Stealing His Dangling Jewels

By James Cox

Lucas Harper made a name for himself by winning the lottery—a ticket that no one knows he stole. He bought his own private island, goes through men like underwear, and wastes money on lavish things. Or so everyone thinks.

Phoenix is the sexy thief that not only sleeps with Lucas, but drugs him and steals his dangling jewels. Literally. His mark has five million-dollar gems dangling from pubic piercings. Phoenix didn’t expect to feel bad about taking those little beauties. All he had to do was make it off the island and back home so he could use the overpriced rocks to get his mother into rehab.

Things don’t go quite as planned when Lucas catches up with him and they’re both trapped by a vicious storm...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight Publishing
• Release date: Mar 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781772337624

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Published by Evernight Publishing ® at Smashwords

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2016 James Cox

ISBN: 978-1-77233-762-4

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Kerry Genova

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

For those still struggling in their lives. Never give up.

To Evernight Publishing for being fantastic to work with.

To my readers, here it is, my full dip into the contemporary genre. I hope you enjoy!

STEALING HIS DANGLING JEWELS

James Cox

Copyright © 2016

Prologue

What was better than a donut? Chocolate, glaze, sugar. Lucas nearly salivated as he picked up the beautiful creation between his stretched fingers. At twenty-two, he should cut down on the junk food but the moment that flavor hit his tongue, the thought faded away like a breeze. As he chewed and savored the donut, his guilty conscious piped in. He’d never get a boyfriend being forty pounds overweight. But it was hard to resist when his folks owned a bakery on a small corner in a quiet neighborhood in New York City. Working there killed his willpower. All those delicious pastries they made. What the hell was a chubby guy like himself supposed to do? Say no? That’d hurt his mother’s feelings. Lord knows she needed the boost. After graduating high school he was supposed to go to medical school but the scholarship fell through. The bakery wasn’t doing well with all the Starbuck’s going up on every block.

Lucas finished off the donut and sighed. The sugar high would last him a few minutes at least. He patted his rounded middle. Maybe one more. He glanced around like he would get caught even though his parents were still at the bakery. It was nearly eight at night and the store would be closing. He slid his fingers into the bag and pulled out a jelly donut. Lucas licked his lips and opened his mouth. He bit down. Jelly squirted out the back, shooting across the small kitchen table like a cum shot.

You stupid bitch!

He jerked. Fuck. They were fighting again. He sighed and tried to focus on his donut. There was a solid thud and a sharp cry. That bastard was going to beat her up again. His neighbors, their landlord. The fucker was nothing but a brutal bully that liked to hit his wife. Lucas’s dad intervened a few times but that only got their rent hiked. The cops helped but the wife was so scared she never pressed charges. The night went quiet. Maybe it was a quick spat. Lucas went back to his homemade donut. Just as he sunk his teeth into the high calorie, high sugar, fucking delicious desert, she cried out. Jelly shot across the table again. He dropped the treat and jumped to his feet. Holy fuck. It sounded like a rock concert up there. The ceiling light shook slightly from the force of the fight above. Damn it, he couldn’t sit here and enjoy his food while she was beaten. She was a nice middle-aged lady who had shitty taste in men and managed to marry the worst one.

Lucas charged out his door and into the hall. The apartment building had two levels, the top being his asshole landlord. He jogged up the stairs, breathless from the trek. With a meaty closed fist, he banged on the white door. The paint was peeling, the number one faded and nearly invisible.

Go the fuck away! a deep male voice shouted.

Lucas knocked again.

This time, the door opened. Mr. Crochet, his landlord, was in his midfifties with about three hairs left on his head, a gut bigger than Lucas’s, and a dark mustache. He scowled at the boy, wiping bloody knuckles on his white t-shirt. The fuck you want?

I can hear you beating her. Lucas leaned forward. It ends now.

He scoffed. The fuck are you gonna do, fat ass? Sit on me? He looked at Lucas from head to toe.

