Desperate Lovers Read online

  Desperate Lovers

  A Ravenous Romance® Original Publication

  Concept by Adam Carpenter

  Written by Adam Carpenter, Curtis C. Comer, and Jeff Wilcox

  A Ravenous Romance® Original Publication

  www.ravenousromance.com

  Copyright © 2011 by Adam Carpenter

  The individual contributors retain the copyright to their individual work.

  Ravenous Romance®

  100 Cummings Center

  Suite 123A

  Beverly, MA 01915

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-60777-412-9

  This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  PART ONE: Compromising Positions by Adam Carpenter

  PART TWO: Hidden Agendas by Curtis C. Comer

  PART THREE: Behind Enemy Lines by Adam Carpenter

  PART FOUR; Enemies and Allies by Jeff Wilcox

  PART FIVE: Endgame by Adam Carpenter

  PART ONE

  Compromising Positions

  by Adam Carpenter

  Here was the thing about this magical place called Wonderland.

  Given its name, the tiny village held an inescapable connection with Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s story, and many of its residents did little to dispel the idea. No doubt its homes and streets, its businesses, picked up on the quaint, memorable aspects of Alice and the parade of strangers she discovered down the rabbit hole. But really, an entire town’s existence built upon the stories and characters from a children’s fable that dated back nearly one hundred and fifty years? Was that really the true story behind Wonderland’s evolution? For a welcoming, inclusive town like this, which existed like no other place in America, with its tolerance for otherwise controversial lifestyles, sure, there was a decidedly fantastical element to living here. But given the turn of events that had occurred in the past few weeks—namely, the tense power struggle taking place on the exclusive cul-de-sac known as Eldon Court—there was little innocence here, nothing for a child to cling to.

  There would be no tea party in this Wonderland. Battle lines had

  been drawn. Eldon Court was being threatened from the inside, and the Wonderland Palaces were its proposed fate. For the four couples that lived large, loved passionately, and fucked desperately inside those magnificently restored Victorian homes were fighting for their very lives, their existence. They had formed a posse, if you will, and a posse was more in keeping with Wonderland’s true past than some silly old story about a girl named Alice and a crazy white rabbit and an even nuttier Mad Hatter. Wonderland’s past went back much further than the looking glass, and in truth, if you looked deep enough, the past was the weapon that could potentially secure its future. It all depended on who discovered the secret first.

  “What the hell has got you so engrossed?”

  Marc Anderson was ready for his evening jog, dressed in a skimpy

  T-shirt and even skimpier shorts. As he stretched his lithe body, he couldn’t help but look over at his sedentary lover, sunk deep into the soft sofa, still clothed in his suit, tie still knotted. What captured his attention was an old leather volume, faded gold leaf on the spine the only hint: “Our History.” Marc had to wonder whose history? The gays?

  Wonderland itself? Rich didn’t bother to look up, and Marc doubted he’d even heard him.

  “Hello, earth to Rich? Anybody home?”

  Still nothing, no reaction.

  “Forget it, you can tell me later. I’m going for a run.”

  A disinterested Rich waved at his partner, which Marc took as

  progress. Perhaps when he came back, the book would be put aside and maybe they could have dinner, a glass of wine, maybe he’d peel those business clothes off Rich, starting with that annoying tie—tease him into a memorable night of lovemaking. Heck, it was Friday night and Rich didn’t have to return to his job as bank manager at Wonderland Savings until Monday. Maybe Marc would have his way with him all weekend.

