvkni

Tommy wants Mike to be his first - but what happens when he...

Tommy wants Mike to be his first - but what happens when he finds out that Mike is also Scott Masters, a porn star? http://thndr.me/4vIx6U

GA Featured Story

My Wednesday Briefs story, Noah’s New Plan, is the featured story over at GayAuthors.org. There’s a nice group review and they created a cool background graphic.

Check it out! And if you’ve never read it, give it shot…

http://www.gayauthors.org/forums/blog/258/entry-15762-featured-story-noahs-new-plan/