“So you keep telling me.” Rief chuckled and propped up on an elbow. “Go look at the painting I made for you.”
He leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the brow. “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you.” Excited, he hurried into the parlor. When he saw what Rief had done, he covered his mouth to smother his cry. “Oh, Rief! She’s beautiful!”
“You like it?” he called from their bedroom, sounding hopeful.
“It looks just like her.”
Mathew studied the painting of Maggie, the way Rief had captured her quirky smile and that knowing twinkle in her eyes. Her riotous black curls bunched up on the sides, the way she liked to wear them, each tendril painted with precision and care. It was so perfect, so lifelike Mathew could all but hear her saying, “Oh pishposh, Matty, it looks nothing like me at all!”
With a hand over his heart, he returned to study the man he loved from the doorway of their room, tears of gratitude welling in his eyes. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I know you miss her. I thought we could hang it in the main parlor, so you can see her every morning,” he said, reaching for something on the bed stand. “A letter from her came yesterday too.”
Eager to hear news, he crawled back into bed beside Rief and took the letter. Rief snuggled against him, always close and always touching whenever they were alone. With Rief’s head resting on his belly where it belonged, he broke the wax seal.
After he read the first page, Mathew chuckled.
“What’s funny?” Rief asked.
“Apparently the Duke of Effingshire’s second cousin once removed has taken a shine to Maggie.” As he read further, however, his amusement faded, giving way to a frown. “She regrets that I will not be returning with the Lucky Clipper because there are a few ladies she would like to introduce me to.”
Rief looked up at him, all tousled and alluring from making love. He placed a hand on Mathew’s thigh and shrugged. “It’s easier for her this way.”
Brushing the fringe of sandy hair from Rief’s brow, he relished the damp warmth of skin beneath. His empathetic expression managed to assuage any real vexation.
Though Rief was right, it still saddened him that he could not be as open with Maggie as Rief had been with his brother. Not that Cole approved, by any means, but he was usually cordial, if uncomfortable, when the two of them were in his presence. If Chambers knew the nature of their relationship, he’d yet to express any suspicions or opinions. However, if the quiet acceptance of neither acknowledging nor opposing meant they could spend time together free of persecution, then Mathew would be grateful.
He continued to read the letter, paraphrasing some things for Rief and eventually turning it over for him to read himself. When Rief finished, he set it on the bed and glanced over at Mathew. “So you’re okay with staying here for the summer? You don’t want to go home, at least for a little while?”
Mathew cupped his face, those hazel eyes sparkling in the sunlight cast across their bodies, its warmth unable to match the heat roused by the man in his bed. Mathew could hardly believe moments like these had become a daily part of his life. The joy of waking up with the man he loved, living a life that at times might not be ideal, but was as close to perfection as they had ever dared to hope for. They would never again have to be lonely, misunderstood, or afraid as long as they had each other.
Unbeknownst to either of them, Rief had been painting this happy future for them all this time. Like the canvases he’d once made of Mathew, full of sunshine and light, their days ahead were also bright. Darkness had filled their pasts, prejudice and fear lurking below every wave, threatening to leave them wrecked, shadows of the men they were supposed to be. But taking a risk on love had salvaged the lives they’d once thought totally lost. Though storms would always cross their path, in quiet moments like these, Mathew saw only clear sailing, and perfect, calm waters ahead.
Overcome with love and affection, he kissed his lover, his friend. The man he needed more than the very air he breathed. Drawing back with a smile, Mathew answered the question, “I’m already home, Rief. Home is wherever you are.”
Dear reader,
Thank you for reading Wrecked. If you would like updates on my upcoming releases, join my newsletter HERE.
Please stay and leave a review if you enjoyed Mathew and Rief’s hard fought for HEA, then check out some of my other paranormal and historical gay romances.
Thanks!
