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Ascension
Conner Sutherland never thought he'd meet the love of his life in the Afterlife…
Conner Sutherland has been alone for a long time. He can't remember the last time he even felt the desire to be touched by another man. Sometime before his death, when he'd still been Laine's lover. But Laine had found Severo years ago, and if any two people were meant for each other it was Laine and Sev. Where that leaves Conner, he doesn't know, other than feeling lost and out of sorts.
He doesn't want to think about the way he feels when he sees Ro—Rogelio, Sev's nephew. Conner's seen Ro grow from pretty boy into a handsome man, but wanting him is foolish and useless. Ro's got a life to live, and even if he does things that hurt Conner, that's not Ro's fault. He doesn't know he entranced Conner long ago.
Ro has only ever wanted one man for keeps. It's a pointless want, though, because Conner Sutherland is dead and too busy pranking Laine and Sev to notice Ro anyway.
But life, and death, have a way of surprising you, as Ro and Conner find out.
Whirlwind
Dying sucks, but the afterlife is one hot place to be.
Stefan wasn't physically perfect in life, and his search for someone to love him resulted in his murder. Now he's been dead for years, and he's lonelier than he ever was when he was alive. His physical problems might have vanished when his body ceased to live, but his spirit has to deal with the memories of the past.
Jordan and Gideon are friends who share eager guys when they can find them, but being in a war zone hasn't allowed for that to happen often. One roadside stop puts an end to their lives. Jordan and Gideon are at a loss to understand what happens to them, why they stay behind when others go up into the light. Searching for answers, they head to Jordan's hometown—McKinton, Texas—but a hell of a lot of things have changed in the decade and a half since Jordan left.
Namely, the arrival of one wicked, joyful spirit named Stefan.
General Release Date: 29th September 2015
Excerpt from Ascension
"Hey, Ro, can you get the oven mitts for me?" Severo asked as he opened the oven door.
Rogelio Martinez plucked the mitts from the counter top and handed them to his uncle Sev. The heat from the oven wafted out and Ro stepped back, swiping at his brow. "Are they ready?"
"I think so." Sev pulled out the bubbling enchiladas. The spicy scent of them filled the kitchen and Ro’s stomach gurgled with anticipation. Between the enchiladas and the tortillas, both homemade, he was about to drown himself in drool. He swallowed and greeted his uncle Laine as he came into the kitchen. "Hey, Uncle Laine, how was work?"
Laine took off his Stetson and held it in one hand as he walked over to Sev. The kiss they shared was brief but the love between the two men was evident in the way they leaned towards each other, and in their expressions.
Rogelio’s heart pinched with something uncomfortably like jealousy. He didn’t want to be ugly, and he didn’t begrudge his uncles their love. He just… He wanted a love like that for himself. Well, and another man, duh. As he watched Sev and Laine, Ro’s mind wandered to his fantasy man. Ro had pictured him so many times since he’d realised he was gay. Thick blond hair, stocky, muscular build, and a smile that promised all kinds of mischief.
Ro blinked and shook his head. The image forming in his mind wasn’t one of a man he’d ever had. It was of a picture he’d seen years ago when, as a teen, he’d gone snooping into Sev’s past. It had twined with Laine’s, and Ro had been a naïve and romantic young fool, so entranced by Sev and Laine’s love story that he hadn’t been able to think of much else.
"You gonna help set the table, kid?"
Laine’s deep rumbling voice snapped Ro out of his thoughts. "Yeah, sure."
Ro took the plain blue plates down from the shelf and placed them on the table. It didn’t take him long to lay out silverware and glasses of sweet tea. Laine made up a batch of guacamole while Sev finished up the salsa. They sat down at the table once everything was in place.
Laine arched a brow at him and pointed at the enchiladas. "Two or three?"
"Three." Ro was thin as a whip but he could and did eat anything he wanted.
Sev sniffed at him. "I used to have that kind of metabolism. It’ll catch up to you, trust me."
"I doubt that," Ro said as he scooped some guacamole onto his plate. He was starving, but he could spare a moment to pick on his uncle. "You’re still in shape, and you’re getting old."
Sev hissed and kicked him under the table. "I am not old, smart ass. And Laine’s older than me, anyway!"
Ro nodded and managed not to grimace as his shin took another kick. "Yeah, but Laine has always looked…" Ro waited for Laine to glare at him, then he sent Laine his sweetest smile. "Dignified."
Laine snorted and muttered, "Dignified, my ass. Sayin’ I always looked old is what you’re sayin’."
Ro hitched up a shoulder and shovelled a forkful of enchiladas into his mouth. He closed his eyes and moaned appreciatively as the hot cheese almost burnt his tongue. He wasn’t the only one enjoying the meal, either. The three men quit picking on each other and settled in to eat.
A prickling sensation caused the hairs on the back of Ro’s neck to stand up. His skin flushed with an awareness that he’d come to recognise. Sev cocked his head, but Laine kept eating, right up until the time that his plate scooted away from him.
Laine grabbed his plate and glared around the room. "Aw, damn it, Conner! You’re just jealous because you can’t have any!"
Sev shook his head. "He can have yours," he said just as Laine’s plate was lifted off the table.
