by Lynn Stark
Silver’s Studs 9
Randy & Jett: Dragon Kisses
Randy Carr is a former rent boy and drug addict beginning a new life in Silver. He doesn’t want any reminders of his past and can’t bear the thought of being intimate with a man. Besides, who would want him after he had sold himself to strangers to buy drugs?
The moment Jett Hayden, also known as Dragon, saw the handsome man staring at him across the bar, he knew there was something special about him. Randy needs a lot of things from Jett, not the least of which is for Jett to be his bodyguard. Their lives together begin then, and Jett is determined to protect Randy.
As they spend more time together, Randy discovers love. Jett loves him, but Randy doesn’t know what he has to offer the man. Jett, however, is willing to give him all the time he needs to heal and to give them a chance to have a happy future together.
Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Contemporary
Length: 46,280 words
RANDY & JETT:
DRAGON KISSES
Silver's Studs 9
Lynn Stark
EROTIC ROMANCE
MANLOVE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove
RANDY & JETT: DRAGON KISSES
Copyright © 2016 by Lynn Stark
E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-493-5
First E-book Publication: September 2016
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2016 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
About the Author
RANDY & JETT:
DRAGON KISSES
Silver's Studs 9
LYNN STARK
Copyright © 2016
Chapter One
Randy studied the four scary-looking men sitting at table not far from where he sat at the end of the bar. They appeared relaxed, but he had noticed that they each seemed hyper-aware of what was taking place around them. They were bodyguards and that’s just what Randy needed. They were big, muscular, and closely resembled characters from the sci-fi movies he loved so much. Yeah, the four men could probably kick some serious alien ass, Randy thought as he lifted the glass of soda and took a drink. He would’ve liked a beer, but he was still a few months away from being allowed alcohol, per his agreement when he’d entered the program for substance abuse. His thing had been cocaine, not alcohol, but he could understand the need to completely clean out his system.
The desire for an ice-cold beer on a scorching day was the only craving Randy was experiencing at the moment. As he idly turned the glass on the bar, he studied the face of the one man Randy could fully see from his position. The man had close-cropped black hair, dark eyes, and angular features, giving him an almost severe expression. The guy was super-hot. Randy wouldn’t mind giving the man a closer examination.
As if he became aware of being watched, the man’s gaze shifted from the man across from him to Randy. Feeling as if he had just been targeted by a predator, Randy froze and stared. He swallowed hard and tried to remember to breathe, but the look he was getting left no doubt about what the man was thinking and what he wanted.
Randy, however, was not at the bar looking for a hookup. He needed a bodyguard to keep one particular asshole away from him. It was bad enough he was missing work because of a man who couldn’t get it through his head that Randy wanted nothing to do with him. A restraining order could only do so much. Randy had one of those, but knew it couldn’t protect him if Brad Barker was determined to hurt him, as he had promised to do. Barker was coming close to the end of a sixty-day stint in jail for assaulting another man, one who also wanted nothing to do with the bastard. Randy had witnessed the assault and felt he had done the right thing, testifying at Barker’s trial. Now he had two strikes against him as far as Barker was concerned. Randy had rebuffed Barker’s sexual advances several times and had been instrumental in helping put the Barker in jail for assault.
When Randy realized the man he’d been staring at was now walking in his direction, he had to force himself to remain seated. He had known the guy was big, but the closer he got, the bigger he got. Randy felt like a speck of humanity in comparison when the man stopped about two feet away.
“You’ve been staring.” It was a statement.
Randy was still staring as he tried to determine if he was pissed. The man’s chest was level with his face, so Randy stared at the massive torso covered by a sleeveless T-shirt clinging to him like a second skin. “Yes.” There was no point denying it. “And I’ll stare some more, if you don’t punch me first,” he said, finally looking up.
His severely stern face was softened by a grin, causing Randy’s heart to beat a little faster. The guy was sexy as hell. When he
smiled he became the hottest man on earth. Randy prayed he wasn’t drooling. That would be too embarrassing.
