From the outside Jay’s life seems idyllic, a twenty-something, runs his family’s business with high disposable income and freedom. The reality, is Jay’s life is dictated by a bigoted, controlling, abusive father who insists Jay simply can’t be gay. Jay yearns for his own life with a dominant man, but it’s an out-of-reach pipe dream. When he meets trained Dom, Eric, the most Jay can hope for is the occasional one-night-stand or quick fling.
Eric has his heart set on Jay, and not only for more than one night. Jay is the type of sub Eric could easily spend the rest of his life with, fall in love with. While trying to navigate winning Jay’s love, Eric’s life is further complicated by chasing down a killer who may be something other than human.
When Jay is targeted, Eric wants only to protect him. Can he save Jay’s life and win his heart as well?
Carra's Review
This is a new-to-me author plus a new-to-me narrator, so this was taking a double chance for me. While the setup is one I’ve read many times—two guys meet in a bar and hook up, only to find themselves faced with each other in an awkward situation later—it was the characters who pulled me in and kept my interest throughout the story.
Jay is in an unfair situation thanks to his jerk of a father, but he keeps towing the line and going along with things with an eye towards eventually breaking free of his hold and finally getting to live his life the way he wants…without his father’s strings attached.
Jay and Eric fit easily together, and their connection is obvious and strong. Keeping up appearances for Jay’s sake with his father isn’t ideal, but it all comes down to the same thing—playing the long game to get what they really want in the end. I really liked the two of them as a couple, and the super hot physical scenes were that bonus cherry on top.
The murders that keep happening which seem to be connected somehow to Jay’s family’s resort add a strong element of suspense to the story. That there’s some kind of unidentified supernatural element involved notches the thriller aspect up as well. Add in some family drama—Jay’s dad is a real piece of work—and it makes for an interesting read/listen.
I thought the narration was really good. There was an definite differentiation of voices for the characters, and expression of emotion at the appropriate points. I was easily enveloped in the story as I listened, so I’ll be on the lookout for more from this narrator.
Overall, For the Long Run gets a solid 4 stars from me, with the narration getting 4.5 stars. If you’re a fan of erotic romance that includes a D/s relationship and a bit of suspense and drama, I’d recommend checking this one out. This book is meant for readers/listeners 18+ for adult language and sexual content.
About the Author
Mystery, action, chills, and thrills spiced with romance and desire. ELIZABETH NOBLElives by the adage "I can't not write." She doesn't remember a time when she didn’t make up stories and eventually she learned how to put words on a page. Those words turned into books and fan fiction that turned into a genuine love of M/M fiction. A part of every day is spent living in worlds she created that are filled with intrigue and espionage. She has a real love for a good mystery complete with murder and twisty plots as well as all things sci-fi, futuristic, and supernatural.
When she's not chronicling the adventures of her many characters, Elizabeth is a veterinary nurse living in her native Cleveland, Ohio. She has three grown children and now happily shares her little, brick house with two spunky Cardigan Welsh Corgis and their feline sidekicks. Elizabeth is a fan of baseball, basketball (go Cavs and Cleveland Baseball) and gardening. She can often be found working in her 'outside office' listening to classic rock and plotter her next novel waiting for it to be dark enough to gaze at the stars.
Elizabeth has received a number of amateur writing awards. Since being published, several of her novels have received Honorable Mentions in the Rainbow Awards. Jewel Cave was a runner-up in the Gay Mystery/Thriller category in the 2015 Rainbow Awards. Ringed Love was a winner in the Gay Fantasy Romance category of the 2016 Rainbow Awards.
In The Denver Diaries we follow Lonnie and Travis from Apishipa Creek to Denver, where they live and run the BDSM club, Chaps. In Denver we meet new characters, searching for, and sometimes finding, love...leather style. Like any relationship, the love between a Dom and his sub(s) is bumpy. Nothing comes easy for these men, but with good friends and big hearts, even a bound man can feel free, and a dominant man can fall to his knees. Come and meet the men of Denver and see why the Mile High City makes men fly....
