(Dianne) Fox Writes

“Would that reality could always be like this.”
-British Bull Dog, Rainbow Reviews (read the review here.)

Let’s see…

“Equilibrium” is finished. I’ve done my round of revisions, and it’s on the revision pile for Anah now. I really like this one. We took an idea and stripped it down to its bones, and I think we made it work really well.

We wrote a new Jamie&Riaz short story for the Turn of the Screw “Blue Monday” — it’s sort of a story in two parts, and the first part got posted there. The complete story will be posted the next time we host the Torquere LiveJournal: July 9 and 10.

We’re in the middle of revisions for “Tatterdemalion” (if you’ve been watching either of our Twitter feeds, you’ve probably seen us talking about it), and for “Parallax”. The revisions for “Tatterdemalion” are going really well; we’ve figured out how to really strengthen the story with several choice cuts and a bit of rewriting. I’m loving the whole process.

“Parallax” revisions are going along at a more casual pace, but they’re going well, too. I think at least a couple more scenes are going to be added to that one, but I don’t think we’re cutting anything the way we are with “Tatterdemalion.”

Once we get all of that done, we’ll be writing the bonus story for Renovations II: Foundation, the second print collection. And doing the edits for “Becoming Us”, which should be in by then.

It’s going to be a very busy summer!

To Do
Write “At the Corner of Fourth and Honesty” (for Kit Zheng’s project)
Finish “Percussion”
Outline “Dimes for Dying Dreams”
Revise “Equilibrium” (with Anah Crow)
Revise “Parallax” (with Anah Crow)
Revise “Tatterdemalion” (with Anah Crow)
Write the second Renovations bonus story (with Anah Crow)

When Toby Archer’s marriage falls apart, he takes up flipping houses to fill some of the void left in his life. The first time that contractor Ven Parrish works for him, Toby notices the fact that Ven is gorgeous, but what really catches Toby’s attention is Ven’s work ethic. Toby isn’t going to pass up the chance to hire Ven again; it’s just good business sense.

The more time they spend together, the harder it is to deny their attraction to each other. Toby is a lawyer with an upper class lifestyle, and Ven is a working man from a family still scraping by. What they have in common, especially a commitment to family, does more to keep them apart than bring them together. Still, Toby and Ven have sense enough to know when something is worth the work, and neither is afraid to get hot and dirty to get the job done, especially when the finished product might be a happy ending for everyone.

Renovations I: Framework includes the following stories:

Renovations 1: Flipping Out
Renovations 2: Playing House
Renovations: Making Time
Renovations 3: Moving Day
A Renovations Addition: Counting Blessings

You can find it here.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Riaz looked in the mirror one more time and carefully twisted the glossy, black curl that was supposed to lie in the middle of his forehead. He looked ridiculous, but that was the point. He was all decked out in satin pantaloons and ‘jeweled’ satin vest, both peacock blue, with a crimson sash around his waist and red sandals. To get to the car, he’d have to put his boots on. One more touch up of the eyeliner and, bracelets jingling, dark bronze skin oiled, he was ready to go.

If there was anything Riaz did well, it was Bollywood. He’d spent until he was twelve wanting to be a Bollywood actor. After that, he’d wanted to be David Beckham. Now, he just wanted to be on time.

“Jamie!” Damn it, Jamie was worse than a chick when it came to getting to a party on time. Where was he, anyway? Riaz headed downstairs.

Jamie was waiting for him in the living room, already wrapped up in his coat. He had his boots on his feet, a little bag in his hand, and a sly grin on his face. “Ready to go?”

“Don’t tell me you decided to make me look like an idiot by not wearing a costume… I hate you.” Riaz pulled his sandals off, glaring all the while, and tugged his boots on. “Where’s the wine and scotch I bought for Lisa and Kelly?” He shrugged on his coat, looking around for the gift bag with the familiar liquor board logo in gold holiday print.

“Um.” Jamie looked around. “In the kitchen?” His tone suggested that he really had no idea where the bag was and was just throwing that idea out at random.

“Under the tree.” Riaz knew he was being grumpy at Jamie and he hated himself for it. “I’d have helped you with your costume, you know.” He was always in a bad mood before parties. And in the winter. Which made him a charmer before every Christmas party.

“I know,” Jamie said, heading for the door. “But it’s a surprise.”

“Oh, mercy.” Riaz had no idea what Jamie was up to. He might keep the scotch for himself, but someone had to drive. He picked up the bag and followed Jamie out. “I’ll drive tonight.” He could do that much to make up for being a grouch. “Come on.”

They got to the neighborhood of McMansions on bare lawns studded with teeny stalks of new trees, and Riaz managed not to bitch about that. Score one for him. The driveway up to the parking lot — apparently if you were important enough to not just have an eco-footprint but an eco-stomping-ground, you also needed a parking lot — was half a street long. Riaz parked between a Benz and a Hummer and kept his mouth shut. Lisa and Kelly were prosperous and happy; it wasn’t right to criticize it.

“Ready to go?” He got out, grabbing the gift, and waited for Jamie before heading for the arched entryway to the house. There was a riot of tacky Christmas decoration out front and Riaz could already count three Christmas trees inside before Lisa opened the door.

“Guys!” She was a tiny woman with short black hair and, tonight, she was wearing a white gown and a blue mantle. The Virgin Mary. Of course. “Come on in!” After they were kissed and hugged and the gift handed off to Kelly to open up both bottles, Lisa shooed them upstairs to leave their coats on a bed. Riaz left his boots at the door, put on his sandals, and followed Jamie up into the cool, dim second floor of the house.

Jamie had removed his shoes at the door, too, but he hadn’t put anything on to replace them, so Riaz still didn’t have any clues about his costume. Jamie wasn’t usually very good at keeping secrets — not from Riaz, at least — but this costume was apparently an exception, because Riaz hadn’t heard a peep about it.

Riaz opened the door to the coat room for Jamie and shrugged his old, heavy leather coat off his shoulders. “Party time,” he said, turning to drape his coat over a rocking chair by the door instead of throwing it on the coat pile. He knew what people did on the coat pile and it often involved bodily fluids. Why people did things like that was beyond him.

