“Are you going to introduce us, son?” said a female voice.
Logan glanced at the people in his house before looking back at Andrew. “This is Andrew Reyes,” he said, his voice stiff, uncharacteristically hesitant for him.
“We are aware of his name,” said the same woman. Logan’s mother. She seemed to be in her sixties, her gaze not unkind but bewildered as she eyed Andrew.
The unsaid question was clear. Who is he to you?
Andrew swallowed. He looked at Logan uncertainly, but Logan’s expression was unreadable. Guarded. He was still gazing at Andrew intently, but he wasn’t in a hurry to reply to the unasked question.
Andrew’s heart seemed to be beating somewhere in his throat. He swallowed again. Part of him wanted to remain silent—until Logan indicated that he actually wanted them to be something. But he had a feeling that it would be a mistake.
Needing isn’t enough, Logan had told him months ago. You don’t want this.
He was pretty sure Logan wanted him to take the first step.
But if he was wrong, if Logan didn’t actually want to be with him, this would be the worst humiliation of his life, humiliation his heart would never recover from.
He would have to make a leap of faith. Be brave for once. Do something the bigoted man he had been a year ago would have never done.
Andrew took a deep breath. Then he looked at Logan’s mother, because it was easier, and said, “I’m Logan’s boyfriend.”
The surprised silence that fell over the room was deafening, but Andrew barely paid it any mind. All his senses were attuned to the man who stood very still beside him.
Finally, Andrew found the courage to look at him.
Logan’s guarded expression had melted away. His dark eyes were warm, so very warm now, gazing at Andrew with a look that made Andrew’s breath catch in his throat. Then a smile appeared, first in Logan’s eyes before spreading to the rest of his face.
Logan pulled him close and gave him a hard, possessive kiss, his strong hands cradling Andrew’s face gently. “Boyfriend, huh?” he said, breaking the kiss and leaning their foreheads together. “Thanks for letting me know.”
Blushing, Andrew laughed, wrapping his arms around Logan’s neck and melting into him.
He didn’t care that Logan’s entire family was looking at them. He was happy. He felt whole, safe, and wanted.
He was where he wanted to be.
Epilogue
Three months later
Derek Rutledge stood on the terrace of his house, nursing a glass of wine and watching the guests milling about the garden. The formal part of the evening was over, and the journalists were gone. Thank fuck.
He loosened his tie with one hand, his eyes searching for his husband. Shawn was nowhere to be seen, which was fucking priceless, since the whole thing had been his idea.
A party in celebration of the one-year anniversary of the partnership will show everyone that there’s no bad blood between us and Ian Caldwell, Shawn had said, looking at him with his annoyingly pretty eyes. The little shit knew exactly the effect they had on him: that they got Derek to agree to the most inane ideas.
To be fair, Shawn’s idea had some merit. Despite their best efforts to keep their conflict quiet, people still talked. One of the lawyers Derek had consulted must have spilled the beans to the press, which had resulted in a lot of media scrutiny. Not to mention that it had somewhat hurt the business, since people were wary of dealing with a company that had unstable leadership at the top.
So here he was, pretending to be best friends with Ian Caldwell and his people. Not that they were enemies, per se. Caldwell’s attitude had thawed quite a bit ever since Derek had spoken to Caldwell’s sister and told her the truth. It had been the most awkward conversation of his life, but Derek had to admit it had been long overdue. It’d helped. He and the Caldwells were quite civil these days, but some things weren’t easy to forget, and Derek doubted they were going to become best friends anytime soon.
His lips twisting at the thought, he eyed the crowd in search of Shawn.
Caldwell was still there, his arm around Miles. The sight of them used to make Derek uneasy. He hadn’t been sure Caldwell wasn’t just using the kid to get to him, but by now even he had to admit that Caldwell seemed genuinely gone on Miles—which was clearly mutual. Miles was grinning at Caldwell right now, his hand touching the older man’s chest in a rather proprietary manner. Neither of them seemed to care that they were in public, their eyes only on each other. Derek had to give it to Caldwell: for a formerly straight man, he didn’t seem to mind being out and proud with Miles, uncaring what anyone else thought of him.
