It’s release day!!! This time it’s a short little freebie. On Saturday, Aiden and Tristan will be released, and it’s a collection of all Aiden and Tristan stories. The Empty Egg is one of them, but my publisher and I thought it might be a good idea to have one of the Aiden and Tristan stories as a freebie. 

When this takes place, they’ve been together a few months, so things are still fairly new, and Aiden has prepared an Easter surprise for Tristan. 

I won’t say more than that. It’s just 4.6k long, so… 

Excerpt:

Tristan would be so surprised when he saw the colourful tablecloth, the flowers, and the napkins. No other holiday inspired creativity like Easter did. Okay, maybe Halloween, but there were no bright colours then. 
 
Aiden wiped his sweaty palms on his new jeans — they made his arse look edible, he hoped Tristan would like them — and put the plates on the table. Before folding the napkins into rabbits, like he’d seen on YouTube, he fetched the egg from the coffee table — should he place it on the table? — righted the yellow tulips in the vase…and ate another piece of Tristan’s fudge. Pecan, possibly the best so far. 
 
He went to fetch the dessert spoons, slipping another piece into his mouth when he returned. Creamy almond melted on his tongue, and he sighed. Bliss! Too bad it didn’t calm the desperate hammering of his heart. He ate another piece, groaned, and tried to ignore his guilty conscious that was telling him not to have any more of Tristan’s sweets. 
 
Maybe he should hide the egg. He ran his fingers through his curls, making sure they weren’t too badly tangled. Reaching into the egg again, he almost snatched his hand back when the smooth fabric brushed against his hand. What would it feel like to wear them? Cool and silky, sliding against his skin. Aiden let out an unsteady breath. What if he’d got it all wrong? Heat spread over his cheeks. Maybe he should forget about the egg altogether, hide it, and pretend he’d never planned to give it to Tris. 
 
He took another piece — salted caramel. Fuck! He shouldn’t have eaten that. He’d only bought a couple of pieces, and he’d already eaten some in the car back from Whiteport. He’d gone for no other reason than to buy fudge at the chocolatier, and it was fucking expensive. He’d bought the jeans, too, as he was already in the city, but they weren’t the reason he’d gone there. Tristan was. 
 
He checked the vegetables in the oven. There was still time, but Tristan needed to get his fine arse home soon or it would all be ruined. Aiden reached over the plates to snatch another piece of fudge, digging around but feeling only the satin and the soft elastic lace. In one erratic movement, he tipped the egg over, almost bringing down one of the wine glasses with it. 
 
Two sorry pieces. 
 
Aiden swallowed, anger and sadness warring in his chest. He’d eaten Tristan’s luxury fudge. He couldn’t give him an Easter egg with two pathetic pieces, that was … pathetic. 
 
Og’s honey-coloured eyes held none of their usual understanding. If Aiden hadn’t known better, he’d have said that look was downright accusing. Breathing out a puff of air, he slunk down onto one of the kitchen chairs and brought one of the last remaining pieces of fudge to his mouth. Irish coffee. He grimaced. He didn’t like Irish coffee. Tristan did, though. 
 
A lump formed in his throat, and he cursed the way his eyes burned. He’d planned the dinner so carefully, wanting to give Tristan something special for their first Easter together. 
 
The last piece—a beautiful banana swirl—tasted bitter though he knew it wasn’t. His belly was full, and he wasn’t nearly as excited about dinner as he’d been a few minutes ago. 
 
He glanced down into the egg. The black satin and bright-red lace he’d placed there glared mockingly at him. 

Blurb:

Aiden has prepared a special Easter egg for his boyfriend, Tristan. He wants to make their first Easter together special, but as the moment for handing over the egg draws nearer, Aiden’s nerves get the better of him. What if he has it all wrong? What if Tristan wants nothing to do with the silky satin hidden within the egg? 
 
NOTE: This story appears in the collection Aiden and Tristan. 

Download links:

Contemporary M/M Romance: 4,598 words

JMS Books :: Amazon :: books2read.com/TheEmptyEgg

How many days has it been since we had a cover reveal? Four? Yeah, that seems plausible. Ready for another one? Those of you who are in my Facebook group have already seen it, but I have the cover for Around Seven (previously called Once Around Seven). 

I often forget this story, I don’t know why because when I start to think about it I go a little ‘Ah, Oswald’ and yet it slips my mind. 

It was first published in the Seasons of Love anthology from Beaten Track Publishing. We got this as a prompt: 

And Oz does a lot of counting. 

Really, I do love this story. I don’t know why I forget I’ve written it. The season is autumn, Oz is counting days, finger taps, minutes… There are five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes in a year, and those are all part of the season of love. 

Ready to see the cover? I haven’t mentioned Joshua who is the one who fished Oz out of the river, but the man on the cover, that’s how I picture Joshua.  

*drum roll* 

Blurb:

Oswald Sattle has been sleeping in his Toyota Camry for the last 273 days, the exact number of days since he discovered his fiancé cheating on him. Now, out of money and out of options, he’s on his way to Nortown. Aiden, an acquaintance from his past, has offered him a job opportunity he can’t turn down, no matter how much he’d like to. 
 
Joshua Roth moved to Nortown four years ago, and he has everything he needs — a job, friends, peace and quiet. He’s not looking for a boyfriend; no one even knows he’s gay, and he’d like it to stay that way. Everything changes when he offers Oswald a place to stay, though. 
 
Oswald looks like he wants to run away, and Josh finds himself suggesting things that will make him stay. All he wants is for Oswald to smile. Oswald doesn’t want to overstay his welcome, but nothing soothes his nerves like being with Joshua in his cabin. 
 
How long can Oswald stay before it’s time to move on again? Can Joshua have Oswald staying with him without the whole town talking about them? Probably not, but does he care? 

Buy links:

Contemporary M/M Romance: 23,995 words

JMS Books :: Amazon :: books2read.com/AroundSeven