by DJ Monroe
“Open the damn door,” David snarled. “Or I’ll blow your head off.
For all his resolve, when it came down to it, Colton had to do what David demanded. He slowly unlatched the deadbolt, turned the little button on the door knob and opened the door.
“Don’t move!”
That command came from behind them and left no room for argument. Colton didn’t know who it was or care how he had gotten there. He felt David’s grip loosen and bolted forward, intent on shoving Lincoln out of harm’s way. Together they tumbled to the floor, surrounded by what looked a dozen several police officers.
“Take him down,” someone yelled.
Colton heard a scuffle, heard David cursing and shouting and then all was quiet.
“Secure,” someone else announced after a few moments.
Strong hands pulled Colton and Lincoln to their feet.
“Get inside until we’ve got him cuffed and out of here,” another man told them and shoved Lincoln toward his apartment. “We’ll have questions later.”
Once inside, Lincoln and Colton stood there looking at each other, listening to the Officer Anders shouting instructions while there were scuffling footsteps.
“I’ll kill him.” That had to be David, and Colton reached out to touch Lincoln’s arm.
“By the time you get the chance, you’ll be an old man,” Officer Anders said.
More scuffling, grunts. It sounded like David was putting up a fight, no matter how desperate the situation.
“I’m so sorry,” Colton said when the hall grew quiet. “I didn’t want to open the door.”
“I knew something was wrong, but I had to see you, had to prove it to myself,” Lincoln told him.
“Lincoln, I’m sorry, about this morning. If I’d known Jon was here -.” Colton began.
Lincoln placed both hands on the other man’s shoulders and looked him in the eye. “Jon was simply here because he played me for a fool. That won’t ever happen again. It’s over between us and he knows it now.”
Colton swallowed hard, his heart soaring at what Lincoln had just said. “You mean, you don’t want him back?”
Lincoln nodded and then said something he’d been wanting to say since the night he had dinner with Colton. “I want you. I cannot spend another moment without you by my side and I want you there for the rest of my life.”
Now Colton’s knees were weak with relief, his head swimming with too much information at one time.
“Oh, Lincoln, I—”
A knock at the door made both of them jump. Lincoln opened it slowly and peered through the opening. When he saw that it was Officer Anders, he opened the door wider.
“I just wanted to make sure we don’t need an ambulance. That no one was hurt,” he said, stepping just inside the door. His gaze landed on Colton.
“I’m fine,” Colton finally said. “A little shook up but otherwise okay.”
“I’d like to see both of you at the station in the morning if it can be arranged. To get your statements.” He looked from one to the other. “You are going to press charges, correct?”
“Yes, absolutely,” Colton said quickly.
“Good. We want to put him away for a long time.”
“Thank you,” Colton said and then looked from Anders to Lincoln, “How did you know?”
Anders smiled. “Lincoln had a hunch that something was wrong. He alerted us and we met him at your door. The sliding glass doors on your balcony being open was just a lucky move on your part. One of my guys was able to use the fire escape and come in that way while Lincoln had him distracted by the door. It all worked out, just like we planned it.”
Anders gave them a little salute and stepped back out into the hall. “Oh, I locked your door so in case anyone came nosing around—”
“Thank you,” Colton said.
The officer left and Lincoln closed his door and locked it.
“I don’t have my keys,” Colton said, a little smile playing around his mouth.
“You won’t need them tonight,” Lincoln said. Reaching out, he pulled Colton into his arms. He gazed into Colton’s gray eyes for a moment and then kissed him, both men moaning as the kiss deepened, tongues exploring freely. Lincoln ran his hands up under Colton’s shirt, tugging playfully at his nipples.
Their lips parted but remained scant inches from each other and Lincoln smiled at the way Colton’s body responded to his touch.
“Or my cell phone,” Colton whispered, allowing himself to be pushed gently backward until his back was against a wall.
“You won’t need that either,” Lincoln growled, his voice low and throaty. “Not tonight. Tonight, it’s just me and you.”
“And tomorrow?” Colton asked, closing his eyes while Lincoln’s hand began roaming again, unbuckling his belt and lowering his zipper.
“Tomorrow, we’ll sort everything out—together.”
“Oh, Lincoln,” Colton whimpered.
“I was so afraid I’d lost you,” Lincoln whispered, expertly stroking Colton with one hand, unzipping his own jeans with the other.
“You’ll never lose me,” Colton assured him. Taking the initiative, Colton ran his fingertips up and down the length of Lincoln’s cock, smiling when he found the big man already wet with excitement,
“Colt,” Lincoln whispered, thrusting his crotch into Colton’s hand, moaning as Colton’s fingers curled around him possessively.
Colton kissed Lincoln and then slid downward, tugging clothing out of the way as he moved.
“I’m helplessly, hopelessly lost when you touch me,” Lincoln told him.
“Then I shall make that a regular practice, my darling,” Colton said.
Epilogue
“Are you sure your parents will be okay with us just dropping in like this?” Colton asked, turned sideways in the passenger seat. He watched Lincoln’s big hands maneuver the car through traffic.
“Yeah, they’ve been asking when they were going to get to meet you. Now’s as good a time as any,” Lincoln said, giving him a sly wink.
