Candy Hearts by Erin McLellan
Series: So Over the Holidays #2
Publisher: Erin McLellan
Release Date (ebook): Feb. 3, 2020
Length: 50k word
Subgenre: contemporary romance, holiday romance, erotic romance
Book blurb:
Mechanic Benji Holiday is so over Valentine’s Day and men who don’t get him. A weekend getaway with friends to escape the holiday hubbub is exactly what he needs. But William O’Dare—a stern and silent nightclub owner with “Be My Valentine” practically stamped on his forehead—throws a wrench into Benji’s plans.
William has spent years focused on his career, and it has cost him friendships and love. Inexperienced in the business of romance, he’s on the hunt for the perfect partner, and he’s armed with specific criteria to guide him. But William didn’t expect a hunky mechanic wrapped in satin and lace to show up on his doorstep.
Unable to resist their attraction, Benji and William agree to be secret fake valentines for the weekend, but secrets have a way of getting out. William gets struck by Cupid’s arrow, and as the weekend winds down, he doesn’t want fake or secret. He wants Benji to be his valentine for real and for keeps.
Candy Hearts is a male/male Valentine’s Day novella featuring a house party power outage, meddling friends and siblings, naughty lingerie and naughtier toys, homemade Valentine’s Day cards, and a happily ever after.
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Benji couldn’t help but worry that he was wasting precious time. They only had the weekend. But lounging in a cold room with William’s strong arms wrapped around him was now one of his top three ways to spend an evening, so he couldn’t complain too much. The number one and two top ways to spend an evening would probably involve sex. Or food. One—blowjobs. Two—pizza. Three—cuddling. Maybe he could finagle William into a top-five situation.
Four—watching Netflix shows about Australian AirBnBs.
Five—mutual masturbation? Hmmm, he’d have to think on it. Examine the data points.
“What are we going to eat tonight?” Benji whispered.
“I have bread and peanut butter.”
“Boring. Is DoorDash a thing out here in the sticks?”
William kissed the top of Benji’s head. Benji shivered in pleasure. He loved how affectionate William was being with him. He’d never had that.
He’d have to remember to ask for it in the future. With whomever he was with.
“There’s a local pizza place. I think everything in town has power. It only affected the properties in the lake quadrant.”
“There’s a town?”
“Sort of. There’s an antique store, a gas station, a school, and a pizza place. The pizza place is in the gas station.”
Benji hummed. Gas station pizza was perhaps not worthy of the number-two spot on his best ways to spend an evening list, but it was still in the top ten. He wasn’t picky when it came to heaven’s pie.
“Do they deliver?”
“Yes. And I have a coupon. Someone left a flyer on the door.”
“Nothing better than discounted gas station pizza. Let’s do it!” Benji crawled off the sofa ungracefully—William let out an oomph as Benji’s knee narrowly missed his stomach. Then Benji tossed William his phone. “You call. My phone’s about dead. I’ll eat any pizza as long as it doesn’t have fruit on it. Otherwise, surprise me.”
William smiled his indulgent smile and walked into the kitchen to make the order. Benji heard him say, “Yes, I’d like the Sweet Treat Two-Topping Pizza for Two. I have a coupon.”
Benji decided to explore some of the nooks and crannies of the living room while William was occupied. Now that he’d had William’s dick in his mouth, he wanted to know more about the man.
Benji made a circuit of the dim room. It was kind of boring. The bookcase was full of nonfiction and poetry. The walls were gray. The mantel was bare. The afghan on the couch was a muted mauve that clashed with the brown couch. The rug was from Target. Benji could recognize a good Target purchase from a mile away.
Benji skirted the kitchen counter so he could see William in the back corner of the kitchen. He was giving his information to the pizza place.
There was a door off the small breakfast nook. Benji pushed it open gently. He could feel William’s eyes on him, but William wasn’t stopping him.
It was a dark office, but a well-used one. It felt lived-in in a way the rest of the house didn’t. The desk was littered with files and papers and two big computer monitors. There was a black futon that was in the sofa position, but it had clearly been slept on, what with the pillow and messy tumble of blankets covering it.
William’s suitcases were in this room too, open to display neatly folded clothes. A weird sort of protective anger flowed through Benji.
He wheeled around and marched back into the kitchen. William was no longer on the phone, but he was standing still as a statue.
“You use that office as a bedroom, don’t you?”
William nodded.
“But … but William! The room that you gave me—that should be your room. It’s beautiful. It’s obviously the master suite. That room”—he gestured toward the office—“doesn’t even have a fucking closet. You’re staying on the futon, but I’d bet my lingerie savings that you don’t fold it out when you sleep.”
“I don’t.”
Benji stalked toward William. “Why do you sleep in there?”
“It’s easier. When I’m here, I usually work late, and it’s convenient to just … lie down in there. Pizza will be here soon.”
“Don’t change the subject by talking about pizza, you trickster. Surely you don’t sleep in your office at home. Why would you do it at your vacation home?”
William’s expression went suspiciously blank. Benji was getting familiar with that look. He suspected it was William’s boardroom look. If William had to do stuff in boardrooms. Benji had no idea what William’s job entailed, but that wasn’t the point.
“Oh. My. God! You do sleep in your office at home.”
The corners of William’s mouth twitched up. “I would never.”
Benji lunged toward him, wrapping his arms around William’s shoulders. “You do, you do, you do! You are a workaholic. A bad one. You need treatment.”
William’s hands landed on Benji’s hips beneath the poncho, holding him like he was delicate. “I’m fine. The office in my apartment is actually the spare bedroom. So … there.”
“Does this spare bedroom actually have a bed?”
William hesitated. “It has a chaise lounge, but it’s as comfortable as my bed. And I only sleep in there every so often. Twice a week, maybe.”
“I guess that’s better than sleeping at an office that’s not located in your own home.”
A red flush crawled up William’s neck.
“Oh. My. God!” Benji said again.
“I know, but—I know.” William dropped his head onto Benji’s chest and nuzzled in.
“Don’t distract me by being cute.”
“You’re the cute one.”
Bubbly, happy warmth spread through Benji’s chest. “Don’t distract me with compliments.”
William huffed and tipped his head back, giving Benji a stern glare. “You will always get compliments from me. You’ll have to learn not to be distracted by them, sweetheart.”
Erin McLellan is the author of several contemporary romances, all of which have characters who are complex, goodhearted, and a little quirky. She likes her stories to have a sexy spark and a happily ever after. Originally from Oklahoma, she currently lives in Alaska and spends her time dreaming up love stories set in the Great Plains. She is a lover of chocolate, college sports, antiquing, Dr Pepper, and binge-worthy TV shows.
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