When he turned back around, Jamie had taken his coat off, too. What was underneath was… not what Riaz had expected. Some kind of naughty elf costume, with red garters that disappeared under a tiny, fur-trimmed, red velvet skirt that flared out from Jamie’s hips. There was a wide, black leather belt and a fur-trimmed, lace-up halter top. And a lot of bare skin.

Suddenly, Riaz realized exactly why people did things like… what he was about to do… in the coat pile. Jamie was adjusting the belt that was almost wider than his skirt when Riaz closed the door. God. Damn. Pale skin, muscled belly, curvy ass and thighs emphasized by the way those stockings and garters clung.

Apparently satisfied with the belt, Jamie sat down on the bed, on top of all those coats, and started pulling candy cane striped stockings up his legs. He got one all the way on, and clipped it to the red garter peeking out from beneath his skirt, and then started on the second.

Riaz wasn’t thinking anything as he stepped between Jamie’s knees and reached down to get a hand under each. A moment later, Jamie was on his back, stockinged legs in the air, skirt spilling up his stomach. Oh, God. Ruffled little lace-up panties. Getting a knee on the bed, Riaz let Jamie’s legs fall over his shoulders as he leaned in to bite the inside of one creamy thigh with a wolfish growl.

Jamie’s delighted laughter trailed off into a moan as his fingers threaded into Riaz’s hair. So much for that perfectly-placed curl on Riaz’s forehead. “Mmm,” Jamie purred. “Like your surprise?”

Riaz growled again and dragged his mouth up until he was licking around the lacy edges of the panties, trying to sneak his tongue underneath. He would never complain again about Jamie being late. His cock was straining at his briefs under the blue satin and he stroked himself through the fabric, moaning as he nuzzled deeper under Jamie’s petticoats.

“Oh, man.” Jamie’s legs slid down Riaz’s arms and Jamie arched up toward Riaz’s mouth. “Yeah, come on…”

Riaz got his mouth on Jamie’s balls through the panties and tongued them enough to wet the fabric. He was about to speak when he heard laughter. Adrenaline shot through him and he stood bolt upright, managing to grab Jamie by one flailing arm before his little elf ended up on the floor on the wrong side of the bed. Riaz set Jamie upright and stepped away, pretending he was fixing his hair in the vanity mirror as the door clicked open.

“Is this the coat room?” The voice was female and nasal and shrill; Riaz was never so glad to lose an erection that fast before. Where was this woman when he was in Grade Ten?

*

Jamie muffled his disbelieving laughter with one hand. Holy shit. Whoever that was had terrible timing. And Riaz loved Jamie’s costume every bit as much as Jamie had hoped.

He got his stockings settled and strapped himself into glittery red platform shoes with tall, chunky heels. “Help me stand up?” he asked Riaz, holding out his hands, as the woman and her date started stripping off their coats and throwing them on the bed beside him.

“I hope you practiced in those things.” The grump was just a cover for the flush in Riaz’s cheeks; Jamie knew him well enough. Riaz came over to help him up, giving Jamie a good look at his bare, glossy belly and chest, and his bare, muscled arms.

“You going to carry me down the stairs if I didn’t?” Jamie teased. “So I don’t break my neck?” He got up on his feet and took a few steps, fluffing out his tiny skirt and straightening his belt again. Riaz looked so good, dressed like that. But then, Riaz always looked good; it didn’t matter what he was wearing.

“I’d hate to ruin this nice party, so I suppose so.” Riaz looked scowlish, but then he offered Jamie his arm. “Let’s go enjoy. If I’m going to have a drink, I need to have it now, so I’m a hundred percent to drive later.”

Jamie had practiced, but the stairs were harder than just walking, so he leaned on Riaz on the way down.

By the time they rejoined the party, it was in full swing, and it wasn’t long before Riaz was off mingling with other people. Jamie chatted with Kelly and had a few drinks, but every time he looked over at Riaz, his friend was laughing and looking gorgeous as ever, and the men he was talking to were all looking at him like they wanted to eat him up.

Jamie tried to ignore it, to let Riaz have a good time, but when one of the men — Jamie thought the guy was maybe the one who’d interrupted them in the coat room — started petting Riaz’s arm, Jamie’d had enough. He made his way across the huge living room, past the giant decorations, and slipped up beside Riaz. “I need to borrow you for a minute,” he said without preamble.

“Sure.” Riaz untangled himself from the tipsy ad exec who was obviously rethinking his sexual orientation, thanks to a little too much Captain Morgan. “Sorry, Patrick, duty calls. Back soon.” He flashed a grin at his friends and stepped away to give Jamie a dark look. “Something wrong?”

Jamie stepped over a string of fallen garland and caught Riaz’s hand, drawing his friend along behind him as he headed for the nearest powder room. Once they were both inside the tiny room, he closed the door behind them and backed Riaz up against the wall, sliding his hands up over that perfectly smooth, dark chest. In these shoes, Jamie didn’t have to worry about their height difference; he just leaned in and kissed Riaz on the mouth.

“Did you pop your bra or someth…” Riaz was saying, obviously stuck on the idea that there was a costume malfunction, when Jamie’s kiss silenced him to a, “…mmph!” He caught on quickly, though, and the next moment, he had both hands up under Jamie’s petticoats to grab his ass, and he was kissing Jamie passionately with a low growl in the back of his throat.

Jamie could feel Riaz getting hard in those thin, silky pantaloons. He rubbed himself up against Riaz and sucked at Riaz’s tongue, arching into the hands on his ass.

“God, what are you doing?” Riaz muttered, but it wasn’t much of a protest. His hands were all over Jamie, groping, stroking, feeling Jamie’s skin and the garter straps and the stockings. He kissed away, giving Jamie a chance to answer, covering Jamie’s neck and one bare shoulder with hot, wet, biting kisses.

“Seducing you.” Jamie’d thought that was obvious, by now. “You look so good, and… fuck, I’ve been waiting for hours.” He let his head fall back, baring his neck for Riaz’s kisses, moaning.

