“But, Olaf....” Asbjorn paled, grateful their conversation took place in Danish.
“No buts. Sean’s dad made it. His brother and sisters made it. His teacher made it. And what a blow this would have been to all of us had we found out two years from now. Bjorn.” His pale blue eyes met Asbjorn’s intense sapphire ones. “It’s a pleasure to meet the other side of the family. I’m just sorry... I’m sorry that everyone on my side of the family’s dead. They would have been so happy to meet Helga and you... and Sean.”
SEAN FELT ADRIFT, NOT having Asbjorn to cling to as he received a stern dressing-down from Burrows-sensei, and his father... and his sisters. Only his much younger brother gave him a conspiratorial wink. Sean slunk over to his friends in search of moral support.
Gino and Casey stood to the side, their fingers intertwined. Theirs was coming and there was no escape. Casey looked like she was deciding whether to look contrite or stubbornly determined. Gino, on the other hand, seemed curiously at ease.
“Casey.” David Burrows approached his sister, his gaze not quite meeting hers. “Gino.” He lifted his deep gray eyes to acknowledge his wild and intractable student, who was now his brother-in-law. The corners of his mouth lifted in a welcoming smile. He raised his arms and touched their shoulders, pulling both of them in with just the slightest tensing of his little finger. They almost fell forward. The little smile deepened, tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“I should have known you’d be as wild and careless as I used to be. I’m just glad... I’m glad you married somebody reasonable, Casey. A man who knows what’s appropriate. A husband who won’t be cowed by your temperament and won’t shut your loved ones out of the important parts of your life.”
Casey paled, then turned to her husband. “You told?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you. Because I greatly care for my sensei....” Gino blushed, aware of the cool man’s relative discomfort with demonstrative behavior.
“In any case....” David Burrows coughed to break the awkward tension. “Asbjorn’s father managed to contact me from Denmark. I would have been here either way.”
Casey let go of Gino’s hand and embraced her brother. He draped a gentle arm around her shoulders.
A sad shadow passed across his forehead. “Your sister-in-law sends her best wishes, Casey. She wanted to be here, but it’s not safe for her to travel at this time.”
“How is she?” Sean cut in.
“Tired,” David sighed as he glanced at Sean. “Bored. Enduring. The doctors say the baby’s chances are very good, so I dared to make my getaway, if only for a few days. She insisted, you know.”
He engulfed Casey small stature in a tender embrace. Sean was warmed at the unusual display, knowing how reserved their teacher tended to be. When David kissed the top of her head, she shook her head in disbelief. “Thank you, David.” Her eyes were wet with tears.
“For luck,” he said, letting her go. Sean saw him look at Gino. “I trust you know your role and responsibility in this relationship, Gino Gabrielli.”
Gino met his eyes with solemn determination. “I won’t let her down.”
AFTER MOST FAMILY MEMBERS left to take their much-needed rest in their hotels, only the fighters and Adrian’s gangbangers remained. They helped the caterers load up cases of dishes into their truck, then carried the folded-down tables up the ramp and into the large truck. Jeff saved the flower arrangements he worked so hard to make, setting them aside as fighting prizes. Bottles of hard booze and cases of beer appeared as though from nowhere, and the usual crowd vanished, only to show up dressed in more casual T-shirts and fatigues.
“All right, everyone! It’s time to initiate two new members into our fight club. Casey and Gino, it’s time for your first marital fight. These are the rules....”
Sean looked up at Asbjorn, grinning. “We already had our first fight.”
“I’m glad I caved in. I’m glad you made me come here, sunshine.” Long arms wrapped around Sean’s shoulders, bringing him closer in. “Can I have the next dance?” Asbjorn purred into his ear.
“Only if you don’t fuck up my left wrist.”
“Still hurts?”
“Yeah.”
Asbjorn lifted the healing joint to his lips and deposited kisses on the sensitive pulse-point. “Maybe later, then. Heal first, fight later.”
