Prologue
Shot At Love by Cade Montgomery, Chapter 20…
THE phone call shocked him. More than shocked, actually. Flabbergasted, though that was one of those words Dalton always laughed at him for using. Taylor was speechless for a moment when he answered the phone and heard Dalton’s husky voice on the other end.
“Taylor,” Dalton said. “Taylor, my love. I’m so sorry. So very sorry. Can you forgive me? I’m coming home. Will you be there?”
Taylor was at a loss for words. He felt like his jaw hit the floor.
“Taylor, baby, are you still there?”
Taylor finally recovered his ability to speak. “Dalton?” Taylor whispered.
“Yeah, it’s me. Look, I’m sorry. I was an idiot to choose my career over you. Paris is beautiful, and working for the American Ambassador is a wonderful job, but without you, it’s all meaningless. I don’t have to be out of the country to be an interpreter. I can get my job back at Whitaker International dealing with their foreign imports.”
“I can’t ask you to choose between me and your career.”
“You’re not asking me, love. I made the choice myself,” Dalton replied.
“But it’s your dream job,” Taylor said.
“Forget the dream job; you’re my dream man. I’ll see you soon. I have to get on the plane. I love you.”
The line was disconnected before Taylor could ask another question. There was nothing he could do now but sit and wait. The flight would take at least twelve hours, but he couldn’t meet Dalton at the airport because he didn’t know what flight Dalton was on.
Taylor sat on the brown leather couch in his loft apartment and tried to distract himself by watching television. When that didn’t work, he picked up a book, but that didn’t work either.
The only thing Taylor could think about was being with Dalton again. Feeling their lips connecting and Taylor slipping his hand down Dalton’s pants, groping his huge cock, so large and so soft. Taylor wanted to feel the shaft in his mouth and his ass. Damn, it felt like forever since he’d had sex. No one could compare to Dalton. A knock on the door brought Taylor out of his sex fantasy.
He opened the door without looking through the peephole. And there was Dalton!
“Surprise, baby,” Dalton said with his sideways grin Taylor loved so very much.
“You bastard!” Taylor cursed. “I thought I was going to have to wait all day to see you.”
“Am I forgiven?” Dalton questioned.
“No, you’re not,” Taylor said as he folded his arms. He tried not to laugh at the crestfallen look on Dalton’s face. “You’re not forgiven… until you fuck me hard.”
Dalton smiled and stepped into the loft. He shut the door and dropped his bags to the floor.
“It’s a rough job, but someone’s got to do it,” Dalton said, grinning as he pulled Taylor into a mouth-devouring kiss and forced his tongue past Taylor’s closed lips. Taylor melted into his lover’s arms and felt Dalton’s engorged dick rubbing against his thigh.
Pushed backward, Taylor hit the couch and sat down. Dalton dropped to his knees, tore open Taylor’s pants and sucked down the leaking cock he’d missed so much. Taylor grunted and arched while his lover sucked him hard. He pushed Dalton away, pulled down his own pants, and walked to the bed, motioning with a finger for Dalton to follow. Dalton and Taylor were both naked when they lay down on the bed. Knowing where Taylor kept the necessities, Dalton reached into the nightstand and pulled out the condoms and lube.
Turning onto his hands and knees, Taylor put his ass in the air, and Dalton knelt behind him. Dalton slid the condom down his length and squeezed some slick onto Taylor’s willing hole. After lubricating his monster prick, Dalton pressed into Taylor. Taylor grunted when the large crown breached him. He held his breath and let the pain slip away and the pleasure sweep over his body.
Dalton knew what Taylor wanted without being told, and he slid his cock all the way in. He then pumped his lover with short strokes. He knew he was hitting Taylor’s prostate, because Taylor was babbling. He slid almost all the way out and then pushed back in again.
Taylor reveled in the feeling of his lover’s shaft pounding him. The hard prick slid in and out, in and out, harder and harder. Skin slapped against skin.
“Oh, baby,” Dalton grunted.
“You’re gonna make me come!” Taylor bellowed as he pulled on his cock. Seconds later, he shot his load onto the sheets.
Dalton felt Taylor’s orgasm, and moments later, his spooge filled the condom.
Dalton slowly pulled out and went to the bathroom and disposed of the rubber. He returned with a warm rag and handed it to Taylor, who threw the dirty sheets to the floor.
After cleaning up, Taylor lay in Dalton’s arms. As Dalton whispered how much he loved and had missed him, Taylor knew that he was finally getting a shot at love.
The End
ERIC CARILLO sighed as he closed the cover to his e-reader and adjusted his cock in his sweatpants. “Damn, he is such a good author,” Eric said to himself. He pulled out his laptop and started typing his review.
Cade Montgomery has done it again—written a sexy and romantic love story that had my heart beating fast. I could not put it down.
A Shot at Love is about the dynamic Dalton Walker, a language expert and interpreter, and Taylor Ridge, a down-on-his-luck accountant. Dalton and Taylor meet at a party held by a mutual friend and sparks fly immediately. Not the good kind of sparks either—a disagreement over politics almost becomes physically violent.
At first, I wondered if this was going to be another “I hate you. I want you. I love you” story, but I should’ve known Montgomery could make even the most generic trope into something interesting.
Dalton and Taylor meet again when Taylor gets a job at the same company as Dalton. Neither one is thrilled when they are sent out of town on assignment together.
The sparks they felt upon meeting turn sexual, but Taylor refuses to be just another notch on Dalton’s bedpost.
Two Days Later
“YES!” Cade Montgomery pumped his arm in the air when he read the review of his book. The website—www.MM Reviewers.com—was viewed by thousands of readers and was one of the most important review sites in the M/M genre. The reviewer, who used the online name “Monk,” had reviewed Cade’s two previous books, Tomorrow’s Desire and Fortunate Temptation. Monk had given Tomorrow’s Desire four stars out of five and Fortunate Temptation 4.25 stars.