“Just checking.” Riaz hooked a finger in the top of Jamie’s fur-trimmed halter top, tugging just enough that he could get his mouth on one nipple. He bit and sucked and teased with his tongue, holding Jamie close with the other hand grabbing as much of Jamie’s ass as possible.

Jamie wriggled his hand down between them, groaning when it put pressure on his already-aching dick, and worked out how to open the front of Riaz’s silky pants. “Want you.”

“Wench.” Riaz pulled away, grabbing Jamie’s wrist and tugging that hand out of his pants. Then, he spun Jamie around and pulled Jamie back against his chest. The hand that had been on Jamie’s ass was on Jamie’s dick and balls now, kneading gently. “Want what?”

Jamie shuddered and whined. He wrapped his free hand over the hand on his dick, pushing, making Riaz touch him more firmly. He felt breathless already, between how much he wanted Riaz and the knowledge that there were dozens of people just outside the door. Dozens of people who weren‘t about to get off with Jamie’s best friend, now that Jamie had Riaz to himself. “Oh, fuck. Riaz…” Jamie arched back, rubbing his ass against Riaz’s hard cock. “Let me. Between my legs. Fuck me.”

“You should see yourself.” Riaz nudged him forward so that he had to grab the edge of the fancy bowl sink to keep from toppling over. Now, he was looking at himself in the mirror as Riaz’s hard, heavy cock slid between his thighs for the first time.

“Don’t care what I look like,” Jamie muttered. His cheeks were flushed almost red enough to match his costume, but the way Riaz looked was way more interesting. “I want to see you.” Riaz’s dark eyes met Jamie’s in the mirror as Riaz dipped his head to kiss the side of Jamie’s neck. God, Riaz was so damn hot. Honey-dark skin and full lips and, fuck, the way Riaz’s cock felt, rubbing between his bare thighs and up against the satin panties that were so tight on Jamie’s hard dick. “Don’t stop.”

“Not planning on it.” Riaz got one hand in Jamie’s hair, tugging his head to the side so he could kiss and bite hard enough to raise a mark. The hand on Jamie’s dick moved away, but only because Riaz was tugging Jamie’s panties down enough to get Jamie’s dick in that hand, skin on skin. “So pretty.” Riaz was watching him in the mirror, eyes hot. “Love how you look like this. Sexy.”

“I picked it out for you,” Jamie admitted. He was sure Riaz already knew that. After the way Riaz had reacted to Jamie’s Little Red Riding Hood costume at Halloween, fucking him in the dark corner of a nightclub, Jamie hadn’t been able to resist.

“Taking advantage of me…” Riaz didn’t seem too upset. He’d found his rhythm, hot dick pushing between Jamie’s thighs and stroking him off at the same time, his mouth moving over Jamie’s neck and shoulder like Riaz wanted to devour him. His other hand slid out of Jamie’s hair and down to catch one of Jamie’s nipples. Riaz groaned at that and bucked against Jamie’s ass, then bit him hard on the shoulder.

“Fuck, yeah.” Jamie writhed between Riaz’s hand, mouth, and cock, soaking up the sensations. He loved the way Riaz got so worked up. Riaz’s mouth was hot on his skin and Jamie moaned louder than he should’ve when Riaz’s fingers pinched down on his nipple. “Please.”

Riaz was breathing hard now, nuzzling in Jamie’s hair, having covered Jamie’s shoulder with teeth marks, and moaning Jamie’s name over and over again. His hips slammed into Jamie’s ass again and again and then he was coming, slicking the inside of Jamie’s thighs with heat.

Oh, God. Yeah. Jamie whimpered as Riaz’s hand tightened on his cock, stroking him faster, tighter, in time with the hard thrusts of Riaz’s orgasm. Biting his lip, Jamie tried to be quiet, to swallow down his shout, as he started to come.

Riaz kept going until Jamie couldn’t take it anymore and then he was still, holding Jamie to him and breathing hard. “You know,” he murmured against Jamie’s ear, “you don’t have to wear a dress to get me to fuck you, right? Not that it’s not really fucking hot.”

Jamie was too far gone to mask his surprise when he met Riaz’s eyes in the mirror. That was exactly what he’d been doing. He hadn’t been able to figure out how to get Riaz to understand that wanting him wasn’t just about convenience, for Jamie, and so he’d resorted to doing things — anything — he knew would get Riaz worked up enough to fuck him. “No?”

“‘Take me now, big boy’ is a little tacky, but, you know,” Riaz said between soft kisses on the bites he’d left on Jamie’s shoulder. “Whatever makes you happy.”

“You know you don’t have to wait for me to ask, don’t you?” Jamie countered.

Riaz paused, looking sheepish. “I think I forget,” he confessed, apologetically. The dangers of dealing with a hardcore math geek; sometimes he needed a little kick in the ass to remind him that he was human, and that humans did more than eat, work out, and chase various shapes of ball around a field on weekends. “I’m sorry. I’m just used to living with your hotness with no recourse.” Now he was kind of snuggling Jamie against his broad chest. “I’ve learned to block out the awesomeness that is your ass.”

Jamie snorted and shook his head. “Dork. Let’s get out of here. We can finish out the party and then you can take me home and unlearn all that by fucking my awesome ass in every room of the house.”

“Glad I didn’t have much to drink,” Riaz said dryly. He reached for a washcloth to clean them both and came up with a red terrycloth square embroidered with mistletoe that started playing “Jingle Bells” from some where. “Whoa.” He passed it to Jamie. “Merry Christmas.”

The Clothes Make the Man… Crazy!

Halloween at the Tangerine Dream was a wild affair. Everyone was in costume, and the costumes were all elaborate affairs, everything from a statuesque Marilyn Monroe to a body-painted tabby cat to Little Red Riding Hood. That last, of course, was Jamie. He was all decked out in a shiny red corset and a skirt that wouldn’t have even come close to covering his ass, if it weren’t for the petticoats underneath.

