Review of The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter for the DIK Book Reading Challenge

Gena Showalter
The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld, #1)
HQN | May 1, 2008 | ISBN 9780373772469 | 374 pages

Genre & Keywords: Paranormal, Demons, First of a Series, Violence, Immortality

Rating: êêêê
Heat level: ¹¹

The Back Blurb:
His powers -- Inhuman
His passion -- Beyond immortal . . .

All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past. To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she'll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member -- a man trapped in a hell of his own.
Neither can resist the instant hunger than calms their torments . . . and ignites an irresistible passion. But every heated touch and burning kiss will edge them closer to destruction -- and a soul-shattering test of love . . .

Though they carry an eternal curse, the Lords of the Underworld are irresistibly seductive -- and unimaginably powerful . . .

I’ve read this book for the DIK Book Reading Challenge.

When I started blogging and bloghopping a couple of months ago I quickly discovered that a lot of bloggers out there were really big fans of the paranormal genre. The whole romance genre was pretty new to me, and so far all I’d read were contemporaries. I could not imagine what was so hot about this paranormal genre. Hah!
But, the curious little cat that I am, I started asking around for recommendations. And one of the first peeps to help me out was Leontine. She offered to send me some of her paperbacks and emailed me a list with names and book titles. One of the writers she mentioned was Gena Showalter, although the book she told me to start with, The Darkest Whisper, was the fourth(!) in the series, lol! I bought it as an ebook to have a quick start but discovered quickly that there were three other books I should read first, because, yeah, I’m that anal, I have to read in order when I know about it. Well, in the end it took me a while but I finally bought and read the first book of this so called Lord of the Underworld series!
It’s not the first paranormal romance I’ve read, because in the meantime I got some other recommendations too, but it is the first paranormal I’ve read that is part of a series like this - with the whole world building thing going on. While reading it you sense there’s so much more and you can feel it’s big but you can only guess how big.

To cut to the chase: I’m sold! I can totally understand the fandom for this genre now! I never guessed that I would like it so much. But I do. These Lords of the Underworld are freakin’ appealing and I want to know all there is to know about these hot immortal warriors!

This first book is the love story of one of the warriors, who all carry a demon inside of them. Maddox’s demon is Violence. That’s bad enough, because it causes him to have outbursts of uncontrollable rage and well… violence. But on top of that he’s also cursed to die a painful death every night because he’s the one who killed Pandora, keeper of the box with the demons inside. After she got killed the demons escaped and took possession of the immortal warriors’ bodies (there are a lot of them, and we meet them all in this first book).
So Maddox leads a life full of torment and pain. But then he meets his significant other: Ashlyn. She has her own nightmare to live with: she hears voices from the past everywhere she goes and where other people have been. When she meets Maddox the voices stop and a blissful silence takes over. No wonder she wants to be with him from the beginning.
While their love story evolves other elements are added to give more insight in the whole war of the gods and demons. A hunt for Pandora’s (empty) box is started, and I’m sure we’re going to see more of that in the next books. It’s complex, because there’s not only the gods against the demons but apparently there’s also quite some animosity among the gods themselves (the Greek vs the Titans) and among the demon warriors as well.

I devoured it all! There was not much I didn’t like in this story. Although it felt a bit like the first book of a series, with many better things to come, it was in itself a wonderful story. Maddox is a deliciously hot alpha hero and Ashlyn is strong, sweet and just right for him. I totally bought their falling for each other. It was a bit tooth aching sweet in the end, but I’m not complaining.

All was written in a way that made it hard for me to put the book down. Ms Showalter’s writing is very compelling and she certainly knows how to keep her readers at the edge of their seats. That’s partly because of the high rate of action and new developments but also because of the sexual tension between the h/h. I have to say that the smexing wasn’t disappointing at all. It was postponed quite some time, but the pace was just right for this couple. And their chemistry was good.

I’m looking forward to the other books in this rather dark series. The next one for me is The Darkest Kiss, Lucien’s story. He’s the warrior who’s bonded to the demon of Death. We’ve yet met his love interest in the first book: Anya, goddess of anarchy, and she had me laughing already. Gena Showalter’s humor showed itself in a couple of scenes and I can’t wait to see more of that as well.

My conclusion: Very good first book of what seems to be an intriguing series. I’m definitely going to read the other books too. And, I’d like to declare myself a fan of the paranormal genre, it’s official now! Where can I get my PNR membership card, please?

Boredom Made Me Find This Beautiful Song and Video

I'm at work and can't find the energy to do something useful. I think it's the lost hour of the switch to summertime that's still getting to me ;) And I rather be home and finish reading Mia Watts' Freeze Frame and write something about it. But I still have about 4 hours to go at the office...

So, I used me lunch break to look up some of my favorite YouTube channels, to get me energized again *g*. One of them is DreamerVero's channel and they had a clip of this beautiful song Somewhere with You from Shane Mack, an out singer/songwriter. The clip has cuts from the gay movie Boy Culture.



What do you think? Isn't it beautiful?

Winner Giveaway with Mia Watts!

We have a winner for one of the two ebooks from Mia Watts: Freeze Frame or Dangerous Distraction! For the occasion I asked one of my guys to announce the winner. Meet Rafael!

Isn't he delicious? *sigh* Okay Rafael, your cue.

The winner is… Leontine!!

Congrats hon!! I know you’ll love your pick of one of Mia’s books!

For the rest of you, don’t go away yet, because Rafael has another present for everyone at the bottom of this post ;)

There were 29 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
1. Leontine
2. Beth
3. danae72
4. orannia
5. thepleasurechest
6. Tam
7. Julia Barrett
8. Sandy Jay
9. Erotic Horizon
10. pattepoilue
11. Cecile
12. Cathy M
13. Lea
14. Maurya
15. Fiction Vixen
16. Perpetua
17. joder
18. Marissa
19. Patti
20. Hilda
21. Heather (DarklyReading)
22. SusiSunshine
23. Sweet Vernal Zephyr
24. A Buckeye Girl Reads
25. Smokinhotbooks
26. Kathy K
27. Twimom227
28. s7anna
29. Cinderella
Timestamp: 2010-03-30 08:36:09 UTC

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Have a nice day!!

Mondays Hot Couple & Sexy, Smutty Scene

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This week’s sexy smutty scene is from Dangerous Distraction by Mia Watts. It’s an M/M romance, that’s released today and that you can win in the giveaway Mia offered to my followers while she visited my place last week! She was here to celebrate her two new releases with an interview and a giveaway, and for your chance to win this book or Freeze Frame all you have to do is leave a comment at that Interview post, but hurry because I'll announce the winner tomorrow!

