Chess Part One Box Set

by Sean Michael

  (What? He has three men, he says there’s no reason why he can’t have three favorite cookies and by the way, why do you think he works out so much?)

  Lemon-Honey Drop Cookies

  Ingredients—

  1/2 cup granulated sugar

  7 tablespoons butter, softened

  2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

  1/3 cup honey

  1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

  1 large egg

  1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

  1 teaspoon baking powder

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt

  Cooking spray

  1 cup powdered sugar

  2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

  2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

  Directions—

  Preheat oven to 350.

  Beat first 3 ingredients with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.

  Add honey, extract, and egg—beat until well-blended.

  Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

  Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray.

  Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

  Combine powdered sugar and juice in a small bowl. Stir with a whisk. Brush powdered sugar mixture evenly over hot cookies. Sprinkle evenly with 2 teaspoons rind. Remove cookies from pan. Cool on wire rack.

  Jason remembered lemon honey cookies from when he was a kid and this is the recipe he found that seemed to most closely approximate them. Bishop immediately took a liking to these cookies and is known to eat them like they’re chips, popping one in after the other until they’re done.

  * * * *

  Knight’s favorite snacks

  Nuts

  Popcorn

  Chips

  Jason puts nuts in a bowl and sets it in Knight’s studio—and calls it cooking. It works for Knight so it works for him.

  Popcorn goes in a microwave—that’s definitely cooking—and Jason makes toppings for it. Salt and butter of course, but also grated parmesan cheese, a secret barbeque rub that he won’t share, Italian spices, and sometimes a little caramel for a sweet bite.

  Jason tried to make homemade chips once and nearly set the kitchen on fire. He says they work best coming from a bag.

  * * * *

  Jason’s Pancakes

  Ingredients—

  1 egg

  1 cup all-purpose flour

  3/4 cup of milk

  2 tablespoons shortening, melted or vegetable oil

  1 tablespoon sugar

  3 teaspoons baking powder

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  Directions—

  Beat egg with hand beater until fluffy, beat in remaining ingredients until just smooth.

  Heat griddle or pan to medium high, use butter or margarine to grease it and pour on about three tablespoons of batter. Cook pancakes until surface is full of bubbles and turn. If the bottom is too brown, the pan is too hot and needs to be turned down. Put oven on low and stack pancakes on a plate in the oven as they are ready so the first ones are still hot when the last one is ready.

  For thinner pancakes, add more milk.

  The recipe is from an old-old Joy of Cooking cookbook Jason found in a box in the basement. He almost always adds another 1/2 cup of milk to make slightly thinner pancakes, as that’s how Rook likes them.

  Jason usually doubles or triples the recipe because he lives with men with big appetites. Extras can be frozen and warmed up in the toaster like a Poptart (only healthier for you, notes Jason).

  Jason likes playing with the toppings and while he often serves them with butter and maple syrup, he also likes some of the following alternatives—jam, butter with brown sugar, powdered sugar with lemon juice, and berries with whipped cream.

  Want to see more from this author? Here’s a taster for you to enjoy!

  Rainbow Island: Three Wishes

  Sean Michael

  Excerpt

  Guard changed into a lilac shirt with huge green and yellow flowers on it. He had matching shorts, but they were probably a bit much. Instead, he put on his bright yellow board shorts and his flip-flops.

  Grabbing his clipboard with maps, room service menus, keys and stuff attached, he walked down to the water, where the deck ran out into the ocean. Aldo would be here any minute with their medical fetish client. What was his name?

  Guard checked his clipboard—it would be better not to call the guy Med Fetish to his face. Names were a good thing and made the clients feel comfortable.

  Sage Q. Williams.

  Sage.

  What kind of name was that?

  He’d bet the man’s mother was a hippie. Or at least had been when Sage was born. He would keep that tidbit to himself, too.

  The radio on his belt went off and he picked it up. “Guard.”

  “It’s Aldo, we’re three minutes out.”

  “Thanks.”

  He clipped the radio back on his belt and waved to Carmen’s nephew Luis. The kid came trotting over with the wagon for luggage, and they made their way down to the end of the dock together.

  “Buenos tardes, Señor Guard. Is the man for cabin D, sí?”

  “Sí. He’s Señor Williams.”

  “Sí.” Luis nodded, smiled at him. The kid wouldn’t remember for ten minutes, but it didn’t matter. After tonight, no one would see Sage Williams until it was time to fly back to LA.

  He heard the motor of the plane and shaded his eyes. There it was. Cool. He was ready to get everyone tucked in and go see J. Maybe tonight was the night. He laughed a little to himself. Right. He had faith, though. He had talked to Damien back at the beginning of this nightmare, and they weren’t fucking letting James just fade off. Not now. Not tomorrow.

