of yourself. Let us know how it goes.”
Daniel’s hand was warm and dry and sturdy. A good man’s hand. “Either way, you’ll be the first to know.”
Nick stayed to watch Daniel back out of his driveway, and lingered on after his tail lights faded out of sight around the bend. Longer than he’d meant to loiter. Long enough that, sometime later, Barrett came to find him. He didn’t wrap Nick up in a backwards hug as before, but settled in at Nick’s side instead, one arm around his shoulders. He brushed his mouth across the soulmark at Nick’s nape and blew a quiet breath over the slight moisture left there from his kiss.
Nick shivered, the chill going straight in and down deep, becoming a ripple of pleasure by the time it reached points south. “You’re way too good at that already.”
“I’ve had years to dream and plan. Try to stop me from living the fantasy now.”
“ Not likely,” Nick replied. He reached across and around, barely able at the awkward angle to tickle Barrett’s nape, but he made his point perfectly well.
Barrett hummed low in his chest and shifted to rest his head on Nick’s shoulder. “Think he’ll find what he’s looking for?”
“He’ll find something,” Nick said after thinking it over. “Whether it’s what he wants or not…no way to tell.”
“If there’s any justice in this world, he’ll find what he’s been hoping for,” Barrett said, firmly decided. “And I think I might believe in justice a bit more than I used to.” He set his teeth over Nick’s mark for a half-second. Long enough to make his point, too.
Nick took Barrett’s hand and laced their fingers together. “I’m considering that a promise and an IOU. Just so you know.”
“Good. Because that’s what I meant for it to be,” Barrett said. “We’ve got guests to take care of, but as soon as they’re gone? You’re mine.”
And always will be , Nick thought, winding his arm through Barrett’s. Now, and forever after made for and matched to one another. No more worries.
Only me. Only you.
Coming Soon from Totally Bound Publishing:
Soulmarked: Handle With Care
Willa Okati
Released 25 th July 2014
Excerpt
Chapter One
“Jesse? Someone’s here to see you.”
Jesse eased a heavy keg of Guinness onto the stone cobbles next to the old brewery wall before he glanced up. Cade stood at the far end, wiping wet hands on his sturdy green waist apron as he unwound its drawstrings. He wasn’t the regular bartender, but had come to fill in for a week while the Hart and Hound’s owner, Helena, took her vacation time. She’d promised Jesse he could trust Cade, but Jesse hadn’t made up his mind about that yet. “Say again?”
Cade motioned backward. “Someone in the bar said he wants to see you.”
Jesse didn’t move. Yet. He’d dropped into a crouch to settle the keg where it needed to go, and his arms ached from the strain of lifting it, wood and steel hoops and all. They didn’t do pretenders or knockoffs at the Hart and Hound in Folly’s Bow. Good plain beer, plain folks, and a plain town where they looked out for their own.
He wasn’t one of their own, but they’d let him in anyway. “Did you recognize him?”
“Nobody I’ve ever met. Says he’s a friend of yours.” Cade dropped the damp apron into a wheeled bin and fetched a clean replacement from the shelf by the door that led around to the pub proper. He was the kind of guy who crackled with life and energy even when standing still, and it made Jesse miss Helena. She got the job done with no muss and no fuss. Tired eyes, tired smile, kind heart. No questions asked of a man who’d gone to war and come back with more scars than skin, jumping at shadows. She’d given Jesse a job in the back of the tavern when her brother, his old buddy, had asked it of her.
Jesse didn’t have sisters. Helena made him wish that’d been different.
Thoughtful, he reached out to rumple one of Dog’s
Daniel’s hand was warm and dry and sturdy. A good man’s hand. “Either way, you’ll be the first to know.”
Nick stayed to watch Daniel back out of his driveway, and lingered on after his tail lights faded out of sight around the bend. Longer than he’d meant to loiter. Long enough that, sometime later, Barrett came to find him. He didn’t wrap Nick up in a backwards hug as before, but settled in at Nick’s side instead, one arm around his shoulders. He brushed his mouth across the soulmark at Nick’s nape and blew a quiet breath over the slight moisture left there from his kiss.
Nick shivered, the chill going straight in and down deep, becoming a ripple of pleasure by the time it reached points south. “You’re way too good at that already.”
“I’ve had years to dream and plan. Try to stop me from living the fantasy now.”
“ Not likely,” Nick replied. He reached across and around, barely able at the awkward angle to tickle Barrett’s nape, but he made his point perfectly well.
Barrett hummed low in his chest and shifted to rest his head on Nick’s shoulder. “Think he’ll find what he’s looking for?”
“He’ll find something,” Nick said after thinking it over. “Whether it’s what he wants or not…no way to tell.”
“If there’s any justice in this world, he’ll find what he’s been hoping for,” Barrett said, firmly decided. “And I think I might believe in justice a bit more than I used to.” He set his teeth over Nick’s mark for a half-second. Long enough to make his point, too.
Nick took Barrett’s hand and laced their fingers together. “I’m considering that a promise and an IOU. Just so you know.”
“Good. Because that’s what I meant for it to be,” Barrett said. “We’ve got guests to take care of, but as soon as they’re gone? You’re mine.”
And always will be , Nick thought, winding his arm through Barrett’s. Now, and forever after made for and matched to one another. No more worries.
Only me. Only you.
Coming Soon from Totally Bound Publishing:
Soulmarked: Handle With Care
Willa Okati
Released 25 th July 2014
Excerpt
Chapter One
“Jesse? Someone’s here to see you.”
Jesse eased a heavy keg of Guinness onto the stone cobbles next to the old brewery wall before he glanced up. Cade stood at the far end, wiping wet hands on his sturdy green waist apron as he unwound its drawstrings. He wasn’t the regular bartender, but had come to fill in for a week while the Hart and Hound’s owner, Helena, took her vacation time. She’d promised Jesse he could trust Cade, but Jesse hadn’t made up his mind about that yet. “Say again?”
Cade motioned backward. “Someone in the bar said he wants to see you.”
Jesse didn’t move. Yet. He’d dropped into a crouch to settle the keg where it needed to go, and his arms ached from the strain of lifting it, wood and steel hoops and all. They didn’t do pretenders or knockoffs at the Hart and Hound in Folly’s Bow. Good plain beer, plain folks, and a plain town where they looked out for their own.
He wasn’t one of their own, but they’d let him in anyway. “Did you recognize him?”
“Nobody I’ve ever met. Says he’s a friend of yours.” Cade dropped the damp apron into a wheeled bin and fetched a clean replacement from the shelf by the door that led around to the pub proper. He was the kind of guy who crackled with life and energy even when standing still, and it made Jesse miss Helena. She got the job done with no muss and no fuss. Tired eyes, tired smile, kind heart. No questions asked of a man who’d gone to war and come back with more scars than skin, jumping at shadows. She’d given Jesse a job in the back of the tavern when her brother, his old buddy, had asked it of her.
Jesse didn’t have sisters. Helena made him wish that’d been different.
Thoughtful, he reached out to rumple one of Dog’s
Similar Books
