Today is a good day! I got Lee Brazil to come visit me on hump day! How freaking awesome is that???
Of course I had to promise not to handcuff him to the chair…um…again *hangs head* but he's here and it is sooooooo worth the sacrifice! hehe
Now I know I love to babble on and on about nothing and everything that turns out to be nothing…but today I'm just going to hand the floor over to my handsome muse and let him do his thing—cause his thing is always the best! *big smiles*
*blushes* Havan! I can't believe…Well, yes I can. Ordinarily at this part of a post I'd be thanking my hostess and introducing myself. Havan's covered who I am, *chuckles* perhaps a bit too thoroughly, so I'll just add to that that I write primarily m/m romance with a tiny bit of m/f thrown in.
I'm here today to talk about second chances, and if you know me and my muse at all, you know we get a lot of practice at second chances!
As a teacher, I was programmed in ed psych classes to believe in second chances. And third. And fourth. We firmly believed that no one was irredeemable, that with the right amount of understanding, the right approach, everyone could succeed.
Apply that to relationships.
How many second chances do you give someone you love? I don't mean for the everyday little things that we do that offend our loved ones.
Oh, come on. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Your lover squeezes the toothpaste tube from the middle. It bothers you, you know it does. Do you say anything? Do you grumble under your breath while you adjust the tube and squeeze it carefully from the bottom? Do you smile and kiss him when he brings you the paper and a cup of coffee on the patio as though you weren't just cussing him out in your head during the whole three minute brushing interlude?
Of course you do. Because you love him and forgive him his sins. You'll reshape that tube of toothpaste every fricking day for the rest of your life, because you love that kiss.
Or, you send him off to the store to get some things you really need. He goes with a cheery smile and a nod. You spend the whole time he's away wondering if he heard what you said. When he comes back from the grocery store with country style orange juice instead of pulp free, you might scowl. You might pout. You might even say something snide. But you aren't kicking his pulp loving ass to the curb. Because you love that smiling willingness to brave the grocery store for you.
I'd even venture so far as to say that at times you've rolled your eyes in the bed room. How many times did you show the love of your life the exact spot on the back of your neck where a judiciously applied bite will have ecstatic results? How many times do you draw his attention to what makes you crazy in bed, and how patient are you while he learns this lesson?
I'll bet you are very, very patient on this one. Because teaching is fun. And you love him.
And so you'll give him an endless number of chances to squeeze the tube of toothpaste, right, to buy the right kind of juice, to bite in the exact right spot with the exact right amount of pressure.
Exactly. And he does the same for you. No one is perfect. We forgive little things in those we love all the time, every day.
But what if he betrays you?
Do you offer a second chance?
Do you forgive?
*sighs* I would forgive you anything…*sits up and looks around…blushes* Um…I mean good questions! So, if I beg real purdy like and sit still and promise not to interrupt will you read us your blurb and excerpt from Loving Jacob?
*smiles indulgently* Well, I was going to do that anyway…so…sure.
*curls up next to my muse and listens to his sexy voice fill my sense with one of the best books I've read this year*
A story of lust, love, betrayal
And second chances
When Malcom Jenner's sex-on-the-side turns into more, he isn't above begging for a second chance.
Malcolm is looking for a bit of fun, nothing serious. He's got duties and responsibilities, after all. He doesn't usually choose his lovers from the office, but his attraction to Jacob Renault is too compelling to resist.
However, Jacob isn't interested in temporary. He want it all, Prince Charming the castle, the happily ever after. There's no rule that says he can't have fun while he's searching for his prince though.
At first neither is willing to compromise their stance, but an agreement is reached, with each man planning to do his best to subvert the other to his viewpoint. Lust turns to love, and what's impossible becomes merely improbably, but is it going to be enough?
Excerpt
Malcolm gritted his teeth and reminded himself that an office fling with a man who had to be at least ten years his junior was out of the question. He and Penny had long since relinquished any pretense of monogamy in their marriage and reached an amicable agreement to conduct their affairs discreetly out of respect for their son and their friendship. Fucking purple-eyed twinks in the elevator at work? Not discreet.
He kept his gaze focused on the gleaming silver metal of the doors as the elevator made its excruciatingly slow way up to the third floor. His glance flicked to the reflection beside his. The younger man stood casually, shoulders propped against the wall, licking pink lips. His purple gaze in the hazy reflection was focused…fuck…on Malcolm's obvious erection beneath his dark dress pants. Discretion. Discretion. He snarled at his libido. There will be no casual hookups with people from the office, he warned his eager cock. He shifted to the side slightly, hoping to hide the evidence of his arousal from the other man. Damn it. That kid had the sexiest eyes he'd ever seen. He wanted like hell to see them glaze over as he fucked the tight ass hinted at by the khaki pants he wore. He didn't go much for the intimacy of face-to-face encounters, but for the sight of those eyes and that mouth in the throes of orgasm, he'd make an exception. His tendency toward quick casual encounters disguised his preference for male partners and kept word of his homosexuality from getting back to his parents, his partners in the firm, and out to the public.
A law office, like any other place of business, was a microcosm of the world at large. Malcolm knew from being on the receiving end of gossip from his secretary Marge that every action and interaction between employees was fodder for the gossip mill. Being the subject of water cooler gossip lacked appeal and offended his sense of dignity, as did the knowledge that he apparently couldn't control his urges around the tech guy.
He threw in the towel and gave up the fight against his attraction to the young man from the technology department. Malcolm caught that sultry purple gaze on his cock for what must have been the hundredth time. The slight young man brushed against him in an intentional teasing slide while he tried to exit the elevator on the second floor.
Impulsively, Malcolm grabbed Jacob's hand and pulled him back inside the otherwise-empty space. He kept that small, soft hand locked in his own as he allowed the heavy metal doors to slam shut and the elevator to rise to his own floor. There he slapped his palm against the button that prevented the doors from opening. He'd had all the titillation he could stand. Malcolm swept the young man into his embrace. He tilted Jacob's head upward with one hand and dropped his mouth passionately, almost brutally, to kiss the other man. His other hand tangled in the black curls that had taunted his senses over the past weeks. He forced the soft pink lips apart, then swept his tongue inside. Instantly he was absorbed in the heated, slick haven of Jacob's mouth. The honeyed sweetness drew him further in and his tongue eagerly sought the textures and flavors that had been hidden there.Fuck. He could drown in the wet heat he found behind those soft lips. It was addictive. Jacob didn't even try to escape the kiss; in fact, he seemed to be doing his best to encourage it. He brushed his tongue against Malcolm's, sweeping it gently along the roof of his mouth, seeking and finding the sweetest spots. Both men were panting heavily when they separated.
psssst ... now can I get the handcuffs? *giggles*
