Who's on whose tail?
by
Who's on whose tail?
For some men, love comes hard. But deceit comes even harder.
A Scottish castle laird decides to attend a big game hunt in the mountains of Eastern Nevada. His covert, and reluctant, babysitter is a governor-appointed state trooper.
The exuberant Rory Drummond needs no protector. He is a trained hunter, in addition to having several other entertaining skills. The state trooper Alex Dominguez is reserved, shrouding his past—even from himself—out of a need to seal off old memories.
Inevitably, the men find each other irresistible, and soon certain sparks begin to affect both of them. As the attraction between them grows, so does their sense of commitment to each other. Only one thing stands in the way of a mature relationship…Alex’s fear of telling Rory his secret assignment. The tension between his sense of duty and his newfound passion is a factor which threatens to tear them apart once the truth is known.
And the facts must eventually come out.
What will happen when the hunter finds he's being spied on, thousands of miles from home?And what will the trooper do when his cover is, ah, blown?
- 2 To Be Read lists
- 3 Read lists
Publisher: New Dawn Press
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 5
Romantic Content: 5
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 18-25
Protagonist 2 Age: 26-35
Tropes: Alpha Character, Interracial Relationship
Word Count: 60506
Setting: Nevada and Scotland
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Continuous / Same Characters
From chapter eleven: "Herding Cats, Taking Baths"
Alex and Rory are on a big game hunt, bedded in a tiny cabin with a thimble-sized tub...
Alex stripped and entered the tiny bathroom while Rory was standing at the toilet, hardly more than a cast iron bowl with a flusher.
“Back off, lad. D’you want me to piss on the ceiling?”
Alex grinned as he rubbed his balls along Rory’s naked bum trying to get around him, then stood regarding the grand bath, no more than a washtub on legs. “We have cold water to stand in, Rory, while we do a PTA.”
“I am loath to ask.”
“Pricks, tits, and armpits.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
READ MOREHe leaned into the metal contraption fitted with just one faucet and a plug. He put the stopper in the drain and turned on the water. Letting the cold water run, he managed to turn in the small space and began to unbutton Rory’s shirt from behind while his lover was still trying to empty his bladder, somehow, with Alex’s fingers on his nipples.
“I have ways of wreaking vengeance, lad.”
“You’ll thank me later.” He continued halfway unbuttoning and halfway tweaking his lover’s rock-hard nipples, until Rory turned and snagged his lower lip with his teeth, letting his Levi’s fall to his knees.
“Goddamn you, Alex...” Rory drew him to his chest, biting until Alex tasted blood, savoring the coppery taste, already rigid as a rod in spite of the chill in the room.
Climbing into the tub, he challenged the other man. “Get naked.”
“Too foogin cold, lad.”
Why did he feel a sudden boldness, a looseness of tongue, with this sexy man? “Rory. When I kiss your ass, I want a fresh pucker in return. And you’ll get the same from me. Okay?” He turned his face a little, feeling the flush in his cheeks, yet determined to say even more later, in bed. Rubbing soap on his cock, slicking it up to his asshole and over his balls, he continued upward to his chest, under his arms, back to his groin. When he was thoroughly lathered, he bent and ran a small washcloth through the running water, wincing as he let the ice cold water hit all the soaped places. Then he bent again and removed the stopper.
He climbed back out with shriveled balls and small drooping cock and eyed Rory, bare-ass naked, standing with his arms crossed over his huge chest, legs apart, his giant cock rearing from its tangle of red curls.
“Your turn to lose that swag, highlander. Get in.”
“The reward is too much to pass by, Alejo.” His companion moved his mouth in altogether a devilish twist and repeated Alex’s moves: run the water, stand in tub, soap up and rinse off.
Alex stood at the doorway rubbing down with a thin towel, letting the space heater warm his flesh and the sight of Rory Drummond warm him from the inside out. The man hadn’t lost a trace of his erection, even in the balls-numbing cold of the water. He stood with rivers of water streaming down his muscled chest, through the hairs of his groin and legs, back into the washtub.
“Tell me, Alex. What is ‘swag’?”
“What you have in spades, Rory. Come here.”
COLLAPSEGreebo on Amazon wrote:From the opening page until the last bated breath, this one grabs you in its intensity of character development, plotline and insatiable animal attraction. And it's so beautifully written that you can't make up your mind whether you like the way Erin O'Quinn deals with the characters, plotline or animal attraction best--so you keep on reading until you can catch your breath again.
Two spectacularly attractive, and totally opposite real men, a Scottish Laird and a Nevada cop, cross unlikely paths adequately described in the plot summary. Rory Drummond, a late 20s ginger beast of a man, and Alex Dominguez, a few years younger and a bit tamer but just as hot (the cover art is perfect), cross paths, lives and precious body parts in this casually moving tale of a deer hunt in the Nevada mountains. The pace is comfortable, but the attraction is so explosive that it's quite fortunate that the season is mid-autumn and the forest is damp--otherwise these two may have provided enough spontaneous combustion to start a dozen forest fires.
When it comes down to developing a conflict as the tale gets past the midpoint, Ms. O'Quinn turns the tables on us and makes this Rory's story. That's critical, because you are going to get to the end of the book and immediately buy the sequel (if you haven't already done that by the time you're halfway through)--just to see what in hell she's going to pull out of her bag of tricks for Alex to deal with. No spoilers--get "The Kilt Complex," pronto.
