Releasing May 31. Pre-order now: Amazon, Amazon UK, Nook, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, print
Getting to know each other...and liking what they find. Conyod has hope he'll finally win his warrior.
* * * *
The non-expression on Sletran’s strong features told Conyod he’d made an impression. Schooled to hide hints of shock, it was the go-to impassive demeanor for many Nobeks when they’d been surprised. The intensity of his stare was as much of a giveaway as a dropped jaw would have been.
Conyod hadn’t developed his well-muscled body solely for Sletran’s benefit, but this moment, planned for the last few years, had offered a lot of motivation.
Surprise. I’m not the weak, scared boy you remember. It took every mote of his control to not laugh aloud in triumph.
Conyod was aware he damned near worshipped Sletran. The man had been his idol since saving his pathetic ass as a runaway teen. The Nobek’s uber-masculine yet handsome features were framed by black hair. Taller than most at six-feet-ten and bulging breath-stopping muscle, his appearance was as textbook Nobek as the warrior breed could get.
The waiter set glasses of bohut before the men, then hesitated. “Thanks.” Conyod’s gaze never moved from Sletran.
Completely ignoring the hopeful Dramok, Sletran leaned forward, his neutral expression breaking into a delighted grin. “Imdiko Conyod, look at you. Wow. Where’s the underweight, angsty kid I knew?”
“Gone. You didn’t think I’d stay a boy forever, did you?” Conyod sipped his drink, affecting nonchalance. “I finished school, you know. I still have the occasional class to upgrade my certifications, but I work an internship at the hospital here in the capital. I’m hoping they’ll hire me fulltime after I finish the required hours.”
“A psychologist saving minds from life’s abuses…a great field.”
“Well, I know how therapy benefitted me. I thought I’d pay it forward. What about you? How are the ground forces treating you? I don’t want your typical response of ‘fine,’ which is all you ever text.”
“Sure, but it is going well. Probably not as impressive where the pay grade is concerned as a full-fledged psychologist.”
“Ha! My paid internship keeps me in sandwiches and little else. Don’t switch the conversation to me. What’s your rank now? Are you running the base yet?”
Sletran chuckled, seemingly unable to stop inspecting Conyod. “I’m still a foot soldier, but I am in charge of my squad, second in rank to my group commander. I’ve also been put in charge of training a couple of squads of new recruits. I hope to make group commander myself in another year or two.”
“Bigger responsibilities and an imminent rise in rank? That’s great. You probably will run the whole show before you’re fifty.” Conyod was doing his own nonstop assessment. He hadn’t shaken his infatuation for Sletran despite the distance their lives had put between them…as well as the Nobek’s polite but firm determination to keep a lovestruck boy’s hero worship at bay.
Conyod was certain Sletran didn’t see him as a boy at the moment.
His assessment was proven when Sletran invited him to dinner at a nearby restaurant after two hours of nonstop talk. Once the conversation got going, there wasn’t an awkward pause to be found. Sletran’s past reluctance to get closer showed no sign of its presence. At the restaurant’s low table, the Nobek slid his floor seating cushion next to Conyod’s and leaned close to hear his companion speak.
At the start, Conyod wasn’t sure what they talked about or even what he ate. His entire being was focused on the man sitting by him, smiling as if they were the only two people in the world. His heart was alight. He’d at last arrived at the moment he’d hardly dared dream of for the past six years. Sletran was looking at him. Seeing him as he was, a grown man ready to claim life, love, and enjoyment.
Their conversation floated to him. “I’m still in shock over your appearance. Tell me your workout regimen,” Sletran invited.
Conyod felt his face warm. Had the Nobek brought up the subject to allow him to openly ogle him? His companion did so, appreciation written on his features. Conyod had purposely worn his tightest clothes in hopes Sletran would like what he saw. It seemed his ruse had succeeded.
“Weights, weights, weights. I run too. I’ve also kept up on the defensive training you taught me.”
“Really? You know, I have a side gig training Imdiko youth in the discipline. You inspired me.”
“Did I?” Conyod cast for another subject to focus on. The last thing he wanted to do was remind Sletran of the kid he’d been. The clingy, undernourished kid who’d been no more than an object of pity for the soldier.
