Thomas Durling escaped his small-town upbringing for over ten years, until a single phone call drew him back. Told his mother has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, he returns to the small northern Michigan town he once called home to find a mute stranger taking care of her in his stead.<br><br>On the surface, Andre seems harmless enough, but Thomas has enough problems trying to deal with his mother’s illness. He doesn’t need a gorgeous young man to distract him, especially in a town that drove him away once already with its homophobia.<br><br>But Andre has nowhere else to go. A wolf without a pack, he’s been on the run since witnessing his father’s murder, always looking over his shoulder, never looking ahead. Taking care of Thomas’s mother has given him a welcome sanctuary, as well as a place he can call home for a couple months. He wants to stay, but more importantly, he wants to help, even if Thomas isn’t ready to accept that they could actually be friends ...

Moon-Touched

Thomas was the one who had to do it first. A minute passed. Dozens of beats of his heart followed. He thought it would explode before Thomas finally made the move, easing out of his constricting channel with the languor of a man who had all the time in the world. A lie, of course, but Andre would let it slide. Because the longer Thomas took, the longer it would be before they had to separate for good.


Their rhythm was slow and shallow at first, more of a rocking than actual strokes. It gave them time to fully adjust to their position, to the way they fit together, even though Andre thought it unnecessary. He couldn’t lift his head. He didn’t dare. One twist to meet Thomas’s eyes, and he was done for. The almost tender merge of their bodies was too much of a reminder of the potential they could’ve had, the passions they could’ve shared.


Chapter 39