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

The interior air seemed frigid after the heat. Sweat immediately chilled and started to evaporate, and Ellis shivered. A clock ticked from the library to their right. Heavy, dark furniture sat like gargoyles waiting to swallow visitors. The walls were white with dark wood-panel trim. The floor was marble, occasionally covered by thick rugs. To their left was some sort of sitting room, and ahead of them was a massive staircase leading to an upper level lined with an intricately carved banister. Hallways flanked the stairs and led back into some other large area.


Men and women in expensive dark suits stood holding champagne glasses in the side rooms. They gave Ellis and Bryn curious glances, but no one spoke until another maid rounded the stairs. She was older and also wearing the uniform. She smiled broadly, showing missing teeth. “Is that my Bryndon Deacon?”


“Hi, Marella.” Bryn bent to give the woman a hug.


Chapter 63