Julian by A. J. Llewellyn
When Mick meets Julian, it’s love at first bite...of pie.
Lieutenant Mick Fielding moves to the quirky California country town of Julian, to take up a position in the San Diego Sheriff’s county substation. With the biggest problems being vandalism and theft crimes, he’s stunned when he lands a homicide investigation. The case takes some nasty twists and turns involving drugs, love, and betrayal. Meanwhile, Mick has met an amazing man, local baker Julian Jarrett. Yes, Julian, who lives in Julian. Why does this man haunt his days and nights? And why do locals whisper that he’s a vampire?
Julian Jarrett has close ties to the law enforcement community in Julian. Not the least because his cousin is the captain of the Julian Sheriff’s Department. His passion is baking. Hot men have been off his menu for er, decades. But something about Mick is appealing. And frightening. Could he be falling in love? More to the point, should he let his freak flag fly for the hunky lieutenant?
Excerpt:
Staring upward, Mick became aware of Louise’s wide-eyed gaze, and then, something wonderful. An Adonis standing beside her, looking down on him.
Maybe I died and went to heaven. Who is this gorgeous man? Did Laurence become even better looking in the afterlife?
“Are you okay?” the man asked. He had raven black hair, piercing blue eyes, and gave Mick such a dazzling smile that it made it hard to squeak.
“I’m not sure,” Mick muttered. “Am I dreaming?”
The man’s eyes twinkled. “I don’t know. Are you?” He reached down and with a firm grip, hoisted Mick to his feet.
“Hey,” Mick protested. His law enforcement background had taught him that one never moved a person who’d had such a severe fall in case of breaks or other injuries.
“Wuss,” Louise said in a stage whisper.
“Hey,” Mick said again. What was the Adonis doing to him? Mick was in agony as the man steadied him with one hand and ran the other down Mick’s spine. Tendrils of warmth moved through his body. What the…
All the pain fled his body. Even a persistent twinge in his right shoulder from rotator cuff surgery was gone. He wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it, but the Adonis’ hand seemed to linger there. “What did you do?” Mick asked when he could breathe again.
“Just making sure you could walk. Why don’t you come to my house? I just finished baking, and I have an extra pie. Bayou Goo Pie. You like pie, Lieutenant Fielding?”
Louise gave a harsh laugh. “If he doesn’t, I do.” She lifted her hand and seemed to be about to give Mick another whack. She frowned and mumbled, “Wuss,” again.
“Is this your gun, Lieutenant?” The Adonis bent and picked up Mick’s duty weapon.
Mick took it and shoved it into his holster. The Adonis had magic in his hands. Nothing else could explain the sudden sense of complete well-being Mick experienced.
This is better than sex. Geez, Louise. I’m that hard up that a guy helping me to my feet feels like a miracle cure. As the Adonis led Mick away from his front yard, Mick was surprised how good he still felt. Pain somewhere in his body had become so customary that he’d forgotten what it was like to be free of it.
For the first time, he became aware that the Adonis had his arm around him, helping him along the highway. Mick was cold but had never felt such delightful body heat.
“Here we are.” The Adonis stopped outside a well-appointed cabin. Mick stared at it. He’d never been to this place, but he now realized his landlord had used the exterior in the online picture gallery to lure an unsuspecting Mick and other, unsuspecting renters into jumping at the chance to live in it.
The Adonis even had a sturdy wall out front with a gate that opened and closed like it should. “Come on in,” he said, letting go of Mick. As he turned to push the gate open, Louise clutched at Mick’s sleeve.
“They say he’s a vampire,” she whispered.
About A. J.
A.J. Llewellyn is the author of over 250 M/M romance novels. She was born in Australia, and lives in Los Angeles. An early obsession with Robinson Crusoe led to a lifelong love affair with islands, particularly Hawaii and Easter Island.
Being marooned once on Wedding Cake Island in Australia cured her of a passion for fishing, but led to a plotline for a novel. A.J.’s friends live in fear because even the smallest details of their lives usually wind up in her stories. A.J. has a desire to paint, draw, juggle, work for the FBI, walk a tightrope with an elephant, be a chess champion, a steeplejack, master chef, and a world-class surfer. She can’t do any of these things so she writes about them instead.
A.J. started life as a journalist and boxing columnist, and still enjoys interrogating, er, interviewing people to find out what makes them tick.
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