Title: Snakes Among Sweet Flowers
Author: Jason Huffman-Black
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: AngstyG
Release Date: June 20
Heat Level: 3
Pairing: M/M
Length: 79k
Genre/Tags: Contemporary, M/M Romance, Suspense, Thriller
Synopsis
Two-time ex-con Camden Sanders has decided that Hog Mountain—an isolated community on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia—is the perfect place to continue running small scams without the threat of more prison time. But there are a few problems with this plan. One is the neighborly citizens of Hog Mountain thwarting his dirty dealings at every turn with their kindness. Another is Jackson Rhodes, a closeted Hog Mountain police officer who can see right through Cam’s good ol’ boy act and plans to catch him red-handed despite the attraction they both can feel. But the biggest problem of all is that Cam’s past is threatening to catch up with him, and it could mean trouble for more than just himself.Excerpt
When Cam parked his pickup in front
of the pumps at his station, he was surprised to find a local police cruiser
waiting by the closed garage door. A tall blond cop leaned leisurely against
the front bumper, staring directly at him as he took his time getting out. The
frown on the policeman’s face was at odds with his stance, and although Cam
didn’t think he had much to worry about, he couldn’t help the hammering in his
heart, the constricting of his chest.
He’d dealt with cops and guards
enough to know there wasn’t a one of them that wasn’t a sadistic asshole. They
thrived on making people like Cam suffer. Cam had yet to deal with the local
law and had hoped his lucky streak would continue. He had to admit the officer
knew how to wear a uniform, though, with broad shoulders and slim waist
accentuated nicely. Too bad he couldn’t sit in the truck all day and ogle the
man instead of having to deal with whatever he wanted. With a sigh, Cam
gathered his wits and opened the truck’s door, stepping out, then turning back
to grab his breakfast. Well, shit. Wasn’t this morning starting off with a
bang.
Instead of walking toward the
officer, he aimed for the front door of the gas station. He’d turned the area
attached to the garage into a waiting area with mismatched office chairs and an
old coffee table from the Goodwill. Cam had to jiggle the key in the lock a few
times before the cylinder turned, and as he opened the door, he heard footsteps
approaching.
“What can I do you for this morning,
Officer?” Cam asked as casually as possible. “Your cruiser giving you trouble?”
Cam sat his breakfast on the counter
that ran along the back wall, then stepped over to the window-unit AC and
pushed the button to get it going. It wasn’t that hot yet, but it wouldn’t take
long to get there. When he still hadn’t gotten an answer from the cop, he
turned to find him doing a thorough visual inspection of the area, then
stepping over to the glass door leading to the garage and doing the same,
canting his head to get as much of a view as possible without entering. Cam
frowned.
“Is there a problem, Officer?” Now
he had a reason for concern. What was the cop looking for? Cam had a sudden
itch to run for it, although he had no idea what he was running from.
The officer turned, and Cam squinted
to read the name Jackson Rhodes above the pocket of his uniform. When Officer
Rhodes’s hand came to rest on the butt of his gun, it was all Cam could do not
to flinch. “Who is the second coffee for, Mr. Sanders?”
Cam glanced over to his breakfast
and back to Rhodes, his nervousness kicking up a notch. “I… uh….”
“Is anyone else here, Mr. Sanders?”
Officer Rhodes took a step forward.
Shit! Cam was going into a full-out panic. His gaze darted around
the room, looking for some way out of the situation, but then just as suddenly,
his subconscious gave him a metaphoric kick in the ass. What the hell?
Was he going to let this asshole come into his place of business and fuck with
him? He had nothing to hide. Well, okay, that wasn’t exactly true, but he
wasn’t going to simply crumple over one question.
Cam slipped into his
I-give-not-one-fuck persona and looked Officer Rhodes in the eye. “I don’t see
where that’s even a little bit of your business, Officer. Want to tell me what
this is about?”
Officer Rhodes took a few more steps
closer, until he was crowding Cam against the counter in front of his food.
“I’ve been hearing tales on your methods of auto repair. From changing the
winter air out of tires to replacing dissolved halogen crystals in headlights
or the deoxygenized water in a radiator. A quick background check shows you’ve
served time in the past.”
Fuck it! Cam thought. He took a step forward too, coming chest to
chest and nose to nose with the officer. “Yeah, I done time, and I paid my
debt. I’m here making a fresh start and I won’t have you bad talking my
business. I have a logbook of work done, signed off by the customers. It shows
I did legitimate work, no matter what you hear.”
“I’d like to see this log, if you
will,” Officer Rhodes responded. Damn, the man was fine. Light brown eyes
sparking with challenge, blond hair cut short in a crew cut. He looks so
clean-cut, you’d think he would squeak when he walks.
Instead of pulling out the log, Cam
turned toward his breakfast. “Coffee, Officer? I do have two. Might as well
share. It was like I knew I was going to have company this morning.” He busied
himself by pulling out the creamer and sugar packets from the bag and placing
them where Rhodes could get to them, then pulling out the rest of his purchase
and divvying up the food as if he’d meant to buy the cop breakfast.
When Cam glanced over, Rhodes was
looking around again as if making sure no one else was in the shop. Then he
shrugged and started doctoring his coffee to his satisfaction. Cam did the same
and took a sip before opening one of the cabinet doors below the countertop. He
pulled out a receipt book and pushed it over to the officer, then scooped up
his breakfast and coffee and settled into one of the chairs to eat.
While Officer Rhodes leaned over the
counter and flipped through the receipt book, Cam took the opportunity to
admire the fine backside on display. The cop was built like a brick shithouse
and would make a great addition to his spank bank. No doubt Rhodes had a gaggle
of cheerleader-esque girls in town who giggled when he walked by. And that was
too bad. Cam wouldn’t mind giving the fine officer a strip search.
The sound of a throat clearing
brought Cam back from his thoughts. He glanced up to find Officer Rhodes
staring at him with a frown on his face. Oops.
Meet the Author
Jason Huffman-Black could be described as the porn star alter ego of the mild-mannered editor for several LGBT publishers. By day, Jason edits and writes in a cozy chair, while Mr. Huffman-Black travels the globe on such adventurous excursions as wrestling the one-eyed spitting serpent of Tangiers, ass-spelunking into the hidden tomb of King CockTut, and most recently, sharing a prison cell in a small third-world nation with a rather sweaty fur-covered hulk of a man named Javier.Coming June 20th from Dreamspinner Press
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