This week, more from my WIP Bad Choices. Last week’s six was about Peyton’s lack of a wedding ring and ended with Cooper asking Peyton why he was there. Today’s six is his reply.

“I’m here for you, Cooper. I walked away from what the three of us had all those years ago and I never looked back. You and Devlin got engaged. I got married and had a kid. But you know, you were always there in my head and heart. When Dev died, I couldn’t deny the truth any longer.”

Please stop by the Six Sunday site and check out the other offerings. Thanks for coming by!

Happy Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday 58 is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

You asked for it. Here’s what happened to Peyton’s wedding ring in Bad Choices.

A knot formed in Cooper’s stomach. “When did you ask her for a divorce?”

“Two months after Dev died. It became final a week ago.”

Dizziness hit her and she leaned back in her chair, gripping the arms tightly. “Why are you here?” she whispered, although, she knew now why he’d walked into her gallery today.

One of these days, I need to finish this manuscript. LOL BTW, I did finish Kissing Joan Collins. Expect to see it next month at MLR Press in time for Valentine’s Day.

Many thanks to everyone who comes by to read and comment each week. You can check out the other Six Sentence Sunday participants HERE. Happy Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday 57 is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

I was going to jump back to Kissing Joan Collins and give you six of that before I finished it and sent it to my editor. (It’s slated to be a Valentine’s Day release for MLR Press if I finish on time.) Instead, this week’s six is also from my WIP Bad Choices, which I featured last week, but I’m going to back up a little and give you a taste of what happened between Peyton and Cooper before last week’s confession about Devlin.

When he cupped the side of her face with his hand, she realized that the cool metal of his wedding band was missing. She twisted away from his kiss, her eyes opening. Peyton stared back at her, his chest heaving.

“What are you doing?” she asked, trying to whip up her anger. “I’ve barely seen you since Devlin died and now you’re here kissing me and dredging up the past. Why are you here and where the hell is your wedding ring?”

Many thanks to those of you who come here to comment each week, even when I get tied up and get around to your sixes to comment. I sincerely appreciate you coming by. To read the other Six Sunday offerings by published and unpublished authors alike, click HERE.

Happy Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday 56 is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

This week I’ve got a taste of Bad Choices for you. This is a story I entered in a cold read session by Angela James of Carina Press at the OCC RWA meeting yesterday. Sadly, I didn’t catch that I’d used some descriptive phases more than once. Otherwise, it didn’t go too badly for me. LOL In this scene, Peyton tells Cooper of the secret life her fiance lived.

“He liked to be dominated by men physically, sexually, in every way.”

“He never loved me.” Her raw whisper held years worth of pain and frustration.

One large hand tugged the photo frame from her, turning it face down on her desk. “He loved you more than you could ever imagine, but no matter how much he fought it, he just couldn’t shake his kink. He lived for pain,” Peyton said softly.

Thank you all for coming by every week and commenting. I sincerely appreciate it. To read the other Six Sunday participants, click HERE. Happy Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday 55 is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

This week with Valentine’s Day coming, I have six sentences from what may end up being a Valentine’s story if all goes well. This is six from Kissing Joan Collins, a gay Valentine’s friends to lovers romance. Logan’s brother Jeremy is giving him some advice on how to deal with his long term crush on his best friend Chase.

“Maybe he wants you as much as you want him, but he’s just as afraid as you are to mess up your friendship.”

“When the hell did you become Mr. Relationship Advice? You don’t even date the same woman more than twice.”

Jeremy shot him an evil look. “I do too…when I can find one that doesn’t bore me that fast. Look, I’m just saying that maybe things aren’t what they seem with Chase and you should think about that before you dismiss the notion that Chase doesn’t think you’re attractive.”

Thank you all for coming by each week. Your comments are greatly appreciated. Please show some love to the other SSS authors by checking out their offerings HERE. Happy Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday 54 is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

I’m back from my holiday break with six sentences from Finding Your Heart, the het version. I will be putting this up on Amazon and Smashwords as soon as it’s editing is complete. Probably today!