The books are better read in order, but SOME can be read as standalones
Overall Heat Rating for the series: 5 flames
Come and meet the men of Denver and see why the Mile High City makes men fly....
BOOK DETAILS
BOOK 1
Book Title: Second Chances
Length: 1013 pages
Release Date: May 13, 2016
Genres: Contemporary M/M/M Romance, BDSM, Erotica
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, D/s, Daddy/boys
Themes: Second Chance, forgiveness
It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Come and meet the men of Denver and see why the Mile High City makes men fly....
Brian Lauder is a psychologist who’s dealing with his own demons of the mind. He lost the love of his life and was gutted. Having rebuilt his life, along with a new man that he keeps at arm’s-length, he was never more surprised in his life then when his former love knocks on his door one rainy night.
Morgan Cherik thought Brian was holding him back, and it took him walking away from his love and Dom to realize how much Brian meant to him. Knocking on that door was the hardest thing he’d ever do, but he knows it’s the only way to begin to try to get back what was most important to him.
Nicholas (Pez) Perez didn’t mean to fall in love with his client, Brian. It was a twice-a-week date, exploring their mutual love of BDSM. He did, however, and seeing Brian contemplating taking back his old partner sends Pez on a freefall of despair.
Can Brian dare to be the dominant to two men who need him, almost as much as he needs them? Can two men that hate one another, but love the same man, ever find something in the other worth loving?
In the words of an older and wiser Dom who has two submissives of his own, “Each couple in the relationship must have a strong love. It’s a triangle. Brain and Morgan, Morgan and Pez, and Pez and Brian being the corners; if they all aren’t strong, then the triangle itself isn’t strong. It’ll buckle.”
Trigger Warning: BDSM, Humiliation, Hurt/Comfort, rent boy, and sexual situations.
BOOK 2
Book Title: Maybe
Length: 496 pages
Release Date: May 21, 2016
Genre/s: M/M Contemporary BDSM Romance
Trope/s: D/s, BDSM
Themes: Hurt/comfort, Erotica
It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Sebastian Blacksnake comes into the lives of the men from Denver unexpectedly. The last friend of a dying man that is related to Lonnie Lane, Sebastian is left with nowhere to go, so Lonnie and Travis bring him to Denver to join their ever-expanding community of kinky friends.
Beast, Chaps’ head of security, takes one look at the younger man and knows Sebastian could be the man he’s been waiting for. The problem is, Sebastian wants nothing to do with relationships. Loving being free and single is his thing, but Beast is someone that isn’t easily forgotten.
Sebastian doesn’t understand Beast’s style of kink, but when he finds out, will it be the final piece in the puzzle that could bring them both happiness?
Trigger Warning: BDSM, sexual situations, and lots of HEAT!
BOOK 3
Book Title: Pink Saddles
Length: 471 pages
Release Date: August 3,2016
Genre: MM Contemporary BDSM Romance
Themes: Hurt/comfort, BDSM therapy
It is not a standalone story, but does not end on a cliffhanger.
Come back to Denver in this new book in the Denver Diaries Collection and find that words aren’t always needed to express an undying love…
Xen lives his life never speaking a word, but that doesn’t mean he’s silent. With his art, he speaks, sings and sometimes screams. Walls are his favorite canvas, sharing his dreams and his secrets, if only someone would care to look hard enough, they would know why he abandoned his own voice.
Texas native, Memphis, is a perfectionist, likes things simple and in order. Xen is neither, but from the first time he saw the submissive in the leather club, Chaps, there was something about the tattooed, pierced man that riveted him to his core.
As he learns more about Xen’s past with the help of new friend, Dr. Brian Lauder, Memphis knows without a doubt that he can never let Xen go, figurative and literally. He builds a cage for Xen in the barn and has no idea what impact it could make on Xen, leading to more questions than answers until a gift from a friend helps him to tell his story with no more fear.
