Vicktor Alexander's Blog, page 4

Hello Everyone!!!
On November 16th I turned 31. It's something I've been thinking about for a while. Not necessarily turning 31, but my birthday. The reason for this is because my birthday brings up both good and bad memories for me (mostly bad, though the past few years have been good). I don't typically expect presents for my birthday (though I did up until the age of 12 and then after that my present requests became extremely altruistic- "donate to a charity", I asked my mom to adopt me an African orphan when I was 12, etc.) but my birthday is the one day out of the year where I let others focus on me without putting up a fight. And this year, I was determined to have a good birthday.
Last year, I asked author friends to share their favorite birthday memories or short stories featuring some of their characters that were centered around birthdays of some sort, and this year I decided to do the same thing. For the next few weeks, author friends and even some non-author friends of mine, will be taking over The Purple Fantasy Den and posting.
And for those of you who you asked last year about sending me a birthday present, first of all, thank you, second of all: In lieu of presents, I'd love to have you donate to the Elton John AIDS Foundation in memory of my best friend Justin or for my friends Angel or Richard, or maybe even someone you know who is living with, and fighting the disease.
Oh! And by the way: One person who comments on every post will be chosen at the end of the eXXXtravaganza to receive a special birthday prize (swag, books, GC, etc.)
So, without further ado! Here's today's post by:


When I found out Vicktor’s birthday was soon, I was thrilled to write something for his Birthday eXXXtravaganza. I hope you like what Vick inspired ;)