Though, Caldwell’s openly homosexual relationship wasn’t as surprising as Andrew’s.
Derek shifted his gaze to his former brother-in-law and eyed him in slight bewilderment. Truth be told, he could barely recognize him as the man who had been his sister’s husband. Vivian’s husband had always acted like he had a giant stick up his ass. He had always looked at Shawn and him with a barely hidden sneer on his lips, his homophobia obvious. He had been a good husband to Vivian, which had been the only reason Derek had tolerated the man.
So now, seeing Andrew all but snuggled up to another man in public was surreal. All right, “snuggled up” might have been something of an exaggeration, but still. Andrew was gazing at Logan McCall in a decidedly besotted manner as McCall said something to him before kissing the corner of Andrew’s mouth. Andrew grabbed McCall’s tie and pulled him closer, changing the kiss from innocent to needy, and never mind that there were plenty of people around. It seemed as though he’d forgotten that they weren’t alone—or didn’t care.
Shaking his head, Derek looked away from the couple and continued looking for Shawn among the guests. His gaze passed over Raffaele Ferrara, who stood by the pool nursing a drink. Ferrara had a beautiful woman on his arm, but he didn’t seem to be paying her any attention, his black eyes fixed on something else, his body language faintly irritated.
There were footsteps behind him, and then arms wrapped around his waist.
Derek didn’t turn.
“It’s rude to hide from your own guests, Mr. Rutledge,” Shawn said with a smile in his voice, pressing his cheek against Derek’s shoulder from behind.
Derek took a sip of his wine. “You know I don’t like parties.”
Shawn chuckled, kissing the back of his neck. “Don’t be such a grumpy old man. You’re hardly old.”
Putting his glass on the table nearby, Derek laid his arm over Shawn’s and said, looking at the guests, “It’s just strange.” To do what my father used to do, after avoiding this life for two decades.
He didn’t say it aloud, but of course Shawn understood. He always did. A little too well.
Humming, Shawn entwined their fingers together. “I definitely didn’t expect to host fancy parties for billionaires when I went to my knees for a grade,” he said, laughter in his voice. “Life can be weird that way.”
Derek turned around and studied him. “Any regrets?”
Blue eyes smiled at him softly. “None,” Shawn said, wrapping his arms around Derek’s neck and fitting their mouths together. “Never.”
***
Andrew was a clingy drunk. He was also a very horny one.
Logan laughed, catching Andrew’s hand as it sneaked down to his dick. “Let’s wait until we get home, Drew.”
Andrew pouted, his blue-green eyes still fixed on Logan’s face and entirely ignoring the party around them. “But I want you. Want your cock in me.”
Christ.
Trying to ignore the way his boxers were suddenly too tight, Logan wrapped an arm around Andrew’s waist and half-dragged him away from the party. “Let’s get home, hm? And then you can tell me how much you want me.”
“But I want you now,” Andrew whined, pressing wet, open-mouthed kisses to Logan’s jawline.
“I thought you hated PDA? People are staring. I don’t want you to be embarrasse
d tomorrow when you sober up.”
“Don’t care,” Andrew mumbled, nuzzling into Logan’s neck. “Love you.”
Logan’s steps faltered. They’d… They’d never really talked about feelings. Andrew was his boyfriend, they lived together, and they were happier than Logan had thought was possible. Their relationship was going great, so he had decided not to rock the boat by confessing that he loved Andrew—Andrew’s reactions could be so unpredictable sometimes. Logan hadn’t expected to hear a confession from Andrew first.
“You’re drunk,” he said, clearing his throat.
“But I love you,” Andrew murmured, sucking a hickey on Logan’s neck. “So much. I feel like I’m choking on it sometimes. Got drunk to tell you. Am not brave enough sober.”
