Title: Everything Changes
Series: Resilient Love #1
Author: Melanie Hansen
Publisher: Self-Published (formerly Dreamspinner)
Release Date: September 14, 2020
Length: 65,000
Genre: Romance, Military, disability, amputee, post-traumatic stress, friends to lovers, bisexual
Add to Goodreads
Synopsis
A childhood in foster care taught Carey Everett to hold tight to what he has. Enlisting in the Marines gave him purpose, but a life-threatening injury ended his career—and took his leg. Now fully recovered, Carey’s happier than he’s ever been. He has a fulfilling job, a chosen family and, best of all, a cherished friendship with Jase DeSantis, the platoon medic who saved his life.
Jase knows how to take care of the people he loves. As the oldest of seven, and then a Navy corpsman, it’s what he was born to do. Still, he’s haunted by his actions overseas. Playing music with his band keeps the demons at bay, but it’s a battle he’s starting to lose.
After a week of sun and fun in San Diego, Jase and Carey’s connection takes an unexpected turn. With change comes a new set of challenges. For Jase, it means letting someone else into his deepest pain. For Carey, it’s realizing love doesn’t always equal loss. In order to make their relationship work, they’ll each have to come to terms with their pasts…
…or risk walking away from each other for good.
Purchase at Amazon
Carey perched on the edge of the bed in his underwear, legs spread wide.
Jase knelt in between them, tracing the edge of the sleeve anchoring Carey’s prosthetic in place. “So just roll this down?”
“Yes.” Carey couldn’t help but comb his fingers through Jase’s soft, springy hair, reveling in finally being able to touch. “Roll it down.”
Slowly, carefully, Jase did, following Carey’s murmured instructions.
“All the way below the lip of the socket. Good.” Carey pulled his residual leg free. “See? Easy.”
Jase touched the topmost Lycra sock. “Now these?”
“Those, and then the liner.”
Hissing at the cool air whispering across his now-naked stump, Carey leaned back on his hands, his heart giving a painful throb at how close the scarred skin was to Jase’s face. Puckered, pitted, misshapen, the amputation certainly wasn’t much to look at.
Before Carey’s insecurities could overwhelm him, Jase pressed a light kiss to his thigh. “Well, it looks a lot better than the last time I was this close to it.”
Carey choked, then burst out laughing. “Yeah, I imagine it does, in that it doesn’t resemble something that just came out of a meat grinder.” He grinned. “You always know the right thing to say, don’t you?”
“I try.” Jase kissed him again, then sat back on his heels. “What’s next?”
Carey pointed to his leg bag. “I have a small hand mirror in there that I use to look for hot spots.” He sputtered when Jase reached for the duffel. “But you don’t need that, you can just eyeball it yourself.”
“Nope, I wanna do it like you do.” Digging out the mirror and then gripping it like a magnifying glass, Jase passed it solemnly over the end of the stump.
Sighing, Carey asked, “See anything, goofball?”
“I do.” Sweeping the mirror up Carey’s inner thigh, he said, “I see something very interesting.”
“There’s nothing interesting gonna be up that high—” Carey gasped, a quiver going through him when Jase waved the mirror over his crotch.
“On the contrary,” Jase said with a wicked grin. “I’m really interested in this.” Leaning down, he nuzzled his nose against Carey’s bulge. “So very interested.”
Carey could only sit there in a haze of enjoyment as Jase mouthed him through the cotton of his underwear, the mirror forgotten, his hands holding Carey’s thighs wide.
“Mmm.” Licking his lips, Jase sat back and nodded in satisfaction. “Now I have something to work with.” He hooked his fingers in the waistband of Carey’s now-straining briefs. “Okay if I take these off?”
Carey’d never been more okay with anything in his life. “Yes.”
Melanie Hansen doesn’t get nearly enough sleep. She loves all things coffee-related, including collecting mugs from every place she’s visited. After spending eighteen years as a military spouse, Melanie definitely considers herself a moving expert. She has lived and worked all over the country, and hopes to bring these rich and varied life experiences to the love stories she gets up in the wee hours to write. On her off time, you can find Melanie watching baseball, reading or spending time with her husband and two teenage sons.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | eMail | Instagram
