Taller, Meaner, Darker

In this sequel to the best-selling book Tall, Mean and Darkly, Gavin Jago and his wife have never had better sex since ...

Author: Llewellyn A J | Hecht Stephani

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In this sequel to the best-selling book Tall, Mean and Darkly, Gavin Jago and his wife have never had better sex since Chrissie died and came back as a guy. The tall, dark and handsome Jackson Avery. But dead guys…and girls, just wanna have fun. As Gavin adjusts to life as a very public gay man, Jackson is keen to experiment with his new, prodigious manly assets. This is a side of Chrissie’s personality he’s never seen before. Gavin realizes that Jackson, the real Jackson’s personality is emerging and the once depressed, suicidal man has found new life and love. But Gavin doesn’t like this part of Jackson’s persona. He wants the woman—er—man—er giraffe, he loves. Can they work things out or is Jackson likely to be the next one who finds himself under a bus?

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Taller, Meaner, Darker Copyright © 2010 A.J. Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht ISBN: 978-1-55487-483-5 Cover art by Angela Waters All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books Look for us online at: www.extasybooks.com

Taller, Meaner, Darker By A.J. Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht

Dedication A.J. would like to dedicate this book to everybody who ever had an idea and waited for its time to come. Stephani: To all who have dared to believe in Happily Ever After.

Chapter One

I

woke up crying. It was something that happened to me on and off and Jackson seemed to understand, even if I didn’t. “What’s the matter, Gavin?” he asked. I felt his strong arms moving around me. I was still getting used to waking up in bed with another man. And not a woman…my wife. I was still getting used to my wife being in the body of Jackson—a hot, hung, hearty man who kissed the top of my head. He was still sleepy. “Did I tell you I loved you enough when you were alive the first time?” Jackson’s eyes opened. That’s not a question you hear every day. “What are you talking about?” he asked. “You told me plenty.” “Did I?” The tears fell down my face and I was unable to stop them. “Are you sure?” He smiled. “I’m sure.” 1

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht I listened to the rain outside, our colony of cats shifting against our feet at the edge of the bed. Jackson’s arms stayed around me as his eyes drifted shut again. I knew he was Chrissie and that Chrissie had come back to me after getting hit by that bus and dying in my arms. But sometimes…you know, I missed Chrissie. I tried to turn around, but Jackson’s vice-like grip was strong. I felt his cock harden against my butt cheek. That was something Chrissie didn’t have, I reminded myself. That still didn’t stop me from wiggling against it though, because I had to admit it, I really liked that cock and all the things it could do to me. “You could always show me though,” his voice rumbled in my ear. I jumped as he followed up his statement with a gentle nibble to my shoulder. We had both fallen asleep naked the night before. Too tired out from a marathon run of sex to worry about something as trivial as PJs. So it was direct skin-on-skin contact as his hand drifted down my chest, his strong fingers trailing across my stomach before they finally came to rest on my erection. As always, his touch instantly set me on fire, pleasure shooting through my body as I let out a gasp. “Doesn’t this count as show and tell?” I pointed out, trying to be playful but failing, because I had 2

Taller, Meaner, Darker started to do this strange panting. Not very sexy of me, but with Jackson, I often lost all my cool factor as he made me stupid with passion. “You always were a stickler for details. Must be the accountant in you.” He wrapped his hand around my cock, his thumb brushing against the already-leaking head. “Don’t you have to meet Jordan to open the store?” I asked. We owned a local scrapbooking business, of which Jordan was the manager. “She can handle things on her own if I’m late. I have every confidence in her capabilities.” He gave me another bite, this one at the base of my neck and not as gentle as the one before. “Ah, God,” I cried, my feet jerking and accidently hitting the cats. They all evacuated the bed in a flurry of fur, tails and indignation. “I want to fuck you,” Jackson breathed into my ear, displaying his potty mouth that would put a drunken trucker to shame. That was another thing he possessed that Chrissie never had. In the entire time I’d known her before she died, I don’t think I’d so much as heard her utter a damn, let alone the f-bomb. It didn’t turn me off though. If anything, it jacked up my arousal even more. “Like I could tell you no when your hand is where it’s at.” He ran his thumb over the tip of my cock again. I wanted to beg him to move his hand more, to 3

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht stroke all of me, but I held back and let him set the pace. “Stay still and don’t move until I come back,” he ordered before I felt him get off the bed. I obeyed, waiting as I heard him move around behind me. The rain continued to beat on the windows, getting heavier as the storm picked up speed. One of the cats let out a soft meow and then I heard Jackson sigh as he climbed back on the bed, the mattress dipping under his heavy weight. “You look so perfect right now, lying there all naked and ready for me to take,” he murmured as he ran his palm over my shoulder. His rough skin left behind a heated path. I tried to turn around to face him, but he stopped me by squeezing my arm. “I didn’t tell you to move yet.” So I continued to stay still, although it got harder as Jackson started to kiss his way down my spine. Every caress left me hungry for more and soon, I was balling the sheets in my fists to stop from thrusting back against him. His fingers started to trail up and down my crack, his touch slick and cool. It was then I realized when he got up, it was to get lube. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he wanted to fuck me. I squirmed as one finger slid in, circling my hole. 4

Taller, Meaner, Darker I craned my head to the side, capturing Jackson’s mouth in a hot kiss. Our tongues thrust and met as he slid a digit inside me. My cock was hard, aching to be touched again. When he slid a second finger into my ass, stretching it further, I finally gave into temptation and grabbed my shaft, giving it a few pulls. I cracked open my lids as we broke off the kiss. Jackson’s dark hair was mussed with sleep, his usual dark eyes almost black with passion as he gazed back at me. Now, he had three fingers inside me. He slowly worked them in and out, setting a gentle rhythm that had me moaning. “Please, do it,” I whispered as I continued to stroke myself. A dangerous smile crossed his full lips before he started to nuzzle my neck. At the same time, he took his fingers out of my ass. I groaned when I felt the tip of his cock pressing against my hole. Slowly he pushed through, my body stretching to accommodate his large size. He didn’t stop until he was buried all the way in, his balls pressed against my ass cheeks. “You feel so good,” he said, his breath brushing against my neck. Pulling almost all the way out, he surged forward again making me gasp in pleasure. “So good,” he repeated as he settled into a slow, sensual rhythm. 5

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht With an impatient nudge, be brushed my hand away so he could take over my cock. I started to thrust my ass back to meet him, the pressure already building up in my body. Even though the air was cool in our bedroom, both of our bodies became slick with sweat. My breath hitched as I went over the edge, hot streams of semen shooting from my cock, spilling over Jackson’s hand and hitting my stomach. He moaned my name as he found his release, too, his cock pulsating in my ass. “I do, you know? Love you,” I said, my sentences not complete, because I was still caught up in an after-sex haze. “I love you too, babe. I always have,” Jackson replied, softly. It was mid-morning by the time we got showered, dressed and grabbed a quick breakfast. I decided go to the store with Jackson. The rain hadn’t let up, so we both got soaked in the dash from the car to the door. I was please but not surprised to see that Jordan had the place open and there were even a few customers already milling around inside, despite the crappy weather. “It’s about time you lazy bones got here,” Jordan sang out as we came in. As always, she had a bigger-than-life smile on to match her bigger6

Taller, Meaner, Darker than-life personality. With golden hair that she always pulled back into a ponytail and snapping blue eyes, she looked way too chipper for it still being morning. I tried not to begrudge her pep though. A single mother who worked harder than any of our previous employees, she was the thing that kept things running so smoothly at the store. Not only that, but she was the only one outside of us who knew the whole truth of who Jackson really was. Jordan had the ability to see spirits and other things that defied explanation. Which meant she was right at home with us. “I made some caffeinated coffee for you,” she told us as before she started to ring up a customer. “Fully leaded?” I asked. She quirked a brow in my direction. “Didn’t I just say so?” “Yeah, but I don’t trust you. You switch labels and things…trying to keep me healthy.” “You don’t like me keeping you healthy?” “No,” I grumped. “I like being a walking heart attack waiting to happen.” “Good thing I stopped by the bakery and picked up some fresh donuts and muffins.” “Very good,” I said. Even though I’d already eaten, I snagged up a sour-cream twist and bit into it with a sigh. The Montgomery family had owned the bakery for years and no place could ever begin to compete with them. 7

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Don’t forget we have the Girl Scout troop coming in tonight,” Jackson reminded her as he reached in and grabbed a cinnamon sugar. “How can I?” A sly grin played over Jordan’s face. She got that look whenever she was gearing up to deliver one of her zingers. “The troop leader called a half hour ago. She wanted to make sure Jackson would be here tonight.” An unwanted bite of jealously hit me. It wasn’t the first time some woman had called and asked for Jackson’s attention or help with certain projects. It wasn’t because of his mad scrapbooking skills either. Despite the fact that most the neighborhood knew we were a couple, the females never stopped drooling over him. “Oh, Gavin, get that sour expression off your face,” Jordan admonished as she rolled her eyes. It wasn’t lost on me that she wasn’t even glancing over at me. Was I that transparent and predictable that she knew what my reaction would be even without looking? “I don’t have any expression,” I argued, ignoring Jackson’s snort of disbelief. “You don’t need to worry,” Jordan went on as if I hadn’t said anything. “I’ve seen the troop leader and you’re much cuter.” “Get out of here, you’re fired,” I grumbled as I went over and poured myself a cup of coffee. 8

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Promise?” Jordan replied, completely unconcerned and unrepentant. Maybe it was because I fired her twenty times a day and not once had I meant it. The few customers roaming the sales racks had left, so now she was free to come over to the back counter where Jackson and I had congregated. She reached into the box and helped herself to a muffin. Even though she ate more than a halfstarved horse, she never gained an ounce. “Would it make you feel better if I told you Mrs. Tibbs said you were as cute as a button?” she asked as she peeled away the wrapper. “Maybe it would if she weren’t eighty-five and legally blind,” I retorted. Jackson let out a short laugh. “She does look sexy in those hats of hers though. She reminds me of my aunt from Scotland. Aunt Maggie always was wearing some god-awful thing on her head. I think they even buried her in one of those terrible things.” I paused mid-bite, doughnut hanging in the air as I gave him a perplexed look. “You don’t have an aunt from Scotland. Most of your family is from Ohio.” “Of course I have relatives in Scotland. You know that.” He spoke slowly, like he was addressing an idiot. 9

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “No, you don’t.” My heart started to pound in my chest as my breakfast curdled in my stomach. “I went there every summer to visit. I think I would remember something like that.” Jackson’s eyes flashed in irritation. Before I could press any further, he let out a huff and went back to the storage room. Jordan and I sat there in stunned silence for several seconds—the only sounds were low thumps as Jackson moved boxes around. “Chrissie didn’t have any family in Scotland,” I finally said in a near whisper. “Maybe Jackson did. I mean the real one.” Jordan kept her voice low, too. “That doesn’t make sense. That man is dead,” I argued as I set my coffee mug down. My hands were getting sweaty and I didn’t want to drop it. “Maybe not. I’ve always sensed a part of him still lingering even though Chrissie took over his body.” Jordan leaned across the counter and held both my hands in hers. She studied my face, her gaze earnest and compassionate. “But why now? What’s changed? Is it something I did?” My voice was laced with panic now. “No, I don’t think so. I’ve been feeling the pull within him grow stronger for the past couple of weeks now. 10

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Pull?” I made a face. “What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” “The two halves of him, fighting for control.” “Why are you just telling me this now?” I nearly yelled, forgetting that we were trying to keep the conversation quiet. Her eyes grew wide in alarm before she reached out and put a finger over my lips. I glared at her angrily, feeling like a petulant child being hushed by his schoolteacher. “I didn’t realize myself until just now. Cut me some slack here. It’s not like they make a Dummies book for my condition,” she hissed. Instantly, I had a visual of a bright yellow book with the title, Psycho Psychics for Dummies. I held my hands up in an I’ll-be-good gesture but didn’t go so far as to offer an apology. Not while I was still smarting over the fact that she’d known something had been going on. Even if she hadn’t been sure what it was exactly, she still should have come to me. “So what do you suggest we do?” I asked once she removed her finger. “I think all we can do is wait and see what happens.” Her face took on a pinched, worried look. I felt my anger drain. Jordan loved Jackson and me as if we were her brothers. It must have been so hard for her these past weeks, knowing 11

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht something was wrong and not being able to talk to us about it. Grabbing her into a half-hug, I placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head.

12

Taller, Meaner, Darker

Chapter Two

A

s it turned out, Jordan and I had to wait exactly two days before the next bombshell landed squarely into our laps. It was late afternoon and all three of us were doing the usual cleanup and bookkeeping that we did when we had the chance. We didn’t talk much as we slowly went around the store. All the while, we kept shooting glances at the clock, anxious for the day to be over. I was sore, tired and hungry. All I wanted to do was go home, shower, eat and then make love—all in that order. So when the bell over the door rang to let us know we had a last-minute customer, I didn’t exactly feel overjoyed. I looked around to see if Jordan or Jackson could deal with the pest, but they had both disappeared. With a heavy sigh, I set down the broom and went around the counter to great the late comer. “May I help you?” I queried. 13

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht The first thought that went through my head as I looked at the man in front of me was he didn’t look like he belonged in a scrapbook store. With short blond hair that was slightly spiked in the front, deep blue eyes and a rock-hard body, he would look more at home in the gym. The second thing that occurred to me was this guy was nervous. Not just got-a-little-tremble nervous but about-to-piss-kittens anxious. As I got closer, I could see a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead and he was breathing hard like he’d just run a tenkilometer race. As I looked closer at his eyes, my stomach flipped. They were bright and had a wild edge to them. I instantly regretted leaving the broom on the other side of the room. If this guy was a junkie or something, I would need whatever help I could get to fight him off. When Chrissie and I had first started the business, we’d debated getting a gun or some other kind of protection. The idea had immediately been nixed because neither one of us felt comfortable around firearms. Now I regretted that decision. Not that I had any hopes of being able to hit a damn thing since I’d never fired any type of gun, but I could wave it around menacingly with the best of them. “Thank God you’re here,” the stranger exclaimed with obvious relief. He wore a pair of 14

Taller, Meaner, Darker jeans and a red T-shirt that was plastered to his skin because he was sweating. “Yes, the sign says we’re here until seven and it never lies. Did you have some kind of scrapping emergency or something?” I strained my ears, trying to pick where Jordan and Jackson were. A silent prayer slipped over my mind that they wouldn’t come out. If there was trouble, the last thing I wanted was for either one of them to be in the middle of it. “No, I need to talk to you and Jackson.” The man took a surging step forward, his hands going up in an excited gesture. I just barely stopped myself from jumping back while letting out a girlish scream of terror. “We don’t have that much money in the register.” I felt a surge of pride that my voice didn’t tremble as I said that. “No, you’ve got it all wrong.” He shook his head. “We, also, have some leftover doughnuts. They’re from a couple days ago, but if you nuke them for a few seconds, they’ll taste as good as new,” I rambled on, knowing I sounded like a complete ass. “I don’t want your frigging doughnuts,” this time his tone had a bite to it. I scanned his body, looking for a bulge that would tell me he had a weapon hidden. With as tight as his jeans were, it 15

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht wouldn’t be that hard to spot. I saw nothing, though, but hard muscles. How did he get so ripped? Oh God, it must have been while he was in prison. I watched that show on HBO. They were always lifting weights on it. That way, they wouldn’t have to struggle when they tear someone apart. Of course, this guy wasn’t really that buff, but try telling that to my panicked imagination. “Fine, you can have the half a sandwich left over from my lunch, too.” I finally took a step back, dismayed when the counter hit my spine. So much for a quick getaway. “Are you always this scattered?” His eyes narrowed in a confused manner as his nose crinkled up. If I hadn’t been so worried that he was going to rob and murder me, I would have called the expression cute. “Just when I’m being held up.” The man’s gaze grew huge as he frantically shook his head. “I’m not trying to take your money. I just came here to talk to you. I swear I’m not going to harm you.” “Why would you want to talk to us?” “Because I’m like Jackson.” His face grew earnest as he nervously bit his bottom lip. “I died and came back in a different body, too.” That was the final blow that threw me over the edge. I dodged to the left, hoping to make a slick 16

Taller, Meaner, Darker escape. My plans were foiled when I collided with a tall display rack of spring-embellishment cards. My forehead slammed into the wire shelving and cards went flying. Even though it hurt like hell, I still threw my hands out to catch the whole thing before it came crashing down. Of course, I missed. It hit the ground with a loud bang as cards went scattering in every direction. Thrown off balance, I ended up on the ground with the mess, landing on my ass with a very unmasculine oomph! “Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Mr. Recently Dead came rushing over to help me. At the same moment, I could hear the door to the back storeroom open before Jackson and Jordan came into view. I peeled a glittery embellishment off my face. Congratulations on your new arrival! screamed the wooden image of a stork with a goggle-eyed baby peering out of a diaper dangling from its beak. “Gavin, what happened?” Jackson rushed over to me and knelt by my side, touching my head. There was a warm, sticky sensation that told me I was bleeding. “I’m fine. Just clumsy as usual.” I winced at his ham-fisted attempts to help me. “It was all my fault,” the stranger rushed to add. 17

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht As one, Jordan’s and Jackson’s heads turned in his direction. Jackson let out a gasp as the color drained from his face. “Oh. My. God,” Jordan exclaimed slowly, her mouth forming an O of shock. “Damn, I really made a mess of this.” The man ran his hands through his hair. “Who are you?” Jackson demanded, his features growing hard with anger. At one time, I feared that kind of reaction from him, now I welcomed it, because it was all centered around him protecting us. “My name is Lucas Dennison. Or rather, it used to be before I died.” He held his hand out to shake, but no one took it. I tried to pick up the discarded cards. Of course, I had to demolish the most expensive trinkets we’d ever bought for the store. Giving a rueful smile, Lucas brought his hand back down. “What is he talking about?” I asked nobody in particular. “He’s like Jackson. Someone who bit the dust, then ghosted around until a new body became available,” Jordan supplied. Sometimes there were advantages to having a psychic on the payroll. She grabbed a roll of paper towels and crouched down by me, mopping the blood off my face. When she 18

Taller, Meaner, Darker pulled back the towel and I saw how soaked it was, my stomach flipped. “I must look like I walked out of a horror movie,” I groused. My head had started to throb in time with my heartbeat and I felt more than a little foolish. Now that the others were out with me, Lucas didn’t seem so thuggish any more. If anything, he looked like a college student who was on his way to a frat party. When he shoved his fists into his pockets and started to bite at his bottom lip nervously, he looked even younger. Great, I had made a scene and got all scared thinking this guy should be on America’s Most Wanted when he really looked like he belonged on American Idol. “You’ll be fine. Head wounds always bleed a lot.” Jordan soothed me in the same tone I’d heard her use with her daughter countless times. I dimly wondered if she would slap a Barbie bandage on my owie, too. I glanced up to see how Jackson was taking all this in, just to find him glaring at Lucas. “Be nice,” I admonished Jackson. With the way he was shooting the evil eye at Lucas, I half expected the guy to make a run for it and I didn’t want him to leave until he explained himself. “I’ll be nice when he explains what’s going on and how he knows about us,” Jackson replied.