A Gift For A Lifetime
by Tempeste O’Riley
Pacing the floor wasn’t conducive to much, but Pete couldn’t seem to stop. He hated birthdays, especially when it was his own. Somehow, and he still couldn’t figure out how, but his best friend, the guy he learned about sex, kink, and more from, had conned him into going out for dinner with some friends. Pete didn’t know all of Jase’s friends, Jase being infinitely more social and outgoing, but Pete had never been good at saying no to his friend.He paused long enough to look out the front window of his home, again, and scowled when he didn’t find Jase’s car out front. Not that it surprised him. No, Jase was annoyingly punctual; he was never early or late to anywhere. Pete had never figured out how the man did it, but right then, he didn’t overly care. He’d already picked up his cell a dozen times, wanting to call—though text wouldn’t let Jase use guilt quite as effectively—and cancel. Resuming his strides across the living room floor, and back, Pete wondered where they were going. That was one of the little details Jase had refused to give, and as usual, when he’d used his “Dom” voice, Pete had backed off and consented to the “surprise” destination. All he’d managed to get out of his friend was how he should dress—black slacks, a pale gray button-down silk shirt. No jewelry. The last instruction was the one that bugged Pete the most. He always wore his nipple rings, even though he hadn’t been with anyone for over a year. The only other piece he usually wore was a ring; one Jase himself had given Pete years ago, back when they occasionally played together. It wasn’t a big deal, as they’d never been a true couple, but it felt weird not to wear anything. Still, he couldn’t imagine why the weird requests or why this year they had to go out. Usually, Jase only forced a private dinner and a couple of gifts on Pete, knowing how much he hated his birthday. The reason for his hatred tried to push to the surface, but Pete beat it into submission and forced it back behind the door he kept all his past hurts. Stopping again, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as he counted from ten to one. He’d learned long ago to focus and count so his natural edginess didn’t get to him. Well, not as much, at least. He just hoped Jase hurried up and the night could pass quickly and quietly. Ha! Yeah, quiet wasn’t Jase’s way, but still, he could hope.The loud hoot of Jase’s horn pulled him out of his musings, and while he expected the honk, it still made him jump. Swallowing his nerves, Pete grabbed his pea coat and headed out the door, locking it before stepping off the front stoop and hurrying over to Jase’s Cruze—Iridescent Pearl Cruze, he was fussy about color names.When he opened the passenger door, Jase leaned over and grinned wide. “Hey, Petey, hurry up. You’re letting the heat out.”“Yeah, yeah, bite me,” he quipped, smiling despite his worry.“Nah, not tonight. But hey, the nights still young, you might find someone who’s into that.”“Ass,” Pete grumbled, though he couldn’t hide his amusement. Jase always hoped Pete would find a nice Dom and settle down. He’d never had the same hopes as Jase for himself though. He didn’t like hooking up; too much stress and one never knew that much about a new Dom. However, Pete didn’t exactly hold out hope of finding the perfect man for himself. He’d thought he had that once upon a time, but thoughts of that loss threatened that secret door within, so he shut down his inner rambling and focused on what Jase was saying instead.“We’re going to Sovereign tonight.” The tone Jase used was calm, as if he’d said nothing important, but Pete suddenly could barely breathe.“We, what?” Pete nearly screamed, whipping around to glare at his best friend. How could he do this to me? “How can you expect me to go there?”“Simple, we go, have a little fun, get a couple of drinks, and ring in your birthday right.”Pete eyed his friend, considering how to best respond. Jase knew Pete didn’t go to the clubs anymore. He even knew, to a point, why. “Jase, I... I don’t sub anymore. Why would you take me to a BDSM club? To that club?”The sigh could not be missed. Jase didn’t look at Pete, focusing his attention on the road, even as he started speaking. “You own half of Sovereign, Pete. Why would I take you to some other club? It’s your club.”“Was.”“Is. Sovereign is half yours. You named it.”“I haven’t stepped foot in there in two years and don’t see why I should change that now.”“Did you know Rex sold his half and moved? I assume you know about your new partner. Right?”God! Why does Jase have to be so... “Yes, Rex sold and moved with his toy. The new owner seems like a decent Dom and doesn’t mind me not being active at the club. I, I haven’t been there since...” Since I caught Rex with Brian. “I know, but tonight you’re going back and spending time with me, at your club. Now, stop scowling and get ready. Tonight, you’re going to have fun, even if it kills you.”Yeah, right! Knowing better than to fight with Jase, as he never won, Pete stifled his annoyance and tried to focus on the club. He hadn’t been 100% honest when he said he hadn’t been back, but it had only been a couple of times. Once to get his things when he knew Rex wouldn’t be there, and twice since Jon, the Dom that bought Rex out, took over. They talked via text, IM, and Skype mostly, but Jon had been adamant that Jase be there when Jon first took over, and then again when there had been a break in. As co-owner, he needed to show up for those things, but to the club proper, when it was open? No, that he hadn’t done.As Jase took the turn into the parking lot, Pete couldn’t help but wonder at the number of vehicles parking there. It was a Tuesday, still a bit early, so why was it so packed? “What’s up with the crowd?” he asked, motioning toward all the cars.Jase pulled into the spot reserved for Pete, parking before turning to answer. “Tonight is no different than usual, really. Since Jon took over things here, every night is busy. You had to notice your portion of the income went up.”Pete had noticed, sort of, but hadn’t thought much of it. He never really touched that money, living off his pay from his work as a teacher. “Maybe, but it’s Tuesday.”“You’ll see,” Jase teased, then opened the door and exited, leaving Pete to gather his courage. After a few minutes, Pete decided it was stupid to continue sulking in the car and got out, fighting not to scowl at Jase when he noticed how out of control the man’s grin was. A moment later, he did scowl, after finally getting a good look at what Jase wore. Black leather pants, tall black boots, and under his jacket, Pete noted that Jase wore a tight mesh top—Jase’s normal clubbing clothes. “What?” Jase asked, his voice too casual to be believable. “You planning to play tonight while you’re bullying me into coming along with you?” If Jase planned to play, that meant he wouldn’t even be with Pete the whole time. Torn between annoyance and hope, Pete hoped that meant he’d be able to sneak away while Jase was busy.Jase’s only answer was to shrug. “Come on, Pete, we should get inside.”Grumbling under his breath, Pete gave in and followed Jase inside. The bouncer waved them inside, even though Pete didn’t recognize the huge man. Pete came to a stop just inside the doors, though, confused by what he saw. Instead of the coat check area leading into an open area where members would visit, hang out, and sometimes retreat to to talk about things before a scene with a new or temp sub, the entrance area stopped just past the coat check area. The large double doors there were open; giving access to what looked more like a cafe than the lounge that had been there. “Jon redesigned the club?” Why hadn’t he mentioned that in their weekly meetings? “Parts of it, yeah. You didn’t know?” The concern in Jase’s voice only served to increase Pete’s worry and anxiety. He hated being surprised! Almost as much as he hated being lied to.Pete shook his head, not sure what to make of the changes. “No, he... I didn’t know about this.”“Well, he should be meeting us at the table inside, so you can ask him about the changes then.”“Yeah.” The changes didn’t stop there, though Pete couldn’t bring himself to resent the new design. The cafe area was nice. Along one side there was a long bar, like there was inside only this one served tea and coffee, not alcohol. “A coffee house inside?”“It’s rather popular, actually,” a deep voice said from behind Pete. He turned and came face to face with Jon. “When Jase said he’d get you to come by tonight, I didn’t believe him. Glad to be wrong, though.” Jon extended his hand. “It’s great to have you here when we’re open.”Without thought, Pete took Jon’s hand, accepting the shake before retrieving his now shaking hand. He shoved his hands into his pockets, hoping neither man noticed the slight tremor. “Thanks. It looks great, but is coffee really that popular?”Jon’s handsome face split into a wide grin. “Yeah, it is actually. It’s done well, especially for those that want to socialize, not scene or dance.”Pete looked around as they moved through the area and he had to admit, there did seem to be more people in the area than he remembered usually hanging out before. “Had I known you were going to do this, I’d have questioned the need, but it seems like it’s well used.”The smile dropped off Jon’s face as he turned back to Pete. “I wasn’t hiding this from you, but you keep insisting you don’t want to be involved in the regular running of things or when I said I wanted to upgrade some.”“I know. I wasn’t criticizing. I like it; I simply didn’t expect it, that’s all.” He cleared his throat, hoping to sound interested instead of uneasy. “Will I find more changed inside?” “Some, but not a lot. Mostly there’s some new equipment, a few repairs done, and the DJ station in the dance area is now partitioned, but that’s about it.”“Pete,” Jase murmured next to him. “You okay?”When he looked up at Jase, Pete started to say “yes” but then caught how Jase’s brows furrowed, how his lush lips tugged down at the edges. “What? Why do you look like that?”Jase reached over and put one hand over Pete’s. He hadn’t even realized he’d pulled it out of his slacks and was tap counting against his leg. It was one of the little things he did to help calm and focus himself; one of the things Rex had hated about him. When he’d been active in the Life, flying on a regular basis, his stupid anxiety issues didn’t act up so much. “Sorry.”“No, just worried about you. I wanted to get you to come back here, to maybe live a little again, but not if it’s going to hurt you.”Pete shrugged his shoulder. “It’s okay. I’m here now, so let’s go in and see what all Jon’s done.”“You okay, Pete?” Jon asked as Jase released Pete’s hand. “Fine. So, show me what you’ve done.” And stop being so observant, both of you!“Nope, tonight’s for birthday fun, not for work inspections.” Jase put one hand on the back of Pete’s neck and squeezed lightly. Before Pete could work up an objection, Jase and Jon led him into the dungeon area. The main part of the club was split into a dance floor on the left and the open play area on the right. Farther back were areas partitioned off that were for increased privacy and/or more extreme forms of play. That hadn’t changed, though he could see where the DJ booth was as well as what looked to him like a tall Dome near the tables they walked toward. Sovereign wasn’t a gay only BDSM club, but the woman still drew his eye as someone unusual. That he even noticed her made him curious, as he’s never been even slightly interested in women. They made lovely friends, coworkers, and such, but nothing sexual. Not for him.A moment later, he startled when she turned and he realized she was actually a he. He stood next to the table Jon walked straight to, before pulling out a chair and sitting. The man, and yes, now that he thought of it, it being a man in corset and leather kilt made more sense than a woman in a skirt, what with the breath of his shoulders and the way he stood. Still, he couldn’t seem to pull his gaze away, even as he realized he shouldn’t stare.“Pete? Why don’t you sit?” Jon said, humor in his voice. Embarrassed at being caught staring, Pete looked away, staring down even as he sat at what he realized was the table reserved for the owners and their friends. “Sorry.” Jase sat beside Pete on the other side, and as he looked up again, he realized there were three other men seated at the table, plus two more kneeling beside their Doms. “Don’t be.” Jon motioned to the man Pete had just made an ass of himself over. “Nicky, why don’t you come meet Pete.”Nicky looked Pete over, a small shiver going up Pete’s spine at the frank curiosity and interest he saw in that deep amber gaze. “I’m always interested in those you have with you. So, who have we here?”“Nicky, this is Pete, the other owner of the club. And Pete, this is Master Nicky, one of our newer and more...” He rolled one hand as he seemed to search for the right word. “Interesting Doms. I invited him over to sit with us while we catch up and make you enjoy your birthday.”“Oh, so not only are you one of the bosses here,” Master Nicky purred. “But it’s your birthday too?” The man didn’t try to hide his interest as he turned to Jon again. “What have you gotten him for a present?”“Be good, Nicky.”“Oh, honey, I’m always good,” Master Nicky teased. “But I’m more interested in Pete than you.”“I’m not— I don’t— No one needs to give me anything,” Pete mumbled, his face so hot he knew he was beet red. “Oh? But what if we want to? Are you the kind of boy to turn down a gift? Or the kind who appreciates what he’s given?”“Huh?” Pete was having trouble making sense of Master Nicky’s words. He’d never been ungrateful! “Don’t pick on Pete, Nicky,” Jase demanded, his voice harder than Pete thought necessary. Since when did Jase act all protector Dom about Pete? “It’s okay, Jase.”“Oh, I didn’t realize he’s your boy,” Master Nicky said, his voice losing its lightness, his shoulders going back. “My apologies.”“He’s not my boy, Nicky, but he’s not one of the club subs or some desperate twink either.”“Jase,” Pete interrupted, not wanting his friend to get into an argument over him. Honestly, he kind of liked the attention and the way the unusual Dom keep looking at him. “I’m not offended,” he added softly, hoping Jase would relax. If he didn’t, Pete would never be able to enjoy himself, and for the first time in a very long time, he wanted to do something fun.It was more than a little disconcerting to have every eye at the table suddenly staring at him, but Pete wasn’t sure why they all looked at him right then. “Not offended, but not interested, or not offended and might like to get to know me better?” Master Nicky asked, his voice low and commanding, making Pete’s breath catch and his long dormant libido perk up and take notice. Master Nicky wasn’t his usual type of Dom. Rex had been his usual type; bigger than him, burly, very butch, and into total domination and control. Nicky was tall, thin, and an odd mix of hot man and fem boy, especially with the black corset, knee length leather kilt, leather gauntlets, eyeliner, and long, braided blond hair. “I—” he thought about his answer, wondering why he wanted to answer as he was “The latter?” Yeah, that sounded certain. Not! By the sudden smile on Master Nicky’s face, it seemed that was the right answer, and he didn’t mind the waiver in Pete’s voice, or so he assumed. “Pete?” Jase asked, his voice soft as he leaned into Pete’s space. “You sure you want to invite his attention?”It took a moment to process what Jase said, Pete’s brain much more interested in what the Dom before him might have in mind than in what his friend wanted. When he finally did, he turned slightly, not taking his eyes completely off Master Nicky, though not looking him in the eye. “Should I not for some reason, Jase?” he whispered back, trying to pay attention to both men at once.Jase stood and tugged on Pete’s arm. “Excuse us a moment, please.” Not waiting for anyone to respond, Jase dragged him away from the table, turning Pete so Jase was between Pete and the others at the table. “Master Nicky isn’t like your usual Dom, Pete, and you’ve not scened in ages. You sure you want this? ‘Cause if you keep flirting with him, that’s what he’s going to expect.”“Not like my previous Doms sounds like a good idea and you brought me to a club, to my club, but I’m not allowed to show interest in someone? What gives, Jase?” His previous Doms all turned out to be either one-night adventures or users that left him, Rex being the worst. Showing up early to the club he helped run, with his Dom lover, to find him playing with someone else... That was not the kind of Dom he wanted again, thanks!“I’m just worried for you. You’ve refused to go out at all until now. Hell, I had to basically bully you into coming out tonight, but now you’re flirting with the first Dom to pay you attention. One that’s known for being intense and is always in demand, even with the whole Goth boy, fem thing he’s got going on.”Jase never went for frail looking, much less a guy that looked like the one still watching Pete, he couldn’t help but peek over Jase’s shoulder to see if Master Nicky was looking or not. “Why can’t he be my birthday present? It doesn’t mean I’m going to get back into the scene, but, I don’t know, there’s something about Master Nicky that makes me want to do something different.”The odd look that passed over Jase’s face managed to distract Pete from watching Nicky, again. “What? What am I missing, Jase? I thought you wanted me to not stay hold up in my house all the time.” Wait, was Jase planning to play with me tonight? No way was he jealous!“I do, Pete, but you have to admit, this is a bit fast for you to do a full one-eighty.”He could see that, but... “Were you hoping to play with me tonight?” Pete asked, instead of what he’d meant to.“No.” Jase frowned harder as he shook his head. “I didn’t honestly expect you to consider playing with anyone tonight. I’d hoped you would at least watch a little, but that’s not why I’m worried for you. I just don’t want you hurt again, the bad kind of hurt. You’re my best friend, not my sub, so if you want to play with Nicky, that’s not a problem. I’d prefer it be a public scene, though, not a private one as you don’t know him yet.”
