In Other News

• If you haven’t read Ricochet yet, it’s 99p for UK peeps until the end of July. Ricochet is in KU, and remains at $2.99 in the US and comparable prices worldwide.
• The featured author in this newsletter is CJ Bishop, with a great value five-book bundle, Phoenix Club, which one reviewer described as “hot and steamy as well as heartbreaking”.
• There’s also a small but seriously charming selection of themed MM book fairs and sales promos for you to enjoy ❤️.

Crocodile Tears Extract

When your prime suspect is hiding a sad secret…

“Take off your shirt,” Josiah ordered.

Alexander blinked, and Josiah caught a brief flicker of panic. “Why?” he challenged.

“It’s perfectly legal for a senior investigator to request a medical examination of a suspect by a qualified doctor. Are you sure you don’t want that lawyer?”

Alexander gave a tight smile. “Quite sure.”

“Okay – so take off your shirt.” 

Alexander put his hand on the top button … and then his manner changed. He looked up at Josiah through his eyelashes and shot him a provocative smile.

“You know, I don’t usually put out on a first date, Investigator Raine. But since you asked so nicely…”

He proceeded to undo his shirt slowly, teasingly, button by button, keeping eye contact with Josiah throughout, the act taking on an air of intimacy, more like a striptease than a medical exam.

Josiah stared him out, refusing to be provoked, although he was amused by the sheer cheek of it.

Finally, Alexander peeled open the garment, eased it off his shoulders, and let it drop onto a nearby chair. He had a smooth, waxed chest and a perfectly toned torso – clearly, he worked out regularly, which fitted his story about seeing a personal trainer.

“Like what you see, sir?” he asked flirtatiously.

Josiah saw through him; that performance had been pure distraction, designed to hide something he didn’t want him to see. “Turn around,” he ordered.

Alexander hesitated. Suddenly, he looked like a scared child, all his bravado gone. Then he lowered his gaze and, very slowly, did as he was told.

Dr Baumann took a sharp intake of breath, and Josiah’s jaw tightened. Alexander’s back was covered in a frenzy of bite marks, red-and-purple bruises, and furious scratches. They were so vivid that Josiah could even make out the shape of fingers around a few of the bruises.

“Shit,” Baumann said. “That’s so fucked up.”