Feeling a rush of overwhelming affection, Logan tipped Andrew’s face up with his fingers. “You don’t need to get drunk for that, sweetheart,” he said hoarsely, looking into Andrew’s glassy eyes. “I love you, too.”
Andrew’s eyes widened, a flush appearing on his cheeks.
“Tell me that again in the morning?” he asked, in a small voice. “In case I forget.”
Logan smiled at him gently. “I will,” he said. “I will tell you that every day if you want.”
Andrew beamed at him, his eyes glistening. “You promise?”
God, he was beyond endearing.
“I promise,” Logan said, kissing him on the forehead.
Andrew hugged him. “Love you,” he whispered, his lips brushing Logan’s neck. “I’ll always need you. Always.”
“I know.” Logan kissed the top of his head and smiled. “Me, too, love.”
“I still hope I’ll die before you,” Andrew mumbled, and Logan suddenly remembered the conversation they’d had all those months ago, after Andrew’s illness.
His throat uncomfortably thick, he buried his face in Andrew’s hair. He breathed in. “Nope,” he said hoarsely, his arms tightening. “You aren’t allowed to die before me.”
Andrew giggled. “I guess we’ll have to die at the same time, then,” he said, lifting his head and smiling at him.
Smiling back, Logan leaned their foreheads together. “I guess we’ll have to.”
It was probably strange how certain he was that they’d still be together decades from now.
It was stranger that a year and a half ago he hadn’t known this man at all. Now he was his world.
“I’ve been thinking…” Logan said, rubbing his nose against Andrew’s. Christ, sometimes he couldn’t believe how sappy they were. He’d never been like this with any of his past boyfriends. It was a little embarrassing, truth be told. “What do you think about a vacation? Maybe on some tropical island—”
Andrew was still laughing when Logan kissed him.
The End.
Acknowledgments
I would like to express my great appreciation and thanks to Linda H., Eliot Grayson, and Elizabeth Balmanno for their contribution and support.
And thank you to my readers. I hope you enjoyed Logan and Andrew’s story.
What’s next?
The next book in the series, Just a Bit Bossy, will be out next year. It’s a book about Nate, and his “demon of a boss,” Raffaele Ferrara. Roman and Luke from Just a Bit Ruthless will make a cameo in that book.
There are minor changes in my release schedule. I have something of a writer’s block on Dearly Despised, so I had to switch it with Just a Bit Bossy. That means Dearly Despised is going to be released at the end of 2021 (if I get over my block), and Just a Bit Bossy will probably be published in August 2021. For readers who miss my Calluvia series: we’ll get a glimpse of Calluvia in Feral, which will be released in April 2021.
FERAL
(The Wrong Alpha Book #2)
Sometimes to find your Prince Charming you have to kiss the Beast. But what if the Beast is the one you actually want?
Julian “Jules” Blake, a sheltered nineteen-year-old omega from a perfectly respectable family, is the unremarkable one of his four siblings. He’s not the most beautiful, or the smartest, or the strongest. And he’s fine with it, really. He isn’t ugly or anything, but by omegas’ standards, he’s nothing special. “Nothing special” describes Jules’s whole life. It’s utterly boring.
So when strange things start happening in their house, it piques Jules’s curiosity.
There’s a beast in the Blake family mansion; Jules is sure of it. He sometimes hears growls and screams coming from the basement, and the men guarding the door look positively terrified.
What could possibly terrify grown alphas?
Jules will have to investigate!
Boredom and curiosity can change a life—but when you fall in love with a beast, a feral alpha whose real face you haven’t even seen…will it change for the better?
Coming soon…
_________
If you’d like to be notified of my new books, you can subscribe to my mailing list: http://www.alessandrahazard.com/subscribe/
You can always contact me at my website http://www.alessandrahazard.com or email me at [email protected].
- Alessandra
About the Series
Currently the Straight Guys series includes the following books:
#0.5 - Straight Boy: A Short Story (Sage and Xavier)
Young, blond and handsome, Sage attracts unwanted attention in prison. When his cellmate offers him protection, Sage accepts the offer, even though he doesn’t trust the guy. Little does he know how much it will change his life.
