by KC Burn
“So close,” he panted out.
“Me too.”
Raven reached down and stroked his cock in time with Caleb’s thrusts. A groan ripped from his chest and he spurted all over his hand and the back of his couch. Seconds later, Caleb thrust deep and stiffened behind him.
After dealing with the condom, Caleb came back with some damp paper towels for cleanup.
“Guess it’s a good thing I’ve got a leather couch,” Raven said.
Caleb laughed, wiped him down, and guided them both to the couch. He wrapped an arm around Raven, and he curled into Caleb’s warmth. “I love you, Raven.”
“I love you too.”
“I know we’ve only been together for a short time, but I think there’s something about me you need to know.” Caleb stroked his shoulder gently. Cuddling, buck naked or otherwise, had only been part of Raven’s life since Caleb had entered it, and he treasured the contact as much as he treasured everything else bright and shiny Caleb had brought into his life.
Probably he should have tensed up at the ominous words, but whatever it was, he was pretty sure he could handle it. After all, Caleb had done surprisingly well with Raven’s skeleton leaping out of the closet for a sneak attack. Being understanding in return was the least he could do. They loved each other. How bad could it be? Oh. Wait.
“It’s your parents. They hate me, don’t they?”
Caleb laughed. “No. They’ll love you.”
“What about… what I did? The porn?” He was hesitant to bring it up, but everyone had to know already.
“No judgment. I promise. Well… maybe from Tía Rosa and Tía Carmelita. They can be a little judgmental. But my parents won’t ever make you feel bad about it.”
Raven sat up straight. Somehow, in all of the drama, he’d forgotten Caleb had, however unwillingly, come out to his family.
“Shit. How did that go? After I left, I mean.” He truly didn’t think Caleb would have been disowned, but one never knew.
“It went surprisingly well, despite the circumstances.”
With a sigh of relief, he sank back into Caleb’s embrace. Later, when he wasn’t so worn out from crying and a super intense orgasm, he’d get the details.
“So what’s the big secret, then?”
“One day, I’m going to want us to move in together. Maybe buy a little house with a yard.”
Raven laughed. “One day, I’m going to want the same thing.” But for now, things were just about perfect.
Epilogue
THE DOORBELL made Raven look up from the cardboard box he was unpacking. He wiped a hand across his brow. Despite the fully functioning air conditioner—Caleb would stand for no less—Raven had been working hard enough to cover himself in a light sheen of sweat.
He made his way through the maze of boxes and opened the door.
“Caleb? Why are you ringing the bell? Did you forget your key?”
“Nope. Just wanted to give you your anniversary present.”
Raven frowned and waved at the boxes behind him. “But isn’t this our anniversary present? For both of us?” Just yesterday, they’d closed on the small house with some big trees on a sizeable lot, in the same neighborhood as most of Caleb’s family. It had all happened fairly fast. They’d started looking at real estate listings just six weeks ago, six weeks before their one-year anniversary. The sale of Raven’s condo was set to close in a couple of weeks.
“No. We decided it was time. We were ready to buy a house together. Sure, it all happened around our anniversary, but it’s not your present.”
Fuck. “I didn’t get you a present.” He’d been so caught up in packing and moving, it hadn’t even occurred to him. But this must have been the errand that had sent Caleb out earlier.
Caleb smiled. “That’s okay. We can share this one.” He offered Raven an oddly shaped cardboard box.
Weird. Why could they share a present, when buying a house together didn’t count? This definitely wasn’t another box of roses.
He took the box.
“Careful,” Caleb warned. “Maybe you should set it down before you open it.”
Raven did as he was bid. He carefully opened the top of the box, which came to a point, almost like the roof of a house, and peered inside.
A small fluffy ball of black sat within, and Raven blinked. It wasn’t until the tiny kitten looked up at him and meowed that he fully realized what he was looking at.
“A cat?” They’d both talked about wanting one, but the notion had gone on the back burner as his schedule heated up, between school and Tartan Candy gigs. But school was done now, and there were two of them to take care of this little kitten.
“Yep. All black hair, so it matches you.”
Raven gently lifted it out and stared into giant, mesmerizing green eyes. “Boy or girl?”
“Girl.”
“She’s beautiful, Caleb. Thank you.”
Caleb kissed him without disturbing the tiny warm animal in his hands.
“We may or may not decide to have kids, but I know we both wanted a cat.”
Maybe one day, kids might enter the picture, but for now, Raven was enjoying being part of a committed, loving couple, living a life like anyone else, and figuring out how to be part of a loud, boisterous family.
Like he’d thought almost every day since Caleb came out to his family, things were just about perfect. Raven wouldn’t change a thing.
More by KC Burn
Sometimes Stratford Dale feels like Doctor Chicken consumes his life. It’s his pen name for a series of wildly popular children’s books. They were his brainchild; he meant for them to be a way to pay his many bills while he pursued his dream of publishing graphic novels. But the Doctor Chicken contract was a raw deal. Instead, he churns out book after book for a pittance, leaving him broke and no closer to his dreams.
Stratford’s dreams of love have fared no better, but he’s still trying. After yet another disastrous date, he’s intrigued by a man going into a cooking class—so he takes the class too. Vinnie Giani is a successful, self-made man who is charmed by Stratford’s bow ties, sharp humor, and clumsiness—which leads to an opportunity to take Stratford in for stitches. Vinnie is, above all, responsible, having taken on the care of his mother and sisters from a young age. Perhaps it’s natural when he begins to treat Stratford more as a child who needs a parent than as an equal partner. But when Vinnie tries to “fix” Stratford’s career woes—including the Doctor Chicken problem—and ends up making the situation worse, their fledgling relationship may not withstand the the strain created by blame and lies.
