Please feel free to copy and use this icon. It's created by TL Bland.
Marked Yours The first 20 paperback copies will be autographed. The official Blurb: Three hundred years ago, natural disaster reformed the face of North America, and the people who lived in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains would never be the same.
Now, the master/slave bond in New Colorado has become a sacred rite of service, protection, and, sometimes, for the lucky, love. Nick and his intended Master, Todd Ruger, a sentry of the territories, have grown up knowing that they were pledged to this bond. They’re looking forward to the ritual with both excitement and trepidation—it’s something they’ve prepared for their entire lives. But New Colorado’s institution of slavery has made dangerous enemies on a frontier fraught with trouble, and they are unprepared for the trials their new relationship will face. Their bond needs to grow very strong, very fast if it’s going to survive the collision of old superstition, new beliefs, and the ever-present danger of the natural and supernatural frontier. Summary:
Todd Ruger guards against the paranormal in a post apocalyptic
setting three hundred years in the future. In a society that condones
and encourages slavery and same gender unions he comes to own a young
slave by the name of Nick. He must integrate an innocent Nick into his
lifestyle in order to keep him alive.
Driven by a need for revenge Todd risks everything he holds
dear, most of all risking the life he's built with Nick. Separated and
in unfriendly territory, they are thrown in amongst people who do not
understand the bond a slave has with their master. If they don't find a
way out and back to one another, both might very well face death.
Excerpt:
It was close to midnight when they finally stopped to make camp. There were
four wagons in all, the other three carrying two or three occupants each, and
two men riding on horseback. Nick’s mind drifted back to childhood, watching
Todd ride through his village a few times a year, watching him grow from a
skinny boy of twelve to the powerful man he was now.A fire was built in the
center of the wagon circle, and a meal was prepared. The night air was chilled
and damp and Nick’s clothes, more suited for the southern climate, weren’t
keeping him very warm. Nick wouldn’t have minded sitting near the fire to eat,
even if he had to listen to John Ruger and his friends tell whatever stories
they told one another. Todd, however, took his food and headed back to their
wagon, so Nick followed.
He tried hard not to
shiver through dinner. Everyone else had thicker coats and heavier clothes,
much more prepared for the climate they were heading into than Nick. Glancing
wistfully at the fire and its warmth, Nick huddled over his plate. He’d never
dare ask for another coat. He was a slave. Who cared if he was cold? Slaves
didn’t count in this world.
“You have any heavier
clothes?”
Shaking his head, Nick
murmured, “No, Todd.”
Todd set his plate down
hard on the ground and stood abruptly. Nick flinched and looked up. Reaching
into the wagon, Todd pulled out a heavy dark green pullover shirt. In his other
hand he carried a few bottles and two glasses.
“Here, put this on. It’ll
keep you warm enough for now. When we get home you’re getting the right clothes.
I’m not spending the rest of my life watching you shiver.” He set the bottles
and glasses down and resettled onto the ground beside Nick. Dark, amber liquid
was poured from one of the bottles. “You ever had whisky before?” He started to
hold the small glass out to Nick, but when Nick shook his head no, Todd
chuckled. “Okay then. Not having this right now.” Grinning, Todd downed the
liquid himself. Crossing his eyes, he shook his head as he swallowed. “Here, try
this instead. We’ll start you off slow and work you up to the really rotgut
stuff later.”
Nick laughed and took the
small bottle Todd offered. He took a whiff; it didn’t smell bad. Nick took a
short sip of the bottle’s contents. He pulled the bottle away and looked at it.
“What is this?”
Todd had been watching him
the entire time, looking almost boyish and hopeful. “Eh, you didn’t spit it
back at me, so that’s good. Beer. You never had beer before?”
“No. Just water.”
“You like it?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s
different. Sorta bitter at first.” He’d pulled the heavier shirt over his head;
it was thick and made of a woven material that was warm and soft. Breathing in
deeply, he was at once surrounded by the combined smells of gun oil, leather,
and something he recognized from sitting beside Todd all day that was uniquely Todd.
The beer made his throat warm, but it was the scent of Todd all around him that
made warmth spread in delicate tendrils from his belly to his chest.
“Good, ’cause I don’t do
bread and water. We do what we do and keep the good folks in the towns and
villages safe at night, but they’re damn well feeding us good.”
