“I’m so happy for you guys,” Mariah said, throwing her arm over my shoulder. “And I’m crossing my fingers for it to all work out for you. Even the ones I don’t have.”
“It’ll work out,” I said, my voice firm and steady. And the amazing thing was, I believed it. For all the unknowns, all the anxiety and doubts…I actually believed it. “Maybe things will always be a little weird, but I can live with that.”
“Oh, honey,” Mariah said with a grin, “we’re all familiar with a little weird.”
“Speak for yourself,” Tea said, giving their freshly-dyed purple-and-pink hair a haughty toss. “I am the very picture of conservative moderation.”
After a little more conversation, some heartfelt hugs, and more gratuitous well-wishing, we finally made our way to the car, and I settled into the passenger seat and closed my eyes with a pained groan. “I really shouldn’t have had that last scone—I might actually literally explode. I apologize in advance for your upholstery.”
A jingling sound yanked me out of my digestive distress, and I turned to see Ellison holding a keychain between his slim fingers. He shook it gently, the keys chiming out, cheerful and deceptively pleasant. “If you can wait a few minutes, you could explode in the comfort of our new home.”
Our new home. How could one phrase be so delightful and terrifying at the same time? “It’s not going to be very comfortable without any of our stuff there.”
“I’ve got an air mattress in my trunk,” he said, nodding toward the back. “Along with blankets, my laptop, and a stack of DVDs. And, if you’re up for it, a couple of toys you might like.”
My heart thumped against my ribs, a shiver going through my body despite my food-induced lethargy. Ellison looked at me with his assessing eyes, measured smile perfectly in place, but beneath it I could see that edge of uncertainty—barely there, but visible if you knew what to look for.
I smiled at him and leaned back in my seat, lacing my hands together behind my head. “Sounds perfect,” I said, letting my body slowly fill with tingling anticipation, warm and delicious. “Take me home.”
Epilogue
Even More Brunches Later
The doorbell gave a bright chime, and I wrapped my patchwork silk robe a little tighter around me as I went to answer the door.
“Flamefisher! Good to see you again.” I’d finally given in and stopped calling him “Brandon,” mainly because I usually got a lot of blank looks if I did. We didn’t talk much apart from when we ran into each other at parties, but we’d done surprisingly well at making the transition from “guys who had kinky sex once” to “casual friends.”
“Good to see you too!” He pulled me into a quick hug as he came in the door. “Looking good—love the robe.”
“Mariah made it for me,” I said with a grin. “Which shouldn’t surprise you at all.”
“I am shocked, I tell you,” he said, voice flat.
“Anyway, make yourself at home,” I said, waving toward the living room where Dennis was giving his now-familiar demonstration of dildos and butt plugs. “Feel free to roam wherever you like—my studio is the only room off-limits, and it’s locked.”
“Will do.” He gave me a cheery salute, then let out a low whistle as he scanned his surroundings for the first time. “This is a nice place. I love the open space you’ve got here.”
“Thanks, I like it too.” I rubbed the back of my head, brushing my fingers across the top quickly before I dropped my hand again. “It’s kind of a pain to keep a house this size clean, but we manage somehow.”
“Well, it’s looking great. I guess I’ll go find a place to put this,” he said, hefting the fruit platter in his arms. “Which way is the kitchen?”
I pointed him in the right direction, then wandered to the living room. The chair I’d been sitting in had been swiped by an opportunistic partygoer in skin-tight latex, so I stood and watched Dennis gesture erratically with a huge, floppy purple dildo for a minute until something caught my eye—an incongruous blank spot on the mantle.
With a sigh, I crossed to the fireplace and picked up the card that had fallen on its face, taking a moment to drag my fingers over the creamy white paper. Beautiful looping calligraphy adorned the front of the card: “Happy Housewarming” scribed in Tea’s careful hand. I opened the card and stood it back in its place, nudging the cards next to it carefully to make sure all the spaces between them were even, and stepped back to admire my handiwork—a smooth line of love and well-wishing from friends near and far, welcoming me and Ellison into our new home.
Perfect.
I checked on the assortment of snacks and drinks, greeting a naked and pleasure-flushed Deirdre as she assembled two small plates of crackers and cheese. “Lovely party, River,” she said, popping a cube of cheese into her mouth. “If you’ve got time a little later, could we talk about your young adult comic? I’d like to know what kind of schedule you’re running on for your print copies—the Center for Alternative Sexuality just got a teeny-tiny book grant, and Ravi thinks we could use the whole thing if there’s a way to incorporate the books into an educational workshop.”
“I’ll, uh…that’s—” I stammered, clinging to a pitcher of lemonade like a life preserver. “You know…can we talk about that on Tuesday, maybe? I don’t think you’re going to get anything coherent out of me tonight.”
“Works for me,” she said, and leaned in to give me a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll email you.”
I watched her go, kind of dumbfounded. Educational workshop? That sounded…significant.
