Sloan’s Favorites: Best friends become lovers in TAKE ME HOME

Posted on October 16, 2015 by SloanParker

Here’s another selection in my “Favorite Scenes” series. It’s from TAKE ME HOME, winner of the Oklahoma RWA’s International Digital Awards in the Contemporary Novel category.

Why I chose this excerpt: This is Kyle and Evan’s first kiss in ten years, and it starts them down an inevitable, explosive path. I loved taking a guy like Kyle and transforming him so he’s totally fixated on one man, focused on proving himself to the only sexual partner he’s ever loved.

Evan shivered. Which made no sense. He was still warm from the run, the sweat on his skin not even dry yet.

Kyle took another step. Evan wanted him to stop. He wanted to shout all the reasons why this had to stop, before it got started, wanted to tell Kyle not to move another inch.

He didn’t.

And Kyle didn’t stop coming at him until they were practically touching, Kyle staring down at him.

Evan tried to focus on Kyle’s words, on the news about the journal and his grandpa, but all he could think about was what he’d seen when he’d walked into the apartment: Kyle, all skin and taut muscles, wearing only his tight-as-sin white underwear, the briefs stretched over his cock, and the way Kyle had looked at him in the dim light of the hallway.

Just once. He’s leaving anyway. Evan closed his eyes and forced himself to concentrate on the conversation. He looked up at Kyle again. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Kyle said the word with a slight curve of his lips. He took a step back and reclined against the wall, looking casual, like he was about to flirt with a bartender for a free drink. “After I read it, I was thinking about that night in the motel room in Iowa on our first drive out here.” He slowly swung his head in Evan’s direction. “Do you remember that night?”

Evan nodded.

“Do you ever think about it?” Kyle’s voice was barely a whisper.

Up until a few months ago, Evan hadn’t let himself, but since he’d moved in with Kyle… “Sometimes.”

“Like right now?”

“Yeah.”

Kyle slid along the wall, traveling the last remnants of space between them. “Ev, I’ve been waiting ten years to finish what we started.” He pushed off the wall and turned until they were face-to-face again, his dark eyes unflinching as he leaned in. He stopped before their lips touched. The heat of that mouth and body so close stoked the fire inside Evan.

His own body reacted, his cock pushing at his shorts. He wanted to shove Kyle against the wall and kiss him until morning, do everything he’d ever dreamed of when it came to touching Kyle, everything he ached to feel about the man.

The smile Kyle gave him next wasn’t the usual cocky one he’d used with countless guys over the years. He pressed forward and slid his lips along Evan’s skin from the base of his neck to his earlobe, leaving a trail of goose bumps in his wake. He lingered over Evan’s ear and whispered, “You smell so damn good. I want to fuck you, Ev.”

Evan shivered again. “We shouldn’t…” He couldn’t say more. Didn’t want to. The time for talking was over. Kyle ran the tip of his tongue along the outside of Evan’s ear, and Evan instinctively moved closer. His breath hitched with the touch of Kyle’s bare abs against him. Why had he worn a T-shirt to go running?

Using only the weight of his body, Kyle turned them until Evan’s back was against the hall wall, then flattened his palms to the wall on either side of Evan’s head. He licked his lips and spread his legs until their bodies lined up groin to groin, then rolled his hips, putting pressure against Evan’s cock. “God, Ev…”

With that movement, those two words, Evan groaned and let his head fall back to the wall. He couldn’t stop himself. He rocked his hips in time with Kyle’s. The feel of Kyle’s body, his hard cock against him, drove Evan’s own arousal higher.

Kyle spoke again, his voice even lower. “It could be so fucking good.”

Evan lost track of the arguments he’d been telling himself since he’d left the apartment earlier. He raised his head, and their lips met, the softest brush of flesh until Kyle opened his mouth, seized Evan by the back of the head, and slid his tongue into the touch. The kiss deepened, and Evan thought he’d never be able to stop feeling Kyle’s mouth on his, their tongues pressed together.

The full story is available at: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | iBooks | B&N | All Romance eBooks | Kobo | Google Play

Sloan’s Favorites: My Fave M/M “Dad, meet my boyfriend” Scene

Posted on September 23, 2015 by SloanParker

Here’s another selection in my “Favorite Scenes” series. It’s from MORE THAN JUST A GOOD BOOK.