Nodding, Pete could see the logic of Jase’s words. “I don’t have an issue with that, but I’m not entirely certain I will sub for him, no matter how much he flirts with me. I mean, there’s something about him, something I can’t put my finger on, but not all Doms have patience with my tics.” Like the tap counting or the way he couldn’t manage to be quiet and still like most Doms demanded. He wanted to, but his nerves wouldn’t allow that until after he got into the scene enough, lost himself in the wishes and passion of his Dom.“I’m not worried about that, not with what I’ve heard about Nicky, but just... be careful, okay?” Pete leaned forward, pulling Jase into a hug for a moment before he stepped back, smile firmly in place. “Thanks, Jase.”“Yeah, yeah. Go get your kink on, Petey.” Jase turned away, a small smirk on his face.
* * *
Nicky watched as Jase led Pete away, the concern on his face clear. He kept his gaze on the two even as he spoke to Jon. “Anything I should know about those two?”Jon chuckled, momentarily drawing his attention from Pete. “Jase isn’t a threat to your designs on the lovely boy Pete, unless you plan to treat Pete poorly. They’re friends, but from what I gather, that’s it. However,” Jon continued, all humor dropping from his voice. “You hurt Pete and you’ll have at least half the people here, and me, ready to kill you.”That got Nicky’s attention. Since when did Jon get protective like that? “What’s the story with this guy? He’s sexy as hell and submissive as they come, if the vibes he’s putting out are right. So why all the attitude?”“He’s my business partner, the other owner of the club you’re standing in, as you may recall. I’d really love to have him actually stop by, without being tricked or bullied into visiting. Plus, it’s his birthday, as he said already. If you’re going to play with him, make sure it’s a night he won’t ever forget,” he added, a twinkle in his eyes and a smirk in his voice.“Oh, I have every intention of giving him his birthday spanking,” Nicky purred, his gaze having only left Pete for a brief time. “Among other things.”“Good, if he lets you. As far as I know, he’s not allowed a Dom to touch him, other than Jase and that’s not sexual from what I can find out, since the last time he willingly stepped through the doors here. Good luck.”“Don’t need luck.” His attention was captured when Pete pulled Jase into a hug, then stepped away, his gaze immediately searching Nicky out again. Nicky motioned to Pete as he walked back toward the table. Pete perked up, though he seemed nervous as well, one hand tapping in a rhythm Nicky couldn’t quite figure out as he approached. His eyes lowered the closer he got, sending a thrill through Nicky. He loved how Pete looked, physically and how he held himself. The man was not ashamed of his body as far as he could tell, though there was a sadness around him, one Nicky hoped to take away from Pete, even if only for the night.When Pete stopped in front of Nicky, gaze down but body straight, he blinked slowly, wanting to take the boy before him more than he thought he should considering they’d only spoken a few words to one another. The man wasn’t even dressed right for a night at the club, not for a sub anyway. Still... “Welcome back, boy.” The shiver Pete gave was both telling and exciting. “You interested in getting to know me a little better?”He swallowed, hard, but gave a small nod. “Yes, S-sir, if you really want me to.”“Present yourself to me then,” Nicky demanded, keeping his voice playful, yet commanding at the same time—a skill he’d actually worked hard to master. Pete immediately shifted, feet shoulder width apart, hands behind his back, chest pushed out, head dipped in submission, gaze on the ground. Watching Pete move was a thing of beauty. The only problem Nicky saw was that his boy—his?—had on too much clothing. He wanted to see all of Pete, be able to taste his pleasure as he served his Master, even if only for that night. He’d never been anyone’s birthday present before, but he was determined to make it one gift the boy would never forget.Nicky circled Pete, taking in how he held himself, how even as he presented himself, his fingers twitched, tapping against the opposite arm as he had on his leg before. “Nervous, boy?”“Yes and no, Sir. I’m always like this,” Pete explained, his voice wavering. “It’s nothing against you.” “Anything I need to know about you, before we go any farther?” Nicky wanted to know the man, not just the sub within, but sensed that pushing right then would only lose him the chance of playing with Pete.“Um...” Pete bit his lip as he shifted, unable, it seemed, to be still. “I’ve been out of the Life for about two years and while I’ll try, I want to, I won’t be able to be still like a good boy should. I...”“Anxiety?” At Pete’s nod, he continued, “But not of me, correct. It’s a natural state for you.” Again Pete nodded, his body tensing. “Anything else?” “No, Sir. Well, nothing like that.”“Limits?” Nicky purred, wanting to shift Pete’s focus from his nerves to their play, before the boy bolted from him.“No blood, or other fluids, except with condom or oral. No breaking skin, deliberately, please. And um, I have work in the morning, so nothing that will stand out to teens, that’s one discussion I’m not interested in having with a bunch of high schoolers.”High school? “A teacher?”“Yes, Sir.”“I can accept those limits. Safewords?”“Crimson and gold. Sir.”“Mmm... nice word choices.” Nicky stepped around behind Pete, trailing his long fingers up one of Pete’s arms, across his shoulders, and down the others, before pressing up against his back. He leaned forward to whisper against Pete’s ear, teasing the bit of flesh with his lips, “You have too many clothes on, boy. I’d love to see all that tan skin laid out, stretched for my touch and marks.” Pete shivered hard, a small whimper slipping through his lips, delighting Nicky. “Oh, you like that idea? Me too.” When Pete whimpered again, Nicky pressed his body against Pete’s, slipping his arms around Pete to tease up his abs, brushing against his nipples, drawing more delicious sounds. And while Nicky loved the feel of silk, almost as much as he loved leather, but right then it only served to frustrate him, blocking his touch from making it to Pete’s heated skin. “Do you like pain? Restraint? Denial?” Pete whimpered and nodded, “Please, Sir.”“I think it’s time we moved things to the play area, boy.” Nicky looked over to the different areas, looking to see which ones were open, then continued. “Go to the St. Andrew’s cross that’s open, strip, and wait for me.” Before Pete could take a step to do as ordered, Nicky grabbed Pete’s hair and pulled, arching him backward. When he was off balance enough, his neck stretched and exposed, Nicky leaned down and pressed his lips to Pete’s, nibbling those plump lips, pushing his tongue inside, tasting, feasting on his boy as Pete whimpered, returning his ardor with a fervency that shocked Nicky, not that he would allow Pete to know that. Not yet, at least. “Mmm, you taste as good as I’d hoped,” he murmured against Pete’s lips as they both panted. Nicky’s gaze flicked up to see Pete’s eyes glazed, his pupils blown already. Damn! “You are a beautiful boy. So, so beautiful. Hurry up and do as I said, I want to shower you with leather, taste your desire, then take you for everyone to see your submission.” Nicky released his hold, patting Pete on the ass as his boy hurried to the open cross. Nicky sauntered back to the table, where he’d left his bag of goodies. “Be careful with him, Nicky.” Jon looked stern but amused.“Careful, but not gentle,” Jase added. “He loves pain, but only if it’s given for erotic reasons. Oh, and don’t punish him for the twitching, that’s not in his control. It will calm as he sinks into the scene more.”Nicky smirked, amused at how protective the two were, while curious why the others at the table didn’t say anything about Pete. He’d have to figure that part out later, right then he wanted to focus on Pete and hopefully making him fly. “So he said. I have no interest in punishing him, not true punishment, at least. But this,” he continued, picking up his bag before turning to watch Pete strip. “This I need so I can go give my boy his present,” he said, distracted by the sight of Pete’s skin. “God, he’s beautiful.”“Be careful there, Nicky, you sound like you want him for more than a scene. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”He tore his gaze from Pete’s body and turned to scowl at Jase. “Fuck you, kindly. Why don’t you go find someone to play with and leave us alone?” That said, Nicky turned and sauntered back to Pete, loving how Pete knelt beside the cross with nothing on. Damn! What a cock.It made Nicky’s mouth water just looking at it. Later. Taking his time, Nicky again circled Pete, taking in how he twitched while trying so hard to be still. Considering what he knew of Pete, he thought about what to do, hoping he was right. Setting his pack down, he pulled out his favorite flogger, hooking it to his belt before checking the cross’s tie down points. He knew Jon kept the equipment in good working order, but he still always checked. More importantly, he wanted to make sure they were set for Pete, not wanting to hurt his boy’s wrists. Satisfied with the padded cuffs, Nicky stepped back to Pete. Leaning down, he nibbled on Pete’s ear, thrilling at the shiver and small whimper Pete let out. “Love your sounds, boy. Up,” he commanded, tugging on Pete’s hair lightly, knowing how much he enjoyed that little pain.Pete stood smoothly, his arms behind his back, hands clasped to his opposite elbows. He noticed the fingers tapping still, but ignored it, understanding Pete needed the motion. With as few words as possible, Nicky moved Pete into position, tying down each wrist, then both ankles so he faced the cross, before brushing a kiss against Pete’s cheek. Not wanting to go too fast, Nicky trailed his hands up and down Pete’s arms, back, and legs, teasing the skin as he went. Sometimes light caresses with his fingertips, other times, with his nails, scratching hard enough to elicit moans and raised welts, but always careful not to break skin. As Pete’s moans increased, though never loudly, Nicky smiled, loving the slow build and tease. Pressing against Pete again, this time able to feel Pete’s skin, he sighed. One of the nice things about the open cross, it let him reach all the fun bits while not allowing Pete much movement. “I want you to stay as still as possible, boy. Do you understand?”“Yes, Sir.”“Good, boy.” Nicky pressed against Pete’s ass, rubbing his covered cock along Pete’s crease, loving how the whimpers increased, even as Pete fought to be still. He reached around, pinching Pete’s nipples, twisting and pulling lightly, reveling in the trembling sounds and twitching body beneath his fingers. Nipping along Pete’s neck and shoulder, he pulled on the tight points harder.Stepping back, before he forgot what he was supposed to be doing, Nicky moved into position. He unhooked his favorite flogger, taking a few practice swings, making sure Pete knew what he was doing. The first few strikes he kept light, warming the skin and making certain Pete knew what was going to happen. As Pete’s sounds began again, Nicky increased the power behind each strike, keeping the pattern and the areas struck variable.Pete’s moans grew and eventually shifted, his body stopped dancing, his back arching, making himself an easier target. The strikes went from Pete’s upper back, across his buttock, and down his thighs, each one exciting Nicky more, as did the deepening color of Pete’s skin. Stopping for a few moments, Nicky moved so he could see Pete’s cock, enjoy how it glistened and jumped. Not knowing Pete’s limits, though already impressed with how well he’d done, Nicky pulled a condom out of the pocket in the back of his leather kilt, opening and slipping it on his boy, not wanting to push him over the edge unsheathed. Taking another moment, he made sure to tease the head and down the shaft as he slipped it on Pete. Once in position, he leaned over and pulled out a couple more pieces of leather, grinning as he thought of how hard his boy would shoot soon. “I’m not going to put a ring on that lovely cock of yours, but your balls... Those need a little decorating, don’t you think, boy?”At Pete’s whimper, Nicky reached around to slip the ball cuff on Pete, loving how Pete’s muscles trembled as the skin around his balls pulled tight. Nicky adored how it looked, though he wished he could take his time, used the weighted version he had, but didn’t think Pete was up to that, yet. He really hoped he got to play with his boy more than just that night.“Lovely, boy. Now, you’re not to come until I choose, understood?”Pete’s head dropped back onto his shoulders as he moaned. “Yes, Sir. Please, Sir.”“You want to come, boy?” “Please, Sir,” Pete groaned. “Not yet, boy. For now, I want a little more time with you delicious skin. You want me to fill that tight ass of yours? Hmm? Would you like that?”Pete’s head turned toward Nicky, his eyes closing as he nodded fervently. “Please, oh God, please, Sir!”“When I’m ready, I’ll fill you, take you. If you’re a good boy, please me, I might even allow you to finish with me.”Nicky was so hard it hurt, but he wasn’t ready to feel Pete yet, he needed to push Pete just a little more. Stepping back, he checked to make sure he had the second condom and the packet of lube ready, then took his position and without further warning, rained down blow after blow along Pete’s back and ass, making certain he would feel the pounding he would receive in just another moment. Pete’s moans finally shifted, louder yet with a dreamy quality, the very sound he’d been waiting for. Nicky quickly dropped his flogger to the side so he could press hard against Pete, making sure his leather abraded the tender, hot skin before stepping away enough to withdraw the lube and reach between them, pulling Pete’s cheeks apart. Nicky massaged, pulling them apart again and again, before slicking his fingers and slowing teasing Pete’s rim. Pushing in, he carefully opened Pete up, making sure he was ready before lifting his kilt and slipping the condom on himself. Lining up, he jabbed Pete’s tight hole with the tip of his cock before pressing forward, not letting up until his boy took all of him inside.“Damn, boy! Your ass just swallows me.” Nicky set a slow pace, hoping to stretch this part out a little longer, though all he wanted to do was take Pete hard and fast. “So beautiful, boy,” he murmured, draping himself along Pete’s still restrained body, loving how his boy trembled and panted. Eventually, Nicky sped up until he was driving into Pete hard, snapping his hips as he chased his bliss in the perfect boy around him. He used one hand to brace himself and the other he slipped around to tug on Pete’s balls, not touching his boys cock. Pete’s sounds grew as Nicky’s needs did, and as he lost the last bit of control, he ground out, “Come, boy!”Nicky tipped over the edge, panting, his vision whiting at the edge as the fiery bliss poured from him into his boy, even as he heard Pete’s shout and felt Pete’s ass grab him harder, milking every drop of pleasure from Nicky’s body possible.It took a moment for Nicky to gain his thoughts again, but when he did, he carefully slipped from Pete, tending to the condoms before petting and praising his boy as he released first Pete’s ankles and then his wrists. When he turned Pete, he saw the blissed out look and the tears streaking Pete’s face and smiled.Pete couldn’t stand. Nicky draped one of Pete’s arms over his shoulder so he could support his boy and get him moved to a safe spot to recover, when Jase suddenly appeared on Pete’s other side, mimicking Nicky’s motions. A few moments later, Jase stepped back as Nicky sat with Pete curled in his lap, snuggled against him tight as he continued to praise and pet Pete. “Thank you, Jase.”“No problem,” Jase husked, obviously having watched and been affected by Nicky’s time with Pete. Nicky smiled at Jase, but focused back on Pete. “Beautiful, boy. You pleased me so, so much.” Eventually, Pete uncurled some, his eyes clearing as he looked up at Nicky and the smile he gave, made Nicky clutch Pete tighter. “Hello, boy.”“Hi, Sir. Thank you.”“You’re a beautiful boy, Pete.” Nicky bent and pressed his lips against Pete’s forehead, cheeks, and finally lips. “Happy birthday, boy.” Pete sighed and nuzzled Nicky’s neck. “It is that, Sir. Thanks to you.”

