Deputy Mark Forrest and Nurse Francis Archer can’t deny the chemistry that arises between them. A chance meeting awakens the idea of something greater than either had ever imagined.<br><br>Mark craves being able to let go, and Francis loves to take him out of his head. But Mark’s past bears a truckload of personal demons that have kept him in the closet and made him lash out at the LGBTQ community in the town he’s come to regard as home.<br><br>Despite finding love and a new purpose in Acker, Francis’s new job might end up being temporary, and he doesn't want to lose the life he's settled into. Can the two of them build a future together despite a bitter past, and diverging paths?

Thirteen

Mark nodded and got up. He put his half-eaten slice onto the counter and hovered for a few seconds.


“Don’t worry, I’ll put the food away once it’s cooled enough.” Francis saw the tense way Mark moved, and cleared his throat. “Come here, darling.” When Mark took a few steps back to him, Francis reached up and grabbed the front of his T-shirt. He pulled Mark down and took his mouth in a bruising kiss. “Think of what I want, and I’ll give you everything you don’t know how to ask for, gorgeous.”


Mark blinked at him, seeming a bit dazed. “Okay.”


“And from now on, unless you have to use your safewords or need me to come to you when we’re in different rooms, you stay quiet. Eye contact is fine, I like to see your eyes,” Francis murmured. “But if it feels too much to look at me, you can lower yours. Now go shower.”


Mark nodded, a small smile on his lips as he let his gaze drop to Francis’s chin. Then he turned and moved efficiently to the back of the house.


Chapter 54