About Turn the Other Cheek
by Chris Owen
233 pages / 52300 words
ISBN: 978-1-61040-046-6
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In this sequel to the popular Cheek to Cheek, Mallory and Will have
moved past dating, though it's still a race to hit the sheets every time
they look at each other. Trouble is brewing, however, since hitting the
sheets is a no-no for firefighters who work together. Will is ready to move
forward, to tell the world that they're together, but Mallory is still
trying to keep their private lives to themselves.
With their careers on the line, Will's brother pushing his own agenda and
Mallory's keen desire to live on his own terms, choices have to be made.
Their work situation needs to change, and so does Mal's attitude, or he'll
lose the one thing he wants more than anything in the world -- Will.
Can a change of schedule save Mallory and Will's relationship and send them
dancing into their future, or will tension and frustration tear them apart
forever when Will's had enough? Find out in Turn the Other Cheek!
Review
Jane Davitt, author of Drawing Closer, writes: I loved 'Cheek to Cheek'
so I was thrilled to see this sequel. 'Turn the Other Cheek' picks up
the story of Will and Mallory and explores the awkward stage of a
relationship as it moves from casual to something more serious.
There's so much heat between these two firemen -- no pun intended --
that it's easy to forget the real world difficulties people in a job
like this have when they're in a relationship and working together. I
liked the balance between romance and realism very much. These men
aren't perfectly reasonable and understanding. They make mistakes, they
lose their temper, they misread signals and situations -- and they make
up with so much passion and tenderness, too.
Chris Owen is always to be counted on for a story with well-rounded
characters who leap off the page, people you'd like to meet and get to
know. 'Turn the Other Cheek' is no exception. Definitely one for the
romantics out there, with enough spice and heat to please anyone and a
great cast of secondary characters.
Sample
"Were you counting from our first dance?" Mal asked. He
couldn't see anything. He'd been told to close his eyes, so he had.
Sometimes he was a little amazed by how easily he trusted Will, how quickly
he just followed along. Of course, Will had once pouted at him and Mal had
then discovered just how much easier it was to play along from the get go
instead of trying to smooth things over later.
His dignity knew he was being played, but as long as Will confined his
silliness to stickers and where to put them when they were alone instead of
acting like he was ten when they were at work, Mal was okay with that.
The leather couch squeaked as Will settled next to him. "You mean the night
you picked me up in a bar and fucked my brains out, exchanging only first
names?"
"Yeah. Then. Except I didn't give you my first name." Mal swallowed thickly,
his cock stretching at the memory. He was lying down, taking over the length
of the couch, and Will sitting on the edge by Mal's hip. By the feel of
skin, Will had finally stripped off his jeans, too.
"That wasn't a couple of months ago. It was several months ago." Will
sounded so reasonable. "Are you warm enough?"
Mal nodded. They'd turned the heat up when they got back to Will's place,
mostly so they wouldn't be cold when the inevitable nakedness happened. "So,
were you counting from... when were you counting from?"
Will laughed softly. "You think too much. I said 'more or less' for a
reason. I haven't any more idea when we became what we are than you do. Do
we need a date?"
"God, no." Mal shuddered, and only half of it was due to the feeling of
Will's fingers tracing over his sternum. He'd only recently been able to
accept the word "boyfriend" next to Will's name in his mind; he wasn't up
for tracking dates. That was far too settled in for him.
Far too close to high school, and he was many, many years out of high
school.
"Do you want to talk about it now?" Will asked softly. He didn't sound
worried or concerned at all, merely inquiring. His hands were warm,
smoothing over Mal's bare shoulders. "What's this scar from?"
Answering the second question first, Mal said, "I fell off my skateboard
when I was thirteen." He shifted a bit, settling more against the leather
couch, his hip riding along Will's. "I'm not sure I want to have a big
discussion."
Will laughed softly. He pressed another fire truck sticker to Mal's chest,
the paper cool and alien feeling. "You never want to have a big discussion."
"True." Mal opened one eye and immediately got a disapproving glare and
closed it again. "Sorry. No peeking; got it. I think the thing for me is
that if we start being a couple in public spaces, we're one step closer to
having to make changes at work. We should have done that long ago." He
stifled a sigh, but then let it out. If there was a situation worthy of a
sigh, this was it. "Cap's gonna have our balls."
"Not if we handle it right." A kiss was placed over the last sticker. "He
doesn't have to know when we figured out it was serious. He doesn't need to
know anything at all."
"Lie?" It had merit. "He's not going to be happy. I'm not going to be
happy." That was really at the heart of the matter. He liked working with
Will. He liked sharing a shift, and he liked having Will right there, all
the time.
"I know." Will leaned over far enough that Mal could feel the heat of his
body like a warm strip, all along his own side and across his belly. "And
that's before we even start discussing the hard stuff."
"Hard stuff?" Mal was sure he didn't want to know. Instead, he let himself
be distracted by Will's mouth on his left nipple.
A moment or two later Will lifted his head and said, "Yeah. Like who needs
to transfer and where to. The hard stuff."
"Oh." He'd been right, he didn't want to know. "Later, okay? Tomorrow. Next
week."
Will kissed him again, a trail of touches that connected one sticker to the
next, all over Mal's torso and chest and then up to his shoulders. "Later.
Before next week. I think I dislike not being a couple in public more than
I'll dislike the thought of having to find a new station again."
Mal reached for him, but Will was faster, already moving off the couch. "No,
you don't," Will said. "No protesting, no discussing, no talk about who's
going to change. Later. Right now, we're going to go to bed."