Why I chose this excerpt: The relationship between Scott and his father was a special part of this story for me. I wanted to show that the most important man in Scott’s life had always been his dad. Until he met Mark. His dad and Mark could’ve ended up fighting over Scott’s attention, but that wasn’t the kind of man I wanted his father to be. When I was writing the scene below, I knew that a dad who so deeply loved and cared for his son could’ve attacked Mark as soon as he saw those bruises, before listening to Scott. But Scott’s dad was the kind of man who typically listened first, then reacted. I love how this scene showcases that. Of course his dad wants to immediately take Scott out of the situation, but he also stops to find out the truth, find out what his son wants and how he feels about it.

Please note: Amazon currently has this title listed as part of the MORE series. It is not. We’re working with Amazon to get that information corrected.

“Your roommates said you’d moved out. Owen at the coffee shop told me where to find this place.” He threw a heated look Mark’s way. “I’m guessing it was your idea that my son lie to me?”

“No,” Scott said. “Dad, I—”

“Not telling me you’re living with someone is lying. The kind of man who encourages you to lie to me is not good enough for you.”

It wasn’t hard to miss the clench of Mark’s jaw. He didn’t react, though. His voice was neutral when he said, “I should go put on some clothes.”

“Yeah, you do that.” Scott’s dad turned his back on Mark.

Mark gave Scott a look, part apology, part worry, part support, then headed for his bedroom.

After the bedroom door shut, his dad opened his mouth as if to say something else but gasped instead. He gripped Scott by the elbows and held his arms up, examining one wrist, then the other. The slight bruising was almost gone, but it was still obvious enough, even in the low light of the candles. And with the way the marks had faded, they looked like fingerprints wrapped around Scott’s arms.

“Did he do this to you?”

“It’s not—”

“Go get your things, Scott. You’re not staying here.”

A flash of lightning lit up the room, immediately followed by a crack of thunder that tore through the small apartment.

Scott stood frozen in place. He’d never heard his dad sound so pissed off.

“Dad, it’s nothing.”

“Nothing?” He reached for Scott’s arm again. “He’s hurting you.”

“No!” Scott kept his gaze locked on the floor. He so didn’t want to explain this. “Please don’t ask.” That was when the lights decided to turn back on. Perfect timing. Out of the corner of his eye, Scott could see his dad intensely watching him.

“Is he hurting you?”

Scott shook his head.

“Is someone else?”

“No.” He crossed the room and dropped onto the couch. His still-heated ass stung with the action. He held back the wince.

His dad came to sit next to him. “What happened?” He examined Scott’s wrists again, more closely this time. “This is from being tied up.”

“Please. Can we just drop it? You’re my dad.”

“That’s why I have to know.”

“But it’s embarrassing talking about this with you.”

“I’m sorry about that, but we are not going to drop it. Mark did this to you?”

Oh God. What was he supposed to say?

“He ties you up?”

Scott nodded.

His dad didn’t say anything more right away. Hopefully he’d decided to let the completely embarrassing conversation go.

Or not.

More softly he asked, “It’s something you want him to do?”

Yet again, Scott couldn’t find the words.

“I have to know, Scott. Is this from him doing something you wanted?”

“Yes.”

“It’s something you enjoy?”

There was no getting out of admitting the truth. He swallowed, then spoke again in a rush. “Yes.”

“Does he hit you?”

He could still feel the warm sting of Mark’s hand on him. He searched for the right words. “He doesn’t hurt me.” He dropped his head and buried his face in his hands. His next words were muffled. “Can we not talk about this?”

There was a long pause, and then his dad said, “It’s okay.” He ran a comforting hand over Scott’s back, then sank back farther on the couch. “In fact, your mother liked that sort of thing.”

“Dad!” Scott lifted his head but still couldn’t face him.

“Oh, I forgot. Parents don’t have sex.” He could tell his dad was smiling now. “She was a wonderful person. Having a lot in common with her is not a bad thing.”

“I know.” He always loved when his dad compared him to her. He wouldn’t let what they were talking about change that reaction.

“I should’ve guessed when I saw those marks. She bruised easily like you. It’s just… I worry about you.”

“Mark is a really good guy. He cares about me.”

“I can see that.”

Scott looked at his dad for the first time since moving to the couch. He was staring off toward the end of the hallway.

Mark stood there, now fully dressed, concern evident in the confused expression on his face. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Scott tried to keep his voice even, despite the awkwardness of the moment. “Everything’s fine.”

Mark nodded. “Okay. I’ll let you two talk.” He hesitated like it was taking all his effort to walk away. He gave Scott another nod and headed back down the hall for his room.