He was over at the bar, leaning up on his toes and showing off his long legs encased in thigh-high stockings and knee-high boots. Jamie had great legs. Riaz wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. There were several men at the bar vying for Jamie’s attention, and Jamie was just lapping it up, laughing at everyone’s jokes and letting them push his velvety red hood back from his face.

Riaz was happy for him. Friends were there to get off with when there wasn’t anyone else around. Really. And there were plenty of people around. For Jamie. Riaz was feeling as dire as his wolf costume: an elegant tux complete with tails, ruffled, white shirt, and wolf mask. He tapped one polished shoe as he drank his martini — he didn’t even like martinis, and couldn’t remember why he’d thought it was a good idea — and gave up pretending that he wasn’t jealous.

They were supposed to be here together. Riaz had been hoping that it was together as friends-with-benefits instead of just as friends. Looked like Jamie was getting plenty of benefits without him; one of the dozen vampires here tonight slid a finger along the top of Jamie’s stocking. Riaz swallowed the rest of his drink so fast that he almost choked on the olive.

The music shifted to something he wasn’t going to make a fool of himself dancing to. Fine. He got up. Two could play at that game. He started for the dance floor but when he looked over his shoulder, he saw a lion leaning in to murmur in Jamie’s ear. God damn it. Riaz wheeled and headed for the bar.

“You promised me a dance,” he said flatly, shouldering through Jamie’s admirers. It wasn’t a lie. Jamie had said he’d make sure someone danced with Riaz, even if he had to do it himself.

Jamie’s mouth fell open; he looked as stunned as Red Riding Hood finding the wolf’s sharp teeth. And then he smiled, sassy and flirtatious all over again. “So I did. A promise is a promise.” Stepping away from the bar, he gave his admirers a cheery wave and moved in close to Riaz. “Ta-ta, boys. Time for Little Red to go see the Big Bad Wolf.”

Riaz slid an arm around Jamie’s waist on the way to the dance floor, pretending that he was making sure no one ran into Jamie. Jamie’s waist was small and sexy in the corset that Riaz had tightened for him at home, and fit perfectly in the curve of Riaz’s arm. Maybe this was all the fault of the costume, but Riaz hadn’t been this stirred up at home.

God, Jamie smelled good. Riaz could smell him over the sweat and spilled beer and dry ice clouds, Jamie’s familiar scent under some sweet perfume sample he’d decided he had to wear along with the costume. Riaz had no idea what was going on in his own head, just that something about Jamie was making him feel feral tonight.

Riaz could hardly look him in the eye by the time they got out on the dance floor. But that didn’t stop Riaz from pulling him close with one arm around his waist and the other resting on the upper curve of his ass. He rested his cheek against Jamie’s hair and breathed in how good he smelled, then he remembered how he’d felt when he’d seen other men’s hands on Jamie. He lifted his head to look around, to make sure they weren’t the object of other people’s eyes. Usually, watching Jamie pick up other men just made him shrug and order another beer. Tonight, he held Jamie against him and hoped Jamie couldn’t feel his erection through the layers of ruffled petticoats and skirt.

*

Jamie didn’t know what had gotten into Riaz tonight, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. He loved getting attention from Riaz. If he could figure out what he’d done to manage it tonight, he’d start taking notes. Usually, flirting with other guys didn’t faze Riaz in the least.

Jamie shrugged it off, for now, and focused on dancing with Riaz. That was another thing that wasn’t usual. Most of the time, Jamie had to beg, bribe, or threaten to get Riaz to set foot on a dance floor. He hadn’t needed to tonight, though, and he was sure as hell going to take advantage of it. He wound his arms around Riaz’s neck and pressed himself up against Riaz’s body, as close as he could get with all the petticoats in the way. That was a good start.

Riaz’s hand on his ass slipped lower and, sure enough, even through the petticoats Jamie could tell that Riaz was grabbing his ass with one strong hand. Riaz’s shirt was open at the throat — the bowtie was missing — but other than that he was still the image of the Big Bad Wolf from the sharp-eared, sharp-toothed mask to the glint in his eyes. The lion wasn’t giving up easily, hardly paying attention to the faerie with whom he was dancing. Riaz didn’t miss that and he actually growled at the man, his hand slipping down so that his fingers were pressed against the tender skin where Jamie’s ass met his thigh.

Jamie purred and wriggled his ass in Riaz’s grip. The lion had been charming, but given a choice, Jamie was always going to choose Riaz.

The growl turned into an answering purr and Riaz’s fingers slid along the curve of Jamie’s ass. “I’m not gonna tell you how hot you look,” he muttered in Jamie’s ear.

God, Jamie loved the way Riaz’s hand felt on his ass. “No?” Jamie tilted his head back so he could see Riaz’s face, giving a little pout. “You don’t think I look good?”

“I don’t think you need me to tell you.” Riaz flashed a tight smile at him and squeezed his ass. The way Riaz’s hips moved was unmistakably a grind, even if it was half-lost in Jamie’s skirts.

No, maybe he didn’t. Riaz was doing a damn good job of showing him.

Jamie arched into Riaz’s hand and leaned up to catch Riaz’s mouth in a kiss. Sure, maybe he usually waited for Riaz to make the first move, but all this touching and grinding and squeezing was making him even more breathless than the corset was. That was enough of a first move for him, for tonight at least.

Riaz kissed like a wolf, hungry and fierce, pushing his tongue into Jamie’s mouth. His hand slid up under Jamie’s skirts, grabbing a shameless handful of Jamie’s ass, fingers pressing into the crease. His other hand curled around the nape of Jamie’s neck, a strong grip that kept him steady while Riaz kept kissing him.

Oh, that hit Jamie’s exhibitionist streak just right. He moaned into the kiss, moving to the music in such a way that, if anyone was paying attention, they couldn’t fail to see how Riaz was touching him. He sucked at Riaz’s tongue, daring him, tempting him to do more.

Riaz kissed away from his mouth, kissing his jaw and throat and up under his ear. “People are looking at you,” he murmured, and then bit at Jamie’s ear with a little growl. Jamie’s skirts had to be riding up, the way Riaz was groping his ass, showing off his thighs and panties for everyone to see.

