[Siren Classic ManLove: Erotic Alternative Romance, M/M, HEA]
Dan West is on his way to his friends’ place for some R & R from the Navy. But before he makes it to the small fishing town in Maine, a car accident changes his destination.
The injured young man, Patrick Prescott, turns out to be the mayor’s troubled son. He needs help, and Dan offers it. As a result, the lives of the two men become entwined. The old adage of saving someone’s life giving you responsibility over them seems to hold water.
Patrick is haunted by inner demons. His closeted life pushes him to recklessly pursue Dan at all costs, as though he actively sought his own ruin. But Dan has his own reasons for coming to meet his former CO, and that does not include getting in bed with Patrick, since he’s not in town to stay.
When two different worlds collide, even two men who are oceans apart in every sense must find a way to cope—together.
A Siren Erotic Romance
4 STARS: "Well-written with endearing characters. When Dan West heads out to his friends' home in a small fishing town in Maine, he has no idea he's about to meet the man of his dreams. Injured, drunk, and spaced out in his wreck of a car--something Patrick Prescott seems to do with alarming regularity. The younger man is smitten at first glance by the sight of tough and older Dan and Dan himself feels responsible for Patrick. Dan's friend Hunter is dubious of Patrick's past and motivations, but David, Hunter's husband, seems more open to the idea and simply sits back and waits for the sparks to turn into something a little more fiery. The conversation Dan has with Patrick when the younger man admits he's gay, something he's been afraid to face before, is completely endearing. Dan treats Patrick's admission like a real trooper, understanding and caring, and that only serves to cement Patrick's growing infatuation with a man who's seven years older than him. Patrick is completely hooked with Dan's quiet confidence, his maturity and his gorgeous red hair. There's a lot of soul searching in this story, a lot of really insightful conversations about what it means to be young and gay and not want anyone to feel less about you because of it, like Patrick's father, the mayor of the town and an old fashioned man. There's hot, passionate sex, emotional scenes and plenty of conflict. Patrick's outing as a gay man to his family is a scene that will have you sucking in a breath and wondering how the hell he's going to manage the fall out. And there's something else Patrick does when he's upset too, something that makes him feel better and releases his demons. And it's unfortunately something all too many people feel the need to do to release their inner fears and stress. This subject is tackled with sympathy and dignity. I found this a very emotional scene that had me holding my breath. And when Patrick decides he wants to turn his life around and stop his self destructive behaviour, including his drinking and car wrecking, Dan is there for him. Dan his own decisions to make--his career or Patrick, but he finally knows where he wants to be. It's not too heavy going; the story is well written and you'll like all the characters, including the tempestuous, more aggressive Hunter and David, the voice of reason and the man to keep Hunter in line. And of course in the end love triumphs and that's really all you want. I recommend any of Susan Laine's books, having enjoyed a lot of them over the past year, since discovering this genre." -- Susan Mac Nicol, The Romance Reviews
4.25 KISSES: "If you follow our site, you’ve probably noticed I’m a big fan of Susan Laine’s writing. I discovered her books last year and since then, she’s become one of those authors on my automatically read list. The Sailor’s Knot is a favorite series of mine, so I was very excited to read the next book in the series, A Hero of his Own. I remember when I read the first book in the series; I thought that the secondary character, Dan West, stood out to me. In many ways he’s like the main character, David, in Ms. Laine’s first book in the series. Both men are serious about their futures, thoughtful and all around likeable men. Unlike David, Dan does not want to be the captain of his own submarine. Since David left the Navy, this is what Dan’s had to do, and he’s not enjoying it. Dan has never wanted to have a career at sea, so he’s conflicted as to what he needs to do about his life. Knowing he has to make a hard decision about his future, Dan is taking a long vacation at his friends, David and Hunter’s, house. When he witnesses a car accident, Dan immediately goes to the victim’s rescue and quickly finds himself in a sticky situation. The victim, Patrick, is the mayor’s son who has been living life on the edge. He’s an alcoholic playboy who is very unhappy and conflicted from what’s expected from him versus who he wants to be. When Dan comes to his rescue, there is something about him that Patrick finds himself drawn too, and Dan becomes a light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel for Patrick. They form an immediate kinship and bond between them, and Dan finds himself doing what he can to help Patrick out. Soon, both men can’t escape the heated attraction between them and they find themselves in each others’ arms. Even though there is also a stronger emotional connection