Tempeste O’Riley is an out and proud pansexual gender fluid whose best friend growing up had the courage to do what she couldn’t–defy the hate and come out. He has been her hero ever since.

Though new to writing M/M, she has done many things in her life, though writing has always drawn her back–no matter what else life has thrown her way. She counts her friends, family, and Muse as her greatest blessings in life. She lives in Wisconsin with her children, reading, writing, and enjoying life.

Tempe is also a proud PAN member of Romance Writers of America®, WisRWA, and Rainbow Romance Writers. 
Learn more about Tempeste and her writing at http://tempesteoriley.com.
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Hello Everyone!!!
On November 16th I turned 31. It's something I've been thinking about for a while. Not necessarily turning 31, but my birthday. The reason for this is because my birthday brings up both good and bad memories for me (mostly bad, though the past few years have been good). I don't typically expect presents for my birthday (though I did up until the age of 12 and then after that my present requests became extremely altruistic- "donate to a charity", I asked my mom to adopt me an African orphan when I was 12, etc.) but my birthday is the one day out of the year where I let others focus on me without putting up a fight. And this year, I was determined to have a good birthday.
Last year, I asked author friends to share their favorite birthday memories or short stories featuring some of their characters that were centered around birthdays of some sort, and this year I decided to do the same thing. For the next few weeks, author friends and even some non-author friends of mine, will be taking over The Purple Fantasy Den and posting.
And for those of you who you asked last year about sending me a birthday present, first of all, thank you, second of all: In lieu of presents, I'd love to have you donate to the Elton John AIDS Foundation in memory of my best friend Justin or for my friends Angel or Richard, or maybe even someone you know who is living with, and fighting the disease.
Oh! And by the way: One person who comments on every post will be chosen at the end of the eXXXtravaganza to receive a special birthday prize (swag, books, GC, etc.)
So, without further ado! Here's today's post:

First of all, thank you to Vicktor for having me over here today. I hope you had a lovely birthday.  For Vicktor and everyone else here today, let me introduce you to Scott and Cameron, two soul mates who got together in a rather unusual way, one which has resulted in Scott suddenly living with a man who is a virtual stranger to him, while Cameron knows him better than he knows himself.  So what do you do when it comes to shopping for a birthday gift for someone you’ve only just met?
Let’s find out shall we? 
The following short story takes place after the events in One Perfect Wish but shouldn’t contain any major spoilers from the story – well apart from the fact they have a happy ending, but that should come as no great surprise to anyone who reads my stories.
*
“Is Cameron about?” Chris, Cameron’s younger brother asked as soon as Scott opened the door to the cottage.
“No, he’s at work,” Scott replied.  “He should be back about eight.”
“Good,” Chris said as he barged in and shut the door behind him.  “I’ve been trying to get you alone all week.”
Scott’s lips twitched even though he knew Chris didn’t mean anything by his comment.  He wasn’t gay and was completely smitten with Jodie, a nurse at the hospital in the nearby city.
“What’s up?” Scott asked as they walked into the living room. 
“Did you know it’s Cameron’s birthday next week?” Chris asked bluntly.  “Not that I’m saying I believe all this crap about wishes and genies, but you’ve not mentioned whether you’ve got anything planned and if you’re still sticking to your story it would probably make sense that you don’t know.”
“His birthday’s next week! Why didn’t you tell me?  Why didn’t Cameron tell me?”
“I take it that’s a no.”  Chris steered Scott back to the front door.  “Get your jacket and let’s go find him a present.”
“You mean you haven’t got him anything either?”
“Of course I have, but if you’re telling the truth about the wish and stuff then you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
Scott supposed Chris had a point.  Cameron had all the memories of a life lived with Scott, their wedding, marriage and knew Scott so well it sometimes scared him.  Scott, on the other hand, had spent one day with Cameron playing the part of his husband and falling head over heels for him in the process. Unfortunately Scott had no recollection of the life Cameron had lived with him, which meant Cameron was a virtual stranger to Scott.  He was learning about him as fast as he could, but there was still so much he didn’t know.  Including, apparently, when Cameron’s birthday was. 
Scott supposed he wasn’t surprised that Cameron hadn’t bothered to tell him of his approaching birthday. His unselfish lover was just the sort of man to shower Scott with gifts while asking for nothing in return. 
They arrived in the city an hour later and Scott made a beeline for the shopping centre.  Surely he would find inspiration there?
“A DVD perhaps?” he suggested to Chris.
Chris screwed up his nose and shook his head. “Boring.  That’s what you get your dad not your boyfriend.”
“I don’t think we’re going to find a sex shop in the shopping centre,” Scott commented.
Chris snorted. “Good.  From what I saw in the drawers when I went to borrow one of Cameron’s jumpers last week you’ve got more than enough toys of that nature. You could probably start your own store.”
Scott wandered past the bookstore. Neither he nor Cameron were big readers. At least he didn’t think so. Cameron only had a handful of books in the cottage and they were mostly cookbooks.
“I could cook him a nice birthday dinner,” Scott suggested.
Chris immediately vetoed that idea. “Maybe you can do that for your tenth anniversary.  You might be able to manage to cook something halfway edible by then.”
Scott laughed.  He couldn’t deny his lack of culinary skills, especially when compared to Cameron, a talented chef with dreams of running his own business.
“Oh.” Scott stopped walked as an idea occurred to him. 
“What is it?” Chris asked.  “Have you thought of something?”
Scott hurried back the way they had come and out onto the High Street.  The bank was just up the road.  “I don’t need your help after all,” Scott said.  “I know exactly what to get Cameron.”
Despite begging and pleading Scott refused to elaborate.  He wanted Cameron to be the first to know. 
On Cameron’s birthday morning Scott could barely contain his excitement and he thrust his present into Cameron’s hands the moment he opened his eyes. 
“Happy birthday!”
Cameron smiled up at him sleepily.  “I wasn’t sure if you knew or not.”
Scott glared at him. “Not until Chris told me. You should have said something.”  He poked him in the chest. 
Cameron was unrepentant.  He sat up in bed and pulled Scott into his arms. “Having you here is the only birthday present I need.”
Scott let Cameron guide him back down onto the bed.  “But you have me every day. I wanted to get you something else too.”
Cameron put his present to one side and concentrated on making love to Scott. 
“You should open it,” Scott insisted.  “I want to see the look on your face when you do.”
Cameron sighed. “You aren’t going to relax until I do, am I?”
“No.”
Cameron picked up the envelope and carefully opened it.  “I guess I better see what your excitement is all about.”
Scott bounced on his knees.  The look on Cameron’s face as he read the papers was one of stunned disbelief. 
“I can’t accept this,” he finally whispered.  “It’s too much.”
Scott placed his hand on Cameron’s.  “We’re partners, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“I want to do this. You’ve let me into your home and your life without hesitation.  Now, let me give you something back by funding the launch of the best restaurant in the county.”
“But how have you got the money?” Cameron insisted. 
Scott grinned and shook his head.  “That would be telling.”
Cameron smiled softly. “You aren’t going to take no for an answer, are you?”
“No.”
“Then be warned, if you’re going to be my partner in the restaurant as well as in life and I’m going to make you work hard to get us off the ground. You’ll learn to cook if it kills us both.”
Scott laughed and threw himself into Cameron’s arms.  “It’s going to be great. Now how about I give you your other birthday present?”
“And what would that be?”
Scott reached between them and slipped his hand into Cameron’s boxers.  “Take a wild guess.”
Cameron chuckled.  “I think I know what you have in mind.”
“Happy birthday,” Scott said as they tumbled back onto the sheets.  He hoped by next year he knew Cameron well enough that he didn’t have to panic about what to buy him for his birthday.  Then he realised, he already did.



One Perfect Wish by L.M. Brown

Playing the part of another man’s husband to fulfil a wish is easy, but what happens at midnight when the magical day is over?
Scott Baxter is a workaholic with no time for love, until a djinn pulls him out of his life and deposits him into the bed of Cameron Kirk. Cut off from his life, Scott isn’t happy about the idea of being forced to help the djinn grant an unspecified wish, but he soon finds he has no real choice in the matter. The djinn, who has turned his life upside down, has powers that prevent Scott from leaving and ensure he does nothing to ruin Cameron’s day with his ‘husband’.
Reluctant at first, Scott finds that as the day progresses he starts to enjoy playing the role of Cameron’s husband. He connects with his unexpected lover in a way he never has with other men.
Scott searches for clues to help him track down Cameron after the day is over and he returns to his own life. He doesn’t want the day to end, but the wish is out of his control and when the magic is finished his time with Cameron may be over too.
Excerpt
Scott Baxter woke with a strange feeling something wasn’t quite right. Half asleep and with his eyes still closed, he tried to figure out what could be different. The bed seemed too soft and far more luxurious than the cheap hotel mattress he vaguely recalled crashing on the night before. A thick duvet covered him and he could feel warmth similar to the heat that usually came from another body close up against him. He couldn’t recall ever waking in a hotel with such contentment as he felt this morning.
After working nearly forty-eight hours straight, he had flown back to England on the red eye, practically sleepwalked to a taxi, and had finally fallen into bed exhausted. Long overdue for a break, he told himself he’d take one after his latest consulting project had been completed. He told himself the same thing every time, even though he knew his boss would have another job lined up for him before the final work had been finished on this one.
“Morning,” a sleepy voice murmured into his ear.
Scott froze. His unexpected bedmate moved and Scott noticed he had some serious morning wood pressed against his arse.
He opened his eyes. Only his companion’s arm wrapped around Scott’s chest stopped him falling out of bed from the shock. Had the relentless pressure of his job finally caused him to snap?
The hotel room had vanished and instead he appeared to be in someone’s house. The drapes over the patio doors had been pulled back and a snow-covered garden stretched toward a frozen pond. Light snow fell from the cloudy sky. The landscape outside the doors seemed more like January than May.
“Scott, are you okay?”
Scott didn’t know what to say. Had he been drugged and kidnapped? And if so, why? He wasn’t anyone important and his family didn’t have the money to pay any ransom.
“Ah good, you’re awake,” a second voice said. Like the first, this voice also belonged to a man, though he seemed to have a slight accent Scott couldn’t place.
Scott wondered how many men he had climbed into bed with last night, before he saw the second speaker stood at the end of the bed with his arms folded across his bare chest. With baggy silk trousers and golden metal cuffs on his wrists, he could have stepped straight out of Arabian Nights.
“What the hell is going on?” Scott shouted as he tried to untangle himself from the arms of the man sharing his bed. His companion wasn’t exactly helping him and instead seemed to be frozen in place like a statue. He poked the man with a finger. His skin felt normal, yet the other man didn’t react at all.
“You’re here to fulfill a wish,” the man at end of the bed told him. “I’m a djinn and I’m here to explain your present situation.”
Scott stopped contemplating the statue man beside him. “Excuse me?”
The djinn nodded. “I’m sure you’ve heard of my kind. We grant wishes to those who summon us. Well, I’m here because someone wished for you.”
A headache started behind Scott’s eyes. He didn’t have time for this nonsense.
To Purchase from Totally Bound Click Here

Bio
L.M. Brown lives in England, in a quaint little village that time doesn't seem to have touched. No, wait a minute—that's the retirement biography. Right now she is in England in a medium sized town that no one has ever heard of, so she won't bore you with the details. Keeping her company are numerous sexy men. She just wishes that they weren't all inside her head.
L.M. Brown loves hearing from readers so don't be shy.

Where to find L.M. Brown
Website & Blog Facebook Twitter - @LMBrownAuthor

We are taking a break from our normally scheduled programming to give you a public service announcement.....
Releasing on This Friday from Vicktor Alexander Presents...