That prompted another moan. Jamie planted his spiky-heeled feet wide apart and arched into Riaz’s touches. “Yeah?” he purred. “Gonna give ‘em a show?”

“I don’t give a damn about them.” Riaz sounded angrier than Jamie remembered him sounding about anything except maybe the time someone was talking smack about them being fags. He let go of Jamie’s neck to push his mask up so Jamie was looking at his dark, handsome face instead of the fangy wolf. “I’m not here with them.”

Oh. Jamie hadn’t really thought about that, when they’d come out tonight. Riaz wasn’t usually bothered by him flirting with other people, but usually, Jamie wasn’t out with Riaz, and tonight… Well. Maybe he was, tonight. “Then why don’t we get off the dance floor, go someplace where they won’t be looking?”

*

Riaz loved Jamie’s exhibitionist streak, but the idea that they’d just be doing something so Jamie could get off on being watched… it made something twist in his chest and ruined his temper. He changed his grip so that they were dancing again, working their way across the dance floor. God, he was being such a bastard. “I just…” He brought Jamie’s hand to his mouth and kissed the palm. “I’m sorry. I’m being a jerk.” His cheeks were hot with shame. This wasn’t the rules. He just wanted Jamie to actually be with him, not because there was no one else, not because Riaz was the only one who was willing to help Jamie put on a show.

Jamie just shook his head, looking troubled. When they neared the edge of the dance floor, Jamie kept going, catching Riaz hand and pulling him along. Was he angry? Riaz couldn’t see his face to know for sure.

Jamie stopped in a dark corner, back near the hallway to the bathrooms. He turned around, leaning against the wall, but it now it was too dark to see his face, to see much of anything.

“I’m not here with them, either,” Jamie said. His tone wasn’t angry at all. It was smooth, serious with just a hint of seduction. “I’m here with you. I don’t care if they can see me.” He used his grip on Riaz’s hand to draw him in, and then Jamie’s lips were on Riaz’s again, here in the dark where no one could see.

That helped, shamefully enough. Riaz slid his fingers into Jamie’s hair and kissed him back hungrily. “I just… I’m sorry.” He nipped at Jamie’s lips and let go of Jamie’s hand so he could slide his hand up under Jamie’s skirts again. “You just look so good tonight.”

It was just tonight. He kissed Jamie again, searching and hot this time. Usually, he wasn’t Jamie’s playmate for public shows. They got together when the mood hit and they were alone at home. He tugged the front of Jamie’s skirt up so there was nothing but panties and slacks between them, groaning and grinding his hard-on against Jamie. He slipped his hand under the waistband of Jamie’s panties, cupping the bare curve of Jamie’s ass and pulling Jamie against him so Jamie could feel exactly how turned on he was. And they were still being watched. Not blatantly, like before, but he could feel people watching without watching, people who hadn’t had enough of the show.

Jamie moaned and kissed away from Riaz’s mouth to his ear. “You like it? The corset, the skirt, the boots?” He rolled his hips, letting Riaz feel his matching erection. “Tell me what it is, so I can do it again.”

“Legs. Skirt. I don’t know…” It was so hard to talk. Riaz let his head fall back as he rolled his hips, rubbing off against Jamie’s hard-on. “You’re just pretty. God. It turns me on. Makes me want to break the arm of anyone who touches you; it’s not like me, Jamie. I didn’t know.” Jamie’s ass was tight and hot under his hand; he pushed his fingers back into the heat between Jamie’s thighs. He wanted to make Jamie as crazy as Jamie made him.

“Yeah.” Jamie sounded breathless already. He stepped his feet apart and tilted his hips, opening right up for Riaz’s fingers. “’s good. Want you.”

“You’re always hot. But now…” Riaz shuddered as his fingers slid behind Jamie’s balls. “Tell me how you want it. You can have anything. There’s stuff in my pocket. Inside the jacket.”

Jamie pushed the jacket open, but his hands weren’t searching the pockets, they were sliding over Riaz’s chest. He kissed and licked his way down the side of Riaz’s neck and finally dug through his jacket pockets to find condoms and lube. “Fuck me?”

Fuck. They were in the shadows, in an alcove, hidden away from anyone but the most curious observers. Riaz didn’t do this kind of thing, Jamie did. But Jamie was making him dizzy, weak in the knees. “How do you want it?” he asked. His voice broke as his brain presented him with the image of Jamie with his skirts up and his ass tilted up, back arched, ready for him.

“Yeah?” Jamie sounded surprised and, fuck, so turned on. His voice was raspy with need. “Yeah. I want. From behind.” While he spoke, Jamie was deftly unzipping Riaz’s pants, slipping his hand into the slit and finding Riaz’s hot cock with his cool fingers.

No one could see what they were doing, the way Jamie’s skirts covered his hand as he stroked Riaz’s cock, but there was no secret in the way Riaz moaned and braced himself with one hand. He pulled the other out of Jamie’s panties and tugged them down below the perfect curve of Jamie’s ass. “Now,” he managed to say. He could feel the wetness he was leaving on Jamie’s fingers. “Can’t help it,” he said shakily. “Need it, J.” He had no idea how he’d managed to let Jamie out of the house. Denial.

Jamie rolled a condom onto Riaz’s cock and slicked him with the pillow-packet of lube. The trash got tucked back into Riaz’s jacket — the drycleaners were going to love him — and then Jamie turned around. “Now,” he ground out, his own hands busy in front of him, probably sheathing his own dick in the other condom. He flipped his skirt up and braced both arms on the wall in front of him. His ass was bare and perfect, tilted up and ready for Riaz.

Oh, God. Riaz wanted to drop to his knees and worship that pretty ass. Instead, he stroked it with both hands, sliding his achingly hot cock against it, pressing in just enough to give Jamie enough to push back against. “Hottest thing ever,” he whispered. He ripped open another packet of lube with his teeth, dripping it down the crease of Jamie’s ass; he could barely see to know what he was doing, but he wanted to make sure he didn’t hurt his best friend. He hooked his fingers in the lacing of Jamie’s corset and tugged, urging Jamie to move.