between them, they both realize they must work out their own conflicts within themselves if they want to try and have something special between them in the future. I loved this book. I liked that both Dan and Patrick realized they must work through their own issues before they could ever be happy together. Even though they are good for each other, they both know if they want something long term together, they must be happy within their own skin. As a reader, I appreciated this and liked how determined both men were to get their own life settled before they could have a commitment to each other. This made the story ring true and realistic to me, because we all know we must be content with ourselves and can’t expect our own partner in life to be responsible for our own happiness. I also liked how there was a true friendship that developed between them. It was obvious these two men really cared for one another and also respected each others’ dreams and wishes. Both men are bisexual, and I enjoyed watching them explore the intense attraction they had for one another. The chemistry they had between them really sizzled up my computer screen! My only gripe about the story is: I wish it had been longer. I would have really liked seeing how Dan and Patrick really fit each other into their lives, but since this is a series, I hope we’ll get to read more about them in the future. A Hero of His Own is a fast-paced, thought provoking and romantic story with characters that really live and breathe off of the written page. I enjoyed every minute I spent reading this book and highly anticipate the next book in the series. Highly Recommended! This is the third book in the Sailor’s Knot series. Although it could probably be read as a stand-alone book, I highly recommend reading the books in series order. All of the characters play a big part in all of the books and it’s really great to watch how their lives are evolving as the series progresses." -- Gabbi, Top2Bottom Reviews
4 SWEET PEAS: "A Hero of His Own by Susan Laine is the story of a man’s chaotic, reckless, and almost suicidal approach to life and the man who shakes him up and pulls him off the path of self-destruction. Patrick Prescott is the troubled son of the mayor who spends his days drinking, driving, wrecking cars, and generally doing everything he can to drown out his inner demons, even if it leads to injury or even death. Dan West has come to Maine to see his friends while on R & R from the Navy. Before he get there, he comes across a car accident and finds an injured and very drunk young man staggering around. He calls for help and does his best to keep him calm until the paramedics arrive. Patrick sees Dan as the person he wishes he could be-confident, self assured, and knowing what he wants from life. Dan offers to help Patrick pull himself together and get his life back on track. Patrick accepts and thus begins a long, hard journey to overcome his inner demons. The men fall in love despite the vast differences between them and work together to make a better life. This absolutely beautiful story is both plot AND character driven with characters who are very three dimensional with strengths and flaws that bring it to life. The struggle that Patrick goes through to overcome his demons is heart wrenching but ultimately satisfying as he grows into the man he always wanted to be but was too afraid to try before. The plot flows beautifully from beginning to end with a richly detailed style of writing that is simple but eloquently concise and reveals a glimpse into the darkness of one man’s soul and the struggle to emerge out of it. I really love this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fascinating way to pass a few hours." -- Trish, Mrs. Condit & Friends Read Books
STORY EXCERPT
When Dan cautiously placed his hand on the guy’s shoulder, he flinched and blinked, staring up at Dan with bleary, bloodshot green eyes. “Daddy…?”
Dan shook his head slowly, squeezing the man’s shoulder a bit to make him realize he wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating, but this was reality at its grittiest. “No. My name is Dan. Dan West. Do you remember your name?”
The guy blinked, and then suddenly he grinned as his eyes sort of glazed over. “Oh my God, Danny. You’re fucking beautiful. An angel of fire. My hot little angel.”
Dan frowned. How badly was this man hurt in the head? In general he knew why the man had called him fiery, what with his red, curly hair and all. Still, he worried the man might have been hallucinating if he saw angels.
Dan pulled out some cleaning solution from the medical kit and cleaned the gash on his forehead. “Do you know your name? You must tell me your name.”
The guy kept grinning goofily, his hands hovering in front of him as he tried to touch Dan’s body. “Patrick. I’m Patrick. And you’re my angel. The one I prayed for.”
Jesus. Dan couldn’t clean the gash well because he was too busy pushing aside the man’s hands as he tried to get very familiar with his rescuer. “Patrick, what’s your last name? Can you tell me—”
“Prescott.” Leaning forward suddenly, he grabbed the front of Dan’s shirt in his fist and tugged him closer, forcing Dan to tumble forward into Patrick’s arms. And then Patrick kissed him, smack on his lips, a wet, sloppy, overeager, confusing, tight press of lips.
