Eli Bell is the only son of a police chief inspector and a forensic scientist. He's grown up wonky in a world that only deals with the straight and narrow -- and his new boyfriend isn't helping. Rob Hawkes is six feet of muscle, tattoos, and arrest warrants. A career criminal and a former guest of Her Majesty's Prison Service, he'd rather hit Eli's parents than sit down to dinner with them. One wrong move, and Rob could destroy Eli -- and his family -- without a second thought. But this isn't what it looks like. Rob's not in control here -- and Eli's the one to blame.

What It Looks Like

“You are,” Eli breathed, “the most wonderful, understanding, supportive, mind-bendingly attractive, incredible man I have ever known. You look like something right out of a men’s fitness magazine, or some film about the guys you shouldn’t fall in love with, and you let me—me—in under all that show and attitude to see who you really are. And that’s the guy I love. Not the one my dad sees, not the one that keeps getting himself nicked because he doesn’t know when to shut up, but the one who loans me socks when my feet are cold, the one who plays these games with me and trusts me not to take it too far, the one who’ll call me a fucking pussy even as he’s buying me Cokes in the pub because I’m feeling too queasy for any alcohol…”


Chapter 45