Bound to Love

By Brad Shreve

It's Valentine's Day and the second anniversary of the night Ryan Wilson and his lover, David, met. To celebrate, they share an unorthodox dinner followed by a night at The Whip bar with the hopes of winning the Lovers in Leather contest. All too typical, David is called away for work, but with the promise he'll be back before the contest and to spend more time with Ryan.

Ryan's anger turns to fear when the contest nears and David stops answering his calls. Is he distracted by work or has something gone wrong? What secret is David hiding?

Enjoy this short thriller by the best-selling author of the Mitch O'Reilly Mystery series. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brad Shreve
• Release date: Jul 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201603267

Brad Shreve

A wordsmith, a voice, and an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Brad's world is a mosaic of literature, audio stories, and a passion for inclusivity. Too young for his own good, Brad Shreve developed a love for art and political satire and became an avid fan of the Doonesbury comic strip. After taking art classes and designing his own strips he discovered he enjoyed writing the stories more than the visual art. His thoughts turned to being a writer someday. He became hooked on mystery novels by authors, such as Lawrence Block, Sue Grafton, Gregory Mcdonald and Robert B. Parker. Brad's world expanded when he discovered LGBTQ mysteries, and the list of authors who inspired him to write in the subgenre are too numerous to mention. He published his first novel in 2019. Brad was the host of the Queer Writers of Crime podcast, which is still available on all podcast apps, and he continues to podcast today.  Brad lives with his husband Maurice in the California High Desert.

Book preview

He couldn’t stomach the idea of living in Harrisburg.

It was the third time Ryan Wilson turned down a prominent position at the Worldwide Headquarters of Clifford Hotels. Pennsylvania may have been good enough for Arnold Clifford who opened his first inn there in 1946, but it wasn’t where Ryan, who was L.A. born and bred, wanted to be. The substantial increase in salary as executive director of training and development was attractive enough for him to make the trip to Harrisburg to discuss the position, despite his misgivings. But in the end, it just wasn’t enough, and he declined. Although he missed a connecting flight in Atlanta, he landed in Los Angeles with enough time to shower, gear up, and meet David for dinner.

For most, Pink’s Hot Dogs would be a ridiculous place for Valentine’s dinner, but it was where he met David two years ago. The Whip bar was only two blocks down La Brea from the famous stand and each of them had stopped to eat a late meal with friends before heading home. Pink’s was popular with locals and was a must-go for out-of-towners who heard they may see celebrities stop by for a bite. The forty-five-minute wait in line that night gave the two time to get to know each other, leading up to an unforgettable all-nighter at David’s house in Santa Monica. Ryan knew after that night he was bound to love him.

The sun hadn’t set when they arrived for their anniversary feast. In no time, they reached the window, placed their order, and were enjoying their dogs behind the stand on white plastic chairs.

David chuckled. I love how you can tell who’s from here and who are the tourists by the looks on their faces.

Ryan said, You mean the ones with fear in their eyes?

Yes, yes. We scare them.

Ryan chewed and swallowed a large bite of his dog. I don’t think they see many men in leather chaps and vests back in Iowa. It’s that harness across your chest that raises their fears.

Imagine what they think you do to me.

Whatever it is, it can’t come close to what I really do.

As he looked at his partner, Ryan reflected on how excited he was when David approached him the night they met. David was ten