Jamie’s breath rushed out and he rocked back to take Riaz’s dick in, making little whimpering noises as it slid inside him.

Riaz wrapped himself around Jamie from behind and crushed the packet of lube in his hand. He dropped the empty packet in a pocket and reached under Jamie’s skirt to stroke his cock. “Need you,” he whispered in Jamie’s ear. He didn’t make Jamie wait once he was inside. They might have been out of sight, and their noises were lost in the thrumming dance beat, but he didn’t want to take too long and risk getting caught. It was such a struggle between the temptation to indulge and the fear of discovery. “You make me crazy, Jamie.”

*

Riaz wasn’t the only one feeling crazy. Jamie didn’t know what he’d done to get Riaz so riled up, but holy fuck, he wanted to know so he could do it again. The skirt, Riaz had said. Jamie made a mental note to do some shopping.

Riaz pushed in just right, and Jamie cried out. “Oh, fuck. Yeah, Riaz. Please.”

Riaz bit the curve of his neck and moved harder and faster. “So pretty, Jamie,” he panted. “So tight. So hot.” His hand holding Jamie tight against him slid up and slipped in under the ruffles of Jamie’s blouse to pinch one nipple. “Hottest thing I ever saw,” Riaz groaned.

For Jamie, it was just a costume, just something fun to wear to get attention. But if Riaz liked it, liked the skirts and the ruffles and the pretty clothes… well, Jamie could work with that.

Riaz’s hand was snug around Jamie’s dick, his dick was thick and long in Jamie’s ass, and his fingers were tight on Jamie’s nipple. The sensations were amazing, and on top of it all, on top of listening to Riaz’s groans and feeling his hot breaths on Jamie’s neck, Jamie could hear the heavy beat of the music and people talking all around them. He didn’t have to know people were watching him to get a thrill from fucking in public. Even without that, though, it was a thrill to know Riaz was so out of control, so undone by Jamie.

Jamie’s breath came faster and he rocked his hips, pushing back to take Riaz in faster, deeper. Heat coiled in his belly, and his moans and cries got louder, as he slipped closer and closer to coming.

“Come.” Riaz pressed rough kisses against Jamie’s cheek. He was never like this, all possessive and raw and relentless, fucking Jamie hard enough that he’d feel it the next day. “Come for me, J. Wanna feel you.” The music was loud, a frenzied dance beat, soaking up Jamie’s cries so that no one could hear.

Jamie couldn’t have resisted, even if he’d wanted to. Riaz just felt too damn good. Jamie came in a rush of heat and shivers and cries that weren’t quite as loud as the music.

“Hot, so hot…” Riaz whispered as Jamie came, fucking him hard through his orgasm. Before Jamie had recovered enough to keep his balance, Riaz pulled out and spun him around so that he stumbled back against the wall with his panties around his ankles. Riaz grabbed him by the hips and kissed him hard, picking him up at the same time.

As soon as he realized what was happening, Jamie kicked off his panties and leaned back against the wall with his legs wrapped around Riaz’s waist. “Fuck me,” he demanded, using his legs to pull Riaz in close. “Don’t stop. I want to feel you come.”

Riaz lifted Jamie up and brought him down on his cock, groaning with pleasure. His eyes were wide, glittering with hunger. “So hot.” His hands were rough on Jamie’s thighs as he pinned Jamie to the wall with his weight and touched everywhere he could. “Fuck, Jamie, I never even thought of this.” Leaning in, he kissed Jamie hard, grabbed his hips, and started to move, just as roughly as before.

Riaz’s cock felt so good, pushing back into him, Jamie couldn’t hold back a whimper. He wrapped his arms around Riaz’s shoulders and just held on, letting Riaz have him. Every thrust sent a new wave of heat through him, drawing out the pleasure with aftershocks from his orgasm.

Riaz kissed and bit the side of Jamie’s neck, shaking and making raw, desperate noises as he thrust in over and over again. When he came, his hands were painfully tight on Jamie’s hips; he came long and hard, shuddering with it.

Jamie turned his head, catching Riaz’s mouth with his own, and kissed him hard. God, that was so good.

Riaz clung to him for a moment and then pulled away reluctantly. Gently, he put Jamie’s feet down and made sure Jamie was standing before he let go. He pulled the silk pocket square out of his jacket and then a cotton handkerchief out, handing the latter to Jamie. He looked almost embarrassed.

Jamie had to lean back against the wall to keep his feet. He took the handkerchief and cleaned himself up, tucking the used condom away inside it so he could throw it away later. As he was tucking the handkerchief into Riaz’s jacket pocket, he leaned up and kissed Riaz on the cheek. “Want to come shopping with me tomorrow? I think I need to invest in more skirts.”

Riaz looked up from zipping up, eyes wide. “Jamie, I, uh…” Jamie knew him well enough to know when he was all embarrassed about something, even if it was too dark back here to see the flush on his soft brown cheeks. “You want to?” he asked breathlessly.

“I want to.” Jamie would do just about anything to get a reaction like that out of Riaz. “I want to know what you like.”

“You.” Riaz bent and picked up Jamie’s panties, little ruffled white things, and spun them around one finger, looking at them. When he looked at Jamie again, his eyes were hot again already. “Us.” He closed his hand on the panties and stepped in to kiss Jamie all over again.

Life in the Country

Riaz was paying attention to his work.  Honest.  He looked at the handful of chard he’d just ripped up and stuffed it back in the ground.  Whoops.  It wasn’t his fault Jamie was being so distracting.

Jamie was down on his knees making sure the netting to keep the rabbits from the garden was staked down tight.  Down on his knees with his ass in the air.  Riaz could smell Jamie’s sun-warmed skin over the scents of tomato plants and basil.  He stopped himself before he pulled up an innocent radish in the next row.  Jamie wiggled his ass.  Nice, ripe ass.  Ready for biting… and other things.

*

Jamie stretched out to reach one of the stakes on the far side of the row, spreading his knees for balance.  A low sound got his attention and he turned toward Riaz.  Riaz was wearing nothing but a pair of ridiculous red board shorts with huge white palm trees printed on them.  Jamie would’ve laughed at Riaz’s taste in clothes, but he got distracted by the sight of Riaz’s dark chest, bare except for the little hemp and bead choker he always wore and shiny with sweat.

