Broken Wings (Phoenix Reborn book 1)

By Houston Michaels

Proud to have served his country, Gabriel O'Roarke returned from war unable to recognize the man he had become. While war was hell, it was the aftereffects that were slowly eating away at his soul. Returning to civilian life after surviving events that should have killed him, he struggles to adjust and find himself again. Suffering from PTSD, he is without hope, until a chance encounter with one of the men who saved his life changes things.

Gabriel never imagined Nickolas Tanner would be into the lifestyle, so running into him at a BDSM club is a surprise. The patient and caring Dom is exactly what Gabriel needs, but everything he fears. After suffering captivity, Gabriel struggles to let himself go, to submit to another man. He craves regaining that part of himself, but worries it is forever lost. Nickolas' steady domination gives him something he has thought lost long ago - hope.

Can a broken submissive, damaged by captivity and torture, learn to fly again?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Unleashed Ink
• Release date: May 16, 2017

Houston Michaels

Houston Michaels is the alternate pen name of Michelle Houston. Why the different names? As Michelle Houston, she writes everything from short and sweet stories, to hot and spicy tales of kink, from contemporary tales of erotic romance to erotica romances featuring Greek gods, vampires and were-creatures. She has crossed sexualities and has gone wherever her mental muse has guided her. Yet always the stories are fairly light. The guys of the Phoenix Reborn support group are anything but. They are tormented by demons in their own minds, driven to push away anyone who loves them. They are dealing with PTSD and in many cases, some form of addiction and/or suicidal thoughts. They are also all in the lifestyle - either Doms, subs, or switches. As such, a new pen name was needed so that the two distinctly different styles could be separated - because with Houston Michaels you are not getting light-hearted reads. That said - they all are still erotic romances. So you will get heat, sexual tension, and lots of kinky bedroom antics.

Book preview

Broken Wings

- Phoenix Reborn Book 1 -

An erotic romance novella by

Houston Michaels

Copyright © 2016, 2017 Houston Michaels/Michelle Houston

All rights reserved.

www.unleashedink.com

Broken Wings © 2016, 2017 Houston Michaels/Michelle Houston

Cover art © 2016 Michelle Lee

www.michelleleedesigns.net

Edited by D. Musgrave and Jenna Byrnes

Published by Unleashed Ink

All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.

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 permission in writing from the author.

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

This book is dedicated to all who serve in the military, police force, fire and rescue … and the families who support them.

* * *

It goes without saying that in any writing endeavor, there are those that are behind the scenes that make writing possible. To all who have assisted me along the way - thank you.

A special note of appreciate to D. Musgrave and Jenna Brynes for hours of editing and critiquing, as well as friendship. You two have kept me grounded when I was lost in the clouds, and offered shoulders to cry on, when I needed it.

And to my husband - who supports me even when my characters scare him a little bit - my heartfelt thanks and love. Without him, none of my stories would have been written.

Phoenix Reborn:

Broken Wings

Take these broken wings

And learn to fly again,

Learn to live so free

~ Mr. Mister, 1985 RCA Records

Chapter 1

Gabriel tossed back the shot of whiskey as soon as the bartender set it in front of him. Motioning for another, he savored the burn of the alcohol; anything to get rid of the numbness that had settled inside of him ever since he was released from the hospital. Tossing back the next shot sent his dog-tags swaying against his chest.

In the mirror behind the bar, he was able to see what was going on in the room behind him. Without it, he never would have left himself so vulnerable. With his back to the room, anyone could sneak up on him. The mirror allowed him to watch the room, and the actions taking place, without the pain of seeing it firsthand or having to make eye contact with anyone.

It was bad enough that he could hear every sound in the room; from the thump of the music to the soft whimpers and groans of pleasure, to the seductive hiss of the whip swishing through the air before it settled against bare flesh. With each strike, he had to force himself not to flinch and it was slowly killing him inside. Thankfully, the woman bound to the Saltire cross reached her climax. Gabriel wasn’t sure how much more he would have been able to stomach. As much as he was jealous of the pleasure she found in the sting of her Dom’s whip, he feared the whistling sound it made. With each stroke, the scars on his back burned in sympathy.

