Thank you
Dawn, for being a great hostess in 2013!
Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year to all the Reading Nook readers!
Brad loves
his partner of ten years, but he and Sandy have fallen into a rut, especially
when it comes to the bedroom. Taking the advice of his Wiccan friend, Brad
cooks a special love potion into cupcakes in the hopes of spicing up his and
Sandy's love life.
When Sandy
turns on the charm and the sex after dinner, Brad is overjoyed that his magical
cupcakes have done the trick. Or have they? Either way, it just might be a very
happy Christmas this year.
Excerpt:
Brad pulled
the cupcakes out of the fridge where he'd had them cooling and started frosting
them. He'd put the potion -- which had been cinnamony smelling and sweet on the
tongue -- into three of the cupcakes on the end, carefully marked with a
Sharpie marker on the pan. He frosted the other nine and put them on the fancy,
three-tiered serving tray along with the pecan squares and lemon bars, then
added a couple of drops to the remaining frosting, turning it the palest pink.
Okay. It
was done. There was no turning back now. He put the three special cupcakes on a
plate and left them out for Sandy.
He pulled
out the steaks so they would warm up to room temperature and made a salad for
supper, then went to his office to read, wait. Worry. Had he done the right
thing? Was their sex life really so boring that he was resorting to magic? He
supposed maybe that was the proof it was.
Sighing, he
made himself focus on his book. He wasn't going to think about the cupcakes
with their special something extra until he'd finished this chapter, damn it.
He heard
the door opening around seven, Sandy's "Honey, I'm home," ringing out
through the little house. It had started as a joke, long ago, and was now what
Sandy called out every time he walked in the door. Hell, even the way they said
hello was routine.
"Hey."
Brad chuckled and shook his head at the slight husk to his voice. He'd finally
gotten engrossed in his book and it was hot. Hot enough that he was a little
revved.
"I see
the steaks just need to be grilled. You want me to do them?" Grilling was
always Sandy's job.
"Sure,
love." Brad rubbed himself through his jeans, just enough to heat up.
"Cupcakes
for dessert -- how lucky am I?" Sandy's voice carried easily up the stairs
to him.
"Red
velvet. Your favorite." Oh. Right. The cupcakes. He'd almost managed to
forget.
"You're
too good to me. I'm going to be daring -- I'm having one while I cook the
steak."
Moments
later he heard the back door closing, Sandy going out to the deck to cook the
steak.
It smelled
good and he put his book down, shaking his head at his own stupidity. Christ.
What was wrong with him? He had stability, happiness, true love. He leaned out
the second-story window, snow falling on his shoulders. "Do you have your
gloves and hat on?"
Sandy
looked up at him, indeed wearing hat and gloves and a little winter vest. His
lover smiled, the look warm and full of love. "I'm good, babe. Five
minutes, okay?"
"Salad's
already made. Meet you in the dining room with the wine." He'd left it out
to breathe, hadn't he? He'd better check -- maybe he'd just thought he had. God
knew he did it every Saturday -- it would be easy to totally be remembering
another week.
"Sounds
perfect." Sandy gave him a last grin before turning his attention back to
the grill.
Brad headed
down to the kitchen, where Sandy's cupcakes sat covered with a huge red plastic
bowl with reindeer on the side. Sandy always said uncovered food invited bugs.
Brad went to peek, but the back door opened. "Can you bring me a
plate?"
"Sure,
honey. I'll be right there."
Sandy
waited while he brought over the plate. "You make that honey Dijon
dressing I like for the salad?"
"Don't
I always?" Every Saturday.
Sandy
smiled as he put the steaks on the plate and came in, toeing his boots off and
leaving them on the mat by the door. "You do."
Brad
grinned back and opened the Cabernet, which he seemed to have neglected to do
earlier, the scent filling the room.
"Mmm.
I do love our Saturday night steaks." Sandy came over and kissed his lips,
the buss sweet and gentle.
"I do,
too, love. How are the guys?" Sandy's lips tasted sweet, so one of the
cupcakes must be gone. "How're you?"
"Same
old, same old. Billy got a promotion, but no extra cash, Don's got a new
boyfriend. Yadda, yadda." Sandy rolled his eyes as they went into the
dining room, Sandy carrying the steaks, Brad carrying the wine and the salad.
"I
missed you today," Sandy told him as they sat.
"I was
just here like always, love, puttering about." He had to admit, he did
enjoy his lazy Saturdays.
Sandy
nodded and dished up Brad's plate for him, then his own. "There's a new
exhibit at the art museum. Van Gogh. We could go together."
"Oh?
That sounds like a good afternoon outing. See the museum then have a look at
the lights?" he suggested. It would make for a lovely Sunday.
"That's
what I was thinking." Sandy smiled at him, and maybe it was his
imagination, but there seemed to be something extra in it.
Brad dug
into his steak, laughing at himself. God, he was a giant dorkfish. It was just
a silly potion -- it wasn't going to make a difference. And he didn't need it
to.
They made
small talk as they ate, the bottle of wine went down easily, the steak was
delicious and everything was easy. Normal.
At least it
was until the end of the meal. As he finished eating, Brad felt something slide
along his leg.
He jumped,
looked down at his leg and then at his lover. "Sandy?"
"What?"
Sandy looked at him innocently.
"Nothing..."
He had to laugh. Had to.
Sandy
smiled at him and he felt that thing along his leg again: Sandy's foot.
"What
are you up to?" He reached down, touched Sandy's toes. Footsie? His Sandy?
Really?
"You
want to retire to the bedroom?" Sandy waggled his eyebrows comically and
Brad laughed again.
"It's
early for Saturday and I haven't done the dishes..." Still, Brad nodded,
stood.
"They'll
still be there tomorrow, right?" There was a light in Sandy's eyes Brad
couldn't remember seeing in a long while.
"I
imagine so." Like Brad wouldn't slip down after to clean up.
Standing,
Sandy took his hand and drew him close. He could feel the warmth of Sandy's
body. His chin was tilted, Sandy's brown eyes looking into his own. His cheeks
heated, the look so wanton, so intimate.
Sean
Michael
Smut fixes
everything
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