Nick had no idea what it
was Todd referred to. He’d thought since Todd and his father, and now Nick,
were hunters, they’d simply track down and catch their own food if they needed
to. Nodding, Nick drank his beer and finished his food. It was stew—tasty, hot,
and filled with chunks of meat and vegetables in a heavy broth.
After mopping the remains
of the stew from his plate with bread, Todd leaned back and grinned. “I want more.
You want more?”
Looking up, surprised and
knowing his face showed it, Nick blurted out, “I am allowed more?”
Todd snorted. “Yes, Nick,
you are.” He held out a hand for Nick to pull up on. Once righted, Todd’s hand
released his, moved to his neck, and patted gently a few times before he turned
and went back to the fire.
The men there snidely
asked why Nick was still wearing clothes and why they were wasting time eating.
Todd ignored them. As he turned around, heading back to their wagon, Todd’s
eyes caught Nick’s. He smirked and shook his head.
They resettled behind the
wagon, out of sight of the others, and finished eating in silence. Then, leaning
forward, elbows resting on his knees, Todd rubbed at the back of his neck for a
few minutes.
“So, uh, you ever been
with a woman?”
Nick stared at a point
between his feet and shook his head no.
Nick drew in a deep breath
and looked up at Todd, who wore that boyish, hopeful expression again. “I like
watching girls sometimes, but they’re sort of skinny, no muscle. I think I look
at men more.”
Todd nodded and seemed
satisfied with those answers. It wasn’t as if Nick had a choice. He’d been
bound to another male since he was five years old. Whether he preferred men or
women as sexual partners was never a consideration. Maybe he’d always been that
way, or maybe he’d just trained himself to like men more. He didn’t know. It
didn’t really matter.
When Todd reached out and
curled warm, strong fingers around his neck, Nick leaned into the touch. He
decided it was something Todd liked to do, touch him that way, and it appeared
to Nick the gesture pleased Todd and made him relax. Nick had decided back in
the village, the first time Todd had touched him that way, that he liked it.
Not even twenty-four hours later and Nick was craving those tiny touches and
counting the minutes between them, hoping for another one.
This time Todd leaned
closer and pulled Nick toward him. As Todd’s lips brushed the side of Nick’s
hair, he moaned soft and low. Pushing his nose through Nick’s hair for a few
seconds, Todd pulled him in even tighter, nuzzling his cheek against Nick’s,
breathing in deep. “You smell good.” Todd’s hand moved from his neck up into
Nick’s hair, turning his head toward Todd.
Todd pressed his lips to
Nick’s, gently licking his tongue along Nick’s lower lip. It startled him at
first when Todd’s tongue slipped between his lips and into his mouth. Todd’s
other arm wound around Nick’s waist and gently, slowly pulled Nick completely
against him. Todd’s tongue glided around his own and coaxed Nick’s tongue into
his mouth. Todd sucked lightly on Nick’s tongue for a few seconds before
pulling away. He looked at Nick, seemed to be memorizing every bit of Nick’s
face before pulling him back in for another kiss. This time Nick mimicked
Todd’s actions and sucked Todd’s tongue.
When Todd pulled away for
the second time, they were both panting, and Nick was whimpering softly.
Fingers raked tenderly through his hair and Todd kissed his nose and then his
cheek, murmuring in his ear, “You taste so good. I’ve been waiting forever to
do that.”
Nick felt a flush creep
over him. When Todd’s arm tightened even more around his middle, Nick leaned
his head down so his face was pressed to the crook of Todd’s neck. “I don’t… I’ve
never….” This was so embarrassing.
“It’s okay, Nicky. You’ll
learn. You’ll be just fine. Just us now.” Todd rested his chin on the top of
Nick’s head and held him tightly. Nick had never in his life been held—not like
this. He’d been held down and beaten a few times, but never had anyone simply
held him. When he pressed closer and relaxed more against Todd, the other man
drew in a deep breath and let it out slow. Nick liked this and he sensed Todd
did too.
Laughter from the
direction of the fire made them both start and pull back from each other.
Laughing nervously, Todd ruffled Nick’s hair. “We’ll save the rest for when we
can be alone.” He stood and stretched, throwing the cover back on the wagon’s
opening. “Just us now,” he repeated. Nick nodded because he had the feeling he
was supposed to respond somehow. “C’mon, Nicky. Get some sleep.”