Sometimes I could hardly believe the magnitude of change in my own life. Not the speed at which it happened, because most of the time I was painstakingly slow, but at the sheer volume of things that were constantly in flux. I wasn’t the same person I was a year ago, and it wasn’t because of some great sweeping change that had blown in, but dozens and dozens of small shifts—colorful little bits of me falling into place from every angle and every source imaginable.
Puzzle pieces fitting together.
Warm arms circled me from behind, and I felt Ellison’s lips soft on the back of my neck. I leaned back against him with a sigh, his body so small but so steady, a constant presence in my life and in my mind.
“Ready?” he murmured against my skin, breath tickling the hairs on the back of my neck and slipping under the neckline of my robe, tender as a caress.
“Yes,” I breathed, every swirling thought chased out of my head by the simple, grounding touch of his lips.
I followed him, head down and arms behind my back, to the cozy room he used as his office and library. His desk was pushed up against the wall, all his tools and implements lined up on top, crops and floggers and canes all laid out like promises.
In the middle of the room was an ornate dining chair, one we’d chosen together just for this. It had a narrow seat and no arms, and the back was made up of twisting curls of wood with wide, regular spaces between them. Wide enough for arms to pass through, or other body parts as needed.
Behind me, someone murmured too low to hear. I’d had eyes only for Ellison as I walked in, only for the things he was preparing to do to me, so I had no idea who else was here, who else was waiting to watch him take me to pieces. But it didn’t matter, and I didn’t dare ask. If Ellison wanted me to know, he would tell me.
He stood before me, fierce and powerful and knowing and mine. My cruel tyrant, my sir, my love. The man who could open me up with a single look and spill all my secrets like glittering beads on the floor.
His sure fingers slipped under the edge of my robe and slowly, slowly pushed it off my shoulders while I fought to keep my breath steady. The silk slid against my skin, whisper-soft, and fell to the floor, colors pooling at my feet.
Barely a touch, and I was already hard for him. How could I not be, when he knew every twist of my mind and every pleasure center of my body?
Careful and steady, he guided me to the chair. I obeyed him, as I’d done so many time
s before, straddling the chair with the back at my front. I slipped my arms through the holes in the back, feeling my body going loose at the brush of wood against my skin. This was where he wanted me. This was where I was meant to be.
He pressed a bar into my hands, about eight inches long, hollow, and gleaming. My hands tightened on it, smooth cool aluminum kissing my skin. My arms formed an unbroken circle, threaded through the back of the chair and pinning me in place.
“Hold that for me,” he murmured close to my ear, words just for me. “Hold it as long as you can. I’ll hear it if it drops.”
I soared with the freedom of my restraints, with the promise of all the beautiful, terrible things he could do to me. I only had to let him.
“Yes, sir,” I breathed, surrendering to his love.
Thanks For Reading!
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Also By Casey Cameron
Contemporary Romance
More Than Luck (Legendary Pairs Book 2)
Perfect Game (Legendary Pairs Book 1)
Love Keeps Giving
Paranormal Romance
Tying the Knot
Omega Studies
His Alpha’s Alpha
Omega On the Line
More Than Luck
Legendary Pairs Book 2
It’s never too late to play for keeps.
Drey Harper isn’t looking for love; he had more than enough heartbreak after a betrayal cost him everything five years ago. Now at 40, he’s the art director for the hit collectible card game Legendary Pairs. Between long hours at work and countless anonymous hookups, Drey’s life seems pretty full…until the day he meets Lucas Cho.
In the world of Legendary Pairs, 24-year-old Lucas Cho is a superstar. He plays for big money and parties like a rock star, and his arrogant swagger gets him what he wants, at the gaming table or in bed. But when a chance encounter with Drey in a crowded bar leaves him wanting more, all his fortune and skills count for nothing.
The company thinks Lucas’s glamorous playboy lifestyle is good for business, but it's going too far—Lucas is spinning out of control, and Drey has been sent to clean up the mess and save Lucas’s sponsorship. With a major tournament coming up and Lucas’s contract with Legendary Pairs on the line, it’s up to Drey to keep him out of the bottle and walking that line.
For Lucas, the stakes have never been higher, but the game he’s playing has nothing to do with cards and everything to do with the stoic older man who’s captured his attention. Drey knows a relationship between them is out of the question—Lucas is too young, too reckless, too broken—but the more time he spends in Lucas’s company, the more he wants the beautiful disaster he knows he shouldn't have.
More Than Luck is a 78,000 word stand-alone May/December romance with an enemies-to-lovers story, plenty of heat, and a happily-ever-after ending. It is the second book in the Legendary Pairs series, which can be read in any order.
Perfect Game
Legendary Pairs Book 1
“Hate the player, love the game…or was that the other way around?”
Research biologist Neil Parkinson had to give up a lot in pursuit of his Ph.D–his friends, his music, his home town–but the one thing he managed to hang on to was Legendary Pairs, the hyper-competitive collectible card game that has propelled so many nerds just like him to fame and fortune. With a new job in a new city, loneliness drives him out of his apartment and into The Ogre’s Den–a haven for local players, amateur and pro alike. Neil never aspired to be a professional gamer, but that was before he met Robin.
