Excerpt 1:

Chen Jin Tai’s heart stopped as he read the letter. “No way.” This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not so close to the ceremony.

The front door of his Manhattan apartment opened. Jangling keys clattered on the small table in the foyer. “Tai, you here?”

“In the kitchen.” Tai balled up the letter then stuffed it in a nearby cabinet inside a coffee cup. A rather silly move since his lover couldn’t read Chinese.

David Anderson’s head popped around the corner. “You cooking?”

“Nah…” Tai chuckled in spite of his nervousness. “You don’t want me to burn down the apartment, do you?”

“Didn’t think so.” David stepped around the corner with a stuffed plastic grocery bag in his hand. Raising his arm, he swung the bag back and forth. “Greek!”

“Great. Spanakopita?” Even as nervous as he was, the thought of the layered spinach and feta pie piqued his appetite.

“Of course.” David set the bag on the counter before wrapping his arms around Tai. “You’d divorce me before the wedding if I forgot your favorite food.”

If the wedding happens… Tai returned David’s embrace with a desperate hug. His hands clenched through David’s T-shirt. Fingers dug into hard muscle.

“Hmmm…” David nuzzled Tai’s ear. “Seems like someone is interested in a different type of appetizer.”

“Yeah…” Distraction was a good thing. Relax his lover with a little sex then spring the bad news. Tai suckled the soft skin where David’s neck and shoulder met. A gentle groan vibrated against his lips.

David’s hand scrambled down Tai’s back then grabbed his ass. He jerked him forward, pressing his groin into Tai. “I think that could be arranged.” David’s fingers dug through the material of Tai’s scrubs, pushing into the crack of his ass.

“Or we could just…” Tai pushed David back against the kitchen table. Pulling away from David’s embrace, he slid to his knees. His fingers made short work of David’s fly then pulled his jeans open. “Commando?”

“Yeah, I was just going out to the corner diner.”

Tai grinned up at David. “More fun this way.” Sucking his lover’s half-hard cock deep into his mouth, Tai relished the lengthening flesh against his tongue.

Desire chased away his anxiety—at least for now. Even after two years, he couldn’t get enough of David.

David gripped the edge of the dark wood table. His knuckles whitened with each twirl of Tai’s tongue. His hips flexed forward slightly.

Tai ran his hands up David’s thighs then clutched his hips. With a gentle tug, he encouraged David forward then back.

The now-erect length moved between Tai’s lips with short, quick strokes. Harsh pants of breath filled the small kitchen. Soft half-mumbled words—“Yes.” “Good.” “Fuck.”—escaped David’s mouth.

Closing his eyes, Tai absorbed the erotic music. A gentle hand cupped his head, fingers threaded through his hair.

“Tai—” David pulled back as his tone warned Tai of his impending orgasm.

Tai clenched David’s hips then yanked him forward. His lover’s length pushed deep into Tai’s mouth, bumping the back of his throat.

David fisted a handful of Tai’s hair and held him close.

Relaxing his throat, Tai let David take control and fuck his mouth. Three final strokes then hot come shot into Tai’s throat.

After a short, jerking thrust, David’s hand released the clump of Tai’s hair. “Damn… You know that drives me crazy.”

Tai let David’s dick slip out of his mouth with a pop. “And I love driving you crazy.” As he stood, he pushed David onto the table until the taller man sat on the edge. Tai leaned his chest against David’s. “I, uh, have some news…”

“News?” David sighed. His fingers trailed down Tai’s back. “What kind of news?”

“My mother is coming to the wedding.”

“She’s what?”

Tai winced at David’s growl. “I received a letter from her. She wants to be at the ceremony Saturday.”

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Excerpt 2:

David stood, tucking his wilted cock in his jeans then fastening the fly. A quick glance warned him Tai wasn’t playing fair. David couldn’t stand to see Tai unhappy and the younger man knew it only too well.

Retreating around the table, David kept his back to his lover. Their dinner cooling on the counter was a safer place for his gaze. “You have to tell her no.” The Ice Queen hated him. She’d be nothing but trouble.