What did he see? Lucas was about six feet tall after his last growth spurt. His hair was dark, wavy, and a little long. His eyes were a plain brown or as they called it around here, shit brown. He was chunky. The stairs were the most exercise he had all week. He was wearing blue jeans with a white shirt and the apron from the bakery was still around his waist. He’d forgotten to take it off before he ate. I’m going to call the cops. Again and again. Every day.

Then I’ll kick your sorry asses out.

He was regretting his decision but then, this asshole’s wife limped into view. Her face was a mass of bruises. One eye shut, her lip split, her right cheek swollen, and there were marks on her neck. Let’s go. He leaned toward her, placing his foot on the door to keep it from slamming shut. He’s going to kill you one of these days.

Fuck you and your Jew parents.

The fuck did that have to do with anything? Come with me. This would probably get them kicked out on their asses but fuck it. This woman was going die at this guy’s hands. His mom would have been proud. Lucas reached out to her.

She hesitated and then inched forward.

That’s when Mr. Crochet, asshole extraordinaire, lunged at Lucas. She’s not going anywhere.

Lucas hadn’t been in a fight since fifth grade when he tried to kiss Malcolm Harrison and the kid hit him square in the nose. He stepped back quickly, avoiding the blow. Lucas ducked, nearly falling over as his back protested. He took a punch to the shoulder and balled his fists. The wife was screaming now. Lucas wasn’t sure if it was at him or her husband. They tussled and the two fat guys were out of breath already. Lucas shoved his fist at the older guy and landed a solid blow to the face. The asshole grabbed his shirt then pitched him forward. The heavy pair landed inside the apartment. Lucas stood faster, sending a kick into the landlord’s gut that made him wheeze out a breath.

Stop. Please stop, the wife cried. She tugged on Lucas’s ripped shirt.

All I wanted was to eat my fucking donut! Lucas yelled down at him.

‘You stupid fucker. I’ll kill you."

Enough! Her soft voice hardened. You touch this boy again and I’ll … press charges. I mean it, Ralph. I’ll show them how you’ve been hurting me. Her bottom lip quivered.

You bitch. All I’ve given you. He sat up. His gut hung over his worn pants. Ungrateful, ugly, fat, bitch! He spat out blood.

Lucas was about to punch him again just for the satisfaction of shutting him up when his wife shoved past and fucking stabbed her husband in the chest. He’d never seen so much blood in his life. He’d never seen anybody die. Occasionally, there’d be a dead body on the street or the aftermath of a gang kill but he’d never seen the life drain out of anybody before. Lucas froze, unable to make a single move as the wife stood. Her hands shook badly she dropped the knife. The landlord bled like a stuck pig but the wound was high on his right shoulder.

You come near us again… She straightened, her backbone returned. I’ll carve your balls off and make you eat them.

Well fuck. Lucas flinched and lowered his hands to cover his crotch.

I’m leaving. She turned to him. With you?

Damn right. Despite the ball comment, he wanted to help this woman. His mom would be proud of both of them. They walked to the door. The landlord cursed and crawled toward the living room. Lucas couldn’t get over the blood. Even as they turned to leave. It pooled on the floor tiles, splattered across the lower cabinets, and some drops sprayed the counter. It looked like a scene out of a zombie movie. Lucas stopped near the door. His gaze followed the blood trail to a lottery ticket. Out of all the things to catch his eye, that did. The blood had missed it completely. It dripped around it but not a single drop on the paper. Eh, fuck it. Lucas grabbed the ticket. Maybe he’d win enough for a cup of coffee.

The landlord didn’t call the cops. His parents were fucking furious at him. Why didn’t he call the cops? How could he endanger himself like that? He was their only baby, their only boy. Lucas rolled his eyes the whole time. Once they saw how badly she was hurt, his mother hugged him and went to help her. His father gave him a pat on