Hey everyone! Check out the cover for The Yellow Rope done by Angela Waters! The release date is June 16th with eXtasy.
Blurb:
A cranky submissive...
Luke Walker is tired. He spends
long hours between his job as a teacher assistant at an elementary school and
helping out his family at their restaurant. Coupled with the fact his
degree is going to waste, he’s discouraged and fatigued by too much work and
endless southern heat, and not enough time spent with his live-in partner.
An understanding dom...
Gage Holt has been on both
sides of the fence. He believes in order to be a good dom, one has to
understand being a sub. Unfortunately, he’s had some bad experiences in pursuit
of that knowledge, and suffered a great deal. But that’s in the past now.
A long weekend...
Three little days... Gage is
determined to see his man gets what he needs in every way. Anything to remove the dark circles from beneath his beautiful eyes. Luke will relax and have
some fun, even if Gage has to tie him to whatever flat surface happens to be
handy.
Luke
parked in the garage and, for a moment, sat in the car. God, he hated
September—nothing but hot, hot, and more hot weather. It was Friday evening,
and all he wanted to do was take a nap—a very long nap in a cold room. With his partner, Gage, curled next to him.
Naked. Gage wasn’t actually his partner—they weren’t married—but calling him boyfriend made him feel like a teenager.
Significant other, maybe? His man? The Dom that made him scream? Luke snorted. Apparently,
the heavy, soggy heat had fried his brain, even though that last one did fit.
They’d
met when Gage had moved in across the hall at the apartment complex where he
lived. He’d noticed this hunky guy hauling furniture across the hall. An older
man and two twinky-looking guys were helping the hunk. There hadn’t been a girl
in the bunch, either. After watching for a while, he noticed the two smaller
guys had left. The skies were overcast and it was getting dark, so Luke offered
to help move what furniture was left. After they were done, Gage had offered to
buy him dinner.
Three
months later, Luke’s apartment lease came due and he moved in with Gage. That
had been a year ago. Time passed so fast. Luke sighed, rubbing his forehead. He
sure wished this damn school year would do the same. At least it was the
weekend, and this was a long weekend for him, too. He needed a break. Hell, he
needed a vacation. He was more than ready for the worst of the summer heat to
pass, and for the long humid days to be a thing of the past.
School
had barely started and he was already sick of hearing, But, Mr. Walker... oh, Mr. Walker, can I…” from his class. He loved
working with kids, but these fourth graders weren’t for him. Come on, Fall
Break. He snorted. God, he sounded as bad as the kids.
He
hauled himself out of the car with a sigh, opened the back door to their
apartment, and walked inside. Immediately, the smell of spaghetti hit him and
his mouth watered. Okay, so the food wasn’t the only reason his mouth watered.
There
by the stove, wearing an apron that said Kiss
This with an arrow pointing down, was the sexiest, and most important,
person in his life. Every time he looked at Gage Holt, his breath caught. They
were about the same height, both around five eleven, but there was something
about Gage—a presence he exuded that spoke of hidden power. Gage’s hair was a lighter
shade of brown than his own, and the ends brushed his collar, where Luke’s was
shorter. His eyes were such a deep brown they often looked black. He had a traditional
Maori tattoo on
his right shoulder that ended below his elbow.
“Hey.”
Luke walked into the kitchen, came up behind Gage, and hugged him.
“Hey
babe, glad you’re home.” Gage turned in the arms that held him and returned the
hug.
“So
am I. It was a really, really long day.” Luke stepped back and loosened his
tie. It’d been strangling him for the better part of the day. “Been in meetings
for most of the morning, and oh joy, since this was a county wide in-service,
we had to dress.”
“I
know. I enjoyed listening to you bitch about that very thing this morning while
I was trying to get dressed.” Gage
tapped the end of Luke’s nose. “But you do look good in a suit. And I so enjoy
taking it off you.”
Luke
laughed, shaking his head. “You always say that, but I’d rather be in jeans.
You like taking those off, too.
“You
bet.”
“Perv.”
“You
know it.” Gage winked as he turned back to the stove to test the spaghetti
sauce. “Was it bad?”
Luke
leaned against the counter. “Well, we did get an hour lunch after we returned from
the Civic Center. That was the only place big enough for the district. They
made us ride a damn school bus over and back. Right after that, we got an hour
to work in our room. Then the damn meetings started in the cafeteria. I hate
those the worst. I swear my ass is numb from those seats, but we’re finally done with in-service for this month.”
“Poor
baby.” Gage held the spoon up to let Luke taste the sauce. “Dinner’s almost
ready. You hungry?”
Luke
licked the spoon. “Needs a bit more salt.” He rolled his head, trying to pop
his neck. His
shoulders were tied in knots. “Yeah, I am
hungry, but let me unwind for a few first. I’m still too much in school mode to eat right now.”
“Well,
then, why don’t you go change clothes?” Gage kissed Luke’s cheek. “Go get
comfortable while I finish this. No rush. We’re just going to enjoy ourselves
and this weekend.”
“Think
I will. Be back in a minute.” Slightly surprised and a little miffed, Luke
climbed the stairs. Usually Gage attacked him when he wore a suit. As soon as
Gage got it off him, he’d find himself over whatever flat surface was closest.
With
a shrug, and with fatigue dragging at him, he pulled off his suit jacket as he
entered their bedroom. Throwing it over the treadmill, he unbuttoned his shirt.
This was the first night he’d managed to get home on time. With a grateful
sigh, he untucked the shirt. He had a long weekend coming, and all he wanted to
do was rest and play catch-up with his partner. From what Gage had said, they
were on the same page. All he wanted to do was relax, and enjoy.
He
couldn’t remember the last time they’d made love. He wasn’t talking about the
quick fucks they had lately. Hell, both of them had been too tired to do much
else. Luke cringed. Okay, he’d been too tired or too busy. He missed Gage’s
touch on his body, the bite of ropes on his wrist, the pinch of a gag.
His
body ached with need for what his lover could give him. Luke slipped off his
dress shoes and pants. As he undressed, he noticed the pair of night pants on
the end of the bed and a folded piece of paper on top.
As
Luke read the note, his body came alive. It looked like his dry spell was over.
It also explained why Gage hadn’t thrown him down on the kitchen table and
ripped the suit off him. He had other plans, apparently. Following the instructions,
he stripped out of his underwear, slid the cock ring on his awakening dick, and
pulled the night pants up. The instructions were very clear—that was the only clothing he was to wear.
