LHNB story excerpt & pretty pics, of course

My free "Love Has No Boundaries" story for the M/m Romance Group hasn't been posted yet but I thought I'd  share a small excerpt while I wait. Once it's posted, it'll be available in different formats, so I'll keep ya'll posted in case you're interested. :)

As always, there will be gratuitous pics at the end of this post, and my next actual post will be a picture post since I haven't done one in a while. Stay tuned. (EDIT - dang it, as usual the bottom of this post has turned into a Dean/Aidan extravaganza - oops)

<-- This is the original picture posted with the letter/pic prompt,

The title I chose is "Las Palabras de Amor" which translates to Words of Love - and is also the name of a rock ballad by Queen from 1982. It fits the story, and trust me, this was one of the hardest stories I've written before. There were a few aspects I tweaked from the letter but the main issue was one I struggled with at first.

The "letter" that came with the pic involved cheating which I'd never written about before, and had never intended on writing. I had to sit down and figure out a way to write it that didn't offend myself, let alone anyone else. It's not that I don't read those stories, but they aren't my preference in a romance, and definitely not my preference to write. I hope I did the story, and Danilo & Lucas justice. 

Here's the excerpt and the lovely cover by M.L. Rhodes. :)  And if you have a sec, leave a comment and tell me whether you have a preference in whether you read stories with infidelity or not. Cheers.

***

Las Palabras de Amor (Words of Love)

Lucas Winston had only been back in town for a week, arriving from South Africa then heading straight to his grandmother's house. He hadn't told her he was coming, but after a stern lecture and a lot of tears—from them both—she'd taken him in with no questions asked. It wasn't permanent. He hadn't lived with her since he was twenty years old and he had no intention of moving backward in his life instead of forward...until Danilo called.

He'd answered his grandmother's phone without thought or the inkling of an idea that the person on the other end of the line could say something that might alter his plans forever. The voice had immediately unraveled the steel-encased threads around Lucas' heart and threatened to alter his intention of starting over. It was the one thing he hadn't wanted to happen, the only thing that could make him regret coming home to familiar surroundings. And unfortunately, once the politically correct pleasantries of old friends were disbursed with, the news had been far worse than Lucas had even anticipated.

"I want you to meet my son…Lucas." Danilo's words had been abrupt and determined.

All of Lucas' breath left his body, sucked out by eight simple words he'd hoped never to have to hear. His voice hitched painfully in his throat and he struggled to control himself, despite the moisture that sprung to his eyes. He wanted to say no, wanted to leave well enough alone, just get on with the plans he'd sketched out in his head—apartment, job, hopefully a lover to share his life with.

Danilo Torres did not fit into that equation. Danilo Torres was the past, both good and bad, and Lucas needed to concentrate on the future—his future. And his future did not include sitting in the sidelines of someone else's family.

That, of course, didn't explain why he was standing at the gate of a small, well-kept house, his fingers wrapped around the cold steel gate while his brain spun in a whirlwind of indecision. A ridiculous stuffed bear hung vicariously from the fingers of his other hand, all but forgotten in the shock of standing in front of Danilo's house…the house he shared with his son…and wife. It was surreal and uncomfortable, and Lucas involuntarily clutched the soft animal in his hand tighter so he could feel something other than anxiety.

He didn't act like this. He'd promised himself two years ago that leaving well enough alone was his best course of action. He wouldn't be anyone's dirty, little secret again, but how could he resist meeting the son of the only man he'd ever loved, and one who shared his name no less? And just seeing Danilo again, entwined in his new family life, didn't mean Lucas had to backtrack into the situation that had scarred his heart...did it?

***

(Random gratuitous pics for K-lee's amusement)

Dean O'Dimples - of course

As Mark from When Love Comes - one of my fave movies ever

(Not mine - credit for the below pic is to @ starwhispers.com - no harm intended)

And Aidan

Aidan's in a new movie next month - City of Bones

-he's a werewolf. Rawr!

The always sexy Jonathan Rhys Meyers is also in the movie

Think I've posted this one of Kit/Jon Snow before, but it's a fave

Funky Kit ;)

  

How pretty is he? And he feeds my long-hair addiction, too.

Sweet kiss - don't like, don't look

(OMG - K-lee did her own screen caps, lol)

(and of course, it's of Dean/Anders from Almighty Johnsons)

Season 3 - episode 1