19

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “The man in the gray suit told me about you,” Lucas replied simply as if that would clear up all the confusion. Jackson let out a slight hiss of shock, all the anger seeming to drain from his body. “What did he say?” It wasn’t lost on me that Jackson seemed to know all about this gray-suit guy. Then again, there was still a lot I didn’t know about the couple of months between the time Chrissie died and when Jackson showed up at my front door. “That I had something unfinished here and I couldn’t pass on until it was done,” Lucas shrugged. “Please, can you get anymore cliche than that?” Jackson rolled his eyes. “That sounds like some line from every sappy ghost movie out there.” “Hey, what can I say? I happen to agree with you. All I know is that’s what the man said right before he told me to come here and find you and Gavin.” “Gavin? He called him by name?” Jackson stood up straighter as his eyes grew dark with emotion. It wasn’t rage but something that worried me more—fear. “Well, yes, he did. He, also, said you had a seer working for you and that she would be instrumental in my mission.” Lucas made air quotes to show he was repeating the words verbatim. 20

Taller, Meaner, Darker “And what if we refuse? What’s to stop us from showing you to the door?” Jackson challenged. “He said that if I don’t finish whatever it is I’m supposed to, then I’ll lose this body and just be a shadow that wanders the Earth for the rest of time.” Lucas’s voice broke a bit. He looked at us, his young face so beseeching and scared, I knew there was no way we could refuse him. “That doesn’t sound very fun,” Jordan remarked, her gaze softening. “No, it doesn’t,” Lucas agreed. I exchanged glances with Jackson. What I saw on his face mirrored my own emotions. Like it or not, we were in for the long haul and we couldn’t let this poor kid down. “Okay, we’ll help, although I don’t know what exactly it is that we’re supposed to be doing,” Jackson sighed. “Why don’t you start by telling us how you died?” Jordan suggested. “That’s just it. I don’t have a clue. The last memory I have was getting ready to go to class and the next thing I know, I’m the walking dead.” “You don’t recall anything?” Jackson pressed, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “No, I’ve tried, believe me,” Lucas insisted with such sincerity, I wanted to believe him.

21

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Okay, where did you live?” I asked. Maybe if we walked him through his former life, things would start to fall into place. I got up and sat in a chair, making sure to keep the paper towel in place so the cut would clot. I cringed as I thought how sexy I was going to look with a gaping head wound for the next few days. “Michigan. I was going to MSU, so I lived on campus in one of the dorms.” “Michigan?” I asked. “You’re a long way from home.” It was then that I realized that, unlike Jackson, Lucas’s replacement body probably wasn’t that different from his original one. “Where did you find your new body?” I asked. “Another kid on campus. He committed suicide by taking a bunch of pills. He didn’t have any family, so nobody noticed when I took over his body and started running the show, so to speak.” “Did you know him while you were still alive?” Jordan went over to the coffee maker and started to make a fresh pot. I was grateful since I knew we’d all be needing it soon. “No, he was in a class with my ex-boyfriend, but that was about it. Cal said he was a pretty big asshole though. So I guess I shouldn’t feel too guilty about stealing him. I think I lucked out really. This body isn’t half bad.” Lucan gestured to his own broad chest. 22

Taller, Meaner, Darker “No, it’s not an eyesore, that’s for sure,” Jackson said with a sly smile. A jolt of jealously went through me as I saw the appreciative once-over my man was giving Lucas. “How old are you?” I asked. “Me or the dead guy?” “Er…you,” I said. Heck, I was a coffee addict, but I was starting to think a shot of brandy would be lovely right now. “We have spiked eggnog in the fridge,” Jordan said. She had a spooky way of reading my mind. I wondered why she just didn’t delve into Lucas’s mind to find out the answers to our questions. Anything would be better than continuing this frustrating conversation. “I can’t always read people, you know?” Jordan snapped, hands on hips. A spike of guilt went through me as I shot her an apologetic smile. Lucas looked at her as if she were crazy. “I was…am, twenty-one. Actually we both were. Why?” Lucas asked. How could I tell him I wanted to make sure Jackson wasn’t lusting after an underage kid? “Just wondering. What was the dead guy’s name?” For the first time, I saw a flash on wariness in his eyes. “Harper Bryant.” “And how did you wind up in Burlingame?” 23

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Bus. The dead guy had money in his pocket. I’m almost out.” Great. He’s cute and broke. “Have you looked into how you died? Searched the internet for an obituary or something?” I changed the subject as I fought hard against the anger picking away at my gut. Why did this have to be dumped on us? Haven’t we dealt with enough in the past few months? “I know I probably should have. I just couldn’t bring myself to look up how I died. It seems twisted somehow.” Lucas blushed. Damn if that didn’t make him look even more appealing. “If you want, I could look it up from our computer at home,” Jackson offered. Way too eager for my liking. “Where are you staying?” Jordan asked as she handed me some eggnog in a cracked teacup and started to get coffee cups out for everyone. “Nowhere yet. I came here first thing. Are there any hotels nearby that you can recommend? I think I should have just enough to pay for a couple nights, so long as the place isn’t too fancy or anything.” “Don’t worry about that. You can stay with us,” Jackson offered. Jealously gave way to full-blown anger. What in the hell was Jackson thinking, inviting some 24

Taller, Meaner, Darker strange and very good-looking guy into our home? “Can I talk to you privately?” I gave Jackson a sickly sweet smile. He nodded and followed me back to the storeroom. I shut the door before I turned on him. “What in the hell are you thinking?” Jackson had the good grace to look guilty. “Come on, he’s all alone and scared. It’s the humane thing to do.” “You can’t just go around picking up stray men like he’s another one of our cats. We don’t even know if he’s litter-box trained,” I seethed. Jackson rolled his eyes. “We don’t know the first thing about this guy. For all we know, he could have died in the electric chair because he was a serial killer or something.” “Don’t be stupid. Michigan doesn’t have the death penalty.” The corners of Jackson’s mouth twitched as if he was holding back a smile. “You know what I mean.” Frustrated, I ran my hands through my hair, wincing when I felt parts of it sticky with blood. I couldn’t believe he was being so flippant about this. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I should have talked to you first. It’s just I feel for this guy. I know what it’s like to be alone, confused and lost like he is, because I’ve been there. You have no idea how it is, to wander around, nothing more than a ghost 25

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht as life goes on without you. It’s beyond lonely and at times, I thought it would make me lose my mind.” Jackson’s eyes took on a haunted look that had my stomach clenching in despair. The thought of him suffering for even a second made me want to wrap my arms around him and sooth away all the hurt. It, also, made it impossible for me to stay angry. “Fine, he can stay for a few days. But only until we figure out what’s going on. After that, it’s back to Michigan for him.” Even as Jackson smiled at me, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life. Though I wasn’t a psychic like Jordan, something inside told me that there was a lot more to Lucas than met the eye. He was hiding something from us—something big. I vowed that no matter what, I would do everything I could to protect Jackson. Even if that meant shielding him from his own good intentions.

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Taller, Meaner, Darker

Chapter Three

“N

ow the thing of it is, Chuckles, I can’t run background checks on guys just because your boyfriend has a crush on them.” I found myself smiling in spite of seething on the inside. Be nice, Gavin. My head still throbbed from the gash and all the spiked eggnog in the world would not dull my senses. I was, also, cranky because Jackson couldn’t wait to rush out and spend our money on buying Lucas new threads. In short, I felt like crap. Hank Finnegan, my old college buddy-turnedsmall-town cop, had showed up in my life and caused me a bunch of headaches all on his own. First, there was his insistence on calling me by that old nickname. Second, he was now Jordan’s boyfriend. He could do no wrong in her everything-isbeautiful eyes, but as far as I was concerned, he was a pain in the ass. He’d become a shining star on the small Millbrae force, taking credit for a 27

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht robbery I foiled and by constantly mentioning his college football career. Our hometown of Burlingame, half an hour south of San Francisco, was an upscale neighborhood, with the tiny force at Millbrae being our closest police station. He sat, feet on his desk, oblivious to the ringing phone beside him. His desk, apart from his ridiculously massive feet, contained a note pad bearing what looked to me like a game of hangman and a Sudoku puzzle book. I didn’t see him being knee-deep in murder plots. I felt my temper boiling. “I’m a busy guy. You might think we live in a small town and bad things don’t happen here, but I’m busy investigating actual crimes,” he said. “Really.” “Sure. I can’t drop all my ongoing investigations to chase down some kid who hops a Greyhound and decides he wants to take up scrapbooking.” “Look—” “Finnegan,” a uniformed officer said, poking his head round the door, “We got a crime report on line two.” “See?” Hank waved a lofty hand. “I told you I’m a busy guy.” He took the call, tore off the top page on his pad, balled it and chucked it over his shoulder. It landed on the floor by the garbage bin. He’d had a 28

Taller, Meaner, Darker busy morning all right. Balled-up paper all over the place. For a former ballplayer, he had lousy aim. Hank accidentally put the caller on loudspeaker. “Is that the detective division?” a woman asked, screaming as if Hank were near deaf. “Yes, ma’am.” Hank fumbled with the buttons on the phone. Her voice piped up from somebody else’s phone across the room. He punched more numbers and I could hear her next door. Soon she was back again. Lord, please don’t send him out on any emergencies concerning me. Or anyone I know. “I want to report a crime.” “What sort of crime?” Hank’s chest puffed out and I had an image of Dudley Do Right charging into battle. “Somebody tore my front gate off its hinges and left it lying on the ground. You need to come out here and investigate this.” Hank frowned. “Er…hold on please.” He put the woman on hold, glancing at me. “You’re right. We’re a hotbed of violence,” I said. “Sorry I bothered you.” “No need to get snarky, Chuckles. Now tell me this pilgrim’s name.” “Lucas…” I struggled to remember his last name. “Lucas Dennison.” I paused. “He went to 29

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht Michigan State University with a guy called Harper Bryant. I believe he committed suicide.” Hank wrote all this down. “I’ll look into it for you,” he said, “when I have the time.” “Thanks, Hank.” “Anything for you, Chuckles.” I rounded the corner of the small station and saw the sign on the wall commending the unit’s new School Resource Officer. Under the sign was the smiling face of my neighbor, Kyle. Juvenile delinquency was the biggest problem in our area, apart from theft crimes. I poked my head into his office, but Kyle must have gone home. Living with his mom again, the increasingly senile Mrs. Farliss, Kyle had a lot on his hands judging by the stacks of paperwork on his desk. Meanwhile, Hank was investigating broken gates. I left the long, single-story redbrick building that made me think of Mayberry, but my thoughts were far from happy ones. I was supposed to be home making dinner while Jordan and Jackson were out shopping with Lucas. I received a text message as I stepped outside. Babe, Malouf’s had a few things, but we’re going to SF. Don’t worry about dinner, we’ll bring supper home. Love you, J. 30

Taller, Meaner, Darker I felt bereft. Why was Jackson texting me and not calling me? I called him and was pissed when Lucas answered his phone. “Jackson’s driving,” he said. “He can’t take your call. He can’t find his blue tooth. Didn’t you get the text message we just sent?” “Yeah, I got it. Tell him I’d like a word when he has time.” “Okay,” Lucas said and hung up on me. What the fuck? The text message we sent? I didn’t care how much we spent on clothes for our uninvited houseguest or what Hank did or didn’t turn up in his investigation, but my crystal ball was telling me that darling, sweet, conniving little Lucas was destined for a Greyhound bus ride in his near future. My unhappiness overwhelmed me. I hadn’t felt this lonely since Chrissie died. Once Jackson appeared in my life, we’d been inseparable. We had never gotten along so well. I worried that Lucas would spoil that and thanked God that Jordan was with them. Jordan. She was supposed to be psychic. Didn’t she get any weird vibes, any strange visions about Lucas? As soon as I got a chance to corner her, I’d ask. I walked to my car, unlocked the door and sat inside for several minutes. Jackson was my whole life. I’d vowed to love him better than I had when 31

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht he was Chrissie. Maybe I’d crowded him too much. Maybe I didn’t give him enough space. Maybe I needed a huge chunk of chocolate pecan pie. I hadn’t been to Luanna’s Twenty-Four Hour Diner, owned by my pal Foster Cranham, in a few months. Last time I’d gone, we sort of had words, because I asked him if he could love somebody regardless of whether they were a man, woman…or a giraffe. He thought I’d lost my marbles. And that I was confessing a secret passion for bestiality. His diner, inherited from his mom, stood on the downtown edge of San Francisco just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. The diner was one of my favorite places. Though Foster and I had become friendly again, thanks to my now highprofile relationship with Jackson, I hadn’t been into Luanna’s for a while. I was shocked to find it was closed. That was weird. Foster never closed the diner except on Christmas Day and his mom’s birthday in June. I peered in the window and with the light from some of the illuminated wall signs inside, thought I saw movement.

32

Taller, Meaner, Darker A note on the door indicated the place was open. I was afraid he was being beaten and robbed in the kitchen and I thumped on the door. I knew Hank had a vital busted-gate case to deal with, but he’d probably relish a real crime. I didn’t care if it was out of his jurisdiction. We had to help Foster. I pulled out my cell phone, about to call Hank, when I realized there was only one car in the tiny parking lot. Foster’s pristine, vintage Chevy. “Foster,” I sang out, “I’m about to call NineOne-One unless you open this door.” Two seconds later, he emerged from where he’d been hiding behind the counter. He looked terrible. As he came toward me, I knew, just knew, he’d broken up with his lover, Steve. He looked how I felt when Chrissie died. “What happened?” I asked. “You bastard,” he griped. “Can’t a man kill himself in peace?” What? I brushed past him and walked to the counter. “What are you doing?” he screamed. I saw a bunch of pills and a gallon of Gatorade on the floor. I started tossing the pills down the sink. “Don’t you fucking touch them!” “This isn’t the answer,” I said. Then I saw the bills all over the countertop. 33

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht Being his accountant at the time he inherited the diner from his mom and helping Foster battle his siblings who protested the will, I knew how much he’d been through. I finished dumping his pills and told him to switch on the lights. “It’s better in the dark,” he muttered. He wasn’t wrong. His bank accounts had been steadily drained. He owed the whole freakin’ world a bunch of money and he was behind on his lease payments on the diner. “What happened?” I asked, but I could kinda guess. “Steve.” I waited him out. “He left me. That sucked, but then I found out he was stealing my money. He forged my signature and empted my accounts. He keeps buying stuff on my credit cards. I did cancel my checking account when he started forging my signature, but it won’t stop. He has some checks and they keep coming in and the bank keeps hitting me up with charges for them. He forged my name to an online banking loan and now their creditors are hounding me. I’m screwed, Gavin.” “Why didn’t you come to me?” “I-I didn’t think you’d want to help me…not after how I acted when you came in last time.” “You got any chocolate pecan pie?” 34

Taller, Meaner, Darker He stared at me. “I’m going through hell and you want pie?” “I don’t work for free, Foster. Right now, my going rate is pie. And coffee.” “What happened to your head?” “I was scrapbooked. We’ve all got our crosses to bear. Mine just has fancy embellishments. Now how about that pie?” He ran to the kitchen. I could hear him banging around. As long as he was moving, I didn’t worry about him having some private fun with a kitchen knife. I heard the comforting ping of the microwave. Foster returned. “You want coffee, right?” “You can’t have pie without coffee.” He moved behind the counter to the shortorder area consisting of a grill, sink and a fantastic coffee maker. I shuffled all his papers into some order. He was, by anybody’s standards, a goodlooking guy. You wouldn’t say gorgeous, but he was handsome in the all-American, semi-hunky neighborly way. In his mid-forties, he had brown hair, blue eyes and a slim, healthy look to him in spite of all the access he had to greasy food all day long. The only fussy thing about Foster was his name. It made him sound like a cranky old coot and he was anything but. Foster had been his 35

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht mom’s maiden name and she stuck the poor guy with it. “You want cow juice or soy milk in your coffee?” he asked. I’d forgotten his soy love. “You and Jordan are constantly trying to get me on health food,” I said. “I’d prefer cow juice…even though I’m getting ugly images of a cow peeing in my cup.” He grinned and I was pleased to see it. “With all the stuff they put in commercial milk these days, cow piss is the least of your worries.” “You haven’t closed any of these charge accounts yet?” I retorted. He shrugged. “No. I flipped out.” I looked him right in the eye. “First thing tomorrow, we’re going to the bank, then we’re filing a criminal complaint against Steve. I’ll have his assets frozen. We’re going to get your life back.” “Really? You can do that?” “Of course I can.” I hope. He rushed over to me and threw his arms around me, hugging me tight. Somebody started banging on the door loud enough to break it. I jumped when I saw Jackson glaring at us from out front. “What the fuck?” he shouted. I found a smile spreading across my face. Oh God, he’s jealous! 36

Taller, Meaner, Darker Foster opened the door and let Jackson, Lucas and Jordan in. Jackson seethed with anger, but Foster hugged him. “He just stopped me from killing myself.” Jackson looked stunned. As Foster’s emotions seesawed again, he howled in my lover’s arms. Jackson’s gaze met mine. “That’s so weird,” he said, patting Foster’s back awkwardly. “Something told me to come here. Even though I’ve never been in here. Lucas wanted diner food.” Foster pushed himself away from Jackson, embarrassed, swatting at his tears. Jordan fussed over him and I inched my pie toward me, afraid it would run away from me and into somebody else’s mouth. “Babe,” Jackson said, leaning across the counter and kissing me. “You are one in a million.” “So are you.” He kissed me again. As Foster whipped up bacon, eggs and toast for all of us, I put the bills in a file packet and watched Lucas as he took in the surroundings. “This is a really cool place.” “Thanks,” Foster said. “I inherited it from my mom.” “You mean it really is vintage? It’s not fake retro?” 37

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “No,” Foster said, laughing. “Nothing fake here.” I was aware of Jackson’s constant gaze on my face. My head hurt less as I ate my pie with Foster’s homemade ice cream and I started to feel better about helping Lucas. He was in orbit over the milk and butter signs. Foster whipped my pie plate away and handed me the fluffiest eggs and the most buttery toast I’d ever seen in my life. “My mom’s dad owned the first dairy farm in Northern California,” Foster said, pouring us more coffee. “I milked cows as a kid. I wanted to be a farmer, until my mom started this place. I love it.” He ran his hand along the Formicatopped counter. “We’re here to help you,” Jordan said. “You know, we should have a scrap and pancake party here one night.” “I’d love it,” Foster said. “Holy shit,” Jackson said. “We’ve got a bunch of Girl Scouts coming to the store with their moms…” he checked his watch, “in twenty minutes.” I barely held back a groan. This was the third troop in this week. Word of Jackson’s studliness had spread. “We gotta go,” Jordan said. 38

Taller, Meaner, Darker I didn’t want to leave Foster alone and said I would stay. He looked so pleased. “Really?” “Sure.” “I’ll stay, too,” Lucas said. “I like this place.” “We’ll meet you at home in a few hours,” I told Jackson who took me in his arms and gave me the kind of kiss that would make any man forget all his troubles. “Meet me at the store in a couple of hours,” he said against my ear. “I got plans for your ass in the storeroom.” “No problem.” As he kissed me again, I whispered against his mouth, “My ass belongs to you.” “Yeah, it fucking does.” He gave my ass a squeeze. I almost came in my pants.