Passionate Reads on Amazon wrote:I completely fell in love with this book (and the entire series) pretty much from the first page. Ms. O'Quinn has created a world that I got lost in. My idea of Nevada is driving through the desert from California to Las Vegas, and I sometimes forget that there is so much more to that beautiful state. The detail that she gives brought the area to life in my mind. It made me want to grab my husband, the car, a tent, and some heavy sleeping bags and head out there to witness it.
Along with the world building, "Nevada Highlander" has two of the most masculine, yet most romantic, main characters I've ever read in an MM story. I don't want to give any spoilers away, but I will say that Rory is a Scottish Laird who has decided he wants to come to America to go on a hunt in the Nevada wilderness. Alex is a cop who has been tasked to keep an eye on Rory while he's here. It's at the request of Rory's politically minded uncle. When the men meet, sparks fly instantly. I mean that. Instantly. Sometimes, you know when you met "the ONE", and these two are it for each other. Alex hates keeping this secret assignment from Rory, but he's got a job to do, and he's going to do it.
Their developing relationship is joy to witness. I fell as deeply in love with Alex and Rory as they fell for each other. Sure, the sex is nuclear between them...the perfect combination of tenderness and rough. As I mentioned, they're two of the most masculine MM romance characters I've ever read, so it's like watching two giant stones colliding...tongues, hands, teeth...just amazing. However, I couldn't help feel, in my heart, the absolute they were feeling while they were coming together.
Keep in mind, this is the first book in a series. Be prepared to jump in and buy the second book ("The Kilt Complex") right away. You'll want to continue to follow Alex and Rory as much as you want to take your next breath. Forgive me for sounding like I'm gushing because I AM gushing. This book has made it's way into my soul, and I think it will creep into yours as well.
Susan Wilson on Amazon wrote:I have recently become insatiable when it comes to Erin O'Quinn's writing...I just can't get enough, or find enough time to read with the depth that her work deserves. Erin has an enormous talent for description without overstatement, something I truly appreciate. It's a fine line that exceptional authors master.
In Nevada Highlander, as in Burns Too Deep, engagement with the characters and the setting is immediate and they resonate deeply throughout the story. Despite the fact that some readers are skeptical about "insta-love" in stories, it IS possible, and it's powerful. Whether the love is lasting or not, in the moment it IS true love - the emotions don't lie. As in every loving relationship, Alex & Rory's immediate attraction is the spark, the loving feelings that develop over their short time together are true; but genuine loving intimacy eludes them, because each holds a bit of himself back for very good, albeit a bit misguided reasons.
The feelings between the two principal characters are completely relatable - the hunger, the desperation, the fear, the doubt, and the ultimate yearning is beautifully expressed throughout, taking the reader on a truly emotional journey. The rugged, rural wilderness setting and the gritty "feel" of the locale comes alive in every scene. When it comes to the overpowering sexual chemistry, the tension between the two men - and their ultimate lovemaking - literally explodes off the page (no pun intended, but it is what it is)...
Of course, the root of this story - as in all of life's relationships - is all about trust. Any kind of deception, whether 'mandated' as it is in this case by the governor, or whether it results from the fear of rejection, as it is with Rory, inevitably comes back to haunt the deceiver - and this story is no different. Secrets hold each character in emotional check; and in the absence of honesty, each eventually suffers unspeakable pain. Their immediate attraction is a powerful and overwhelming to them both; each knows that their time together is short, and they also know that their future - if there is one - is uncertain, at best. Nothing less than the ultimate leap of faith will tell them whether or not they can trust their own hearts, or trust in the heart of the other. If theirs is truly the love of a lifetime, it will be tested again and again...and I expect that in the sequel (The Kilt Complex).
Nevada Highlander is an intimate journey, powerful in its simplicity, evoking all of the emotions readers crave - humor, sensuality, raw lust, suspense, fear, doubt, sadness and joy. The pace is perfect to convey the urgency of the story and leave the reader wanting more. The Kilt Complex is waiting on my e-reader and I can't wait to lose myself in these characters again.
Erin O’Quinn’s genius at blending place and personality shines boldly in this love story.
Rory Drummond is a castle laird well-versed with the halls of the Scottish Parliament his uncle treads. A wild man in more ways than one, he loves the freedom to stalk game on his highland estate by day and willing well-hung companions for his bed at night. When he decides to evade the spying eyes of his ambitious uncle by going big game hunting in the mountains of Nevada, he doesn’t count on the the long arm of political you-scratch-mine-and-I’ll-scratch-yours. His uncle calls someone who calls someone who calls someone and Nevada State Trooper Alejandro Dominguez finds himself on the wrong end of an assignment as babysitter and morals cop, as assignment that will take him back to a place he’s not visited for years, the slopes of the mountain where his father taught him to be a man as well as to hunt.
The assignment becomes something quite different when the men meet and sparks and Levi’s fly. The hunt becomes a pilgrimage for both men, as they struggle with the hazards of the mountain and of the clash of what they want and the reality of life. Love isn’t always enough in the face of politics. Can a relationship begun on a foundation of deceit survive the inevitable revelation of truth?
O’Quinn pulls no punches in exploring the complexities of drives and circumstances these men find entangling them. She does this, as she always promises and never fails to deliver, with grace, humor, and rich descriptive passages of both scenery and sex. Five stars — love, conflict, depth — this book has it all!