Kevin Stiles is a beautiful man. He’s been told that his entire life. From his long black hair to his big, blue eyes and tight compact body he’s wanted by both women and men. And for the most part he has used his looks to his advantage. He was a child model and now he’s a supermodel. He has two homes and regularly takes luxury vacations.
It is on one of these “mental health vacations” that Kevin finds out that the world he lives in is filled with more than just the pretty and those who want to be pretty.  There are things that go bump in the night and Kevin discovers that when one of them, the biggest wolf he’s ever seen in his life, attacks him on the beach of Barbados and bites him… hard.Fitzgerald Beacham is the alpha of his pack. He’s big, strong, and scary in both his wolf and his human form. And though the scars on his face and body are intimidating in his shifter form, on his human face they’re just… ugly. He knows that when he mates a female from the pack to continue the line she’ll be mating his power and position and not him and he’s fine with that, until he scents his true mate on the beach.Now Fitzgerald has to convince Kevin to stay with him in Barbados in spite of their rocky start because now that they’ve bonded he’ll die without his mate… literally. And there’s someone out there who knows that and is determined to use it to their advantage.
 To pre-order click HereBook will be available December 5th!

Hello Everyone!!!
On November 16th I turned 31. It's something I've been thinking about for a while. Not necessarily turning 31, but my birthday. The reason for this is because my birthday brings up both good and bad memories for me (mostly bad, though the past few years have been good). I don't typically expect presents for my birthday (though I did up until the age of 12 and then after that my present requests became extremely altruistic- "donate to a charity", I asked my mom to adopt me an African orphan when I was 12, etc.) but my birthday is the one day out of the year where I let others focus on me without putting up a fight. And this year, I was determined to have a good birthday.
Last year, I asked author friends to share their favorite birthday memories or short stories featuring some of their characters that were centered around birthdays of some sort, and this year I decided to do the same thing. For the next few weeks, author friends and even some non-author friends of mine, will be taking over The Purple Fantasy Den and posting.
And for those of you who you asked last year about sending me a birthday present, first of all, thank you, second of all: In lieu of presents, I'd love to have you donate to the Elton John AIDS Foundation in memory of my best friend Justin or for my friends Angel or Richard, or maybe even someone you know who is living with, and fighting the disease.
Oh! And by the way: One person who comments on every post will be chosen at the end of the eXXXtravaganza to receive a special birthday prize (swag, books, GC, etc.)
So, without further ado! Here's today's post by:




Happy Birthday, Vicktor! I'm very glad to be here for the eXXXtravaganza. It's the birthday celebration for my brother from another mother, so you all knew I would be here sooner or later. So, I'm sure you're curious about what we did for Vic's birthday. Which time? Hee hee. Well, since we couldn't go to Vegas, or something equally as awesome, we had to celebrate with quantity. Cause with Vic's birthday, it's go big or go home.


Double-fisting two-for-one frozen margaritas. That's the kind of party animals we are. Who cares about brain freeze? Well, we have those pictures, too. I just promised I wouldn't post them. Sorry.  *evil grin* 
On the big day, we went to Orlando. We had dinner with Kiernan Kelly and her hubby. It was delicious, and Kiernan gifted Vic with one of her awesome, original sculptures. It's a dragon's eye. I love it. Vic dubbed him: Gideon the Condom Holder. I wonder what he is going to use it for. Then we all went to the Parliament House. It's a huge gay bar in Orlando. I'd never been there before, but could easily see it becoming a new stomping ground. If it wasn't such a hike, it would be fun to go every weekend. They had several rooms with different themes in each. One had a couple of go-go boys, which Vic proceeded to tip. It's not his fault if his hand wandered a bit. He is blind, after all. The guys were extremely hot, very sweet, and were great sports.

We danced a little bit - okay, I shook my ass while the others hung out and we talked. Cause, ya know I can't help myself when an awesome jam comes on. Then we went to see a drag show. The performers were gorgeous and amazing. I was having technical issues with the camera on my phone or I would have recorded more. But here is a tidbit for your enjoyment. Unfortunately, the blog won't let me embed the video. Yes, it seems I'm challenged. But below is the photobucket.com link.
See drag video here
Anyway, to top it all off, I got hit on by someone almost half my age. RARRR! *giggle*  Wait, did I just age myself? Damn!  Moving on. We had a great time, and what made me the most happy was that Vic didn't stop smiling the whole night. 

This weekend, we had a cake to celebrate at my parent's house. At one point, Vic said that he was still searching for his Italian family. My mom shouted, "We found you already. You can stop looking." She insists that it's very possible that he is my father's offspring. LOL! So see, according to my mom, he is my brother from another mother.  Anywho, it was a good year, me thinks. The main part was that Vic was with his family and he had fun.  I don't have an excerpt in any of my stories about a birthday. It seems, so far, none of my characters want to age. What can I tell you? I do have a special excerpt that includes elements of a birthday party. Here is a clue for you. 


Enjoy part of one of the extended scenes from the re-release of Wrong Turn, coming soon from Rooster & Pig Publishing. 
“Wait, before you do that, I have a surprise for you.”

Warmth suffused Jessie's chest. “A surprise?”
That was when Jessie realized what time it was. Xander was home before dark. That hadn't happened in weeks. “You're home early. Is that it?”
Jessie beamed. That was a gift in and of itself. He would get to share dinner with Xander, and Xander seemed in a great mood. Maybe they could talk, cuddle up on the couch, and watch a movie, have a date night.
Xander smiled. “Nope. Come with me.”
Xander held his hand out and Jessie took it, slightly curious at the expression on Xander's face. It looked like a mixture of nervousness and joy. Jessie was happy to see Xander's smile, though, so he followed easily. Excitement made him a bit light-headed and he bounced on his toes.
Jessie trailed Xander to the bedroom, but couldn't see anything until Xander let go of his hand and moved into the corner by the bed. Once Xander's broad shoulders were out of the way, Jessie took in the room, not understanding what he saw at first. His mouth dropped opened and he blinked.
On the dresser was a box of some kind of generic pink, fruity wine and two large, red plastic cups. Next to them was a platter of some sort with Happy Birthday candles lined up on it. They were the actual letters, H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y. The wicks were sticking out the top of the letters, and Xander must have lit them before coming into the kitchen, because they'd started to melt and were very Van Gogh-esk in their shape. Jessie wasn't even sure how they were standing on the platter that way.
Draped over the bed was a red and white checkered, plastic tablecloth. In the center was the saddest bunch of daisies he'd ever seen, drooping, with their petals falling off; and a bag from Wendy's bakery, opened, with a tinfoil package inside. As he got closer, he realized the tinfoil was ripped showing some kind of brown poop looking things. They had to be some type of sweet treat, because Wendy didn't serve crap, not that he knew of at least.
Confusion clouded his brain as he tried to understand what he was seeing. It wasn't his birthday. The surprise was wonderful though. Xander had obviously tried to do something special for him, so he felt that maybe he should just pretend. He didn't want to hurt Xander's feelings after all of the trouble he'd went through. He could tell Xander the truth later, but... he probably shouldn't lie. Xander wouldn't appreciate Jessie lying to him, whatever the reason. He didn't know what to do.
Jessie turned toward Xander, perplexed, but with a smile plastered on his face, and was shocked again when he found Xander on one knee holding up one of the drooping daisies. Jessie gasped and put a hand over his mouth. The expression on Xander's face was so serious, so intense, so tender, there could only be one reason he was on his knees. Tears immediately flooded Jessie's eyes and a lump formed in his throat.
Jessie watched as Xander swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, and took a deep breath. “Jessie, I love you. You represent a dream come true for me. I never thought I would have someone to call my own. I never thought, for one moment, that the fates would give me such a precious gift. You're my world, my everything. I know I've made mistakes. I will make more, unfortunately, but I'll do my best to always put your happiness before my own. I want to marry with you.”

Taylor Law is a northern-born, southern girl with a free spirit. If it’s romance, she loves it. Taylor has lived in the southern United States most of her life, along with her huge family. She started writing at a very young age; her first poem at six, her first song at seven, and stories followed directly after. She hasn’t stopped since. A romantic clear to her soul, Taylor continues to believe in the elusive “Happily Ever After.” On any given day, you can usually catch her with a book in her hand, or creating something.Taylor loves chatting with her readers and making new friends. You can stalk her... erm... find her here:                                                                               Email     Facebook    Twitter     G+

Hello Everyone!!!
On November 16th I turned 31. It's something I've been thinking about for a while. Not necessarily turning 31, but my birthday. The reason for this is because my birthday brings up both good and bad memories for me (mostly bad, though the past few years have been good). I don't typically expect presents for my birthday (though I did up until the age of 12 and then after that my present requests became extremely altruistic- "donate to a charity", I asked my mom to adopt me an African orphan when I was 12, etc.) but my birthday is the one day out of the year where I let others focus on me without putting up a fight. And this year, I was determined to have a good birthday.
Last year, I asked author friends to share their favorite birthday memories or short stories featuring some of their characters that were centered around birthdays of some sort, and this year I decided to do the same thing. For the next few weeks, author friends and even some non-author friends of mine, will be taking over The Purple Fantasy Den and posting.
And for those of you who you asked last year about sending me a birthday present, first of all, thank you, second of all: In lieu of presents, I'd love to have you donate to the Elton John AIDS Foundation in memory of my best friend Justin or for my friends Angel or Richard, or maybe even someone you know who is living with, and fighting the disease.
Oh! And by the way: One person who comments on every post will be chosen at the end of the eXXXtravaganza to receive a special birthday prize (swag, books, GC, etc.)
So, without further ado! Here's today's post by:



Thanks to Vic for letting me help him celebrate his birthday!! I hope you like this little story I wrote you, darlin’!
* * *Duncan woke to something hot and wet on his cock. A week ago, he’d have been pretty sure he was having an erotic dream. He would have resigned himself to some self-pleasure. And he would have made some kind of excuse to spend a little bit of time alone to take care of the problem.

Now, however, he knew it was no dream. He opened his eyes to see the covers pulled down slightly, Mark’s red head bobbing as he sucked enthusiastically at Duncan’s dick. He was terrible when it came to skill, but Duncan didn’t give the tiniest damn.

Because his cock was the first Mark had ever tasted, touched, licked or sucked. He was the first man Mark had ever kissed. The first male hand to bring him to orgasm. And that was worth all the fumbling in the world to Duncan.

Mark’s eyes opened and met Duncan’s. God, the man was beautiful, all pale skin and deep blue eyes. Compared to Duncan, Mark almost felt tiny but the size was deceptive. Even with the lack of nutrition over the last couple of years, he hadn’t lost much of his lean, toned muscles, earned from hauling people around an emergency room. They’d done their best more recently, taking the vitamins Mark had scavenged, but even with those, there was no doubt Mark had lost some muscle mass. Despite that, he’d still carried Duncan’s much longer, heavier form more than once.