Last Monday you already got a taste of Mia’s humor and of the main characters of Freeze Frame. This week I have a smuttalicious scene from Mia’s Dangerous Distraction also an M/M romance. Get your cold drinks and fans ready, this scene is really hot!

“
“We need to talk about what’s going on between us,” Rook said.
There was that vibe again. It amped Nate up, got him horny. “You aren’t ready to talk about us,” Nate managed to answer. His throat felt as though it was closing and breath had become scarce.
“What happened a week ago when you went from hot to cold?” Rook asked.
He felt a dry smile pull his lips. Hadn’t he been the pursuer then? Rook seemed to have taken the lead the minute Nate stepped off.
“I tried to get in your pants,” he answered. “You panicked.” He brought a finger up and poked Rook in the chest. “Don’t worry. I got the message and you’re safe. I don’t fuck men who can’t own up to who they are.” He huffed dry amusement. “You’re off the hook, pal, so how about we go back upstairs and finish the evidence collection?”
Rook grabbed his finger and shoved him against the nearest wall. Cold, hard cement smacked his back and iced his spine. Rook followed, pinning their chests together. Trapped between roughened, unforgiving wall and warm, breathing male, Nate knew he was a goner.

* * * *
David reached low between them and found a handful of hard cock. Nate moaned, his eyes slitting with barely concealed lust. That was more like it. Hard cock and moaning man meant Nate could deny all he wanted, but David knew the man wanted him.
Satisfied, he released Nate’s cock and smirked.
“I said I got the message. I didn’t say shit about not wanting to fuck your ass,” Nate growled.
The confession tumbled David’s stomach into a tight spin. “Why don’t you?” he asked.
“I’m not a masochist. You want my dick, not a relationship.”
David didn’t have a response to that. He definitely wanted Nate’s dick. He wanted Nate, too. He could envision quiet evenings together and sipping hot coffee over breakfast the next day. He could see competing for the Sunday paper and arguing over who did the last load of laundry.
It sounded like a relationship. He wanted all those things, but couldn’t they keep their lives away from everyone else? Pretend they were roommates? With the doors closed, no one would have to know they were together. It wasn’t anyone’s business but theirs, anyway. Why the fuck did it matter?
“I definitely want your dick,” David said, finally.
Nate’s gaze skipped away. “That’s what I thought.”
“I want your dick. I want your lips. I want your tongue against mine. I want to hear you say my name when you come. I want your knees to go weak like mine do whenever you enter the room. I want to see you every day whether or not our cases collide. It’s not a fucking commitment but that’s what I want.”
He grabbed Nate’s jaw roughly and held him still. He kissed him, tasting Nate’s immediate reluctance and reveling when he relaxed to invite David in. He dragged his free hand down Nate’s tightly packed side to his hip. When Nate retaliated by grabbing David’s ass and squeezing, he nearly came in his pants. He hadn’t wanted anyone this bad in a long, long time.
He released Nate’s jaw to fumble with his zipper, abandoned it to unbuckle his belt, then attacked the zipper when the heavy belt hit the floor and clattered. Their tongues tangled between ragged breaths and tender cussing. The pants loosened and David took Nate’s cock in a firm stroke from root to moist tip, cupped his scrotum and gently rolled it, sliding a finger behind it on the tender hidden flesh he’d rather be kissing.
Nate groaned loudly. David swallowed the sound and stroked him again. Suddenly Nate’s hands were on his shoulders pushing. David complied, kneeling. He looked up, waiting for permission.
“Suck it. You want my cock and I have to feel your mouth on me,” Nate said, his voice demanding and gravelly with need.
”

Mia Watt’s weblog and website

Backblurb:
An afterhour’s dare has Detective David Rook kissing the sexiest pair of lips he’s seen in a long time. He doesn’t expect it will shake his closeted lifestyle to the core. Now ATF Agent Nate Giamanti is working with him on a case, Rook can’t avoid his forbidden desires.
Nate challenges Rook with every encounter, but when Rook backs off, Nate doesn’t want the drama that goes with hiding his sexuality, even if it means he could have a lot more of the detective in his bed. When their suspect trains his sights on Nate, will Rook finally get queened or lose the game to a killer?

Happy Gay Friday, Piracy and I want to read more More

Wow, it’s Friday again! And it’s the last of this month too. Time for some hot male/male deliciousness :)

I’m very happy that Mia Watts was here this week, she sure brightened it up. You can still enter the giveaway here for a chance to win one of her two new releases, until Monday night! And I hope you’ll give her some support by buying her books (when they’re your cup of tea), because the moment her book Freeze Frame was released last Wednesday it was stolen and put up at one of the pirate websites that are apparently out there. I think you all agree with me that an author does not deserve to be treated like that.

Btw I had no idea that these sites existed, call me a naïve silly filly, but apparently a lot of authors are victims of sites like that and there’s not much they can do to stop them from stealing their books. It made me look a little bit different towards the so hated DRM protection that some ebooks have. I hate the DRM because it forces me to become more computer savvy than I actually am, when I’m handling the variety of ebook formats on my different reading devices. But god, what do people think that they have the right to put someone else’s property up for free for the whole wide world to grab?
Anyway, I hate to see a wonderful author like Mia to be down and discouraged to keep writing, when this is happening to her books. Big hugs for her and her colleagues and let’s hope she will write a lot more books for readers who are happy to buy them!

Then my M/M reads of this week:
I finished one book this week and I’m reading one right now, but there are a lot more I wish I could’ve read this week, because there were a few interesting M/M releases this week, like Tere Michaels’ Duty & Devotion, S.J. Frost’s No Fear and Mia Watts’ Freeze Frame. And the one I’m reading right now: More by Sloan Parker.

The one I finished is Somebody Killed His Editor by Josh Lanyon. KC from Smokinhotbooks recommended this book to me as a cheer up book because she thought I could use one after Binny died last week. And boy, did this book live up to the title of 'Janna’s cheer up book', as she called it. It’s a hilarious, witty mystery with a touch of romance in it, told in the characteristic Lanyon style. I really enjoyed it a lot!

The one I’m reading now is a debut from Sloan Parker: More. It’s an M/M/M romance and OMG it’s so hot! I can’t put it down, I’m not far into the book yet but the main character Luke is already stealing my heart and his two lovers are showing the promise of more character depth too. I want to read faster to learn more about them and especially to experience more of their freakin’ hot chemistry.