Beast is having a hard time with his six submissives. Communication is important, he knows, but sometimes the things he hears breaks his heart. Just as he is relieved to find out he’s not losing one, another starts to pull away. Is P.J. in love with another man, one he can’t have?
Come back to Denver in this new book in the Denver Diaries Collection and find that words aren’t always needed to express an undying love…
Warning: Contains scene of BDSM
BOOK 4
Book Title: Lies Men Tell
Length: 251 pages
Release Date: March 20, 2017
Genre: MM Contemporary BDSM Romance
It is not a standalone story, but does not end on a cliffhanger.
Friendships are tested, and trust is strained as the men of Chaps seek to once again find love and companionship in the great city of Denver. Come say hello and wish them well on their journey to find love.
Since his terrible breakup with his live-in lover years before, Clay Hollis has shied away from anything resembling a relationship. One night stands and scenes at the club, Chaps, are all he could commit to. His friends, the other former members of the lonely hearts club, were finding love, but he was still alone. Thinking he may never find anyone he could not only love, but trust as well, he ignores the pang in his heart for the one man who’d caught more than his eye in a long time.
Michael Duncan, AKA Mack Irons, is a former porn star, now set to be behind the camera, shooting for a new subsidiary owned by his longtime friend. Directing and producing Beast’s six submissives was enough of a challenge, but trying to get the attention of the beautiful bartender was an even bigger one. Every time he started to get close to Clay, the man fled like Mack had the plague.
When their mutual friends pulled a dirty trick on them, forcing them to confront the feelings they shared, Mack knew this could be his chance to show Clay that he wasn’t like the rest. What he didn’t count on, though, was Clay’s lingering doubts, or his own.
When they come close to splitting apart, another old friend steps in to help, and Mack must push aside all his pride and fear to put trust in the man that found it so hard to believe himself. Can he do it, or face leaving the beautiful man he’d fallen in love with? Can Clay ever trust again, or will his uncertainties get in the way of the love they could have together?
Brett Lincoln loved his best friend, Bennett. They were like brothers, and he hated the thought of losing him. Bennett’s lover and Dom, the formidable Beast, didn’t like him a bit, and didn’t hide it well. They had a shared secret that Brett knew could tear apart his friendship with Bennett. When the animosity comes to an explosive peak, Brett must tell his best friend his most guarded secrets, hoping he’ll understand.
BOOK 5
Book Title: Protect Me
Length: 470 pages
Release Date: April 27, 2017
Genre: MM Contemporary BDSM Romance
Themes: Prison romance, mystery, danger
It is not a standalone story, but does not end on a cliffhanger.
Come Back to Denver, and find that not all bound men are willing, and not all prisons have walls.
Convicted for a crime he didn’t commit; Brett Lincoln leaves his friends behind and heads to prison. Scared but wary, he takes each moment to assess the dangers that seem to be lurking around every corner.
From the first day, he was stalked and taunted by the bulls, a group of rapists out to make him their next victim. Brian Lauder works in the same prison, and tries to help, but when word gets out about Brett’s former lifestyle and membership in the leather and fetish club, Chaps, and that Brian is a member there as well, Brian’s help makes things worse.
Spencer, a former prison guard and current security at Chaps, is recruited by Brian to take a job at the prison and keep an extra set of eyes on Brett. What they all learn about the inner workings of the place terrify them more for the young man.
A mysterious black car pulls up to Spencer in the prison parking lot, and then waits at Brian’s home. They soon discover that not only is Brett’s life on the line, but their own, if they allow anything to happen to him.
Callahan O’Malley is a huge man of few words. He’s given a wide berth on the block, and no one can tell Brett why. When Brett is almost raped, he comes out of the infirmary terrified and when he sees that the bulls aren’t finished with him, he runs to Callahan and begs him, “Protect me!”
What starts as protection turns into something else. Callahan forces him to eat, to work out and teaches him to defend himself. Brett gets feelings for him, but Callahan won’t allow it. Then, the unthinkable happens, and Brett must again face the prison alone. Now, though, he has the skills and the pain behind them to protect himself.