  The plane eased down, landing in the water with surprisingly little splash before heading to the dock. Guard watched as it came in and waved when he could see their client through the little window.

  As soon as the plane stopped next to the dock, Luis grabbed the rope Aldo had thrown, and Guard moved up to open the door for their guest. “Good evening, Mr. Williams. Welcome to the island.”

  “Thank you.” Sage was lovely, muscled and tanned, bright blue eyes picking up the colors of the sea.

  “I’m Guard, and if there’s anything I can do for you while you’re with us, you just need to hit the pound sign, then three on your phone to get me. Zero gets you the concierge on duty, though, and he can probably help you with most of your needs.” He could see Luis had the luggage ready to go. “If you’ll come with me, please.”

  “Of course. I… I was told that everything would be arranged for tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, everything’s ready for you. And the kitchen is at your disposal this evening—they’d be happy to prepare whatever you’d like.” He led the man to the little golf cart Luis was loading the luggage into.

  “Oh. Okay. Yeah. I’m… I’m a little nervous.”

  Guard would bet the farm that Sage was more than a little nervous.

  “Everything’s set up to run as smoothly as possible. It’s our job to make sure your fantasy happens just the way you want it. So if there’s anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable…”

  “I… I just. I’ve never done anything like this before, you know?”

  “It wouldn’t be a fantasy if you had.” Guard had a lot of experience soothing nervous guests. Hell, he knew being nervous enhanced the whole thing for most clients.

  Sage’s laugh was warm, self-deprecating. “I guess you’re right.”

  “Of course I am.” He gave Sage a wink then turned the golf cart up the long drive to the private bungalow he’d assigned the guy.

  “It’s lovely here. Is there a place to swim?”

  “You’ve got a pool behind your bungalow.” Th
ere was also the entire ocean, but they didn’t have life guards. Besides, most of the guests were looking for privacy, and while there were no outsiders here, there were other guests.

  “Excellent. Is it private?”

  “Of course. Your privacy is assured.”

  “Thanks.” Sage looked around, smiled. “I hope I can sleep tonight.”

  “I could have a masseuse brought in, or someone to guide you through some meditation.” Unless he missed his guess, though, the nerves and lack of sleep were part of the fantasy.

  “I… Can I think about it? I really need to find my headspace.”

  “Of course. You can ring the concierge or me if you need anything at all.”

  Sage nodded. “Thank you. I know I’m being a nervous Nelly, I just… This is such a big deal for me.”

  Guard pulled up in front of the man’s bungalow and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “It’s the chance of a lifetime, and I hope it gives you what you want.” He wanted to be a fly on the wall, actually. It was amazing what made some people tick. Amazing and captivating, even when it otherwise seemed weird.

  “I do, too. Thank you.” Sage stood up, smiled back at him. “Will…someone come get me tomorrow?”

  “Yes. At seven. He won’t speak, he’ll simply lead you to the place where you’ll…see the doctor.”

  “Oh. Okay.” The man pinked, but the tent erected in the loose pants Sage wore was impressive.

  Man, it took all kinds. It really did fascinate him, the things people wanted. The things people needed. That thought sent his mind back to James, back to those near black eyes, the pointed chin, the brilliance.

  He was smiling as he helped Luis get Sage’s bags into his bungalow. “If you need anything at all…” He handed over the keycard and the information pamphlets.

  “I… My safe word is on file. My… The doctor will know it?”

  “He’ll have your file, yes. Should you use your safe word, everything will stop.”

  Sage grinned at him. “That’s comforting. Thank you. I’ll call about my dinner decisions.”

  “Terrific. Enjoy your fantasy, Mr. Williams.”

  “Thank you.”

  Guard made sure his client made it into the cabin, luggage and all, before he left.

  He drove the golf cart back to the dock to let Luis off and glanced at his watch. He had about an hour before the next guests came in. Maybe he could go find some flowers to bring with him for dinner.

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  About the Author

  Bestselling author Sean Michael is a maple-leaf-loving Canadian who spends hours hiding out in used book stores. With far more ideas than time, Sean keeps several documents open at all times. From romance to fantasy, paranormal and sci-fi, Sean is limited only by the need for sleep—and the periodic Beaver Tail.

  Sean fantasizes about one day retiring on a secluded island populated entirely by horseshoe crabs after inventing a brain-to-computer dictation system. Until then, Sean will continue to write the old-fashioned way.

  Sean loves to hear from readers. You can find their contact information, website details and author profile page at https://www.pride-publishing.com