by Eden Winters
“But…” Lucky stopped mid-protest. Bo knew him so well. “And?”
“I’ve looked into the legalities, our finances, our insurance plans and what they cover…”
Of course he did. “And?”
“And, with new opportunities at work that’ll hopefully keep us more homebound, I believe we might need to start furnishing that nursery.” He nodded toward the room Lucky spent far too much time in lately, dreaming.
“Are you sure?”
Bo pulled Lucky’s hand to his mouth and kissed the knuckles. “I’m sure.”
Only one thing kept Lucky from breaking into a grin. “I know the party was last night, but I’d like to give you one more present.”
“Oh?” Bo leered. “Something you couldn’t share with our guests?”
“Maybe.” This gift might be family-friendly, and not the sex toys he planned to take with them on vacation. Still, this gift needed to be given in private. Heart rate kicking back into overdrive, Lucky crossed the floor to pick up his pants, and the objects he’d kept in his pocket for weeks, hoping for the right opportunity.
Only now, what he planned to ask changed. Bo was right. They didn’t need vows to keep them together. Still…
He sat down on the bed and pressed a white gold ring into Bo’s hand.
Bo gazed up, confusion in his eyes. “Lucky, I—”
“I know,” Lucky murmured, forcing himself to look at Bo instead of turning away. “We don’t have to stand in front of a preacher or nothing, don’t have to sign no papers, but there’s nobody left that matters who doesn’t know we’re together. No pressure, but I’d appreciate if you’d wear that ring.”
Bo let out a shaky laugh. “Marking your territory?”
“No. It’s just that every time you look at this ring, you’ll remember I’ll always be there for you.” Lucky placed the other ring onto his own finger. “I hope you don’t mind, but I plan to always wear mine.”
Bringing the ring to his face, Bo examined the etchings on the outside, the mountain scenes, which reminded Lucky of Bo’s love of camping and hiking. A chuckle came when Bo peered inside the ring where Lucky had inscribed, Love always, T-Rex. “This isn’t the same ring you tried to give me months ago.”
“No. That was just some old ring I picked up in the middle of the night at Walmart. You deserve… better.”
The tears in Bo’s eyes tightened Lucky’s throat. He reached for the ring. “It was stupid of me, I’m sorry.”
Bo yanked back his hand and slipped the ring onto his finger. “Thank you, Lucky. I don’t know what to say but that I’ll always love you too. T-Rex.”
About the author
You will know Eden Winters by her distinctive white plumage and exuberant cry of “Hey, y’all!” in a Southern US drawl so thick it renders even the simplest of words unrecognizable. Watch out, she hugs!
Driven by insatiable curiosity, she possibly holds the world’s record for curriculum changes to the point that she’s never quite earned a degree but is a force to be reckoned with at Trivial Pursuit. She’s trudged down hallways with police detectives, learned to disarm knife-wielding bad guys, and witnessed the correct way to blow doors off buildings. Her e-mail contains various snippets of forensic wisdom, such as “What would a dead body left in a Mexican drug tunnel look like after six months?” In the process of her adventures she has written fourteen m/m romance novels, has won several Rainbow Awards, was a Lambda Awards Finalist, and lives in terror of authorities showing up at her door to question her Internet searches.
When not putting characters in dangerous situations she’s a mild-mannered business executive, mother, grandmother, vegetarian, and PFLAG activist. Her natural habitats are airports, coffee shops, and the backs of motorcycles.
For more information about Eden, please visit her website at www.edenwinters.com.
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There are good guys, bad guys, and then there’s Lucky.
Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter flaunts his past like a badge of honor. He speaks his mind, doesn’t play nice, and flirts with disaster while working off his sentence with the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau. If he can keep out of trouble a while longer he’ll be a free man–after he trains his replacement.
Textbook-quoting, by the book Bo Schollenberger is everything Lucky isn’t. Lucky slurps coffee, Bo lives caffeine free. Lucky worships bacon, Bo eats tofu. Lucky trusts no one, Bo calls suspects by first name. Yet when the chips are down on their shared case of breaking up a drug diversion ring, they may have more in common than they believe.
