by Jaxon Knight
Max pulled back at the ding of the elevator and led Charlie inside, swiping his security card and letting them both in.
Charlie took a deep breath and looked around feeling on the edge of something, feeling an uncertainty he wasn’t sure he could name.
Max was halfway to the bedroom, pulling Clive’s shirt open and shrugging it off when he stopped and turned back, his head cocked to one side.
“You all right?”
“Yeah, I just,” Charlie said. “It’s hard to believe it’s really going to happen, I guess.” A strange sadness flared in his chest and he shook his head. “It’s fine, probably just drunk or something.”
Max sat on the couch and patted the seat beside him. Charlie sat beside him and heaved a breath.
“What’s wrong, Charlie-bear?” Max slipped his arm around him.
That got a laugh out of him. “Charlie- bear? You’ve never called me that before.”
“Well, you look like you need comforting,” Max said. He closed his fingers on Charlie’s shoulder and pulled him closer in. “Tell me what’s happening?”
Charlie leaned in against Max and thought, trying to understand. “I’m afraid of something,” he said finally. “I guess… I’m afraid of losing you?”
“Makes sense,” Max said. “Moving in together’s kind of huge, right?”
Charlie closed his eyes. He’d never moved in with a boyfriend before. He’d been living alone for years now and he had his routine and his shopping list and his slobby stay-at-home sweatpants… but that wasn’t it. That wasn’t what was freaking him out.
Presley. His ex. He’d never gone into any of that with Max… maybe he should just get it out. But now?
“I don’t know if it’s the right time,” Charlie said. Max tensed against him.
“You’re having second thoughts?”
“No, not about you,” Charlie said. He shook his head. “I meant, the right time to talk about my ex. I think I’m afraid because of him.”
Max sighed and leaned back against the couch, let go of Charlie and leaned down to pull off his heeled boots. “No, if you’re feeling stuff right now, let’s talk about it, no time like the present.”
Charlie shifted, pulling a leg up under him and leaning his side against the back of the couch. “Your therapist is amazing, you know that, right?” He grinned and nodded. “But yeah, okay. I guess I have some issues over him.”
Max left his shoes on the ground and reached for Charlie’s hand, holding it in both of his own, rubbing his thumb gently over the back of it. “Tell me.”
“It doesn’t make any sense that I’m thinking about him now, because I know you’re not him. You’re so, so much better than him and he was an asshole, in the end, but. Okay, I feel sad over it. I’d thought…” Charlie closed his eyes to keep the tears in, mortified that he was sitting here with his gorgeous, affectionate boyfriend and crying over an old one. “I thought he was the one, you know? That we’d move in together and get married, and then one morning he stopped replying to my texts. He didn’t answer when I called, and then the number was disconnected. He was gone off Facebook and Insta, he was just… nowhere.”
Max made a sympathetic noise and squeezed his hand. “That’s horrible.”
Charlie sniffed. “I didn’t get any closure, and I guess I just… I didn’t let myself get close to anyone in case it happened again.”
Max moved towards him, Charlie had been looking down, so he swiped his hand over his eyes and looked into his eyes instead. Max’s face was all concern and sympathy, no judgement, no hurt, nothing but love.
“I’d never do that to you, ever.”
“I know,” and Charlie laughed because it was true, he trusted Max and knew that if they were to break up someday, God forbid, Max would do it with screaming fights, and trying to make up again, and it would be a whole big drama. But even though he knew that intellectually, his heart had perhaps needed to hear it out loud, because the sadness eased and his stomach turned over. “But maybe, say it again?”
Max smiled and leaned in to kiss Charlie’s cheek. “I love you, Charlie. And I want this to work, and I’d never ghost you like your fucking coward of an ex.”
Charlie felt a couple of tears slip out and decided it didn’t matter if he cried, or if Max saw him cry, or anything like that at all. He put his arms around Max’s neck and pressed their foreheads together.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Okay, well, I promise the same,” Charlie said. “You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I love you. I want this to work, and yeah, someday I want to marry you.” He kissed Max just at the same moment he gasped and they both started laughing.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Max murmured, and leaned in to kiss him again.
“I’m going to have to plan some kind of whole big thing with a helicopter and Treasure and everything, won’t I?” Charlie said, trying to inject some sarcasm into his voice but not managing it, his heart had swelled with happiness and excitement now.
“Not if I beat you to it,” Max said. He pushed Charlie down onto his back and crawled on top of him. “How’re you feeling now, bear?”
“Like I want you to stop calling me bear, I think,” Charlie said. “I’m not hairy enough.”
“But you’re like my teddy bear,” Max said. He rubbed his nose against Charlie’s making him laugh, before he was pressing himself down on him. That ignited Charlie’s desire and he let his breath out in a soft moan.
Charlie slipped his hands down Max’s back and cupped the sequined tightness of his ass. “And you’re my magnificent unicorn.”
Max kissed his jaw, slow and lingering, ground down on him and huffed a breath on his neck. “Damn straight I am.”
Charlie leaned up to catch Max’s lips and kiss him with all the pain, all the joy, all the passion and need he had for him, and Max returned it all with a soft moan. The kiss lasted and lingered, and Charlie felt complete then, as if they understood each other.
