Ellis Parker is a lucky man: he escaped his persecuting family, survived his tour of duty, and met Maxwell Clark in the city of New Amsterdam. Clark showed Ellis more than the ropes: Clark helped Ellis figure out who he is -- a gay submissive with a massive fixation on a beautiful, mysterious ballet dancer named Bryn Rothe. Ellis knows a Good Man when he sees one, and he wants nothing more than to score a first date with Bryn.<br><br>Little does Ellis know that Bryn has a violent past that is crawling out of shallow graves to haunt him. Even his hectic schedule and beloved stage aren’t enough to distract him. It’s impossible for Bryn to figure out how he feels about Ellis with his demons between them, but when Ellis saves Bryn not once but twice, Bryn is forced to admit that there’s something about Ellis that Bryn might not merely want but need.<br><br>Together, they journey to the scene of Bryn’s original crime -- Charles Towne, South Carolina. There they will dig up secrets that might explain Bryn’s tortured life but might also be his -- and Ellis’s -- undoing.

Earthquakes

“Mmm-hmm.” Medea accepted her coffee and paid in cash.


“So you’ve upgraded him to boyfriend?” Medea hissed through her teeth. “No wonder you’re in knots over it.”


“There is no boyfriend,” Bryn said, attempting not to shout.


“What can I get you?” the barista asked.


“Iced coffee, skim, no sugar,” Bryn bit out in irritation.


“You’re blushing.” Medea smugly sipped her hot coffee. Through a straw. The woman couldn’t have any taste buds left.


“Yes, you are. Those two little pink spots come up on your cheeks anytime you’re embarrassed.”


“Or pissed off,” Bryn insisted. He snatched his coffee out of the barista’s hand and tossed money at her.


“Fine.” Medea led them to a high top next to a window. “Who’re you bringing with you to the benefit?”


“No one,” Bryn replied, exasperated.


Bryn stood next to a chair and waved one arm. “How is me coming alone somehow proof I have a boyfriend?”


Chapter 14