Laine leapt up from his seat but the plate spun up until its contents almost touched the ceiling.
"Conner…" Laine growled.
Ro’s pulse raced and he grew warm in places he just shouldn’t while sitting at his uncles’ table. Ro set his fork down and pressed his hands to his thighs, digging his fingertips hard against his legs to distract himself from the wave of arousal washing over him. Only someone like him would have a crush on a dead guy with a love for pranks.
Excerpt from Whirlwind
Stefan Bausch nudged his friend Ro. "Wanna play football?"
Ro looked horrified for a moment, his eyebrows scrunching together as he gawked at Stefan. "Why would I want to do that? I hated football when I was alive, and what would we use for a ball?"
"A ball," Stefan said blandly. "Don’t tell me you haven’t learnt how to pick things up yet. You’re with Conner. You’d have to know how to grab corporeal things just to keep up with him."
Ro scowled. "That still doesn’t answer the why part."
"Because," Stefan said as he waggled his eyebrows, "think of the way everyone at the park would freak out if they saw a ball shooting back and forth through the air." It’d be hilarious…maybe. Or maybe not, since a lot of the townsfolk believe in spirits—ghosts. Stefan wasn’t interested in being exorcised. Again.
"Sounds like a great way to freak out someone and end up cast out of this world and into whatever comes next," Ro muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Didn’t something like that happen before?"
How did Ro know what he’d been thinking? Stefan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, and it sucked. It was your grandparents who did it, wasn’t it?"
"I don’t want to talk about them." Ro glanced around. "You know I still fear that they’re gonna pop up just to try to ruin my afterlife."
"Conner would handle them," Stefan informed his friend. Ro had to know that. Conner would never let anyone hurt Ro.
Ro flipped his long black hair. "Sure he would, but I don’t want him to have to. Anyway, I’m pretty sure they would hang around the other part of the family, not the heathen gay side."
"Maybe." But sometimes Stefan got so bored, he wished someone jerkish would show up. All the spirits he knew were nice—and either straight or hooked up, like Conner and Ro.
"We could go see what’s happening at Sev and Laine’s place," Ro offered, a hopeful light springing up in his eyes. "Conner’s off greeting newcomers." Ro’s joy died down and his expression shifted into one of sadness. "How he knows when someone’s going to pop up is beyond me. And him, too, actually. He says he just feels this tug in his chest." Ro shook his head. "That sounds creepier than us being dead in the first place. Oh man, I sure hope whoever does show up isn’t a psycho criminal. I always worry, but I don’t know why. It’s not like a psycho spirit could kill us all over again. I need to quit watching the news. It’s all bad shit. Why can’t everyone just get along?"
"That’s asking a lot of humanity," Stefan scoffed. He thought about going with Ro and shook his head. "You go on. I’m in a weird mood and should probably just go off and pout for a while."
"Are you sure?" Ro uncrossed his arms and reached for Stefan’s hand. Ro’s skin was warm and soft, his grip firm and comforting. "I’d love to have your company."
Seeing Laine and Sev wasn’t a bad thing, but Stefan didn’t want to hang around another happy, loving couple. Laine and Sev were definitely that. They’d been together forever and still acted like they’d only just met and fallen in love. It was sweet, and caused an ugly spike of jealousy to rear up in Stefan. He hated that about himself.
"Nah, really, I need to just chill out." Sleep, maybe. Stefan could sleep in his ghostly form just like he had in his live-bodied form. It helped to pass the time when he was bored stiff.
"You sure?" Ro asked again.
Stefan barely refrained from rolling his eyes again. "I’m sure. Jeez, go before I start thinking you’re afraid I’ll float off to the Great Beyond or whatever."
"Don’t even joke about that," Ro snapped. "It’s not funny."
"Sorry," Stefan said immediately. Ro had almost lost Conner to the Great Beyond or whatever came after when Conner had gone chasing after a spirit. It’d been a close call. None of them knew what happened to them once they went up, up and away. None of them wanted to find out, either.
"Really, I’m sorry. I told you I need to go pout. I’m not fit company." Stefan pulled Ro in for a hug. "I’m an asshole."
"Love you anyway," Ro huffed, but the tone of his voice as he said it took the sting out of him not disagreeing with Stefan’s self-description.
"You too." Stefan patted Ro’s back then stepped out of the embrace. "Go watch the lovebirds. I’m gonna head to the cemetery."
Ro shivered. "That’s so morbid."
"I don’t think it is. I like seeing the headstones with the long lives carved onto them. Makes me happy those people had a long time with their loved ones." Stefan nodded. "Catch ya later!"
Stefan let himself float up a few feet then he shot up high and fast before angling towards the graveyard. He hadn’t been lying to Ro. He was glad for the folks who didn’t die young like he had—it gave him hope for his brother and Darren, as well as other people he cared about who were still living. Stefan didn’t want them to die, but if they did, or when they did, rather, he hoped they’d stay here on Earth with him.
As for being alive, he didn’t miss it. It probably made him a weirdo to like being dead a heck of a lot more than he’d liked being alive, but since he was dead, Stefan figured it was okay. Surely being a spirit in the afterlife entitled him to some quirks.
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