“I don’t normally go around punching people for no good reason.” The man’s dark gaze moved briefly between Randy’s face to the nearly empty glass on the bar. “Can I buy you a drink?”
Knowing the question for what it was, Randy crushed the temptation that rose up. Despite the fact that it had been ages—years, in fact—since he’d felt any level of desire for anyone, he knew he would rather be celibate for the remainder of his life than to be reminded of what he had gone through to get his drugs. Sex and drugs were locked together in his head. He had been a rent boy, willing to let anyone do just about anything to him, so he could earn enough in drugs, cash, or something he could sell for enough money to get his next high. Someone had even given Randy a half-starved puppy once for a chance to fuck him. Randy had dropped his pants and bent over while the wide-eyed animal had huddled on a filthy piece of cardboard a few feet away.
For the first time in a very long time he had cared about something other than drugs. He would save the dog from certain death, even if it meant giving up a part of his soul. When the man had tried to take the puppy back afterward, claiming Randy was a lousy fuck, Randy had lost it. He punched the man in the nose and kicked him in the balls.
Blinking, Randy closed the door on the past.
“No thanks. I’m sorry if I sent the wrong signals.” He frowned and cleared his throat. “Well, maybe they weren’t the wrong signals, because I have to admit you are the sexiest man I’ve ever seen, but there are reasons I can’t go there. What I need is a bodyguard, not a hookup. I was told you guys were available for hire.”
Well, Randy wasn’t on the floor nursing a busted jaw. That was a good thing. The guy didn’t look pissed that Randy hadn’t been willing to follow through on the signals he had unintentionally been sending out.
Thick black brows shot up. Whatever the guy had been expecting, beyond the obvious, it hadn’t been to hear that Randy wanted to hire a bodyguard. When he didn’t say anything immediately, Randy decided to press forward. “Do you have a name?”
“Dragon.”
Randy had overheard the names the four men used to identify themselves. He had thought it was weird, silly, and stupid that grown men should go by such ridiculous names. Now he was reconsidering that. The name Dragon, uttered by the man himself, was enough to make Randy’s dick hard. He obviously didn’t have enough sense to be scared shitless.
“Why do you need a bodyguard?” Dragon asked bluntly, all business now.
Randy decided to be just as blunt. “There’s a jerkwad getting out of jail soon. As I’ve already learned, he’s not the type to take no for an answer. He’s already threatened to take my ass out, among other things. I don’t want to leave Silver, unless it’s absolutely necessary. I just want time to think, to consider my options. Hiring you to watch my back would help give me that time.”
“Why don’t I just have a talk with this guy?”
Choking back a sound that would’ve been a combination of laughter and disbelief, Randy stared hard at Dragon. “I don’t know him real well, and have no desire to, but I don’t think listening is his strong suit. After all, protection orders don’t work if they’re ignored and he just ignored one and beat the hell out of someone. That’s why he’s in jail. Can you protect me from someone like that? I really don’t want to leave Silver to get away from him.”
“Even if you do, there’s always the possibility he’ll follow you.”
Unhappy, Randy nodded. “I know. I’ll just have to take precautions.”
Because Randy had already discussed his concerns with the heads of the program that had brought him to Silver, he knew they would help him relocate. He was tempted. But, dammit, he loved Silver. It was his home now. He had friends, he was working steadily, and he had what appeared to be a future. Dreams had never been a big thing in Randy’s life. He had been born, he had survived, and he nearly died, all within a period of twenty-two years. During that time he had never thought of the what-ifs. What if he had been born to parents who had jobs, people who were well-adjusted, kind, loving, and supportive? He thought about them now. What if an education had been important to him? What if doing something other than hanging out with the wrong people had been important to him? What if? What if?
What if he gave into temptation and had sex with a handsome man named Dragon?
What if?
No, Randy knew he couldn’t do it. He did have a past he could remember quite clearly. Dragon was willing to have sex with him. Hell, it might even be mutually pleasing. But it would still be sex without meaning, without any emotional connection. Randy wouldn’t be used, no matter what the circumstances were. He could live without sex. He could live without being used or without using someone else for what he needed.
