Free Falling

By SE Jakes

Sometimes falling in love is the most dangerous thing of all.

Blue is a thief who lives for adrenaline and danger. And when he meets Mick, a mercenary, he’s hit with a buzz of attraction like the rush of a high-rise job without a safety rope. But after making plans to get together, Mick leaves him hanging, and Blue vows never again.

A year later, Mick watches helplessly as Blue stumbles into the middle of one of Mick’s jobs. Risking his cover and their lives, Mick saves Blue and cares for him as he recuperates, but neither man has any idea how to handle the intimacy this forces them into.

Once Blue is safe, Mick redoubles his efforts to take down the drug lord responsible—and disappears. Blue goes after him, determined to return the favor and rescue the man he loves, no matter the cost.

This is a revised second edition of the originally self-published title. No substantive changes have been made to the story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Riptide Publishing
• Release date: Feb 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781626491366

SE Jakes

SE Jakes writes m/m romance. She believes in happy endings and fighting for what you want in both fiction and real life. She lives in New York with her family and most days, she can be found happily writing (in bed). No really... You can contact her the following ways: You can email her at [e-mail]. You can post to her Facebook page: Facebook.com/SEJakes You can tweet her: Twitter.com/authorsejakes You can post on her Goodreads Group: Ask SE Jakes You can follow her Tumblr page: sejakes.tumblr.com You can follow her on Instagram: instagram.com/authorsejakes Truth be told, the best way to contact her is by email or in blog comments. She spends most of her time writing but she loves to hear from readers! SE Jakes is the pen-name of New York Times Bestselling author Stephanie Tyler (and half of Sydney Croft) — please go to my media kit to learn more!

Book preview

PRAISE FOR SE JAKES

S.E. Jakes blows apart stereotypes to tell tales of m/m romance so hot they’ll leave burn marks on your fingers.

—Christopher Rice, New York Times bestselling author

An instant favorite.

—Jayne Rylon, New York Times bestselling author

SE Jakes writes the books I want to read—hot, sexy, emotional and action-packed.

—HelenKay Dimon, award-winning author

PRAISE FOR FREE FALLING

"A potent mix of tension, sexual chemistry, and emotion, Free Falling was the first SE Jakes I read. I’m now addicted."

—Lauren Dane, New York Times bestselling author

PRAISE FOR CATCH A GHOST

Jam-packed with suspense, romance and a gripping mystery.

—RT Book Reviews

This is the best SE Jakes has ever written and a must-read for fans of the author.

—Reviews by Jessewave

An excellent start to what looks like a very intriguing series.

—Romance Junkies

Escapism at its finest . . . I’m eagerly anticipating the sequel.

—Live Your Life, Buy the Book

I’m completely invested at this point.

—Attention is Arbitrary

PRAISE FOR LONG TIME GONE

Bound to thrill, titillate, and tantalize.

—RT Book Reviews

I love this author . . . she is one of the reasons I now only read m/m romance.

—Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews

The story is exciting, suspenseful, and crazy intense. I loved this one and highly recommend it!

—Joyfully Jay

I’m officially hooked.

—Fiction Vixen

It’ll leave you breathless.

—The Novel Approach

Addictive and intense.

—3 Chicks After Dark

PRAISE FOR DIRTY DEEDS

I fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.

—Mrs. Condit & Friends Read Books

It will leave you sitting in a corner rocking back and forth murmuring ‘I need more.’

—Guilty Indulgence

Fun, raw and powerful . . . a masterpiece.

—Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews

Took my breath away, and twisted my heart.

—Smitten with Reading

If this book is any indication of the direction this series is going, we are in for the ride of our lives.

—The Novel Approach

A master storyteller.

—The Blogger Girls

Jakes nailed it.

—Attention is Arbitrary

Riptide Publishing

PO Box 6652

Hillsborough, NJ 08844

http://www.riptidepublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Free Falling

Copyright © 2012, 2014 by SE Jakes

Smashwords Edition

Cover Art by Croco Designs, http://www.crocodesigns.com

Editor: Sarah Frantz

Layout: L.C. Chase, http://lcchase.com/design.htm

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher, and where permitted by law. Reviewers may quote brief passages in a review. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Riptide Publishing at the mailing address above, at Riptidepublishing.com, or at [e-mail].