And the man was a quick learner when it came to sucking cock. Duncan’s eyes slid closed when Mark swallowed Duncan completely, nose touching the dark blond curls at the base of his dick. Strong, sure hands cupped his balls, rolling them lightly and teasing them, and it took all Duncan had to keep from shooting down Mark’s throat in ten seconds flat.

He grunted instead, reaching down and running his hands over Mark’s hair. “Turn around,” he whispered and Mark looked up, eyebrows raised. Duncan nodded. “Turn around. Let me taste you too.”

Mark hesitated only the briefest of seconds before getting up and crawling until his legs straddled Duncan’s head. He immediately went back to licking and sucking on Duncan’s cock, but Duncan was sufficiently distracted enough to not go off right away.

Instead, he ran his hands over Mark’s firm ass, squeezing the globes of flesh and parting them slightly. Mark moaned around Duncan’s cock and Duncan sucked in a breath at the vibrations. Considering that before Mark, it’d been nearly three years since he’d had sex with someone other than his right hand—and he and Mark had only just started their sexual explorations—his control was a sad thing.

But he did his best to hold on, tracing the crevice from tailbone to sac with light fingers, then wrapping his hand around Mark’s cock. He gave it a slow, firm stroke from balls to tip, smiling at the new groan Mark released. He pumped it a second and a third time then wrapped his arms around Mark’s hips, tugging them lower.

As soon as it was close enough, Duncan guided Mark’s dick into his mouth, moaning at the salty taste of the precum and the feel of warm flesh. He’d missed this. So fucking much, it wasn’t funny. He hadn’t given a blowjob since his boyfriend died from the virus and it was something he’d always enjoyed.

Mark had been hesitant in their sex up until now. They’d jacked each other off and frotted a lot, but not gone any further. Duncan understood; Mark had hidden his bisexuality for so long, it was still difficult for him to let go of that need to hide, to keep it to himself.

But he wasn’t about to turn down Mark’s new openness and instead focused on simply giving pleasure. He put everything he had into teasing and sucking Mark’s cock, running his fingers over the sensitive skin of Mark’s sac and farther, brushing them over his taint. When he brought his hand back down and toyed with Mark’s balls more, Mark gave a loud moan and pulled off.

“Fuck, Duncan…” He thrust, pushing his cock harder into Duncan’s mouth and Duncan fought the gag. He didn’t want to do anything that would make Mark stop.

At the same time, his own dick was feeling decidedly ignored. He rolled his hips and Mark took the hint, swallowing him again.

Forcing himself to focus on Mark and not his own impending orgasm, he pulled out every trick he’d ever learned for giving a good blowjob. His late boyfriend had claimed he was pretty damned talented at it and he hoped the man hadn’t been exaggerating. He teased the head, pushed the tip of his tongue into the slit, then sucked him down. He relaxed his throat and swallowed when he felt the head push into his throat.

Mark’s grunt was loud and he pulled at his hips. Duncan was sure it was in warning, but he refused to let go. He wanted all of Mark and greedily swallowed when the first bits of spunk hit his tongue.

“Oh fuck, shit, Duncan!!”

Duncan swallowed every tiny drop Mark produced, sucking long after the twitching stopped. He was so focused on cleaning Mark—figuring he’d just jerk himself to completion when he was done—he was shocked when Mark swallowed his dick again, this time to the root.

A swallow, a few bobs, and a full suck later was all it took. He pulled a little frantically at Mark, sure Mark wasn’t ready to actually swallow, but Mark—stubborn bastard he is—refused to let go. Unable to fight the orgasm any longer, Duncan gave up and shouted Mark’s name as the pleasure hit, sharp and hard in a way he hadn’t felt in so long. The tingle that had started in his balls exploded out, sizzling along his spine and shooting huge streams of cum into Mark’s throat.

Duncan lay stunned as Mark swallowed every bit of it, even licking him clean when it was over before shifting to turn around. He watched in a bit of a daze as Mark sat back on his heels grinning like the proverbial cat that ate the canary. Duncan snorted—he was blond and Mark did look awfully cat-like in that moment.

Mark raised his eyebrows and Duncan laughed. He told Mark what he’d been thinking and wasn’t disappointed when Mark laughed with him, getting it without explanation. Duncan sighed, reaching out a hand and pulling Mark down to him. He caught Mark’s lips in a long, soft kiss, his cock twitching at the taste of himself on Mark’s tongue.

“I love you,” he whispered.

Mark stiffened ever so slightly, then relaxed. “I love you too.”

Duncan’s arms tightened around the amazing man in his arms. He’d spent every waking hour of the last week thanking a god he still wasn’t sure he believed in that Mark stayed, loved him, hadn’t retreated back into his self-imposed exile of self-preservation. He nuzzled Mark’s cheek, kissing a trail over the pale, freckled skin. He pulled back, brushing his thumb over Mark’s full bottom lip. “Not that I am complaining, but… what brought that on?”

Mark’s serious blue eyes studied him for a long moment, before he kissed Duncan softly on the cheek and sat up. He smiled, then grinned and dove at the end of the bed. Duncan struggled to a sitting position, still taking care with his leg and blinked in puzzlement until Mark picked something up he’d apparently left on the floor.

Duncan’s eyes widened when he sat up with… two wrapped presents. His mouth opened in shock when Mark said, “Happy Birthday.”

“You… I… how… Holy shit!” He laughed, grinning and tugging on Mark again. Mark fell forward, sitting next to him and accepting the kiss Duncan pushed on him. When Duncan pulled back, he took the two packages Mark offered him. “How did you know?”

“Well, I’m not positive it is the exact right date. I mean, I haven’t been paying that close attention, but I figure it’s pretty close. And, uh, I found your wallet on the floor. You’d dropped it and I looked in it because I didn’t know whose it was.”

Duncan chuckled. “Don’t know why I bother keeping it. Not like I need I.D. anymore.”

Mark laughed. “Old habits die hard.”

“No doubt,” Duncan agreed. He ran his hands reverently over the paper, trying not to let the simple gesture shatter control over emotions he’d been fighting hard against letting out. In three years, he’d only let himself cry a handful of times. When Angie died and a couple of times after, when the grief got to be too much. But he’d been alone, always, his tears a scary, private thing. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do this.”

Mark shrugged. “It’s… I don’t know, I think it’s important to hang onto some things. We’ve lost so much, some of which we will never get back.” He brushed a fingertip along the edge of one of the presents. “I figure this is something we can do.”

Duncan blinked at him, swallowing around the lump in his throat. He finally managed to nod. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Well, you can start by opening the gifts,” Mark pointed out.

Duncan laughed, the tears receding. “Right.” He picked up the heavier of the two, testing its weight in his hand. It felt like a book. He pulled the blue ribbon off carefully then eased the paper open at the end. Sure enough, he saw the bottom of a book, pristine from the looks of it. He glanced up at Mark, who was watching expectantly, then turned back to the gift. He carefully slid the paper off to find a brand new copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

He’d been frustrated to find the book missing from the collection in the house they’d taken. He’d re-read the books before, of course, and knew what happened. But he’d wanted to be able to finish it. And with the last missing, he’d been disappointed.

“Where did you get it?” Duncan asked, running his hands reverently over the cover. He was being a little silly, he guessed. There were millions of copies of the book lying around. But it touched him, showed him how Mark felt about him in ways the three words couldn’t.

“Uh, the Food Lion down the road a ways had it. I was collecting some things there—that store is surprisingly untouched—and was on my way out when I found it at the register in their books. I know… I know I didn’t buy it or anything, but—”

Duncan reached up, yanked him in, and kissed him within an inch of his life. Hunger for this man, for his touch, clawed at him but he pushed it down. Now wasn’t the time, but he had to show Mark how much it meant and for once, words escaped him.

He pulled back and Mark panted. Blue eyes danced over Duncan’s face, and he could see the heat he felt reflected back at him. Mark closed the distance this time, but the kiss he gave in return was much lighter. “We’ll never get out of bed if we don’t stop this.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Duncan asked. He couldn’t care a whit that his voice came out breathless.

Mark smiled and shook his head. “Not really, but then you won’t see the rest of my surprises.”

Duncan’s eyebrows went up and he reluctantly let go of Mark’s face. “There’s more?”

“Besides the other unopened present?” Duncan nodded and Mark’s expression turned mischievous. “You’ll have to open that one and find out.”

Duncan wanted to scowl at him, but was too happy. He turned back to the unopened gift and lifted it. This one wasn’t a book, unless Mark had gone to a lot of trouble to put it in a box. Duncan pulled this ribbon off and as carefully as he’d handled the book, pulled at the paper.

He blinked at the box, then up at Mark, then back at the box again. He stared at the picture on the front—a slice of chocolate cake—and the Betty Crocker symbol above it and tried to figure out how to tell Mark he couldn’t make it without hurting the man’s feelings. “Uh…”

Mark laughed. “Your face is priceless.”

Duncan scowled. “Not funny. I mean, it’s, uh, a nice idea, but—”

“Come on, lazy bones. And I’ll show you the rest of my gift.”

Duncan raised an eyebrow, but let Mark pull him out of bed. He grabbed his crutches and Mark took the cake mix.

When they rounded the corner into the kitchen, Duncan blinked at the thing on the table. The metal box couldn’t have been more than about a foot in size all around. On the front was a door with what looked like a thermometer and a small red knob. He glanced at Mark then got a little closer. As soon as he saw the numbers on the thermometer, it clicked.

“You got me an… is that an… an oven?” Duncan spun a little too fast, eyes wide and hopeful, and wobbled precariously. Mark hurried over to help steady him.

“Hey, no falling. I didn’t get it so you’d hurt yourself,” he grumbled.

Duncan spun back around and grinned like a kid at Christmas. “An oven! Holy shit!”

Mark laughed. “I’d never have thought buying someone kitchen stuff would get that reaction.”

“It’s been so long since I’ve been able to do something like that. I wonder if we can get flour? If it’s still good? Oh, maybe cornmeal?” He started mentally going through the contents of the cabinets.

“Don’t forget the box,” Mark said, holding it up.

“Wait, cake.” Duncan started laughing. “You bought me a birthday cake!” He grinned from ear to ear, pulling Mark in for a kiss.

“I considered trying to bake it for you,” he said when they broke apart. “But I figured it’d be more of a gift to not subject you to my scary attempts at food.”

Duncan laughed. “Yeah, I actually don’t mind. It’ll be cool to play with it. Holy shit, an oven!”

“I don’t know, for sure, if the mix is good, but I hope, since it’s sealed in plastic, it will be. I found some powdered milk and powdered eggs. They’re not going to be good for anything but mixing into something else, but…” Mark shrugged. “I thought it might be a nice treat. Oh,” he said, leaning forward and twisting the knob. He pulled open the oven and sitting inside was a can of icing.

“You thought of everything. And… how? Where? I mean, I didn’t even know these things existed.”

Mark blushed. “I’ve had it for a little while. I found it at the camp store, but I didn’t know what it was, at first.”

Duncan grinned, shaking his head. “I probably wouldn’t have, either.”

