Don't Read in the Closet: Volume Four (42 page)

brave guard, give me a minute.”

“Yes, Sire.”

Silence returned to the room. Gustav grabbed the chamber pot and

set the brass bowl by the bed. “Try not to miss.”

“My cock’s aim is quite true.”

“My ass has noted the fact. I’ll guide your flow.” Gustav gently

directed Tahir’s cock.

What a strangely tender moment. He never imagined his royal

lover helping him to piss! Tahir sighed in basic relief. He feared he

might flood the pot! “Now you must be careful not to slosh the

contents across the floor.”

“Excuse me, my balance is sound enough. You must feel better;

you act as disrespectful as ever toward your ruler.”

“A sure sign of my recovery!” Tahir watched Gustav carry the pot

to the garderobe tucked by the fireplace. “Look at the mighty king

playing maid to his guard.”

Gustav emptied the pot. His laughter rang free. “More like look at

the grateful man serve the brave man he loves.”

Joy flooded Tahir’s heart. He halted in shifting his aching body

onto the mattress. “The man he loves. Fitting, since the man he loves

is overjoyed at protecting the man he loves.” He smiled in ultimate

freedom. “How pleasant to be loved by such a wonderful man. You

are a clever ruler; you know exactly when to say the correct words.”

What? Gustav turned from washing his hands. “Do you accuse me

of using my words?”

“No, please, I misspoke. Blame the damned poppy juice fouling

my mind. You above all…” A knock interrupted Tahir’s protest.

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 244

“Sire? May I see my patient?”

“In my joy at seeing you alert I forgot about poor Leif.” Gustav

raised his voice. “Enter, Healer Leif.”

Leif hastened in. He nodded to the room’s occupants. “Sire, Tahir.

You look improved, young man. Any serious pain or discomfort?”

Why confess to weakness? Better yet, why not? Enough acting

like a stubborn savage. “Sharp twinges but nothing too serious.” Tahir

relaxed and watched the healer fuss over the two wounds. A healing

salve cooled the slow healing tug of the stitches. When Leif removed

the hip wound’s linen packing, Tahir thought the open wound imitated

a raw mouth, something reptilian and repulsive. The guard forced

himself to watch the healer repack clean, salve-coated linen into the

wound. He noticed his lover decided to stare out the window. Odd for

a man accustomed to blood and death to turn away from a mere

wound.

Enlightenment pierced Tahir’s soul. His lover did not want to see

Tahir in pain. The concept delighted the guard. He never imagined

anyone loving him so well.

“Tahir?”

He blinked at Leif. “Sorry, Healer, I’m still a little woozy.”

“No wonder. I dosed you with enough extract to fell a wild bull.

I’m surprised you’re coherent. For now there’s no infection. An

excellent sign. Due to the proximity of the wound to your penis, I

advise you to rest in bed until the pain fades. I know you young pups,

ready to challenge the world in a snap. Not on my watch.” Leif sternly

poked Tahir’s shoulder. “Stay in bed, you hear me, my stubborn

young buck? No heroics.”

“Yes, healer.” Tahir tried not to laugh, a difficult task considering

wicked Gustav imitated Leif’s scolding behind the healer’s back.

“I will return tonight to change the dressings. Our main worry is

infection. If you feel any heat grow near the wounds, summon me.”

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 245

“Yes, Healer Leif, and thank you.”

The door shut behind the aged man. Tahir held out his hands in

command. “Come here, you impossible man. I need details. I

understand you conducted royal housekeeping this morning which

accounts for your surly mood.”

Gustav aimed a grim smile at his lover. He perched on the bed’s

edge, reaching out his fingers to tangle against Tahir’s dark fingers.

“Housekeeping? In a manner, yes, I swept aside a lair of slinking rats.

I cannot pin anything solid on Elis or the others but their culpability

runs deep. The damaged evidence tells me they owned an idea of what

happened and stared the other way until they realized the disaster

preparing to crush them. The current council is under Jörgen’s

guidance. Elis spoke truth on one thing; Tuberclain’s mind is broken.

Imagine, his traitorous maneuvers brought the end he fought against.

Certain rogue Tothasians need to be tracked down and held

accountable.”

“I told you not to trust them.”

“Please, my love, the men I entertained are not the ones involved

in this mess. I know you hate them but not all of them are vile.”

Gustav shook his head. “Enough brutal politics. I need a healing kiss,

lover.” Their lips met in gentle caress. “Seriously, how is the pain?”

“Tolerable. I can’t imagine the pain if I had lost you.” Tahir kissed

his royal lover until he decided any further kissing sounded

dangerous. His fingers lightly pushed Gustav away from him. “Since

you enjoy serving me, I need drink and food. Something on the tray

smells quite tasty.”

