"The second book of this series, set in the exceptional little town of Cade Creek, tells the story of Farmer Mitch and Elliot, the man he falls in love with. Unfortunately Elliot has some major issues and chooses to run away – all meant to protect Mitch from his abusive stepfather. Of course this is not a long-term solution, and just like in the first book, as sweet as the main characters are, they have to learn to stand up for themselves before things get better. Mitch and Elliot have the support of practically the entire town, and it still takes some major effort to fight the villain. Elliot has a problem. His abusive stepfather has been threatening him for years, but once his mother dies, Elliot needs to take care of his three younger siblings as well as himself. He is such a caring guy, and he is determined to protect his sister and brothers, but the odds are overwhelming. The only place he can think to run to is Cade Creek and Mitch. Not planning to stay, just rest, he is surprised and shocked when Mitch offers to help him get rid of the stepfather from hell. Elliot has to take a leap of faith, and it very nearly costs him his life. I was so mad about what happened I could have strangled the idiots “in charge” of their brilliant plan. Elliot was way more forgiving than I would have been! Mitch is a farmer all the way. He is happy to take over the family farm when his parents retire to Florida, and the only thing missing is Elliot, the man he fell for two years earlier. Nobody is happier than Mitchell when Elliot reappears, and he will move heaven and earth to ensure Elliot stays around this time. Never mind the abusive, powerful stepfather – Mitch knows a few people and is determined to protect Elliot. Just like his other friends, however, he is overly confident and it almost costs him dearly. I hope Mitch learns from this mistake! If you like sweet romances with an edge of danger, if abused characters learning to fight for their rights are your thing, and if you’re looking for a read that is as sweet and hot as it is frustrating until the characters learn their lessons, then you will probably like this novella." -- Serena Yates, Rainbow Book Reviews
STORY EXCERPT
“Who’s the cutie?” Mitchell Walker asked as he watched the sexy little blond across the burning fire pit from him. He didn’t know if it was the way the flames seemed to highlight the sandy-blond curls that bounced around his face when he tossed his head back and laughed or the simple joy the man seemed to take in just sitting with some friends around the fire.
Whatever it was, Mitch hadn’t been able to look away since the man sat down.
“Dude, could you be a little bit more specific?” Russell Bozeman, Mitch’s best friend since kindergarten, replied as he waved his beer bottle toward the bevy of beauties sitting around the fire. “There’s a lot of cute out there.”
Mitch chuckled, his beer bottle hovering just inches from his lips. “The cute little blond sitting next to your brother.”
“Ah, that cutie. That’s Elliot Foster, Adam’s new roommate. I guess he doesn’t have any family to speak of so Adam invited him to come spend his vacation here with us. Mom adores him.”
“So, he’s just here for a couple of weeks?”
“Yep. They have to head back to the university in ten days.”
“That’s too bad.” Mitch kept his eyes locked on the cute little blond as he tipped his beer bottle up and took another swig. “I’d tap that.”
“Yeah?” Mitch could hear the curiosity Russ’s voice as the man gazed out across the fire. “He’s cute enough, I suppose.”
Mitch snickered. “He’s fucking adorable.”
Russ’s head snapped around. “I thought you didn’t do twinks.”
Mitch grinned wickedly. “There’s always a first time.”
He quickly downed the rest of his beer then scooted off the tailgate of his truck. Mitch walked over to the cooler someone had brought for the party and grabbed himself another beer and a Coke for Elliot. Mitch hadn’t missed the fact that Elliot was not drinking alcohol.
Mitch took the long route, walking around the outside of the fire line before stepping over the log Elliot was on and sitting down beside him. He tapped Elliot’s empty soda can with the new one, holding it out to him.
Elliot’s eyes widened for a moment, and Mitch almost felt like preening under the man’s clear astonishment. “I’m Mitch Walker.”
“E–Elliot Foster.”
“Yes, I know. I asked,” Mitch said, nodding toward the Coke in his hand. “I thought you might be ready for a new one,”
“Um…” Elliot’s eyebrows drew together in confusion as he took the soda from Mitch and popped the tab on the top. “Thanks.”
Mitch hid his grin behind his beer and quickly took a sip. “I hear that you and Adam are roommates at the university.”
Elliot smiled as his eyes went to Adam. “Yeah.”
“What are you studying?” Mitch asked, wanting Elliot’s eyes back on him. He liked the shy way the sweet little man looked at him.
“Same thing as Adam,” Elliot replied as he looked back. “That’s how we met in fact, in school.”
That surprised Mitch enough that his eyebrows rose up. “You’re going to be a veterinarian?”
“Yep.” Elliot smiled as if he was proud of that fact.
“That’s cool.”
“What about you?”
“Naw, the university isn’t for me.” Mitch chuckled lightly as he shook his head. “I barely made it through high school.”
“Oh.”
“I’m a third-generation farmer. Always have been, always will be.” Mitch wasn’t sure if it was curiosity shining in Elliot’s green eyes or disdain at his chosen profession. But he wasn’t ashamed of what he did. He loved it. “I’ve been working the farm since I was old enough to ride on my daddy’s knee. I’ll do it until the day I die.”
“You like it?”
“I love it.” Mitch took a sip of his beer, turning his gaze toward the roaring fire. “There’s something very satisfying about watching your hard work grow right before your eyes and knowing that at some point, it’s going to feed your family or your neighbor’s family.”
Elliot’s head tilted, a quizzical smile crossing his lips, making him go from simply cute to astonishingly handsome. Mitch knew he’d have to get the guy to smile some more. He wanted another one of those devastating smiles.
“You really do love it, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” Mitch hid his nervousness at the question by taking another sip of his beer.