It’s just that I have to put it down for a few hours now because I’m meeting with a friend for a Friday night drink and bite in less than an hour. Do you think it would be impolite to bring my book with me? To sneak read some more More during dinner? Or would that be considered anti-social? And when I tell you that my friend is gay, do you think I can count on some understanding? No? Dang!

Happy Gay Friday everyone!

Interview & Giveaway with Mia Watts

I’m pleased to have author Mia Watts here at my blog. Today her new ebook Freeze Frame will release at Resplendence publishing and next Monday Dangerous Distraction at Total E-bound.

Hey everyone! Thanks for letting me on your blog, Janna.

Let's start with telling me 5 things we don’t know about you, Mia.

Shit. Five? That’s the number after four, right? There’s like, I dunno, math in this interview. Um, okay… five… 1. I hate math. 2. When I eat Skittles or M&Ms, I separate them by color first and eat the red ones last. 3. Which reminds me, I eat the topping off of pizza first, then the crust because I don’t want to fill up on bread. 4. (I could tell you anything right now, and you’d have to believe me, because ain’t none of you ever met me.) I can wiggle my ears. Um, okay, AN ear. The other one doesn’t cooperate. 5. This is my fourth incarnation in the writing world.


How interesting! Hmmm, sounds like you want to stay mysterious ;), we better start talking about your books then. Freeze Frame is the third book in your Faerily Imperfect series. What is this series about? And can we read the books as stand-alones?

The mom is a wholly faery, but she’s kind of a ditz. Since she married a mortal and dared to have five kids, the faery world gave each child a curse/gift in the form of one faery ability. The catch is, it only works as well as their mother is smart. Basically, it’s unreliable. Each book covers the story of one sibling.

The books are stand-alones. I didn’t want to pressure m/m readers into reading a new genre or m/f readers into reading something which makes them uncomfortable. The books are about siblings so they pop up from time to time in each other’s books. Still, no cross-over. Or cross-dressing. I swear. That’s in She’s Got Balls (RP). :)


Can you tell us a little about the two heroes from Freeze Frame?

Yes. I can.


LOL, okay let me rephrase that: What can you tell us about them?

Aw, shucks. I figured that last one for short and sweet. ;) LOL. The heroes are Dill and Mason. Dill is the faery sibling who freezes time. He’s got the hots for his mark which is a really bad idea since his mark shouldn’t know he’s being followed and now there’s someone out to kill him. Dill has a soft spot for the guy.

Mason doesn’t trust easily. He’s a product of the foster care system gone wrong. No family that cares, no consistent upbringing, just a lot of hard living and now there’s this dude lurking in the shadows who literally freezes him in his tracks. How do you trust someone like that when you can’t trust your own body to move on command? The interesting part is that typically when Dill freezes time (always accidentally) no one knows it’s been frozen unless he moves something…not even his family. Mason, however, does. He is completely cognizant in the frozen moments, he simply can’t answer.
To make matters more interesting, when Dill touches Mason, they switch places. Now Dill is frozen by his own ability and Mason has free reign to move and, well, you’ll have to read the book.


Now, that last tidbit of information makes my mind go places... *ahem* Next week another book of yours will be released, Dangerous Distraction. Is it going to compete with Freeze Frame for attention or is it going to be a totally different story?

It’s completely different. Freeze Frame has that paranormal element to it. Dill, quiet and sultry, falls for hard-assed and jaded Mason. Mason has trouble trusting people since he’s been ripped off in the family department. With Dangerous Distraction, the issue is more about uncloseting your feelings and taking a chance on love. I guess both kind of deal with internal fears, yet they approach them in completely different ways.

I can rarely stay serious for long. Levity is always among the pages. Someone said “hilariously poignant”. I LOVED that phrase and kinda aim that direction with each book.


Only last month another one of your books, FU, did come out. Your writing schedule must be killing you. What do you do to recharge your batteries?

It’s seriously messing me up. I’ve recently pushed a couple of releases. All the Faery books and every TEB book are coming out as scheduled, but the rest are to be determined. I had to break the pace. I work full time, too, so you can imagine what this kind of a load does to someone. I also think I’m out-pacing the market with monthly releases.

But that wasn’t your full question, was it? I do random shit just for fun. Like, last spring, I held a pizza party in an empty parking lot. My friends and I ordered for delivery (took some FAST sexy talking to get the driver to agree. *wink*), we cranked up the volume, and danced. There were some party crashers, but who cares! I think I’m due for another.


Why do you want to write? What’s so fun about it?

The characters excite me. Not gutter-type excitement although that is definitely in there, but core excitement. My brain gets a little orgasmic about the dudes. I get enjoy encounters. Especially first impressions. When a plot revs into action and the guys are clicking, oh baby, their ain’t nuthin’ better.


I agree, there is nothing better to read about too! Do you still have time to read? What is your favorite genre/book as a reader?

Sometimes. I’ve been reading some m/m genre stuff just to make sure I’m not repeating things I’ve written or over used phrases. I’m also reading a helluva lot of marketing stuff. Curse of the day job, but Rich Dad, Poor Dad… yeah, I must be an idiot because I wanted the Rich Dad to give the poor nine year old his freakin’ raise. Can you say, child labor laws??

I read a lot of everything. My love has always been romance. If it’s romantic, it qualifies as a favorite genre, no matter what else it adds.


Do you ever base your characters on real life actors or people you know? Or how do you see your characters in your head?

Never. They just are. It’s tough to explain how they come to be. One day, I’m thinking about a scenario that would be fun and the next the guys are just there taking up head space (pun!). I’m thinking I need to charge rent. Maybe I’ll let them stay for sexual favors. Backrubs!! Yeah, that!


Rofl! Your books have really hot scenes in them. Do you find it hard to write love scenes?

First off—Cool! Thanks! Then: Yes and no. I don’t have the parts my boys have, but I ask a LOT of sexual questions to complete strangers. No shit. Funny thing about that though…they think I’m coming on to them. Go fig…

I love sex. Yep, big surprise. I also really love the cock (pardon me while I take a moment to shiver with pleasure). Writing sex with two cocks is, well, difficult (says, Mia, trying not to use the word “hard” while discussing cocks and sex). It’s like a puzzle plot that I have a lot of logistical things to think through. I’ve had my editor write me back a couple of times with, “Um. No, Mia. You cannot have a standing three man love-chain with a fourth guy underneath them licking all their balls.” I still say you can. Where there’s a will, there’s a Mia with lube.


