by JL Merrow
A little of the tension seemed to drain from Julian’s body. “Yes. I understand.” He trembled almost imperceptibly as he got on all fours. About to tell him to turn over, Nick was suddenly unsure. Did Julian need it to be this way? To drive out the memories of—
To hell with that. Nick was damned if he was going to do this with Schräger’s psychotic shade hanging over his shoulder. “I want to see your face,” he said curtly. Julian seemed to respond to that. “Turn over.”
Julian’s eyes were dark as he gazed up at Nick from the sheets. Nick pushed those long, slender legs up and slithered down the bed until he faced his lover’s entrance. Lowering his head, he pressed a kiss to that small opening. Julian’s whole body jerked, so Nick took a firmer hold of his thighs and did it again.
“Nick….”
“Tell me the minute you want me to stop,” Nick repeated. “Whatever I’m doing.”
“Don’t stop.”
Something melted inside Nick at that. He licked a slow trail around Julian’s entrance, then worked his way up that beautiful cock, licking and sucking at it. Julian gasped and writhed but pushed on Nick’s shoulders.
“Please. I need you inside me.”
Nick gave one last kiss to the tip of Julian’s cock, then reached into the bedside drawer. He pulled out a foil packet of lube, clenching his jaw around all the things he didn’t want to say. Schräger was dead.
Julian’s body tensed as Nick began to prepare him. “We can wait,” Nick said softly, leaning down to kiss his lover gently on the lips.
“Can we?” Julian whispered.
“Of course we can,” Nick told him. “As long as it takes.”
Julian relaxed, and Nick was about to withdraw when he spoke. “I don’t want to wait. I need you now.”
His fingers suddenly clumsy and his vision ridiculously blurred, Nick slicked himself up and pressed inside his lover.
Julian cried out and clutched at him, trying to pull him deeper inside. “Yes.”
It wasn’t as hard as he’d thought it would be to go slow. Nick moved in long, easy thrusts that strung out his own pleasure almost unbearably, trying to angle his strokes to hit Julian’s prostate even though he knew that wasn’t what it was really all about for him. Pride, perhaps, although Nick rather thought it might have more to do with love. He kissed Julian deeply, trying to put all he felt into it, to reassure him.
Julian’s eyes were shut tight. “Look at me,” Nick urged him, and felt a fresh burst of pleasure as Julian’s gaze met his, full of trust. Nick smiled. “Keep looking,” he said, and was answered by a faint smile. Then Julian’s eyes opened wider still, and he let out a soft cry as he came. Nick felt hands clenching on his buttocks as Julian seemed to try to draw him deeper than humanly possible, and with a loud groan, Nick finally let go, pulsing deep within his lover.
“Am I yours?” Julian asked as they eased themselves into more comfortable positions, Nick with his arms firmly wrapped around the slender young man beside him.
“Yes,” Nick said simply, stroking his back. “Always mine.”
He was about to add, and I’m yours, but Julian had claimed his mouth in a fierce kiss that took away speech and breath as well.
Never mind. There would be plenty of time to tell him tomorrow.
TIFF WAS bored. What with Jools off being soppy with Dr. Sewell, or hunting rabbits or howling at the moon or whatever else they did on their dates, she’d had no one to go to the bar with. She wandered down on her own and latched on to a group of other historians, but to be honest, she was in severe danger of falling asleep.
She was just wondering if she’d be welcome if she popped round to see Dr. Pawlaczek and Marjorie, when a long, thin shadow fell across the table. “Tiff? You want to come out for a walk or something? We could go looking for bats down by the river.”
Bats? Tiff looked at Crack. He had a worried smile on his face, along with more eyeliner than she’d ever worn in her life.
Well, he was sort of sweet. And he certainly wasn’t boring.
Tiff stood up.