“How can I tell her she can’t come to the wedding of her only child?”

The small affair four days from now was a celebration of their domestic partnership papers. Living in New York, it was all they could do…for now.

Slamming his palms on the counter, David growled, “Does she know it’s not really a wedding?” A sharp gasp forced him to turn around.

Tai’s almond-shaped eyes narrowed into a glare. “It is to me. And it was to you before you knew Ma was coming.”

Uh-oh… Extract foot… “It still is. You know what I mean.” David grabbed the bag of food then set it on the table.

Tai’s frown softened. “Her being here is a big concession. You know how she feels about me being gay.”

“Yeah…all my fault… You know she’ll cause problems. She’d love nothing better than to see us split up. I just don’t want her coming between us.”

Tai opened the bag then pulled out an aluminum container. “I don’t think that’s why she wants to be here.”

David snorted. The woman wouldn’t piss on him if he were on fire. “She never once spoke to me in San Francisco. I didn’t know the meaning of ‘look through’ someone until I met her.”

Tai slammed another container on the table. “Give her a break. It was my father’s funeral.”

“I know, babe.” David circled the table then pulled Tai into a tight hug. The funeral a year ago had been hard on his lover. “I’m sorry. But three days—we were there three days. She couldn’t speak to me even once?”

Tai’s hands clutched David’s back. “It was a tough time for her. But now you’re going to be her son-in-law.” Pulling his head back, Tai glanced up at David. “Maybe she wants to make amends.”

“Maybe…but I’ll believe it when I see it.” When pigs fly… “When does she arrive?”

“Tomorrow evening. I’ll see if I can get off work early so I can pick her up.”

David sent a silent plea to any and all gods. He didn’t want to have to greet the Ice Queen alone.

* * * * *

David waited at the baggage claim area of LaGuardia Airport with a handwritten sign proclaiming Chen Qi Xiang. Not that Tai asked him to bring a sign, but since the Ice Queen refused to acknowledge his existence, she might not recognize him.

His mind kept cursing his luck. A last-minute emergency delayed Tai. With the Emergency Department already one doctor short, he couldn’t abandon ship. Not that Tai would. His dedication to his profession had him close to finishing his residency at twenty-eight. Graduating high school at seventeen, Tai blasted through college in three years so he could get into med school as fast as possible.

Since David ran his financial consulting business from home, he didn’t have a legitimate excuse to say no to Tai’s pleading request.

“You my driver?”

David mentally shook his head clear. A tiny Chinese woman stared up at him. “Mrs. Chen, it’s very nice to see you again.” He’d forgotten how small she was. Tai at five foot nine would tower over her. At six two, David felt like a giant.

“Oh.” Her nose wrinkled with a disdainful sniff. “It’s you.”

Be polite, be polite… David bit his lip against a retort. If she’d bothered to look at me… “We can grab your luggage over here.” He strode off, expecting her to follow.

When he glanced over his shoulder, she was still standing where he’d left her. With an about-face, he stalked back. “Is there a problem?”

“You’ll need claim tickets.” She handed him a strip of paper.

A grimace snuck across his face before he could stop it. He schooled his features back into neutral. “No problem. I’ll be right back.”

Storming away from the little tyrant, David muttered, “Demoted from chauffeur to baggage boy in the space of a few seconds.” The things he did for his lover.

As he reached the baggage conveyor belt, it bumped into motion. Maybe the suitcases wouldn’t take long. He glanced at the claim ticket—tickets. Four suitcases for a few days? And he didn’t have a clue as to what they looked like.

A quick glance over his shoulder revealed the Ice Queen regally ensconced on a bench near the door. No help there.

The first suitcase popped out of the chute, slamming against the barrier near David’s knees. “Hope there’s nothing breakable.”

The tag numbers didn’t match.

“Didn’t expect it to be that easy, now did you?” David glanced around at the crowd. No one seemed to pay attention to his solitary conversation.

Maybe someday, on his and Tai’s twentieth anniversary, he’d look back and laugh about today. A grin replaced his frown. Twenty years with Tai wouldn’t be enough.

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