ISBN: 978-1-62649-136-6

First edition

December, 2012

Second edition

March, 2014

Also available in paperback:

ISBN: 978-1-62649-137-3

ABOUT THE EBOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED:

We thank you kindly for purchasing this title. Your non-refundable purchase legally allows you to replicate this file for your own personal reading only, on your own personal computer or device. Unlike paperback books, sharing ebooks is the same as stealing them. Please do not violate the author’s copyright and harm their livelihood by sharing or distributing this book, in part or whole, for a fee or free, without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner. We love that you love to share the things you love, but sharing ebooks—whether with joyous or malicious intent—steals royalties from authors’ pockets and makes it difficult, if not impossible, for them to be able to afford to keep writing the stories you love. Piracy has sent more than one beloved series the way of the dodo. We appreciate your honesty and support.

Sometimes falling in love is the most dangerous thing of all.

Blue is a thief who lives for adrenaline and danger. And when he meets Mick, a mercenary, he’s hit with a buzz of attraction like the rush of a high-rise job without a safety rope. But after making plans to get together, Mick leaves him hanging, and Blue vows never again.

A year later, Mick watches helplessly as Blue stumbles into the middle of one of Mick’s jobs. Risking his cover and their lives, Mick saves Blue and cares for him as he recuperates, but neither man has any idea how to handle the intimacy this forces them into.

Once Blue is safe, Mick redoubles his efforts to take down the drug lord responsible—and disappears. Blue goes after him, determined to return the favor and rescue the man he loves, no matter the cost.

About Free Falling

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Dear Reader

Also by SE Jakes

About the Author

Enjoy this Book?

One year earlier

Blue had the hotel safe open and the necklace tucked into his palm when a big hand moved gently over the back of his neck. He stilled, barely breathing, until Mick murmured, Caught you, fair and square.

Not the time, Blue said through gritted teeth.

I think it’s the perfect time.

If you fuck this up—

I don’t expect you to put it back. Come on, Blue—you lost our bet. Take your punishment like a big boy. The bastard was smiling—Blue could feel it.

Unease gnawed at his gut. He never got caught. Never liked giving up control.

But for this man . . .

It would still be hard. But shit, he’d never welched on a bet in his life, and he wasn’t about to start now.

They’d been circling each other for business and for the threat of pleasure for months. And Blue was finally caught.

Do you remember the terms? Mick asked, and Blue glanced over his shoulder.

Quite clearly.

So do I. Mick’s eyes glowed, and Blue’s heart lodged firmly in his throat, even as his cock hardened. Fucking traitor.

He closed the safe, shoved the necklace into his jeans. Where are you staying?

Mick handed him a key card. Cape Grace. Room four thirty-three, eleven o’clock. And as Mick walked away toward the balcony, he called over his shoulder, The whole night—that was part of the agreement.

Blue slid the card in his pocket so he didn’t have to watch his hand shake. Waited a few beats until he was sure Mick was clear and then went out to the balcony as well to climb down the side of the hotel.

Blue blended in with the staff leaving from the rear exits, broke off toward the back alley. No one followed. No one ever caught him.

Maybe you wanted to be caught.

Or maybe I just got sloppy, he muttered to himself as he walked the two miles back to his own hotel, through the side streets of Cape Town, taking in the scenery.

There was lots of jewelry in that Bishopscourt neighborhood hotel tonight, what with the society ball being held there, but he’d only taken the piece his buyer wanted, a yellow diamond pendant, eight carats, no flaws. His mark apparently felt comfortable enough in the luxury hotel that they’d just used the room safe, not the hotel’s main safe. Didn’t matter though. For someone like Blue, both were as easy to open as a bottle of soda.

Easy always made him restless and irritable.

He made the call, watched the money go into his account, and left the package with the night clerk who really wasn’t the night clerk but rather worked for his client. A perfect exchange. As untraceable as you could get these days.