When he’s released from prison, Sage finds himself needing and wanting things he shouldn’t want. Sage is straight. He is. He has a girlfriend. What happened in prison stayed in prison—or so Sage tells himself.
Until he meets his former cellmate again. Xavier. The guy he hates and craves.
#1 - Just a Bit Twisted (Shawn and Derek)
Professor Derek Rutledge is hated and feared by all of his students. Strict, reserved and ruthless, he doesn’t tolerate mistakes and has little patience for his students.
Shawn Wyatt is a twenty-year-old struggling to provide for his younger sisters after the death of their parents. On the verge of losing his scholarship, Shawn becomes desperate enough to go to Professor Rutledge.
Everyone says Rutledge doesn’t have a heart. Everyone says he’s a ruthless bastard. Shawn finds out that everyone is right.
He strikes a deal with Rutledge, but unexpectedly, the deal turns into something so much more.
Something all-consuming and addictive.
Something neither of them wants.
#2 - Just a Bit Obsessed (Alexander and Christian)
Alexander Sheldon likes order and control in his life. He isn’t happy when his girlfriend invites another guy for a threesome. Alexander believes in monogamy, and he’s never been good at sharing his things. It doesn’t help that Christian rubs him the wrong way from the beginning.
But what starts as animosity turns into something else. Something unexpected and very wrong.
He was never supposed to touch Christian. He was never supposed to feel possessive of the guy. And he most definitely wasn’t supposed to want Christian more than he wants his girlfriend.
It’s a recipe for disaster.
#3 - Just a Bit Unhealthy (Gabriel and Jared)
When the line between "need" and "want" gets blurred…
Gabriel DuVal, a rising soccer star.
Jared Sheldon, a team physician.
To the outside world, they’re just good friends. But the truth is, Gabriel isn’t entirely sure what they are to each other.
Some call their relationship unhealthy. Some call it codependency. Gabriel calls it confusing. He knows Jared wants him – as more than a friend. He doesn’t want Jared. He’s straight, he has a girlfriend, and he loves her. But Jared is… Jared is more. Jared is his. He needs him – his touch and his strength.
But is it enough for Jared?
#4 - Just a Bit Wrong (Tristan and Zach)
Zach Hardaway is one of the best physiotherapists in Europe.
Tristan DuVal is a young soccer star with a groin injury.
They despise each other from the moment they meet.
As far as Zach is concerned, Tristan is a rich, spoiled brat who is too used to getting his own way.
As far as Tristan is concerned, Zach is a bossy, presumptuous prick. Tristan hates Zach. He does. The problem is, he also wants to shove Zach against the nearest wall and climb him like a tree.
#5 - Just a Bit Confusing (Ryan and James)
Best friends, inseparable since childhood, one in love with the other, the other straight and in love with a woman.
Stories like this don’t have a happy ending; James Grayson knows it. He puts on a smile, he laughs, he jokes, and he pretends he’s fine when Ryan kisses his girlfriend in front of him—until he can’t.
Except nothing is easy and letting go turns out to be much harder than one might think. Some bonds are too strong to be broken, even for a straight man. And sometimes love and desire can have different faces and layers.
A story of two men trying to function without each other and failing.
#6 - Just a Bit Ruthless (Roman and Luke)
Stockholm syndrome or Love?
When you want someone completely wrong for you…
Luke Whitford has always dreamed of meeting Mr. Right. A hopeless romantic at heart, he dreams of falling in love with a nice man, getting married and having a bunch of adorable babies. The problem is, Luke has the propensity for being attracted to men who are anything but nice.
Roman Demidov, a homophobic, cynical billionaire who has a grudge against Luke’s father, is certainly not Mr. Right. Cold, manipulative, and ruthless, he’s not a nice man and he doesn’t pretend to be.
Luke is fully aware that Roman is all wrong for him. His attraction to the guy is just some sort of Stockholm syndrome; it must be. If life were a fairy tale, Roman would be the main villain, not the hero.
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