Love and Murder

By W.S. Long

Jake Chandler is a struggling small-town Florida lawyer, and his life is falling apart. His ex-wife makes seeing his daughter difficult, his boyfriend Noah may be cheating on him, and his money woes are growing. Jake hopes that a new murder defense case will help with his money woes, but his ex-wife Elena is the prosecutor. It’s bad enough she has to fight with him over custody of their daughter. Now she wants nothing more than to beat him in the courtroom, too.

And then people around him start dying.

First, an ex-lover gets his brains blown out while he and Jake have coffee. The danger comes even closer. Then Jake meets handsome FBI agent Xavier, who is investigating the crimes surrounding him. Can Jake trust this new man in his life? Is Xavier who he says he is? Or does his involvement put Jake and those he loves in even more danger?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Feb 27, 2014
• ISBN: 9781611525519

W.S. Long

Raised in a military family, I lived in different places. This peripatetic life forced me to take refuge in books at a young age. I can't tell you how many books I read. But in middle school and through high school, I loved reading Victor Hugo, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, and Jules Verne. Books were an escape.I eventually left home at seventeen to join the military and thought my issues with same-sex attraction could be solved.But, I was wrong. Luckily, I found someone in my life after undergoing trials and tribulations.Why do I read and write male-male romance? Frankly, we all need love and romance in our lives.You can never have too much love, or romance. Right?

Book preview

Love and Murder

By W.S. Long

Published by JMS Books LLC at Smashwords

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2014 W.S. Long

ISBN 9781611525519

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Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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Love and Murder

By W.S. Long

Chapter 1

I pulled up to the familiar driveway. As I glanced at the blue and white Cape Cod home, lit partly by streetlights, the queen palm fronds swayed in the light breeze. The large bougainvillea vine crept up the trellis near the garage. Florida winter had arrived, but so far temperatures hovered in the sixties.

My daughter, Chel, unbuckled her seat belt and pushed back the brown hair that covered her eyes.

Bye, Chel, Noah said to her.

Bye, Uncle Noah, she mumbled.

I walked Chel to the door, making sure that I looked down as I approached the uneven steps close to the house. One step had a large crack I’d never gotten the chance to fix. As we got close to the door, I bent down, and gave her a hard hug. I love you, I said.

I love you too, Daddy. Her hair caught some light from the incandescent porch light. Are you coming to see my play? I play one of the pilgrims.

"Of course. Wouldn’t miss it for the world and I’ll bring Uncle Noah.

Well, yeah, but you know Mommy doesn’t like him much.

Mommy doesn’t like Daddy either. But we’ll both be there.

The door swung open. Elena came forward, wrapped in a bathrobe, then stood with her legs apart, arms folded, her forehead furrowed. Her face and eyes were obscured. Jeez, Jake, it’s almost midnight. Nine-year-olds don’t belong out this late! Didn’t we agree you’d drop her off at eight? She ushered Chel in the house.

Sorry, but after watching the movies, she wanted some ice cream, and—

Elena scowled. Her face now illuminated by pale yellow light. Spare me. She turned to Chel who stood near the door, and shouted, Chelsea Summer, go put on your pajamas!

Our daughter waved goodbye to me from behind Elena’s back. Elena didn’t see Chel wave. All the better. She was angry at me for a lot of reasons. Tonight was no exception.

You’re late on the child support too, she said. She stepped back into the house. Do you think you’ll have a check by the time you pick up your daughter tomorrow?

I’d barely answered yes when the door slammed in my face.

* * * *

What a bitch, remarked Noah, an hour later, in bed. Doesn’t she know that times are tough? You’re busting your ass but—

Noah, I sighed. Let’s not talk about it anymore. Please. I leaned forward, wanted to forget for a moment about the money problems.