Colton was still a little nervous about what they’d done that morning and now he was going to meet Lincoln’s parents.
“I feel good about the offer on the house, though, don’t you?” Lincoln asked.
Colton caught sight of himself in the mirror, grinning from ear to ear. “I do, too.” He placed a hand on Lincoln’s thigh and Lincoln covered it with his own. “I can’t believe we’re actually going to buy a house.”
The little bungalow had an extra bedroom for Colton’s office where he would start his home restyling business. And it had a big, fenced in back yard. Lincoln had mentioned that he wanted a dog. Once they were settled, Colton intended to surprise him with a puppy.
“I begged Grant—” Colton stopped and bit his lower lip.
“I’m not Grant,” Lincoln reminded him. “I told you I plan to spend the rest of my life with you and this house is just the beginning.”
Colton smiled and squeezed Lincoln’s fingers.
As it turned out Lincoln’s childhood home where his parents still lived was less than a ten minute walk away from the little bungalow they’d just made the offer on. They pulled into the driveway and Lincoln shut off the engine.
“Come on,” he said, giving Colton a reassuring smile. “It’ll be fine.”
Colton stood behind Lincoln on the little stoop, his nervousness mounting when he rang the doorbell.
The door opened and Colton heard a man say, “Well, Lincoln, what a nice surprise.”
“Hey, Dad,” Lincoln said. “I have an even better surprise.”
“Oh, yeah?” The door opened wider and Colton followed Lincoln inside.
“First, Dad this is Colton English,” Lincoln said by way of introduction.
The older man smiled warmly and Colton could see the strong resemblance between father and son right away.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Colton said, liking the man’s strong grip.
“We’ve heard
a lot about you,” his dad said. “All of it good.”
“Lincoln, is that you?” a small woman entered the room. She smelled of cinnamon and vanilla.
“Yes, ma’am,” Lincoln said, kissing her on the cheek. “And this is Colton English.”
“So nice to finally meet you,” she said, embracing Colton warmly.
“I forgot to warn you. My mom’s a hugger,” Lincoln said, slapping Colton playfully on the back.
“That’s okay. I’m a hugger, too,” Colton told her.
“He is,” Lincoln agreed.
“So, what brings you two out to the burbs on this bright Saturday morning?” his dad asked, once they were seated at the big, round kitchen table with coffee and pie all around.
“We’re buying a house,” Lincoln said.
“We just made an offer,” Colton added, so excited he could hardly sit still.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, and it’s not too far from here,” Lincoln told them.
“Well, that’s good news,” his mother said, standing behind her husband, she put a hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll have some more good news in a minute, maybe,” Lincoln said, looking across the table at Colton.
Colton stopped with his fork full of pie halfway to his mouth and watched curiously as Lincoln stood and came around the table. Reaching into his pocket, he went down on one knee and looked up at Colton.
“Colton, will you marry me?” Lincoln asked, simply holding out his hand flat, the silver, diamond studded band lying in his palm.
Colton was breathless, speechless and only able to nod as tears filled his eyes and streamed down his cheeks.
“Those are happy tears, right?” his dad said from somewhere close by.
Lincoln laughed, slid the ring onto Colton’s finger and stood up. “I hope so.”
“Yes, oh, God, yes,” Colton finally gasped.
“Yes, they’re happy tears or yes, you’ll marry me?” Lincoln asked.
“Yes, to both,” Colton said. “Yes to forever.”
Books by DJ Monroe
HATE.
FEAR.
Spencer Burbank is pretty sure that both are good reasons to avoid his past.
He hates his father for trying to turn him into someone he isn't, and for rejecting who he is - a gay man.
He fears that his anger and hurt will ruin his precious six-year-old daughter, and that she will be forever scarred by his mistakes.
He fears that the only man he's ever loved hates his guts.
It's been three years now, and it's time to go home. When he is called to his father's deathbed, Spencer is certain that the old man is going to find a way to hurt him one last time. Instead he finds secrets, hope, and the kind of love that comes around only once. But can he hang onto it? It seems like he's screwed up everything he ever touched, and Spencer isn't sure he deserves the new love that's being offered. He wants it, though - more than anything.
This is a novel about love, loyalty, and finding a way back to beautiful.
A GAY ROMANCE NOVEL about haunting, healing, and timeless love.
Charles Bedford, former author of popular best selling books, hasn’t worked for months. His lover Kyle is dead, and most days Charles doesn’t want to be alive either. When he stumbles upon a rambling old plantation home deep in the heart of Virginia, he buys it, figuring it might just be the thing to pull him out of his depression. It’s time to move on, and Charles needs a project. He doesn’t realize, at first, that he’s stepping into an age old mystery and a second chance at love.
The big mansion is creepy and more than a little lonely, so when a handsome stranger named Stony shows up at his door, telling stories of murder and secrets and forbidden loves from long ago, Charles is more than intrigued – he’s downright excited, for the first time in a long while. Maybe Stony can help him figure out why he constantly feels like he’s being watched, and why one room of the house makes him sick with fear. Something terrible clearly happened in this crumbling mansion, and Charles hopes that Stony has the ability to heal the old place – and maybe help him heal his heart, too.
