Poetry Train
This is a little excerpt from a story I’ve been plotting in my head for a while. One of the heroes is a soldier. It’s also a little something for Veteran’s Day as well. Enjoy.
Falling in Love…Again
Bobby stared down at Jordan. He didn’t touch his lover. Jordan had explained before they’d fallen asleep about being jumpy from the war. He wondered if sleeping would ever come easy again for his soldier.
Jordan. His first lover. His first love and his best friend. He couldn’t believe the man was in his bed. Looking so much the same and yet so different. Grooves along the sides of Jordan’s mouth spoke of pain and suffering. Bobby wondered at that since Jordan swore he had never been injured. He was tempted to pull the covers away and inspect Jordan’s body, looking for scars.
He absorbed the warmth from Jordan, finding a sense of contentment in hearing him breathe. Silly, but true. He closed his eyes. Now that they were lovers again, how was he going to let Jordan leave? Where would the strength come from to allow the man he loved to go back into a war and risk his life again?
Jordan would laugh at him, but then Jordan had never had any doubts about what he wanted or what he was going to do with his life. His lover believed in defending his country, no matter the cost.
“No matter the cost,” he whispered.
He didn’t try to stop the urge. He stroked his hand over Jordan’s golden skin. Bobby would have to find a way to be brave. As brave as this man sharing his bed. A man who willingly put his life on the line to save others he’d never meet. Some of whom would hate him because of who he loved.
Bobby thanked God for Jordan. For making a man he could love and who was brave enough to serve, protecting strangers and flirting with death so others wouldn’t have to die.
He leaned down and brushed a kiss over Jordan’s cheek. “Thank you,” he murmured against his lover’s stubble covered skin.
(c) 2007 T.A. Chase
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Stop by Rhian’s blog to see who else is riding the train today. Also, I posted an excerpt from The Vanguard at SiN. 🙂
Finished….
Yes, finally. I wrote the end on Home of his Own on Friday. 🙂 Woo-hoo! I sent it off to my wonderful critique partners. I’m hoping to have it back to submit by the end of the month. So Tony’s story could be out by April next year.
Now I’ll be working on Dreaming of Dragons, His Heart’s Home and the second book in my Sports series for Samhain. 🙂
Pimping Books…
Our first pimpage today is for the wonderful marvelous and enormously talented Miss Lila Dubois. The second book in her Zinah’s series, Savage, was released earlier this week at Liquid Silver. Check out the blurb and excerpt there. Also, check out Lila’s website to see what else she’s working on. 🙂
I enjoyed this story. Cute, but serious at the same time. Plus I love this cover. 🙂
Wednesday WiPs
The Vanguard is listed as coming soon at SiN (Liquid Silver’s forum). Just the blurb has been posted at the moment, but I’m planning on getting an excerpt up soon. 🙂 I’ve added lots more to it, so I hope you all enjoy the new version of it. I think I might have told you before that Anne Cain is doing the cover for it. I can’t wait.
I have a different plan for Where the Devil Dances when I get done with it. We’ll see how it works out. And I’ll tell you more about that the closer I get to finishing that story.
Now for the word counts:
Home of his Own: 56,499/50,000 (1,094 words)
Where the Devil Dances: 16,439/50,000 (1,657 words)
Dreaming of Dragons: 1,189/50,000 (537 words)
Devil’s Addiction: 30,582/50,000 (0 words)
That gives me a total of 3,288 for the week. I hit my word count goal for HohO as you can see. I tend to think anything over that mark is a bonus for me. I’ve stalled a little on DA, but that’s okay in a way since I left the guys in the middle of having sex, so I’m sure they’re happy…lol.
With DoD, I haven’t decided if what I’ve written so far is going to be the beginning or if it’d fit better in the middle of the story. Guess the further into it I get, the more likely I am to figure that out. I went back and re-read HBD to get the feel of the characters again. I don’t usually read my stuff after I finish writing/editing it. Mostly because I’ll go through and see all the things I could change to make the story better or different.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday.
Poetry Train
I walk alone
Searching for a place
Wishing for a home
Safe and strong.
Winds beat me.
Suns burn me.
I’m looking for shelter
Cool and quiet.
With one touch,
You soothe me.
I see
The deep honest truth.
No matter the places
Our lives take us
You are
Where home lies.
T.A. Chase 2007
Stop by Rhian’s blog to check out where else you can go on the poetry train. 🙂
Pimping Books
Look..it’s another BCPI book from Ally Blue. Woo-Hoo! I haven’t read it yet. Saving it as my treat for finishing some books. 🙂
Check out the blurb and excerpt for Twilight at Samhain and check out what else Ally’s been working on at her website. Also the second BCPI book is now available in print.
Along with Emily Veinglory’s King of Dragons, King of Men.