In this day and age, not many people understood his love of farming. It was a lost art as far as he was concerned. Most people either bought their food at the supermarket or owned large commercialized farms that produced product for mass markets.
The individual farmer was a thing of the past.
“That’s cool.”
Mitch glanced at Elliot out of the corner of his eye, not sure if the guy was laughing at him or not. The earnest look on Elliot’s face surprised him. “You think being a farmer is cool?” Mitch had heard weirder things, but not many.
“I don’t know much about being a farmer but loving what you do is cool. I think if more people did what they actually wanted to do instead of what they were told to do or thought they had to do, there would be a lot more happy people in the world.”
“Yeah.” Mitch took another sip of his beer, watching Elliot. He was a strange little dude, cute, but strange. “So, you always wanted to be a veterinarian then?”
“Oh yeah.” A wide grin spread over Elliot’s lips. “When I was around six years old, a couple of baby birds were born in a nest outside my bedroom window. I was fascinated by them, watched them for hours every day. When one of them fell from the nest, my mother said I was hysterical. She brought the baby bird inside and put it in a box.”
Elliot chuckled as his gaze dropped down to his hands. “I think she thought the bird would die and was preparing it to be buried in the backyard. Instead, I took the bird down to our local veterinarian. I went down every day, taking out the trash and sweeping the floor to pay the bill. Several weeks later, the vet and I freed that baby bird. As I watched it fly off, I knew that I wanted to be able to do that, to keep animals from dying and set them free.”
Okay, it was definite now. Mitch was totally intrigued.
ADULT EXCERPT
Mitch rolled to his back, a deep chuckle vibrating through his chest as he laughed. Elliot soon joined in the laughter. He was really beginning to adore Elliot. The last week spent with the man was turning out to be one of the best he could remember in a very long time.
Mitch reached over and pulled on Elliot until the man was draped over his chest, looking down at him. He groaned and grabbed Elliot’s hips as Elliot squirmed around, their cocks brushing together through their jeans.
“I want to fuck you, Elliot.”
Elliot’s eyes widened, and he nodded after a hard swallow. “Okay.”
Mitch was a little shocked. There had been some kissing and light touching between them since that night at the lake, but nothing more than that. Mitch was pretty sure that Elliot was inexperienced or close to it. No matter how horny Elliot made him, he didn’t want to do anything the man was uncomfortable with.
But he had to ask.
He reached into his pocket, grabbing the lube and condom he had stashed there before leaving his house that evening. He wasn’t exactly planning on getting laid, but he had been raised to always be prepared for anything.
And he had a lot of hope.
“Get naked.” Mitch could barely remember to strip his own clothes off as he watched Elliot get undressed. Short the man might be, but small he was not. Apparently, god had made up for Elliot’s smaller body by giving him a very impressive cock.
Mitch wondered if Elliot had ever topped and if he could talk him into it at some point. Mitch liked it both ways. And he would love to feel that bad boy pound into his ass.
But first…
“Turn around. I want to watch you stretch yourself for me.”
Elliot’s entire body flushed at Mitch’s request. He bit his bottom lip and then turned around, giving Mitch a beautiful view of his ass. Mitch flipped the lid on the lube and squirted a small amount down Elliot’s crease.
“Give me your hand.” Elliot reached back, giving Mitch his fingers. Once he lubed his lover’s fingers, Mitch set the bottle aside and guided Elliot’s lubed hand toward his hole. “Have you ever done this before, Elliot?”
“No,” Elliot admitted as his fingers felt around his tight entrance and then one of the digits pushed past the ring of muscles. Mitch’s cock hardened even further at the sight. He groaned as he watched. Elliot slowly pushed another finger inside of his ass.
Mitch reached between their bodies, grabbing the base of his cock to stop the orgasm threatening to erupt at the sight. After Elliot inserted a second and then a third finger, Mitch reached up and massaged his pale mounds, kneading them in the palm of his hands as he watched the erotic sight right before his eyes.
“I’m ready.”
Mitch moved his hands out of the way as Elliot turned back around. He started to climb off of Mitch, but he stopped Elliot from going anywhere. “I want you to ride me.”
Elliot bit his lips as he glanced around.
“I’ll show you, honey.” Mitch repositioned Elliot while holding the base of his cock. When the tip of his shaft touched Elliot’s hole, Mitch had to breathe out. “Go slow.”
Elliot placed the palms of his hands on Mitch’s chest as he slowly lowered his body, impaling himself onto Mitch’s aching erection. Mitch tensed and groaned, his cock aching in ways it never had before.
“You feel so good, Elliot. You’re so fucking tight.”
Elliot blushed at Mitch’s words. It was cute as hell.
Mitch grinned up at him and then gripped Elliot’s sides. “Tell me when you’re ready to move, honey.”
Elliot took a few breaths and then nodded. Mitch braced his feet on the ground and then tightened his hold on Elliot’s sides as he thrust upward.
“Oh god!” Elliot shouted as he fell forward. “Do that again.”
Mitch wrapped his arms around Elliot and began to drive up into the man’s tight ass over and over again. His head was swirling and his body was humming as his cock took pleasure in his lover’s body.
Elliot leaned forward and captured Mitch’s lips. The kiss sent new spirals of ecstasy through Mitch as he thrust harder. Mitch broke the kiss, nipping Elliot’s ear. “Am I hurting you?”
“No,” Elliot grunted as he pushed back, sitting up straight and planting his feet on either side of Mitch. Mitch lifted his hands up, giving Elliot something to hold onto as his lover took over and rode Mitch like a pro.
“Oh, this feels so fucking good.” Elliot’s head rolled back onto his shoulders as his lips slightly parted. He bounced on Mitch’s cock, taking Mitch straight to the edge.