Strike a Pose

By Nell Iris

Didrik would do anything for his best friend, Filip, including taking pictures of Filip’s dad, Johan, for a charity calendar. Naked pictures, of beautiful, irresistible, wonderful Johan, who was single-handedly responsible for Didrik’s gay awakening. He was also happily married and unavailable ... until he wasn’t.

After losing his husband five years ago, Johan finally seems ready to move on, and as they start the charity project, everything changes. With every meeting, every conversation, every pose for the camera, the attraction between them swells and grows, until it burns hot and threatens to consume them.

Their interactions, their relationship is surprisingly easy, but it’s not without its challenges. The age difference for one thing. Telling Filip for another. Is their connection enough to last? Can they overcome the hurdles to get the happily ever after they deserve?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: May 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685501303

Nell Iris

Nell is a forty-something bisexual Swedish woman, married to the love of her life, and a proud mama of a grown daughter. She left the Scandinavian cold and darkness for warmer and sunnier Malaysia a few years ago, and now spends her days writing, surfing the Internet, enjoying the heat, and eating good food. One day she decided to chase her lifelong dream of being a writer, sat down in front of her laptop, and wrote a story about two men falling in love. Nell writes gay romance, prefers sweet over angst, and wants to write diverse and different characters.

Book preview

Strike a Pose

By Nell Iris

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2022 Nell Iris

ISBN 9781685501303

Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review. This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Published in the United States of America.

* * * *

This book is written for World Naked Gardening Day that takes place on the first Saturday of May annually. It all started as a crazy idea in the morning office with me, Ally, and Ofelia, and evolved into an actual serious project. It’s been so much fun, and you should see the inspirational GIFs in our naked gardener chat!

I need to thank a few people. Addison for her excellent beta skills. Kris, without whom this book would have neither title nor blurb. Ally and Ofelia for listening to me rant about marble penises. K.L. Noone and Amy Spector for jumping on board this crazy naked gardener train. And to JMS Books for liking our idea and agreeing to publish a bunch of books about naked gardeners.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and try to talk my hubby into this whole naked gardening business. Wish me luck.

* * * *

Strike a Pose

By Nell Iris

Chapter 1

I should have never let Filip talk me into this project!

Yes, I want to help my best friend commemorate the fifth anniversary of his beloved father’s death. Yes, I’d do anything for said best friend. Yes, I love spending time with Filip’s other dad, Johan. And yes, I was flattered when Filip called me and told me about the photo calendar and how he and Johan needed the best photographer in the world to do the project justice.

Filip knows me too well. He knows which buttons to push to get me to agree to whatever he wants; he knows flattery is my Achilles’ heel. So of course, I said yes when he asked me to be a part of this year’s charity project in honor of his father.

How could I have known that said photo calendar was going to feature naked pictures of Johan?

All the other events they’ve done as a family to raise money for cancer research have been clothed—the marathon-running, the black-tie fundraiser, the art show featuring local cancer survivor artists—but when they decide to get me involved, Johan is going to be naked.

Johan. Naked.

Johan, the man responsible for my gay awakening. My first crush, the crush I’ve never really gotten over but spent the last fifteen years of my life ignoring because he’s been unattainable.

He’s my best friend’s dad. My best friend’s dad who’s married. Correction—who used to be married, but is now widowed.

You haven’t heard of Naked Gardening Day, Didrik? Johan asks as he pours coffee into my cup. I’m sitting in his airy kitchen, invited to discuss the project. Filip was supposed to be here, too, but he was called into a last-minute emergency meeting, so it’s just me and Johan. Discussing nakedness.

I cross my legs and groan so loudly internally that I’m sure he can actually hear me.

No. I’ve lived in an apartment my entire life. My dad says Mom has the blackest of thumbs and can kill even artificial plants, so I didn’t grow up around gardens. And even though I’m an outdoorsy person these days, I tend to stick to the forest. Very few gardeners there.

Or naked people.

He joins me at the table, grinning. I grew up the same way. I was a concrete flower when I met CM, but he insisted we had to live in our own house. Eventually, I agreed but made him promise to take full responsibility for the garden. And he did, at first. Then he decided he wanted me to join in ‘the fun’— he makes air quotes with his fingers —so he introduced me to Naked Gardening Day. Johan’s smile is fond as he remembers.

How did he do that?

"We’d lived in the house for only a couple of years. I went out for my morning run, and CM was still asleep. He would sleep the day away if I let him, and Filip’s the same, so I didn’t expect him to