39

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht

Chapter Four

“J

ackson, are you sure about this?” “I’m supposed to be Mr. Sheffield. Now move up a bit.” “Right,” I said, inching up the ladder in the stockroom. To be honest, having my lover’s tongue on my ass as we played the stockroom boy and the big, bad boss wasn’t exactly an ordeal, but we did have a bunch of squealing Girl Scouts and their clearance-crazed moms on the other side of the door. I went from worrying about being caught to getting ready to scream like a banshee. His lapping tongue slipped between my ass cheeks and fell right on my hot spot. Oh, God. I closed my eyes. In a million years, Chrissie would never have dreamed of licking my ass hole, but Jackson was plain obsessed. Not that I was complaining. His hands gripped my hips and he sucked on me. I gripped the ladder with one hand and the 40

Taller, Meaner, Darker shelf in front of me with the other. My jeans were pooled around my ankles, my now-rigid cock bouncing against one of the rungs on the ladder. I stared into a clear plastic box with last year’s Halloween die cuts and orange-diamante embellishments. Ghosts. How eerie. With Jackson and Lucas in the house, we had plenty of those. Biting my lip, I moaned. It was hard to be quiet. I arched back a little and Jackson slurped at my ass. This new discovery had been a godsend to both of us. We were delighted to discover together that there were more pleasure zones to a man than his cock. We continued to make new discoveries and Jackson had found that the backs of my knees stroked in the right place made me, well, weak at the knees. Jackson kept his face wedged against my ass and his hands slid down the backs of my legs. He sucked and stroked, his thumbs slowly moving up my knees toward my thighs. He took his tongue out of me for a few seconds. “Don’t you dare touch your cock. I want you to come just from what I am doing to you.” He put his face back in place and his tongue flicked in hot slashes against me. I pushed back against his hot mouth and I felt the flood of release wash through me. Jackson’s hand shot around, cuffing my erupting cock and he held me against 41

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht his muscular shoulders, kissing and sucking my hole. As soon as I stopped shaking, he took his tongue out of me and slapped my butt cheek. “I think you need more lessons in maintaining our stock, boy,” he said. “Look at the embellishments here. You came all over them.” He kissed my tailbone as I swatted at the drips on the boxes with the end of my shirt. I turned around, catching his sly grin. “Mmm,” he said. “Our embellishments have…embellishments.” “Do I have to wait until we get home to return the favor?” I asked. “Stock boy, you really think I’m inviting you home?” “Sure,” I said, “You got a better idea?” “I kinda thought I’d take a Macrame class.” “Macrame, huh?” “Everybody’s got their something, babe.” We both laughed. Jackson gave my butt one more possessive kiss and handed me some tissues. I pulled up my underpants and jeans and made myself presentable. “God, I love your ass,” he said and helped me down from the ladder. “You know what I just realized?” He took me in his arms. “What?” 42

Taller, Meaner, Darker “You are the only man in the world who knows what it feels like to have your pussy sucked as a woman and your ass sucked as a man.” He grinned. “Hey, that’s true.” “Which is better?” “Being a man, babe. Getting my ass licked as a woman wasn’t the same…I don’t know. It’s different.” He unlocked the storeroom door. On the store floor, Jordan was showing our customers how to use one of our new create-a-sticker machines. “Jackson,” the women all chorused. “Show us how to use it, pleeeeeze?” “Well!” Jordan pretended to huff. The women grabbed onto Jackson and Jordan shrugged. She was used to him stealing her thunder. I looked around for Lucas and found him behind the front desk, asleep with his head on his arms. “Take him home, babe,” Jackson said. “Poor guy’s wiped out. I’ll be home within the hour.” I gently woke Lucas. “Mom?” he asked, dazed from sleep. He gazed into my eyes, seemingly uncertain of who I was at first and I was sure I saw disappointment and sadness. “I’m taking you home,” I said. 43

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht He picked up his shopping bags. Jackson had gone a bit batty with the credit card. Three bags from Malouf’s. Not exactly the cheapest store in the world. I brushed aside my jealousy. Outside the store, Lucas zipped up his new jacket and looked up and down the street. I picked up the half chocolate pecan pie Foster had given me as a thank you. I looked forward to eating it in bed with Jackson. Our store was on Lorton Avenue, the trendiest street in Burlingame. It was a pretty street any time of the year, but right now in the midst of a mild winter, it was especially lovely. “I smell cedar wood,” he said, inhaling deeply. “You know, I think I’m gonna like it here.” “Get in,” I said, my voice harsher than I had meant it to be as I unlocked the passenger door to my station wagon. We began the climb uphill to the house Jackson and I shared on Cananea and Lucas acted as if we were in Disneyland. “It’s so beautiful,” he kept saying. In my driveway, I pulled in and saw a figure huddled at the top of the stairs at the front door. Mrs. Farliss had lost her way again. “Who’s that?” Lucas asked, his eyes widening. “Our neighbor.” I got out of the car and mounted the stairs, Lucas racing behind me. 44

Taller, Meaner, Darker We had automatic timers on the porch light and a couple of rooms in the house. Mrs. Farliss often forgot she no longer lived here and had sold us the house and moved next door. Not for the first time, she’d forced her key in the lock and it was stuck. I put a call through to her son Kyle’s cell phone. “You won’t get him. He’s got a hot date,” Mrs. Farliss said with a loopy grin. “Some cute girl called Jordan.” “Jordan!” I said. “Our Jordan?” Lucas asked, peering around my body. I refrained from frowning at Lucas. She’s not your Jordan. She’s my Jordan. Mrs. Farliss pointed a finger at him. “You know Jordan?” Holy heck, she really was losing the plot. Jordan was joined at the hip with Hank…wasn’t she? Wait…how did Mrs. Farliss even know her name, unless she’d met her? I chewed my lip waiting for Kyle to take my call. It went through to voice mail. I left him a message letting him know it was urgent, giving him a few details. With his mom’s key stuck in my door, she had no way of getting into her own house. Lucas and I fiddled with the key in the lock. It snapped in two. Oh, perfect. 45

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht I found my anxieties mounting. Foster had been on the verge of suicide when I found him. Hank would be right behind him if Jordan did a runner. He was so wrapped up in her, he’d fall down dead if she dumped him. He’d dated Chrissie back in college before she and I fell crazy mad in love. He didn’t, much to Jackson’s chagrin, seem heart-broken at the loss of her. Far from it. But he was nuts about Jordan. My head started to ache again. Car lights shone and I was relieved to see Kyle. He bounded up the stairs two at a time. “What’s going on?” Before I could explain, he whipped out a small flashlight and handed it to me. He took out some tools and surprised me with his burglarizing dexterity. “Hey,” he said, catching my stunned expression. “We could pay for a locksmith if you prefer.” “No, no,” I said. “This is cool.” He started rooting around my lock. “You sure you know what you’re doing?” “Hank showed me how to do it.” “Oh, shit! There goes my door!” “That’s not very nice,” he said. “But he’s hopeless.” “No, he’s not, he’s a genius. He—” We heard a soft thud and a loud meow. 46

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Oops,” said Kyle. I shoved him out of the way and looked through the hole that used to be the key lock. A couple of our cats stood on the other side of the door, staring at me. “How do I get in now?” I asked Kyle. “I can try the top lock.” “No! Er…I mean, no thanks.” “Try the back door,” Lucas suggested. “Good idea.” Man, I was so rattled, I couldn’t even come up with that idea myself. “I gotta run,” Kyle said. “I’ll take my mom home. Sorry about your lock.” “Are you dating Jordan?” I asked. Kyle glanced away from me. “I’d really rather not get into that right now.” “Fine.” “I mean…you know. It’s early days.” “It’s just that…we…Hank’s my friend, you know? I feel bad for the guy.” “Really? Even though he talks such shit about you?” “He does?” I felt like punching somebody. I couldn’t believe how pissed I was. “Yeah. He calls you a drama queen.” That sneaky, puffed up… “Well, I wish you and Jordan every happiness.”

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AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “You do?” Kyle looked pleased. “Thanks. Um…could you maybe not mention it to you know…” “No. Who?” “My wife.” “Oh.” I’d forgotten about Janet, speaking of drama queens. “No problem,” I said. The funny thing about all this was that I really hadn’t seen much of Janet since she chucked Kyle out of their house, then showed up at my door one day, naked under a raincoat. The memory still makes me cringe. Mrs. Farliss resisted going home until I went with her. Lucas stood at the bottom of my steps waiting for me. The poor, batty old lady kept telling me that bad aliens kept coming into her house. “They want to eat my brains,” she said, clinging to me and Kyle. Kyle got her inside the house and locked the door. “She drives me mad,” he said, checking his watch again. I chuckled. “You do have a hot date, don’t you?” “Yeah. I’m taking her to Restaurant Gary Danko.” “You are?” It was the most expensive restaurant in San Francisco. I really wanted to take Jackson there. I felt like such a loser. He kept 48

Taller, Meaner, Darker telling me it was a waste of our finances, yet here was Kyle taking Jordan there right at the beginning of their relationship. First thing when I got inside, I was booking dinner for us there for Friday, our favorite date night. “Have fun,” I said. “I will.” He gave me a finger wave, blasted his mouth with breath mint spray and let out a tremendous yell. “What is it?” I asked as he flopped around on his doormat. “Pepper spray,” he muttered, his eyes bugging out, his tongue bloating up and his whole face turning red and ugly looking. “Haaalp!” I hammered on his door. “Mrs. Farliss!” I yelled, “please open the door.” “Go away,” she yelled back. “Bad alien!” Jesus H… I ran home, got some water and towels, ice, anything I thought would be appropriate and called Nine-One-One. An ambulance arrived within a few minutes and I was surprised to see Hank pulling up behind them in his dinged-up, state-issued Camaro.

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AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht He watched Kyle being wheeled behind the ambulance on a gurney, his face swaddled in ice packs. “What are you doing here?” I asked. “There weren’t any garden gates involved.” “Very funny.” He watched the ambulance take off and grinned at me. “Neat trick, don’t you think?” he asked. “What?” “I put pepper spray in his breath-mint canister.” “Holy shit! Are you kidding me?” “Nope. That’ll teach the dumb bastard to hit on my woman.” He hitched up his pants and lumbered back to his car. And he called me a drama queen. Lucas loved our house and our cats. I like to think they could tell a good guy from a bad one, but I’m not sure about our gang. They pretend to be a dangerous posse, but I think they’re just pussycats. I fed the cats as Lucas fussed over them all. Huh. That’s one way to win me over. I showed him to the guest room, found him fresh towels, made his bed and handed him some soap. “Can I hang up my clothes?” he asked. 50

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Of course.” He stripped off his jacket and shirt and I was horrified when I saw a multitude of scars on his shoulders and neck. Some were light and fading, but other were deep, red and angry looking. This man had taken a severe beating and not too long ago from the looks of it. “Holy heck. Lucas, are you in pain?” He shook his head. “Jackson asked me the same thing.” “How did you get them?” “He must have…Harper. I don’t feel a thing.” He seemed very uncomfortable now. “You mind if I take a shower?” “No, please. Help yourself.” I showed him to the bathroom and took the opportunity to race into my home office and fire up my laptop. Who the heck…or hell…did we have in our house? Lucas claimed Harper had committed suicide and he was supposedly some asshole. Why would you jump into the body of a guy you knew was a jerk? Because he has a hot body. As a forensic accountant, my job is to ferret out money crimes. I follow the cash. Well, I was gonna follow the scars and old injuries. I felt there was something really off with Lucas’ story and I was going to get to the bottom of it. 51

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht I hit the Internet and Googled Michigan State University. If one student had killed himself and another one died under suspicious circumstances, surely there’d be something on the site. Nope. Nothing. Mind you, the home page looked like non-stop advertising. I could follow the college on Facebook, Flicker, Twitter and Lord help me, Youtube. I could read all about their fascinating plant-biologist professor, Tao Sang, their prestigious ice hockey team and their groundbreaking veterinary school. The college was like Hogwarts, without Professor Snape, and I was guessing, no Quiddich. It took me a while to find an actual address. East Lansing. Okay, the local papers must have some coverage, even a paragraph about Lucas and Harper. I was about to investigate further when I heard a knock on our front door. Jackson’s voice came next. “Babe, how come there’s a hole in the door?” I ran to let him in and greeted him with hugs and kisses. Lucas showed up with a towel hung so loosely I could see his massive cock, which I think he did for Jackson’s viewing pleasure. There was no mistaking the frisson of attraction between them. Lucas, who sensed I wasn’t about to invite him to a threesome right inside our front door, retreated to his room. 52

Taller, Meaner, Darker Jackson got the tool kit and as Chrissie had always done, worked his magic on our popped lock. “I’ve been thinking,” I said, stroking his back as he wielded the Phillips Head screwdriver. “Uh-huh.” “I really want to take you to dinner someplace special. I’m thinking Restaurant Gary Danko.” He peered up at me as he changed heads on the screwdriver and forced the lock into submission. “Why do we want to spend money on a fancy restaurant?” “Because I love you and it’s supposed to be wonderful.” “Babe. We don’t need to spend money on a fancy place.” “We just dropped a bomb on a total stranger, but we can’t treat ourselves?” He sighed and I waited for his response. “We should take Lucas with us,” he said. “He’s been through a lot. It would be a nice gesture.” He wanted to take Lucas to dinner with us on our big romantic night out? I stared at him. No way. Not ever. Not in a million years. “Am I interrupting anything?” Lucas asked, standing there looking, I had to admit, pretty hot in pajama bottoms and loosely-buttoned top. He could have been a male model. 53

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Nope.” Jackson straightened. “Just fixing the door. Who wants cognac?” It felt weird to be sharing our favorite nightcap with Lucas beside us on the sofa, but Jackson kept his hand on my thigh as Lucas shared his observations on Burlingame life. “You have the benefit of small-town life with a slight big-city feel. It’s so cool.” Yeah, cool. I couldn’t wait to go to bed and started nuzzling Jackson. We all said our goodnights and I caught Lucas’s longing glance as we went to our room. We never shut the door on our cats, but I wasn’t about to have hot sex with my man with a covetous visitor two doors away from our room. Jackson laughed. “Keep it open. It might give Lucas a thrill.” I shut the door anyway. The cats would just have to deal with the rejection for one night. On our bed, Jackson lay there looking seductive and so sexy. “Oh, Mr. Sheffield,” I said. “I’m so looking forward to my first fucking lesson.” Jackson grinned, yanking me to him. We began to kiss and I tried to ignore the sounds of somebody very obviously moving around outside our door. It swung open and we both raised our heads. The cats looked at us. 54

Taller, Meaner, Darker “They’re smarter than I thought,” I said. I couldn’t believe they’d managed to hit the handle and open the damned thing. As I closed it again, I glanced down the hall. Lucas’s door was closed. “Come here and let me tame your ass,” Jackson said. He started to kiss me and I settled in for a hot romp. His hands moved over my body and I reached between his thighs, stroking his hardening cock. Jackson stopped. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “I want to ask you something.” My gut rumbled. I knew…just knew he was about to break my heart. I took a deep breath. “Ask away.” “You sure?” “Yeah.” “How would you feel about a threesome?” “With Lucas?” “No, with Hank. Of course with Lucas. Babe, he’s really cute and he wants it.” “You talked it over with him?” He looked sheepish. “Yeah. He…um…kinda has the hots for me.” “Jesus.” I got out of bed. “Aren’t I enough for you?” “Where are you going? Of course you’re enough for me. Babe…you’re the first and only 55

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht guy I’ve been with—since I got my joystick. But you know…it’s unnatural for a man to be with only one guy his whole life.” “What are you saying? You want an open relationship? How many guys are we talking about exactly?” “I’m saying I want a threesome.” Jesus…were all gay men like this? “No,” I said, pulling on my clothes. “Babe,” Jackson said, unpopping his verbal cork and shocking me with his ravings. “I look at guys all day long and think what if. Come on, you must do it, too.” “No, I don’t.” He looked surprised. “I always think of you being there though. That’s a big turn on.” “I can’t believe after the gift we’ve been given, of a second chance together, you want to play musical beds.” “Gavin. You’re really overreacting.” “Am I? Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me? I’ve been watching the way you and Lucas look at each other. It’s killing me.” “Gav…listen to me. He’s no threat to you. I love you. Madly. I just want a bit of fun.” “Fun.” I struggled to keep my voice down. The cats meowed outside the door. “You want to wreck our lives—that’s what you want to do.” 56

Taller, Meaner, Darker “No. I just want to fuck the nice college boy with the really huge cock, who wants us both in bed. How hot is that?” “It’s not hot. Not hot at all. And it’s never going to happen.” I opened the bedroom door. “Thanks for a really swell evening.” “Think it over,” he said. “Fuck you.” I went back to the bed, took a pillow and grabbed a blanket from the closet. He turned his back to me, pissed. Fine. Our first fight since we’d been together. He was such an ass. And I was a soul in real torment.

