A Guilty Pleasures Edition
by
Pages: 319
Pages: 319
Erik Odegaard is beautiful, successful, and runs with an A-list Hollywood crowd. He’s the aggressive bedmate of twenty-eight-year-old Mason’s dreams. Their whirlwind romance turned into a picture-perfect wedding in Maui and a new home for the two of them on the beach in Malibu. Sometimes it feels like everything Mason ever wanted, though Erik’s intense, private, and dominant personality has drawbacks outside of the bedroom.
Then Erik’s twin brother Lucas shows up at their doorstep needing a place to crash while he rebuilds his life after serving time. Erik calls his brother a walking train wreck, but he’s actually everything Mason hasn’t been getting from Erik. Lucas is kind and adorably playful, and he doesn’t take himself so seriously. There’s an undeniable physical attraction, and when Erik starts giving signals he wouldn’t mind if Mason and Lucas explored that, Mason has got a lot to reevaluate about the kind of life he imagined for himself. But a slow drip of secrets from the past sheds a new light on the Odegaard brothers and their true intentions.
- 3 To Be Read lists
Editors:
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M, M-M-M
Heat Level: 5
Romantic Content: 4
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 26-35
Protagonist 2 Age: 26-35
Protagonist 3 Age: 26-35
Word Count: 71,000
Setting: Malibu, California
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
I hear Lucas plod down the hall. I turn that way and see he’s come out of the bathroom wearing a pair of Erik’s lightweight cotton drawstring sleeping bottoms and nothing else but a grin of glory.
He bounces over like a kid. “Best shower I’ve had in five years.”
It takes me a second or two to force my eyes away. He wears a woven necklace and woven bracelets, so much earthier and bohemian than Erik. Lucas is all lean muscle. I wouldn’t say he has a better body than Erik. He’s just different. He must’ve had plenty of time in prison to lift weights.
READ MOREThey both have beautiful nipples, and Lucas has an untrimmed chest with fine blond hairs and hairy armpits, and some sexy fuzz on his washboard stomach. Erik waxes his torso and keeps trim any other place hair sprouts from his body. He’s fanatical about going to the gym. He’s hardly soft or fleshy, but the contours of his chest and guns are more supple. He has a healthy glow. Whereas his brother is like steel cord, and his skin is paler. If they were in the ring for a knock-out boxing match, I don’t know who I’d place a bet on.
“I left you a shirt,” Erik rails at his brother. “Put it on.”
“We’re all guys here. What’s the big deal?”
Erik stands up. “You’re in my house. Put on a goddamn shirt.”
Lucas shrugs, turns around, and heads back to the bathroom. In the meantime, I grab the wine bottle and find a place to stow it in the fridge. I don’t know the terms for Lucas’s release, but I know some people on parole get tested for drugs and alcohol.
He’s back in one of Erik’s undershirts in a blink. I put the mug of coffee I’d made for him in the microwave.
“You take milk and sugar?”
Lucas strolls into the kitchen with a big grin. “Four sugars and douse it with milk.”
Just like Erik. I bring out the milk and sugar, prepare his coffee, and hand it to him.
He’s standing in the middle of the kitchen, making it awkward to get around him.
He takes a sip of the coffee and emotes with a gasp of pleasure.
“This is heaven. Thanks.”
I give him a no problem nod.
“Jonathan mentioned you’re from Nashville.”
“Yeah, I lived there for five years. But I grew up in Ohio.”
Lucas leans against the island counter. “What do you do, Mason? Besides making my brother’s dreams come true.”
I shift my gaze. I don’t want to be rude, tiptoeing around him like he’s some derelict, but I’m nervous standing with him in the kitchen.
“I’m a writer. Mainly arts and culture pieces.”
Erik shuffles over warily. His brother ignores him. “A writer,” Lucas repeats with a beam. “That’s really cool. Where can I read your stuff?”
I’m tongue tied for a moment. But this is stupid. I shouldn’t be acting like I’m worried he’s going to spring at me and get his hands around my neck. The guy did his time, paid his debt to society. He hardly seems dangerous.
I find my phone on the kitchen counter and show him the news site on my browser.
“I’ve heard of it.” Lucas looks to me for permission to take my phone. I hand it to him and watch him swipe through to find one of my articles.
“Mason Early. Arts and Culture Editor,” he reads. He peeks up at me from the screen. “Get outta here. You’re big time, Mace.”
It’s kind of cute and uncanny he calls me by the same nickname as his brother.
Erik steps into our space. “Lucas, we’ve got to talk.”
His brother throws me a grin. “Just when I was having a nice conversation with your husband.”
“What’s your plan?”
Lucas bulges his lip thoughtfully. “I’ve got to check in with my parole officer on Monday. Other than that, my schedule’s open.”
“That’s not much of a plan.”
“Look. Chill. I’m out of your life as soon as my clothes are dry.”
“You think I enjoy this? You come over here, not bothering to call, not bothering to even tell me you got out of prison two weeks back, and you expect me to help you put your fucked-up life back together?”
There’s so much testosterone in our small kitchen, I’m getting that feeling again a fight’s going to break out.
Lucas throws up a hand. “There it is. You’ve been waiting to say that since I walked in. My fucked-up life. Really original, Erik.” Lucas roars at him, “Good thing I had five years to ponder all the ways I fucked up.”
COLLAPSE