LOL! Do you tell everyone that you write erotic romance?

Hell no. No one in my real life knows. Let me rephrase that. Critical individuals in my real life know and they keep that secret very, very well for large sums of money on a quarterly payment cycle. Did I mention I’m broke?

Seriously? My boss would have twenty cows simultaneously and boy howdy would that give him a hemorrhoid or two. I bet you twenty to one, he’d make me apply the damn cream.


We can't have that *grin*. Is readers feedback important for you? (How) does it affect your writing?

More than anything. I love knowing what works for people. What turns you on, what flipped your switch, what makes you run for the vibrator even when your kids are home from school? I want to know because I’m going to give you more of it.

It affects my writing a lot. I’m writing a couple of sequels BECAUSE readers wrote my publisher and asked. That is incredibly flattering. I find myself getting sappy-eyed over those letters. Unworthy. Also, I try harder when I know there are readers waiting. BUT GOD I love to make you LAUGH! It’s even better than knowing you think the sex is hot.


You certainly succeed in making me laugh! Your writing is dripping with humor imo :). What’s the secret of writing funny scenes?

Um. Wow. If I knew that one, I’d be rich and on TV. I don’t know. I think it has to do with timing and looking for humor in everything you see around you. I hate drama and tears and shit. I laugh instead of crying most of the time. Not a great trait at, say, funerals, but for everything else, it relieves tension and serves me pretty well. An ex of mine told me I should do stand-up. I disagree. I don’t think I could carry a stage because you talk AT people instead of feeding off their experiences. On stage, it’s about you. In life, in books, in conversation, it’s about the other person and hopefully, digging on yourself. So if that’s funny, GREAT! Hopefully it will always just be seen as fun with a chuckle.

Thank you for telling me that, by the way. I get such a charge out of knowing people laughed. I think it’s the best compliment you can get.


You're welcome! How can readers send you their compliments and feedback or contact you? (Website, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Please, write me! I would love it. I actually have a folder of letters from fans because this job we do is tough. We get ripped off by ePirates, we get slammed in the reviews, we hardly get paid to make it financially beneficial, so the perks come down to hearing from you. You can find me at,

• wattsmia@aol.com
• MiaWatts on Twitter and Mia Watts on Facebook
• http://www.miawatts.blogspot.com/
• http://www.miawatts.com/  (currently being revamped)

What are your next projects?

My next project is Reasonable Doubt for TEB. It’s a sequel to Bad Boys, Bad Boys (by popular reader demand for more). I’m also working on Boiling Point which is Fauna Harper’s story in the Faerily Imperfect series. She’s the one who keeps disappearing at random intervals. Makes dating kinda tough on the poor girl.

The next books out are, Boiling Point and Melting Melinda. Both are m/f.


Thank you very much for visiting my place today, Mia! I’m really looking forward to your new books. And there are certainly many to look out for!

Thank YOU for having me!! I’m so glad to be here!


~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giveaway:

Mia Watts has generously offered an ebook copy of either her romance Freeze Frame or Dangerous Distraction for giveaway. Both are M/M romances.

Giveaway is open to everyone, I will announce the winner on March 30.

To enter the giveaway, follow my blog, leave a comment on this post and tell me, which of the two books you would like to win and why.

Good luck to you all!

Backblurb Freeze Frame:
Dill Harper can freeze time. It’s a faery gift which only works at the most inopportune times. Now he’s on a case for Harper Security, watching the very delectable ass of Mason Haliday, a man worth having, who doesn’t want to be had. When an unknown enemy puts a hit on Mason, the client and Dill are worried about the outcome. But how can Mason trust his heart to the man who’s been spying on him, despite the way Dill makes him feel under and over the covers?

Backblurb Dangerous Distraction:
An afterhour’s dare has Detective David Rook kissing the sexiest pair of lips he’s seen in a long time. He doesn’t expect it will shake his closeted lifestyle to the core. Now ATF Agent Nate Giamanti is working with him on a case, Rook can’t avoid his forbidden desires.
Nate challenges Rook with every encounter, but when Rook backs off, Nate doesn’t want the drama that goes with hiding his sexuality, even if it means he could have a lot more of the detective in his bed. When their suspect trains his sights on Nate, will Rook finally get queened or lose the game to a killer?

Mondays Hot Couple & Sexy, Smutty Scene

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This week’s sexy smutty scene is from Freeze Frame by Mia Watts. It’s an M/M romance, that’s released coming Wednesday. Mia is coming over to visit my place to celebrate the release with an interview and a giveaway, so be sure to be back for more and a chance to win this book!

To give you a taste of Mia’s humor and of the main characters of this M/M paranormal romance, Dill and Mason, here’s a smuttalicious scene from Freeze Frame:

“
Dill would figure it out sooner or later. Mason was betting he would forget his nosy questions once there was some cock play. Even the most reserved motherfuckers succumbed to pillow talk. If Mason wore him out enough, chances were Dill would get romantic touchy-feely and spill some of his information. Those quiet boys were saps after sex. Mason counted on it.
He stood, opened his pants and let his belt hang.Then holding his hands out to the sides, palms up, Mason looked down at Dill’s upturned face. The guy was handsome, Mason would give him that. The thought of those pouty lips going down on him sent more than a little electricity up the length of his cock. That and the image of him swallowing Mason’s load.
Mason’s cock filled eagerly. “Any time, boy-wonder. Unless you want to freeze this moment for posterity…”
Dill’s gaze traveled downward, and Mason felt it like a feather-light stroke. It came to rest on his pants and he thought he saw more than a little interest in the quiet man’s eyes.
“Straight to the point, aren’t you?” Dill stated more than asked.
“Like I want you to be. My cock is straight. How about you start sucking my point?”
Dill’s eyes flashed with annoyance when he shot a look upward. “Fuck you, asshole. I’m trying to save your hide, and you think gratitude is treating me like your whore?”
No, he didn’t, but he wanted Dill to think so. The less personal connection, the better to cut ties and run when he left the sexy stud in his wake. Unfortunately, if Mason didn’t play his cards more carefully, he not only wouldn’t get the information, but he wouldn’t get the guy either. He wanted the guy maybe as much as the information. It wasn’t often he found someone whose height so closely matched his own that he could look straight into his eyes. It also wasn’t often that a guy as well-built as Dill wanted a piece of his ass.
“I’m not big on subtlety,” Mason said, feeling a little bad for his phrasing.
“I gathered.”
He usually got lustful looks from twinks. And he took them, but they weren’t his preferred meal of choice. No, that was reserved for stubborn, meaty, silent, brooding men that usually wrote him off the minute they saw tattoos. Those hadn’t seemed to scare Dill. Mason had every intention of pushing the envelope to see just how much of his freak-fest Dill could handle.
He didn’t like admitting it, but Mason pushed lovers away. It’s what he did so they didn’t get too close. He knew it, sometimes hated that about himself, but ultimately it was about survival. Wasn’t it always? Protect your own ass first. Keep the ones that could hurt you at arm’s length. If that meant loneliness, then so be it.
Yet if Dill was game, Mason wanted his mouth on his dick and clamoring to have his mouth fucked. He’d do it. Then he’d get his questions answered. Then he’d leave. To do that, he had to soothe the savage Dill.
Mason slid his fingers into Dill’s hair, sifting it, then running through the strands again to lightly capture Dill’s head. “You’re cute. I get tongue-tied with cute, but I’m pretty sure you want me.”
Dill’s brows rose in question.
“Your cock is trying to get out,” he said, answering the unspoken question.
God, what was Dill thinking about? Mason loved the silent sexy ones, but he never knew what they were thinking. Was Dill judging him? Did he think Mason was crazy, rude, stupid, egotistical? Fuck. He shouldn’t care. He shouldn’t be worrying about what Dill thought. That wasn’t an issue here. What did it matter what Dill thought of him?
It mattered, damnit.
“Touché,” Dill acknowledged.
“I’m not a patient guy, and I’ve been thinking about your mouth doing a lot of amazing things involving my dick.” Mason shrugged, hoping he didn’t sound as clumsy as he thought he did. “You gonna make me wait, or can we do this thing?”
“Fucking romantic,” Dill muttered.
Mason’s fingers fisted Dill’s hair, and he tugged him closer to the opening in his pants. “Please?”
There, that sounded good, Mason thought. Just a little head, hot stuff. That’s all I need, and then I won’t have to wonder any more. Won’t have to jack off without a mental picture of you taking my rod, tonight.
His balls tightened and Mason groaned, unable to stop himself from shuddering as the thought filled his mind.
Unexpectedly, Dill shot to his feet, so near their chests bumped, and Mason’s hand fell away. He started to take a step back, but stopped himself. He didn’t back down from anyone. Dill grabbed his hips and pulled him hard against his groin. Then closing the space, Dill kissed him, devoured his mouth with nipping teeth and soft lips. Chills of pleasure raced down Mason’s spine and alarm bells went off in his head.
This is bad. This is very bad. Make him stop. Walk away. Back the fuck off—damn, he tastes good.

”

Mia Watt’s weblog and website

Backblurb:
Dill Harper can freeze time. It’s a faery gift which only works at the most inopportune times. Now he’s on a case for Harper Security, watching the very delectable ass of Mason Haliday, a man worth having, who doesn’t want to be had. When an unknown enemy puts a hit on Mason, the client and Dill are worried about the outcome. But how can Mason trust his heart to the man who’s been spying on him, despite the way Dill makes him feel under and over the covers?

Lusting for Covers – Duty & Devotion by Tere Michaels

Lusting for Covers is a weekly meme, held on Sunday, that allows bloggers to share their current cover obsession with fellow book lovers. This meme is hosted by TBQ.

The cover that I picked this week is the one from Tere Michaels’ Duty & Devotion. It’s her third book after Faith & Fidelity and Love & Loyalty and it’s the sequel of Faith & Fidelity telling Evan and Matt’s continuing story. I have been waiting for this book and the first glimpse I got from the cover was today over at Wave’s site. It’s released coming Tuesday, March 23.

Why this cover? First, it fits perfectly in the series of three covers. The cover art is a mirror of that from the other two books, with the city skyline in the middle, the police badge below and the eye catcher of the cover: the two semi-bare male torso’s and slightly cut off heads. I’m not too fond of the cut off heads in general but luckily here they’re just partly cut off. And what’s left of them is yummy enough to leave me drooling. The three covers all have a different color, where the first was brown/reddish and the second blue, this third one is purple. And purple happens to be one of my favorite colors. I can’t wait until it’s Tuesday to get my hands on Matt and Evan’s follow up story!

Back blurb:
After their happily ever after in Faith & Fidelity, Matt and Evan move forward to a new chapter of their lives – inside the bedroom and out – with some surprises in store for both. Evan struggles with labels and feelings even as he wants to give in to his baser desires. Matt , now the ideal househusband of Queens, New York, has his own set of struggles – who is he now? What does he need and want?
A visit from his friend and one-night stand Jim Shea (of Love & Loyalty) throws everything into disarray as Evan’s jealousy and unease push Matt’s buttons – and not always in a good way.

Tere Michaels’ website
Duty & Devotion @ Loose Id

Happy Gay Friday & Quick review of Conquest by S.J. Frost

This is not a very Happy Friday for me, but this Wet Moment makes it a little bit better ;) And I want to thank you all for the warmth and compassion you sent my way after Wednesday's events. It really means a lot to me! Thanks so much!

And here's a quick M/M review that I had already written but unscheduled because of Wednesday's post...

S.J. Frost
Conquest
MLR Press, October 2009

Genre & Keywords: Contemporary, M/M Romance, Music, Rock Stars, Coming Out
Rating: êêêê
Heat level: ¹¹½

Conquest is a hot M/M romance about rock stars that I really enjoyed. Especially the first half of the novel was great. S.J. Frost tells the love story of the young, upcoming singer Jesse and the very successful musical genius Evan. They meet, fall easily in love and start living together. This all happens in the first third of the book or so. We follow their relationship which is described in detail, with freakin’ hot love scenes, and we see how Jesse and Evan influence each other’s music careers. Evan, once vanished from the spotlight, is starting to perform again. Jesse, discovered because of Evan, is finally given the opportunity to record his music and take his band ‘Conquest’ to the top. The inside details about the music business were one of the things I liked, because it added to the realistic feel of the story. That’s really wonderful about this book; Ms Frost’s fluent and realistic writing makes it all very tangible and believable.

Jesse’s and Evan’s love is endearing, sweet and sexy. But from the beginning of their relationship it’s been clear that a breakup will be inevitable. The famous Evan is not out of the closet and the music company doesn’t want him to be, while Jesse is a tattle tale. And we’re waiting for an outing or some other sort of trouble. And Ms Frost is taking us there gradually and with ease. And when the inevitable hits the couple the story continues in the same pace and with the same detail, telling us about their personal pain. This is all done very well and with great empathy.