Having come out late in life, forty-three-year-old Luke Jordan is at a loss about how to conduct himself as a gay man. As a construction manager, he’s not interested in being out at work, but he’d like to find a boyfriend or at least some gay friends. Two years after his wife got all their friends in the divorce, he’s no closer to the life he wants.
Zach, Luke’s adult son, takes charge and signs him up for the Rainbow Blues, a social group for gay blue-collar workers. At an event, he not only finds friends but meets Jimmy Alexander, part-time stage actor and full-time high school biology teacher. Jimmy loves the stage but wishes potential boyfriends weren’t so jealous of the time he devotes to it. When he meets Luke and finds him accepting of his many facets, he thinks it’s a dream come true.
Their relationship quickly moves into serious territory, but their connection is tested to its breaking point by the offer of a juicy movie role that takes Jimmy to the opposite coast and into the path of a very sexy costar.
Toronto Tales: Book One
Detective Kurt O’Donnell is used to digging up other people’s secrets, but when he discovers his slain partner was married to another man, it shakes him. Determined to do the right thing, Kurt offers the mourning Davy his assistance. Helping Davy through his grief helps Kurt deal with the guilt that his partner didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth, and somewhere along the way Davy stops being
an obligation and becomes a friend, the closest friend Kurt has ever had.
His growing attraction to Davy complicates matters, leaving Kurt struggling to reevaluate his sexuality. Then a sensual encounter neither man is ready for confuses them further. To be with Davy, Kurt must face the prospect of coming out, but his job and his relationship with his Catholic family are on the line. Can he risk destroying his life for the uncertain possibility of a relationship with a newly widowed man?
Toronto Tales: Book Two
Detective Ivan Bekker has hit rock bottom. Not only is he recovering from a bad breakup with a cheating boyfriend, he’s also involved in a drug bust gone bad. Ivan had to kill a man, and his friend was shot and is now fighting for his life. Though Ivan is under investigation for his part in the shooting, his boss sends him on an off-the-books undercover operation to close the case. The timing is critical—this could be their chance to plug a leak in the department.
Off-balance and without backup, Ivan finds himself playing a recent divorcé and becoming Parker Wakefield’s roommate. He finds it hard to believe that sweet Parker could possibly be a criminal, much less have ties to a Russian mafia drug-trafficking operation, and Ivan lets down his guard. His affection is unprofessional, but Parker is irresistible.
When Ivan comes across clear evidence of Parker’s criminal involvement, he has to choose: protect their relationship, regardless of the consequences, or save his career and arrest the man he loves.
Toronto Tales: Book Three
Thirty-five-year-old Rick Haviland is a well-respected speech pathologist, but while his friends are all settling into relationships, he refuses to give up his no-strings-attached club boy sex life. For him, relationships are dangerous; he’s got a secret to hide. When he meets Ian O’Donnell, an account manager with a local tabloid, Rick figures his personal rules for relationships should be enough to keep him safe from more than a one-night stand.
When Ian comes out of the closet, tired of anonymous hook-ups and keeping secrets from his large Catholic family, Rick is right there, and he’s just the sort of man Ian might like to get to know better.Their attraction is immediate, electric and mutual. Ian convinces Rick to break more and more of his rules, and his defenses crumble. But someone watches, someone who’d like to see this new relationship fail. When Ian’s job becomes a means to expose Rick’s secret, it could destroy both their careers and their hearts.
Readers love KC Burn
Pen Name – Doctor Chicken
“It was a sweet and funny story,there are some scenes that actually had me laughing out loud. The book was easy and cute, I read it straight through and was sad when it ended.”
—Hearts on Fire
“Of course there is a happy ending, but the trip getting there was an amazingly entertaining one. This is one you won’t want to miss.”
—The Novel Approach
“I needed a good sweet contemporary romance with plenty of laughs and this hit the spot.”
—MM Good Book Reviews
Rainbow Blues
“The characters are unforgettable, and the story is filled with relationship angst that will surely tug at your heart.”
—Prism Book Alliance
“It was nice reading about a mature relationship unfolding in a way that you could really see happening to you or any of your single friends.”
—The Kimi-chan Experience
Cast Off
“This was a very sweet and heartbreaking love story… I really liked this and I thank KC for bringing it to me.”
—Rainbow Book Reviews
“Cast Off is a good addition to a wonderful series with strong leads and a tender romance.”
—The Romance Reviews
KC BURN has been writing for as long as she can remember and is a sucker for happy endings (of all kinds). After moving from Toronto to Florida for her husband to take a dream job, she discovered a love of gay romance and fulfilled a dream of her own—getting published. After a few years of editing web content by day, and neglecting her supportive, understanding hubby and needy cat at night to write stories about men loving men, she was uprooted yet again and now resides in California. Writing is always fun and rewarding, but writing about her guys is the most fun she’s had in a long time, and she hopes you’ll enjoy them as much as she does.
Website: kcburn.com
Twitter: @authorkcburn
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kcburn
By KC Burn
Grand Adventures (Dreamspinner Anthology)
Pen Name – Doctor Chicken
Rainbow Blues
Tartan Candy
TORONTO TALES
Cop Out
Cover Up
Cast Off
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.
Tartan Candy
© 2016 KC Burn.
Cover Art
© 2016 L.C. Chase.
http://www.lcchase.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.
ISBN: 978-1-63477-052-1
Digital ISBN: 978-1-63477-053-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015918967
Published February 2016
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America
Table of Contents
Blurb
Dedication
Acknowledgments
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
Chapter FOURTEEN
Chapter FIFTEEN
Chapter SIXTEEN
Chapter SEVENTEEN
Chapter EIGHTEEN
Epilogue
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