Ellis Parker is a military man who puts his faith in truth, duty, honor, and living for the moment.<br><br>Keeping that peace isn't easy, and he reveres the person who helps him stay on his chosen path: Ellis' former Dominant lover and New Amsterdam's most well-connected bartender, Maxwell Clark.<br><br>So when Clark makes a rare and unexpected offer that might let Ellis relive the days when Ellis was Clark's, who is Ellis to refuse such a chance?

Shot in the Dark

“Eh.” Clark shrugged and appeared almost sheepish. “It’s hard, you know, telling somebody what you want. I get that. Swear to Christ, I do.” Clark’s eyes widened for a second. “But lately I’ve been running into people who either won’t cough it up no matter what, or when they ‘fess up, it’s not anything I can do for them.”


“You can’t do something? But you can do anything,”Ellis said, waving both hands in the air. He’d seen Clark in action at the gun range, at the Dojo, and during the support group meetings. The man was fearless.


Clark’s smile was tender. “Thanks, Ellis. Your confidence means a lot. But I meant more like limitations on kink. I don’t do waste management, I don’t get behind the bloodletting stuff, no rape fantasies, no humiliation…Shit, hard enough to get into the Crypt to play. The last thing I’m going to do is make somebody feel like hell for agreeing to be there.”


Ellis nodded, trying to look like he knew what Clark was talking about. “That seems reasonable.”


Chapter 3