  Marc opened the front door and felt the first touch of a surprisingly cool evening. It was still summer, though it was getting late in the season and the first taste of autumn nipped at his exposed skin. A quick run around the block would cure him of that, and so that’s what he set out to do. Down the street, past the five Victorian houses that made up Eldon Court, he couldn’t help but notice lights blazing inside three of them. The folks at Number Two Eldon Court, with its conspiring neighbors who had just moved in and who were siding with the Palace developers were nowhere to be seen. Good riddance as far as Marc was concerned,

  especially given that one of the new residents was someone Rich shared a past with. Like they needed that additional distraction. Otherwise, a normal night seemed in the offing in their homo-eroticized version of Grover’s Corners—Sawyer and Dane inside Number One, Aaron and Paolo behind the doors of Number Three, and at Number Four were Jack and Edgar. He didn’t count his and Rich’s own place, the last home on the block, also known as Number Five. Men leading their regular lives, beyond closed doors and doing as they pleased, what felt normal. Rich being engrossed in a book was anything but normal.

  As he rounded the bend in the road, he saw the garage door at Aaron and Paolo’s house open up. Their SUV pulled out into the street.

  Marc gave a friendly wave to them, only to discover just one occupant: Aaron. Now where was he going alone? The grocery store? Liquor shop?

  A secret rendezvous? When his neighbor smiled back, Marc realized he was being nosy and so let his curiosity dissipate as quickly as the rear lights of the SUV faded into the falling blackness.

  So he just jogged. He jogged to the edge of the street, proceeding

  down the worn, rocky path to the beach located beneath the bluff Eldon Court was situated on. The sandy entrails of the beach made for tough going, but that was one of the reasons he’d gone this way. Made his calves that much stronger and more muscular.

  The night could not have been more perfect. Moonlight

  shimmered over the water, and the waves crashed like nature’s symphony.

  His senses were alerted to a noticeable odor, and it did not come from the ocean. He knew it immediately—someone was smoking a joint. The bitter fragrance wafted through the air from behind that boulder which a few weeks ago had nearly crushed Jack and Edgar. Slowing his pace so as not to surprise whoever else was on the beach, he soon discovered he had no cause for such surreptitious behavior. The smoker wasn’t alone, and he wasn’t really attuned to his surroundings anyway. His head thrown back, smoke willowing above him, all Marc could make out was that he was naked—and had a hot body. His muscled arms were pronounced and hairy, and a rich blanket of dark hair covered his chest as well. Marc’s heart skipped a beat as he realized that, with all that thick fur, the man could have been Rich.

  Another man was splayed between the man’s legs, and his head was bobbing up, bobbing down with deep, slurping enthusiasm. Gentle moans filled the quiet night.

  “Yeah, suck my thick one,” said the man being pleasured. Eyes closed, he took a long drag on the joint, held the smoke in his lungs until finally releasing it in a puffy cloud. Marc didn’t know the voice, and that was a good thing. That meant the hairy beast wasn’t Rich.

  “Christ, you’re huge,” said the man doing the sucking, looking up.

  “Really big.”

  “Just take it. Open up and take every thick inch.”

  Marc realized he knew the sucker. It was Paolo. He watched with a sense of detach
ment as the man on the beach shoved Paolo’s head back down into his crotch, and the eager sucking continued. Marc would hate to be discovered watching them, and so he backed up silently, thankful for the softness of the sand and the overpowering sound of the waves crashing.

  Not even his shadow remained. As he made his way back up the rocky path, he heard, “Yeah, that’s it, that’s it…now, suck me harder…aaahhh.”

  The man had clearly just shot his load, his cry echoing off the rocky bluff. Despite how he’d felt about invading their privacy, Marc’s cock hardened. Voyeurism wasn’t his thing, but still, he was human—and gay. Turned on by the idea of having his cock sucked, he picked up his pace and ran more than jogged the remainder of the way back to his house.

  He felt a slick coating of sweat covering his smooth body, and he had to wonder if it was a result of his exercise or the heat of desire flooding his body.

  He bounded through the front door, only to discover that Rich

  hadn’t moved a bit. He was still engrossed in the book, and he barely looked up. Marc felt the pressure of his hard-on against his tight shorts and he figured there was only one thing to do: free his cock. He slid the shorts off, followed by shirt and sneakers. He took his naked self into the kitchen, poured two glasses of Chardonnay, and then brought them into the living room. Feeling a bit naughty, Marc dipped his hard cock into the wine glass, coating the head with the oaky liquor.

