Carlisle police officer Dwayne knows what Robin is doing the moment he lays eyes on the young man at Bronco’s club. But he doesn’t know that, like him, Robin also comes from a family who cast him out for being gay, or that he’s still lugging around the pain of that rejection. Robin leaves the club, and soon after Dwayne decides to as well—and is close by when things between Robin and his client turn violent.
When Dwayne finds out Robin is the victim of a scam that lost him his apartment, he can’t leave Robin to fend for himself on the streets. Despite Dwayne’s offer of help and even opening up his home, it’s hard for Robin to trust anything good. The friendship between them grows, and just as the two men start warming up to each other, Robin’s sister passes away, naming Robin to care for her son. Worse yet, their pasts creep back in to tear down the family and sense of belonging both of them long for.
Will their fledgling romance dissipate like fog in the sun before it has a chance to burn bright?
Title: Fire and Fog
Author: Andrew Grey
Series: Carlisle Cops #6
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: July 7 2017
Amazon
Dreamspinner Press
I write a lot of guest posts for a lot of blogs. But I love this one. mainly because the name is so cool. See it speaks to me. I may not be a chick, but I am obsessed with books. I have hundreds of them on my Kindle and more on the bookshelves in my house. I have been a reader for most of my life. As a kid I used to go to bed and read The Hardy Boys mysteries. Later I read classics and adventure stories. Finally I found gay romance and I was hooked. Completely and totally. Obsession confirmed. I also love eye candy. After all I am a gay man and there are few things more beautiful than a handsome man…well maybe a handsome man, naked, lying on his back with I want you eyes and….Well you get the picture. Thankfully Dominic is the best eye candy ever.
Robin lay still for a long time. His life had gone to hell, and he kept descending further and further by the day. Now he was homeless, in essence, lying on a surprisingly comfortable sofa in a stranger’s living room, and wondering just when the next shoe was going to drop. He could see all the way into the dining area and kitchen from where he lay and it seemed rather homey and brought his predicament into focus.
He jumped when water ran, wondered if Dwayne was up, but it was somewhere else in the building.
If he was honest with himself, he wouldn’t have minded so much if Dwayne had been interested. Robin had to admit Dwayne was hot, and when Robin closed his eyes, his mind did an efficient job of pulling away Dwayne’s club clothes and filling in all the blanks.
Eventually Robin slept, then woke with a start at the clink of dishes. The night had been warm and he’d pushed the blankets off. He rolled over and wished he hadn’t, because after a night with images of Dwayne running through his head, jumbled up with the other things that had happened to him, he was as hard as a rock and completely confused. Still he didn’t want to be flashing Dwayne.
“Did you sleep okay?” Dwayne asked as the scent of coffee filled the apartment, calling to Robin like a siren of the morning.
“Yes. Thanks.” His arousal went down as his reality sank in hard. There was nothing for him to get excited about.
“I’ll have breakfast ready in ten minutes or so. Go on and get cleaned up if you want.” Dwayne seemed to watch him for longer than necessary before turning away to get out some pans. Robin took the opportunity to escape, hurried to the bathroom, closed the door, and paused to breathe once he was safely inside.
He gasped and leaned against the door as everything from the past few months pressed down on him like a lead weight. What the hell was going to happen to him now? He’d failed at everything. Hell, he couldn’t even hustle properly and got picked up by a cop his first time out. He had no home, a few bills in his pocket, and didn’t know where his next meal was coming from.
Robin slid down the door and ended up scrunched at the base of it in a heap, unwilling and unable to move. He knew he had to get up and somehow do what he needed to leave this room before Dwayne thought something was wrong and came looking for him. Falling to pieces was one thing, but someone seeing him do it was completely different. He needed to be strong so no one thought they could take advantage of him.
Using the door handle, he pulled himself to his feet, then ran water and splashed it on his face. He’d forgotten to get his toothbrush and stuff before he’d made his escape, so he screwed up his courage, left the bathroom, and returned to the living room, where he opened the top box and found what he needed in a CVS bag. He also grabbed some cleanish clothes and then raced back to the bathroom as everything boiled to the surface. He tamped it down and managed to get behind a closed door one more time, stared at himself in the mirror, and tried to see the part of him that had fucked everything up so badly. Maybe he did have loser written on his forehead. Robin actually checked. He couldn’t see anything, but there had to be something, because he’d sure drawn the loser stick in life.
Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation.
Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing) He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Author Links
Facebook Group All the Way with Andrew Grey
Twitter @andrewgreybooks
Fire and Water (1)
Fire and Ice (2)
Fire and Rain (3)
Fire and Snow (4)
Fire and Hail (5)
Fire and Fog (6)