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Chapter Five

I

went back to my home office, my whole body shaking. I couldn’t believe the conversation we’d just had. I replayed it, the nastiest little movie, in my mind. The man I loved just told me he wanted to have sex with another man. Yeah, he could have fucked Lucas behind my back. That was one point in his favor. The idea of a threesome was pretty hot, but the truth was, I suspected Lucas only wanted Jackson and not me. I was afraid of being left out. I was afraid of being abandoned. I sucked up my fears and doubts and went back to my laptop. It didn’t take me long to find what I was looking for. However, what I found shocked me. It felt like a huge punch in the gut when I found the first article. Lucas may have been lying. Maybe he blocked it. But the horrible, violent, awful truth was he and 58

Taller, Meaner, Darker Harper had both been murdered. They’d been the victims of gay bashings. My hand flew to my mouth as I saw their photographs. Lucas was a pipsqueak of a guy— skinny, gangly-looking. He had befriended Harper at a college beer bust several days before their murder. While Lucas had died right away, Harper had lingered in a coma for months before dying from complications from his injuries. Friends said Harper wanted to take Lucas under his wing, that Lucas had never been with a man, he wanted to explore his sexuality. Far from being an asshole, Harper had tried to help Lucas, took him to a couple of GLBT meetings off campus, took him to a PFLAG meeting and then…somebody waylaid the two men. I felt an arm move around my shoulders. “It’s sick, isn’t it?” I didn’t realize I was crying until Jackson’s hand swept across my cheek. “My God. You knew this?” Jackson sighed. “I’ve been piecing it together. I get flashbacks.” “Flashbacks?” “From him. I read him. I think his…spirit is so traumatized by what happened, he blames Harper because they were together at an overtly gay meeting.” 59

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “They were beaten to death.” Jackson nodded. “How come we haven’t heard anything about this?” “It’s been on the news, I’m sure.” He kissed me, sliding into my office chair and pulling me on his lap. “It’ll be everywhere, especially now that he’s taken Harper’s body. I’m sure a lot of people will be looking for some guy who miraculously got up from a coma and walked away from the hospital.” “We’re hiding a dead fugitive.” “Yeah. I guess we are.” We read the rest of the story in silence. The two men had been beaten. Left for dead in the college gym and their attackers had never been found. “What are we going to do?” “Please don’t make me go back. I don’t want to be dead. I want to be here with you.” We swiveled around in our chair. Lucas stood, wringing his hands, near hysteria. “I’m a twenty-one year old virgin and I finally have a hot body. I don’t want to go back to being in the tunnel.” “Tunnel?” Jackson had told me about the tunnel, where he fought with somebody…begging for a body. Whenever we came close to discussing it, he became emotional and I always backed off. “Who beat you?” I asked. 60

Taller, Meaner, Darker Lucas sobbed louder and shook his head, refusing to answer. Maybe he didn’t know or maybe it was just too painful to relive any part of the attack. My heart broke even more as I thought about all the fear and pain he must have experienced in the last moments of his life. Damn, he’d been so young, too. Jackson got out of the chair and moved over to him, holding him in his arms. “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s going to be okay.” “No, it’s not. I have no family, no home…” He paused to take in a deep shuddering breath, “Fuck, I don’t even know my own body. I never thought I could sink any lower than I already had, but damned if I did. I can’t believe this, but I just wish I were back to my old, dorky self. At least then, I knew who I was. Or at least I was beginning to figure it out. Now it feels like I’m having to start all over again.” Damn it all, I was actually beginning to like this kid. Not being able to see anyone suffer, I got up and put my arms around him, too. It made for one, big, awkward group hug, but it seemed like he needed all the comfort he could get. “Thank you,” he whispered, his body shuddering. “It’s just a hug.” I shared a smile with Jackson. “Yes, I know, but it’s been so long.” The way Lucas said that made me realize that he was 61

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht referring to the time before he died, too. It dawned on me how little we still knew about him. Before I had time to ponder this further, Lucas turned slightly so his cheek pressed into my chest. Snuggling in, like one of the cats settling in for a long petting session, he let out a sound that reminded me of purr. “This is so nice,” he sighed as he wiped his tears into my shirt. Yes, it was. For that moment, all the worries and concerns I had about this virtual stranger vanished. Especially when he tilted his head up to gaze at me. His face was so open, his blue eyes so earnest, that something tugged at my chest. Jackson took in a sharp breath, the sexual tension nearly sizzling from him as he watched us. My own breath was ragged as I saw the need burning in Lucas’s gaze. It was a turn on but, also, frightening. He even licked his lips, his tongue darting out to make a slow pass, so I had no doubt the same desire coursed through his body. “Please,” he begged, his voice no louder than a sigh. I slowly lowered my mouth that last little bit. Part of me couldn’t believe I was actually doing this, kissing someone that wasn’t Jackson. Yet, another part of me knew I didn’t have the strength to pull back. I even gave a small sigh of anticipation right before I pressed my lips to his. 62

Taller, Meaner, Darker Lucas let out the shyest of whimpers as he opened his lips in a blatant invitation. Urged on, I thrust my tongue inside his hot mouth, taking the kiss further. When he pushed his tongue forward to meet my assault, need shot through my body, making me hard. This was so much better than I could ever dream. Lucas’s reaction was so pure, so true. He even tasted sweet, like he’d been eating something sugary. “Did you sneak some of the pie I had in the fridge?” I teased, barely moving my mouth away. Lucas grinned impishly, showing off the nicest set of dimples. “Maybe. I’m just a sucker for chocolate and couldn’t resist. I hope you don’t mind.” “No, it tastes good on you,” I said before I went in for another kiss. Even though a small part of my brain was screaming at me to stop this, I knew I didn’t have the strength to deny our need. I was making out with the man that Jackson wanted to screw. How twisted was that? “Fuck me,” Lucas begged, his face turning pink as he bashfully nibbled on his kiss-swollen lip. He kept his head down, averting his gaze from me. “We will,” I shocked myself by saying. Lucas looked up hopeful until I added, “Not tonight though “Why not?” His mouth turned down into a frown. 63

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht Unable to resist, I fanned my thumb over his cheek. “Because I want you to take a day to make sure it’s what you really want. You only have your first time once and it shouldn’t be something that you rush into.” “Gavin’s right. The last thing you want is to have regrets,” Jackson added. We were still both on either side of Lucas, our arms around him. Jackson leaned down and placed the softest of kisses on his cheek. “I could never regret being with either one of you,” Lucas argued. I realized his hands were still clutching my shirt, almost as if he were terrified of losing contact with us. “Then you won’t mind waiting a day.” I ran the back of my fingers along his jaw, now that I’d found out how nice it was to touch him, I couldn’t seem to make myself stop. “Trust us, it’s worth it.” Jackson pressed light kisses along the nape of Lucas’s neck. I smiled when I felt him shiver in response. If he reacted this way to a few caress, how would it be once we got him naked and in between us? “Do I…” Lucas began before he swallowed hard and finished, “do I have to go back to the guest room? I just don’t want to sleep alone.” “Why not?” Jackson asked, his dark eyes narrowing in concern. Funny how that would 64

Taller, Meaner, Darker have annoyed me an hour ago. Now I found myself sharing his worry. “I keep having nightmares about the attack.” Lucas flushed again, obviously shamed by his fears. Jackson looked at me questioningly. A warm feeling washed over me. Even though I knew he wanted Lucas to sleep with us, Jackson still put my needs and wants first. I love you, I mouthed to him and I’d never meant it more. “If you promise to be good, you can sleep with us,” I conceded. Lucas gave me such a sweet smile, my knees felt weak. Now, I could see why Jackson had so readily spent a small fortune on the guy. Damn, I’d whip out my credit card, too, and hand it over happily, just so long as I could get Lucas to keep looking at me that way. “Thanks.” Lucas took off for our room. After exchanging amused glances, Jackson and I followed him. We got there just in time to see Lucas practically jump into the king-sized bed in our master bedroom. He settled in the middle leaving Jackson and me no option but to go on either side of him. He instantly went back on his word and started pawing Jackson. Lucas wasted no time, instantly scooting close and molding himself to Jackson. 65

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Patience is a virtue,” I replied in my best fortune-cookie voice. Jackson snorted with laughter. Lucas seemed to find it funny though, his rich chuckle filling the room. I got into bed, realizing how crowded even a king size got when you added a third body to the mix. Something told me that Lucas was a clinger, too, and he’d spend most of the night curled around either Jackson or me. “I know you’re worried that I’ll take Jackson from you, but you don’t need to be,” Lucas whispered into the darkness. “I’m not worried,” I half lied. “Yes, you are. I can feel the emotions coming from you. But you can relax.” He turned so we were facing each other. When he cupped my cheek, I had to fight myself from leaning into the touch. “Why’s that?” “Because even though I may want Jackson because he makes me burn inside, I want you just as much,” he confessed. “Why, because I add comic relief when I run into displays at the store?” I joked, trying to make light of the conversation even though my heart hammered in my chest. “No, because you make me smile. For the first time, I feel safe around someone, like I can be 66

Taller, Meaner, Darker myself and you won’t judge me for it. When I’m around you, I know that everything can work out and there’s good in the world.” For a second, I found myself speechless. Then I grunted, “Go to sleep. We have a busy day at the store tomorrow.” Lucas gave me another one of those smiles before reaching for me. I couldn’t handle it. I pushed myself away from him. Jackson followed me as I left our bed, putting his arms around me. “It’s okay,” he said. He told me to go to back to bed, that he’d see Lucas into his room. “I don’t want to be alone.” Lucas whispered. I pressed my thumbs to my eyes. It was too much. He was too much. I needed time. Jackson came back to me, holding me in our bed. His whole body shook. “I feel bad for him,” he said. “Yeah, I do, too.” Jackson ran his hand over my belly. “Sure you don’t want to invite him in here?” “God, baby. Can’t you give the threesome thing a rest for five minutes?” Jackson’s hand froze between my legs. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I—” “Look, it’s too stressful. Too intimate. I’m sorry he got beaten to death, but I’m still not ready to jump in the sack with him.” 67

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht I got out of bed. Jackson got out, too, his raging erection pointed right at me. “You do still want me,” I mumbled. “Of course I fucking want you.” His lips closed over mine and he kissed me. He drew me back to the bed. He picked up where we’d left off before our fight. “I can’t decide which I like better,” he said, pulling his mouth off mine. “Which…what?” “Makeup sex or morning-wood sex.” I laughed. “That’s my favorite sound in the whole world,” he said, his eyes deep and dark. He kissed me again and I stopped laughing. “You come first for me, always,” he said, putting his whole weight on me. I held him to me as he kissed me. Had I ever hungered for Chrissie the way I did Jackson? It was different. I loved the difference, loved our raw, unblemished need for one another. “You just make me wanna fuck you all the time, Gavin.” His fingers gripped my cock, his mouth going to my balls. I loved how he threw himself into his oral pleasuring. Damn, the man was good. He sucked and slurped on me, his fingers moving to my ass hole. 68

Taller, Meaner, Darker My breath came in jagged bursts. I could feel the effects of every lick coursing up and down my legs. My ass opened to him. His hand shifted, grabbing my cock and my balls together. He tugged on me and edged my ass to his chin. He ate me with such desire, I almost came on the spot. “I don’t think so,” he said, raising his mouth off me, his chin stubble grazing my ass hole the way I loved. “Stick it in,” I urged and he didn’t waste time. He looked down at my ass, his gaze one of intensity as he rubbed his cock against me, yearning for entry. He slid into me, tight and deep. “Fuck,” we murmured as one and that’s just what he did. Jackson moved into me with assurance, his cock filling me like nobody else ever could. Or could they? I wondered what it would be like to have Lucas inside me as Jackson and I came together. He eased out of me once we caught our breath. “Damn, you’re the hottest fuck man,” he said, shaking his head. He remained on top of me, kissing me. “Hey, what about that hot dinner?” he asked. He was never going to let this go. 69

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “The restaurant is supposed to be booked two to three months in advance,” I said. “I’ll make the reservation and the night we have dinner, we’ll canoodle with the corpse next door.” Jackson gave me a long look. “I’m not waiting months, darling.” Before I could respond, he said, “I’m just sayin’.” Boy, the old Chrissie was alive and well and asserting her personality. As it happened, he called from his cell phone, conveniently at his elbow. He got us an early reservation the following evening. Damn! “We have to be there at five for the first service. I’m so glad we’re doing this.” Jackson pulled me into his arms. “They’re supposed to have the best duck in San Francisco.” Yep, and he had a live, sitting duck right here in his bedroom. After a few minutes, Jackson drifted off, his even breaths telling me he was deep in sleep. Jackson stirred, his arms wrapping tightly around me as usual. How like a man, he can sleep no matter what. For a long time I stayed awake, the events of the night replaying in my head like a home movie on a continuous reel. I knew one thing for certain. That Greyhound bus plan was out the window. Despite my best 70

Taller, Meaner, Darker intentions, Lucas had somehow wormed his way into my heart and I would do everything in my power to help him. Jackson woke up and turned around to face me, showing that even when he slept, he could still sense when I felt upset. “Were you serious when you agreed that we could take him to bed with us?” Jackson’s hand shot out and squeezed my thigh. “That’s funny—I could have sworn he already had been in our bed.” I was playing coy on purpose, hoping the more I drew out the conversation the higher Jackson’s hand would travel up my leg. “I know what game you’re playing, Chuckles,” Jackson called me out. “You do?” I asked in a strained voice. “Yes, and if you’re going to make Lucas and me wait, I only think it’s fair you suffer a little bit, too.” He gave me a sly grin as he moved his hand away. I let out a soft cry of disappointment as I resisted the urge to reach out, grab his hand and put it back in place.

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Chapter Six

R

estaurant Gary Danko was hopping when we arrived a little before five the following evening. It had been a strange day. We’d all been nervous, waiting, the sexual tension thick enough to carve and stuff between slices of bread. Lucas had come into the kitchen for breakfast and we broke the news about dinner. “I was thinking that tonight we’d go out and get a really nice meal,” I suggested. Even though I’d argued about taking Lucas the night before, now I found myself eager to share the experience with him. “Cool, where?” Lucas asked. I shared a smile with Jackson. “I’ll let that be a surprise. You might want to dress up a bit, though. The place we’re taking you doesn’t exactly cater to the sweatshirt crowd.” “It’s cool, babe. We got him some really nice stuff at the stores,” Jackson said. “And, Lucas, 72

Taller, Meaner, Darker we’re thinking tonight’s the night, you know…” He wiggled his brow. Lucas had looked excited, but he grew very quiet. “I want to do something useful. I’d like to help Foster close his accounts and change his website and Facebook passwords. I had to help a couple of my friends do all this stuff before.” Before I could respond, he held up his hands. “I’m not trying to be his accountant, but I’d like to have something to do. He lives close by, right? I could call him and he can pick me up.” Jackson and I exchanged glances. I was surprised at Lucas’s largesse and thought this was a wonderful thing for him to do. “If you help him do that today, he and I can start working on his case against Steve later today.” I said. “Tell him to call me.” “Sure thing.” Lucas took some hot breakfast rolls and coffee to his room and Jackson and I went to the store. All day, we were sweet with each other, but the subject of the threesome remained unspoken. It wasn’t a giant elephant squeezed into our small shop. It was a gigantic, pooping elephant, but still, we ignored the subject even when we grabbed a sandwich for lunch. 73

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “What’s up with you two today?” Jordan asked as we shared our tubs of macaroni and potato salads. “You are both acting like nine-year-old girls passing notes in school. “Am not,” I retorted. “Are, too.” “I don’t pass notes,” Jackson said. “Do, too,” she said. “You can’t have lunch at our table,” he replied. “Too late, already did. Say, you gonna eat that pickle?” When Jackson shook his head, she snatched it up. The long dill sat in her mouth and I thought about sucking Lucas’s cock. Could I really do it? The subject remained unspoken until we drove home. “I’m sorry if I upset you last night,” Jackson’s voice was rough as he touched my hand. “That’s okay. After all, it was me who ended up making out with him,” I replied with a rueful shrug. “You’re sure you want to go through with this?” “Yes,” I said. “I’m sure. I’m just nervous.” Jackson burst into laughter. “Me, too, babe. Me, too.” Lucas seemed uneasy—as if he were afraid we’d send him back to Michigan. I felt a fresh stab 74

Taller, Meaner, Darker of hot jealousy when I saw him in his new buttonfly Levis and Etro shirt. “Jackson picked these out for me.” Lucas was so smitten with Jackson, but I was more jealous about the shirt than his infatuation with Jackson. “I’ll take you to Malouf’s and buy you something tomorrow,” Jackson had said as he shaved in the bathroom. “Don’t you know you’re still my number-one guy?” All three of us were stylin’ as we entered the restaurant. I was still nervous and realized we all were. Lucas kept grinning and I felt like an invisible neon light hovered over us reading Threesome. The restaurant looked formal with its starched white linen tablecloths, but the hostess was friendly and took us right to our table. Lucas sat next to me, Jackson sitting opposite us. We studied the menus and our waiter told us we could choose a three-, four- or five-course meal and I was astonished to see the extensive wine list. Sixteen hundred bottles to choose from. Jackson took control immediately, leaving Lucas to keep grinning and me to keep worrying. There wasn’t a single bottle of wine under eighty dollars. I couldn’t believe Kyle had been planning to bring Jordan here. I listened to Jackson bantering with our sommelier and found new things to worry about. 75

