The Earth Moved

By Tielle St. Clare

July 4th is getting close and it's time for fireworks.

Sebastian and Angel are working their way through the joys trials of a relationship.

Angel thinks it’s time they had “the talk”—figure out where their relationship is going, maybe moving to the next step.

Sebastian is happy with the way things are going—sex a couple nights a week, bike rides on the weekend. It’s good. But he feels a cataclysmic shift coming that has nothing to do with the earthquake that rattles their world.

Join Angel and Sebastian as their relationship grows through the holidays a year of Holiday Wishes. The full path of their story builds over each holiday. Enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tielle St. Clare
• Release date: Sep 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463155967

Book preview

The Earth Moved

by Tielle St. Clare

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2019 T. L. Green

Cover design by Erin Dameron-Hill / EDHGraphics

All rights are reserved. This e-book is licensed for individual readership only. No portion of this e-book may be resold or redistributed in any format.

To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author.

Author’s Note

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters and events are creations of the author’s imagination.  Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Chapter One

Sebastian gasped in as deep of a breath as he could before he turned his head and flung his left arm over his head. Water glided around his body. He kicked away from the wall and returned to the shallow end. He’d never been much of a swimmer but the physical therapist said it would help strengthen his shoulder. The bullet last December hadn’t broken any bones. It had torn through muscle and made recovery a bitch. He’d been back on duty for months but the shoulder still acted up, aching when he overworked it.

His lungs strained as he reached the end of the lane and turned around. Cardio was never his favorite workout—he preferred strength training—but the swimming had definitely improved his lung capacity. Face in the water, he took three strokes before breathing. He smiled even as he swam. Angel loved that Sebastian could hold his breath—and that he had little gag reflex.

Angel had joined him at the gym this morning. And he couldn’t decide how to feel about that.

It’s fine. Of course, it’s fine.

You’re a couple.

It was strange how that second sentiment came with a mental taunting tone similar to what his younger sister used when she’d sing you’re gonna get in trouble.

Strain moved into his shoulders so he pushed the power a bit. Swimming was supposed to relax him. It wasn’t a bad thing that Angel came to the gym with him. It only made sense. Angel had stayed over last night and they worked a few blocks away from each other. He could drop Angel off no problem.

So why are you freaking out about it?

He brushed off the question. He wasn’t freaking out. He was cautious, not panicked. He was all for seeing Angel often. The sex was great. They had fun together. Sebastian had recently gotten a bike and they’d been exploring the city’s trails.

But it was different just staying over with no intention of having sex. And that’s kind of what last night felt like. Mike—Angel’s brother and the man working on Angel’s car—had dropped him off about eight. They’d eaten dinner, watched some TV and then Angel said he needed to go to bed because they were waking up so early. Sebastian didn’t think seven o’clock was that early. He liked to get his workout done first thing. Angel tended to skip workouts on his workdays and push it hard on his days off.

But the idea of going to bed without sex seemed a little too much like long-time married couples. Sebastian had followed Angel to the bedroom. Mutual hand jobs before sleeping made the situation a little better in his brain, a little less domestic. The concept made the nerves at the back of his neck twitch.

He turned at the shallow end and headed back. About a dozen other people shared the pool with him so he was splitting a lane with one other person. They swam about the same pace and managed to stay opposite each other.

Loud scratches like steel pipes twisting or someone playing speed metal music reached through the water to his ears. What the fuck? Sebastian stopped and popped his head out of the water, searching for the source of the horrible screeching.

Doors slammed and water sloshed into his face as he realized the whole world was shaking. The lights in the pool room went out.

Holy fuck. Earthquake!

* * * * *

Angel ran to the far end of the court and held up his hand. Gabriel passed the ball, perfectly placed in Angel’s open palm. He stopped running and made the shot. Or he would have made the shot if Martin hadn’t jumped up and blocked the ball as it was dipping into the basket.

Foul! Gabe shouted.

Too bad. Martin caught the ball and passed it to his teammate on the left side, just beyond Angel’s shoulder. School yard rules. No fouls if there’s no blood.

Bullshit, Angel muttered but he managed to jump in front of the pass. He snagged the ball and made a fast