EXCERPT: Ethan Day's At Piper's Point
An Excerpt from At Piper's Point
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Ethan Day
Genre: LGBT Contemporary
Length: Novel Plus
Price: $7.99
http://www.loose-id.com/At-Pipers-Point.aspx
Ten years and many boyfriends later, Cassidy Winters finally returns to the ancestral home of his late grandmother, Sadie Hart, despite the best efforts of his father to prevent it. Cassidy's plans of a quiet, seaside ceremony to wish a final farewell to Sadie quickly unravel. Interruptions run roughshod, beginning with Neil, who walks out of the ocean and straight into Cassidy's bed. The dominos topple one by one when the little dog he rescues from the hounds of hell brings him to Ben, the hunky vet who rescues Cassidy right back. News of his arrival spreads faster than Cassidy's legs, bringing his boyhood friend and first love Nate Sommers to his doorstep -- leaving Cassidy spiraling into a multi-layered love snafu. As if the island wasn't getting crowded enough for Cassidy's good taste and bad decisions, best friends Ollie and Spencer arrive in time to witness the uninvited return of Cassidy's most recent ex, Teddy, who's refusing to stay dumped.
Fists fly and all hell breaks loose amid mojitos and martinis while Cassidy finds himself planning a huge party to celebrate Sadie's life. Accusations are aimed as arguments and libidos boil over, but even through the chaos Cassidy knows exactly who he wants. While he's certainly willing, he isn't sure if he's ready or able for love and life at Pipers Point.
Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Male/male sexual practices.
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Cassidy groaned as something wet and cold dripped onto his stomach. His eyes jerked open as a man spoke.
"I said hello," the man repeated as Cassidy squinted, holding a hand up in an attempt to ascertain who was speaking.
He forced a grin, not unimpressed by the hunky guy standing over him in a wet suit that was rolled down to his waist. He was holding goggles and a snorkel in one hand and a set of flippers in the other. His dark brown hair was wet, and water rolled down his neck and chest. He looked a little like Josh Hartnett, on the more slender side, but his arms and shoulders were well muscled. Cassidy realized the stranger was leering at him in a most familiar way.
"What you got in the container?" he asked with a cheeky smile and overt come-hither expression.
"My granny," Cassidy said in a slightly sarcastic tone, and propped himself up by his elbows. He laughed, imagining he could hear Sadie yelling at him to stop calling her Granny. "This is a private beach, you know."
"I did indeed know that." He grinned wider, nudging as if to draw Cassidy's attention toward his feet. "Though I must say you don't seem unhappy to see me."
Cassidy was a bit confused for a moment, feeling his eyes widen as he peeked down to see his hard cock, pointing up at him like a long spear over his belly.
"Jesus," he said, flinging sand into the air as he tried to cover himself with his hands.
The sexy interloper laughed as Cassidy sat up, grabbing the urn and placing it between his legs.
"Hardly an appropriate place to put Granny," he said.
Cassidy climbed to his feet, scowling at him as he snatched the towel up out of the sand and wrapped it around his waist while juggling the urn.
"Who the hell are you?" he asked, using the urn to once again camouflage his rapidly softening dick.
"Neil Mason." He held out a hand, only to laugh and take it back when Cassidy shot him a look that said he wasn't going to fall for that one. "Right, sorry."
They stared at one another for a few minutes. He wasn't quite sure what the hell to say at this point, considering Neil hadn't done the polite thing and turned to vacate.
"Would it be too much trouble." Neil started, holding out his snorkeling gear. "I sorta got a little distracted and wound up a ways off course. I hate to bother, but I could really use some water."
The irritation was already dissolving as Cassidy noticed the guy was a little winded and worn, slightly hunched over as if he'd swum himself silly. "Sure, no problem." Cassidy nudged his head toward the house before heading that direction. "Where are you staying?"
"That obvious I'm a tourist, huh?" Neil grinned as Cassidy shrugged an apology. "On the western half of the island right on the beach -- Bishop's Place, I think it's called."
Cassidy nodded, knowing exactly where that was as they crossed the courtyard to the screened porch. "You are a ways off course."
"Sorry I disrupted your nap."
Cassidy grinned, peering back. "It's getting a little late in the day anyway." He pulled on the screen door, listening to the squeak of the hinges as he held it open for Neil.
"This is a beautiful spot," Neil said, following Cassidy into the kitchen. "I'd been wondering who was lucky enough to live here."