  “Some wine?” he asked Rich, his voice seductive.

  Just then Rich looked up. “What the hell…”

  “Don’t ask. Just take it…take it all,” he said, virtually mirroring what he’d just witnessed down on the beach.

  “Marc, really…”

  Marc moved forward, straddling his lover, his cock still pointed directly at Rich’s mouth. He waited a beat, watched as the book slid off Rich’s lap. Just then his lover pulled him closer, his big hands caressing his thighs, cupping his tight bubble butt. Then he opened his mouth and took Marc’s cock inside, pubic hair meshing against his face. Rich sucked, suckled, in and out, in and out, picking up steam with each energetic motion. Marc felt himself growing bigger as Rich’s fingers slid up his ass, stretching him. God, he knew just what to do…where to touch him. It wasn’t going to take long…

  But it was. Because Rich pulled the cock out of his mouth, said,

  “Turn around, now.” Doing as requested, Marc pushed his ass cheeks up against Rich’s face, felt the first lick of his tongue. It was cool to the touch, and Marc realized Rich had taken a drink from the wine. Fuck, that felt amazing…just perfect. As his tongue probed deeper into his ass, Marc reached down and began to undo the knotted tie, the buttons of his dress shirt. At last Rich’s chest was exposed, the hair as dark and thick as that furry guy down on the beach. Marc knew he was close…so close… “….aaaahhhh,” he cried out, watching as bursts of thick, ropey come shot from his cock and splattered all over Rich’s dark chest hair. He rubbed his cock, more, again, waiting for every drop to escape from inside him. Panting with sudden exertion, he turned and planted a kiss on Rich’s lips.

  “Geez, I should read more often,” Rich said. “Didn’t know books made you so jealous.”

  “Well, let that be a lesson to you,” Marc said, smiling and settling in on the sofa next to his lover. “So, before I drag you upstairs where you can fuck me hard till morning, why don’t you tell me what that little book is about, and why it’s got you so curious.”

  Rich drank from his wine glass, setting it down before continuing.

  “Well, it’s fascinating, really,” he said, picking up the book. He flipped open the first page, where a chapter heading read The Settling of Wonderland. In his rich baritone, Rich began to read the story of a young man named Drew Saunders, and of his partner, Aidan Turner, and how

  they had left behind a scandal back east, only to come together in California.

  “I bet they came together,” Marc said, jokingly.

  “No joke. Marc, it’s more than intimated that they were lovers.

  Together, they settled Wonderland. In fact, they lived right here, on the land that would become Eldon Court. Here, check out these old photos…”

  Marc peered at the grainy old photos, one of them showing two men dressed in cowboy garb, sitting together on a wooden fence. The picturesque sight of the ocean view from Eldon Court was unmistakable, even back then. But what fascinated Marc most were the earnest faces of Drew and Aidan—they looked so comfortable with one another, Aidan’s arm resting against Drew’s thick leg. Both men were handsome, sexy even, Drew bearded and Aidan blessed with wonderful wavy hair. He could imagine the sex between them was hot, wild like the west they had conquered. Other photos showed Drew and Aidan’s alongside two hearty women, and a few photographs of their homes. Pre-Victorian, of course.

  He finally said, “Okay. So the history of homos in Wonderland dates back to…what, the mid-to-late eighteen hundreds? Big deal. Surely it doesn’t have anything to do with what’s going on right now on Eldon Court? About what happened years ago at Number Two, and why the developers want to take our homes away from us? Couldn’t possibly be related.” Even as he said it, he realized that there had to be a connection.

  Otherwise, why would Rich waste his time on the town history? “Rich, you’ve discovered something, haven’t you? What is it?”

  “According to the story here, even though Drew and Aidan lived openly as lovers, they were still interested in continuing their family names and lineage. Two couples lived on this bluff—two men, and two women.

