Brandon Russo can't stand the sight of blood and the current heat wave makes doing almost anything outdoors unpleasant. So when an SUV sideswipes a bicycle right at the gate of the storage facility in Burlington, Vermont, where Brandon works for his aunt, he considers just locking himself in the office and calling 911. But he's rewarded for letting his good nature overcome his squeamishness when the man he rescues from the ditch turns out to be absolutely gorgeous.<br><br>Scott Seay is a photographer on the trail of a legend. A strong lead has brought him to Vermont for the auction of a storage unit whose owner had been obsessed with Champy, the creature rumored to live in the depths of Lake Champlain. When Scott winds up in a ditch outside that very same storage facility, being rescued by a hot, chivalrous man who literally sweeps Scott into his arms ... well, Scott's always believed in fate.

Heat Wave: Burlington

When Scott looked over at the end of the fourth—fifth?—episode they’d watched together, Brandon was sound asleep. The room had cooled off significantly, thank God, and Brandon was snuggling in closer to Scott for body heat. Scott sighed. Under different circumstances…He reached for the crutch, got up, took a piss, and brushed his teeth. When Brandon wasn’t awake after that, Scott grabbed one of the blankets off the end of the bed and spread it out. He usually slept in the nude, but decided that might not be the best plan. He did shuck his shorts, though, not wanting to wake up with his zipper and button poking painfully into his belly. It was already going to be an uncomfortable sleep; there was no way to rest with his foot propped up, but as soon as he took it down and the ice fell off, it was throbbing.


He eyed the baggie of white pills, then shrugged. It probably wouldn’t kill him to take gray-market narcotics.


Chapter 9