Waking Oisin
Grace Kilian Delaney
Genre: Contemporary, LGBT, contemporary, bisexual, gay, genderqueer, new adult, cross-dresser, college student, lawyer, age-gap, piercings & tattoos, dirty talk, toys, spanking, D/s dynamics, light kink, family drama, pets
Oisin Harrison blames his fiancée’s distrust for ruining their relationship. He blames his father for pushing him into law school. But more than all that, he blames himself for letting other people’s expectations stop him from going after his dream. But dressing in drag with his best friend is the one thing Oisin refuses to compromise.
As Sin, he meets handsome Trenton Fisher, a man who appreciates Oisin’s cross-dressing. Trent upends his world by doing things to his body no one ever has, making him want more than just one night together. That is, until Oisin discovers his hot hookup works at his father’s law firm and is angling for a promotion.
To complicate things, Trent doesn’t seem to recognize Oisin out of drag. Or does he?
Will Oisin and Trent’s magnetic attraction grow to something deeper, or will it threaten to jeopardize their careers and futures?
Waking Oisin contains characters from Seven Minutes but can be read as a standalone.
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Hi, I’m Grace Kilian Delaney and thanks for joining me on the book tour for my new contemporary MM romance, Waking Oisin. A big thank you to Love Bytes Reviews for hosting me!
Often in life we compromise what we want for what others say we should do, or what we believe we should do when our instincts or hearts want something different. Those decisions keep us at a job we don’t like, or in a relationship that isn’t the best for us. When I told my father I was going to college and majoring in music, he said I should major in something more useful. I literally got up, told him I was going to do what I wanted since it was my life and left the room. I graduated with a BA in music, but I also minored in business, believing it was the practical solution. I spent years working a desk job, but eventually realized I was miserable. I went back to music, my first passion, and taught private lessons. While the paychecks were less stable and there were no benefits, I found I was much happier. Live and learn.
In Waking Oisin, the main characters show how compromise can either hinder or help them in their lives. Oisin (pronounced ocean or oh-sheen) wanted to study veterinary medicine at UC Davis, miles away from his Las Vegas home. Both his father and former fiancé convinced him to stay and study law. But after a broken engagement and one semester of law school, he’s ready to quit and pursue his original goal, until a sexy attorney throws a monkey wrench into his plans.
Trent has his sights on becoming a partner at the law firm where he works. It’s been his dream gig since he was at Harvard Law. In order to get the promotion, his boss asks him to move from California to Nevada, his home state and a place he never wanted to live in again. The move brings Trent’s life into perspective and he starts to see that becoming a partner isn’t as important as being with the young man that captured his heart. But can he really give up years of hard work for a relationship?
Compromise is part of a relationship, but sometimes the cost is too much and a mid-point can’t be reached. Will Oisin and Trent be able to find a healthy balance between love and career, or will the sacrifice be too much and tear them apart?
Waking Oisin
Grace Killian Delaney © 2018
All Rights Reserved
Chapter One
Oisin Harrison
As I walked out of my last class of the day, the wretched feeling grew larger in my stomach, and if it weren’t for the cool January air, I might have puked. I’d failed my first project. My second semester at UNLV’s law school was not going well, and I’d be lucky if I made it through the next four months without getting kicked out.
My father had been disappointed with my decision to attend our home state’s college. Being the senior partner and founder of the most prestigious entertainment law firm, with locations in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, he’d had ridiculously high expectations for his youngest son. When he came home from LA on Friday, like he did every weekend, the news of my being on academic probation would be reported to him by one of his many acquaintances (aka babysitters) before I had an opportunity to plead my side, and a butt chewing would ensue.
I trudged back to my apartment where I found my best friend, Devon Thomson, in the parking lot getting out of his car. His makeup and short brown hair were flawless, and the stylish wrap coat he wore stopped just above his knees, leaving his calves exposed. The ease with which he expressed his femininity had always impressed me.
Devon picked up on my body language immediately. “You don’t look too happy.”
“I failed.” My chest tightened. I’d never failed at anything before. I’d survived an undergrad degree in Biological Sciences and graduated summa cum laude, but I had no heart for law. Lately, I had no heart for anything; I was a zombie masquerading among the living.