Shoving the man off as emphatically, yet gently, as he could, Dan put some distance between them. Those green eyes, deep like an evergreen forest, began to grow darker as Patrick licked his lips, looking smug and sated.
“My fiery angel. I knew God would send me an angel to save me. I’ve prayed so hard. Wanted so bad to—”
His hands wandered up once more, reaching for Dan who fought for inner calm while getting irritated. But he knew it wasn’t the man’s fault he was behaving the way he did. After all, he had a head injury, and who knew what else. The important thing was to keep him conscious and calm.
“I’m here, Patrick. I’m not going anywhere. Just sit still and let me take care of your wound, all right?” Dan kept his tone soothing and low, as if tempering a hurt animal.
Patrick nodded, his eyelids drooping a bit. His smile became dreamy, and Dan feared he was about to pass out. In the far distance, the faint echo of an ambulance siren began to register.
With a quick glance, Dan ascertained there were no half-dressed or fully dressed ladies in the car wreckage or anywhere in sight. It seemed Patrick had been alone. Hunter’s assumption of possible lady friends suggested a youthful frivolity of sleeping around, or he would have mentioned a name of any hypothetical girlfriends. But if Patrick was supposed to have girls with him, meaning he was straight, why was he behaving so amorous toward a guy? Dan pushed the matter out of his mind, focusing on his injured companion.
Trying to get up, Patrick kept mumbling about angels and fire and God and prayers of all kinds. Dan in turn kept trying to keep the man sitting. There was only smoke coming from the car’s busted up engine, but no actual flames, no stifling heat, so Dan assumed it wasn’t in imminent danger of exploding in their faces.
“Patrick, please sit down. I need to take care of—”
The guy slipped down on his bum, smiling dazedly, peering up at Dan like a smitten schoolgirl. “There’s a halo of fire around you, angel. You’re so fucking hot. I wanna fuck you so bad. Then I’ll be better. Yeah, sex with an angel God sent me. That’ll cure me. Take care of me, my blazing angel. I love you.”
Though Dan had noticed the taste of alcohol on Patrick’s lips when the man had kissed him, now the smell wafted over him more clearly in heated puffs of breath. Whisky, Dan guessed, recalling the scent of the drink his father, Admiral Robert Boone, also enjoyed on occasion. So, the mayor’s son was drunk, hurt, and probably sexually confused. That could have been attributed to his age, Dan surmised, since from his vantage point, Patrick undoubtedly couldn’t be much over the legal drinking age limit. But none of that mattered as long as the guy was this badly injured, and Dan could only hope rescue would come soon.
“I love you, my angel,” Patrick kept crooning, attempting to pull Dan into an embrace again, adamant in his drunken haze. “Knew you’d be gorgeous. Knew you’d be a sexy guy. Knew you’d come and save me.” His words began to slur together, and his hands wavered, trembling, and his eyes began to lose all focus.
Before he could doubt himself, Dan slapped the guy on the cheek, arousing him from his slack state with a sharp jolt, and he blinked fiercely as he recovered. “Stay with me, Patrick. Don’t fall asleep.” Where were those damn paramedics?
A happy smile tugged up the corners of Patrick’s lips. “I love you, fire angel. I’ll never leave you. You’re so fucking beautiful. I adore you. I worship you.” His hands became insistent at their tugging of Dan’s clothes while Dan kept up his patience and dislodged Patrick’s hold of him, time and again. “I want you naked. I wanna fuck you. I want you to fuck me. Take me away from this horrible place…”
By the time Patrick’s voice trailed off and he started to seriously list to one side while Dan corrected his position, the sirens grew so close Dan knew they were right there on the road. He glanced up, trying to glimpse past the tree trunks and greenery to see if anyone was there. The sharp squeal of breaks and the slam of doors reached him effortlessly.
ADULT EXCERPT
And Dan seemed to be, his hesitation disappearing. “Well, if a gorgeous guy says he wants me, who am I to argue?” Leaning forward, smiling, he was about to kiss Patrick when he all of a sudden pulled back, concern written all over his cute face. “You’ll tell me if you’re hurting, won’t you?”
“I promise, I swear,” Patrick replied immediately, starting to feel a little frustrated and desperate at how slowly things were progressing. So he grabbed Dan by his nape and yanked him forward, crushing their lips together.