Bowing his head slightly, he struggled to calm his racing heart and steady his hands before someone caught on that he wasn’t as relaxed as he appeared. He could hear a Dom instructing a wide-eyed un-collared submissive about the terms used, how a Saltire was also called a Saint Andrew’s cross. Had the situation not been so personal and deadly serious, he would have been driven to laugh, at both himself and the absurdity of all the conversations he overheard. The one closest to him involved his personal nightmare. As an army sniper, he was known for his calm under pressure and his always steady hands. Looking at himself now, it drove home how very far he had in fact fallen; his hands were shaking like leaves in the wind.

The urge to hit something, preferably a brick wall so he could have a justifiable reason for the pain he could still feel, was almost overwhelming. For the first time in the six months he had been struggling to recover from his time in captivity, he was considering taking the coward’s way out. All it would take was one bullet and the phantom sensations would end.

Tonight’s journey to The Edge, a club that had been almost a second home to him in the past now felt foreign and worse than walking through a minefield. Every sound reminded him anew what he had lost. Before, he would have been eager to find a partner, someone who understood his need to submit and that he couldn’t make a commitment beyond what time the government allowed him. He could be called to service with only a few days notice, which was something that a couple of Doms he had run across couldn’t accept. Luckily, most understood that his first commitment was to his country. After that, what was left over belonged to the man to whom he chose to submit.

Gabriel was so focused on his breathing that he wasn’t paying as much attention to the room as before, his gaze trained on the empty glass he held in his trembling hands. Which was why when a soft hand landed on his shoulder, he spun around on the stool and grabbed the guy’s throat and had his back pressed against the wall before he had time to process that the man standing so close to him wasn’t a threat.

It took him a few seconds, where his heart threatened to explode out of his chest, before he noticed that the man’s whose throat he had a death grip on wasn’t fighting. What’s more, he was holding his hands up, keeping others from interfering. Looking into calm green eyes, so light they matched a shirt of his that the clerk had called mint, he was able to relax his fingers. Had the other guy made a move to break away, Gabriel honestly didn’t know what would have happened. But his calmness was enough to break through the panic and allow him to lower his hand.

Easy Gabriel. Just breathe man. Slow and steady. In. Hold. And out. In. Hold. And out. In for four seconds, out for four seconds. Keep going. As he followed the other man’s instructions, the roar of blood rushing in his ears slowed, and he was able to start identifying other details, like the fact that the other man knew who he was. It took a few more moments, and then it registered why – he was one of the guys on the team that had rescued him. The field medic that had seen the condition he was in. Quite simply, he was the only thing that had stood between him and death. Some days, he hated the son of a bitch. Other days, he wanted to find him and thank him, although those days were growing fewer and farther between.

"Tesla. Shit, I’m sorry. Fuck!" To his horror, his voice shook almost as bad as his hands. Clearing his throat he tried again, but was cut off.

It’s Nick. And really, it’s okay Gabriel. Or would you prefer Archangel?

Unbidden, a surge of humor struck Gabriel. Those were almost the same words he had spoken when they pulled him out of the cage they had found him in, "It’s ok. We’re here now; we’re going to get you out. You are Gabriel O’Rourke right? Or do you prefer Archangel?" The normalcy of the exchange then had calmed some of the fear that had pumped through his system, as he saw sunlight for the first time in almost two months. Now, the man’s husky voice caused a whole different reaction.

Gabriel. His voice sounded harsh to his own ears, but Nick didn’t seem to mind.

Even as his cock hardened, his whole body started to shake – reacting to the dump in adrenaline. As a soldier, he understood fully what was happening; his body was reacting to stress, driving him to flee, fight, or fuck.

Can we get a glass of soda? One of the dark colas please. And no diet, we need something with sugar in it. As he spoke, Nick guided him to a chair in the corner of the room, situated slightly behind a dividing wall next to a low couch and ottoman, placed out of view of almost everyone. With a matter-of-fact attitude, he pushed Gabriel to lean back in the