“Sorry,” Evyn whispered.

“Not for the kiss, I hope.”

“It’s early. Go back to sleep.”

“Mmm. Merry Christmas.”

Evyn laughed. “Hell, it is!” She hugged Wes. “Merry Christmas. I didn’t get you a present.”

“Yes you did. I got you.” Wes’s arm came around her and Wes kissed her, her mouth possessive and seeking. Evyn kept her eyes open as long as she could, until the tenderness and longing forced her to surrender. She drew her leg up over the crest of Wes’s hip, pressing nearer, molding to her. The brush of hot skin over her clitoris made her shudder.

“Doesn’t seem right,” Evyn gasped, arching her neck for Wes to feast, “that I get so much pleasure out of your present.”

Wes’s mouth skimmed over her cheek, along her jaw. “Be careful—shoulder. Remember your shoulder.”

Evyn nipped at Wes’s neck. “We’ve managed with a banged-up shoulder before.”

Wes chuckled. “I wonder what it will be like when both of us have two good arms.”

“If it gets any better, I won’t survive,” Evyn muttered, rocking her center along Wes’s thigh. Her breasts were tense, aching, and she wanted to come. She needed it quick and hard, but she held on—wanting to hang suspended in this agonizing splendor of need and want and love for as long as she could. “God, I love you.”

Wes drew a sharp breath, her arm tightening on Evyn’s waist, urging her to thrust faster. “I really love waking up with you. I love how much you want me. You’re so sexy. Are you always like this in the morning?”

“I don’t know.” Evyn’s vision wavered. “I don’t usually wake up with anyone.” Evyn dug her fingers into Wes’s shoulder, anchoring herself, pressing closer, needing every inch of her skin against Wes. Wes. Everywhere, always, Wes. Her orgasm unfurled, escaping the tethers of her control, and she kissed Wes hard. “I want to wake up with you.” Her hips bucked and she buried her face in Wes’s neck. “You…just you. Wes—oh God, I’m coming.”

Wes kissed her eyelids, her mouth, her throat. “You’re so beautiful. I could wake up like this forever.”

“Stay, then,” Evyn whispered, shattered with happiness.

Wes grew still. “Evyn, I didn’t mean—”

“I did.” Evyn drew away until she could look into Wes’s eyes. She wanted Wes to see what was in her heart. Trust. Certainty. Joy. “I love you. I want to sleep with you and wake up with you as many nights and as many mornings as we have.”

“I thought I knew what mattered before I met you,” Wes whispered. “I thought my life was defined by what I accomplished, by what I contributed. Those things still matter, but what matters in my heart and my soul is you.”

Evyn found Wes’s hand and brought it to her heart. “I never let myself need anyone. I was afraid if I did, all the fears and uncertainties I kept locked away would escape. I couldn’t afford to be anything less than tough and sure. But I need you, and I don’t feel afraid. I’m stronger now, deep inside. I love you.”

“Then I’ll stay.” Wes kissed her. “For all the nights and days to come.”

About the Author

Radclyffe has written over forty romance and romantic intrigue novels, dozens of short stories, and, writing as L.L. Raand, has authored a paranormal romance series, The Midnight Hunters.

She is an eight-time Lambda Literary Award finalist in romance, mystery and erotica—winning in both romance (Distant Shores, Silent Thunder) and erotica (Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments edited with Stacia Seaman and In Deep Waters 2: Cruising the Strip written with Karin Kallmaker). A member of the Saints and Sinners Literary Hall of Fame, she is also a 2010 RWA/FF&P Prism award winner for Secrets in the Stone. Her 2011 title Firestorm is a ForeWord Review Book of the Year award finalist. She is also the president of Bold Strokes Books, one of the world’s largest independent LGBT publishing companies.

Books Available from Bold Strokes Books

Oath of Honor by Radclyffe. A First Responders novel. First do no harm…First Physician of the United States Wes Masters discovers that being the president’s doctor demands more than brains and personal sacrifice—especially when politics is the order of the day. (978-1- 60282-671-7)

A Question of Ghosts by Cate Culpepper. Becca Healy hopes Dr. Joanne Call can help her learn if her mother really committed suicide— but she’s not sure she can handle her mother’s ghost, a decades-old mystery, and lusting after the difficult Dr. Call without some serious chocolate consumption. (978-1-60282-672-4)

The Night Off by Meghan O’Brien. When Emily Parker pays for a taboo role-playing fantasy encounter from the Xtreme Scenarios escort agency, she expects to surrender control—but never imagines losing her heart to dangerous butch Nat Swayne. (978-1-60282-673-1)