So far I thought this was going to be close to a 5 star read for me! But I must say that the last part of the story left me with a few questions and had me frowning a couple of times, which made me decide for 4 stars. For one, the role of Brandon, Jesse’s overprotective brother, didn’t seem consistent to me. In the end he reacted not how I expected him to, regarding Evan’s behavior. Another thing that niggled at me was that neither Jesse nor Evan questioned why the breakup had to happen. I thought the reason for the breakup was a bit weak and questionable and definitely worth discussing for Jesse and Evan, but it seemed as if they thought it was inevitable as well, not something they had to fight. So, in the end there’s make up sex but hardly a make up conversation.

Still, this part is well written and enjoyable too. Which made Conquest a great, although not perfect, read for me and I definitely look forward to the sequel No Fear that’s being released one of these days.

Backblurb:
Vocally gifted singer, Jesse Alexander, has dreams of taking his band, Conquest, to the top. Evan Arden was thought of as a musical genius when at the height of his career he vanished from the spotlight. Together, their relationship is just as intense as their music careers. With success pushing down on them, Jesse must decide between his life of music, or his life with Evan.

I'm so so sad...

Monday's Hot Couple & What I'm Reading

Monday wouldn’t be the same without a nice pic of a hot couple to look at, right?

It’s going to be a busy week for me at work, with lots of meetings and a presentation and less computer time than usual. It’s not something to look forward to, but I’ve discovered the ‘Schedule’ feature of blogger a while back so if everything goes well at least there will be some posts this week *keeps fingers crossed*.

An update about our kitty: hubby told the vet today we couldn’t decide objectively if and when it’s time to put Binny to sleep (is that how you say it in English?). They agreed that she will make the call when the time is right. We trust her with that. She’ll monitor him closely and see to it that he doesn’t suffer. Since a couple of days he’s being his happy self again. Every day or week Binny can still be with us, is a gift now. And we’ll be able to enjoy him more, now that we don’t feel the burden of that responsibility anymore. I’m glad hubby took charge like that and saved us from the going back and forth (between no, not yet and yes) on this emotional rollercoaster. We can breathe a little now and most important, enjoy Binny more (he’s sitting in my lap right now, sniffling at my nose every few minutes :)).

Last weekend I started reading Gena Showalter’s Lord of the Underworld series. I’ve read the prequel The Darkest Fire, which was weird to be honest. It’s written in a rather formal language and has a bit of a static love couple and not really a happy ending. But okay, now I get a little bit better what caused the Lords to become possessed by demons. Although I think it wouldn’t have made much of a difference if I just skipped it. I read it as part of the anthology Into the Dark.

Now I’m reading the first book, The Darkest Night, which is about Maddox and Ashlyn. This series is about a group of immortal warriors who are cursed to have demons inhabit their bodies: Violence, Wrath, Disease, Death, Pain, Promiscuity, Doubt, etc. So far I’ve met the first six men and Maddox is the one having the demon Violence inside of him. He has a second curse to deal with: he has to die a horrible, painful death every night and wake up each morning with the knowledge he’ll die again at midnight. So far I’m enjoying this book very much. The writing is different from the prequel, better and more fluent and sensual. Maddox’s and Ashlyn’s perspectives are alternated and the world building is done gradually through Maddox’s thoughts. It’s an intriguing world, that of the Lords of the Underworld.

When I’m done with this first book, there are three more for me to read and catch up with this series. The other demon possessed warriors get their own story in other books. Book 5 and 6 will be released later this year. And probably more will follow, because then there are still the stories of Torin (Disease) and Paris (Promiscuity) left… that I know of so far.

What book are you reading today?

Happy Gay Friday & Some award, reading and world news

This week went by in a bit of a blur. It was a week of waiting, tears, cuddling and self-pity until this morning the results from the vet’s examination came, which we had been waiting for since Monday.
Nothing new, no miracle for Binny, sigh. We still have the choice to go and try some pain medication with the risk that his kidneys get worse, but with our minds we already know that this is not the best choice for Binny. He won’t get better, we’ll only stretch his suffering. But with our hearts we’re not completely there yet. We have this weekend to think about the options and to enjoy his company and presence as much as we can, probably for the last time.

Because of all this I have been neglecting my blog hopping a little bit. I tried to keep up but every time I looked at my blogroll I couldn’t believe there were new posts already that I hadn’t seen yet. And I lurked a little bit more than usual because I couldn’t always find the inspiration to leave a comment. Sorry for that, and for it to continue for another week or so, probably.
Despite of this you were all so kind to leave me a lot of comments at my blog, which I really enjoyed! Thank you all for that!

Let’s keep focusing on the positive :) I’m really grateful for the blog awards I got this week! There’s one I haven’t mentioned yet. I got the Gnome Approved Sexy Blog award from Patti yesterday. Thanks so much Patti! It comes with no rules but I want to pass it on to one sexy writer and one sexy reader:

Bronwyn Green
and
Leontine

They are both very dear to me and absolutely sexy writers and bloggers! This is the sexy award:

Isn’t it gorgeous? You gotta love gnomes!

Some Happy Gay news I woke up to this morning was coming from Mexico. Five same-sex couples have made history in Mexico City as they wed under Latin America's first law that explicitly approves gay marriage. I think that's wonderful. Coming from a country where gay marriage is legal for a long time now – I think we were one of the first countries with this law – I’m always very happy when there’s a new place in the world where equality wins.

Last but not least, my reading week! That didn’t go well… I’ve finished Conquest from S.J. Frost a week ago and meant to post a review this week about it, but I couldn’t concentrate on writing one. I hope I will be able soon because it was a wonderful read, with some highs and some lows I want to share with you.

Last weekend I started reading L.B. Gregg’s Catch Me If You Can and although it was a great book I couldn’t bring myself to read more than a few pages every day. Last night I turned in early with the intention to finally finish it. I didn’t quite succeed, but I did this morning. And it was a good book to help me lift my mood :) It’s hilarious, witty and sexy. I loved it! So far I haven’t heard anyone who didn’t and now I know why. I can highly recommend this M/M romantic suspense story. It was almost over the top comical, with the characters all showing up one after the other in several scenes and with doors swinging open and slamming closed when someone entered. In Dutch we have a word for this kind of stage play (in theaters), it’s called a ‘klucht’. I don’t know what the English word for that is, but it’s probably something like a farce or stand-up comedy. At times this book reminded me of that genre. It was delicious! And let's not forget hot!

