This Other Country (35 page)

BOOK: This Other Country

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Ben had a lightness of spirit about him once more that couldn’t be faked, wouldn’t be there if such dark memories were weighing him down. And this, of course, meant other bad events of his life had been reconciled too.

Nikolas knew things had changed. For the first time, anyone looking at them wouldn’t immediately assume all of this belonged to him—that he controlled everything and was the centre of all things.

In coming back to a memory of his life so suddenly, realising what was truly important in the life he’d forgotten, Ben had finally seen for himself how things were—that Nikolas only orbited around him, and
he
, in fact, held all the power. He always had.

Watching Ben as he and Squeezy took turns dragging Emilia and Radulf around on the toboggan, as Ben prepared a meal for everyone that night, pretending he’d cooked it from scratch and not just opened a number of boxes from the freezer, as he sat with Ulyana Ivanovna practising his Russian, and, of course, later that night as they made long and sensuous love in the hot tub, Nikolas reckoned Ben had indeed left all his darkness behind him.

Nikolas then had to admit to himself that perhaps he’d been wrong about something—a rare event, but apparently possible.

He wondered briefly, as he gripped Ben’s slick, naked back, marked now with the trinity of his names, whether there wasn’t more to this therapy business than he’d ever given it credit.

To Be Continued in The Bruise Black Sky

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John spent twenty-two years in the military, perfecting the art of looking busy whilst secretly writing. He left as a senior officer when his tunnel was ready for use. He is now living in New Zealand until he can raise enough money to leave. Although he has no plans to return to the army, he can occasionally be caught polishing his medals.

TRADEMARKS ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation

Discovery Channel: Discovery Communications, LLC.

Superman: DC Comics, Inc.

BBC Radio 1: British Broadcasting Corporation

Tesco: Tesco PLC

Star Trek: CBS Television Distribution

Facebook: Facebook, Inc.

EastEnders: British Broadcasting Corporation

Porsche: Porsche AG

Sky: British Sky Broadcasting Group plc

Suzuki: Suzuki Motor Corporation

BBC Radio 4: British Broadcasting Corporation

James Bond: Skyfall: Danjaq, LLC

Google: Google Inc.

Cazzo Film: Cazzo Film

MLR PRESS AUTHORS

Featuring a roll call of some of the best writers of gay erotica and mysteries today!

Derek Adams

Kyle Adams

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Z. Allora

Simone Anderson

Victor J. Banis

Laura Baumbach

Ally Blue

J.P. Bowie

Barry Brennessel

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James Buchanan

TA Chase

Charlie Cochrane

Karenna Colcroft

Jamie Craig

Ethan Day

Diana DeRicci

Vivien Dean

Taylor V. Donovan

S.J. Frost

Kimberly Gardner

Kaje Harper

Stephani Hecht

Alex Ironrod

Jambrea Jo Jones

DC Juris

AC Katt

Thomas Kearnes

Kiernan Kelly

K-lee Klein

Geoffrey Knight

Christopher Koehler

Matthew Lang

J.L. Langley

Vincent Lardo

Cameron Lawton

Anna Lee

Elizabeth Lister

William Maltese

Z.A. Maxfield

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Reiko Morgan

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Willa Okati

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Rick R. Reed

A.M. Riley

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George Seaton

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Jardonn Smith

DH Starr

Richard Stevenson

Christopher Stone

Liz Strange

Marshall Thornton

Lex Valentine

Haley Walsh

Mia Watts

Lynley Wayne

Missy Welsh

Ryal Woods

Stevie Woods

Sara York

Lance Zarimba

Mark Zubro

Check out titles, both available and forthcoming, at

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GLBT RESOURCES

RAINBOW ROMANCE WRITERS

Raising the Bar for LGBT Romance

RRW offers support and advocacy to career-focused authors, expanding the horizons of romance. Changing minds, one heart at a time. www.rainbowromancewriters.com

THE TREVOR PROJECT

The Trevor Project operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves lives though its free and confidential helpline, its website and its educational services. If you or a friend are feeling lost, alone, confused or in crisis, please call The Trevor Helpline. You’ll be able to speak confidentially with a trained counselor 24/7.

The Trevor Helpline: 866-488-7386

On the Web: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/

THE GAY MEN’S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROJECT

Founded in 1994, The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project is a grassroots, non-profit organization founded by a gay male survivor of domestic violence and developed through the strength, contributions and participation of the community. The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project supports victims and survivors through education, advocacy and direct services. Understanding that the serious public health issue of domestic violence is not gender specific, we serve men in relationships with men, regardless of how they identify, and stand ready to assist them in navigating through abusive relationships.

GMDVP Helpline: 800.832.1901

On the Web: http://gmdvp.org/

THE GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION/GLAAD EN ESPAÑOL

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

On the Web: http://www.glaad.org/

GLAAD en español: http://www.glaad.org/espanol/bienvenido.php

SERVICEMEMBERS LEGAL DEFENSE NETWORK

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).The SLDN provides free, confidential legal services to all those impacted by DADT and related discrimination. Since 1993, its inhouse legal team has responded to more than 9,000 requests for assistance. In Congress, it leads the fight to repeal DADT and replace it with a law that ensures equal treatment for every servicemember, regardless of sexual orientation. In the courts, it works to challenge the constitutionality of DADT.

SLDN Call: 800-538-7418

PO Box 65301 or (202) 328-FAIR

Washington DC 20035-5301 e-mail: [email protected]

On the Web: http://sldn.org/

THE GLBT NATIONAL HELP CENTER

The GLBT National Help Center is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that is dedicated to meeting the needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and those questioning their sexual orientation and gender identity. It is an outgrowth of the Gay & Lesbian National Hotline, which began in 1996 and now is a primary program of The GLBT National Help Center. It offers several different programs including two national hotlines that help members of the GLBT community talk about the important issues that they are facing in their lives. It helps end the isolation that many people feel, by providing a safe environment on the phone or via the internet to discuss issues that people can’t talk about anywhere else. The GLBT National Help Center also helps other organizations build the infrastructure they need to provide strong support to our community at the local level.

National Hotline: 1-888-THE-GLNH (1-888-843-4564)

National Youth Talkline 1-800-246-PRIDE (1-800-246-7743)

On the Web: http://www.glnh.org/

e-mail: [email protected]

If you’re a GLBT and questioning student heading off to university, you should know that there are resources on campus for you. Here’s just a sample:

GLBT SCHOLARSHIP RESOURCES

http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/tell-us-about-an-lgbt-scholarship

Syracuse University

http://lgbt.syr.edu/

Texas A&M

http://glbt.tamu.edu/

Tulane University