“You like it. Don’t tell me you don’t.”

“I’ve always liked everything you’ve ever done to me.” She leaned on his chest to look him in the eye. “Except let me go. I didn’t like that at all.”

This is a New Year’s story of renewal and it will be available for FREE just as soon as I can get uploaded. If you liked my six, please stop over at the Six Sunday website and check out all the other offerings from authors and unpublished writers alike.

Happy New Year everyone!

PS: Both the gay rom version of this story and the het version are available for free on Smashwords. Click HERE to get the gay rom and HERE to get the het version.

Six Sentence Sunday 53 is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

The giveaway today may only be one little book, but it’s a special book for me. Today is the release date for Breath of Heaven, my Christmas story featuring the characters from Afterburner. It’s also the release day for Cupid Christmas, my other gay rom Christmas story, but I’ll be giving away Cupid Christmas on Christmas Eve. Breath of Heaven is the poignant story of how tragedy changes the lives of my flyboys from Afterburner. It’s also a tale of two very different families. One family is accepting while the other couldn’t be more opposite. The extended Marchetti family’s unconditional acceptance of Bas, his husband Ryder and Ryder’s brother’s family will warm your heart.  On the flip side of the coin, Ryder has to come to terms with how his father turned his back on him when he came out. The tragedy that befalls Ryder’s brother stirs unhappy memories for Ryder who must finally lay to rest the ghost of his father’s rejection.

I hope that those of you who don’t win this story will consider picking up a copy. If you ever wanted your family to just love you for who you are, you should read this story. So it’s happy release day to me and one lucky winner will reap the rewards of that! Here’s some information on Breath of Heaven.

Breath of Heaven

MLR Press

M/M erotic contemporary romance

BUY LINK

Blurb:

Sebastian Marchetti and his husband Ryder Beckett are flying high since their retirement from the Air Force. They’re still young, still hot for each other and enjoying life as a married couple and members of the Flying Marchettis aerobatic team. When tragedy strikes their extended family, the couple become parents overnight and the demons of Ryder’s past return with a vengeance. With the Marchettis and the entire town of Forza pitching in to help, Bas and Ryder strive to make Christmas unforgettable for a special little boy and his newborn brother while laying to rest past and present pain.

Excerpt:

Ryder pushed the shovel into the dirt with more force than necessary to loosen the sandy soil. He could have used the small backhoe that Sebastian had borrowed from his brothers-in-law who owned Todd Brothers Construction, but he needed the physical activity to help slow the spinning of his brain. He worked for the better part of three hours until his muscles burned and protested. He ignored everything except the staked out areas that needed to be dug. The rain had let up for a few hours but storm clouds gathered darkly once more. Ryder never noticed. When the sky began to pelt him with huge drops of water, he ignored it. Not until hard hands closed over his biceps did he jerk himself free of the stupor he’d been in.

“You’re soaked.”

Sebastian’s flat tones alerted Ryder to his husband’s concern. Bas very obviously held himself in check, keeping his emotions to himself in what Ryder knew was an attempt to be supportive and not add to the turmoil of the situation.

“Yeah. We should probably go inside.” Ryder turned his head toward the house, staring unseeingly at the windows that spilled golden light into the deepening gloom.

“There’s no lightning. No danger,” Sebastian said quietly, rubbing his hands down Ryder’s arms in a soothing manner.

Heaving a sigh, Ryder pushed the shovel deep into the ground in front of him and let go of the handle. The tool stood like a lone beacon in the rain soaked night, a symbol of Ryder’s confusion and pain.

“I can’t imagine what Ryan is going through,” he murmured. “If I lost you, I would be done. I don’t know how he picked up the phone and called me. After his first few words, when he practically screamed that Kat was dead, he sounded so calm, so unemotional, so…together.”

Hard arms came around him as Sebastian drew him back against his body, the rain pouring over them, drenching them through their t-shirts and jeans.