~Deanna
Deanna Wadsworth might be a bestselling erotica author, but she leads a pretty vanilla life in Ohio with her wonderful husband and adorable cocker spaniels. She has been spinning tales and penning stories since childhood, and her first erotic novella was published in 2010. When she isn’t writing books or brainstorming with friends, you can find her making people gorgeous in a beauty salon. An avid reader, she also loves gardening, cooking, music, and dancing. Often she can be seen hanging out on the sandbar in the muddy Maumee River or chilling with her hubby and a cocktail in their basement bar. In between all that fun, Deanna cherishes the quiet times when she can let her wildly active imagination have the full run of her mind. Her fascination with people and the interworkings of their relationships have always inspired her to write romance with spice and love without boundaries.
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Read her young adult alter ego K.D. Worth
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Naughty Cupid
The name’s Lio, and you may have read the beginning of my story in A Cupid’s Wager. Well, hold on to you hats, because there’s more to tell about this cupid working in the Gay Division of the Inter-Dimensional Association of Cupids.
Remember Ethan? That Aztec god of the winds who busted me shooting a closeted human with a gay lust arrow? Yeah, I haven’t been able to forget him either. Even though I have a rule against getting it on with other supernaturals—especially ones working for the Straight Division—my magic is drawn to Ethan and all his tattoos and piercings in a way I cannot control.
But after that night of mind-numbing sex, now I gotta face my evil ex-boyfriend and a suspension by the IDAC for “misplacing” arrows. They took my quiver, and I have to figure out how to get my arrow privileges back before they’re taken forever.
Ethan seems to think he can help me, but I don’t know how anybody can make this cupid believe in love again.
The Naughty North Pole Series
In the Naughty North Pole, nothing is what you expect, and is everything is exactly what you never knew you needed. Santa and Ms. Clause are Nordic demi-gods, and twins—not sure where the married rumors came from—who spend 364 days a year making toys for all for the children along with their faithful elves.
Adventure begins on Christmas Eve, when Ms. Claus throws a wild sex party with the elves while Santa delivers the toys. Lots of naughty fun ensues, from three-ways to true love for Santa. Oh yeah, and the elves have candy-flavored cum.
What will be your favorite flavor?
Ms. Claus’s List
Pips Boxing Day Wish
A Gift for Santa
Fun & Games with Rudolph
Everybody Hates Fruitcake
Welcome Home, Soldier
A Men of Gilead Holiday
Clay and Daniel fell in love as enlisted men during Desert Shield, but Don’t Ask Don’t Tell meant they had to keep it secret. After Clay’s convoy was ambushed, PTSD changed him, and their relationship ended in a horrible fight on Christmas Eve.
Twenty-five years later, they’ve reconnected on Facebook, and Clay finds out Daniel will be alone on Christmas Eve. Impulsively, he sets out for Daniel’s hometown of Gilead, Ohio–where Daniel is now the mayor–to surprise him with a visit. But a blizzard strikes and Clay wrecks his car. All hope of seeing Daniel is lost–until a mysterious old man named Nick offers Clay a ride.
The weight of past wounds and the scars of war might make their reunion awkward, but Clay is willing to take the risk to win back his lost love. Despite a lifetime of disappointing holidays, Clay hopes that this soldier is finally coming home for Christmas.
Easy Ryder
It’s July 3, 1976, the beginning of America’s bicentennial weekend, and everyone seems to be celebrating their freedoms except eighteen-year-old runaway Michael Ryder. Fresh from rural Pennsylvania, Michael is doing whatever and whoever it takes to get to San Francisco, where he hopes to find a new life with the freedom to love without fear.
While hitchhiking, a mysterious tattooed biker named Snake offers him a ride west—on the back of his customized Harley chopper. During the journey across Route 66, Snake introduces Michael to new and steamy pleasures, leaving Michael aching for more than just a physical relationship. But a violent encounter with a cruel biker gang and a harrowing secret from Snake’s military past might destroy their unlikely relationship long before they reach the end of the road.
Wrecked Page 31
