Ascension

A Total-E-Bound Publication

www.total-e-bound.com

Ascension

ISBN # 978-1-78184-285-0

©Copyright Bailey Bradford 2013

Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright March 2013

Edited by Eleanor Boyall

Total-E-Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2013 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, United Kingdom.

Warning:

This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a
heat rating
of
Total-e-burning
and a
sexometer
of
2.

This story contains 82 pages, additionally there is also a
free excerpt
at the end of the book containing 9 pages.

Southern Spirits

ASCENSION

Bailey Bradford

Book seven in the Southern Spirits Series

Conner Sutherland never thought he’d meet the love of his life in the afterlife.

Conner Sutherland has been alone for a long time. He can’t remember the last time he even felt the desire to be touched by another man. Some time before his death, when he’d still been Laine’s lover. But Laine had found Severo years ago, and if any two people were meant for each other it was Laine and Sev. Where that leaves Conner, he doesn’t know, other than feeling lost and out of sorts.

He doesn’t want to think about the way he feels when he sees Ro—Rogelio, Sev’s nephew. Conner’s seen Ro grow from a pretty boy into a handsome man, but wanting him is foolish and useless. Ro’s got a life to live, and even if he does things that hurt Conner, that’s not Ro’s fault. He doesn’t know he entranced Conner long ago.

Ro has only ever wanted one man for keeps. It’s a pointless want, though, because Conner Sutherland is dead and too busy pranking Laine and Sev to notice Ro anyway.

But life and death have a way of surprising you, as Ro and Conner find out.

Dedication

To happily ever afters—may we all have our own.

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Stetson: John B. Stetson Company

L’Oréal: L’Oréal U.S.A., Inc.

Google: Google Inc.

Jell-O: Kraft Foods

Chapter One

“Hey, Ro, can you get the oven mitts for me?” Severo asked as he opened the oven door.

Rogelio Martinez plucked the mitts from the counter top and handed them to his uncle Sev. The heat from the oven wafted out and Ro stepped back, swiping at his brow. “Are they ready?”

“I think so.” Sev pulled out the bubbling enchiladas. The spicy scent of them filled the kitchen and Ro’s stomach gurgled with anticipation. Between the enchiladas and the tortillas, both homemade, he was about to drown himself in drool. He swallowed and greeted his uncle Laine as he came into the kitchen. “Hey, Uncle Laine, how was work?”

Laine took off his Stetson and held it in one hand as he walked over to Sev. The kiss they shared was brief but the love between the two men was evident in the way they leaned towards each other, and in their expressions.

Rogelio’s heart pinched with something uncomfortably like jealousy. He didn’t want to be ugly, and he didn’t begrudge his uncles their love. He just… He wanted a love like that for himself. Well, and another man,
duh.
As he watched Sev and Laine, Ro’s mind wandered to his fantasy man. Ro had pictured him so many times since he’d realised he was gay. Thick blond hair, stocky, muscular build, and a smile that promised all kinds of mischief.

Ro blinked and shook his head. The image forming in his mind wasn’t one of a man he’d ever had. It was of a picture he’d seen years ago when, as a teen, he’d gone snooping into Sev’s past. It had twined with Laine’s, and Ro had been a naïve and romantic young fool, so entranced by Sev and Laine’s love story that he hadn’t been able to think of much else.

“You gonna help set the table, kid?”

Laine’s deep rumbling voice snapped Ro out of his thoughts. “Yeah, sure.”

Ro took the plain blue plates down from the shelf and placed them on the table. It didn’t take him long to lay out silverware and glasses of sweet tea. Laine made up a batch of guacamole while Sev finished up the salsa. They sat down at the table once everything was in place.

Laine arched a brow at him and pointed at the enchiladas. “Two or three?”

“Three.” Ro was thin as a whip but he could and did eat anything he wanted.

Sev sniffed at him. “I used to have that kind of metabolism. It’ll catch up to you, trust me.”

“I doubt that,” Ro said as he scooped some guacamole onto his plate. He was starving, but he could spare a moment to pick on his uncle. “You’re still in shape, and you’re getting old.”

Sev hissed and kicked him under the table. “I am
not
old, smart ass. And Laine’s older than me, anyway!”

Ro nodded and managed not to grimace as his shin took another kick. “Yeah, but Laine has always looked…” Ro waited for Laine to glare at him, then he sent Laine his sweetest smile. “Dignified.”

Laine snorted and muttered, “Dignified, my ass. Sayin’ I always looked old is what you’re sayin’.”

Ro hitched up a shoulder and shovelled a forkful of enchiladas into his mouth. He closed his eyes and moaned appreciatively as the hot cheese almost burnt his tongue. He wasn’t the only one enjoying the meal, either. The three men quit picking on each other and settled in to eat.