“Everyone deals with grief differently, Ryder. Your brother seems to feel the need to put his house in order, to take care of things,” Sebastian said in Ryder’s ear. “Maybe being busy and focusing on what needs to be done helps him to channel his grief into productive outlets. Maybe he’s hanging by a thread and he’s just waiting until he gets here to let go and lose it. Maybe he needs your support and your love to help him deal with his grief. After all, he called you, not your mother and father.”

Ryder closed his eyes on a stab of pain. “My father wouldn’t tolerate any show of emotion. He’s an Army man after all, a Ranger. And my mother would make up for his lack of emotion by an overabundance of it.” He shook his head. “No, Ryan wouldn’t call them first. They would only make him feel worse.”

Sebastian brushed a kiss to Ryder’s ear. “Well then, your brother called the only person he trusted to help him deal with this devastating blow. You.”

A rush of emotion swept over Ryder and his legs gave out, dropping him to the ground. Caught off balance, Sebastian was pulled with him and the two of them tumbled into the hole Ryder had dug which was fast becoming a mud pit in the downpour. Ryder twisted around, pressing his body against Sebastian’s, ignoring the mud that caked them both.

“Ryan’s loss made me realize what you went through when my plane went down,” he said hoarsely, tears forming in his eyes and trickling out to mingle with the rain on his face.

He dug his fingers into Sebastian’s hard shoulders, holding him tightly with a frantic sense of their mortality fueling his strength and urgency. Their bodies cleaved together and they rocked into each other’s hips, mud coating every inch of them as they rolled in the flower bed. Seeking Sebastian’s mouth, Ryder kissed him hard, pushing his tongue between his lover’s lips, demanding a response. He slipped his hands beneath Bas’s t-shirt, spreading slick mud over the hard muscles he loved to touch.

Muffled moans of pleasure came from Bas as he returned the caress, his fingers finding the curve of Ryder’s ass and digging into the muscle through the layers of denim and mud. Ryder ground his crotch against Bas’s, uncaring that they were out in the open lying in a growing pool of mud in the middle of a December rainstorm. He needed Bas. Needed to feel Bas around him, in him, loving him, sexing him. He needed to feel alive so that the specter of his brother’s loss would go away. So that death would go away. So that the fragility of life was held at bay by the love he felt for Bas and that Bas felt for him. Ryan’s wife might be dead but Ryder’s husband wasn’t and Ryder needed Bas as he had never needed him before. Right there in the mud of their yard.

He pulled at Bas’s clothes, popping open the buttons of his lover’s jeans. Bas murmured a weak protest and Ryder kissed it from his lips. He brushed his fingers over Bas’s cheek, streaking it with mud. Then he smiled sadly.

“I knew how hard it was for you when my plane went down and you had no right to even ask how I was or what happened,” he whispered, his gaze holding Bas’s. “I knew, but I didn’t understand. Hearing Ryan tell me that his wife had been killed gave me that understanding.  For the past few hours I’ve thought of nothing but what my life would be like if something happened to you. If tragedy can strike the golden boy Ryan Beckett then where does that leave me?”

“It leaves you with me. In my arms, safe in my love,” Sebastian said promptly, hugging Ryder tightly despite the squish of the mud between and beneath them. “No one, not even death can take that love from us, Ryder. Life holds no guarantees. You know this. You’ve been to Afghanistan. You’ve punched out of a disintegrating jet. And so have I. Either of us could have been killed by that. I could have died in Iraq, but I didn’t. We survived war zones, we survived the stupid ass policies of our government about being gay. Our love has transcended so much that I can’t imagine death would take it from us.”

More tears squeezed from Ryder’s eyes at Bas’s words and he nuzzled his husband’s throat, trying to burrow into his warmth. “Don’t leave me,” he moaned, shivering with emotion. “Don’t ever leave me, Bas.”

Tenderly, Sebastian kissed him, staring at him with solemn eyes. “I won’t. My love will always be with you, Ryder.”

With a deep, shuddering sigh, Ryder eased his grip on Bas. “Maybe we should take this into the house.”