Sara by Greg Herren. A mysterious and beautiful new student at Southern Heights High School stirs things up when students start dying. (978-1-60282-674-8)

Fontana by Joshua Martino. Fame, obsession, and vengeance collide in a novel that asks: What if America’s greatest hero was gay? (978-1- 60282-675-5)

Lemon Reef by Robin Silverman. What would you risk for the memory of your first love? When Jenna Ross learns her high school love Del Soto died on Lemon Reef, she refuses to accept the medical examiner’s report of a death from natural causes and risks everything to find the truth. (978-1-60282-676-2)

The Dirty Diner: Gay Erotica on the Menu, edited by Jerry L. Wheeler. Gay erotica set in restaurants, featuring food, sex, and men— could you really ask for anything more? (978-1-60282-677-9)

The Marrying Kind by Ken O’Neill. Just when successful wedding planner Adam More decides to protest inequality by quitting the business and boycotting marriage entirely, his only sibling announces her engagement. (978-1-60282-670-0)

Sweat: Gay Jock Erotica edited by Todd Gregory. Sizzling tales of smokinghot sex with the athletic studs everyone fantasizes about. (978-1-60282- 669-4)

Missing by P.J. Trebelhorn. FBI agent Olivia Andrews knows exactly what she wants out of life, but then she’s forced to rethink everything when she meets fellow agent Sophie Kane while investigating a child abduction. (978-1-60282-668-7)

Touch Me Gently by D. Jackson Leigh. Secrets have always meant heartbreak and banishment to Salem Lacey until she meets the beautiful and mysterious Knox Bolander and learns some secrets are necessary. (978-1-60282-667-0)

Slingshot by Carsen Taite. Bounty hunter Luca Bennett takes on a seemingly simple job for defense attorney Ronnie Moreno, but the job quickly turns complicated and dangerous, as does her attraction to the elusive Ronnie Moreno. (978-1-60282-666-3)

Dark Wings Descending by Lesley Davis. What if the demons you face in life are real? Chicago detective Rafe Douglas is about to find out. (978-1-60282-660-1)

sunfall by Nell Stark and Trinity Tam. The final installment of the everafter series. Valentine Darrow and Alexa Newland work to rebuild their relationship even as they find themselves at the heart of the struggle that will determine a new world order for vampires and wereshifters. (978-1-60282-661-8)

Mission of Desire by Terri Richards. Nicole Kennedy finds herself in Africa at the center of an international conspiracy and being rescued by beautiful but arrogant government agent Kira Anthony, but is Kira someone Nicole can trust or is she blinded by desire? (978-1-60282-662-5)

Boys of Summer edited by Steve Berman. Stories of young love and adventure, when the sky’s ceiling is a bright blue marvel, when another boy’s laughter at the beach can distract from dull summer jobs. (978-1-60282-663-2)

The Locket and the Flintlock by Rebecca S. Buck. When Regency gentlewoman Lucia Foxe is robbed on the highway, will the masked outlaw who stole Lucia’s precious locket also claim her heart? (978-1-60282-664-9)

Burgundy Betrayal by Sheri Lewis Wohl. Park Ranger Kara Lynch has no idea she’s a witch until dead bodies begin to pile up in her park, forcing her to turn to beautiful and sexy shape-shifter Camille Black Wolf for help in stopping a rogue werewolf. (978-1-60282-654-0)

LoveLife by Rachel Spangler. When Joey Lang unintentionally becomes a client of life coach Elaine Raitt, the relationship becomes complicated as they develop feelings that make them question their purpose in love and life. (978-1-60282-655-7)

The Fling by Rebekah Weatherspoon. When the ultimate fantasy of a one-night stand with her trainer, Oksana Gorinkov, suddenly turns into more, reality show producer Annie Collins opens her life to a new type of love she’s never imagined. (978-1-60282-656-4)

Ill Will by J.M. Redmann. New Orleans PI Micky Knight must untangle a twisted web of healthcare fraud that leads to murder—and puts those closest to her most at risk. (978-1-60282-657-1)

Buccaneer Island by J.P. Beausejour. In the rough world of Caribbean piracy, a man is what he makes of himself—or what a stronger man makes of him. (978-1-60282-658-8)

Twelve O’Clock Tales by Felice Picano. The fourth collection of short fiction by legendary novelist and memoirist Felice Picano. Thirteen dark tales that will thrill and disturb, discomfort and titillate, enthrall and leave you wondering. (978-1-60282-659-5)

Words to Die By by William Holden. Sixteen answers to the question: What causes a mind to curdle? (978-1-60282-653-3)