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht Kyle had just walked in with Jordan who spotted us and flashed a range of emotions on her lovely, expressive face. “Hi, guys.” She hurried to our table. Kyle kept a grip on her elbow as if she was a marionette and he could control her movements this way. “Don’t tell Hank,” she muttered before he steered her across the room. “We’re going to start with the glazed oysters with osetra caviar,” Jackson said to the sommelier. “What wine pairs well with that and won’t interfere with the aphrodisiac qualities of the oysters?” No, I can’t believe he just said that! Lucas came out of his smiling stupor. “What’s an osetra?” Beached whale. I kept visualizing a big, dead mammal as Jackson flirted and asked a million questions about the tasting menu. “It’s a sturgeon…Russian I think,” I murmured, watching Kyle and Jordan’s animated chatter. Damn, they’re actually a cute couple. I heard the words bison, quail, duck, beef, venison, guinea hen and frog’s legs tossed around by Jackson and our waiter. We were about to consume a Noah’s Ark of animals. “Here, baby, try this incredible wine,” Jackson said as my gaze fell on the happy, peppy couples all around us. 76

Taller, Meaner, Darker I glanced at the half-filled wine glass in front of me and sipped at the crisp, dry liquid. Nodding my agreement, my gaze went back to the other, fully occupied tables. The sommelier made his pairing suggestions as did the waiter. This goes with this. I can pair this with that. Try this. Taste that. I watched the old couples, the young couples, the loud, honeymooning couple from Germany, the giggling first-date couple that was Kyle and Jordan. Pairs. Yes. The whole world was a pair. Except us. We’re a three! I suddenly felt bereft, missing my old life with Chrissie. I missed my old life with Jackson from just two days before. I missed her so much and she missed me so much that she came back. I’d been so certain of my place in Jackson’s life and now I felt in danger of losing it all. “Are you okay?” I felt a hand on mine. I was surprised to see it was Lucas and not Jackson reaching out to me. “I love you,” Jackson said, leaning over the table to me. “I love you, too,” I said. “And I love you both,” Lucas said. “This isn’t just a meal. It’s an event.” 77

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht He seemed genuine in his wonder and his appreciation. “My mom wasn’t much of a cook. Growing up, it was meat and potatoes and she didn’t even do that very well.” He seemed embarrassed. “I shouldn’t say that, but it’s true.” “Do you miss her?” I asked. He picked at his crusty bread roll. “I miss having a mom, but we weren’t close, not once I came out.” It was a familiar theme. He would never know now if she would have accepted him in the end…if she would have come to love her gay son as much she’d loved him before she knew he liked men. “I didn’t choose this,” he said. “I didn’t choose to be gay. That’s something Harper taught me. To appreciate me as I am…guess that’s why I took the chance and stepped into his body.” “Why do you think he allowed that to happen?” Jackson asked. “You mean the man in the gray suit or Harper?” Lucas asked. “Both,” Jackson said and I wished I knew who the man in the gray suit was. “I was given a choice and Harper’s spirit egged me on. I don’t think he wanted to be here anymore. In spite of everything, his battle for 78

Taller, Meaner, Darker equality…fighting to save me…I think he wanted to be in heaven.” Jackson nodded. I felt for Lucas, I really did, but worry hobbled my heart, preventing me from being in the moment. I tried hard just to enjoy the seared sea scallops with roasted apples. I tasted butternut squash and remembered the first time Chrissie and I had gone pumpkin picking down in Gilroy, the garlic capital of California. Chrissie hadn’t been much of a cook in her lifetime, but she appreciated the seasons, appreciated good food. She taught me to savor moments. Jackson taught me to savor moments on a whole bigger, elephant-sized scale. I smiled back at him. Our love was stronger than death. It was certainly stronger than a kid struggling to explore his own frightening steps into sexual self-expression. “Yeah, I really do.” Jackson’s eyes were full of meaning. He’d been reading my mind, I was sure of it. I wondered how much of it he’d read. I’d never felt so close to a human being. “Do we want three courses or more?” Jackson asked as more plates arrived. I wanted to say five, because I wanted more time to keep an eye on Kyle and Jordan. Or so I tried to convince myself. What I really wanted was to postpone the scary inevitable. 79

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Three seems…fitting.” Lucas looked like he was trying not to leer. “Why does that eel keep swimming around your head?” he asked me. “Eel?” I came back to the conversation and smiled at Jackson. “Is that Fangster hanging out with us?” He nodded. “Jordan said he’s my spirit guide or something. Although, I think it’s more manly to refer to him as my own personal team mascot. Fangster might be a bit shocked at what we have in store tonight,” I said and Jackson laughed. “Yep, if he had hands, babe, he’d want to cover his eyes for sure. You know what?” I smiled at him and waited. “Next fall, we must go pumpkin picking again.” This time, I laughed. I started to feel better about my place in Jackson’s life. I started to feel excited, like we were doing something both naughty and good. We were helping Lucas find his way in the gay world in a loving, nurturing environment. Poor Harper Bryant had tried to help Lucas. He’d extended a hand in friendship and died for it. He never got to love again and I tried not to think of their horrible, brutal death. I hoped that some small part of Harper would enjoy our evening as much as Lucas would. 80

Taller, Meaner, Darker I was anxious now for dessert, both at the table and in the bedroom. We ordered dessert in a giddy way, like kids wanting a bite of everything. The one thing we wanted apart from chestnut mousse with chocolate custard and the trio of cremes brulee was a baked Alaska. The entire restaurant stared as it arrived in flames at our table. My eyes connected with Jordan’s across the room. I’d never seen her so happy or alive in that moment. The baked Alaska’s fire extinguished and people applauded. I took a deep breath, hoping that I, too, wasn’t about to go down in flames.

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Chapter Seven

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e waited out front for the valet to bring our car to us. The night had cooled off, the sky an inky blue with big, bright stars hanging low. People arrived looking excited. “How was it?” asked a young woman clinging to her man’s arm. “Fantastic,” I said as Jackson slipped his arm around me. I smelled tuberose in the lush garden out front and it stirred my senses. I reached up to Jackson for a kiss. Lucas nudged me and gave me a kiss, too. I was shocked at first, then totally turned on. My cock hardened instantly. What a thrill this was. The valet gave us a sidelong glance, but from his cheeky grin, I guessed, like ninety-percent of San Francisco males, that he was gay. “We need to stop by Foster’s diner for a few minutes. He’s got some paperwork for me to look over,” I said, feeling a bit of a thrill at the looks of disappointment on Lucas’s and Jackson’s faces. 82

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Okay, but we can’t stay long. We have a full evening ahead of us.” Jackson shared a knowing smile with Lucas. We were all silent on the car ride over. Even Lucas managed to keep his yap shut for once as he sat in the backseat. Once we got there, I was shocked to see the closed sign up, but I could see Foster inside working a broom. “This place is so cool,” Lucas observed as we got out of the car. Yeah, I just hoped I could figure out a way for Foster to keep it. Foster was so absorbed in sweeping that when I knocked, he jumped so high, he almost dropped the broom. Putting a hand to his chest, he gave us a weak smile before he came to unlock the door. “Sorry to bust in on you so late, but I thought I’d pick up that paperwork since we were already out,” I apologized as he let us in. “No problem, you just surprised me is all. I’m not used to closing up except on Christmas and my mom’s birthday, but I’ve been on my own. I’m a little burned out and needed a little break.” Foster went behind the counter and grabbed the papers. “What happened to your help?” Jackson asked as he looked around the empty restaurant. 83

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht Foster gave a disgusted snort. “That would be Alan. Bastard was a no call, no show today. It’s because of him that I had to close tonight.” “He’s an idiot. I would love working here.” Lucas ran his fingers over the countertop, just as he’d done on his previous visit to the diner. His touch almost like a lover’s caress. A small look of awe was in his eyes as he drank in all the surroundings. “You really like it that much?” Foster gave the first genuine smile I’d seen from him in a long time. “Yeah, it reminds me of a soda shop that I used to go to as a kid.” “Soda shop?” Foster echoed. “Where did you live?” “A small town in Michigan called Holly. There used to be this little store downtown that was a combination soda shop and pharmacy.” By the tone of Lucas’s voice, he had good memories of the place. “The pharmacy was in the same building?” I grinned, caught up in his nostalgia. “Yeah, the pharmacist always brought his dog in and they would both sit behind the counter. He used to greet all the customers by name, since he knew everybody and their business.” “Who? The dog or the pharmacist?” Jackson quipped. 84

Taller, Meaner, Darker Lucas laughed. “The counter at the soda shop was old and beat to hell, because it’d been there forever. I remember how I always used to reach under it to feel all the gum that was stuck there. There were hundreds of those petrified, blobs. Some of them probably even older than the pharmacist.” “Eww.” I wrinkled my nose thinking about how many germs would be in decades-old chewing gum. “I guess when you stop to think about it, it is kind of gross,” Lucas conceded. “But when I was a kid, I thought it was so cool. I used to sit in the wobbling stools and spin around until I got so dizzy I couldn’t stand up.” “Is it still there?” Foster asked. He seemed captivated by Lucas’s tale. Even going so far as to lean over on the counter so he could really listen. Lucas shook his head. “Last I knew, someone had converted the place into a travel agency. Once the pharmacist died, the business kind of petered out.” “You haven’t been home lately?” Foster quizzed, gently. “No, not since…” Lucas trailed off, ducking his head as a warm heat went over his face. “Not since you came out,” Foster finished—his face soft with understanding. 85

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Yeah, my mom didn’t take it too well. She was disappointed that all her plans for me finding a nice girl, settling down and having two point five children were out the window,” Lucas spat bitterly before changing the subject, abruptly. “You make the best pie here. I snagged some of Gavin’s and it was so good. I’ll have to come back and try some other types.” “Anytime.” Foster smiled at him. We made small talk for a few more minutes before I gathered up the papers and we left. Lucas shivered as he zipped his jacket up higher. “Ever since I switched bodies…since I died and came back, the cold affects me. I thought it wasn’t supposed to get so cold here.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ll drive,” Jackson said once we got to the car. “You get in back and keep Lucas warmed up.” “I like that plan.” Lucan rubbed against me, his hard cock pressing into my hip. Jackson drove, Lucas and I moving in for a long kiss in back. He was a horny bugger, that’s for sure. His hand went right to my cock, massaging it in my pants. He took his mouth from me. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he said and went back to kissing me. Jackson watched us through the rearview mirror. 86

Taller, Meaner, Darker I caught his wild grin and heard cars honking around us. “Shit, I am driving all over the place,” he said, laughing as he steadied the car. Lucas rubbed my cock, his hand squeezing my shaft. “Wow, you’re big, Gavin. No wonder Jackson craves you.” His mouth moved over mine again and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Lucas’s hand strayed to my zipper. “Take his cock out for me,” Jackson said. “I want to see that big, huge thing.” Lucas kissed great for a virgin. He threw all his enthusiasm into it. I felt his hand move into my pants. Oh God, that’s good. He took my cock out of my underpants, stroking the shaft. “Can I suck it?” he asked, taking his mouth off mine. Yes, yes! “No, you can lick it,” Jackson instructed and I will never forget the moment Lucas’s tongue touched my cockhead as my eyes met Jackson’s in the mirror. Lucas’s tongue ran around the tip and under the rim, sliding down the shaft, his hand gripping me hard.

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AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “You’re so hot.” Jackson reached back and touched my cockhead as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. The lights, the sparkling ocean and the sounds of our own sexual exploration got me so hot I didn’t think I’d last until we arrived home. I took Lucas’s face away from me, but his eyes blazed his desire and frustration. “Please let me,” he said. I took his face in my hands and kissed him. “Geez you two, you’re making me nuts,” Jackson said. “I can’t believe how hot you both are.” I pushed Lucas back on the seat and unbuttoned his Levis. His massive cock was wedged up high in his underpants and I fought to release him. “Lemme see, lemme see,” Jackson shrieked. Lucas’s cock was free at last and he struggled for breath when I placed a big, fat kiss on the head. He had a nice, juicy one and I started getting even more excited. He made a sound like cah as I opened my mouth and sucked the tip into my hungry lips. “Are you sucking his cock, Gav?” Jackson yelled at me. “Baby! Wait until we get home.” But I couldn’t wait. I felt Lucas’s grip on my cock tighten. His cock became slick with need and I slurped at it. 88

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Thank God we’re home,” Jackson rasped and sped into the driveway. The car nudged the garage door. “Ooops,” he said. We all got out and Jackson laughed when he saw our cocks wagging at him. “Now, that’s what I call a happy meal,” he said, reaching out and stroking both of us. He tilted his head toward the front door and we ran up the stairs and into the house. We all stared at each other for one brief moment, breathing heavily. I felt the kitties purring against my legs and Lucas looked at me. “I need you to kiss me, Gavin. It feels so right when you kiss me.” How could I deny that? Cupping the back of his head, I slowly pressed my lips to his. Lucas parted his mouth, an eager growl coming from his throat. The sound shot straight to my cock, making it press painfully against the leg of his jeans. But, damn Lucas had been right about one thing. This did feel nice and strangely enough, it suddenly felt right. Lucas opened up immediately, his tongue thrusting forward to meet mine. Jackson started to make absent strokes on my back, his touch leaving behind a heated path. 89

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “You two look so beautiful right now,” he observed, his voice husky. I wanted to answer him but couldn’t tear myself away from Lucas. His lips were so soft, so tempting. The way he returned the kiss, with an eager intensity I’d never encountered before only added another level to my desire. Jackson reached out and slowly stroked Lucas’s face. “Look at how bad he wants you, Gavin. How much he wants us. Just think about it, a sweet, little virgin practically on his knees, begging for us to break him in.” Lucas let out another one of those cute whimpers as he fisted both his hands in my shirt, his tongue swirling in my mouth. It was almost as if he couldn’t get enough of me and I was just vain enough to get more turned on by that. It nearly caused me physical pain to pull back, breaking off the kiss. Lucas let out a disappointed grunt, but he didn’t fight it, instead leaning his forehead against my chest as he panted for breath. I looked up at Jackson and what I saw almost made me go over the edge and shoot off right there and then. His eyes were glazed over in passion, a fine sheen of sweat dotting his forehead. I didn’t have to reach around to cup his cock to know it was as hard as mine. 90

Taller, Meaner, Darker Not that I was complaining. At least not anymore. Especially when he put his hand behind my head, the movement making his shirt ride up enough to expose his taut stomach. My cock jerked as Lucas grabbed it. I wondered how his flesh would taste under my tongue. “You owe me for making us wait twenty-four hours,” Jackson growled at me, but I caught the amused glint in his eyes. “Should we take this to the bedroom?” I asked. With a heavy sigh, Jackson said, “If you insist.” His big grin gave him away though and we ran into the bedroom. “You see Fangster anywhere?” I asked him as we threw off our clothes. “Naw, he’s off getting himself some, too.” We climbed into the bed, all of us naked. Even though it should have felt odd to have someone else hard and hot between me and the man I love, it didn’t. If anything, it made me feel closer to Jackson as we both concentrated on Lucas. It was as though we’d entered a dream ship. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was all that good food, but none our movements seemed hurried or forced. Jackson left our bed, his big cock jutting out, leaving me to keep kissing Lucas. 91

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht I glanced up, watching as he lit tea-light candles all over the room. His hand hovered over the basket of incense on the dresser. I heard him strike another match and detected the heady smell of our favorite cherry blossom bamboo. “Music?” he asked, but when he turned and saw how switched on we both were, he turned off the bedside lamp, leaving us illuminated only by firelight and he joined us on the bed again. This was how lovemaking had always been…primal lust and fire. I turned Lucas’s face toward Jackson who kissed him as he sidled up to him. Lucas held our cocks in his hands as we took turns kissing and licking down his body. His chest rippled as Jackson’s tongue flowed across it. I moved down his muscled abs and felt his body jolt at my touch. His grip tightened on my cock and I watched as Jackson moved up and licked his mouth. Moving my head down to his splendid cock in a sixty-nine position, I took it into my mouth, Jackson joining me. I felt Lucas’s grasp on me slacken as two men tasted him at the same time. Jackson’s tongue flicked at Lucas’s long, thick shaft as I sucked slowly up and down on his meaty cockhead. 92

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Oh, God…oh God…” I tasted the pre-come fluid dripping from him and he couldn’t hold it any longer. His hands flew to our heads as he came hard in my mouth. I almost choked—there was so much of it. “Let me have some,” Jackson begged and I pulled off Lucas’s still-erupting cock. Jackson’s head gleamed in the soft light as his mouth sucked Lucas’s cock into it. I swallowed, gulping down Lucas’s juices and found him staring at me. “God, I want to come forever.” “I know the feeling.” He didn’t hesitate to kiss me, his tongue tentative at the first taste of his own come. Jackson pulled off him and pulled my head back, kissing me. I lay beside Lucas, rubbing circles around his midriff and down to his groin. All the pressure points of his central nervous system. I woke up his blood as Jackson moved between his legs and licked his balls. “You ever have a man eat your ass?” Jackson asked. “No.” Lucas’s voice cracked as Jackson opened his legs wide. Lucas sobbed as Jackson moved his fabulous tongue over his balls and down to his perineum. 93

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht His head flipped back and forth. The way he humped Jackson’s mouth, I knew he wanted my man’s tongue in his ass but was too afraid to ask. “Suck his ass,” I said and when Jackson held Lucas’s hips closer to his face, dipping his mouth right down, I watched with pleasure as Lucas’s cock hardened. “Mother of God!” Lucas screamed. Jackson licked and sucked at Lucas and glanced up at me. I moved down. “Holy fuck!” Lucas came off the bed as I licked at his cock again. For long moments, we both worked and I didn’t think he’d come again but he did with a strangled cry, deep into my throat. He sobbed on the bed, Jackson and I soothing him. He calmed down, burying his face in Jackson’s shoulder. “I want to watch you fuck Gavin,” he said. “With pleasure.” Jackson moved over him to get to me and I rose to my knees. I wanted him to fuck me doggy-style and he took some of the come from my chin and Lucas’s still leaking cock and rubbed it into my ass. He entered me and the bliss was indescribable. I felt like a cat, arching into extreme joy at the touch of his master’s hand. I wanted to bay at the moon like a wolf…I wanted it to last forever. 94

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Suck his nipples for me,” Jackson said and Lucas scooted underneath me, his hand on my stiff dick, his mouth latching onto my nipple. Jackson dug deeper into me and I couldn’t think anymore. I felt the pressure building into almost-fullblown pain and realized Lucas had gripped my balls and cock hard. “Come, baby,” Jackson ground out and I did, all over Lucas’s vice grip as Jackson came inside me. “Wow,” Lucas said. “I felt like I was coming, too.” We kissed each other. Jackson grinned. “You’re the most sensual men I’ve ever met.” All night long, we dozed, groped for one another. We took turns sucking each other’s cocks, Lucas so clumsy but determined. Lucas wasn’t ready for a cock in his ass and neither of us minded. He was a sensual lover and enjoyed the long, steady foreplay. The candles all extinguished one by one and the cats walked around the room, but they left us alone on the bed. Sleep came late, but it was sticky and sweet. I had somehow landed between both men and awoke at sunrise with two hard cocks needing 95

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht attention. I surprised them both by waking them up with a morning blowjob. “How’d you sleep?” Jackson asked Lucas, reaching over to ruffle his head. I knew Jackson loved morning head and soon found out Lucas did, too. They laughed as they scooted closer to one another and rubbed their cocks against each other. I held them in my hands, luxuriating in the feel of so much manliness as they came all over my face. When I looked up, they we were kissing each other and it was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. “Shower?” Jackson asked. We moved as one into the bathroom. The only awkward moment came when we took turns peeing. “I gotta do number two,” Lucas said and ran to his own bathroom. “Number two?” I asked Jackson. He shrugged. “He was a virgin until we came along…he’s a late bloomer.” Lucas returned to find us lathered and joined us under the hot spray. “Now this,” Jackson said as his soapy hands moved across Lucas’s body, “is my idea of a wakeup call.”