Devon hugged me. “It’s okay, Os. You’ll do better next time—you always do.”
That’s why I loved my friend. He was always a hundred and ten percent supportive and affectionate. I missed our nights making love to each other as FWB and hanging out with him like we used to before he met his boyfriend. Whenever he talked about his lover, he glowed with happiness. I’d never seen him so happy, so in love, and it made any nostalgic desires I had seem trivial.
He released me and a wicked grin spread across his lips. “I got something that might cheer you up.”
“I know that look, and it means trouble.” I laughed, and it seemed like it’d been an eternity since that sound had come from me. “I’m in.”
He clapped, his suede gloves dampening the sound. “We got invited to a record release party in Los Angeles next weekend, and I was thinking we could dress up like we used to? It’s been too long since we had some fun together.”
My heart swelled. Seemed I wasn’t the only one missing our together time. I should stay and study. Be a good little student. But what Devon offered was too tempting. Screw it. I was going to LA. “Sounds perfect.”
“Yay! I’ve got the best outfit for you. You’re gonna look so hot, you’ll be swatting off guys and girls.”
“I don’t know about that.” Sometimes I thought being bisexual was a blessing, other times a curse. The curse had happened last semester when my fiancée determined my bisexuality was a cover for being gay and that one day I’d leave her for a man. I protested. She left anyway.
“I do,” Devon affirmed, hooking his arm with mine and resting his head on my shoulder as we walked the few steps to my front door
“Who are you? Susie Sunshine?” I envied the confidence he had; it drew people to him. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt safe or confident in my own skin.
He brought his hands to his face, framing it like a sun’s rays. “Oh, you know me. Just a ray of light wherever I go.”
“Will Stone be there?” Mentioning his boyfriend’s name brightened his smile to megawatt proportions. I’d need sunglasses if he kept it up.
“Yep. And before you even ask—no, Matty will not be there.”
Matty. Stone’s bandmate, who’d brought me to his hotel room, kissed me, and then shoved me away. Last time I saw him, he apologized for leading me on. Alcohol made any hole look good until a hiccup of sobriety hit. Whatever. Matty had been my last attempt at getting laid, and that was so many months ago, I’d reinstated my virginity.
I let out a breath. “It won’t matter if he’s there, Dev. We’re good. He’s over it. I’m over it. It’s not like he’s the first person to reject me.” That sounded more pathetic than I’d intended. Time to change the topic. “Do you mind if we stop by Paws for Love before getting dinner? There’s someone I want to check in on.”
“Wouldn’t be one of those gorgeous redheaded veterinarians, would it?” Dev raised his perfectly arched eyebrows.
“Despite my crush on the twins, no. It’s a female of the four-legged variety—much too hairy. I found a dog, a black lab, with a damaged leg.”
Devon brushed my cheek with his gloved fingers. “You’re so sweet, you know that?”
The familiar touch set up an ache in my heart, but not because I wanted to be in a relationship with him. Devon and I had been there, done that, and decided we were better off friends.
“Being sweet has done nothing for me.”
“Ooh, you could get yourself a leather daddy, go all whips and chains. You know, be bad.” Devon tapped a finger against his lips, his gaze shifted upward in thought.
“Seriously?” I struggled with the lock to the lemon-yellow front door, fighting back the disturbing image.
Devon lightly pushed me out of the way and turned the key twice before it gave. He plopped the key into my hand without acknowledging his triumph over the stubborn lock. “Might loosen you up some.”
“Getting laid would loosen me up, never mind getting a leather daddy.” I shouldered the door and went inside.
“I think we’ve found a goal for our LA trip.” He rubbed his hands together.
I barked a laugh. “My dad always says it’s good to have goals.”
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Grace Kilian Delaney resides in flammable Southern California where she spends the wee hours of the morning drinking coffee and writing. She identifies as genderfluid and pansexual, though both are recent labels, and a goal of hers is to create stories that include gay, bisexual, and genderfluid characters. When not writing, Grace composes music, pretends she’s an opera singer, plays piano, and practices yoga, though not all at the same time.
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