Friday, August 2, 2019

Who is the gorgeous blond guy? #gayromance #shifter @evernightpub @parr_books #MMromance #FirstChapterFriday

#FirstChapterFriday from Blond
What would you think if the guy you were dating raced off every night before midnight and would never say why? Would you succumb to the urge to follow him one night?
Liam Hale can’t believe his luck when he meets the man of his dreams, Karl Oberon.
Hunky Karl is the sexiest man Liam has ever met, but his mysterious disappearances start to tease.
Gorgeous Liam is the only man Karl has ever loved.
Together they spark and sizzle with passion, but Karl doesn’t know how to tell Liam why he races away. Maybe keeping Liam’s mind off the question with mind-blowing erotic encounters will work.
@evernightpublisher Editor's pick

Chapter One
Frozen in terror, Serge Oberon stared at the huge leopard that lay on the polished floorboards of the living room. The ceiling fans swished around. The first glimmer of dawn seeped through the gaps between the thin slats of the bamboo blinds unfurled on the outside of the villa’s shallow windows. A shirt lay discarded over one of the rattan chairs—a pair of white jeans crumpled at the foot of the couch. Wide-eyed and dry-mouthed, Serge took in the scene as if it wasn’t real, as if he’d stumbled onto the set of a movie. The big cat stirred, stretched a paw, but remained asleep.


His first coherent thoughts were for his son, Karl, who was visiting on his vacation. Please don’t let anything have happened to Karl. His heart thumping in his chest, Serge retreated from the horrifying sight and crept silently to the back rooms.

Karl had a bedroom in the area of the building shaded by the huge old banyan tree in the extensive grounds of the villa. Serge tiptoed toward the open door. He stopped in the entrance and gazed at his twenty-four year old son. Oh no—I should have warned him. A cold shiver of fear ran down his body and pooled in his stomach as he saw the love bites on his son’s neck, one of which looked more like a nip from an animal than a token of sexual enjoyment from a human.
Serge went to his son with nausea building. “Karl, son, Karl, wake up.” He bent to inspect the bite he knew in his heart meant Karl would never be normal again. The teeth marks were human, the break in Karl’s skin minimal, but all the same the saliva would have entered his bloodstream. A slight ooze of blood showed at the corner of the wound where Karl must have lain on his side as he slept.

He opened his eyes and stretched as his father drew away. “Hi, Dad, what’s going on?” He yawned and shifted his muscled shoulders, bringing a hand up to the base of his neck where he touched the bite gingerly.

Frown lines furrowed Serge’s forehead. His eyes filled with tears. His voice a whisper now, he sat heavily on the side of the bed. “You brought a man home.”
Karl shuffled to sit up. He smiled at his dad. “Yeah, but what’s up? I’ve brought a guy home before.”

Serge took a deep breath. “Not here—not in Mumbai—at home in the States.”

Concern flared in Karl’s eyes. “What’s this about, Dad? I’m always safe.”

“Come to the kitchen. We’ll have coffee. I’ll tell you everything.” He gazed at his son who reminded him so vividly of his beautiful dead wife, green eyes, dark blond hair, streaked with almond brown.

A voice from behind sent spikes of surprise and anxiety over him.

Serge rounded on the man who lounged against the doorframe. He saw immediately why his son had brought the tall, slender, and dark-eyed young man home. Well-cut tawny hair spiked up and framed a handsome face. Muscles moved under the white linen shirt the man wore. He was ‘hot stuff’ as his son would say. “You bit my son.” He spat the accusation.

Karl caught his father’s arm. “Dad.” His voice held a question as well as surprise at his father’s ferocity.

“I forgot myself. It was accidental. Forgive me, Karl?”

Karl stood and went to the young man whose expression had filled with contrition and affection. “For what, Dash? What’s going on?”

Serge followed his naked son to stand in front of the shifter. “Get out of my home.”

Karl spun around to confront his father. “What the hell…”

Dashiell Chandra silently walked away along the wide hall and exited the house. He cast a mournful glance at Karl then closed the door behind him.