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Taller, Meaner, Darker

Chapter Eight

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e made breakfast together and I didn’t know what scared me more. The fact that we were stuck with Lucas for God knows for how long or that I didn’t seem to mind so much anymore. Lucas beat the eggs for pancakes, sliced fruit and watched the toast as I fed the kitties. Throwing my arms around him, I held him tight. He moved in closer, kissing me. Even in his sleep, he’d snuggled against me. My gut clenched as he showed, once again, how starved he was for attention. How much rejection had he received to make him this needy? I recalled the brief flash of hurt that had passed over his gaze as he talked about his home and mother the night before. I wonder if she regretted some of her actions now that the former Lucas was dead. I brushed a soft kiss on his head, just to let him know that he wasn’t alone in the world anymore. 97

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Cut it out you two,” Jackson said. “My bacon’s burning.” After breakfast, we grinned at each other, but none of us made a move toward one another. “I’m thinking I’d like to check out the neighborhood, see what’s what. Maybe go back to Foster’s and grab some lunch,” Lucas said. “Any chance of a rematch tonight?” “Absolutely,” I said. “Can’t wait,” Jackson added. “Take my car,” I offered. “Jackson and I can go to the store in his car.” “You sure?” I nodded. He kissed us both and it was funny. It was like we were the parents saying goodbye to our son and not the participants of the hot threesome we’d been in. Neither Jackson nor I said a word as I poured him more coffee. We heard the car take off and he looked at me. “I would fuck you like crazy right now, except I can’t. My pecker is pooped.” I laughed. “Mine, too.” We lay on the sofa, too drowsy from so much sex to do anything more. “They should market this feeling…bottle it,” I said. 98

Taller, Meaner, Darker “If only they could, right? You know, we should go to the store,” he said, kissing my head and shoulder. “Yeah. We should.” These words repeated themselves a few times until finally, we knew we had to get to work. We went to our room and I changed the sheets. We made up the bed again and Jackson tossed out the burned-out tea lights. We took the car out of the garage and looked at each other as we backed out of the driveway. “What?” Jackson asked me. I shook my head. “Nothing.” “Aw shit, I can’t do it.” “Do what?” “Go to the store.” “Jackson, we have to go. We can’t let Jordan do it all on her own.” He frowned. “How about if we get a late start?” “How about if we come home early?” He glanced at me. “How early?” “Lunchtime.” “Hmmm…all right, I like your thinking.” He kept backing out and reached for my hand. We drove down to the store, unable to speak, unable to let go of one another and this wonderful high and arrived just in time to see a big fist fight right outside our shop door. 99

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “What the fuck?” Jackson threw the car into park and jumped out, oblivious that we were double-parked. The car behind us honked and I gave him a wave, mouthed an apology as I ran around and jumped into the driver’s seat. Jackson entered the fray as I lurched forward a few spaces and parked. Shit! I picked out Hank in the melee and hoped he wasn’t beating up on Jordan. My hands shook as I fumbled to remove the key from the ignition. I heard people screaming and yelling. I ran to the store and found Kyle and Hank slugging at each other, Jordan watching, a look of fear and horror on her face from the other side of the store window. “Somebody call the cops!” a spectator yelled. “These are the cops,” a man said. “No kidding,” a third man said. “Are you open?” a woman asked me. “I booked a crop table for ten o’clock.” Jackson stepped between the two combatants. They took wild swings at one another, but he was strong and kept them separated. “Help me,” he said over his shoulder. “Er…sure.” I unlocked the door. I grabbed a flailing Hank and pushed him into the store, the crop lady right on our heels.

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Taller, Meaner, Darker I shut us all inside, leaning against the door, turning to look out the window as Jackson dealt with Kyle out front. “What’s the matter with you?” I asked Hank. “Don’t you know you can’t go around beating people up? Especially a cop?” “I’m a cop and he hit me, too.” “But he’s in a uniform.” “Are you on his side?” Jordan backed away from him, but Hank was too busy to notice. “He’s a woman thief and stealing a man’s woman is almost as bad as stealing his horse,” Hank huffed. “Geez, Hank.” No wonder Jordan had strayed. She cowered behind a revolving display of summer scrapbook packages. I could see glittery words stamped on distressed pieces of wood under her quivering chin. Summer Fun, Sun, Sun, Sun, Summer Luvin’, Splashin’ Around, Wish You Were Here! “He took her to that nelly place off Fisherman’s Wharf,” Hank fumed. “I can’t afford a place like that, how am I supposed to compete?” Hank stamped his foot. “Not by scaring the crap out of her! Now apologize,” I said. “No. She broke up with me.” 101

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “She did?” I was surprised. I glanced at Jordan who lifted her shoulders in a helpless gesture. There was a knock at the door. It was Jackson. “Lemme in, babe.” I opened the door in time to see Kyle zoom off on his motorbike. Hank lurched forward. “Not so fast, sunshine,” Jackson said. “I want a word with you.” “I’ve got nothing to say.” Hank pushed his way outside. “Whatsa matter?” he yelled at the few stragglers who remained out front. “Get a fucking life!” He stormed down the street and Jordan came out from behind the display. “They were fighting over you?” the woman asked, looking her up and down. Jordan nodded. “You lucky, lucky girl,” the woman said and bent down to pick up a hand basket. Jordan calmed down long enough to sip some coffee and tell us the gist of it. She had returned from her date the previous night and was kissing Kyle at her front door when Hank showed up. “I told him we were through, but now I’m kinda torn. Nobody ever fought for me like that.”

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Taller, Meaner, Darker “You’re gonna have to choose,” the crop lady said, “But until somebody puts a ring on your finger, I say make the most of kissing both frogs.” Jordan gave her an appreciative look. “In the meantime,” she held up one of our dayold donuts before adding, “think we can get something fresh in here?” I elected to go down the street and buy the donuts. People kept stopping to ask about the fight. Not one person asked if the two men were okay. All I heard was, who won? The fight brought us unexpected business and brisk sales thanks to the human instinct to nose around other people’s business. Jordan went from being terrified to being the star of her own Lifetime movie, Torn Between Two Lovers. “I don’t know. I like ‘em both, but Kyle is so sweet.” “He’s going through a messy divorce,” one woman said, biting into a glazed blackberry, oozing jelly all over the crop table. Jordan mopped it up. “Not so messy. He’s over her. He wants a new start.” Jackson and I stayed out of it, but at some point when we got her alone, we needed to talk to her. We’d both known Kyle and Janet for a long time and as far I could see, she wouldn’t give up Kyle without a fight. Hopefully, handbags and knuckledusters wouldn’t be involved. 103

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht As the morning progressed, her two suitors made appearances. Kyle brought her a dozen roses and an apology. An hour later, Hank came by with carnations, saw the roses and looked at me. “Are they from him?” I nodded. He hitched up his trousers and stomped out of the store, returning with two dozen roses. “I could get used to this attention,” Jordan said, arranging her blooms in every jar and vase we had on the premises. Jackson looked at me, raised his eyes heavenward and pointed at his watch. We couldn’t leave the store however. Jordan needed us. We headed home at closing time, spent from the developing love triangle. “Don’t you think it’s weird we have two triangles in our lives?” I asked as Jackson unlocked the passenger door for me. “Ours is a lot more fun,” he said. “What do you think Janet’s gonna do when she finds out?” Jackson fired up the motor. I leaned back in my seat. “Rearrange Jordan’s face for her…maybe relieve her of a few teeth.” He nodded. “My thoughts exactly.” 104

Taller, Meaner, Darker We returned home and found our other car in the driveway. Inside the house, we called out for Lucas. “I’m in here,” Lucas called out. “I’m naked in bed, waiting for my hunks.” Jackson and I looked at each other. He was in our bedroom. “Now this,” Jackson said, as he undid his shirt buttons, “beats the heck out of roses.” We raced to the bedroom, Lucas reached out for us and we climbed into the bed on either side of him. He smelled sweet and citrusy and I knew he tasted just as good. My body responded, instantly, my cock growing hard as my heart pounded in my chest. Jackson cupped the backs of our heads and urged us together for a kiss. This time, it was Lucas who took charge, his tongue tracing the outside of my lips before plunging inside my mouth. He didn’t waste any time, his hand reaching down to grab my cock. I let out a groan that was muffled by his mouth. “I think we’ve created ourselves a slut,” Jackson chuckled as he ran his hand up my hip. I would have voiced my agreement, but Lucas still had his tongue down my throat. He rolled on top of me, so our bodies were flush. I smiled against his lips when I felt the slight tremble going through him. 105

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “I could touch you forever,” Lucas confessed as he pulled back. His eyes were dark with passion, the lines of his face tight. “I know how you feel,” Jackson agreed as he ran the back of his knuckles down my rib cage. Now I was the one trembling. “Gavin, can I ask you something?” Lucas nibbled on his bottom lip. “You know you can,” I assured him as I reached up to brush a lock of his hair away from his sweat-soaked forehead. “Would it be okay if Jackson…what I mean is can he…” I decided to save him from his fumbling. “You want Jackson to fuck you?” Lucas paused, still biting his lip before he gave a slow, hesitant nod. A warm feeling went through me at his thoughtfulness. Even though he wanted Jackson badly, he still cared enough about me to get permission first. It was so unselfish. So sweet. But then I’d learned over the past few days, that’s how Lucas always acted. “And I want to suck this while he does it,” Lucas said, his hand giving my cock another good squeeze. Like I could say no to that! I still looked over at Jackson, seeking his permission. 106

Taller, Meaner, Darker He responded with a wicked grin. Running the palm of his hand down Lucas’s ass, he said, “As long as it’s okay with Gavin.” “Yes. God, yes,” I groaned. Lucas was still fisting my cock and it was getting hard to think let alone talk. Lucas gave my lips one last kiss before he started to work his way down my body. His tongue left a velvet path down my chest, where he paused long enough to give my nipples love bites. Then he moved lower, feathering kisses on my stomach. Jackson got up and went to the bathroom. Yesterday, I’d noticed he’d stashed a fresh box of condoms there. He came back with one in his hand. I noticed he, also, had a tube of lubricant. That pleased me. Since this was Lucas’s first time, I wanted it to go easy for him. Lucas had reached my cock and he hesitated, his lips hovering just inches away. I jerked, letting out a hiss of pleasure as his breath fluttered over my leaking tip. Just when I thought he was going to stay that way forever, his tongue darted out to lap at me. “You taste so good,” he observed in the endearing, awed voice of his. Jackson arched over Lucas so his lips were just inches from the younger man’s ear. Fisting his hands into Lucas’s hair, Jackson growled, “Quit 107

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht being the college boy and over talking things. Show us how much you want it.” Lucas’s pupils grew wide with passion before he parted his lips and took me in. He only went halfway down my shaft before he pulled back, his cheeks hollowing as he sucked hard. “That’s it,” Jackson crooned as he ran his tongue over the shell of Lucas’s ear. “Now, this time I want you to relax your throat and take him all in. Don’t gag either or else I’ll be disappointed.” Lucas’s whimpered in desire, his hands shooting out to grip my thighs. Taking a deep breath, he did just as Jackson ordered, his hot mouth taking me in all the way to the root. “Good,” Jackson praised. “You like that, don’t you? Swallowing Gavin’s cock like you’re starving.” Lucas couldn’t talk, but the eager nod he gave said hell yes. His fingers dug into the flesh of my legs so hard, they were sure to leave marks. Not that I was complaining, especially when Lucas pulled back and started to bob his head in a nice, steady rhythm. Running his palm along the slope of Lucas’s ass, Jackson let out a satisfied hum. “I love watching you two together.” That I could relate to, because I was addicted to watching Lucas and Jackson. The difference 108

Taller, Meaner, Darker between them was striking. Where Jackson was dark and dangerous looking, Lucas had an innocent sensuality to him. They both called to me in their own special way. “Wow, look at how good he is. He’s sucking your cock like a pro.” Jackson shot me a wicked, almost feral smile that had my breath catching in my chest. “He is very good,” I agreed as I started to thrust up to meet Lucas’s mouth. It was true, too. Lucas was even getting his teeth and tongue in the mix, teasing my shaft and head while he continued to suck. He took me in so deep that I actually bumped into the back of his throat from time to time. Running his finger down Lucas’s spine, Jackson issued his next order, “Tuck your knees under your chest so I can get at your ass.” Lucas let out a muffled word that may have been fuck as he obeyed. I was more than a little happy that he managed to get into position without taking his mouth off me. As soon as Lucas was in place, Jackson opened the lube and squeezed some into the palm of his hand. He moved his hand to Lucas’s ass. Even though I couldn’t see, I knew the minute Jackson touched him, because Lucas jerked as he let out a gasp. 109

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Are you okay?” I asked him as I stroked his hair. It was wet with sweat and stuck up in places. Lucas pulled his mouth away long enough to say, “It was just cold.” He closed his eyes as he let out a long moan. “Fuck, that’s good. I’ve never had someone finger my ass before. I want more, please. Stick another one in me.” “Easy,” Jackson soothed. “This is your first time and I want to get you good and stretched out for me.” “Just add another finger.” Lucas pleaded, his voice breaking. “One isn’t enough.” “You are eager, aren’t you?” Jackson used his free hand to caress Lucas’s back gently. “I want it so bad,” Lucas declared between clenched teeth. “And you’ll get it,” I told him. “You just have to be patient.” Lucas let out another little whimper as he nodded. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing something?” Jackson chastised. “Oh yeah, sorry.” Lucas opened his mouth and took my cock in so he could start sucking me again. I went up on my elbows so I could watch them better. I wondered at how they could be so different. Jackson had a hard, determined edge to his passion, while Lucas had a kind of desperation 110

Taller, Meaner, Darker and excitement only a first time could bring. They both were hot though and I couldn’t believe they were mine for this night. For what seemed like forever, we stayed that way, Jackson using his fingers to fuck Lucas, while Lucas gave me one of the best blowjobs of my life. His tongue and lips seemed to be everywhere at once and he kept making the smallest of sounds as he worked. Finally, Jackson pulled his hand back. “Are you ready?” Lucas gave an eager nod, never taking his sweet lips away from my dick. Jackson shared an amused glance with me before he reached over and grabbed the condom that he’d tossed on the bed earlier. Tearing it open with his teeth, he quickly slid it on. “If I start to hurt you or you just need to take a break, let Gavin or me know. This is all about you,” Jackson reassured Lucas. I knew the instant Jackson stared to press in, because Lucas tensed as his fingers clawed into my leg. “Relax, take a deep breath.” I caressed Lucas’s hair. He nodded and I could feel his body relax. Jackson slowly inched in and I talked softly to Lucas the entire time, coaching him on how to take it. 111

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht Somehow, Lucas managed to keep enough of his wits to still worship my cock even while his ass was being fucked for the very first time. After what seemed like an eternity, Jackson was all the way in. He paused and I knew it was to give Lucas time to get used to the feeling of having a cock inside him. “Oh Gavin, you should feel him. He’s so tight,” Jackson moaned, his face a mask of pleasure. When Jackson still didn’t move, Lucas grew impatient and started to rock back. “I think he’s trying to tell you something,” I said. Lucas looked up at me from under his lashes, his eyes full of gratitude. Jackson grabbed him by the hips and started to fuck him in slow, even strokes. Lucas let out a cry of relief, the sound vibrating up my shaft. My balls grew tight to my body and I knew I wasn’t going to last much longer. I bit my lip, trying to keep control. I was determined that I wouldn’t finish until Lucas did. I didn’t know why it felt so important to me, but it did. It was hard though, especially when Lucas started to suck me harder, his mouth making loud smacking sounds. I fisted both hands in Lucas’s hair and stated to thrust up, my wet cock gliding 112

Taller, Meaner, Darker through his stretched lips. My head pounded as I fought for control, my breath hitching in my chest. Just when I knew I couldn’t last one moment longer, I felt Lucas’s hot come splash on my foot and leg. Letting out a cry of joy, I joined him, my body flying as I shot off into Lucas’s mouth. He didn’t pull back, instead swallowing all I had to give him. He even licked me clean after I was done, as if he couldn’t get enough of me. Jackson moaned as he gave one last thrust, his eyes fluttering closed. I knew that expression well, because I’d seen it so many times. It let me know that Jackson had found release, too. Lucas pressed his mouth into my thigh as he rocked back against Jackson. After it was all over, none of us moved for a few moments as we got our breaths back. Finally, Lucas crawled up me and pressed his lips to mine. As I thrust my tongue inside his mouth, I could taste the lingering tang of my own come. We continued to make out like a couple of teens while Jackson went onto the bathroom to get rid of the condom. When he came back, he crawled into bed on the other side of Lucas and threw his strong arms around both of us. As we drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t help but feel closer than ever to my man. Even though we had Lucas between us. 113