Once he gets out, he realizes the fight isn’t over as he must face the world, which seems as ruthless as the prison ever did.
BOOK 6
Book Title: Lights & Shadows
Length: 577 Pages
Release Date: August 6, 2018
Genre: MMM Contemporary BDSM Romance
Trope: Menage
Themes: Prison love, hurt/comfort
It is not a standalone story, but does not end on a cliffhanger.
Pulling himself up from his addiction, Tony Belame was on top of the world. His business was growing, successful, and his relationship was everything he could want. When he’d met Kegan Kelly, they both thought they’d have some fun and move on, but a year later, each was still longing for the other.
Another year of distance, phone calls and short trips to see one another, was over, as Kegan was home from his tour. Everything seemed perfect, but one thing was missing. Over the two years, they’d discovered they were both not only into the leather lifestyle but were both submissives. They needed a Dom.
Vincent Devereaux had been hurt in the past, so he wasn’t taking any chances with his heart again, even if that meant he spied on potential partners before he made a move toward them. His friend warned him people wouldn’t see it as Vincent being cautious, they’d see it as stalking.
When Vincent saw Tony, he knew he wanted him immediately. The more he learned about the man, the more he knew he had to have him in his life. Finding out Tony was involved with Kegan didn’t stop the yearning, as he discovered that Kegan was every bit as desirable.
When Kegan and Tony find out what he’d done to have them, will they run, or will he run from the man he’d become?
BOOK 7
Book Title: Last Chances: No One Will Ever Love You
Length: 797 Pages
Release Date: August 25, 2018
Genre: MMM Contemporary BDSM Romance
Trope: Menage
Themes: Prison love, hurt/comfort, recovery from abuse, abuse on page
It is not a standalone story, but does not end on a cliffhanger.
With sexy moments from each couple/poly, heartbreaking farewells and new beginnings, come one more time to Denver, to love leather style.
There’s a difference.
There’s a difference between abuse and consensual play. There is no safeword in abusive situations. There is no trust.
Lucas Maes is being abused. He’s stayed with his abuser out of fear.
A Dominant man is driven by the servitude of his submissive, but an abuser is driven by the fear he instills in those he abuses.
There is a difference.
The final book of the Denver Diaries Collection is about to take you on an emotional roller coaster, the likes of which you’ve never received from Rain Carrington.
Lucas is taken in by the men of Chaps, and they see he is desperate for help but doesn’t know how to ask. Tony started by giving him a job. Xen and P.J. befriend him, but it is Ferris and Isaac who fall in love.
Not one person is afraid to pitch in all they can to help the abused man, and he finally makes his escape, running for his life.
Rooney Jones doesn’t let go easily. He enlists a group of armed and dangerous men to help to try to get Lucas back. When they can’t find him, they get the next best things. The people Lucas cares about the most.
As five men are taken, the others use all their skills and connections, including those that will bend and break laws to find them. Will they get to them in time? Will Lucas ever forgive himself? What does the future hold for the men of Denver?
In this seventh and final book of the Denver Diaries, we visit with all the men of the previous books, as well as many from other series who lend a hand. We say goodbye to Chaps when it’s sold to new owners, leaving Lonnie and Travis free to enjoy their growing family in Apishipa Creek, where they’ve returned to live.
This is a journey of discovering. Abuse leaves a shell, and often those abused don’t know who they truly are inside if and when they get free. Friends and family can help, lend support, but Lucas knows it’s up to him to discover who he truly is, under the scars.
With sexy moments from each couple/poly, heartbreaking farewells and new beginnings, come one more time to Denver, to love leather style.
Trigger warning:Abuse, violence, sex between consenting adults, mentions of rape, trafficking, kidnapping and sex with multiple partners. Mature audience only.
Excerpt
Maybe, Denver Diaries book 2
The movie paused, and Eddie whispered, “The movie is a comedy, so the tears are from something else. Maybe if you talk about it, it will help.”