  And each of these ‘couples’ had a child. Aidan and a woman named Sarah Briggs had a girl, but Drew and Heather Bowers had a son.”

  “And?”

  “His name was Parker.”

  “Parker. Like your first lover? What are you saying, that the

  Parker of today is somehow related to the Parker of yesteryear, and that’s he’s got some kind of claim to the land? Is that why he’s returned to Wonderland?”

  “That’s what we need to find out. My hometown definitely has its share of secrets—but secrets never stay that way. Even ones from the long-ago past, they can be found out. You just need to know where to look and who to ask.” Rich paused, putting the book down. “But that can all wait until tomorrow. I believe you mentioned something about fucking you hard all night long?”

  Marc slid his hand over his lover’s elongated cock, felt it grow thicker at his touch. He couldn’t wait to feel that big cock deep inside him, pounding him into happy submission as his hot and hairy beast heaved hard above him, sweating, grunting, bellowing as he reached orgasm. Who knew, maybe they’d go all kinky and role-play. He could be the cute Aidan, and Rich could play Wonderland’s sexy, scruffy-faced founder, Drew Saunders. After all, what better way to secure their future than by re-enacting the past?

  A special meeting of the town council was scheduled for Saturday afternoon and there was only one topic on the agenda: the zoning laws as they applied to a certain part of town named Eldon Court. The Wonderland Municipal Building was old-style, a brick façade with Colonial moldings, and at three thirty on a sunny day, it was also bustling with activity. Seems even though Eldon Court represented the land at stake, residents from all over the village had turned out to watch the drama play out. After all, if some faceless corporation could swoop in and lay claim to those great Victorian homes up on the bluff, what was to stop them from absorbing other desirable properties in town? It was a battle whose end result could impact Wonderland for years.

  But of course it was the residents of Eldon Court who took center stage. Marc had already gone inside to save seats, and so Rich stood under the portico, waiting for the other couples to arrive. Sunlight beamed all over the picturesque business district known as Down Wonder, a precious reminder of just what was at stake. As people poured into the municipal building, Rich gazed about the town he’d known as a kid. He remembered how he’d ridden his bicycle through the streets, borrowed books from the public
library, and gone surfing out on the swirling waves of the ocean. To be back living here, it seemed surreal to him, both strangely comforting and oddly unfamiliar. Thank God he had Marc at his side; what would he do if Marc ever left him, fed up with his wandering eyes—and cock? He hoped to never find out.

  “Then behave yourself,” Rich reminded himself.

  “Talking to yourself, Rich? Not a good sign at all.”

  The voice was friendly, and Rich turned to see his neighbor Aaron at his side. He was dressed in his hotel whites, and his brown hair was nicely ruffled. Speaking of behaving himself, Rich thought, remembering the time a few weeks back when that onerous pig Danvers Converse had blackmailed Aaron and Rich into bed. Of course, there were far worse punishments than screwing a muscled hottie like Aaron, but considering Rich had already fucked Paolo, Aaron’s gorgeous partner, complications were rampant. Wonderland, indeed.

  Converse’s plan to get these men to turn on one another had backfired, and now Aaron and Paolo were aligned more than ever with Rich and Marc in the fight to preserve their homes.

  “Hey, Aaron. No, sorry, lots on my mind, sometimes the words just slip out.”

  “It’s terrible when things slip out,” he said, grinning.

  “Geez, even in bright sunlight Wonderland is the horniest place on earth.”

  Aaron patted him on the shoulder, said he’d see him inside. Others arrived, those yummy youngsters Sawyer and Dane, and the ever gregarious duo of Edgar and Jack; LeeAnn and Lauren showed up too, though of course LeeAnn had to be here. Not only was she the top realtor in town, she was, conveniently, also a member of the zoning committee.

  Paolo, too, finally showed up, giving Rich a supportive hug, whispering to him, “Here’s to good luck.” Then he patted Rich’s butt, entering the building with a leering smile.