I was given the Sexy Blogger Award

I received this award from Kat @ Paranormal Fantasies. Thank you Kat, it's brightening my day!

I'm asked to share 7 things about myself with my followers. Well, here we go:

1. My husband and I don't have kids; we never felt the urge to try to get pregnant, although people say we would make good parents. I'm not so sure about that, lol, we can be pretty selfish!

2. I'm only blogging since 4-5 months but it feels like forever and I think I will never be able to go without anymore.

3. My favorite place to be is at the beach on a cold, windy day. It makes me feel detached from everything, sorrowless, stressless and timeless.

4. I’m sort of a collector of all sort of silly stuff like notebooks, bookmarks, handbags, shoes, pens, boxes, diaries, shawls…

5. It’s important to me to feel free in a relationship. Not sexually ;) I’m a faithful girl, but I want to be able to do what I want without someone nagging about it. For example go out with my friends, or read all night long, or jump on a plane when I feel like it. All in consultation with hubby of course.

6. I’m always willing to try something new or to meet new people.

7. You can wake me up for a piece of chocolate anytime.

If you received an award for your blog:

• Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
• Pass the award to other blogs that you’ve newly discovered
• Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award
• Don't forget to write 7 things about yourself in your post!

I pass this award on to the following blogs that I fairly newly discovered:

Bitten by Paranormal Romance
The Black Ravens Reviews
The Raving Readers
Walkabout
Renee's Book Addiction

Monday’s Hot Couple, but no Sexy Smutty Scene

The thing is, I suspect, ah heck I know, that some of you are really counting on my Monday’s hot couple pic and sexy scene. But this week I don’t feel like browsing through my TBR pile looking for a hot part.
And that’s because I got some pretty bad news today. Some of you may know that our lovely cat Binny is having health troubles; a few weeks ago he started sneezing blood. Luckily after one week it stopped, but he still has pus coming from his nose. And because of that the vet examined him this morning while he was under narcosis.
And it didn’t look good. He’s having a lot of dead tissue and possibly a tumor. She took a swap which is send to the lab for further research now and hopefully we will hear more this week. But he is in pain and she doesn’t know how to treat him anymore. Because of his kidney disease she can’t give him most painkillers and because of his diabetes he can’t get prednisone either. So, I took him home but probably by the end of the week we have a very difficult decision to make *sob*.

That’s why there’s no sexy scene today, but a hot couple pic I can do. Here it is:

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Hope you all have a better Monday & week ahead than me! I’ll be cuddling a lot!

My little white lies, here's the truth

I guess I owe you some answers regarding the liar’s game, well here it goes:

1. I used to be a stewardess for KLM (a Dutch airline company). Lie, although I’ve traveled a lot, not as much as a stewardess.

2. As a teenager I won a few championships in speed skating. Lie, I’ve only won a few medals in tennis and was quite an active soccer player and racketball player, but never were any good in speed skating.

3. I only need 5-6 hours sleep per night. True, I can even function reasonably well on 3-4 hours sleep, but every now and then I have to catch up and sleep 9-10 hours.

4. My favorite pets are dogs. Nope, I like them too, but my favorites are cats because they are so wonderfully headstrong.

5. Me and hubby were both virgins when we married. Lie, although we were young when we became a couple (19 and 20 years) we had both some experience with relationships and sex.

6. I’m a freelance writer and get my work published in magazines. True, every now and then I complain here at my blog about my deadlines, because I’m a champion at procrastinating. I write about books, writers (including interviews), book clubs and city trips with a book theme (like Kafka’s Prague, Joyce’s Dublin and the literary landmarks of New York).

7. I’ve lived part of my youth in England. Lie, I lived part of my youth in Germany, not England. I had an English boyfriend though and that’s why I went there quite a few times.

Only Sagi had both answers right (and Marissa, but she took three guesses ;)). Congratulations Sagi! Most of you had guessed #3 was true though. You’re all winners for me, lol!

Lusting for Covers – Line of Fire by Jo Davis

Lusting for Covers is a weekly meme, held on Sunday, that allows bloggers to share their current cover obsession with fellow book lovers. This meme is hosted by TBQ.

The cover that I picked this week is the one from Jo Davis’ Line of Fire . It’s the fourth book in her Firefighters of Station Five series and its release is planned for May 2010.

Why this cover?There’s something about firefighters that makes me weak-kneed in an instant and they are irresistible as heroes of my smut. Well, after this confession it won’t be a surprise that I think this cover is hot. I’m all girly like swooning over the hunk in firefighter gear. And to be honest, that’s all this cover needs to make me lusting for it. The only thing that would’ve made this even better, is if there were two male torsos to admire. But since this is an M/F romance that would’ve been weird, I guess. The rest of the cover art is also okay, but doesn’t catch my eye that much. I can be such a shallow girl *grin*.

Back blurb:
To his fellow firemen, Tommy Skyler has it all. But the golden boy of Station Five hides a private pain. He was once a star quarterback until tragedy derailed his dream. Since then, he's struggled with his choices-including his decision to become a firefighter. His one ray of light shines in beautiful nurse Shea Ford. When a dangerous rescue lands Tommy in the ER, what better opportunity to win her over? But when a conspiracy culminates in deadly arson, Tommy realizes that a ruthless enemy is closing in, threatening to destroy the couple's love- and their lives.

Jo Davis’ website
Line of Fire @ Amazon

Bald Face Liar or “Creative Writer”?

Author Jenna Byrnes @ Jenna on Fire and Eyre @ A Reader's Journey both tagged me to participate in this harmless liar’s game.
I’ll have to post seven items about me, only TWO of which are true. The others are “little white lies”.
You have to try to figure out which two are true, and leave a comment.

Here we go!

1. I used to be a stewardess for KLM (a Dutch airline company)

2. As a teenager I won a few championships in speed skating

3. I only need 5-6 hours sleep per night

4. My favorite pets are dogs

5. Me and hubby were both virgins when we married

6. I’m a freelance writer and get my work published in magazines

7. I’ve lived part of my youth in England

I now hereby pass on the Liar’s Torch to these authors and bloggers. Keep the liar’s game going. Visit their sites and see if you can guess which of their statements are little white lies:

Mia Watts @ www.miawatts.blogspot.com/
Leontine @ leontine1976.blogspot.com
Jambrea Jo Jones @ jambrea.wordpress.com
Sagi @ sagis-randomness.blogspot.com
Marissa @ dream-mistress.blogspot.com

Have fun and good luck!