He put his magazine down, then pushed the comforter off, and slid closer. Noah cupped my face, then moved his thumb over my cheek. His clear blue eyes bore down on me, as I took his hand and kissed the inside of his palm. He pulled back his hand a little, but I held on to it. My mouth took his thumb and used my tongue to bathe it. He stuck his index finger in my mouth and slid it in and out, and stopped only when I dropped my hand. I touched the top of his boxers, felt his hard erection. I gulped then removed his last stitch of clothing, and marveled again at the results of the hours he spent at the gym.

What do you want me to do? I asked.

Surprise me, he moaned.

My lips met his, and his tongue darted in and out, dancing with my own. I pulled away, and his eyes implored me not to tease him, but I couldn’t resist. My fingers found his hard, very thick shaft, and his precum pooled up near the glans. His erection was at full staff so I knew my mouth would not be able to accommodate his full length, yet I scooted so my mouth was positioned correctly.

Noah rewarded me with moans and thrusts. He held my head while he pistoned his cock in and out of my mouth, not stopping even though I gagged a few times. He could have kept this up for a few more minutes and then provide me a hot, liquid reward but I grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away. He sat up, panting, and kissed me hard.

I want you to fuck me, Noah.

I don’t have any condoms. Do you?

I trust you.

His eyes widened, knowing what this meant.

Yes, I forgive you.

"You’ve kept your promise, right?

Noah nodded. "I love you, Jake. I’ll never—’’

—Shhh. I shook my head. I didn’t want him to make another vow, not tonight. I wanted to forget about the past.

He kissed me, took his time, then ran his tongue on the outside top of my lip. His mouth found my nipples as he circled both, skimmed his teeth over each a few times, and bit softly. My verbal acknowledgement egged him on as he wet my treasure trail, kissed my body along the way to my dick.

He licked underneath my penis, flicked up to the top as I groaned, then repeated the move. His hand pumped and twisted as he later engulfed most of my member with his wet mouth. His tongue slid underneath my balls. Instinctively, I lifted my legs in the process, as Noah darted and circled my spot.

You like that?

I grunted in reply as he continued to wet my hole. He inserted one and then two fingers to get me ready. I wanted him inside me. It had been a long time so I didn’t wait for him to insert a third finger. I moved his head off my man pussy. Fuck me, dammit.

Noah lifted my legs higher, then pulled me closer to him so my ass hung over the edge of the bed. He grabbed lube from the nightstand drawer, grabbed both my ankles, then hoisted my legs between his shoulders. The mushroom head of his large cock pressed against my back door. I tensed, knowing what would happen next.

Pain, sharp, almost searing but localized as he leaned in, and I felt the crush of his larger, taller frame. His man meat expanded my rectum and my ass lips. He knew what I wanted. Slow movements at first, then fast.

Fuck, you’re tight, Jake, he whispered, his face inches from me as he started pounding harder, his breathing shorter, more pronounced. Sweat poured off his face and dripped on my chest. I took my hand and licked it, tasting his salt. The only sounds were moans and grunts as Noah’s body, slick with sweat, made fleshy contact with mine. His slowed his thrusts and made them longer. I grabbed his ass and tried to grind him all the way in me. Noah knew what this meant, but pulled all the way out. He then slammed his whole length in me, the feel of his cockhead on my prostate sending me a wave of pleasure. He pulled out slow and waited, then pushed his whole length in, repeated the process several times, until I couldn’t contain myself anymore. I grabbed my cock and pumped as he picked up the pace again and went faster.

I knew he was close. He squeezed his eyes trying to hold back.

Fuck, Jake, it’s been so long. You better come because I’m ready to blow my wad.

I grunted and rewarded Noah for his great cocksmanship. He bent over licked my gift and kissed me. His breathing still labored.

Jake Chandler, he whispered. I’ll always love you.

* * * *

I resolved that morning to try to make things smoother with my ex. I owed it to our daughter.

Noah drove me to work and dropped me off. He promised to be back in a few minutes with coffee as he told me once again he loved me.

After watching him leave in my old BMW, I walked up the creaky wooden stairs and entered the lobby, propping the door open with a cast iron, lion-head door wedge. Raising the blinds rather than turning on the lights in the lobby, I proceeded to my office. I opened the windows in my office to let the crisp November air in the hopes of removing the stuffiness of the room.