A Shot at Love had been given 4.75 stars. Monk had only a few niggles, such as the tired cliché of using a near-death experience to get the guys to admit their love. Even after Dalton and Taylor slept together, neither one wanted to admit their feelings. Then Dalton got shot accidentally on a family hunting trip and Taylor finally confessed how he felt.
Cade was thrilled at the excellent review and decided he had to celebrate. First, he left a comment on the site thanking Monk. He also went to his website and Facebook profile to direct his fans to the review.
Then Cade decided to send a personal e-mail to Monk.
“Hey, Monk Man,” Cade typed. “Thanks again for such a good review. Not sure if I deserve it, but thanks anyway. I’m glad you enjoyed Dalton and Taylor’s love story. I think A Shot at Love is my best book yet, and I hope the readers agree.”
Cade showered, shaved, and did a little jig in front of the mirror. He was still happy about his latest review. He was so excited he could kiss Monk, whoever he might be.
Chapter One
ERIC CARILLO arrived home after attending an early movie with his best friend Kyle, flipped on his computer and fed Wanda, his bright blue betta fish. Eric loved Wanda very much. Okay, so Eric didn’t know bettas sold in the stores were usually male. However, he loved the name Wanda for a fish. And who’s to say Wanda wasn’t a transgender fish? Eric imagined that Wanda loved him, because when she saw him, she always came to the top of the water. Eric knew Wanda was after food, but it felt nice to think she was happy to see him.
“You lonely, Wanda? I know how you feel. However, you don’t have much choice; you’re just too mean to have a roommate. Who would be stupid enough to put up with you? I guess we’re both destined to be alone.” He watched the fish swim around for a minute. “Perhaps I should feed myself something too,” Eric said to himself. He figured he had something left to eat in the loft. Sure enough, he found roast beef and made himself a sandwich. Eric grabbed the sandwich and a bottle of Mike’s Hard Lemonade and went over to his computer.
He went to the review website and checked the comments on his review of A Shot at Love by Cade Montgomery. Among the comments were a couple of readers who agreed with his review, and one who thought the book was absolutely horrible.
“Can’t please everyone.” Eric took a bite of the sandwich and a drink of the lemonade and realized he had new e-mails. When he opened his IncrediMail program, a sender’s name immediately caught his attention: Cade Montgomery. When Eric saw the name, the picture on the author’s website popped into Eric’s mind. The picture showed Cade sitting outside on a large rock with Saguaro Lake behind him. Cade was barefoot, wearing faded jeans with worn holes and a plain black T-shirt. The sleeveless T-shirt showed off Cade’s more-than-decent muscles and the three-inch jaguar tattoo that crawled down Cade’s oh-so-lickable bicep.
Eric wondered what it would feel like to run his hands through Cade’s stylishly spiked, brownish-blond hair. Cade had a finely trimmed goatee with a mustache. The thought of how the facial hair would feel against Eric’s shaved skin made him shiver. He ignored the feel of his pants getting tighter, pushed the sexy image out of his mind, and clicked on the e-mail.
Subject: Thank you
From: camontg@gmail.com
To: monk@mmreviewers.com
Date: August 25
Hey, Monk Man
Thanks again for such a good review. Not sure if I deserve it, but thanks anyway. I’m glad you enjoyed Dalton and Taylor’s love story. I think A Shot at Love is my best book yet, and I hope the readers agree. Felt like I was on pins and needles while waiting for the review. Again, thank you and hope I’m not a bother.
Cade Montgomery
“You are indeed a bother,” Eric said to himself. “Because I am hot and bothered. Not that I’m complaining.” Eric tried to forget about what Cade looked like and tried to convince himself the photo was a fake and the author probably a straight woman. Eric loved the women who wrote gay fiction, but he hoped Cade Montgomery was one of the few gay male authors in the industry.
Eric adjusted himself and wished his erection would go away. He hit the reply button on Cade’s e-mail.
CADE was sitting on his black leather couch with his laptop on his crossed legs. He was working on his latest book when the new mail sound bleeped.
Reply: Subject: Thank You
From: monk@mmreviewers.com
To: camontg@gmail.com
Date: August 26
Cade,
Thank you for a great read, and you can BOTHER me anytime. I really enjoyed reading A Shot at Love. I’m anxiously awaiting more books, maybe a spin off (hinting)??
No need for pins and needles, unless you like it a bit rough. ;)
TTYL Monk
As Cade finished reading the e-mail, he wondered what Monk looked like. Was Monk older or younger than him? More or less experienced? The comments about liking it rough made Cade think Monk might be a player like himself.
Cade didn’t read many books, but there were a few M/M authors he enjoyed, but he read all Monk’s reviews. He thoroughly enjoyed Monk’s sexual innuendos and how he teased the authors and readers.
Cade was really good at playful teasing himself and decided that if Monk could dish it out, he’d better be able to take it.
Reply: Subject: Thank You
From: camontg@gmail.com
To: monk@mmreviewers.com
Date: August 26
Oh, Monk, I do, on occasion, like it a bit rough. I can take the rough play but especially enjoy giving it. There is nothing like biting the back of a man’s neck as I’m buried deep in him and feeling his climax at the same time I feel mine. So freaking hot! I’m very pleased to know I can and do BOTHER you. Do you like it rough? Do you like a little pain added to the pleasure of sex? I better stop, because I am making myself… well, I’m sure you know. I really shouldn’t be sexting. (Wait, isn’t that just on phones?) Wow, sexting at my age, who would have thought? Does that mean we can trade naked pictures now too??? Catch you later. (Hmmm does everything have a sexual meaning when it pertains to you?)
Love, Cade