A prickling sensation caused the hairs on the back of Ro’s neck to stand up. His skin flushed with an awareness that he’d come to recognise. Sev cocked his head, but Laine kept eating, right up until the time that his plate scooted away from him.

Laine grabbed his plate and glared around the room. “Aw, damn it, Conner! You’re just jealous because you can’t have any!”

Sev shook his head. “He can have yours,” he said just as Laine’s plate was lifted off the table.

Laine leapt up from his seat but the plate spun up until its contents almost touched the ceiling.

“Conner…” Laine growled.

Ro’s pulse raced and he grew warm in places he just shouldn’t while sitting at his uncles’ table. Ro set his fork down and pressed his hands to his thighs, digging his fingertips hard against his legs to distract himself from the wave of arousal washing over him. Only someone like him would have a crush on a dead guy with a love for pranks.

“I’m gonna call someone who can exorcise spirits,” Laine warned. The plate tipped precariously and Laine tossed a hand out. “I was kidding! You know we love you, buddy.”

And just like that, the plate was lowered to the table again. Ro watched enviously as Laine’s hair was tousled. Sev swatted at the air shortly thereafter. “Conner, don’t fuck with my hair—urgh!” Sev’s hair became the victim of a mini whirlwind. Laine snickered. Ro dipped his head and wished he’d been included in the playing, but, as usual, Conner didn’t seem to notice him. He supposed that shouldn’t be surprising. Conner had been Laine’s lover before dying. There was no reason for the prankster spirit to notice Ro’s existence.

What would be the point if he did?
Ro couldn’t figure that one out. He kept his sigh to himself. He was just a geeky twenty-eight-year-old who still lived at home with his parents and didn’t have a life to speak of.

“Did you sense him?” Sev asked as Ro fiddled with a fold in his jeans.

Ro shook his head. “No.” He didn’t think that prickling sensation counted. As much as he’d longed to be gifted like Sev, to be able to communicate with the dead, Ro just wasn’t able to. He figured his familiarity with Conner was the only reason he knew when that particular spirit popped in. Conner had been swooping in to tease Laine and Sev, and sometimes save their asses in certain situations, for a long time now. Ro had heard so many stories—

Sev pushed back his chair. “I bet he’s in the bathroom hiding my stuff again. I’ll be right back.”

“Huh?” Ro looked at Laine for an explanation.

Laine grunted around a mouthful of food. He chewed it then swallowed, in no obvious hurry to answer, but he finally did. “‘Huh’ isn’t exactly a question, at least not in my mind, it isn’t. Conner’s taken to hiding Sev’s creams and hair dye. I don’t think he likes your uncle hiding his grey.” Laine took a drink of his tea and held the condensation-covered glass in his hand as he spoke. His dark eyes held a seriousness to them that made Ro want to squirm like a recalcitrant child. “You’re a smart kid. Are you gonna keep working at Virginia’s Café forever?”

In other words, why didn’t he go to college, get a real job—no, a career—and make something of his life? Ro felt a surge of anger at that. He’d been asked it too often. He tipped his chin up and glared at Laine, fighting down a shiver of fear and the intimidation he always felt at even the idea of standing up to the sheriff. But Ro was tired of everyone looking at him like he was a fool for not wanting more.

“What’s wrong with it if I do? I’m making an honest living. I’m good with the customers.” It wasn’t challenging, except for when Mr Brown decided to be an asshole, but even that Ro could handle. “Not everyone is made to go to college. There have to be little people working jobs like mine so educated people can have food they don’t have to cook themselves. It’s not like—”

“Whoa, whoa, kid, stop,” Laine said as he held up a hand. “I didn’t mean any offence.”

Ro cocked his head, puzzled by that. “Well, how else was I supposed to take it?”

“Maybe that your uncle Laine thinks you’re too smart and talented to spend the rest of your life waiting on tables?” Sev said from behind him.

Ro twisted around in his chair to watch Sev stash an armful of products in the pantry. “Won’t Conner find them there?”

“Nah. He’s off again, probably keeping Stefan company, or spying on someone else.” Sev closed the pantry door and leaned a hip against it. “You’re evading.”

Ro scowled and turned back to his plate. “No, I’m not. I already answered. I don’t want to go anywhere other than where I am. Why’s that so hard for anyone to understand? Some people go and come back, some people just go, and some people stay and are happy with their lives.” Honestly, Ro wasn’t a hundred per cent certain why he didn’t want to go off to college, or even to the community college. It just wasn’t for him. That was the best he could come up with.