“Why even play, if you don’t play to win?”
Robin Abboud is cocky, brash, argumentative…and absolutely gorgeous. He may be a lowly caterer with a crappy car, but this game is the one place where he’s a top dog, and boy does he know it. Robin’s end-game goal is to play in the Legendary Pairs Pro Tour; he’s got the skill to do it, and from the moment he meets Neil, he’s convinced Neil does too. His flirty bravado gets under Neil’s skin like nothing else, but he runs so hot-and-cold that Neil can’t figure out if the two of them are competitors, friends…or something more.
“Don’t tell me this is just a game to you. I know better.”
When Robin convinces Neil to join him on a road trip to a major tournament, there’s more on the line than just the cash prize. Even as the two of them clash on the field of the tournament, Neil’s feelings for Robin are growing impossible to ignore. But could Robin ever feel the same way? The longer they spend together, the more Neil risks showing his whole hand. Is a perfect match in the cards for these two, or will their in-game rivalry tear them apart?
Perfect Game is a 25,000 word stand-alone romance novella with lots of heat, deliciously nerdy sweetness, and a happily-ever-after ending with no cliffhangers. It is the first book in the Legendary Pairs series, which can be read in any order.
Love Keeps Giving
“How much longer is rock bottom supposed to last?”
Broke and overstressed, Orlando is doing everything he can to get his life and mental health back on track—and score a date with shy-but-sexy Geoff before the new year. But when the biggest mistake of Orlando’s life reappears on his doorstep with the daughter he never knew he had, he has to drop his plans of romance and focus on what’s important: the eight-month-old baby now depending on him.
“It’s not every day someone has to learn to be a dad literally overnight.”
But Geoff isn’t giving up on that date he was promised, baby or no baby, and his adorably dorky charm is enough to sweep Orlando off his feet. Geoff seems too good to be true—patient, generous, smart, funny…he even adores the baby who’s suddenly become the center of Orlando’s world, and his sure and steady hand helps ease the new dad through the panic-inducing trials of parenthood. All that can't come without a catch.
“Nothing good ever happens this fast.”
Even as their lives intertwine, Orlando is convinced Geoff is way out of his league, and Geoff has his own reservations. Falling too hard, too fast is a recipe for disaster, but neither man can help getting a little carried away. If they want to truly turn their ragtag group into a family, both of them will have to face their insecurities in this sweet and steamy holiday romance.
Tying the Knot
An omega left at the altar.
It should’ve been a picture-perfect wedding. But when Fox Avery’s fiancée dumps him days before they walk down the aisle, his storybook future is knocked far off-course, along with both types of happy ending. Now he's simply adrift—an omega without an alpha. Unmated and unwanted.
All Fox wants to do is feel sorry for himself, but somehow his sisters convince him to turn the destination wedding into a family vacation. A jilted omega and his meddling family at the most romantic resort on earth—can it get any more embarrassing?
Apparently it can—and it does, because when Fox drunkenly decides to get his V-card punched no matter what, the hunk he hits on in the hotel bar turns out to be Dustin Miller: smoking hot alpha, world renowned chef—and Fox's first love.
An alpha who never forgot.
Dustin’s only real regret in life is leaving behind his high school sweetheart to go to culinary school abroad. He always meant to come back and sweep Fox off his feet when he had more to offer, when he could provide for Fox the way he really deserved. But Fox moved on in his absence.
When the love of his life appears out of nowhere with a cheesy pickup line and the same stunning smile that's haunted Dustin’s dreams for years, Dustin is determined to make things right this time. This is the second chance Dustin never thought he'd get, and he won't let it go without a fight.
>
A star-crossed couple given a second chance.
Fox can’t deny he still cares for Dustin, but how can he give his heart to the man who broke it so many years ago? Dustin fears his past mistakes have created a rift too wide to cross. How can he convince Fox that he’s a changed man, and that he’ll take care of him the way an alpha should?
If the two men want to build a future together, they need to settle their past first. But when the intensity of their time together sends Fox into an early heat, passion threatens to unmoor them both. Their bodies are definitely saying yes, but their hearts are saying…maybe?
Will the wounds of the past be too much to bear, or can Dustin and Fox find a way to come together and tie the knot?
Tying the Knot is a stand-alone non-shifter alpha/omega romance with a happily-ever-after ending and no cliffhangers. It features knotting, male pregnancy, and lots of (very long and detailed) steamy scenes.
Omega Studies
Matt Guerrero is ready for the freedom that college brings: freedom from his family, and the pressures of being an omega in an alpha’s world. So when the school assigns him an alpha “mentor,” he can think of nothing he wants less than a mandatory babysitter…no matter how hot the guy is.
Derek Fisher just wants to play it safe after a serious mistake almost cost him everything last year, but it’s hard to keep his head down when his assigned omega keeps making trouble. He’s never been into guys before, but Matt is attractive, smart, and funny, and spending time with him is seriously distracting. Derek wants more, but giving in to his desires could put everything at risk all over again.
Truth By His Hand Page 35