Max pulled up and tried to catch his breath. “Move to bed?”
Charlie nodded. “This feels good, right?”
“Like, so good,” Max stood up and offered Charlie his hand, pulling him up. “You’re moving in and it’s a new year, a new start.”
“A new chapter of life.” Charlie pinched Max’s ass as he sashayed towards the bedroom, dragging Charlie along behind him.
Charlie smiled and let himself be dragged, raking his eyes up and down his stupidly rich, glorious boyfriend. He knew there would be bumps in the road, how could there not be? But he trusted Max, he had Max with him, by his side and in his arms, and together they could do anything.
Leaving a review on Amazon, Goodreads or Bookbub can massively affect how many people see this book. Indie novels rely on rankings, so even if you just do a star rating and one sentence, it can make a huge difference to the author.
Thanks to my Dash for proofing and formatting and everything.
Thanks also to Kitty for beta-reading this little story in record time. Thanks for your support!
Fairyland Book 1: Rival Princes
There are three golden rules for new recruits at Fairyland Theme Park:
1. No breaking character, even if you’re dying of heat exhaustion
2. Always give guests the most magical time
3. No falling in love.
Nate’s only been at work one day, and he’s already broken all three.
Fast-tracked into a Prince role, Nate’s at odds with Dash, the handsome not-so-charming prince who is supposed to be training him. Nate doesn’t know how he ended up on Dash’s bad side, but the broody prince sure is hot when he gets mad.
Dash has worked long and hard to play Prince Justice at Fairyland. Now, instead of focusing on his own performance, he is forced to train newbie Nate to be the perfect prince. Nate’s annoying ease with the guests coupled with his charm and good looks could dethrone Dash from his number one spot … so why doe
s he secretly want to kiss him?
Fairyland heats up as sparks fly between the two rival princes. Will they get their fairytale romance before they’re kicked out of Fairyland for good?
Find out in this standalone MM contemporary romance by Jaxon Knight, set in an amusement park where fairytales can come true.
Buy now
Fairyland Book 2: Mischief and Mayhem
Mischief
Protecting royalty at Fairyland theme park seemed about as far from Afghanistan as Cody could get. But the hot new rollercoaster brings up some unexpected trouble - and not the kind of trouble he knows how to handle alone.
Mayhem
Dean loves running the Spaceship Mayhem roller coaster - he gets to meet new people every day! When he sees a handsome, troubled security guard repeatedly fail to ride it, he sees an opportunity to help. And maybe they can be more than friends?
Cody reluctantly accepts cute, boy-next-door Dean’s help and sparks fly between them, but between mischief, mayhem and miscommunication, can they ever make a relationship work?
Mischief and Mayhem is a slow burn, opposites attract MM sweet romance featuring snark, foolishness, motorbikes, assumptions, the chicken door and a HEA
Buy now
Fairyland Book 3: Recipe for Chaos
The recipe is simple:
Charlie cooks an amazing meal
Charlie impresses heir to the theme park Max Jones
Charlie gets a promotion and a dash of control over his kitchen
But the perfect recipe becomes unpalatable with one wrong ingredient and Max Jones is not behaving how Charlie expected…
Max is meant to inherit the entire Fairyland theme park but he just wants to party, have fun and bed as many people as possible. That is, until he meets Charlie and falls for him so hard he can’t even finish the delicious meal.
Charlie doesn’t have time for clubs or helicopter flights over the city, but Max is accustomed to getting what he wants, and he wants Charlie.
Featuring one part Billionaire, one part sensible chef, six cups of attraction, a generous dose of snark and a freshly prepared Happy Ever After.
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Fairyland Book 4: The Good, the Bad and the Dad
Haru is a single dad, a widower, doing his best to balance his career and raising his little girl, Minako. Thankfully Fairyland theme park is a haven for both of them. However, when both a prince and a pirate start courting Haru, his balancing act gets a lot harder...
Cillian plays a pirate at Fairyland theme park and he loves playing the rogueish character in and out of work hours. The last thing he wants is to settle down with a guy with a kid, so can't he stop thinking about handsome single dad Haru. And why can't he stop looking at pictures of Prince Magnificence and his stupid symmetrical face? And why does he keep running into both of them?
Grayson feels he's found his home in the role of Prince Magnificence, but he's more likely to run from love than seek it out. Until he meets Haru, that is. Christmas is complicated by Grayson's role being featured in a special Christmas celebration. Not only that, but his feelings for Haru, and his possible rival Cillian keep on growing. Maybe it's time to stop hiding who he really is?
The Good, the Bad and the Dad is a sweet MMM romance featuring a single father, a rogue and a trans prince with a heart of gold. No cheating, just the tentative first steps into polyamory.
Buy now
Stay tuned for news on the next Fairyland instalments…
Come join the Knights of Fairyland readers group for news, behind the scenes information and a generally fun time: https://www.facebook.com/groups/KnightsofFairyland/
Find Jaxon online:
https://www.facebook.com/JaxonKnightAuthor/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19244965.Jaxon_Knight
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jaxon-knight