He looked back at the oven, then the cake mix and icing, then to Mark. He studied the freckled nose, the bright blue eyes and sent up a thank you that he’d found this man. “I’m going to be a little corny for a minute,” Duncan said, dropping his gaze to Mark’s chest. “The gifts are… amazing. I couldn’t have asked for better. But the best one I’ve got?” He looked at Mark through his lashes, cheeks warming. Mark raised his eyebrows. “You.”

He half-expected Mark to laugh, but he was pleased to see instead, Mark’s gaze firmly on their feet and red creeping up Mark’s neck and over his ears. Mark cleared his throat. “Thank you. I’m… thank you for wanting me.” He swallowed then looked up again. “Happy Birthday.”

“Best ever, Mark.” Mark’s smile in response lit up his face.

“So… cake for breakfast?”


* * *


You can read more about Duncan and Mark, including how they met, in Healing, a novella in my Pandemus Chronicles. 
Find it at the Dreamspinner Store AmazonAll Romance ebooksB&N

* * *
About Grace: Grace Duncan grew up with a wild imagination. She told stories from an early age - many of which got her into trouble. Eventually, she learned to channel that imagination into less troublesome areas, including fanfiction, which is what has led her to writing male/male erotica.

A gypsy in her own right, Grace has lived all over the United States. She has currently set up camp in East Texas with her husband and children - both the human and furry kind.

As one of those rare creatures who loves research, Grace can get lost for hours on the internet, reading up on any number of strange and different topics. She can also be found writing fanfiction, reading fantasy, crime, suspense, romance and other erotica or even dabbling in art.

Grace’s website: http://www.grace-duncan.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GraceRDuncan2Twitter: @GraceRDuncan

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Hello Everyone!!!
On November 16th I turned 31. It's something I've been thinking about for a while. Not necessarily turning 31, but my birthday. The reason for this is because my birthday brings up both good and bad memories for me (mostly bad, though the past few years have been good). I don't typically expect presents for my birthday (though I did up until the age of 12 and then after that my present requests became extremely altruistic- "donate to a charity", I asked my mom to adopt me an African orphan when I was 12, etc.) but my birthday is the one day out of the year where I let others focus on me without putting up a fight. And this year, I was determined to have a good birthday.
Last year, I asked author friends to share their favorite birthday memories or short stories featuring some of their characters that were centered around birthdays of some sort, and this year I decided to do the same thing. For the next few weeks, author friends and even some non-author friends of mine, will be taking over The Purple Fantasy Den and posting.
And for those of you who you asked last year about sending me a birthday present, first of all, thank you, second of all: In lieu of presents, I'd love to have you donate to the Elton John AIDS Foundation in memory of my best friend Justin or for my friends Angel or Richard, or maybe even someone you know who is living with, and fighting the disease.
Oh! And by the way: One person who comments on every post will be chosen at the end of the eXXXtravaganza to receive a special birthday prize (swag, books, GC, etc.)
So, without further ado! Today's post comes from one of the lovely women who accepted and welcomed me into her family as her son when I came out. Please welcome the amazing and wonderful NJ Nielsen!



Okay, I’m going to tell you about 3 birthday memories… I know I’m supposed to write happy, but this shit is real—if unbelievable—but I swear they’re all true.

Experience 1:My family thought it would be fantastic if they all took me out to dinner for my 23rd birthday… I was all for it. Until we reached our destination—they wouldn’t tell me where—Pizza Hut… Most people would be thinking ‘Oh, that’s nice.’ Only problem is I don’t like pizza. So instead of grumbling I ordered a pasta dish, which the staff forget to order me so by the time my food finally arrived everyone else was finished and wanted to go home… so I had to get mine put into a to go box… The funny part is, Em was only two and at this stage you could still smoke in restaurants and the guy behind us was smoking a nasty smelling cigar—Em in all her cuteness stood up on her chair and yelled out, “I can smell brugs (drugs)—who is smoking brugs?” I just wanted to know how the hell she knew what drugs smelt like as I have never indulged.

Moral to the story: Don’t let you family choose where to eat.


Experience 2:
This was Emily’s Birthday… I think she was turning 8. We heard this noise and as we turned round we thought my niece was doing this very funky dance in the lounge room until she kinda went haywire and crashed through the fish tank slicing her arm up so badly that I had to rush her to the hospital before she bled out. 

I can hear you asking how is this a good or funny memory. I’m getting to that I swear. After some internal stitches they superglued her back together. I was amazed when I watched them do that… any way I duck out to call home from the public box seeing as I left my cell at home with the kids. I had no money so I had make a reverse charges call to our house to let them know Leigh was okay… when they answered I had to calm down my young nephew (Leigh’s son) who I thought was upset because his mum got hurt—no, he was upset because they had to pick up the fish and snails and put them in a bucket… Leigh and I were laughing our arse’s… then to top it all off a dog wandered into the phone box with me and let one of the deadliest farts go—I was gagging and laughing… man it was YUCK!

Moral to the story: Funky dancing is an accident waiting to happen.


Experience 3:
This is my birthday two years ago—and yes I should have learnt from Experience #1—my family decide to take me out to dinner. We head off to a nice counter-meal in the dining hall at the local pub—what could go wrong—the meal started off beautifully.

(1) My hubs—he swears it was an accident—went to squirt lemon onto his seafood and the whole chunk shot out of his hand and landed in my cleavage. 

(2) The waitress drops a container of Tartar sauce into my lap. 
(3) The same waitress when cleaning up then dropped the cutlery and a bread basket on me… why is this a good memory because they ended up comping my meal—probably in case I sued them—my family still joke about it today.


Moral to the story: Always remember why you don’t let family take you out to eat!



Blurb:Two lives--One destiny. When fate decides two people belong together, nothing can stand in its way. Liam Kantry and Carlo Bruenelli find themselves caught up in the madness of Christmas and taking care of a child as they discover the meaning of being true heart-mates.
Liam Kantry wants to be with the man he has loved his whole life, yet incessant gossip and innuendos have labelled him the pack whore—a point he has never disputed. Now the rumours have come back to bite him in the arse.
Carlo Bruenelli is waiting for his heart-mate; he's one of the pack who truly believes they really do exist. In his heart he wants it to be his best friend, only problem is he knows Liam doesn't believe in heart-mates. What will it take to change Liam's mind? And should he even try?
Christmas is drawing near, and between snowball fights and the inter-pack gathering, Liam and Carlo find themselves caught up in the excitement and obsessing over what their future holds. Especially when a small child forms a bond with them. They learn there is more out there than they ever dreamt was possible.
Can Liam and Carlo work around the newness of their own mating to protect someone who needs it most?
CONTENT ADVISORY: This work is a significantly expanded (almost tripled in length), re-edited re-release title.
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Excerpt:
Everyone had a fear, and Carlo's was probably no different to anyone else's. His fear involved running into the love of his life, Liam Kantry, and being ignored completely. Liam often starred in Carlo's nightly dreams of who his heart-mate should look like, yet sadly Liam only ever looked at him like an annoying, dorky, younger brother--a brother you didn't want hanging around all the time. Usually, it was hard to avoid him since they belonged to the same pack. Thoughts like these had been plaguing him for the last month or so leading up to this special week.

The Moon Runner Pack had been chosen to host the inter-pack meet-and-greet on their lands where guests from other packs would be coming in hope of finding a mate. Most people didn't believe in heart-mates. Carlo was truly one of the few in the pack who actually believed heart-mates existed. Somewhere out there's the perfect person looking for me. A tingle of excitement surged through him at the mere possibility of it being true. I'm twenty-one. I'm finally old enough to attend the party. Let's hope he's here and just as eager to meet me. Wish it could be Liam, but wouldn't we have known by now if we were? Hopefully Christmas Day I'll have pushed aside my crush on Liam Kantry and I'll know whether or not my heart-mate is out there searching for me as well—that is, if he even comes to the gathering. My luck, he won't even bother turning up. 

Man, he hoped he was wrong and his heart-mate existed in the here and now, waiting to meet him as well. Never once had he doubted that his future mate would be a male. Fate wouldn't be so cruel to pair him with a woman he could never really love. Being mated to a female wouldn't be fair to either of them. If it came down to his mate being someone who wasn't male, he'd simply explain everything to her and let her find someone else she could be happy with. Carlo had even heard that this year there were packs coming to attend from even farther afield than usual. This gathering also became the time new alliances were made between packs, where packs could ask another for help in any way. Bloodshed was frowned upon at these gatherings, but sometimes it became unavoidable—or so he'd been told.

The alpha had asked him, because it was his first time, to become involved this year by being seen at the meeting hall, not hiding away from the pack like he usually did. Apparently all members of the pack who had come of age and were eligible to attend were asked to help out. So here he was now, wet as all get-go—because he'd only moments before slipped and landed in a puddle as he tried to dodge a car on the street outside the hall. Dripping wet, he grumbled as he walked through the falling snow toward the last place he wanted to be—the pack town hall. Carlo hoped to avoid everything until the starting ceremony itself, but Darian and the alpha had nixed that thought early on. The plain truth was he didn't want to have to be anywhere he'd have to bear witness to Liam flirting with other people. Carlo was a coward, and he knew it. He wasn't disputing the fact at all. As he neared the building, the noise coming from within sounded muted, but still loud in a raucous kind of way.

Carlo waved to a couple leaving the crowded room as he entered. He didn't know them, but he thought it would be a polite and friendly gesture to the wolves who'd be arriving to stay with the Moon Runner pack over the next few days. He didn't even complain much when Sally Anne Meyers, the alpha's younger sister, made him strip out of his outer layers before she allowed him to step foot inside the door.

She'd joked, "If you were smarter, you'd strip in time to the music and make yourself a little money on the side." Her laughter sounded light, and Carlo knew she wasn't being mean. Being twenty-one herself, she probably also found herself being forced to be sociable. Unlike him, Sally Anne actually liked being the centre of attention, especially if it garnered the interest of a certain pack member. According to Marcus, the pack gossip, Sally Anne had set her sights on Wade Michelson this year. She'd chosen him as her mate and she'd do anything to get what she wanted.

"The only problem is they'd make me pay the money back with interest once they saw me naked," he replied, snickering before he handed her the wet clothes.

"Go sit by the fire and I'll call your mum to bring you some dry clothes. We wouldn't want all your lovely bits and pieces to fall off, now would we?"

What the fuck? Is she flirting with me? "Are you trying to get my arse beat? If you keep that talk up, you'll make Wade crazy jealous and he'll come after me."

"Hah! That big galoot wouldn't know which end faced up if someone didn't tell him." There seemed to be no heat in her words.

"I thought you were determined to be his mate?" Carlo asked, curious as he saw the glint of something in her eye.

She waved him away. "He's mine. He just doesn't know it yet. His days of sleeping around are over." She sniffed haughtily then burst out laughing. "Go on. Go warm up and I'll get you some dry clothes. I saw Liam in here earlier--not sure if he's still here though."

He gave her one last smile before he did as told. "Thank you." He wasn't sure if he thanked her for calling his mum or for letting him know Liam Kantry sat in the hall talking with friends.