Two men. Close quarters. Friction results in heat. But Lucky scoffs at partnerships, no matter how thrilling the roller-coaster. Bo has two months to break down Lucky’s defenses… and seconds are ticking by.
At your favorite bookstore.
Dead men can’t love.
Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter “died” in the line of duty while working off a ten-year sentence in service to the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau, only to be reborn as Simon “Lucky” Harrison. The newbie he trained, former Marine Bo Schollenberger, is now his partner on (and maybe off) the job. It’s hard to tell when Lucky doesn’t understand relationships or have a clue what any sane human is doing in his bed. Bo’s nice to have around, sure, but there’s none of that picking-out-china-together crap for Lucky.
While fighting PTSD, memories of a horrid childhood, and a prescription drug addiction, Bo is paying for his mistakes. Using his pharmacy license for the good guys provides the sort of education he never got in school. Undercover with his hard-headed partner, Bo learns that not everything is as it seems in the world of pharmaceuticals.
When a prescription drug shortage jeopardizes the patients at Rosario Children’s Cancer Center, it not only pits Bo and Lucky against predatory opportunists, but also each other. How can they tell who the villains are? The bad guys don’t wear black hats, but they might wear white coats.
At your favorite bookstore.
Winner 2014 Rainbow Awards Best Gay Mystery / Thriller.
Renegade biker. Drug runner. Recovering addict. Wanted by the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau. But he isn’t a crook, he’s the law.
SNB Agent Bo Schollenberger’s solved his cases using his brains and not a gun, and with his partner, not alone. Now he’s handed a tough new case involving designer drugs that turn users violent. One false move could end his life as he immerses himself into a motorcycle gang to locate the source. His fate depends on how well he can impersonate someone else. Someone named Cyrus Cooper.
Cyrus is everything Bo Schollenberger isn’t, including the badass enforcer for a smuggling ring. He establishes pecking order with his fists and doesn’t take shit from anybody, not even the undercover agent who comes to help his case.
Simon “Lucky” Harrison’s always been the best, whichever side of the law he was on. Former trafficker turned SNB agent, he damned well ought to be undercover in this motorcycle gang, instead of hanging around the office going crazy with new policies, new people, and “inter-departmental cooperation” that sticks him in a classroom. Yet he’s passed over for the SNB’s biggest case in decades in favor of the rookie who shares his bed. A man Lucky thought he knew.
When survival depends on a web of tangled lies, lines blur, worlds collide, and a high stakes game turns friend to foe. Lucky knows the difference between Bo the agent and Cyrus the outlaw, but does Bo?
At your favorite bookstore.
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Joshua Hannes, the concierge of the Vivaldi Central Park Hotel prides himself on fulfilling every impossible request. Tickets to a sold-out show? A purple dye job for a purse dog? A last-minute table at a premier hotspot? No problem.
But the penthouse guest wants what?
Self-made
billionaire Craig Ridley’s in New York on business, but at the end of the day, he wants to relax with someone interesting. The concierge should be able to supply an entertaining companion. Just for a little conversation. Dinner and a card game, not sex.
Craig didn’t expect the concierge to personally volunteer to be a rental friend, and he really didn’t expect to get attached. How can a paid service ever turn real?
A billion reasons why they shouldn’t be together. A billion and one reasons why they should.
At your favorite bookstore.
The lights go down and stage lights up. The Dark Angels have arrived. With his come-hither voice and body made for sin, lead singer Angel Luv draws lovers like a magnet. And when he caresses and taunts shy guitarist Darius Stone on stage, well…it’s an act, right? But every touch lights a fire, and every flirtatious glance chips away at Dare’s certainty that he’s straight. No one else has so captured his imagination.
Temptation beckons. It’s hard not to notice the want in Dare’s eyes, the way he stares when he thinks Angel’s not watching. One wrong move might scare him away, but a work trip to exotic Bali might be the perfect place to let Dare explore his sexuality, with none to be the wiser. But their “friends with benefits” pact has an expiration date, that just might sour their friendship.
At your favorite bookstore
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Epilogue
About the author
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