by Tara Lain
“Can you describe them?”
“The Santa guy was kind of tall. As tall as you, but not as tall as me.”
Star wrote. “So, about six feet tall?”
“Probably, yes. The other guy was little. That’s one reason why I didn’t think anything strange. The elf was really small—like he fit the costume. I figured they were just rehearsing for the Winter Fantasy Santa’s Village.”
“How small.”
JJ held out his hand at the middle of his chest.
“About five foot four?”
“Yeah, or maybe smaller.”
“But it was definitely a man?”
JJ cocked his head. “Good question.”
Again, that gaze speared him. “Close your eyes and picture the two of them and see if you remember anything that would indicate if the person might have been female.”
JJ closed his eyes. Wow. The detective smelled good. Like citrus with some honey in it. A soft smell, not overpowering at all. Maybe he could just snuggle his head against Ryan’s neck and inhale deeply. “Ummm.”
“Excuse me?”
“Uh, sorry. The elf had big feet, and I think he had tennies under the elf shoe covering. I’d guess a man.” His eyes flew open. “Yes, Adam’s apple. The guy had one.”
Detective Star smiled. Oh God of sweet homosexual love. Like flashing white perfection in that otherwise imperfect face. JJ’s cock leaped up in greeting. Hello, Starshine.
The cop beamed at him. “Good job, JJ. Now what else can you remember?”
Oh my, how he loved pleasing the nice detective. “Santa was wearing a phony beard, but he had black stubble on his cheek above it. He had on sunglasses. Cheap ones. Prada knockoffs you might get on the street in Santa Ana.” Okay, maybe too much information. “Uh, he was wearing some padding, but I think he probably had some fat of his own. The elf was skinny. And”—he closed his eyes and pulled up the picture again—“he had weird eyes.”
“How weird?”
“Kind of pale and a little scary-looking.”
“Could they have been contacts?”
“Doubt it.” He closed his eyes again. Oh, he loved that scent. He opened them. “I couldn’t see the elf’s hair because he wore a full wig, but I’ll bet it was red.”
Star frowned. “Why do you think that?”
“He had those freckles that some redheads have. Might be.”
“Is there anything else?”
JJ nodded. Could he think of twenty more things to keep the good detective here? “The bigger man spoke to me, and he had an accent of some kind.”
“What kind?”
JJ screwed up his nose. “Hmm. It was a little like Southern, but… I know, I think it was like Boston or New England or something. Sort of flat-sounding.”
“Was the voice deep?”
JJ breathed out slowly. “Not as deep as yours.”
Star’s blue eyes flashed up at him.
“Uh, I mean you have a low voice. The Santa’s voice was higher and nasally.”
“Do you think you would recognize it again?”
“Possibly.”
Star asked him a few more questions about what the robbers had said and where they seemed to be going. He flipped the notebook closed. “You’ve been extremely helpful. Thank you for your time.”
JJ tried to keep his voice low. “Anytime.”
Star looked back at him for a moment. “I may have a few more questions. Is there somewhere I can reach you?”
Oh, be still my heart. JJ recited his cell number, and Star wrote it in his notebook—on a separate page. Oh my.
“So, you a Trojan?”
“What?” JJ swallowed.
Star pointed at his head. “USC.”
“Oh, uh, no. Just a, uh, fan.”
That blazing smile again. “You like football.” It wasn’t a question, thank God.
“I’ve been known to watch a game.” JJ held his breath.
The appraising blue eyes stared into his. “Thanks again for your great help.”
“My pleasure.” Or at least his cock’s pleasure.
Detective Ryan Star walked away toward a group of uniformed officers gathered at the booth across from JJ’s. The cop’s jeans clung to lean, muscled thighs and the tweed sports jacket had an obligatory feel, like maybe it wasn’t something he wore in his free time. It wasn’t something he should wear at all. That man needed a dresser. JJ sighed. Fat effing chance it would be him.
JJ went back to the display, trying hard to look manly while positioning dolls on a snow scene. He glanced up and caught his breath. Star was staring at him. JJ wanted to fan himself so bad. Man up.
He stared down at the doll in his hands. Why the hell was he trying to impress this guy? The detective was scary and his job was violent, two things that JJ hated. But there was that second while he was questioning JJ when Star had looked embarrassed that he’d forgotten to show his credentials. Was that a hint of the vulnerable man underneath? Naw, he probably just felt uncomfortable around a creampuff like JJ.
What had he been thinking?
He’d been known to watch a football game? Not in this life.
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?
Sequel to Fire Balls
A Balls to the Wall Romance
Can two men with skewed self-images see their true reflections in each other’s eye
s?
Jerry Wallender—firefighter, surfer, and occasional nude model—knows he’s no rocket scientist. So why does he keep choosing intellectual guys who make him feel dumber? He worked his buns off to overcome his reading disability and pass the firefighter’s test, and he loves everything about the job. Well, except for Mick Cassidy, the big, blond, hunky homophobe who harasses Jerry for being gay. But Jerry is smart enough to realize it’s not hate driving Mick, but the pain of a very unhappy upbringing.
Mick Cassidy, Firefighter Assist and Search Team, fights fires, but he can’t fight his attraction to the kindest, most generous—and sexiest—guy he’s ever met. Does that make him gay? If it does, he just might get himself killed by his gay-hating preacher father—and take Jerry down with him.
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 conservative 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
Cataclysmic Shift
BALLS TO THE WALL
Volley Balls
Fire Balls
Beach Balls
FAST Balls
High Balls
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
Fool of Main Beach
PENNYMAKER TALES
Sinders and Ash
Driven Snow
Beauty, Inc.
TALES OF THE HARKER PACK
The Pack or the Panther
Wolf in Gucci Loafers
Winter’s Wolf
PRINT ONLY ANTHOLOGIES
Balls to the Wall – Volley Balls and Fire Balls
The Pack or the Panther &Wolf in Gucci Loafers
Sinders and Ash and Beauty, Inc.
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.
High 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: 978-1-63533-475-3
Published October 2017
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America