Not much else to talk about today. Took a break from writing yesterday, but I plan working all weekend. It’s the PBR Finals in Las Vegas, so I’ll be watching as much of that as I can. 😉
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Where the Devil Dances
*Sorry…again there’s trouble uploading the picture. *Where the Devil Dances copyright (c) 2007 T.A. Chase
Part Ninteen–
Eric settled into the space between David’s legs. David leaned against a tree and provided the perfect object to rest against for Eric. Muscled arms wrapped around Eric’s waist and he laid his head on David’s chest. He listened to the steady beat of David’s heart. The thumping reassured him.
He didn’t tense when David’s hands made their way under his shirt to stroke along his skin. The touch was soft enough not to bother his scars, though lately Eric hadn’t been in as much pain. The doctors told him as the years went by, his nerves would heal to the point where he wouldn’t be in pain all the time.
“Is this okay?” David’s question brushed over his ear.
He nodded. “Perfect.”
The dogs chased each other around the park. They jumped and rolled, barking and growling. Eric laughed when Raoul dragged over a stick that was bigger than his dog. He grabbed it and broke it in half before throwing it as far as he could without getting up. Raoul and Buster chased after it.
“How long have you had Raoul?” David stroked a rough hand over Eric’s arm.
Eric shivered. The cotton fabric of his shirt caressed his skin and the sensation zinged through him. He thought about David’s question. “About two years. My friend, Tina, gave him to me shortly after I was released from the hospital. She said looking after Raoul would give me something else to focus on. He’s been good therapy. We go for walks every day. He makes sure I don’t become a hermit.”
“I got Buster for the same reason. My job is so crazy. I could go days without getting outside to enjoy what the world looks like. I’ve been lucky. Teresa takes him when I’m working several days in a row. Timmy likes playing with him.” David nuzzled into Eric’s hair.
“I always wanted a dog, but I’d lived in apartments before now, so I didn’t want to leave a dog cooped up in there while I was working. Right before my injuries, I was going to buy a house and was considering getting a pet. My lover at the time didn’t mind dogs. We were going out to look at potential pets at the humane society the day of the fire.”
Eric waited for the tension to return when he mentioned the fire, but David’s arms around him made him feel safe. Maybe he could talk about it without having a panic attack.
“Your lover? You’re not still together because I can’t see anyone letting you go once they had you.” David pressed a kiss on the sensitive spot behind Eric’s ear.
Eric turned to wrap his arms around David and buried his face in the crook where David’s neck and shoulder met. “No. He died in the fire.”
Their embrace tightened as David held him close for a few minutes, whispering ‘sorry’ over and over. Tears pricked Eric’s eyes. When he’d finally been free of the drugs the doctors had pumped into him to numb the pain, Eric had cried for days. He’d loved Winston and had been ready to be with him forever, but fate stepped in and took Win away.
“We attended Mass. Winston was Catholic and loved the rituals of the Church. I went because it made him happy. He wanted to talk to the priest after the service. Father Mitchell was a good man.” Eric sighed, closing his eyes and snuggled closer to David’s warmth. “I stayed in the sanctuary and drew. I took my sketch pad with me everywhere in those days. I loved the stain glass windows in the church. I was trying to draw them. I didn’t notice the smoke or anything until it was too late for Winston and Father Mitchell.”
David began to rock him, holding him securely in unwavering arms. Eric realized David knew what happened to the other two men. Being a firefighter, David had probably seen burn victims and fatalities before.
“I stood up.” Eric shrugged. “I’m not sure what I was going to do. The fire was fully engaged by that point and there was nothing I could do except leave.”
He shuddered, remembering the moment before his memory went blank. That was the worse part. He didn’t know if he had seen the arsonist or not. He’d heard him and that insanity-tinged voice haunted his nightmares.
“Something hit me in the head and as I was falling, I heard a voice say ‘the fire will cleanse you of his touch.’ Then everything went black until I woke up. I don’t know how long I was unconscious. I just know the fire burning my clothes drove me from the darkness.”
“Hush, Eric.” David smoothed his hands up and down Eric’s back. “No more.”
He pulled back. “But I want to tell you.”
David shook his head. “No more today. You can tell me the rest later.”
Eric threaded his fingers in the short curls at the base of David’s neck and tugged the man to him. The kiss started out gentle, but soon morphed into a passionate demand. Eric wanted David to drive the memories of that day out of his head. To fill those dark spots with bright moments.
Their tongues stroked and dueled as Eric twisted to straddle David’s lap. David’s large hands cupped Eric’s ass and squeezed. Eric rocked, pushing their groins together. His cock rubbed against fabric and a sound of frustration growled from his throat. He wanted more.
Laughter rumbled in David’s chest. Eric felt his lover’s hands on the button of his jeans. He sucked in his stomach to give David more room. He gasped into David’s mouth when the heat of his jeans was replaced by the even hotter grasp of David’s hand.
David pumped and Eric arched his hips, throwing his head back. Nibbling along the long column of Eric’s throat, David encouraged him to move.
“Come, baby,” David murmured against Eric’s skin.
Eric held David’s shoulders tight as he fucked the callused hand holding his shaft. His body tingled all over and there was no thought that they were out in a public park, doing something that could get them arrested. The only thought was to achieve his climax as fast as possible.