“I can’t. I look really bad in this story.”
Eddie sighed and turned to face him fully. “Did I ever tell you how I ended up in the sub house?”
“No.”
“Well, I answered a personal ad online for a Dom. I agreed to meet him at his house the first time and he was no Dom. He wanted a guy to use and abuse. I was there three days before I could escape. When I did, I didn’t come out of my apartment for two months. I lost my job, lost my apartment, and then I stayed with a friend until I heard about the sub house. Brian Lauder helped me get through some of it, Travis called the cops on the guy, who was still putting ads up for other men. He got caught and went to jail. It was not my best story.”
Sebastian was shocked to his core. “I’m so sorry!”
“I’m not saying it was my fault it happened, I blamed myself enough, but I shouldn’t have gone there before meeting him. It was careless, but we all are sometimes.”
Unable to look at him, he stared at his hands as he said, “Well, the guy I was with is probably the best guy ever. He’s sweet, gorgeous, and he has everything anyone could want in a guy.”
“He dumped you after you f*cked?”
Sebastian chuckled dryly. “No. I dumped him. I left while he was sleeping. Left a note like a f*ckin’ coward.”
Eddie’s head was shaking. “I don’t get it. Little d*ck?”
“No…huge. Biggest I have ever seen and definitely the biggest I ever had.”
“Okay, let me get this straight. You like him. He’s nice, sweet, has a big d*ck. What did he do wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just not ready to settle down. I’m only nineteen. I can’t be tied down to one guy and waste how many years before I get dumped and get my heart broken, or worse, cheat on him because I never got to play around. If I ever hurt him, it would kill me. Plus, he’s into that leather stuff like you and everyone else around this f*cking town.”
Eddie scooted over and put his arm around Sebastian’s shoulders. “You probably already did hurt him.”
Sebastian knew that. “Not as much as I would have.”
About the Author
I love writing. It's been my dream for many years, and in October of 2013, when my first book went live on Amazon, that dream came true.
Writing love stories that are centered on flawed but lovable characters is my passion. Finding love between people isn't easy, nor should it be. Even in a book, there have to be obstacles for the story to feel real.
I am a mother of three amazing people, and three adorable fur babies. I live in Colorado but love many other places besides my home. One state in particular is New Mexico, the state where I was born has always held a place in my heart.
People and places make my stories what they are. Each character I've written is a part of me in some way. Each place I write is as well. Adventures come in many ways, and each of my stories has taken me on an adventure that I treasure.
Come with me on my adventures and fall in love with my characters, as I have. I promise, you will love the ride.
The antique trade is not known for its life or death excitement and Landry Carran is happy that he has to contend only with furniture polish, woodworm and his irascible boss. He gets all the thrills he needs at his favorite BDSM club, Scorch. Detective Gage Roskam is hunting stolen jewels taken from a Tokyo exhibition then shipped to Seattle. Mired in a deadly race involving the Yakuza, an enigmatic Englishman and too many indecipherable clues, he doesn’t have time to indulge in Dominant fantasies. When their worlds collide, neither Landry nor Gage expects things to get quite as complicated—or dangerous—as they do. When Landry steps into the path of some powerful, ruthless people, it’s up to Gage to protect him. Along the way they might just discover what they both need.