Bas chuckled. “Why? I was enjoying the slipperiness of the mud, weren’t you?” He cocked a brow at Ryder as a wicked grin began to turn up the corners of his mouth.

Ryder slipped one hand between their bodies, snaking his fingers into the open fly of Bas’s soaked jeans. “I’m a dirty boy. I always have been.” His hand closed around hot, hard flesh. “God, you better be dirty too, Bas cause I won’t be responsible for corrupting you.”

A full-blown laugh filled with love and lust and amusement escaped Sebastian as he snaked his hands into Ryder’s jeans seeking Ryder’s hard flesh. His dark eyes held more emotion than Ryder could ever remember seeing in them, even when they first confessed their love or when they’d gotten married. In the face of tragedy, their love blossomed, he thought with savage satisfaction, his hand stroking Bas’s cock in time with Bas’s strokes of Ryder’s cock. He smiled as lust swamped his senses. Their love triumphed even when covered in a thick coat of mud.

For a chance to win a copy of Breath of Heaven, leave a comment on this post by midnight Pacific time tonight. Happy Holidays!

Day 21 – 30 Days of Christmas is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

Many thanks to everyone for coming here each week to see what I have to share. I appreciate your comments. This week, more from Kissing Joan Collins!

Chase arched his darkened brows and smirked, saying, “You’re just jealous you can’t do Joan.”

“You’re right. I am jealous I can’t do Joan.” Logan mustered up a smile, so Chase would think he was playing along when in reality he meant every word. He’d give anything to do Joan…well, Chase dressed as Joan. Never in his life had he found a man in drag attractive, but he’d give his left arm – he needed the right one to write and jack off – to fuck Chase while he wore that dress and heels.

Thanks again for coming by. Please stop by and see the other SSS offerings HERE. And do stop over on my other post today and leave a comment for a chance to win some books! I’m giving away books every day until Christmas at my 30 Days of Christmas giveaway.

Happy Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday 52 is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

How about a little more from my WIP Kissing Joan Collins?

Chase had always had the best ass Logan had ever seen. Covered in the sexy dress, material pulled tight over the taut globes, Logan could fully understand why women wore dresses like that. They must drive straight men crazy staring at their asses. For his part, Logan couldn’t look away from Chase’s backside. He wanted to touch it, knead it, bite it, spank it and then spread the perfect flesh and eat his way to the honeyed center. When he’d licked and sucked Chase to melting surrender, he’d push those muscular cheeks further apart and slam his cock deep into the tight heat of his best friend’s hole.

Many thanks to all of you who come by every Sunday. For more Six Sentence Sunday goodness click HERE. And don’t forget my 30 Days of Christmas giveaway every day on this blog until Christmas.

Happy Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday 51 is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author

Since this is my 50th Six Sentence Sunday post, I thought I’d do a little something different. One lucky commenter will win their choice of my backlist in ebook format. Must post by midnight Pacific time Sunday, November 26.

My six today comes from a WIP that has no name other than it’s temporary one of “Kissing Joan Collins.” In this scene, Logan’s best friend Chase dresses up as Joan Collins for Halloween and when he comes out of the bathroom, his costume is so good, Logan doesn’t recognize him at first.

Those legs, that ass, the fucking dimples.

“Jesus Christ, Chase! You look like Joan Collins on steroids!” he gasped, his heart upping its beat to triple time as he stared at his best friend’s perfect ass covered in skin tight designer label linen.

“Like it?” Chase’s amused baritone gave away his delight that he’d stumped Logan for all of a minute and a half.

“Fuuuuck, it’s enough to turn me straight.”

Many thanks to all of you who come here to comment even when I get busy and can’t get away to comment on your Sixes. I sincerely appreciate your support.

Don’t forget that my 30 Days of Christmas event is going on here on this blog. You can all comment for a chance to win paperback books today. Just head over to the 30 Days of Christmas post. And do come back every day until Christmas because there are new releases and many books I’m giving away including my entire backlist.

Happy Sunday!

Six Sentence Sunday 50 is a post from: Lex Valentine, Author