Upstairs, he ordered room service, then lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He figured the two hours left before his meeting with Mick would fly by, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted time to slow or speed up. That had been his dichotomy with Mick from the start.

The first time he’d met Mick was when they were both working for the same millionaire—Barry—on a job involving priceless statues that needed to be acquired and shipped cross-country.

Blue stole; Mick provided protection. My retrieval experts, Barry had called them as they stood side by side, before he’d introduced them.

Mick was huge, his face seemed like chiseled stone, the rugged kind of handsome Blue definitely got off on, and he’d simply stared when Blue extended his hand and said hello. Blue had wanted to squirm under his gaze but forced himself to pretend otherwise. He’d been hit with a surge of electricity when the man finally shook Blue’s hand.

Because of that, Blue purposely hadn’t made small talk as Mick drove them to the estate Blue would steal from. He had to keep his head in the game.

Mick parked a block away, and Blue slid out of the truck, telling Mick, I’ll be back in twenty.

But Mick had already turned the truck off. I’m coming with.

No. I work alone.

Mick blinked. You don’t give the orders around here.

Neither do you. You’ll fuck something up. At the very least, you’ll hold me back.

I’m a retrieval expert, too, remember?

A different kind. Mick was a hitter—he could get in and out of tight spots by forcing people to hand over their valuables, and occasionally, he might get lucky and crack a safe quietly, but he was no thief.

It was obvious Mick wasn’t used to being spoken to like that. Blue knew the man was pissed, but he stood his ground, and Mick finally said, I’ll cover you from out here.

I don’t need that, either. And if Barry thinks I’m going to double-cross him, he shouldn’t’ve hired me.

Mick reluctantly relented, and Blue suspected it was only because they were losing their window of opportunity as they stood arguing.

He also knew Mick’s relenting would come at a price.

On the ride home, with the merchandise Blue had acquired in eighteen minutes carefully wrapped and stowed in the trunk, Mick grilled him. At one point, he stared at Blue, and Blue felt like he was being memorized. Blue is your real name?

Mick might’ve been committing Blue’s looks to memory, but Blue would make sure it didn’t go any further. He didn’t want anyone inside his mind. Problem?

I don’t like dealing with aliases.

Tough. I don’t live to make your life easier. My middle name is Blue. First and last aren’t up for grabs.

First, at least.

Mick’s

Reviews for Free Falling

[reneebooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I like a steamy M/M romance and this one was OK. Just didn't buy into the some of the plot points. Seemed quite contrived and not believable. As well some of the dialogue. Mick was an interesting character but Blue just turned me off. I just don't like the idea of stealing as a career.

[crtsjffrsn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Blue is a loner, but that's just the nature of his job as a thief. But when he meets Mick on one of his jobs, he can't deny the attraction that he feels. They part ways, but Mick shows up again to collect on a bet before disappearing again without settling things, leaving Blue frustrated. But when Blue finds Mick a year later, he's unwittingly walked into a job Mick is working and more danger than he bargained for. Can this be what finally brings them together? Can they escape the danger of Mick's current job? And can they truly make it considering their respective lines of work?

This was a relatively quick and easy read with an easy-to-follow story. There's a definitely chemistry and heat between these two that seems to almost radiate right off the page. There's a complexity to their interactions and a true struggle for them both as they work through their potential relationship on top of simply keeping themselves alive. And even though they're a bit unconventional in their setup, there is a fair level of heat to the sex scenes as well.

Content warnings: non-consensual drugging, impaired/dubious consent, attempted sexual assault

[shazov-133293 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Steamingly hot, sexy read...not surprising from this author. Very strong personalities which is also another given. Overall a great read.

So why didn't it get a higher rating? Well, to be honest, I had a few little niggles along the way. First of all I felt as if I had landed into an existing story and I was missing part of it. And there was definitely that touch of insta-love there, which combined with the beginning felt just a bit "off". And that did leave me disappointed to be perfectly honest.

Still, it was a really good way to spend a few hours to get to know more of the guys in this fantastic group.