More from JL Merrow
When Martin Lowrie rescues a wildcat from a snare, he thinks a few scratches and a tetanus jab are the worst consequences he’ll have to face. But then he meets the enigmatic and strangely compelling Calum. He spends the night with the handsome, unsettling Irishman and discovers Calum’s secret: he’s the wildcat Martin rescued, in human form. But Calum’s not the only werecat in the village, and the others aren’t so keen to risk Martin revealing their secret, no matter how much Calum wants to protect Martin from harm.
A ghost of a chance at love.
Personal trainer Will Golding has been looking forward to a getaway with his best friend, Baz, a journalist researching a book on ghosts. But on the first day of their camping trip on the Isle of Wight, Will takes a walk on a secluded beach and spies a beautiful young man skinny-dipping by moonlight. Ethereally pale, he’s too perfect to be real—or is he?
Lonely author Marcus Devereux is just as entranced by the tall athlete he encounters on the beach, but he’s spent the years since his parents’ violent death building a wall around his heart, and the thought of letting Will scale it is terrifying. Marcus’s albinism gives him his otherworldly appearance and leaves him reluctant to go out in daylight, his reclusiveness encouraged by his guardian—who warns him to stay away from Will and Baz.
The attraction between Will and Marcus can’t be denied—but neither can the danger of the secrets haunting Marcus’s past, as one “accident” after another strikes Will and Baz. If they don’t watch their step, they could end up added to the island’s ghostly population.
Midwinter Manor: Book One
One snowy night just before Christmas, 1922, poacher Danny Costessey rounds off a night trapping rabbits by climbing a tree to fetch some mistletoe for his mother—only to fall and break his leg. Taken to the manor house to recover from his injuries, Danny meets the reclusive owner, Philip Luccombe. Village gossip has it Luccombe went mad during the war, but Danny soon realizes he’s simply still mourning his late lover. As friendship grows between them, Danny starts to fall for handsome, shy Philip.
Danny’s lively nature, roguish good looks, and ready laughter enchant Philip, and he finds himself being drawn out of his shell whether he will it or not. But when Danny tries to move beyond friendship, Philip panics—and his rejection threatens not only their happiness, but Danny’s health.
Sequel to Poacher’s Fall
Midwinter Manor: Book Two
Landowner Philip Luccombe has been enjoying a passionate relationship with young poacher turned gamekeeper Danny Costessey for four years now. Danny’s love has brought him out of the shell he retreated into when his first lover died after the Great War. But this Christmas, visitors to the manor threaten their happiness. Philip’s young cousin Matthew is artistic, vivacious, and flirtatious: just the sort to remind him of his long-dead first love—and to emphasise the social gulf between Philip and Danny.
But the worst danger comes from much nearer home. An old flame of Danny’s is discovered in incriminating circumstances, forcing the lovers to keep their distance for fear of being tarred with the same brush. Meanwhile, Danny’s younger brother, Toby, has grown to resent the connection between his brother and the lord of the manor. Danny wants to do the right thing—but that could divide the lovers forever.
JL MERROW is that rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief among which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again. Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed while holding a glass of champagne.
She writes (mostly) contemporary gay romance and mysteries and is frequently accused of humor. Her novels have won Rainbow Awards for Romantic Comedy and have been EPIC Awards finalists.
JL Merrow is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, International Thriller Writers, Verulam Writ
ers, and the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organizing team.
Find JL Merrow online:
Website: jlmerrow.com
Twitter: @jlmerrow
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jl.merrow
By JL Merrow
Becoming the Spoils
Camwolf
Hairy, Horny, and Over Here
Snared
Stroke to His Cox
Wight Mischief
MIDWINTER MANOR
Poacher’s Fall
Keeper’s Pledge
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Camwolf
© 2018 JL Merrow.
Cover Art
© 2018 Tiferet Design.
http://www.tiferetdesign.com/
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64080-207-0
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64080-157-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018930576
Digital published July 2018
v. 2.0
First Edition published by Samhain Publishing Ltd., May 2011.
Printed in the United States of America