The sounds of carols playing through the speakers, combined with happy laughter ringing out were enough to get even the most miserable person into the Christmas spirit. The interior walls had been transformed from their usual drab wooden bareness to having an array of colours splashed across them. The effect was kind of stunning. Whoever had decorated this year had taste.

With all the festivities going on around him, Carlo couldn't have stopped smiling even if he'd wanted to. He actually loved this time of year--always had. The fact remained he loved everything about Christmas, from the addictive aroma of the baked goods to the scent of the pine trees filling the air, but most of all he loved the feeling of family and everyone being together.

His love of everything Christmas started the year his father gave him his very own sled. That year he'd met Liam Kantry for the first time. He'd also met Liam's brothers Marcus and Theo. They'd taken turns sharing his sled while riding down the hills out on the back of the pack lands. The day seemed to rush by, none of them coming in until August Kantry, the boys' father, had come looking for them. On the way home, he'd given them all a lecture on what were safe and unsafe times to stay out playing when their parents were sitting at home and waiting for them.

Christmas was just around the corner and his family was getting ready to celebrate in style. His mother was known by many as a baking fiend when it came to roasts, but no one in the pack came even close to beating Mary Kantry when it came to baking Christmas goodies. She had become a legend among the pack, especially for her Christmas bread. Hell, even just the thought of it had Carlo's mouth watering. His thoughts came back to the present when he heard an all too familiar voice. Oh great, so Liam really is still here—yippee... not!
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Author Bio:
NJ needs to write like she needs to breathe. It’s an addiction that she never intends to find a cure for. When you don’t find NJ arguing with Vlad, her muse or writing about the wonderful men in her stories, you’ll find her reading work by other authors she greatly admires. NJ lives in the SE of Qld, Australia with her family who all encourage her writing career even if she does occasionally call them by her character’s names. NJ thinks that anyone taking the time to read her stuff is totally awesome.

Find N.J. Here My Blog / WordPress / Face Book / Goodreads / Twitter / Linked in / Google+

It's Release Day! It's Release Day!

Today is the re-release of The Alpha King!
In honor of the release Rooster and Pig Publishing has The Alpha King on SALE for $5.59!
This is a limited time promotional pricing so take advantage while you still can!
Buy from Rooster & Pig Here!


Blurb:Centuries after the destruction of Earth, destiny is being fulfilled and plans are in motion to restore not only the Earth, but mankind, to its former glory. One family is fated to bring about this amazing destiny. One man puts it all in motion, the day he crashes onto the wolf-planet of Tumaro and meets his mate. 
Talon Versuthion always knew that some kind of way, life was going to screw him over. His parents died when he was just a boy and he can't remember a thing about them. He was adopted by a great family only to have them tell him that he is a Vermithian, one of the most despised humanoid species. Even worse than that? He has no idea that a prophecy was made about his family, one that mentions that someone from the Versuthion family will bring back a pure human race. And there are people out there who will stop at nothing to make sure that never happens. No matter what. 

While on a delivery for the GPA with his adopted sister Josie, however, Tal's space shuttle crashes onto Tumaro, the notorious wolf-shifter planet. Tal is lucky to be alive, though Josie can't be found. He is desperate to find her, but destiny steps in and history is changed forever. Because the Alpha King of the planet, Blazell Roughshire, is Talon's mate. And before the two men can even settle into their new relationship they must deal with conspiracy, murder, kidnapping and a centuries old plot to completely eradicate the human race. 

Will Blaze be able to keep his mate safe from those who would see him dead? Is Tal truly the only one left from his family who can fulfill this centuries old prophecy? And can Tal, who has made it a point to never fall in love with anyone, open his heart and let Blaze be Passion's hero?

Hello Everyone,

This is just a friendly reminder to pre-order the re-release of The Alpha King from Rooster and Pig Publishing before the pre-order sale expires.  

Right now it is on SALE 40% off but only until 11:59PM on Nov. 29th!

The release date is November 30th and will be available from Rooster and Pig and Amazon.



Blurb:


Centuries after the destruction of Earth, destiny is being fulfilled and plans are in motion to restore not only the Earth, but mankind, to its former glory. One family is fated to bring about this amazing destiny. One man puts it all in motion, the day he crashes onto the wolf-planet of Tumaro and meets his mate. 

Talon Versuthion always knew that some kind of way, life was going to screw him over. His parents died when he was just a boy and he can't remember a thing about them. He was adopted by a great family only to have them tell him that he is a Vermithian, one of the most despised humanoid species. Even worse than that? He has no idea that a prophecy was made about his family, one that mentions that someone from the Versuthion family will bring back a pure human race. And there are people out there who will stop at nothing to make sure that never happens. No matter what. 

While on a delivery for the GPA with his adopted sister Josie, however, Tal's space shuttle crashes onto Tumaro, the notorious wolf-shifter planet. Tal is lucky to be alive, though Josie can't be found. He is desperate to find her, but destiny steps in and history is changed forever. Because the Alpha King of the planet, Blazell Roughshire, is Talon's mate. And before the two men can even settle into their new relationship they must deal with conspiracy, murder, kidnapping and a centuries old plot to completely eradicate the human race. 

Will Blaze be able to keep his mate safe from those who would see him dead? Is Tal truly the only one left from his family who can fulfill this centuries old prophecy? And can Tal, who has made it a point to never fall in love with anyone, open his heart and let Blaze be Passion's hero?

Excerpt:

Talon felt his brain pause momentarily at the endearment, but then the other man’s words sank in. “What?! No-No-No! No, you have to be wrong! She was sitting in the seat next to mine. She was there! You have to go find her! You have to go and find my sister! Josie! Josie!” Talon was frantic. He sat up swiftly, swaying a bit and pushing away the mysterious man who seemed determined to try to make him lay back down in the bed. “Let me go! I have to go and find my sister! Josie!” He screamed. He tried to race for the door, stumbling along the way, which swung open in front of him, causing him to barrel into a very wide, very firm chest.

“Whoa, there. Where are you running off to?”
The chest spoke, and Talon felt his entire body flush. He wanted to wrap his arms around the body before him, wanted to wrap his legs around the bigger man’s waist and never let go. Talon lifted his gaze up past the thick, muscled, and tanned neck to the square jaw, dusted faintly with a dark, five o’clock shadow, to the aquiline nose that spoke of an aristocratic heritage, to a pair of the most gorgeous dark blue eyes that Talon had ever seen. They were almost startling in their intensity. Add to that the long black hair that hung to just below broad shoulders and an awe-inspiring, overly large frame. The stranger was a walking wet dream come true. Talon quickly reconsidered when the man growled low and clutched him fiercely before burying his face in Talon’s neck. Talon squeaked in surprise but did not pull away. He felt safe in this man’s arms, even though he didn’t know his name. He never wanted to let go.

Talon felt the world spin when the man in question quickly jerked Talon behind him and growled “Mine” at the other man in the room. His voice was low, forceful, growly, and full of authority and power. Talon knew this man was not one to be messed with. He was the law in that room at that moment. Talon was happy the man seemed to be on his side, even if he wasn’t exactly sure why.

“Blazell? Are you saying that this… humanoid… is your mate?” the first man asked incredulously.
The man named Blazell turned to look at Talon, his eyes softening rapidly and a slow smile coming to his face. He inhaled deeply, breathing in Talon’s scent, his eyes closing before he turned back to answer the question. “Yes, Buck, he’s mine… my mate.”
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Hello Everyone!!!
On November 16th I turned 31. It's something I've been thinking about for a while. Not necessarily turning 31, but my birthday. The reason for this is because my birthday brings up both good and bad memories for me (mostly bad, though the past few years have been good). I don't typically expect presents for my birthday (though I did up until the age of 12 and then after that my present requests became extremely altruistic- "donate to a charity", I asked my mom to adopt me an African orphan when I was 12, etc.) but my birthday is the one day out of the year where I let others focus on me without putting up a fight. And this year, I was determined to have a good birthday.
Last year, I asked author friends to share their favorite birthday memories or short stories featuring some of their characters that were centered around birthdays of some sort, and this year I decided to do the same thing. For the next few weeks, author friends and even some non-author friends of mine, will be taking over The Purple Fantasy Den and posting.
And for those of you who you asked last year about sending me a birthday present, first of all, thank you, second of all: In lieu of presents, I'd love to have you donate to the Elton John AIDS Foundation in memory of my best friend Justin or for my friends Angel or Richard, or maybe even someone you know who is living with, and fighting the disease.
Oh! And by the way: One person who comments on every post will be chosen at the end of the eXXXtravaganza to receive a special birthday prize (swag, books, GC, etc.)
So, without further ado! Here's today's post by:



First off, I wanted to thank Vicktor for inviting me, and I wanted to wish him a happy birthday as well.

So my favorite birthday memory…probably my 21st birthday. The day itself was great, as I got to celebrate with several groups of people throughout the day, but the most memorable part actually occurred several months later.

You see, I absolutely love the band Fun., long before they became well-known and famous. That year, my parents not only gave me their album as a gift, but also gave me two tickets to see the band in concert. I was very excited, as not only did I love the band, but it was going to be the first concert I’d ever been to. 

However, a new dilemma arose. Since none of my friends were fans of the band or available, I wasn’t sure who to ask to go with me until I thought to invite the one person who’d helped shape my taste in music the most—my father.

Fortunately, this turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I had a blast at the concert.  Tegan and Sara (another band I like who were ironically celebrating their birthday that day) were the opening act, and my father loved them so much, he ended up buying two of their albums online during the intermission.

Plus, he bought me my first concert t-shirt as a birthday gift as well. Honestly, looking back, I’m glad I invited my dad, because I greatly enjoyed the night. I wasn’t worried about what might happen or getting lost driving over because I went with someone I trusted. I got to spend some quality time bonding with my dad, enjoying my favorite band and my first concert. That night still stands as one of my best birthday memories, and is a night I will cherish forever.



So, in honor of the best birthday ever, I’m offering one lucky commenter Fun.’s CD, Some Nights. If the winner lives in the US, I will send them an actual CD, and if international, I’ll gift you it online (through either Amazon or iTunes). I’ll choose the winner at the end of Vic’s Birthday eXXXtravaganza.



About Me:                                  
Where do I start? Well, I’ve had many adventures and occupations in my life, but it’s only in recent years that I started reviewing and blogging. I am now currently a college student (and soon to be graduate) and the blogger over at Sharing Links and Wisdom. I am also a shameless book addict, a fierce lover, and a non-stop talker who’s always willing to have a conversation.

There's no post for today in light of it being Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, here in the United States.
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. The one day a year when our nation is supposed to stop and give thanks. For family, for friends, and for the little things. It's the one time when we're supposed to be grateful. 

Today, I urge you to find something to be grateful for. Something for which to give thanks. Hug your family. Give love to those who are in your life. Life is so short and fleeting, we are not promised tomorrow, so make sure that you live, love, laugh, and give thanks as if today were your last.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

-Vicktor Alexander