by Tara Lain
“Night, Ted.” Sean walked straight toward the stairs that led to the front door—and out of the building. Help a student, my ass.
Theodore flopped into his desk chair. Since there wasn’t a window, he stared at the wall. Damn, he wanted to teach because he loved inspiring minds and hearts to appreciate and delve into the magic and mystery of words. But academia didn’t live on brains; it thrived on politics at a level that made government pale in comparison. Only the strong survived, and when it came to political machinations, Theodore was a mere fence painter at the mercy of a department full of Tom Sawyers.
“Mr. Walters?”
He looked up. “Oh, hi, Petra. Come on in.” He had to smile. Petra Novak with her sparkling green eyes, freckled face, killer curves, and amazing brain was one of his brightest students, with a quirky turn of mind he really appreciated.
“You looked a millions miles away.” She sat in the not-very-comfortable chair in front of his desk.
“Yeah. I think I’ll be living inside my head until I’ve completed my orals.”
She made a dismissive gesture. “No way. You’ll ace them. You’re the smartest teacher in the department.”
“I appreciate your thought, and don’t say that too loud.” He laughed. “So how can I help you?”
She looked down at her lap. “You know I had to take that History of Medieval Literature with Professor Ashworth, which means I’m taking it from Mr. Rance.”
“Yes. Is it a problem?”
She glanced up then back at her hands. “Kind of. I mean, I think I’m doing okay in the course, but I got a note from Mr. Rance that said I didn’t seem to be grasping the central issues of the material and that he wanted to talk to me about it.” She bit her lip. “He—uh.”
“What, Petra?”
“He makes me uncomfortable.”
Theodore frowned. “Has he been acting inappropriately?”
“No. I mean, not yet. But he, I don’t know, stares at me a lot, and he suggested we should go out for drinks to talk about it. I don’t think that’s such a great idea.”
“No, of course not. Have you spoken to Dr. Ashworth?”
She shook her head. “Rance is such a fair-haired boy around here. I’m kind of scared to. I’m afraid they won’t believe me or they’ll blame me for it.”
He nodded. “I understand. It’s just that he and I are essentially equals. I don’t have any authority to call him on his behavior myself, and if I go to someone, they could think I’m jealous of him and discount the story. In other words, it could be worse, not better.”
“I kind of thought of that.” She sighed. “Sorry. I should just keep this whole thing to myself.”
He sat back in his chair. “No. You did the right thing. But it’s possible he was just fishing to see your reaction, or if we really give him benefit of the doubt, he might not have realized how creepy he sounded.” She gave him a look, and he shrugged. “Would you feel comfortable waiting to see what he does next? Then, if he persists, we can go to Dr. Ashworth together.”
She frowned a little but nodded. “That would be fine, Mr. Walters. I’d sure feel better if you were with me. Colleges aren’t notoriously kind to women’s sexual harassment problems.” She stood. “Of course, I think Dr. Ashworth is kind of a homophobe, so maybe I have it better than you.”
He looked up at her. Shit, news to me. “Why do you say that?”
She shook her head. “If you haven’t felt it, maybe it’s not true. I hope not. It’s just, my mom met him at a church function once and said he was a real piece of work. All ‘Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,’ and crap like that.”
“Maybe he’s grown. I haven’t been aware of it.”
She grinned. “Of course, somebody practically has to push you off a cliff before you know you’re high, Mr. W. You do give people a lot of leeway.” She grinned. “And that’s why I came to you. Thank you for listening.” She left his office.
Well, damn. Suddenly that tenured position he dreamed about felt far, far away.
More from Tara Lain
A Balls to the Wall Romance
A “pumped up” version of the Volley Balls story, twice as long as the original.
A double dose of alpha male might be better than one.
Despite just getting out of an abusive relationship with an asshole alpha, David Underwood’s wandering glance lands on two hot members of the Australian volleyball team on Laguna Beach and gets him harassed again. Still, when the delicious Gareth Marshall proves his interest by coming out to his team, David succumbs to his attraction. But Gareth’s volleyball partner, Edge, who’s equally hot, makes the lovers’ lives miserable.
For Gareth, a lifetime of hiding his orientation—and his attraction—from his best friend, Edge, as well as everyone else around him, adds up to hurt and frustration. David’s the first man to ever compete with Edge for Gareth’s passion. But Edge has secrets of his own, and David’s ex-lover will never be happy without David under his fist. With everything stacked against him, can a gay Laguna man find happiness with an alpha male–or two?
A Balls to the Wall Romance
Renowned artist Rodney Mansfield stands five foot six, has pink hair, six earrings, a black belt in karate—and a desperate yearning for firefighter Hunter Fallon. But Rod, the Runtback of Notre Dame, knows he’ll never land the beautiful “straight gay” guy, so Rod musters his altruism and helps his more masculine friend Jerry attract Hunter. As if a broken heart wasn’t enough, Rod saves Hunter from a firehouse homophobe—humiliating Hunter in front of his dad!