Sighing, Randy slid off the stool and stood up. He wasn’t surprised when he discovered the top of his head was somewhere near Dragon’s shoulders. By normal standards, Randy was fairly average at five-nine. He tipped his head back as he chuckled.
Randy held out his hand. “It was nice meeting you.” Dragon’s hand engulfed his. Fiery heat shot up Randy’s arm as they shook hands. It swirled around in his chest for a few seconds before shooting like an arrow toward his groin. It made him not want to release Dragon’s hand, but he did, reminding himself that nothing good could come from becoming weak and giving into physical desires. “Thanks for your time.”
“You’re welcome.” Dragon set his beer on the bar, and reached back. He took out his wallet and pulled out a card. He handed it to Randy. “If you need me, give me a call.”
“Will do.”
He wouldn’t. Now that he had tried doing it, the idea of hiring a bodyguard seemed like a stupid one. His face heated up as he turned away and headed outside. He would have to rely on the conventional way of doing things. Hell, he lived in a house owned by a cop and his husband. Well, a former cop. Reagan was now training to be a wildlife officer. Still, Reagan carried a really big gun. The house had an alarm system. There were also other security measures being used to keep the residents safe. That would have to be good enough for now.
Leaving the bar, Randy headed toward his car. He smiled, forgetting about his problems for the moment as he admired it. The car wasn’t new, but it was his. He had saved most of the money he’d earned from his job and whatever odd jobs he could pick up around town. He often did work for a man named Connor, who owned a handyman service. Because it was mostly seasonal, there was plenty to do and work was going great right now. Randy got to work as many hours as he wanted. Having plenty of work meant more money. He was saving up for his own apartment and the things he would need for it, now that he was feeling confident enough to be living on his own.
Randy drove straight to the house he shared with several others. There was Reagan and Noah. They were the married couple who owned the house. They had met around Christmas the year before after a robbery at the store where Noah had worked. Reagan, still a deputy at the time, had responded to the call. It seemed Noah and Reagan had fallen in love on the spot. Randy didn’t know about love at first sight. All he knew was that he had never seen two people so in love with each other.
Not that he had that much experience with love. He had been abandoned as a baby and had grown up in the foster care system. At times, it seemed as if some people had tried to love him, but he’d never been with a family for more than a few months, so that love didn’t last.
Hank had found love, too. He had been one of Randy’s housemates until the month before, but was now living with Fallon Connolly and they were making plans to be married. Again, Randy had no understanding of the concept of love. He was happy for the pair, however.
Another housemate was Carla. She was warm and friendly and as close to a sister as Randy would ever have. Then there was Quinn. He was cool and had lived at the house as long as Randy. In fact, they had moved in at the same time. The quietest man living
there was Ricky. Randy suspected his problems ran very deep. Randy recognized the pain, but his efforts to befriend the man had failed. The last housemate was Bethany. Like Ricky, she was quiet and kept to herself, but that wasn’t unusual. Randy had noticed Bethany was beginning to spend more time with the rest of them and saw it as a good sign— she was also recovering and reclaiming her life.
As Randy parked in the driveway he thought about calling Hank to see if he was free to hang out sometime soon. It was plain and simple. Randy missed Hank. They had become best buds over the past few months. It was another reason to move back into town, where it would be easier for them to get together. It would be a moot point if he decided it wasn’t safe for him to remain in Silver. Hopefully that wouldn’t happen.
Hearing laughter as he got out of his car and locked it, Randy followed the sound to the rear of the house. He saw that everyone was outside. Some were on the deck, while others were seated near a small fire pit located on a large, brick-covered area in the center of the clearing behind the house.
Everyone turned when Randy approached. There were smiles and greetings as he walked up on the deck to the ice-filled cooler with a selection of soft drinks, as well as plain and flavored water. He grabbed a bottle of raspberry-flavored water and sat down at the table, not really wanting to sit by a fire when the temperature was still close to eighty.
“How’s it going?” Noah asked, bumping shoulders with Randy.
“Good.”
“Did you find what you were looking for?”
