STORY EXCERPT

“Hey, what are you supposed to be?” a deep voice asked. It was heavily laced with amusement, all at Angel’s expense.

Oh, goody, Angel thought, another jerk. Taking a deep breath he turned around to look at the owner of the attitude. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat. At his height, which was just a hair over five foot two, he had automatically lifted his gaze to where the face of a male of average height would be. Then he lifted his gaze another foot. Wow, the guy was huge. And huge males were something he didn’t like. Nope, he didn’t like them at all. But he was good-looking enough in a very rough way to earn another glance. The guy had seen the hard side of life. There was no mistaking it. It was in there, buried deep in the green eyes, in the lines bracketing his mouth, in the granite set of his jaw.

Stepping back quickly, Angel lifted his chin. “I’m a Christmas fairy.”

A black brow lifted. “It’s January second.”

Angel shrugged. “I got a good deal on the costume rental. Now go away.”

“Hey, Ben, who’s your friend? Isn’t he a little young for you to be hitting on?”

Another behemoth walked up to stand beside the first. Angel scowled. It was his self-protective mode, of course. He wanted to stand his ground, but was too nervous to do it. He edged toward the front of Silver’s Chocolate Café. He usually stood outside in the biting cold for fifteen minutes to hand out free samples to people shopping around the square. Even with the holidays over, business was still brisk, the town still packed with winter visitors. He probably didn’t need to stand outside and freeze his ass off, but he liked interacting with the people.

“I’m not his friend. And you can go away, too.”

This guy was as fair as the other was dark. He looked like a Ken doll on steroids.

The first guy was definitely smirking as he looked down at Angel. “He’s a Christmas fairy.”

“Really. Hmmm. Did Santa leave you behind?”

“I’m a fairy, not an elf. See the fucking wings? Elves don’t have wings. Now fuck off.”

Angel spun around, forgot about the long-toed shoes with the bells on the curled tips, and nearly fell on his face. It was only the manacle of a hand around his upper arm which prevented him from doing so.

“Careful there, sweetheart,” the guy named Ben warned.

“He lost his goodies.” Pretty boy was a real genius. And he was a real smartass, too.

Looking down at the snow-dusted sidewalk Angel saw there were a dozen of Gilly’s Chili-Chocolate Singeing Delights on the ground. Growling, he bent and picked them up, dropping them onto the plate. He then turned back to the two men. He scowled up at them. Had they been staring at his ass? They both looked guilty as hell.

“Free chocolates?”

They both stared at him, and then at the offering on the plate. They both grinned. “He thinks we won’t eat them. Remember those tarantulas we had to roast? They can’t be any worse than that.”

Huge paws grabbed at the chocolates and began tossing them back like tequila shots. Angel stared as he concentrated on not puking his guts up. Roasted tarantulas! Gross. But then he watched and waited as they chewed. All the others he had offered the delicacies to he had warned about the heat in them. As he saw their faces begin to flush he grinned. Turning, he shot toward the door, giggling over their garbled shouts.

Gilly was standing just inside. He was staring through the window in the door. “Were those guys giving you trouble?”

“No. They were just making fun of me.” He shrugged. “But I knew some would tease me. Anyway, I have to take this back to the costume shop this afternoon. I got my money’s worth.”

Angel began to walk between the counter and the huge display case when Gilly said, “They’re coming in. Want me to wait on them?”

Despite the stirring of interest, Angel nodded. He didn’t even look back. What would be the point? He wasn’t looking for love or sex, just peace and quiet.

ADULT EXCERPT

He moved closer to Cross and wrapped his arms around the other man. His hands slid down until they were cupping the hard mounds of his ass. “Why don’t you put your uniform on and let me see how it looks?”

“I did that last night.”

“But you’re so hot in it. C’mon, baby.” Ben nibbled along his jaw. His cock was getting hard, pressing at the front of his jeans. “I’ll let you put me in cuffs and frisk me.”

They hadn’t been able to really play at the hotel. The walls were paper thin and neither of them cared to entertain their neighbors. But tonight they were in their new home and he wanted to make up for lost time. He wanted down and dirty. He wanted them both shouting the roof off when they came.

Cross chuckled and returned the gentle nuzzling. He rubbed their cocks together. Ben could feel his begin to weep pre-cum. If there was much more teasing he would certainly lose it.

“How can I resist an offer like that?” Strong teeth nipped his earlobe, causing Ben to shudder and close his eyes. “I might have to do a cavity search. I have a special tool for that.”

Groaning, Ben let him go and turned toward the stairs. “Don’t forget to bring your uniform. We’ll get the rest of the stuff later.”

They had bought a new bed, two dressers, nightstands, lamps, and a few other necessities. They would buy what they needed as necessary. They had set everything up after cleaning the room from top to bottom, dusting and washing as they went. The woodwork was gleaming. The floors in the bedroom and hallway looked polished. They still needed to paint the room, but that could wait.

Now the bed was centered on the far wall with a view of the mountains, looking inviting with its dark-red flannel sheets and coordinated blue-and-red blankets and comforter. He absently noted that they had forgotten curtains. Well, it wasn’t like the neighbors were going to get an eyeful, he thought with a grin as he began stripping off his clothes. He then sat on the bed, ready to remove his prosthetic leg, when Cross was there to do it for him. They looked at one another and smiled. Cross hadn’t shied away once from the sight of what remained of his leg, the stump, along with many other gruesome scars he had on his lower body.

“How’s your leg tonight?” Cross asked, passion, lust, and desire momentarily placed on hold. “You were on it so much today.”

“It’s good. A bit sore,” he corrected when a blond brow went up. He couldn’t fool the man. They had known one another too long. “It itches, too.”

Strong hands caressed the scarred skin covering his stump, working up from there while Cross began kissing the insides of his thighs. Ben’s cock jumped, standing straight out from a nest of dark curls. When warm breath caressed his balls he moaned and fell back on the bed.

A finger found the tight rosette of his asshole, playing with it, teasing him as he began to push against it.

“Why don’t we forget about the dressing up and get right to the cavity search?”

Chuckling, Ben nodded. “Works for me.”

“Where did we put the lube?”

“It’s already in the drawer.”

“Clever.”

Warm lips rubbed over his balls before Cross nuzzled them more firmly. It always made him crazy, always made him want more. Moaning, he spread his legs and lifted his hips. One moment he was being teased, the next his balls were being sucked, one at a time, into a hot, wet mouth. Cross rubbed the flat of his tongue over the orb within, stroking it, before moving on to the other. Ben’s hips bucked and he blindly reached for the drawer with the lube in it. His hand fumbled around until he found the knob on the drawer. He pulled it open and found the lube and a condom. He dropped them on the bed and waited. He was torn. He wanted Cross to continue what he was doing, yet he wanted the man inside him.

It had always been this way between them. They had been drawn to one another since they had first met. Best friends for years, lovers when they discovered and revealed who they were. It had been a perfect moment.

As a lubed finger pushed through the guarding ring of muscles Cross’s hot mouth slid down the length of his cock. “Fuck, baby, your mouth is perfect.”