After the door closed, his dad said, “I trust you. I trust your judgment. But I need you to promise me one thing. That you’ll never let him or anyone else do something you don’t want. No matter what you feel for him. And if it becomes too much, if it’s changing into something you don’t want and you don’t know how to walk away, you’ll come talk to me.”

“I promise. Can we not talk about this anymore?”

The full story is available at: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | iBooks | B&N | All Romance eBooks | Kobo | Google Play

Sloan’s Favorites: An excerpt from my M/M Erotic Romance THE BREAK-IN

Posted on September 16, 2015 by SloanParker

Here’s my fourth selection in my “Favorite Scenes” series.

Why I chose this excerpt: I’ve always been a fan of the calm, private moments where people who are in love allow themselves to be vulnerable with each other, when they are lying in bed together, sharing intimacies and dialogue that only they (and the reader) can fully understand.

Spoiler Alert: this excerpt is taken from the end of the story and gives away certain twists.

Roger sighed. “Damn. You always were a sweet fuck.”

I laughed and smacked his arm. “I’m feeling the love.”

He sat up so fast the bed creaked. He leaned over me. “You should. And next time, don’t run from it.”

I nodded, and Roger sank back to the bed.

Doug reached for the blankets and lifted them over us. “Sleep.”

I could do that. I hadn’t been so relaxed since the night before I’d been arrested.

“Billy,” Roger said.

“Huh?”

“I think we had a break-in. They left the window open.”

I laughed again. Leaving the window open had been my reminder I had to leave. When I jerked off on their sheets, it was easy to focus on my cock and forget my heart. Forget I didn’t belong there.

I threw the covers back, lunged for the window across the room, and tripped. I landed on the floor with my feet stuck in the twisted blanket and my hands gripping the long curtains on either side of the window.

Doug laughed, cackled, whatever you called it when someone couldn’t sit up and was clutching their gut while the laughs poured out.

Roger shifted to the foot of the bed and peered down at me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I am now.” I kicked off the blanket, stood, and slammed the window shut. The faint sounds of honking horns, the hum of the traffic, the occasional shout disappeared. All I heard was the slowing laughter behind me and the low, deep voice that said, “You’re home, Billy.”

The full story is available at: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | iBooks | B&N | All Romance eBooks | Kobo | Google Play

Sloan’s Favorites: An excerpt from my friends-to-lovers story SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN

Posted on September 11, 2015 by SloanParker

Here’s my third selection in my “Favorite Scenes” series.

Why I chose this excerpt: This moment illustrates for me just how special being in that hotel room is for Sean and Gavin. For the first time, Sean feels like he’s getting a look at the real Gavin in a way he never had before.

Gavin hit mute on the TV, tossed the remote aside. “Where’d you grow up?”

“Just a dinky little town. It’s nowhere special.”

He lowered to the bed on his side, his head propped in his hand. Something about that action and the quiet stillness of the room around us gave the moment a different feel from any other we’d spent together.

More private.

More real.

Which was odd. Sometimes I’d felt completely alone with him when we were surrounded by men at the shelter.

Or at least, I’d thought that’s how I’d felt. Maybe I’d never been alone with the real Gavin. The one who was watching me now.

He reached out and laid a hand on my right thigh. “You came from there, so yeah, it is special.” He paused as if he wanted to make sure I got his meaning.

I wasn’t sure I did.

“In Ohio, right?” he asked. He rubbed my thigh, his hand so warm I could feel it through my jeans. The only time he’d touched me even close to the same way had been about warming me up after I’d trudged through the snow to the warehouse from the park in a worse snowstorm nearly a year ago. That touching had been clinical. Or at least I’d tried to pretend it had so my heart wouldn’t be crushed when he rolled over to go to sleep.

I nodded, my next words catching in my throat. I swallowed and tried again. “Angola, Ohio. This time of year, every house and all the shops lining Main Street are decked out in Christmas lights. There are giant stars on the telephone poles and reindeer pulling a sleigh in the town square. Like someplace you’d see on a postcard.”

“Pretty?”

“I guess. More like it has this quiet, polite normalcy. But you have to look close to see the real place. I mean, the kinds of people who actually live there.” I pulled at a loose green thread on the bedspread beside me. The thread kept on unraveling. Maybe I could pull all those ugly weeds out and leave behind something plain but more beautiful. “The people—they’re not so pretty.”

His hand stopped moving. “Like your parents?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you ever tell them or your grandparents you were gay?”