Excerpt
Sometimes there were advantages to being vertically challenged. Landry, his ass sticking out from under a seventeenth-century folding card table, paused to contemplate other occasions when his five-feet-six-inch stature had been of benefit. Not when attempting to get served at his favorite leather bar, though getting squished between all those black-clad hunks was always bearable. He snorted. Not when reaching for his preferred brand of chips at the market, which were always on the top shelf. Put there, he was sure, by the snotty assistant manager as revenge for Landry turning down his offer of a quick blow job in the staff restroom. As if. Never at family meals when he got to sit between his older twin brothers like a blond munchkin between two extras from Vikings. He reversed, wiggling his back end to avoid a willow-patterned platter balancing on a brass coal scuttle. His knees ached and he’d banged his elbow on a cast-iron fireguard, but he had rescued the battered cannonball making an escape attempt beneath teetering piles of stock. “Well, there’s a pretty sight.” “Hey!” Landry went for indignant rather than flattered. He tried to get up too soon and banged his head on solid, woodworm-free oak. “F*ck me!” He finally made it to open air and scrambled to his feet, rubbing his already messy hair into further disarray. “Is that a request?” Landry looked up…and up…into a pair of twinkling pale-blue eyes. The customer, because that was who Landry guessed the newcomer must be, was drop-dead, my-ass-is-yours gorgeous and he was grinning. Well, smirking. “Funny man. What can I help you with, sir?” Landry gritted his teeth and remembered that Mr. Lao, his boss, would swat him like a bug if he snarked at a potential patron. Though, on this occasion, it might be worth it to mess with the man. “Another leading question.” Landry rolled his eyes. Black hair, blue eyes and a stubbled, chiseled chin did not equate to a free pass. “The massage parlor is three doors down, just before St. Peter’s. You can get a full-body whatever then confess all in the space of an hour.” He made an ineffective attempt to brush dust from the knees of his ripped black jeans. Blue Eyes reached into his jacket and produced a wallet, which he opened to display a Seattle PD badge and ID card. “Gage Roskam. Is your boss around?” Landry was more turned on than intimidated by the badge. Cop plus handcuffs equaled sexy time. Every cop he’d ever met had had a ‘don’t f*ck with me’ attitude and a natural bent for control—just the type of man Landry liked to mess with. He batted his lashes. “And what makes you think I’m not the boss?” “You’re not a sixty-eight-year-old Chinese guy by the name of Jian Lao?” “Very observant, Officer. All that training paid off.” Landry put an extra bit of swing into his hips as he walked toward the cash desk at the rear of the shop. “Putting your tax dollars to work, brat.” “Hey! Aren’t you supposed to call me sir, what with you being a public servant and all?” “In your dreams, and you should show more respect for law enforcement.” “Gonna make me?” “You’re lucky I’m on duty or I’d bend you over the nearest flat surface and give you the spanking you’re begging for.”
Carra's Review
Take one bratty, snarky shop assistant and add one just as snarky copy who just happens to also be a Dom, then toss in an international mystery that just so happens to bring them together…there’s your setup for The Lucky Cat. Landry is one very lucky guy to have Gage brought to his doorstep.
Now when I say snarky, I mean cover-to-cover and not just from the main characters Landry and Gage. Sarcasm, snark, and smart-ass comebacks can be found coming from the supporting characters as well. At times it teetered on the edge of going overboard, but I’m letting that go just because of the number of times the author made me giggle-snort. And admittedly it did makes Landry’s brat aspect funny, and I was always waiting to see just how far he would push Gage.
if the witty banter doesn’t pull you in, the intrigue of the case in which Landry finds himself embroiled will certainly do the trick. Plus there’s the uncertainty surrounding James Ellery’s character to keep you on your toes as well. If that’s not enough, the intimate scenes between Landry and Gage should keep you fanning yourself for a while.
The storyline is solid and everything progresses at an even rate. Landry and Gage are attracted to each other from the start, and while this is not really insta-love, it could be viewed as lust at first sight that eventually morphs into a more solid, lasting relationship.
The Lucky Cat was a very solid 4-star read for me, pushing towards 4.5. I really enjoyed reading this, and would definitely recommend it. If you like bratty subs and Doms that keep them in line, this story will be right up your alley. Adult language and sexual content make this story one for readers 18+.
About the Author
Lucinda lives in a small village in the English countryside, surrounded by rolling hills, cows and sheep. She started writing to fill time between jobs and is now firmly and unashamedly addicted.
She loves the English weather, especially the rain, and adores a thunderstorm. She loves good food, warm company and a crackling fire. She's fascinated by the psychology of relationships, especially between men, and her stories contain some subtle (and some not so subtle) leanings towards BDSM.