Happy Gay Friday & What I'm Reading

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I’m glad it’s Friday again but I can’t believe another week went by just like that!
Ah well, I found the perfect gay couple to start my weekend with, I hope you like the pic, and I’m reading a very hot and enjoyable M/M romance at the moment: Conquest by S.J. Frost. It’s about rock stars Evan and Jesse, one a new and upcoming star the other an experienced singer who suddenly quit his music career a couple of years ago. Their relationship is intense, both physically and emotionally. And not only for them, for me, as a reader, as well.
I’ve almost finished it and after that I start reading Catch Me If You Can by L.B. Gregg, a book I’ve been jonesing for and that was released this week.

Hope you have great books to read this weekend too!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Reading List – February 2010 & Some Book News and Man Candy

It’s a busy week at work so I’ve (had) hardly time to bloghop or write a blogpost, but I finally wrote one. The bloghopping will have to wait a little bit longer… sorry for that!

First some book news.
There’s some exciting news about Tere Michael’s new book: the sequel to Faith & Fidelity will be released at March 23 on the Loose Id site! Thanks to Chris for the heads up! :)
It’s called Duty & Devotion and will have the characters from Love & Loyalty featured as supporting roles too. I so want to read that!

Another wonderful M/M author released a new book yesterday: Catch Me If You Can by L.B. Gregg (on the Samhain website). And if you want a chance of winning this funny, sexy book, go over to Chris’ blog @ Stumbling over Chaos and enter her contest.

And finally here’s my Reading List for February. I only read 10 romances last month, but I enjoyed a lot of them very much! I haven’t written a review about Snowed In by Aile & Urban (yet) but I really liked that novella. It’s very hot and full of sweet moments too. It’s an M/M/M in which three friends stay in a cabin and get snowed in. One guy is bisexual the other two straight and they start experimenting for the sake of the erotic romance one of them is writing. The sex scenes are really sexy, sweet, exiting, tender and arousing. In one word: hawt!
There are a few other titles that don’t have a link to an earlier review. Either I won’t review them anymore or I will when I finish the series (Adrien English Mysteries).

And at the end of the post I have some candy. Enjoy!

1. This Side of Heaven by Fallon Blake, 4.5 stars
2. Seeing You by Dakota Flint, 4 stars
3. Upwardly Mobile by Clare London, 3.5 stars
4. Fatal Shadows (Adrien English Mystery Series #1) by Josh Lanyon, 4 stars
5. A Dangerous Thing (Adrien English Mystery Series #2) by Josh Lanyon, 4.5 stars
6. Racing Hearts (A Calculated Risk\An Outside Chance\This Time Around) by Vicki Lewis Thompson, Nancy Warren, Dorien Kelly, 2.5-3 stars
7. Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy, 5 stars
8. Magnus by Jambrea Jo Jones, 3 stars
9. The Runaway Man by Jambrea Jo Jones, 3.5 stars
10. Snowed In by Rhianne Aile & Madeleine Urban, 4.5 stars

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Mondays Hot Couple & Sexy, Smutty Scene

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This week’s sexy smutty scene is from As You Are by Ethan Day. It’s an M/M romance, that I want to read soon. I’ve heard many good things about this book.
A few weeks ago I joined this author’s Yahoo Group and every last day of the month it’s Gay Day over there, with lots of excerpts and giveaways. So, that was yesterday and, lucky me, I was the winner of a long short story by S.J. Frost :) I’ll be blogging about her in the near future because I also bought her book Conquest last week…

But this post is all about As You Are by Ethan Day and the smuttalicious scene from page 77-78:

“

“Here, Julian, I'll take those.” Danny stood up and held out his free hand for the dishes.
“All right.” I stood up and faced him, holding the plates for him to take. Danny leaned in and started to kiss me. My entire body went stiff as his lips made contact with mine. They were soft and warm, and as if by instinct, my mouth opened for his. I didn't know what the hell was going on.
When his tongue made its way into my mouth, I dropped the dishes onto the floor, luckily somehow missing our feet. They crashed, silverware clanking across the floor, and I felt Danny's hand slide over my ass. His thick lips were sucking, softly and sensually, as they pressed into mine, his tongue slowly moving in and out of my mouth.
His other hand found its way to my other ass cheek as I slid my hands over his hard-muscled shoulders. He seemed to take that as a sign and pulled me into his body, his mouth more forceful as his tongue waged war with mine. My entire brain buzzed and hummed as if in a trance. I was terrified my head might explode from the sensation of his fingers massaging and kneading my ass.
All the time I'd longed for and waited for this to happen and now, here it was…in living color with high-def clarity. His mouth was salty from the beer and pizza as I worked my hand onto the back of his head. His short, buzzed hair felt prickly and soft at the same time. I felt extremely light-headed as he continued to cover my mouth with his own. It was as if he were sucking the actual air out of my lungs. I thought I might suffocate, and I didn't fucking care.
Danny held me up as I lost the feeling in my legs for a moment, losing my balance. He pulled back, looking over my face. “You okay?”
I looked briefly into his glossed-over, sharp green eyes before covering his mouth with mine. I was apparently kissing him with a bit more force than I realized, since he stumbled back a step from my full-frontal assault. His arms roped around my waist once again as my senses overloaded. We were both beginning to sweat, and the taste of him, the woodsy scent from his soap, his natural musky-man smell—together they almost pushed me over the edge.
A pathetic, almost frantic whimper escaped from me as his hand moved over my hard-on. From that moment, it became a frenetic rush of pulling and yanking one another out of the few clothes we had on. I hopped up, wrapping my legs around his waist, and clung to his body like a spider monkey.
”

Ethan Day’s weblog and website and Yahoo group

Backblurb:
Operation Danny… that’s all bartender and recent college graduate Julian Hallowell has had on his mind over the past year. Julian may have no idea what he wants to do with his life, but he definitely knows he’s in love with the boy next door: The one in next room to be exact: his roommate Danny Wallace.
Danny owns a used text book store just off campus, and while Julian has done his level best to make Danny fall for him, all his hard work appears to have been in vain. Danny doesn’t seem to view Julian as anything other than that…a roommate and friend. So when new-guy-in-town Andy Baker asks him out on a date, Julian can’t seem to think of a good reason to say no.
Julian has already instituted a Reverse Operation Danny plan, which he’s positive will purge all thoughts of love and lust for his roomie out of his head. He’s ready to move on and start looking for his next Mr. Right, and Andy just might fit the bill.