To See the Sun by Kelly Jensen
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: August 13, 2018
Length: Print – 243 pages. Ebook – 295 pages.
Subgenre: Science fiction, western
Reader warnings: past and present violence, and references to past
abuse.
For a full list of tags, visit: https://riptidepublishing.com/titles/to-see-the-sun
and click on “Additional Details”
Links:
Riptide Publishing: https://riptidepublishing.com/titles/to-see-the-sun
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/829052
Book synopsis:
Survival
is hard enough in the outer colonies—what chance does love have?
Life can be harsh and lonely in the
outer colonies, but miner-turned-farmer Abraham Bauer is living his dream,
cultivating crops that will one day turn the unforgiving world of Alkirak into
paradise. He wants more, though. A companion—someone quiet like him. Someone to
share his days, his bed, and his heart.
Gael Sonnen has never seen the sky,
let alone the sun. He’s spent his whole life locked in the undercity beneath
Zhemosen, running from one desperate situation to another. For a chance to get
out, he’ll do just about anything—even travel to the far end of the galaxy as a
mail-order husband. But no plan of Gael’s has ever gone smoothly, and his new
start on Alkirak is no exception. Things go wrong from the moment he steps off
the shuttle.
Although Gael arrives with
unexpected complications, Abraham is prepared to make their relationship
work—until Gael’s past catches up with them, threatening Abraham’s livelihood,
the freedom Gael gave everything for, and the love neither man ever hoped to
find.
Excerpt:
Bram pushed up from the table. “I’m
going to make tea. Want some?”
“I can make it.”
“Sit. I didn’t ship you all the way
out here to wait on me.”
“What did you ship me out here
for?”
Bram didn’t answer, and the
question burned the back of his neck as he performed the mundane task of making
the tea. He selected an herbal blend, his favorite, and spooned desiccated
leaves, fruit peel, and flower heads into the diffusing chamber at the center
of a battered metal pot. He could program the beverage machine, but he
preferred to make tea the old-fashioned way. Leaves and hot water. Sometimes
the process of a thing was as important as the result.
He reached toward the shelf of mugs
and stopped as a hand touched his shoulder. Warm breath ghosted across the
cooling skin at the back of his neck, reigniting his blush. Bram let his
fingers catch on the edge of the shelf and rest there, and tipped his head
forward. Gael moved closer, the heat of his body evident now as he leaned in.
Lips met the back of his neck in a
soft kiss. A small quake shifted the muscles beneath Bram’s skin, his body
making ready to turn. He held still a moment longer before following another
long-held urge, turning slowly—so slowly—until they were face to face. Well,
until his mouth was level with Gael’s forehead. Bram pressed a kiss there, one
as gentle as the touch of lips to the back of his neck.
“I didn’t bring you out here for
this, either,” he murmured.
“Yes, you did.”
Bram took hold of Gael’s slim
shoulders. “Not just this.” And not like this.
In answer, Gael lifted his face,
offering up his mouth. Bram’s resolve lasted about a second longer than he
thought it might before he bent to taste those lips. They’d been interrupted
twice now. No longer.
Gael’s lips were so soft, melting
beneath his, opening—though Bram didn’t take the invitation right away. He
kissed both lips, together and separately. He tasted them, the scent of Gael
mingling with the bitter tang of the outside air. Gael made a small sound: a
whimper or a moan. Bram deepened the kiss, still resisting the temptation of
Gael’s tongue. He didn’t want to fall all in, lose himself.
Then he was there, falling, his
lips and hands operating independently of thought. He craved the warmth of
Gael’s skin and wanted to compare it to the feel of his tongue. See if he moved
the same way—gently, teasingly. Gael seemed as wrapped up in the kiss as Bram.
He shifted, constantly, swaying into Bram, hooking his hands into the back
pockets of Bram’s work pants.
Blood shot south to pulse in his
cock, leaving Bram in that almost-forgotten state of arousal—somewhere between
thought and thoughtlessness. He teetered there, reveling in the anticipation,
and let his imagination roam. Oh, to touch Gael’s skin, to taste him. To hear
the sounds he’d make when aroused, when brought to climax, when drifting in the
aftermath. Would he be loud? Would he be shy and sweet?
A soft click sounded behind him.
The tea. Blinking as though roused from a dream, Bram pulled back. Gael leaned
in immediately, following him. He kissed Bram’s neck and ground his hips
forward. Bram tugged Gael’s hands from his pockets, regret making his movements
clumsy.
Gael tipped his head back. “What
are you doing?”
“The tea is ready.”
One long, slow blink. “What?”
“The tea.” Bram was still holding
Gael’s hands, and stupidly, he didn’t want to let go. But he did so he could
turn and collect the mugs. Pick up the pot.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No.”
“Then why did we stop?”
Bram had to consider his answer
because he didn’t really know, not in a way he could express in words. It would
have been so easy to keep going. To have had something fast and dirty in the
kitchen, or to have picked Gael up and carried him to the bedroom.
Gael followed him into the HV room
and sat beside him on the couch. Waited quietly while Bram poured the tea and
handed over one of the mugs. Picking up the other mug, Bram thought a little
more. Wrapped his fingers around the warm composite of ceramic and plastic and
searched for just the right words.
“We’ve got time.” Bram raised the
mug to his lips, but decided the tea was still too hot to take a sip. “Doesn’t
all have to happen in one night.”
About Kelly Jensen:
If aliens ever do land on Earth,
Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories of the
apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them
with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.
Kelly is the author of a number of
novels, novellas and short stories, including the Chaos
Station series, co-written with Jenn Burke. Some of what she writes
is speculative in nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks
and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain
peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.
Connect with Kelly:
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