Gustav laughed. He stood and bowed in elaborate respect. “I deem

serving my lover an honor.” He carried the tray and placed the loaded

silver weight on the bed. “The ambitious cook sent up roasted

potatoes and onions, cold salmon with dill sauce, sautéed wild

mushrooms and fresh fruit. Sorry, Leif must have ordered apple water

instead of wine for you.”

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 246

“For now apple water suits my fierce thirst.” Tahir settled against

the piled pillows and smiled in tease. “My poor left arm still feels

weak from supporting my protective shield in such vigor. My right

hand is a little weak from the opiates. Will you help me, dear lover?”

Gustav smiled. The king held up a forkful of salmon to Tahir’s

full lips. “Always, my love, always.”

THE END

Author bio:
S.A. Garcia can never decide between red or white.

Creating visual art and word art occupied her professional life until

word art triumphed.

Reading Gordon Merrick at age nineteen sounded a wake-up call.

Ten years of running B-Side, an indie music magazine, provided her

wild characters and curious situations for fiction. While traveling to

interview bands, writing gay romantic fiction percolated in the

background. Thirty years of gay romance hides in notebooks and the

computer. S.A.’s stories now enter the free air.

Greg Herren’s Blood Sacraments and Neil Placky’s The

Handsome Prince contain S.A.’s first short stories.

In 2011 Dreamspinner Press released Canes and Scales, To Save

A Shining Soul and Baron’s Last Hunt. Divine Devine’s Love Song

arrives in November 2011.

Silver Publishing will release Temptation of the Incubus in

October 2011.

S.A. also writes M/F romance. No matter what, writing HEA

romance spiced with trauma and drama makes her happy. She’s not

concerned about what gender snuggles under the covers or rolls

across tables and floors.

When not obsessing over different ways to describe romantic

encounters, S.A. enjoys cooking for her beloved of 25 years.

Gardening, traveling, arguing politics and teaching the house bunnies

new tricks provide more fun. Unfortunately the furry furies refuse

answer blog posts.

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 247

About all S.A. is a slave to words. She hopes her words connect to

her readers.

Visit S.A. Garcia on:

Dreamspinner Press

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/a… 

S.A. Garcia’s Books at Dreamspinner Press

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/a… 

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1… 

S.A. on Goodreads

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/477…

S.A.‘s Blog

http://oscarsbruisedpetals.blogspot.com/…

Twitter:

Twitter: SAGarcia_Writer

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 248

David Greene – SNAKE BITE (Adventure/Coming of Age)

Genre:
contemporary adventure

Tags:
adventure, coming of age, first time,

Dear Author,

holiday, interracial, jungle

This poor man is a living

Words:
7,547

Tarzan … stuck in the

forest living life in solitude .

SNAKE BITE

. . that is until you happened

across him.

by David Greene

Now remember, he knows

“Stay in single file,” the guide yelled. “At

nothing about love,

the fork ahead, keep left.” The tour guide

gentleness and seduction …

shouted instructions to the group paddling

he’s always just taken what

behind him. “Pass it back,” he called to the

he’s wanted, and he wants

you.

woman in the canoe behind his. The woman

[PHOTO: The machete

repeated his instructions to the man paddling

blade dominates the picture,

behind her. That man did the same to the rower

implacably pointed at the

behind him. Gradually, the guide’s instructions

viewer’s face. The man

behind it is young, bare-

made their way back to the seventh canoe. The

chested and dark-skinned,

woman in the seventh canoe turned to pass the

with cropped hair and cool

word back to the paddler behind her. “Stay in

charcoal eyes under winged

single file,” she called. “Keep left at the fork.”

brows. His cheekbones are

as sharp as the knife, and

The rower in the eighth canoe was Matt

the set of his full lips just as

Philips. He was the only member of the

cold.]

Amazon canoe expedition wearing headphones,

Sincerely,

listening to music. Before the trip, he’d ripped a

Havan

disc called “Jungle Drums” to his MP3 player.

Now, as he paddled, he bounced slightly in his

seat, dipping the paddle blade in the water in

time with the drumbeats. He’d just come to the

end of a cut called “Mango Dance” when he

heard the woman in front of him yell, “Stay in

single file.”

She might have said something else, but the

next cut, “Jungle Strut,” started up, so he didn’t

catch the last part of what she said. It didn’t

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 249

matter. He nodded to her anyway. He was in a groove. There was no

other way to describe it. He was on the best trip of his life. He was a

graduate student in Anthropology at the University of Michigan. He

had a special interest in studying native cultures. But he had not

realized how exhilarating it would be to go into the wild.

The idea for the Amazon trip had come to him one day while he

was rowing. As a freshman, Matt had joined the rowing team at

Michigan. He wasn’t very keen on athletics, but crew was a classy