Jamie caught Riaz’s expression and grinned.  He’d been hoping Riaz would show a little interest, one of these days.  Being best friends was great, but why couldn’t there be a few benefits in there now that they were older?  He wiggled his ass a little, knowing the soft cotton gym shorts were damp with sweat and clung to him like a second skin.

*

Bastard.  Riaz blinked sweat out of his eyes and wondered if the heat was getting to him.  When Jamie wiggled again, on purpose, the second time, he knew he was being baited.  Son of a bitch.  The sun glistened on the ridges of muscle on either side of Jamie’s spine, on his broad shoulders.  Riaz had been such a good boy for so long, long after they’d both come out.  They were friends.  Sweaty ass-wiggling was not friendly.

Riaz growled and crawled toward Jamie, doing his best not to crush the romaine lettuce on his way.  Fuck the vegetables.  It wasn’t nice to tease.  As soon as he got close enough, he lunged forward and bit that sweet, ripe ass, hard.  Yummy.

*

Jamie yelped, swinging his arm back to smack Riaz on the shoulder with one dirty hand.  “Hey! That hurt!”  He pouted at Riaz, rubbing the cheek of his ass.  “Jackass.”  It didn’t hurt that much, but Jamie didn’t want to admit how much of a turn-on it had been, either.  His dick was already hardening in his shorts.

“You wiggle, you pay.”  Riaz was unperturbed.  He laughed at Jamie.  “I didn’t even bite you that hard.”  Before Jamie could move, Riaz grabbed the waist of his shorts and tugged them down.  The cotton shorts twisted up as they rolled down his thighs.  Getting them back up was going to be impossible.  “I didn’t even… oops, there is a mark.”  Riaz sat back on his heels and gave Jamie the most wide-eyed unapologetic look in the history of people looking at each other.  Ever.  Then he bit his lip.

“Fucker.”  Jamie scowled at Riaz.  He tried to crawl backward a little so he could kneel up and get his shorts back on, but they were so tangled and tight that he didn’t move more than a few inches.  “It was too that hard.”  And then Jamie realized exactly why he shouldn’t be glaring at Riaz.  “Going to kiss it and make it better?”

Riaz, quite solemnly, took off the backwards baseball cap he was wearing to keep his wild black curls in check, and he hung it over a tomato cage.  “I’m sorry,” he said contritely.  He batted his dark lashes at Jamie, then leaned in and planted a hot, wet kiss on the mark he’d made.

Jamie swallowed down a moan, but he couldn’t help the way his body arched into the kiss.  Maybe it was supposed to be a joke, but his dick didn’t care.  “Yeah,” he muttered, but even he wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be forgiveness or encouragement.

*

Riaz didn’t care what exactly that noise was supposed to be.  What it wasn’t mattered more.  Whatever it was, it wasn’t ’stop kissing my fine white ass’ and it wasn’t ‘don’t slide your tongue over my silky, sweaty skin’ and then after that, it sure as hell wasn’t ‘quit licking up the long, smooth line of my spine until you’re biting the back of my neck’.  It wasn’t any of those things at all.

None of the noises Jamie was making sounded remotely like Riaz wasn’t supposed to be doing what he was doing, or like Jamie’s sleek back wasn’t supposed to be sliding against his chest as Jamie pushed back against him.  They were usually pretty clear on boundaries like that.  Riaz licked up under Jamie’s ear.  “I’m sorry,” he said again.

*

“Jesus,” Jamie muttered, trying to catch his breath.  His body was moving without his control, pushing back against Riaz, but he didn’t care enough to stop.  This was what he’d wanted.  “It’s okay.  It is.  But I’m going to be really pissed off if you stop now.”

Jamie turned his head, straining to catch Riaz’s mouth in a kiss.  The way Riaz groaned made it sound like Riaz didn’t plan on stopping any time soon.  Good.  Because Jamie’s ass was bare and his dick was hard and Riaz’s mouth still tasted of the strawberries they’d eaten at lunch.

They were really good at this communication thing.  Riaz tugged his own shorts down enough to free his dick and when he pushed forward, he slid between Jamie’s thighs, groaning again.  After an afternoon in the sun, the sensitive flesh there was warm and damp and just slick enough for fucking.  Jamie’s shorts were all but tying his legs together, which worked just fine for Jamie.  He liked it like this, and now it was with the guy he liked best.

*

The best part was knowing that Jamie liked it like this: outside, impromptu, dressed.  The way Jamie whined and bucked back was just confirmation of all the stories Riaz had heard after the fact.  “Who’re you gonna tell about this one,” he muttered as he rubbed one hand almost clean on his thigh.  When he reached around and got hold of Jamie’s dick, it was perfectly hot and full and heavy against his palm.

“You,” Jamie moaned.  “I always tell you.  I’m gonna tell you all about it, when I convince you to do it all again.”  He rocked his hips, pushing his dick into Riaz’s hand and then arching back to feel the slick slide of Riaz’s cock between his legs.  He kept moving, bracing his hands in the dirt for leverage.  Jamie had been telling Riaz about his escapades for years now, like he’d secretly been hoping he would turn Riaz on, at least a little.  Secretly, he always had.

“Rather do it than hear about it.”  Riaz bit him again for good measure, and then gave himself up to doing instead of talking.  Jamie’s thighs were so tight and his dick was so hard; it was everything he’d thought it would be.  He stroked Jamie rough and fast, twisting his hand a little to bring Jamie off before he lost control.

Jamie was a screamer.  Riaz knew it far too well, but hearing it on his account was incredible.  When Jamie came, hard and loud, spattering the dirt with come, his thighs going tight around Riaz’ dick, there was no holding back.  Riaz growled and came, slicking the inside of Jamie’s thighs with an orgasm that left him shaking and leaning on Jamie for support.