A familiar, gruff voice broke the peace of the moment. “May I disturb you for a second?”
Don stood behind them. His arm was draped over Adrian’s shoulder.
“We came to apologize, guys. We fucked things up between the two of you for a while, and we never wanted to do that.” Don’s voice was low, as though he was unaccustomed to voicing regrets.
“Yes. And, we’d like to make peace with you two. We’ll give you space – but, when you’re ready, it would be awfully nice to hang out with you again.” Adrian’s warm, melodious voice hypnotized both of them, drawing their eyes to his hesitant smile.
“What are you suggesting?” Asbjorn asked, his voice heavy with caution. Better have it all in the open.
“Everything. But only if you’re comfortable with it.” Adrian’s eyes fell toward Don’s shoes, a sudden blush apparent on his cheeks.
“You’re okay with that, Don?” Asbjorn asked.
“We discussed the whole situation.” He met Asbjorn’s cautious gaze straight on. “We can go out for pizza or watch a ball game. We consider you friends.”
Sean cleared his throat. “Yeah... yeah, that’d be great. Thanks... and thank you for whatever part you had in all of this.” His gesture swept the Warehouse.
“Just our way of saying ‘we’re sorry’,” Adrian said in a voice that was almost inaudible.
Asbjorn grinned. “Thank you. Apologies accepted. Hey... Sean’s wrist still hurts and I’m outta sparring partner. Wanna fight?”
ACROSS THE HALL, KEN spotted a familiar figure in the shadows. Out of his tuxedo, David Burrows looked unassuming in his blue jeans and a gray graphic T-shirt.
“What are the odds of our two students getting together?” Ken grinned as they both sought out Asbjorn and Sean by the ring. They saw Asbjorn kiss Sean’s wrist, and Sean return his gesture with a mischievous smile.
“What are the odds of you teaching Asbjorn something that I have introduced you to, all those years ago? And then, what are the odds of Asbjorn actually... well... using the skill to set things right for Sean?” David frowned. He didn’t want to name what happened any more than Ken did.
“What did he tell you?” Ken asked as his body stiffened.
“Enough,” David replied. “Enough to know that they will both need you to keep an eye on them for a while. Every solution extols its own price.” He spoke like someone who knew, and Ken nodded. He too remembered the dead body David had left in a dark alley the night he had saved his life, all those years ago.
Ken measured the other man, assessing is mood. A bit of light banter was in order. “Hey, lady, wanna dance?” Ken grinned at David, lifting a bottle of twenty-five-year-old single-malt Scotch.
Burrows arched his bushy eyebrow at the older man. “To what end?”
“Let’s show these young punks a thing or two!”
~the end~
And now you know why there was a cliff-hanger. The story just went on for too long for one book! I have changed some details in this version of Swordfall, as they were rather dated in respect to the writer’s perception of how guys operate as a couple.
Furthermore, I had been torn regarding the Same Sex Marriage Act, which is not the law of the land. It hadn’t been so at the time of this book’s writing, and male characters marrying each other had been quite a novelty in LGBT fiction! I decided to leave that as is, both to preserve history and to spare myself the tedium of weeding out every bit of prejudicial behavior the guys had encountered at the time.
Speaking of “dated” behaviors... those sexist bits in Breakfall, and the behavior of t
he perp and the police action all come from my personal experience. I suppose this makes Swordfall a fictional revenge fantasy.
I promise that book 3, Landfall, is a lighter read, leavened with humor and adventure!
Keep posted for several short stories from this world.
For more gay romantic suspense and urban fantasy gay romance reads, check out my website at www.olivettedevaux.com.
You’ll find a link to my own bookstore, where I can widely published titles at the best prices around! You will find all of my books there eventually as I add them a few at a time, unless they happen to be in KU for a limited period.
Your opinion counts – and so does your review. Any review you drop, at any venue, is much appreciated!.
