GENRE: Gay Historical Thriller Spicy Romance
LENGTH: 21,250 words
RATING:

Gently reared Martin finds himself adrift without means when his uncle goes bankrupt with gambling debts. He seeks a livelihood as tutor to the young children of an earl on a remote Welsh estate. Arriving on a dark and stormy night that sets the tone for his whole adventure, he falls into intrigue, mystery, and powerful new loves -- for the three traumatized children and their enigmatic guardian.

Dylan has been called back from service in South Africa when his elder brother supposedly finds his wife with another man, kills the pair and then himself. He’ll now have to assume most duties of the earldom, raise his nephew to majority and care for three orphaned children. Desperate for help, he hires a young man sight unseen to become their tutor while he works to uncover the facts of the scandalous tragedy that tore apart his family. Both matters reveal surprising results.

EXCERPT:
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

Although the other man was taller, that proved not to be a huge advantage when he was taken by surprise. He gave a muffled “whuff” as the impact of Martin’s shoulder against his side drove him off balance. They fell together. Martin soon realized he was going to be outmaneuvered. The man he’d tackled was quick, agile, and very strong!

They rolled together, grappling and struggling, until the taller man managed to pin Martin beneath him.

“Martin?”

“D-D-Dylan?”

Mutual recognition came simultaneously.

“What in the name of God were you doing? You gave me quite a start!”

“I’m sorry,” Martin managed. “I couldn’t sleep and decided to walk off a bit of my restlessness -- worry about the children and all, you know. When I heard someone moving around, my first thought was of Merlan. If it was he, I was going to catch him red handed!”

Dylan laughed. “I was thinking much the same, especially after you slammed into me. Sleeping lightly has become a habit in recent days. I get up to investigate any sound, even any hunch something might be amiss. Although I didn’t hear you, I did sense a presence. I wasn’t quite alert enough, though. You almost had me.”

“Until your military training kicked in! I knew at once that I’d miscalculated if I thought to keep you down, even before I realized who I’d tackled.”

All at once they both fell silent, aware of each other in an excruciatingly keen and arousing way. Their two bodies were intimately close, entwined as they had wrestled for supremacy before recognition set in. Martin could feel the hard ridge of Dylan’s cock against his thigh while his own had grown achingly stiff and insistent as well. Adrenaline, he knew, made a powerful aphrodisiac. He was super-charged with it while his recent dreams and imaginings heightened the effect. Every cell of his body seemed awake, aware and suffused with raw sexual energy.

One of Dylan’s hands reached to twine fingers into Martin’s hair which had grown a bit longer than he normally wore it. Dylan twisted, not enough to hurt but with an insistent intent. At the pressure, Martin found his face turned close to Dylan’s before the other man’s mouth crushed against his. He gave a strangled gasp which parted his lips enough to allow Dylan’s tongue to slide between them and into Martin’s mouth. The touch, both invasive and erotic, felt like liquid flame. He kissed back with every iota of his being.