After turning on my computer, I phoned Elena.

Hello, she said in a whisper.

Hey, it’s me. Sorry I dropped Chelsea kind of late last night.

Jake, I wish you would keep to our agreement to drop off her by eight. At nine, she doesn’t need to be hopped up on sugar. We were up until almost one.

You have every reason to be annoyed and I’ll try better next time. I’d like to pick her up in a few hours.

Jake— her voice trailing off.

I hear some muffled sounds in the back. Then I heard voices. It took me a couple of seconds to realize why the sounds were muffled.

After a few moments, Elena came back on. "What time do you want to come over to pick her up?"

Is there someone there with you?

You’ve got no right to ask that question.

We had a deal. No sleepovers until we both talked about it and agreed Chel can handle it.

"Listen, I don’t need this from you. You’re not exactly the greatest promise keeper. So, are you picking up your daughter or not?"

I bit my lip, trying to contain my anger.

I’ve got this appointment at eleven, so I can be over probably at noon.

Don’t say noon, if you don’t mean noon she said curtly.

I’ll pick her up at twelve-thirty then. I pushed the end call button before she could say anything. I didn’t want to have a long, drawn out argument with my ex-wife.

* * * *

Chapter 2

Cars moved slowly down Main Street, headed west, and passed the historic courthouse with its silver dome. Being Saturday, downtown Bartow was quiet. My office on the second floor overlooked the small, kitschy little restaurants and a coffee shop off Main that was closed this Saturday. It was a couple of blocks away from the working courthouse, a ten-story brown, blockish edifice that was the tallest building in Bartow. It looked like Lego blocks someone put together. I chose this office so I could walk easily to the courthouse without worrying about parking. The location cost me a decent month’s rent, though.

By my watch, I had a half-hour before the appointment, which shouldn’t take long because it involved a former client, who wanted to consult with me again. Noah should be back soon.

I turned to the items on my desktop to get things going. On Saturday mornings, I went through all the emails from the week, making notes to follow up for uncompleted tasks. After checking my calendar for the coming week, I turned my attention to the money in the operating and trust accounts. I knew that if I didn’t pay particular attention as a lawyer to my trust accounts, I could easily get disbarred.

I hadn’t drawn a full salary in two months, only paying myself partially after paying Lou Ann, my secretary, and Noah. My partial salary went to Elena’s alimony, which helped her pay the mortgage for the house, the child support I agreed to pay without a fight, and the rent for the office and my Oakhaven apartment. I used credit cards for everything else the last two months and had just made the minimum payments. If my practice didn’t get better, I would have to lay off Noah or Lou Ann, or both, and soon. I didn’t want to think about choosing between my boyfriend, and my long-time secretary.

Stuck in my thoughts, I was jarred when I heard a knock. He was early. As I walked to greet my appointment, I stopped by the mirror near the door that was put up to make my small office bigger. I quickly glanced at my reflection to make sure I was presentable. My dark brown hair was a little long, which helped cover the slight graying of hair at my temples. No sleep in my eyes—blue as they were since the day I was born thirty-four years ago—and I saw nothing unsightly, so I quickly went to our small lobby.

Frank was standing near Lou Ann’s desk, over the threadbare rug.

Hi, Mr. Peoples. I held out my right hand. It’s been a long time.

He shook my hand. Hey, Jake, he said, sounding nervous. You probably thought you’d never see me again.

Frank was dressed in a polo style shirt, shorts, and topsiders. Gold chains hung from his neck, over his hairy, graying chest. He reeked of strong cologne.

As we moved into my office, I poured a glass of water for him from a cold plastic bottle that came from the mini-fridge. Frank took the offered water and sat down.

My apologies for not being able to offer coffee, I said. Our coffee pot broke but we’ll have coffee here shortly. We made some light pleasantries, but after a few minutes Frank got right to the point.

Jake, I need you to represent me again, he said.

Why do you need my help?

"Well, before we get into that, I need to know that