Hunter lives a dream life—his father’s dream. While he’d like to teach literature in college, read poetry in the sun, and find a strong guy to top him, he fights fires for his dad. Hunter hates flamboyant guys like Rodney. So why can’t he resist him? Maybe it’s time to admit this is one flame he has no desire to put out.
A Balls to the Wall Romance
Adam James is so far in the closet he could find Narnia. As an attorney for the homophobic WMA Development, he can’t come out without risking the million-dollar paycheck waiting for him once they push their big land development deal through the city council—money that will finally allow Adam to live according to his own terms. Then, on an early morning scuba dive, Adam meets a tall, lean rebreather diver named Sky who makes him want to hug a tree.
Sky Sea Mickeljohn stands for the environment, world peace, and being openly gay. He won’t compromise his principles for anyone—even the damned lying developer lawyer he can’t help lusting after. True, the WMA land development deal could put thousands of people at risk, but Sky still wants to risk his heart. In the fight between freedom and integrity, is there a place for love?
A Cowboys Don’t Story
Rand McIntyre settles for good enough. He loves his small California ranch, raising horses, and teaching riding to the kids he adores—but having kids of his own and someone to love means coming out, and that would jeopardize everything he’s built. Then, despite his terror of flying, he goes on a holiday to Hana, Hawaii, with his parents and meets the dark and mysterious Kai Kealoha, a genuine Hawaiian cowboy. Rand takes to Kai’s kid brother and sister as much as he drools over Kai, but the guy sports more prickles than a horned toad and more secrets than the exotic land he comes from.
Kai’s earned his privacy and lives to protect his “kids.” He ought to stay away from the big, handsome cowboy for everyone’s sake—but since the guy’s just a haole on a short vacation, how much damage can he do? When all of Kai’s worst fears and Rand’s darkest nightmares come true at once, there’s not much chance for two cowboys who can’t—or won’t—come out.
Luca McGrath may be returning to Napa Valley, California, as a promising chef with dreams of starting his own restaurant and winery, but his heart still lives with the bad-boy son of a billionaire, James Armstrong. Luca spent his childhood playing games with the golden boy of California society, so blinded by James he barely noticed the dark, quiet lure of his conservat
ive older brother, Dylan Armstrong.
But now Luca’s home, and his own powers of attraction are enough to make James question his dedicated heterosexuality and his promised marriage to a wealthy and powerful businesswoman. The obvious attraction between Luca and James spurs Dylan into action—but he’s fighting a huge secret. While Luca dreamed of James, Dylan dreamed of Luca. When Luca gets caught in the struggle between the brothers and gets accused of culinary espionage he’s ready to chuck the fairy tale—unable to even imagine Dylan’s power to make his dreams come true.
TARA LAIN writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her best-selling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Erotic Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, and Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. Readers often call her books “sweet,” even with all that hawt sex, because Tara believes in love and her books deliver on happily-ever-after. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. Her love of creating book titles comes from years of manifesting ad headlines for everything from analytical instruments to semiconductors. She does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft. She lives with her soulmate husband and her soulmate dog (who’s a little jealous of all those cat pictures Tara posts on FB) in Laguna Niguel, California, near the seaside towns where she sets a lot of her books. Passionate about diversity, justice, and new experiences, Tara says that on her tombstone, it will say “Yes!”
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.taralain.com
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By Tara Lain
Return of the Chauffeur’s Son
ALOYSIUS TALES
Spell Cat
Brush with Catastrophe
BALLS TO THE WALL
Volley Balls
Fire Balls
Beach Balls
FAST Balls
Balls to the Wall – Volley Balls and Fire Balls (Print Only Anthology)
COWBOYS DON’T
Cowboys Don’t Come Out
Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns
DREAMSPUN DESIRES
#5 – Taylor Maid
LONG PASS CHRONICLES
Outing the Quarterback
Canning the Center
Tackling the Tight End
LOVE IN LAGUNA
Knight of Ocean Avenue
Knave of Broken Hearts
Prince of the Playhouse
Lord of a Thousand Steps
PENNYMAKER TALES
Sinders and Ash
Driven Snow
Beauty, Inc.
Sinders and Ash and Beauty, Inc. (Print Only Anthology)
TALES OF THE HARKER PACK
The Pack or the Panther
Wolf in Gucci Loafers
Winter’s Wolf
The Pack or the Panther &Wolf in Gucci Loafers (Print Only Anthology)
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.
FAST Balls
© 2017 Tara Lain.
Cover Art
© 2017 Reese Dante.
http://www.reesedante.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: 978-1-63533-474-6
Published July 2017
v. 2.0
First Edition published by Etopia Press, 2013.
Printed in the United States of America