Be well and thank you for your company!
~Olivette
EXCLUSIVE FREE READ!
First released in the Heart’s Kiss Magazine as one of their very first gay romance offerings, and I’m so proud that it did well enough to encourage the Heart’s Kiss Magazine to offer LGBT stories along with the het ones that used to form their exclusive content. If you like diverse, shorter romance by best-selling authors, look them up.
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OTHER READS
Most are available on audio and paperback as well.
PUBLISHING AS OLIVETTE DEVAUX:
THE FALL TRILOGY
Breakfall (Book 1)
Swordfall (Book 2)
Sword flowers (2.2, coming soon, short story)
Caveman (2.7, coming soon, short story)
Landfall (Book 3)
WILD HORSES
Untamed (Wild Horses 1)
Wild Horses (Wild Horses 2)
Broken Gait (Wild Horses 3)
Sire (Wild Horses 4)
Horseplay (Wild Horses 5)
Change of Lead (Wild Horses 6)
DISORDERLY ELEMENTS:
Zero Power Signature (D .E. short story 0.5)
Like a Rock (Disorderly Elements 1)
Forbidden Kiss of Life (D .E. short story 1.5)
Like a Torrent (Disorderly Elements 2)
Within a Crowded Blade (D .E. short story 2.5)
Like a Jetstream (Disorderly Elements 3)
Like a Surge (Disorderly Elements 4)
Like a Phoenix (Disorderly Elements 5)
Three Solstice Gifts (D .E. short story 5.5)
Like a Freeze (Disorderly Elements 6)
Like a Dervish (Disorderly Elements 7)
Airborne (Disorderly Elements 7.2)
Airborne (Disorderly Elements 7.2)
Like a Void (Disorderly Elements 8)
Like a Spirit (Disorderly Elements 9)
SWIMBIKERUN TRILOGY
Treading Water (SwimBikeRun 1)
Hard Climb (SwimBikeRun 2)
Final Dash (SwimBikeRun 3)
STEEL CITY HEAT (read in any order)
Lucky Starflowers
Yellow Peonies (Lucky Starflowers short story)
Zipper Fall
Compulsion (Zipper Fall short story)
Flux
FOREIGN AFFAIRS (read in any order)
The Fighting Dutchman
Escaping Cupid
I am here for you
STAND-ALONES
Relativistic Phenomena
Strawberries in the Snow
Adrenaline Rush (M/F Novel)
SHORT STORIES
(in Heart’s Kiss Magazine, Pulphouse Magazine, and various anthologies)
I am here for you
The Aswang Who Ate Stardust
Uncanny Familiarity
Compatible
Forbidden Kiss of Life
.... and many others.
Writing crime fiction and recent historical suspense as Kate Pavelle:
Kickass Anthology (M/M romance)
The Crone who Leaned on a Sword Cane (Crone World 1)
Past Lives (Crone World 2)
Seating arrangements (Crone World 3)
Altitude (Crone World 4)
On the Run (Cancelled Czech Files)
Naked Gun (Cancelled Czech Files)
Just Blow It Up (Cancelled Czech Files)
Raisin Raid (Cancelled Czech Files)
Unsavory Company (Spy suspense 1991 Balkans)
The River Pearl (Short Story M/F, recent history)
Airborne for Love (Short Story M/F, recent history)
Victory Stinks (Short Story, Czechoslovak Files)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Under another name, OLIVETTE DEVAUX is an award-winning author and Amazon best-seller.
Her Olivette Devaux pen name is dedicated to numerous works of LGBT fiction and hot romance.
She writes crime, espionage, thrillers, recent historicals, humor, urban fantasy and weird fiction stories under Kate Pavelle.
You can contact the author at www.olivettedevaux.com, or through her Olivette Devaux FB reader’s page, “An Upper Cut,” found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/801472633573132
Swordfall (The Fall Trilogy, #2) Page 19