In 1934, life in Brookburn, Indiana, is quiet, simple, and peaceful, but young dreamer Levi Beckerman yearns for more. When the carnival shows up for the Fourth of July, he’s entranced by its many temptations. None is more seductive than the charismatic barker, Sebastian Gustineau.<br><br>Seb’s been a part of the carnival for almost a decade. Once, it provided him the escape he needed from a life he thought he didn’t want, but now, he craves things it can never offer. Flitting from dusty town to dusty town, he loses himself in pretty dalliances. Levi seems like the perfect distraction, until a single conversation convinces him that preserving Levi’s innocence and way of life is more important than his momentary satisfaction.<br><br>However, his plan to discourage Levi goes horribly wrong. When Levi’s family is threatened, Levi fights to protect them, doing what he can to hide the secrets he’s sheltered his entire life. The only person he trusts is Seb. He just isn’t sure if the growing bond between them is enough to save them all.

A Simple Charm

To do that, though, would scare Levi off. By his admission, this was his first time. He already thought himself wrong for desiring another man. Seb wouldn’t—couldn’t—destroy that by playing this too rough and fast.


Closing his eyes helped. So did balling his hands into fists at his sides. He could concentrate on the intense deliberation of each of Levi’s motions, the slight tickle when he reached Seb’s stomach and he traced around the belly button, the minor burn where his shirttails rubbed along his hips when Levi pulled them free of his pants.


He jolted when lips pressed to a spot just below his collarbone, his hands grabbing onto Levi’s hips on instinct. To hold Levi in place, he lied to himself a second after he realized what he’d done. But a whisper from depths he usually tried to hide from said otherwise. To keep himself in check, because the desire raking within him seemed determined to send him to his knees.


Chapter 26