by
Past crimes, present danger
With a new Police Scotland job, a new-ancient home, a loving pet, and a fresh outlook, Rory and Alex are almost ready for their marriage—as soon as bonnie Scotland can figure out how to do it. Working on the restoration of an old Jacobite tower house, they find evidence of a serious crime. But with no handy forensics lab on the wind-swept heathland, they don’t know whether it happened recently, or a hundred years ago.
For his part, Alex’s new duties also mean a new identity, as he follows the trail of drugs and dirty cops. Former playboy Rory is anything but a detective. But with Alex tied up in his current job, he finds himself chasing down clues to a mystery lurking in Brash Tower itself.
Their independent investigations uncover some startling secrets—and a source of immediate peril—as Brash Tower becomes once again a fortress against brutal enemies.
Will Rory and Alex ever tie that infernal knot—or will the high moor become once again a desolate reminder of what might have been?
- 1 Read list
Publisher: New Dawn Press
Editors:
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 4
Romantic Content: 4
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 18-25
Protagonist 2 Age: 26-35
Tropes: Badass Hero, Criminals & Outlaws, Cultural Differences, Pets Are 'Portant, Queer Wedding
Word Count: 52663
Setting: Scottish Highlands
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Continuous / Same Characters
From Chapter 4: Celebration and Discovery
Alex knew full well that Rory Drummond could hold his drink. Big man, huge tolerance. He also knew the few times the man got drunk were times of high emotional turmoil—the days following his heart-shattering departure from Nevada, when he thought Alex had betrayed him…the night they both drowned their insecurities in wine, tangled in a sad mystery and in their fears of the vulnerable, uncertain future.
So he didn’t have to guess what had prompted Rory’s reaction to a fine whisky last night. Another birthday, another year ahead full of promise and peril. Ah, and maybe the thought of losing his good looks, his sexual vitality, his keen edge.
READ MOREAlex felt the same about his own birthday, which he hadn’t mentioned last April. For damn sure, he wouldn’t tell Rory the date, because for fucking-A certain he didn’t need to confront his own mortality. Not yet. He’d wait until after their marriage, some quiet night in some rosy future when the demons had ebbed into oblivion…
He followed his lover up the long winding stairwell in their tower house, watching the butt muscles flex under Rory’s tight Levi’s. Climbing those rough stones, feeling the walls become closer and closer, his mind flicked back to a time eight months ago…a close encounter with a killer on the steps of a steel nautilus called Montrose Lighthouse…
That day, he was being pursued. Today, he was the pursuer.
He and the Great Scot never seemed to run out of variations on the theme of satisfying sex. Today, Alex knew he’d be the dominant partner. Tight, dark walls…groans of pleasure…reaching high and deep… Electric jolts jittered through his prick.
“To the privy,” he ordered, prodding the denim covered ass.
“Too bloody cold for that.”
At the second story landing, he stood and let his tongue explore Rory’s ear. “This hot boy wants something deeper than your ear, damn it.”
“Too bad, amigo.”
“You heard me. Off with the fucking Levi’s.” From behind, he unbuttoned and unzipped them, then tried to slide them down a cock grown too big for the britches.
Laughing, he faced Rory. “I know. The cold water will speak harsh words to the Kracken. But I already took a shower. Your turn. Time to clean the cave before I tame the monster.”
“Ye mean try to tame it, asshole.” Rory pulled him close. “No. Sodding. Shower. Take me right here on the rocks, if ye can. But no bloody cold damn water.”
The idea that bubbled up in his brain was a wicked one, and it made Alex break into a humorless grin. Both hands on Rory’s hips, he glared into the green pools and snarled. “I don’t want you to end up in a broken heap at the foot of these freaking stairs, Rory. So how about you take off those blue jeans and lie in the bedroom? Face down. I’ll be right back.”
“No shower?”
“No cold water,” he corrected on his way back downstairs.
COLLAPSEThis is the fifth installment of the Nevada Highlander Series and likely the final story. But shit happens...
