The Caretaker
by Dahlia Donovan
Series: The Sin Bin #2
Genre: MM Romance
Release Date: July 8, 2017
Nurse Freddie Whittle devotes every fibre of his being to his work with cancer patients. Their pain weighs heavily on his shoulders. Between losing clients, the expectations of his fathers, and bigot neighbours, he’s slowly reaching his breaking point.
Taine Afoa retires from a storied career as an international rugby star. He’s moved away from London for a change of pace, never expecting to meet a man who’s far too young for him. No matter how hard he tries, it’s impossible to get Freddie out of his mind.
Will Taine's resistance dissolve in time for him to give love the chance to flourish?
“Are you going to continue to stare at my lips whenever you look my direction?” Taine’s voice dropped down to a husky whisper. “If you are, why don’t you bring yours a little closer to mine? You’ll see them far better with your mouth than your eyes.”
Cursing his exuberant and generally impulsive nature, Freddie leaned forward until their lips hovered a breath away from each other. One strong exhale could bring them close enough to qualify as a kiss. Taine didn’t move backwards or forwards; they both waited for the deadlock to be broken.
“Oh, why not,” Freddie muttered impatiently. He surged forward, closing the distance. His lips smacked awkwardly to the left of Taine’s, which caused the man to chuckle. “Oh, coc y gath, sorry.”
“Calm down.” Taine caught Freddie’s chin in his hand and guided him closer. His mouth controlled the connection. They had to tilt to avoid their noses mashing uncomfortably. The former rugby player’s tongue darted across Freddie’s lips and pressed the advantage. He delved expertly into their true first touch. “Now that is a kiss.”
“You should be ashamed.”
Freddie jerked away from Taine and snapped around to find a woman in her sixties glaring at them—or at Taine specifically. “Pardon?”
“You should be ashamed.” She pointed a bony finger at Taine. “Corrupting a young teenager. Is that legal? I’ve half a mind to report you. Are you okay, young man? Did he force you away from your parents?”
“A teenager?” Freddie swallowed down an irrational burble of laughter. “I’m twenty-six years old.”
“Oh. Oh, dear. I’m so sorry.” She covered her mouth in obvious embarrassment. “You look so young. I just assumed. Carry on then, loves. Never you mind me. It’s always good to see someone enjoying the pleasures of life.”
The two men stayed silent after accepting her apology. Freddie only dared to peek at Taine out of the corner of his eye once the woman had gone back to her seat. A clear mistake. It started with a snort, muffled quickly by his hand, but quickly dissolved into laughter anyway; it continued until their sides ached and they were gasping for air.
Freddie regained his composure just as the train pulled into Paddington station, forcing him to shelve any comments about the kiss. “Ready for the next stage of the journey?”
Cursing his exuberant and generally impulsive nature, Freddie leaned forward until their lips hovered a breath away from each other. One strong exhale could bring them close enough to qualify as a kiss. Taine didn’t move backwards or forwards; they both waited for the deadlock to be broken.
“Oh, why not,” Freddie muttered impatiently. He surged forward, closing the distance. His lips smacked awkwardly to the left of Taine’s, which caused the man to chuckle. “Oh, coc y gath, sorry.”
“Calm down.” Taine caught Freddie’s chin in his hand and guided him closer. His mouth controlled the connection. They had to tilt to avoid their noses mashing uncomfortably. The former rugby player’s tongue darted across Freddie’s lips and pressed the advantage. He delved expertly into their true first touch. “Now that is a kiss.”
“You should be ashamed.”
Freddie jerked away from Taine and snapped around to find a woman in her sixties glaring at them—or at Taine specifically. “Pardon?”
“You should be ashamed.” She pointed a bony finger at Taine. “Corrupting a young teenager. Is that legal? I’ve half a mind to report you. Are you okay, young man? Did he force you away from your parents?”
“A teenager?” Freddie swallowed down an irrational burble of laughter. “I’m twenty-six years old.”
“Oh. Oh, dear. I’m so sorry.” She covered her mouth in obvious embarrassment. “You look so young. I just assumed. Carry on then, loves. Never you mind me. It’s always good to see someone enjoying the pleasures of life.”
The two men stayed silent after accepting her apology. Freddie only dared to peek at Taine out of the corner of his eye once the woman had gone back to her seat. A clear mistake. It started with a snort, muffled quickly by his hand, but quickly dissolved into laughter anyway; it continued until their sides ached and they were gasping for air.
Freddie regained his composure just as the train pulled into Paddington station, forcing him to shelve any comments about the kiss. “Ready for the next stage of the journey?”
Dahlia Donovan wrote her first romance series after a crazy dream about shifters and damsels in distress. She prefers irreverent humour and unconventional characters. An autistic and occasional hermit, her life wouldn’t be complete without her husband and her massive collection of books and video games.
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