David’s other hand slid around to push down the back of Eric’s jeans and tease the top of Eric’s crease.
“Ah.” Eric couldn’t get his mouth to form any word.
“I can smell you. Please, Eric. I want to see you come.”
The words whispered hotly against the base of his throat drove him over the edge. His balls drew tight to his body as he emptied his cum over David’s hand.
“David,” he groaned and collapsed onto the hard body beneath him.
“Beautiful.”
He drifted while David cleaned them off and tucked him back in his jeans. He was lifted off David’s lap and laid back on the blanket they’d been sitting on. Another blanket was draped over him. A kiss brushed his temple.
“Sleep, baby.”
His eyes closed and he sighed. His body relaxed and his mind was blank. No memories to haunt him. Replacing pain with pleasure seemed like the perfect plan.
Wednesday WiPs
Happy Halloween, everyone. Hope you enjoy the night. 🙂 Whatever you do…whether it’s partying and dressing up. Taking the kids out or just staying home and watching scary movies.
I’m usually the one handing out candy. C runs to his office after buying the candy and has me hand it out. But I’m making him do it tonight for a while since I’m meeting a friend for dinner after work. 😉 We’ll see if he remembers today is Halloween…lol.
Well, as for writing, I pretty much only focused on two stories and I’ll be honest, if I didn’t have to write installments for you every Tuesday and Thursday, I’d probably only have worked on one.
Home of his Own: 55,405/50,000 (12,669 words)
Where the Devil Dances: 14,782/50,000 (1,432 words)
Dreaming of Dragons: 652/50,000 (0 words)
Devil’s Addiction: 30,582/50,000 (0 words)
For Tony’s story, I followed him and Brody from Wyoming to Los Angeles. Then we headed to St. Louis and back to Wyoming. Now they’re in Tacoma, Washington. Oh, the joys of a bull rider.
Not sure how much I have left, though I’m happy I went over my word count. There was a time there when I wasn’t sure I would. 🙂
Poetry Train…
I sat, back against the sofa and stared out through the huge window. Black night reflected my image back at me. Shadows danced and rolled behind me. In them, I saw a flash of red and a glimmer of gold.
Triumph swelled in me. This was what I wanted. An encounter with the others. Creatures out of nightmares and daydreams. I wanted them to touch me. I wanted them to fuck me. I needed them to taste me.
As I watched, they emerged, forming out of the light and dark swirling around the room I sat in. One was as dark as night. The other as bright as day. No words were spoken. None were needed. I had been to this point before and knew what would happen next.
The golden one urged me to my feet. He supported me until the dark one’s claws grabbed my hips. The golden one dropped to his knees in front of me and licked from the base to the crown of my cock.
The dark one clasped me tight to his body. One arm acted as a band around my chest, imprisoning me. The other hand searched and plunged fingers into my hole. My cries crashed unheeded through the air.
They claimed me. One with his mouth. The other with his cock. When the dark one thrust into my tight passage, he buried his gleaming teeth into my neck. I moaned, spilling both blood and seed at once.
The golden one swallowed my seed like it was the sweetest ambrosia to him. His glistening eyes held mine and I saw all the hope of heaven there. He was the reason I endured the pain.
I learned I could not have pleasure without pain. I couldn’t have light without dark. I couldn’t have love without hate. There was no good without evil.
I never knew how long I remained caught between the golden creature and the dark one. I knew only that as the sun rose and I had been drained of nearly all my essence, they left. They eased back into the other side of the world from which they had come.
I managed to open my eyes to slit as the key scraped in the lock and the front door of my apartment opened. I ignored the cries of my partner and searched out glimpses of gold.
“You’re going to rehab. I can’t take this anymore.”
The words meant nothing to me. As I was dragged from the room, I caught a flash of red and a glimmer of gold. I was addicted to being kissed by gods.
Check out Rhian’s blog to see who else jumped on the train this week.
Shifting Perspectives reviews…
I did a small review of Fiona Glass’ Feathered Friend from our anthology Shifting Perspectives. Here you go.
Fiona Glass’ Feathered Friend is an interesting twist on an old fairy tale, The Swan Maiden. In the story, Charlie owns homing pigeons. One day while checking on his birds, he notices he has a new one. He takes it inside and finds there is much more to the pigeon than its pretty feathers.
Avery finds Charlie attractive and reveals his true self. Charlie makes a choice to keep Avery with him, ignoring the young shape shifter’s pleas. Even though their love grows, Charlie knows his lover isn’t happy. Will Charlie decide to set Avery free or will he continue to hold the pigeon captive?
The relationship between Avery and Charlie is interesting. It’s hot and tender, yet poignant. Fiona Glass manages to fill her short story with enough emotion to pull you in, making you root for this couple. This story teaches a lesson of why we should never cage wild creatures and how true love can come even to the most unusual of couples.
Fiona Glass’ Feathered Friend in Shifting Perspectives from Aspen Mountain Press and shows her story telling story.