“I can’t get over how you’ve changed. So confident. So…grown up.”
Conyod relaxed. “Kids do that, you know.”
“Your parents didn’t arrange a clanship for you?”
A stab of dismay caught Conyod by surprise. For an instant, it detracted from the fact Sletran was fishing for his availability.
The Nobek must have noticed something in his expression. Sympathy crossed his features. “No change on the home front, I take it.”
Conyod managed a rueful chuckle. “Tuher and Sema aren’t so bad, but they never make it a secret I should be a full partner when it comes to running the ranch. They haven’t stopped angling for me to live and work at home, where they can keep an eye on me.”
Sletran nodded. “They’re still fighting your decision to go into psychology?”
“That’s mostly my mother and Vel. Work at the hospital’s psyche unit gives me a good reason to avoid going home often, and I take it.” He eyed his half-empty glass of bohut and thought about bolting the remainder down. “They didn’t take full advantage of the therapy they were given. The best training in psychology only goes so far if the patients have no intention of improving.”
Sletran’s hand rubbing his back brought a bolt of electricity racing along his spine. “I’m glad you recognized it and committed to recovery. You deserve the best in life after the pain you’ve gone through.”
“I’m trying.” Conyod caught himself leaning closer and was ready to make himself stop when Sletran’s arm circled him. His heart pounding, he settled against his companion. “I’m honestly doing well, even where my parents are concerned.”
He fought to maintain a casual tone, as if their contact was the most normal thing in the universe. For most men on a date, it would have been, as would a night spent intimately on a first encounter. Sex to Kalquorians was as natural to the process of getting acquainted as having drinks.
Sletran had kept him at a distance for years, however. Conyod felt the need to proceed carefully, no matter how obvious the signals for a normal interaction between interested men appeared to be.
They moved on to happier topics. Soon they were laughing as Conyod described his more comical patient interactions and Sletran shared the hilarious mistakes of the men he trained.
As they finished their dinner and drank the last of their drinks, Conyod wished the night would never end. However, now that he’d hopefully won Sletran’s attention, he was willing to continue to play the long game to win the prize. He wouldn’t insist on instant intimacy from the only man he’d ever dreamed of being in a relationship with. He refused to push Sletran away because of impatience when he’d just begun to capture real interest.
I may be head over heels, but I refuse to be stupid when I finally have a chance.
“Conyod?”
“Hmm?” Conyod set his glass down and wondered if suggesting a walk on the nearby beach in the moonlight would be seen as too pushy.
“Would it be obnoxious of me to ask if we could spend the night together?”
Conyod gaped. Was this actually happening? Was Sletran coming on to him?
Fuck the beach and the moonlight. “I’d love for you stay the
night.”
* * * *
He
needed a hero and found two. Can love rescue him again?
Nobek
Sletran never took Imdiko Conyod’s infatuation seriously when he rescued him
years before. When Conyod shows up in his life again as a strong and successful
man instead of a traumatized victim, Sletran has to reconsider the one he once
rejected and now can’t imagine life without.
Conyod has
never given up on the man he considers his hero. Sletran is all he’s ever
wanted for a clanmate, and he’s determined to win him at last. But the past refuses
to be laid to rest. When Conyod convinces Sletran to see him for who he’s
become, will who he was resurface and destroy the love they’re building?
Sletran’s
commanding officer Dramok Erybet is instantly fascinated by Conyod when the
soldier brings his love on base for a visit. However, Sletran isn’t the Nobek
Erybet feels is right for him. When he rejects the Nobek, he risks losing
Conyod too.
Against the backdrop of heartbreaking childhood tragedy, a ghost who haunts Conyod and his grief-stricken family, and military brass determined to oust Erybet from the rank he’s worked so hard to reach, three men must come to terms with who they are. When tragedy strikes, the nightmares of the past must be faced and buried once and for all. Conyod, Sletran, and Erybet must dare everything to find redemption and hold on to each other.
Releasing May 31. Pre-order now: Amazon, Amazon UK, Nook, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, print