I gave up on the weed whacking and crossed my arms over my chest. “Thought we were gonna catch a movie?”

“Right.” He removed his hand from my leg, and I immediately regretted my words as he returned to the end of the bed and reached for the remote. He pointed it at the TV but paused before clicking on the sound, his back to me. “You are, though, right?”

“What?”

“Gay.”

“Me?” I choked out a laugh. Was he serious?

Apparently so. He clutched the remote like it was a grenade, and if he let go, the room—and the two of us—would explode into a thousand pieces. I wasn’t sure he was even breathing.

“Oh, God yeah,” I said. “I’m gay. It’s why I left home.”

He sighed and eased up on the remote. He started changing channels again, stopping when he hit some action, one of those low-tech time-travel movies with the former governor from California.

Gavin kept the sound muted, and the time-traveling cyborg guy didn’t seem as threatening without the sounds of his guns going off. It’s amazing what silence will do to a moment.

“Gavin?”

Slowly, he looked back at me over his shoulder.

“Are you?” I asked.

His mouth turned up at the corners. “Yeah, I’m gay.”

The full story is available at: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | iBooks | B&N | All Romance eBooks | Kobo | MLR Press

There’s also a free read featuring Sean and Gavin on my website: It Says Love.

Sloan’s Favorites: An excerpt from my friends-to-lovers story I SWEAR TO YOU

Posted on August 26, 2015 by SloanParker

Here’s my second selection in my new “Favorite Scenes” series.

Why I chose this excerpt: This scene features the first kiss between best friends Grady and Mateo, and it’s one of my favorite kiss scenes that I’ve written.

Mateo moved in closer. His mouth was turned up at the corners in a teasing smirk Grady had seen from him a lot over the years. “Is it locked? Knowing your family, they’d just barge right in.”

“What?”

He took another step, and his voice dropped lower. “Is the door locked?”

“Yeah.” Grady’s brain was having a hard time keeping up with him. Mateo was so close to him now, their bodies almost touching, Mateo’s mouth mere inches from Grady’s own. So close that when Mateo spoke, Grady could feel that warm breath on his lips again.

“Good.” Mateo shifted on his feet, bringing them even closer. Their jean-covered thighs brushed one against the other.

What the hell were they doing?

Mateo bit his bottom lip and slowly released it. Then in a quick move, he cupped the back of Grady’s neck and leaned in. Just like on the couch. Only this time he didn’t stop.

The first press of his mouth to Grady’s was a soft touch that grew more urgent, more desperate with every second. He turned them and backed Grady out of the kitchen area and up against the closed door of the guesthouse, bringing his full weight into him, rocking against him, holding Grady’s head in his strong hands.

A minute into that kiss, and Grady’s body was ready to explode with a release he never thought could come from just one kiss.

Then their tongues connected.

An electric current shot through him. He grabbed on to Mateo in return, holding him by the hips, forcing Mateo to move against him again, to brush that lean, hard body against his cock over and over. He couldn’t help but notice how very strong and masculine Mateo felt in his hands—and how fucking good that felt.

The door rattled behind them with their movements. There was nothing slow or easy about the kiss, about the way they rocked against each other.

A primal need had erupted inside Grady, leaving him unable—and unwilling—to stop the desire blazing through him.

“Teo,” he said around a moan as Mateo kissed a path down his neck. “What are we doing?”

“Christ, Grady. I don’t know, but I don’t want it to stop.”

Fucking hell, he didn’t want it to stop either.

He wanted more, everything he had pretended he wasn’t picturing during their past few jerk-off sessions.

Mateo pulled back. He stared at Grady’s lips again, licked his own. “Fuck.” He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. Or maybe not. He propped a hand against the door beside Grady and leaned in once more.

Their mouths met again, and that was it. Grady gave himself over to the moment—over to Mateo.

Mateo’s lips slid to his earlobe, and he whispered, “I wanna suck your dick.”

Grady whimpered. He couldn’t keep the reaction at bay if he’d wanted to.

Mateo ran those lips down along the sensitive skin of his neck again, nipping and licking as he went, sweeping his hands up under Grady’s T-shirt, over the flesh of his bare chest. “I wanna fuck you all goddamn night.”

Grady forced Mateo’s head up so they were face-to-face. “Shut up and kiss me again.”

Only he didn’t really want him to shut up. He wanted to hear every word. He wanted exactly what Mateo was describing.

He wanted it all. Every fucking thing.