*

Jamie let his head hang down between his arms as he tried to catch his breath.  “I’d rather you do it, too,” he admitted, bucking back against Riaz to get him to lift up again.  When he could, he twisted back to kiss Riaz again.  “You can do it again in the shower, when you help me clean up the mess you just made.”

Riaz hugged him close with an arm around his chest.  “Oh, man,” he muttered.  “This damn country life with you is nothing but chores.”  He grinned and then kissed Jamie hard.

Let’s see…

Renovations I: Framework is due out in print on Saturday. I’m keeping my eyes peeled for the print galley, to take a last look at it. I’m so excited to finally see it all in one volume!

Anah and I are two scenes away from finishing “Equilibrium”, and I’ve been editing and revising as we’ve been working on these last few scenes, so pretty much as soon as we’re done writing those, I’ll be handing it over to Anah for her revisions. I love these characters, and I hope we’ve done their story justice. I think we have.

I finished my revision notes for “Parallax”, the second Pandora Project novel, and it’s in Anah’s hands now. There might be another scene or two going into it before we’re finished, but I think it’s looking good.

There’s even more revisions going on, as Anah has “Tatterdemalion” in her hot little hands, and I’m supposed to send her point-form notes on what I think needs fixing.

Oh, and writing! After we finish up with “Equilibrium,” we’ll be getting to work on the bonus novelette for the second Renovations print collection. We’ve already got a sketchy outline for it, and I’m pretty excited to go visit with Toby and Ven again.

To Do
Write “At the Corner of Fourth and Honesty” (for Kit Zheng’s project)
Finish “Percussion”
Outline “Dimes for Dying Dreams”
Write “Equilibrium” (with Anah Crow)
Revise “Parallax” (with Anah Crow)
Write the second Renovations bonus story (with Anah Crow)

The house was empty. No Jasper, no Foley. Through the back door, Samson caught sight of a too-thin figure under the clothesline, hanging laundry. A wet sheet refused to be pinned down and flapped around wildly. Jasper was barely a match for it.

Foley wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Where was he? Why would Foley leave Jasper alone? Foley knew better. Jasper needed to have a companion with him; he could get hurt. The visions, the seizures… Samson went charging out the back door. “Where’s Foley?”

Jasper jabbed a clothespin onto the sheet. “With Haruto. It didn’t make sense to bring him back just for a few hours.” He turned around, shaking his hair out of his eyes. “Did you have a good visit?”

Didn’t make sense. “I had a great visit,” Samson said automatically. What if Jasper’d had a seizure before he’d gotten home? “What if–? Jasper…” Just the thought was enough to make Samson want to change right there. Samson clenched his hands in his hair and spun on his heel, heading back for the house. “I’ll be back in a minute. I’ve got to change.”

Now that Samson was home, he had to change in the house. Here, no one could know the truth. He grabbed his bag and carried it into the little room he called his own. Unpacking didn’t take long — just a few sets of clothes and a shaving kit to put away — and then he started to strip, throwing his clothes in the hamper.

Samson bent at the waist, stretching out to get his hands on the floor, and pushed. The pain as his bones shortened and thickened, as his face lengthened, as his skin sprouted fur — it was excruciating. When it was over, though, Samson felt amazing. The whole world opened up to him. He could smell everything, hear everything.

He raced through the house, snuffling all the places Foley had been. His canine instincts made him want to piss all over the place, marking his territory again, but he pushed it aside and ran through the doggie door to the backyard.

Jasper was still waiting right where Samson had left him, sun-burnt hands crawling over each other like pink and white spiders. He was jittering as though he were about to run off if he only knew where to go.

Just as Sully’d settled himself down on a creeper, Mack’s voice tore through the garage: “Sully! You got a phone call!”

Well, hell. Who’d be calling him here? Sully wrangled himself back up to his feet and headed for the phone. Mack handed it over, looking a little curious.

“Hey.” Sully really didn’t get calls from Denny at work. Ever. “Sorry for callin’ the office, but you got your cell turned off.”

Ah, hell. He’d turned it off when he’d been out on the track, talking to Jay Burgess and some of the other drivers. Sully dragged it out of his pocket; sure enough, there was the little screen that said he had two missed calls. “Sorry ’bout that. Everything okay?”

“Not really.” Denny didn’t sound jumpy like Sully expected, just tight. “Your dad called, Sully. Your mama took ill and they got her in the hospital. He says they don’t know how bad she is. He was hopin’ you might come out, so… it ain’t good. I already got a line on some plane tickets, but we gotta leave soon if we’re goin’. So you best come on.”

Soon as he realized what Denny was saying, the fear hit Sully right in the gut. His mama. “Yeah,” he managed. “I’ll tell the guys I gotta go. Just… I’ll be home soon as I can.” Sully felt like the whole damn world was moving in slow motion. He forgot to say good-bye to Denny, just hung up the phone and turned to Mack. “I gotta take off. Red done blown out his clutch; ’s gonna need fixin’ afore he can drive it again.”

When Denny pulled up to the track again, he was jittering something awful, but he really just wanted to get his hands on Sully. Being nervous about anything made him want Sully more. He wanted to burrow into Sully’s big arms and let Sully hold off the world a little. Besides, in Sully’s arms, he felt like he was “right,” not like he felt out wandering around in the world and knowing he was programmed all wrong. He drummed his fingers anxiously against the wheel and waited.

Somebody who wasn’t Sully came out of the garage. The dark-haired man caught sight of Denny and the truck and gave a little wave, a little “hold on, I got you,” and ducked his head back inside the garage.

A moment later, Sully came out, smiling and waving behind him. He came straight over to the truck and swung himself up into the passenger seat. He didn’t lean over for a kiss, but his hand slipped over the seat and rubbed at Denny’s thigh. “Hey, there.”

“Hope you’re in the mood for fried chicken.” Denny was surely in the mood for something else. “Still hot. Thought we could go eat down by the river, ’stead of driving over to town to get something.”

“That sounds just fine.” Sully gave him a smile and another little pet on the leg. “Prob’ly real quiet down there, this time of day.”

“I was considering that.” Denny headed out of the parking lot that way. “Figured we could maybe hear each other out there, instead of in a packed room.”