Cassidy set Sadie on the island and opened the fridge. He pulled out a couple of bottles of water. "You should be careful snorkeling alone." He twisted off a cap and passed a water to Neil, who immediately downed half of it. "The currents around the island can be brutal."
Neil wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then smiled. "Like I said, wasn't really my intention. I apologize for the inconvenience, but -- grateful for the hospitality."
Cassidy smiled as Neil took another quick swig. He held up his bottle in an apologetic cheerslike gesture before taking a drink out of his own bottle. "Sorry if I came off like a prick before."
Neil laughed, his gaze once again trailing down Cassidy's body. "No pun intended, right?"
Cassidy followed suit, feeling his face flush a little. "No extra charge for the peep show."
"That's good." Neil finished off the last of his water. "I left my wallet back at the house."
"Another one?" Cassidy asked, wiggling his bottle in the air. He grabbed another out of the fridge after Neil nodded. "Are you new to the island or just on a holiday?"
"Working vacation of sorts. I was supposed to be here for the summer, but I've decided to pack it in and head home at the end of the week."
"Too beautiful here for you to take on a daily basis, huh?" Cassidy said, immediately chastising himself for the flirty tone.
Neil laughed again. "No, I just don't really know anyone here. I was supposed to be renting the place with some friends -- a couple. They decided to break up last week instead of vacationing with me." Neil glanced down at the floor, backing up a bit. "I didn't want to waste the deposit. Sorry I kinda got sand all over the place."
Cassidy took note of the kitchen floor, instantly feeling as if he were in trouble. He laughed, wishing Natalie were there to yell at him, and followed Neil back out onto the sun porch. That sudden stab of loneliness rumbled through his gut, and he became grateful for the company.
"Let me help you out of that wet suit," Cassidy said, placing his water bottle down on a table. "There's an outdoor shower across the courtyard you can use to rinse off."
"Thanks," Neil said, smiling as he began to push the wet suit farther down.
Cassidy placed a hand on Neil's shoulder to keep him from losing his balance and falling over. He was more than amply rewarded by the sight of Neil in skintight turquoise blue trunks that hugged the man's ass and narrow hips like a second skin and nicely contrasted with his tanned skin. He'd forced himself to look away when the wet suit pulled Neil's trunks down just enough to see the lighter skin from his tan line hiding underneath. Cassidy swallowed hard, doing his best to keep himself from losing it and sprouting another boner.
Hanging the wet suit up on a hook, Neil then followed as Cassidy led the way toward the outdoor shower, which consisted of a spigot attached to a pipe running up one side of the exterior wall of the detached garage.
"The water's probably pretty cold, but it'll get the sand and salt off of you," Cassidy said as he reached over and turned the faucet on.
"You look a little sandy too," Neil said with a sly smile as Cassidy yanked on the pull chain. Water hissed out of the showerhead, spattering onto the stone pavers that directed the excess water off into the grass.
Cassidy grinned, trying to look cool and not gawk as his guest stood under the spigot. Neil readied himself as he pulled the chain, cursing under his breath as he went about rinsing off as quickly as humanly possible.
Cassidy tried concentrating on the ocean, disturbingly distracted by his guest's nipples, which had gone rock hard under the cool water. He couldn't manage to exorcise the mental image of Neil's tan line from his mind, turning back with a smile as the water shut off and a dripping Neil walked over to where he stood.
"Towel?" Cassidy offered, holding up the one that had been tucked around his waist.
Neil blinked a few times, taking the towel as Cassidy took his turn rinsing off. He noticed that Neil didn't bother busying himself by doing anything other than ogling Cassidy as he stood under the steady stream of icy water.
Cassidy stood there, gaze locked with Neil's, both standing perfectly still as if in a man-trance. Cassidy finally released the pull chain, and both men moved silently toward each other, Neil letting out a moan as their mouths came together. Their tongues intertwined in a slow dance for control as they snaked their arms around each other.
It was the last thing Cassidy had imagined happening today. As Neil's hand moved over his bare ass, roughly squeezing, he decided he really needed to start imagining days like this. While Cassidy slipped his fingers down into the front of those turquoise swim trunks, fondling the head of Neil's rapidly swelling dick, he let out a low groan of his own. His brain buzzed with sex, and he was suddenly thankful to be single.
© Ethan Day, July 2010
All Rights Reserved