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht

Chapter Nine

I

awoke early, aware of the sunlight invading our room. It took me a moment to realize the heavy weight on my chest was Lucas draped over me—his body flush with mine. A quick glance told me he was still sound asleep, his mouth open as he drooled on my chest. Great, I had to pee and wanted desperately to brush my teeth to get rid of my morning dragon breath and nearly two-hundred pounds of man had me pinned down. I tried to nudge him off gently, but Lucas just moaned and snuggled in deeper. He had a firm grip on my wrist, almost as if he feared waking up alone. A quick look told me Jackson wasn’t in the bed anymore. Straining my ears, I picked up telltale sounds that let me know he was in the bathroom. After a few moments, the door opened. He grinned at me as he paused, one hip leaning on the door jam. 114

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Help,” I whispered as I tried to scoot out of bed. “No way, you two look way too hot, all tangled up together like that. It’s like a jack-off fantasy come to life.” His gaze flared with passion. I snorted. “Please, we both have bed head, he’s drooling and I have gorilla breath.” “But it’s sexy bed head,” Jackson replied as he walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. If anyone looked sexy, it was him. His dark hair was wet and slicked back, the black jeans he wore, leaving little to the imagination. The sweater he had on would have looked dorky on anyone else, but somehow, he managed to make it seem GQ worthy. “He spent most of the night like this. It’s almost like he’s afraid that if he lets go, he’ll wake up alone and lost again.” Jackson brushed the back of his knuckles against Lucas’s cheek. “No wonder my back hurts. I had a Lucas blanket on all night. Better call the Snuggie people and let them know they have some competition.” I winced as a dull throb worked its way up my spine. A hot shower was in my immediate future. “I’m serious, Chuckles. He clung to you all night, like you were some lifeline or something. It’s a good thing I’m not the jealous type.” “Who are you kidding? Last week you nearly snarled at the supermarket clerk when he smiled 115

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht at me.” It had been so bad, I thought the poor guy was going to wet himself. “That jerk deserved that and more. He shouldn’t have made eyes at my guy.” A soft smile played on Jackson’s lips reminding me all over again why I loved him so much. “Yet, you have no problem with Lucas fucking me all night and then dry humping me in his sleep.” I tried sitting up. All that succeeded in doing, though, was shift Lucas’s head to my lap, which didn’t exactly help my full-bladder situation. “It’s different with him.” Jackson stared down at Lucas. Yes, it was different with Lucas. After last night, even I had to admit that. Jackson gently shook Lucas awake. His lids cracked open before he grinned up at us. “Wow, have I died and gone to heaven? I’ve never woken up to have two hot angels hovering over me,” he quipped in a sleep-slurred voice. He got this dopey look on his face that brought a smile to my face. “Could you move? This angel has to pee,” I drawled. Lucas laughed as he rolled off me. He stretched out, reminding me of one of the cats as he yawned. “Man, I haven’t slept that well in forever. Thanks.” 116

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Chuckles makes a great pillow,” Jackson said as he gave me a slow wink. “Are you trying to say I’m fat and fluffy?” I got out of bed, then started for the bathroom. “No, you’re perfect.” The sincerity in Jackson’s voice warmed me as I shut the bathroom door. We were already running behind, so I hurried through my shower and morning routine. The last thing we wanted was to be late and there be another incident. Although if it kept up, we could always go with the flow and start selling tickets to make a profit out of Jordan’s messed-up love life. Since I was just working in the store today and didn’t have any clients, I went casual, pulling on my favorite pair of worn jeans and a sweater. My only meeting was with Foster who was going to come to the store and grab some lunch with me and Jackson and he was a casual-kinda guy. By the time I got to the kitchen, Jackson already had breakfast started. I moaned in appreciation when I smelled fresh coffee brewing. “You are a god,” I said as I went behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. When I brushed my lips against his throat, he let out a low hum. “Where’s Lucas?” I asked, pulling away so I could get a cup of liquid caffeine. “He’s taking a shower.” Jackson smiled. “We’re seeing Foster today, right?” I glanced at him. “Yeah, is that okay?” 117

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Yeah. You know, babe…I think they may be good together.” I stared at him. “Foster and Lucas?” “Why not?” Why not indeed? I shrugged. “You think Lucas feels that way about Foster?” Jackson tiptoed to the kitchen door and looked down the hall. “He just told me how great they got along yesterday and how wonderful Foster is. He asked me a lot of questions about him, what his type of guy was and stuff.” “Really?” The idea tickled me. Foster was older than Lucas, but then so were we and that never seemed to be an issue. He took the pan of scrambled eggs off the stove and divided them up on three plates. While they weren’t as fluffy as Foster’s, at least they weren’t burnt. Besides, I was sick of cereal and that was the only other option. “Lucas probably shouldn’t mention what’s been going on with us,” I said. “I just told him that.” I took my seat at the table. Jackson joining me as Lucas rushed back in. His wet hair was spiked up, the blond color a little darker than normal. He’d changed into a pair of jeans and a green zip up hoodie that had the MSU logo on it. How he and Jackson had managed to find that all the way here in California 118

Taller, Meaner, Darker was a mystery to me. I was glad they had though, because it looked good on Lucas. “Food! Thanks, guys, I’m starved.” He slid toward the empty chair and immediately started to eat with gusto. “What’s on the agenda for today?” he asked, forking eggs into his mouth before he even sat down. “Well,” Jackson winked at me, “we’ve got some new stock in so I was thinking that maybe you could help us get it sorted and on the shelves.” “Absolutely,” Lucas said, reaching for the toast. “I want to earn my keep.” He bit into his slice, a thoughtful look on his face. “I’ve been thinking.” We both looked at him. “I’m kinda interested in being a cop. Foster says it’s a small force here, but I think I’d fit right in. Foster says—” He stopped. “What?” We shook our heads. “Anyway, I think it’s cool how you’re helping Foster sort out his mess. I’d love to help in the store…and I wanna help him, too. Man, I still can’t believe that happened to Foster. Poor guy.” I nodded. “He’s a good man.” “Yeah.” Lucas sighed. “I really relate to what he’s been through. Neither of us deserved what happened to us.” He stared off into space. “I wish I could tell him I died and came back. Guess I’m gonna have two big secrets to keep from him. That 119

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht and…” he gestured back and forth between us with his toast. I recalled how broken and devastated Foster had been when I found him crying. I knew how it felt to hurt that bad. The emotions inside you so raw that they became an actual ache. “You know, I’ve started remembering the beating I took. It isn’t fun. I’m even starting to have nightmares, almost on a daily basis.” My gut clenched as I thought about the desperate way he clung to me. It all made sense now. Anger surged through me and I found myself wanting to rip into the attackers. Make them hurt for all the pain they’d caused Lucas. Judging by the dark fury in Jackson’s gaze, I wasn’t the only one feeling overly protective of our houseguest. “I’m sorry,” Jackson said. “Listen, if it’s any consolation, you forget. It starts to slip away.” “I think we should agree that last night was our last night as a threesome,” I said. “Party pooper,” Jackson said and grinned. “Let’s not be hasty,” Lucas insisted. “Let’s see how we feel. Maybe one last time for the road?” Jackson seemed thrilled by that and I felt a serious flash of jealousy. “Hey,” he said, putting his arm around me. “Everything okay in your beautiful head?” 120

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Fine, baby.” Even now, my body burned with need as I recalled how nice Lucas had felt pressed against me. That still didn’t mean we should keep up our current situation though. Somehow, I knew that the longer Lucas stayed in our bed, the less chance he had of completing the mission he’d been sent back to do. It had been damned good while it’s lasted though. Lucas had been so eager to please. “So you have no regrets?” Jackson’s voice broke into my thoughts. I looked up at Jackson from under my lashes, not attempting to hide the desire coursing through my body. “No, does that make you mad?” “Not at all. It just makes me hotter for you.” “Good, because I’ve been hard for you since I woke up.” “You had to go and say that,” Jackson said and dragged me out of the kitchen. “I’m just going to finish my breakfast while you guys go do your thing, but if you need me, don’t hesitate to yell.” Lucas gave us a crooked grin as he reached over and snagged my plate of unfinished eggs. Jackson looped his hand in the waistband of my jeans and led me back to the bedroom. My cock was hard and hungry for his touch. The fact that I could detect Lucas’s sweet scent, just barely lingering on Jackson made me even more jacked 121

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht up. I sucked in a breath as his fingers moved up, so they were just below my erection. Lucas left us alone, thankfully, and I enjoyed our hot romp. We fucked so fast, Jackson begging for my cock, that when we came, I felt stars exploding in the back of my brain. “God,” Jackson said. “We need to have threesomes more often. They make me a walking hard on.” I hoped he wasn’t serious. It had been fun…but I wanted my man back. I wanted us. I put my arms around Jackson. “Don’t worry, I was just kidding, I feel the same way. It’s time for it to be just you and me again,” Jackson said. Even though I should be used to the uncanny way he read my mood, I still felt a pleasant shock that he knew what I was feeling. “Do you think Lucas will be upset?” Even though I wanted to end the benefits, I still valued Lucas’s friendship and the last thing I wanted was to hurt him. “I honestly think he’s getting so infatuated with Foster that it won’t matter to him. The great thing is I think Foster is attracted to Lucas as well. Did you see the way he was looking at Lucas the other night?” “No, I was too busy thinking about his financial problems to notice much of anything else.” 122

Taller, Meaner, Darker “He was eyeing Lucas up the same way you do a chocolate pecan pie.” Jackson got up and started to get his clothes back on. I ran to the bathroom to clean up and get dressed. When I came out, I found Jackson waiting for me. “I don’t know. Foster just got through a bad breakup. I don’t want Lucas to get hurt if it turns out he’s just a rebound romp,” I said. “Look at you getting all protective of our boy.” Jackson grinned. “Leave it,” I grunted. “I’m serious, it’s cute.” I rolled my eyes at him. As we went back into the kitchen, I was pleasantly surprised to see Lucas had already wiped down the counter and table. He stood at the sink, his back to us as he did the dishes. “Are you in a rush?” I teased. “Yeah, I don’t want to miss it if there’s another fight. I bet Mrs. Tibbs ten bucks that Kyle would win the next time and I don’t trust her not to cheat.” “Who’s Mrs. Tibbs?” Jackson asked. “Horse Stickers,” I said. “Remember? The one who reminds you of your Scottish aunt?” He looked puzzled. “My Scottish aunt?” On the one hand, I should have been pleased that he was forgetting the shadowy glimpses of 123

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht his host body’s life. On the other, how could he forget Mrs. Tibbs? Lucas laughed. “Horse Stickers?” I nodded. “We get patrons with quirks…Horse Stickers wanted a pony when she was growing up and never got one. Now, she’s obsessed and she puts horses on all her scrapbook pages…without fail, her first words when I see her are, Got any horse stickers?” Lucas shook his head. “She never mentioned horse stickers to me.” Jackson held up a hand. “She will. I do think it’s weird how she puts horses on everything…she glues them onto all her family photos.” “You guys are making all of this up,” Lucas said. “No, babe. Welcome to the giddy world of scrapbooking, Speaking of which, you’re placing bets on Jordan’s love life?” I was a little outraged. “Yes.” Lucas shrugged as he turned off the water. “I don’t see what the big deal is. Jordan put twenty on Hank.” I turned to see how Jackson was taking all this. He shook his head. “It could be worse.” “Really? We have our own version of a bad reality show playing out at our store. All that’s missing are semi-nude girls in a hot tub and we’d be a VH1 show come to life.” 124

Taller, Meaner, Darker Jackson and Lucas seemed to find that hilarious. I went out to the car. They followed me and were blessedly silent the short drive to the store. When we got there, all was calm and there were no fistfights going on. Lucas seemed disappointed. No doubt, he was worried that he missed out on the latest Scrapbooking Gone Wild event. Jordan already had the store open and I could see the large form of Mrs. Tibbs lumbering around inside. “Crap, I hope she doesn’t pinch my ass again,” Lucas groused. “Who, Jordan?” I asked. “No, Mrs. Tibbs. The other day she kept dropping her scissors and asking me to pick them up for her. Every single time I did, she would reach out and get me.” “She was just playing her version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey,” I said. “Be thankful she had no thumbtacks handy.” He stared at me. “You mean I was just a piece of man meat?” Lucas rubbed his ass, as if reliving the memory. “Saddle up, guy, she just spotted you.” As soon as we went into the store, Mrs. Tibbs’s face broke out into a huge smile. She’d dressed up, wearing her Sunday dress that was bright purple, matched with a red hat that had a huge brim trimmed in a feather boa. She’d even gone so far 125

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht as to cram a dozen large rings on her chubby fingers. As we got closer, the scent of her cloying, floral perfume made my eyes water. “Hey, Mrs. Tibbs,” Lucas greeted her with a weak smile. “Please, silly boy. I told you to call me Gloria,” she cooed, beaming at him. Some of her pink lipstick had found its way to her front teeth. “Okay.” Lucas gave her a quick nod before he bolted for the stockroom. “Say, Gavvy, got any horse stickers today?” Lucas stopped in his tracks, turned and stared at me, biting his lip. He ran off and I heard his wild laughter from the storeroom. “Is he single?” Gloria asked me. “Er…yeah,” I said and fished around the discount box for a die-cut horse I’d noticed the day before. “Here, just for you.” “Oh, how adorable.” Gloria took up the entire crop table, which made it hard to ignore her. “Does Lucas ride?” she asked me, wagging her eyebrows suggestively. Jackson, who had just taken a sip of coffee, sprayed it everywhere. Poor Lucas, things didn’t get better for him. As the morning progressed, more and more of the local females piled into the store until almost every table was filled. They all pretended to be scrapbooking while they openly gawked at him. “Can you believe this?” I asked Jordan. 126

Taller, Meaner, Darker She grinned. “I think it’s kind of funny.” “Funny? We have more horny females here than a male strip club.” “Oops!” Mrs. Tibbs loud voice carried over the din over conversation. “I dropped my scissors again. Lucas, would you be a good boy and pick them up for me?” Before Lucas could get assaulted again, Jordan raced across the store and scooped the scissors off the floor. With a hard stare, she handed them back to Mrs. Tibbs. The old lady huffed as she took them back. “Isn’t it enough that you already have two men? Do you have to take this one, too?” she called as Jordan came back to the counter. I shook my head, shocked. “Do you ever feel like you’re the only sane one and everyone else is crackers?” I asked. Jordan gave my cut forehead a pointed look. “All the time.” Lucas came over and joined us. “Thanks for the help back there,” he said to Jordan. “Sure thing, sweetie.” The bell over the door rang as Foster came in. He held a carrying tray of drinks in one hand and a carryout bag in the other. A shy grin spread out over Lucas’s face as he practically devoured the other man with his eyes. 127

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “What are you doing here?” Lucas rushed over to take some of the load. “I’m supposed to meet Gavin for lunch, but I thought things would go quicker if I brought the food to him. I’m short staffed today.” It wasn’t lost on me that Foster didn’t even seem to notice that anyone else was in the store. All his attention was fixated on Lucas. “Oh no, don’t tell me that Alan didn’t show up again?” Lucas gave Foster’s shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. “No, he didn’t.” “Do you want to me to come help out when I get done here?” Lucas offered. “Are you sure you won’t be too tired?” Foster asked, doubtfully. “Not for you, I won’t be.” Lucas blushed, perhaps thinking he’d said too much. “I brought you a chocolate shake. With the way you talked about your old soda shop, I thought you’d like to see how I measured up.” Foster held out one of the cups. As Lucas reached for it, they both allowed their hands to linger a moment. “Something tells me that you’re going to measure up just fine,” Lucas replied, his eyes growing dark with unmistakable desire. “Lucas,” Mrs. Tibbs said, “I dropped my scissors again.” 128

Taller, Meaner, Darker Foster bent and picked them up. She fondled his ass. Foster straightened immediately, his eyes like huge, frightened orbs. Mrs. Tibbs winked and fluttered her eyelids at him. “Are you flirting with my girl?” Lucas joked and Mrs. Tibbs let out a horsey laugh. “She’s my girl,” Foster said. “Mine,” Lucas said and the old lady looked ecstatic. “We’ll have a threesome,” she shrieked. “I bet you boys never had one of those before.” The whole shop stopped. Lucas turned bright red, Foster turning an inquisitive gaze on him. I looked out the window and saw Hank barreling toward the store. “Oh, lordy,” I said. “Here comes Rambo.”