Dan made a soft sound, like a satisfied sigh, and Patrick nearly swooned. He really liked that wanton noise. When Dan started to rock his hips back and forth in his lap, Patrick had to think about disgusting things to get his raging hard-on under some kind of control before he creamed his borrowed pajama bottoms.
Running his fingers through Patrick’s hair, Dan tilted his head and deepened the kiss, taking his time to suckle Patrick’s lips, to nibble and lave, before plunging his tongue in. Opening right up, Patrick made his own foray into Dan’s willing, hungry mouth, and their slick, hot tongues licked at each other, entwining to taste and tangle. Dan tasted of coffee and man and somehow the sea and the wind, too, and it captivated Patrick to no end.
Unable to wait any longer, Patrick pushed Dan’s white T-shirt up to his neck, and as Dan lifted his arms lazily above his head, Patrick practically ripped the clothing off, tossing it over his shoulder. All the time Dan kept swinging his hips in his lap, causing sweet friction to play along the sensitive length of Patrick’s shaft, trapped hot and hard and leaking in his pajama bottoms. Though the clothing was thin cotton, he felt so hot, and he needed both air to caress his nakedness and to feel his lover’s skin brushing and pressing on him.
My lover, my fiery angel, my Dan.
Though Dan wasn’t exactly any of those things to Patrick, the words rose from within him. It was intimacy he sought, the touch of something real amidst a sea of chaos where he didn’t know where to look for the buried treasure—himself.
His eager, sweaty hands slipped beneath the waistband of Dan’s pajama bottoms to grab palms full of muscular globes of soft skin with an ever so light coating of fuzz. Mmm, fuzz… Pressing the smaller man closer to his burning, tightening crotch, Patrick delved deep into Dan’s oral cavity, swiping his tongue over the man’s teeth and tongue, learning the ridges of his palate with the tip, tasting his unique flavor all over his taste buds, and loving the easiness of their kissing. It was so effortless for them to fall into a rhythm, into each other, into lovemaking.
“Mmm, you taste good,” Patrick mumbled in between kisses as he paused for breath.
“You, too,” Dan said and then chuckled into the kiss.
Patrick pulled back, baffled. “What?”
“Just wasn’t being very imaginative with my commentary, is all.”
Huffing, Patrick said, “If you can still say stuff like imaginative and commentary, I’m not doing a good enough job at making you mindless with pleasure.”
Dan laughed, his head thrown back, exposing his long, white, spice-scented neck, and Patrick sank his teeth into the soft curve there. Dan’s laugh morphed into a moan. Licking away the sting of his bite, Patrick tasted his way across the skin with its salty tang, dipping lower until he had a mouth full of erect, pink nipple. Flicking the tip of his tongue over the tightening nub, Patrick enclosed his lips around it and sucked gently. Dan jolted, and groaned, his hands winding around Patrick’s broad shoulders, hanging on for dear life.
“Yes, oh God, right there,” Dan murmured. The huskiness of his tone was like music to Patrick’s ears, and he grinned. For a while he gave all his attention to both of Dan’s nipples, since the man was clearly sensitive there, loving every minute of it. Patrick tormented the tiny, fleshy points with his lips, tongue, and teeth until they were burning against his tongue, and undoubtedly ached, too. “Oh, Patrick.”
He had heard those words spoken before, especially in the bedroom setting, but here with Dan they felt different to Patrick, more meaningful somehow. Releasing the nipples, he gave Dan’s body a good, long look, admiring what he saw.
Dan’s muscles weren’t as pronounced and bulging as Patrick’s were, as he was more delineated and streamlined, like his submarine no doubt, but there was no mistaking the inherent strength hidden underneath the milky-white skin. Except he wasn’t all white. Dan’s skin was covered in freckles, only they weren’t everywhere, but like wavy lines followed his curves, from his cheekbones to his shoulders, across his pecs and down his arms to his elbows. Patrick couldn’t stop from staring at them, fascinated, determined to count them all—and to find out just how far down the man’s body they went.
A light sprinkling of red fuzz covered Dan’s chest, between his pecs, then vanished, reappearing as a delicious treasure trail from below his navel and dipping into the waistband of his pajama bottoms.
“Mmm, freckles and curls,” Patrick whispered, rubbing his face on Dan’s chest hairs.
Dan’s laugh accompanied the crinkle of short hairs there as Patrick’s stubble rubbed over it. “Have at me then.”
Patrick grinned. “Aye aye, sir.”
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