Serge sagged against the bedroom doorframe. “I’m sorry. You need answers. Put something on. I’ll make coffee.” He walked to the living room and, just in case he’d been mistaken, he checked the animal had gone. The shirt and jeans were gone. Dash had been wearing them.

The water for instant coffee had boiled by the time Karl joined him.
Karl’s bright hair was damp and smoothed back from his face. He wore a pair of loose, low-rise jeans and a questioning expression. He checked the fridge and brought out a carton of orange juice. Without a word he took a glistening glass from the dishwasher, and poured the juice. He drank it before he held up the carton, offering his dad some.

“No thanks. Sit down. I need to explain.”

Karl took a seat at the big kitchen table and ran his hand through his hair. 

“They’re just love bites, Dad. One’s a bit sore, but it’s just a scratch.”

“There’s no easy way to say this. Please listen to the whole story before you react. It’s going to seem as if I’ve lost my mind.”
His dad placed coffee in front of him. Karl turned the cup around in the saucer.
“Your mother was a shifter, a leopard, and that’s what Dash is.”

Karl let out a snort. “Dad…”

Serge shook his head and held up his hand. “Please listen.”

His son sighed and slumped in the chair with a resigned expression, as if prepared to listen but not believe a word.

“Here in this city and surrounds lives the largest concentration of leopards in the world. Some of them are shifters. They roam with the ordinary animals at night. The shifters only become leopards at night, usually midnight and then with the rising sun, they regain their human body. They’re an ancient species. I know it’s unbelievable.” He gazed at Karl, desperate for his son to believe him. “That’s how your mom died. The truth is she was shot by a hunter as she ran with a raiding prowl of leopards one night.” His voice fell to a whisper, as he revealed what he’d never told his son before.

Karl slowly picked up his cup and drank some coffee. He sighed heavily. “It’s an urban legend, Dad. Mom was killed in a road accident. You need to let go now. It’s been years.”

Serge leaned forward. “Dash broke your skin. You’ll turn tonight. It’s manageable. If your mom hadn’t been a shifter you might have gotten away with it. It’s in your genes, son. I’m so sorry. I should have warned you, but I never expected … where were you at midnight?” He frowned, wondering at the timeline of his son’s encounter with Dash.

Karl stared at his dad and shook his head as he spoke. “This whole thing is ridiculous. I’m worried about you, Dad. I met Dash last week. We had a drink together. Yesterday evening I met him again in the city. You know how it is. We both knew sex was what we wanted. We got home about eight, talked, had a beer, kissed, it got heated—we had sex. I fell asleep and he was with me in bed. Next thing I knew you were there at dawn waking me up.”

“I found him, Karl. I found him as a leopard asleep in the living room.” Serge saw Karl’s expression become a mix of affection and worry.

“Dad.” He sighed the word.

Serge stood and went around the table to his son. He took a seat next to Karl, put his hand on his son’s arm, and looked into his eyes. “Your mom told me this. You’ll retain your human thoughts when you turn. You’ll know not to attack people, but the call of the animal will make you long for time with others of your kind. I’ll be there for you, but you need to stay home tonight.”

Karl burst out laughing. “Stop it. This is stupid. I’m taking a shower and then I need to get a little work done.”

Serge held back tears. A lump of sorrow formed in his throat, but he pushed it away. “I don’t want you seeing Dash again.” Horror that his son’s lover might introduce Karl to running with a group and so come to further harm gave his voice a commanding tone.

Karl turned to his dad and hugged him. “So that’s what this is about. You know I love you, but sometimes, Dad, you forget I’m no longer fifteen. I don’t have any romantic feelings for Dash. He’s hot, but that’s it. If I run into him around town I might have to apologize for you throwing him out of the house.” He stood and smiled at his dad before he padded off to his bathroom.

Serge watched him go, and then bowed his head, as finally tears streamed down his face.
Copyright E. D. Parr Evernight Publishing 
Available KOBO, NOOK

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