129

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht

Chapter Ten

S

omething told me Jackson and I needed to waylay him out front. I pulled his sleeve and Foster said, “Where are you going? I need to talk to you.” I held up a hand. “We just need a moment.” “He can come in,” Jordan said. “He won’t start anything, I’m sure of it.” “It’s okay,” I said. “Just making sure.” I dragged Jackson out front with me. “What’s going on?” he hissed. I closed the front door behind me as Hank reached us. “Hey, cutie pies,” he said, his tone sarcastic. “I ran a check on those names for you. Just to be neighborly…you know.” He peered over Jackson’s shoulder and I followed his gaze. Faces were pressed to the window watching us from inside. Mrs. Tibbs’s Coke-bottle glasses cast a rainbow effect. “And?” I asked. 130

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Nothing,” he said. “I got nothing on those guys.” “Nothing?” “What guys?” Jackson asked. “Lucas Dennison and Harper Bryant. Nothing?” I asked again to make sure I’d heard him right. “Sure. Nothing. If you’re worried about them being convicted pedophiles or killers or somethin’, you’re barkin’ up the wrong tree. Say, why’s the door closed? I’m sure I smell some good eats in there.” He blew past us and opened the door. Jackson stared at me. “You asked him to run a check on them?” I nodded. I kept my voice low. “Before we knew Lucas’s story.” Jackson rocked on his heels. “But that makes no sense. I mean…no offense, babe, but you’re not a forensic investigator…you ran a rudimentary check and found the story about their deaths.” He glanced over his shoulder to make sure nobody was standing beside us. “How come he didn’t find it?” “Because he didn’t run the check.” Jackson stared at me. “He lied. I can’t believe it. He’s got to be the laziest cop I ever met.” I put my hand to Jackson’s face. “Baby, are you okay?” 131

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Yeah. Why?” “You seem…I don’t know…far away.” “No. It’s not me. It’s him.” “Him?” Jackson’s eyes pooled with tears. “The…you know…” He pointed up and down his body. “Oh…the uh…host body?” “Right. He’s horny as fucking hell and he and I…man…we just want to stick it in you all day long. It’s all I can think about. Sex with you was great before, but this thing with Lucas opened me up, babe, and I just want to—” “What thing with Lucas?” Foster came out front. “Nothing,” I said. I put my hand on his arm. “We’re talking about Mrs. Tibbs and how she kinda sexually harasses Lucas.” Foster snorted. “You’re worried he’s gonna sue you? He doesn’t strike me as the litigious type. On the other hand, he might wanna sue me ‘cos I wanna fondle his assets, too.” He grinned and I was pleased to see the funny, feisty Foster Cranham back in business. “I think the feeling might be mutual,” Jackson said. Foster perked. “Really?” Back inside the store, Foster and I squeezed around the throng at the crop table. 132

Taller, Meaner, Darker I watched Hank’s massive fingers negotiate a pair of long, slim scissors as he cut the edges off a paper rose. His tongue protruded between his lips as he concentrated. It was probably the hardest case he’d worked since he arrived in town. “Aren’t you on duty?” I asked him. He gave me a disgusted glance. “This here is what we call community policing.” “Oh is that what it is?” Geez, I felt so safe knowing that one of our city’s finest was busy cropping while actual crimes might be taking place. “Jordan, honey, you got any glazed jelly-filled donuts left?” he asked, giving me a defiant stare. “Sure, sweetie.” She scooted off her stool and ran to the refreshment table. Foster and I pushed our way to my tiny office in back. I felt Jackson’s hot breath on my neck. “Oh, Mr. Sheffield,” I whispered, turning and putting my hand on his chest. “I was wondering if you could come get me in an hour and help me in the stockroom?” Jackson blinked, then smiled. “Always happy to help out my favorite stock boy,” he said and dropped a kiss on my waiting mouth. In my office, Foster seemed nervous. I looked through his folder of paperwork and was pleased to see that the few emails I’d sent his 133

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht bank branch manager had resulted in a fraud investigation against Foster’s former lover, Steve. “Has he called you?” I asked. Foster blinked. “That’s strange. Why would you ask that?” I shrugged. “You’ve cut off his money supply and now you’ve changed passwords to everything. Steve knows now that you aren’t taking this lying down. He’s going to start by acting sweet…and then he’ll turn nasty. We need to be prepared.” He sighed. “He sent me a text message last night and one this morning, saying he wants to meet. So you’re saying he just wants access to what I have…he doesn’t want me?” I waited for a moment. “I’m not a psychologist, but I see this all the time. He stole a lot of money from you—let’s not forget that. He’s going to feel cornered pretty soon. You have one asset…well…more with the house you bought—” “But I bought that with my own money and it’s in my name.” He was upset now and I needed to keep him that way. “Exactly. We need to be mindful of the fact that you inherited the diner from your mom. The house is yours…he took a lot of money from you, like I said, but you’ve cut him off and he has nowhere else to turn. He’s committed several acts 134

Taller, Meaner, Darker of identity theft and fraud and they carry a huge penalty.” “You seem worried.” “Foster, I’ve always been straight with you. My biggest concern is that Steve is an attorney.” “Right. And?” “He can dream up ten millions reasons to sue you that will keep us busy in court. We can beat him, but if he sues you for palimony and there is precedence for this, we need to be prepared. You were domestic partners for a long time.” I consulted the list of questions I had for him. “Based on what we have here already, we have a strong case for the District Attorney’s office and I’d like to file a case with them immediately. I’ll need your approval to act on your behalf.” “You think we need to go that far?” “Listen, do you want to see your business vanish?” Bad question. This was a man who tried to take his own life a few days ago. I cursed my own bull-headedness. “No. I thought…I thought…” His face crumpled. “My mom used to come to me in dreams. I know it sounds crazy but—” “It doesn’t sound crazy, Foster.” “She doesn’t speak to me anymore. I kept thinking if I did something extreme, she’d come back. She’d help me.” He fought his emotion and I kept my tone soft. 135

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Your mom sent me and Jackson. Remember he said that he just got the feeling he should come to the diner?” His face brightened. “Yes.” “So did I. Listen, she got you help. And I’m here. You have to let me do my job though. Don’t confuse your feelings of love with your right to protect and defend yourself.” Foster’s shoulders dropped. “Okay…yes. I see that.” “He doesn’t believe in gay marriage, which works in your favor, if there was no domestic partnership agreement.” “Nope,” he said, angry now. “There never was. He refused. He—” “Did he or does he get any bills sent to your home address?” He thought a moment. “No. I used to get upset about that, because he had everything sent to a post office box. I felt like he didn’t trust me.” “Did he get any mail there at all?” Foster shook his head. “No.” “But you had a joint checking account.” He hesitated. “He has bad credit and his own account was closed. They’d flagged him and reported him to Chex Systems so he couldn’t even open a savings account.” “When was this?” “Two years ago.” 136

Taller, Meaner, Darker “So he can’t open an account for at least another year.” I made a note to run a credit check on Steve and to make sure I got copies of all the fraudulent checks he’d been passing around town. If he continued his evil games with Foster, I would push to have him bounced from the California State Bar. “We can argue that the joint account was to help him—” “It was,” he insisted. “But you had a joint account before that. I remember from when we went to court with your family over the diner.” “I did it to help him. He had checks coming in…listen, I do know where he has a few bodies buried.” I was startled. “Excuse me?” “He’s a personal injury attorney as you know. He worked with a couple of shady doctors. I remember their names and a couple of the cases. He wanted to run the checks through my account and I refused.” Oh, God. “That was part of the reason I allowed him to have an account with me. I figured he’d be responsible for any medical scams he was working, but I see now that I could be held responsible, too.” 137

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Where did the statements for the checking account go?” “We went paperless. We have online banking.” “Okay. I am going to talk to the bank about having all the records sent to me. We can argue that you agreed to a joint checking account because you wanted to help Steve. Let’s not discuss his medical cases…yet. We’ll table that information for a later date. We are going to argue that you never intended to allow him to drain your earnings or that you were supporting him. You were trying to help.” “Jesus…you never think about these things when you fall in love. I just wanted to be with him. To share my life with him.” “I understand.” I kept my voice gentle. “Did he ever pay a mortgage bill for you with any of his own checks…or even a money order before his account was closed?” “No. I fully supported him.” Foster blushed. “I took care of everything.” I nodded. We had a long way to go in building a case protecting what was left of Foster’s assets, but there was no way in hell I was going to let Steve take the man’s diner or his home. “My mom told me not to get a joint checking account,” he said. “You tried in your own way, too, when we were dealing with the probate court. I feel like such a fool.” 138

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Don’t beat yourself up. People do it all the time. It’s a matter of trust. I don’t advise it personally when one partner has assets that can prove tempting the minute things turn sour, but that’s just me.” I gave him some papers to sign, officially taking on his case. My heart tugged at the raw emotion in his face. “You still love him, don’t you?” Foster shrugged. “A part of me always will.” He turned his grave stare on me. “Am I being a silly, middle-aged queen daring to hope that lovely, young thing out there might actually like me?” “Foster, I believe Lucas is a really sweet guy. I have to say, take your time and get to know him. But you know what…you will love again and as your friend…and as your accountant, I am proud that you are willing to keep your heart open. Just don’t do anything I don’t advise you to do.” “As my friend or accountant?” “As your accountant. Now go and be free and let me do the worrying for you.” “You said that the last time you helped me. You say you’re not a psychologist. But you are, Gavin. Since you came out of the closet…you are a really great role model for our people.” “Thanks,” I said, looking forward to Operation Screw Steve to the Wall. He gave me a hug and ran out of my office. 139

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht Jackson came in, his gaze on my face. “Christ, you were in here so long I was afraid you were picking out fabrics for your new house together.” “We’re registered,” I said. “Pottery Barn. You can check it out online.” I was jazzed that Jackson was jealous. “Listen, stock boy,” he said. “I don’t like the way you work around here. I guess I’m gonna have to show you how I like things done around here.” I felt my cock getting hard in my pants. “Yes, Mr. Sheffield. You are the boss, after all.” Jackson’s cock was my obsession. He lay on the bed and watched me sucking him. “You always tease me…you keep me so hard,” he said. I came off him, holding the shaft in a firm grip. “I love this cock, more than anything in the world.” He stroked the hair from my eyes and I went back to work on him. His cockhead was slick and slipped easily into my mouth. My tongue worked under the rim as I swallowed more of him. “You might just be the best stockroom boy I ever had,” he said. There was a loud hammering at the door. 140

Taller, Meaner, Darker Neither of us moved. I kept my mouth on him, but whoever was at the door kept up the hammering. “What the fuck?” Jackson asked. “Shit. This houseguest business sucks. If he’s forgotten his keys, I’ll kill Lucas…again.” “That’s not funny,” I said, throwing on clothes as the knocking got worse. I ran into the living room. Jackson was behind me, zipping up his pants. I opened the door to a crazed Foster Cranham. The phone rang. “Never a dull moment,” Jackson said and answered it. “Hey, Kyle.” Jackson shrugged at me and frowned as he listened to Kyle talking. “What’s going on?” I asked Foster. “The boy is crazy.” “Which boy?” “Lucas. He told me some half-assed story about getting beaten to death.” He stared at Jackson who’d turned his back on us and was muttering into the phone. Foster turned his attention back to me. “Then he told me how he died and waited months for a body and stole some guy in a coma’s body and how…and how…” he glanced over at Jackson again. “He says Jackson is Chrissie and that 141

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht Jackson borrowed some other guy’s body because he…she…he…missed you.” I said nothing and Jackson who still stood with his back to us was, also, noticeably silent. “Oh God, I knew it. He’s plum crazy.” Foster began to pace the room. “Not totally crazy,” I said. “Harmless.” “I should never have let him smoke that wacky tobaccy,” Foster said and out of the corner of my eye, I caught Jackson’s wicked grin. “Wacky tobaccy?” I asked, unable to contain my relief. “Well, that explains it.” “It was only two puffs,” he said, his eyes wide. “Don’t let him anywhere near it,” I advised. “Is that the accountant or friend talking?” “The friend.” “Because that’s not all. He says he’s been having a threesome with the two of you!” Jackson ended the call and we traded fast glances before returning our attention to Foster. If Jackson didn’t kill Lucas, I would. Foster was so fragile, there was no telling what he’d do. “Jesus, it’s true, isn’t it? I can tell by the way you’re both rushing to convince me otherwise.” He rubbed his hand across his face. “Well—” I began. “You see—” Jackson began. Foster jumped on our words. “We wanted to talk to you about a foursome. I mean, geez, 142

Taller, Meaner, Darker Louise…if you can bone him, why not me? Steve never wanted to do anything remotely exotic.” He turned and bawled over his shoulder. “Lucas, get in here.” I heard him clomping up the stairs. “Are you kidding me?” I almost screamed. No way, no how was I gonna agree to a foursome. “A foursome?” Jackson looked delirious. “I’d love that. Foster, I just know you’re packing some serious meat in those Dockers. In fact, it’s almost like I have x-ray vision.” “He does. He’s packing,” Lucas said. Oh, my God! “So, you’ll do it?” Foster asked. “Hell yeah,” Jackson said and the three of them moved on each other like piranha on a juicy, unsuspecting plump salmon. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. They undressed each other, kissing, sucking, moaning…I was about to scream at Jackson when I caught a glimpse of Foster’s gigantic cock. It rivaled Jackson’s as the biggest one I’d ever seen. “Why are you still dressed?” Foster said, reaching for my hand. He drew me into the circle. They all undressed me and the sensation of having three pair of hands on me at the same time was like nothing I had ever experienced. It was luxurious. It was madness. It was the most 143

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht thrilling thing that had ever happened to me in my life. They laid me down on the floor. Tongues. There was nothing but tongues on my body. Lips closed over mine. My eyes opened and I saw it was Jackson. Another tongue on my armpits drove me crazy. Two tongues on my nipples as Jackson licked my lips. I cried out and another tongue touched my Adam’s apple. The tongues moved down my body. I heard a sigh and felt a mouth on my cock. Jackson again. How did he get down there so fast? Foster opened my legs. He held my right leg up and open, Lucas taking the other one. Jackson’s face disappeared in my ass and he licked me aggressively as Lucas moved in on my cockhead. I scrambled for Foster’s massive shaft and he scooted up to my face with it. It was big and heavy, his cockhead like a wrecking ball. All I could think about was having it inside me. “Fuck,” Lucas said, coming off my cock for a second, “Isn’t his cock so sweet?” I nodded as Foster’s cock pushed its way in my mouth. It was too much for me. I came hard, my senses reeling with a tongue inside my ass, a mouth claiming my cock and Foster’s hungry cock in my mouth. Jackson wanted to fuck and instructed Lucas to sit on my face. 144

Taller, Meaner, Darker “What about me?” Foster fumed. “Let me have a taste of the pie,” Jackson said. He entered me quickly and I took a deep breath as Lucas fed me his cock. He closed his legs around my head and I grew dizzy from lack of breath, but I could feel Jackson powering into me and heard him sucking on Foster’s big dick. I inched Lucas up so he wasn’t smothering me and caught a glimpse of Jackson working on Foster. Jackson turned his focus to his own needs and pumped harder into me. As much as I had a mouth full of Lucas, I was tuned into Jackson and knew he was going to come. I felt him push harder into me and tried to wrap my legs around him but another body was in the way. Somebody—I wasn’t sure who—grabbed my foot and started sucking my toe. I felt Jackson’s cock throb as his hot come shot into me. Lucas raised himself off me and he knelt beside me. “Fuck me, fuck me,” he said. “Somebody fuck me.” My cock was hard again and as Jackson grappled with the huge penis inside him, he took himself out of me. I moved toward Lucas who came back to me. “Can you fuck me?” he asked. He sat on me, but he was dry. 145

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “Lube,” Jackson muttered. “We need lube.” Foster reached across the floor for his jeans and removed a rectangular foil pack. He tossed it to me. I was shocked he had arrived prepared, but I bit the top of the pack and smeared the gooey contents in Lucas’s ass. He swallowed my cock for a moment, but he really wanted to be fucked. I picked him up, carrying him to the sofa. He straddled me, his hard cock in my face as he took my cock into his ass. I held him, stroking him on my lap as he rode me hard and fast. Jackson was still on his knees, the view of Foster taking him from behind both erotic and beautiful. Foster was buried in my man’s ass. “More,” Jackson moaned and I watched Foster’s ass muscles contract with the effort of pleasuring the man I loved. I was so busy enjoying Jackson’s moment, I forgot about mine. This was fun, but I wanted Jackson. Foster came inside him. He let go with a shout and they slumped to the floor. Lucas was in a frenzy and I jerked him until he came. I felt Jackson’s gaze on me. Without a word exchanged, I knew he was jealous. I eased Lucas off my lap, gave him a kiss and he moved over to Foster. 146

Taller, Meaner, Darker I took Jackson’s hand. “You didn’t come?” he asked. I shook my head. “Neither did I.” “I know,” I said. “Let’s go to our room.” We shut the door on our friends in the living room. The cats howled outside the door and we opened it again. We fell on the bed and Jackson stared up at me. “I realized I can fantasize about anyone I want, but I really only want to fuck you,” he said. “Me, too.” I scooted down to suck his cock, which was what I’d been doing when we were so rudely interrupted before. I took his lovely shaft into my hands. It felt sticky but good. I stroked gently and told him I loved him. “Hey,” I suddenly remembered, “What did Kyle want?” Jackson smiled. “Told me that Hank had some crazy story about Lucas Dennison and Harper Bryant being dead and that the guy we have as our houseguest looks a lot like the dead guy Harper Bryant.” “Oh, shit.” “Yeah. And he claims Lucas Dennison’s body disappeared but the hospital denies this report. They say it was put in the wrong place.” “Double shit.” 147

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht “No, babe. The man in the gray suit knows that Lucas has found his second chance. Sometimes, you know, heaven and earth…things happen. They move things around, shake us up…Lucas belongs here.” I thought a moment. “But what if he pursues his dream of being a cop? Won’t his fingerprints be on a file some place as Harper Bryant?” “Who knows? Maybe he’ll change his mind. Maybe Harper’s fingerprints will disappear…or show up belonging to Lucas, whose last name is to be determined.” “What about Hank?” “Nobody believed him. Matter of fact, he’s on administrative leave.” “Oh, poor Hank.” “Not at all. He’s being forced into anger management classes and retraining. Apparently, some old lady called about her clothesline being stolen and he had a holy fit.” I couldn’t help laughing. “I guess anger management’s good, right?” “Of course it is. Kyle says he and Jordan are going away for a couple of days. When Hank finds out, he might need a refresher course in selfcontrol. Now, are you gonna suck my cock, or do I have to beg a little more?” “Begging is always good.” I was aware of the moans coming from Lucas’s room now. 148

Taller, Meaner, Darker “Do you think it was inappropriate for me to have sex with a client?” “It was hotter than hell, sweetheart. I loved watching you with him, but I’m thinking that was definitely our first and only foursome.” “Me, too.” “You wanna shower together?” Jackson asked. “Resume our stockroom lessons in there?” “Sure. You’re the boss.” “You’d better believe it,” he said. He picked me up and carried me into the bathroom. He kissed me and my cock got hard all over again. Jackson grinned. “You might just be the naughtiest stockroom boy ever.” “I certainly hope so,” I said and shut the bathroom door. “Maybe you want to teach me a lesson.” His hands roamed my ass as I turned on the shower taps. “Yeah,” Jackson said against my ear. “I’m all about lessons. And the teaching of them.” I felt his hot erection poking at my ass. Oh, how I worshipped the day my dead wife came back, taller, meaner, darker. I’d never loved her more. Or wanted her more. I felt Jackson’s lips at the small of my back as we stepped under the hot spray. God had answered my prayers, both our prayers. I braced myself for the man I loved. 149

AJ Llewellyn and Stephani Hecht And I felt grateful that I gave myself the chance to learn to love my giraffe.

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About the Authors A. J. Llewellyn lives in California, but dreams of living in Hawaii. Frequent trips to all the islands, bags of Kona coffee in his fridge and a healthy collection of Hawaiian records keep this writer refueled. A. J. loves male/male erotica, has a passion for all animals (especially the dog, the cat and the turtle). A. J. believes that love is a song best sung out loud. A. J.’s website is located at: http://www.ajllewellyn.com A. J. can be reached at this email: [email protected] Visit his MySpace page at: www.MySpace.com/ajllewellyn Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of two. You can usually find her snuggled up to her laptop, creating her next book. Visit Stephani on the web at: www.stephanihecht.com http://www.myspace.com/stephanihecht Email her at: [email protected]