DEFINED BY DECEIT
~ A.E. Via ~
M/M GAY ROMANCE CONTEMPORARY
Edited by: Tina Adamski
Cover Art by: Jay Aheer
PAGE COUNT – 300 pages
Release Date: March 27, 2015
ABOUT THE BOOK
Life isn't always fair, and that’s something that
Llewellyn Gardner knows about first hand. His life was on the fast track until
one night of extreme passion changed everything.
Now eight years later, he’s still living with the
aftershocks of that night. Everywhere he turns or runs, there’s another
reminder. What the hell do you do when you try to drown your demons only to
find out they can swim?
Shane Smith, Jr. owner of Smith Construction, could
see the emotional turmoil within his new employee — it’s why he hired him. There
was something about the gorgeous, misunderstood man with the overly expressive
eyes that came to their small town with a past no one was willing to overlook.
Shane could see the good in Llewellyn, and those eyes of his were a clear window
to his soul. Shane wasn't going to let the man live a future of solitude
because his past had been plagued with deceit.
Llewellyn wasn’t sure what to think about Shane.
After years of protecting himself from being tricked twice, he was now faced
with worry again. What would happen to him if Shane didn’t believe his truth,
and walked away? Llewellyn wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive being left
alone. Again.
EXCERPT
“Thinking of going in? Or are you just gonna block the entrance?”
Llew turned at the sound of the sure voice behind him. Since he seemed
to tower over everyone he looked down at the pretty brunette with dark brown
eyes to match. “Um. Sorry.” Llew mumbled quickly moving out of her way.
“Well don’t be sorry shuga’, just escort a lady inside.” Llew didn’t
blink as he watched the lady stalk towards him. Her full chest sat above an
extremely narrow waist. It almost looked unnatural. She dressed and wore the
amount of makeup that a grown woman would, but her smooth face and approach
screamed her real age. She was jailbait if he’d ever seen one. Llew gave her a
slight head nod and turned to leave when his elbow was hooked.
“I saw you in the general store applying for a job. You musta’ jus’ got
into town, because if not I’d have known, honey. So you got kin here?”
Silence.
The laugh was an all-out immature giggle and it graded on his nerves.
“Cat got your tongue, darlin’”. She moved in even closer and dragged a long red
nail down Llew’s arm, tilting her head back to look up at him. “You want me to
beg, huh? Come on now, handsome. Escort a lady to a movie… then maybe -”
“Maybe when he sees’ a lady… he’ll escort one.”
Llew diverted his attention away from the overzealous minx that was
practically humping his leg and focused on the beautiful man approaching with
another guy in tow. His voice wasn’t overly deep like his own, it was a smooth
and melodic southern drawl. Like he could be a singer or a poet. He walked with
an unhurried gait that was a mixture of ‘I’m in charge’ and ‘you’re on my time,
not the other way around’, and Llew found it sexy as fuck. His tall friend
chuckled behind him, moving away to purchase their tickets. Is he on a date?
No, their demeanor definitely said ‘friends.’
“Mind ya’ own business Smith, Jr. I saw him first.”
Smith, Jr.
The man hooked one thumb in his pocket not the slightest bit fazed at
the remark. But Llew was thrown. Was this guy actually gay or was she being a
smart aleck? The man gave him nothing to go on. He moved closer towards them
and Llew got a nice whiff of his spicy, bold cologne when a cool breeze blew
his way. It was an interesting contradiction, because the man’s entire persona
said ‘cool and composed’.
“Mosey along, Sallie Ann. Don’t make me ring ya’ daddy. He told me keep
an eye on you while he’s gone and I agreed. He’d be rather put out if I didn’t
follow through on my promise.”
She reluctantly let go of his arm, letting loose a long drawn out huff
of annoyance. Llew didn’t bother watching her walk away. She was irrelevant.
With his hands tucked deep in his pockets he eyed the man in front of him with
a mixture of curiosity and wistfulness.
“Sometimes a person has gotta’ run interference with that girl. She’s
usually not that bad but her daddy’s outta’ town, so ya’ know how young girls
can be.”
Actually, not really.
“Hi. I’m Shane Smith, Jr.” he stuck out a large, calloused hand and it
took Llew a couple seconds to process that he was going to touch him. Llew
shook his hand, his mouth still closed tight as he watched the man’s eyes. They
were light brown and full of humor and amusement. He immediately thought that
this was obviously a guy who had little worries if any in life. Wait a
minute…Smith….Jr. Is he the owner of? He let go of the strong grip on his
hand and wished he’d been able to hold it a little longer.
“And you are?”
Llew swallowed before answering. “Llew.”
Those eyes twinkled again and dark brown brows rose up in question.
“Llew…just Llew.”
It was a humiliation when a man hated to tell someone his name. But by
doing so it meant that they would soon know who he really was. Know who he was
classified as. He didn’t want this man to know that, god help him he didn’t.
But lying wasn’t an option. Fuck it.
“Llewellyn Gardner.”
So many broke eye contact with him and Llew was more than intrigued
that Mr. Shane Smith, Jr. was staring at him just as hard as he was staring
back. He didn’t know why he was looking at him that way but he didn’t mind it.
“Now that’s a name.” Smith smiled beautifully.
Llew wasn’t sure if this guy
was flirting with him or not, he’d been in a place where flirting didn’t exist
for so long, he’d forgotten what it looked like…what it sounded like. The way
Shane Smith, Jr. was smiling at him it sure seemed like it. Llew could imagine
himself with a strong man like this. A man who was gorgeous but didn’t know it.
Not overly done up in fancy digs, he was dressed like a working man but he wore
that look well. He appeared simple but confident, like a man that followed his
own counsel and was not easily persuaded. But Llew wouldn’t dare get his hopes
up. As soon as word got out that there was a newly registered sex offender in
their quaint little town, Smith, Jr. might be leading the lynch mob to run him
out of there.
BUY LINK: AMAZON
REVIEW:
I was already an A.E. Via fan before I read Defined by Deceit. Now, if at all possible, I am an even bigger one. This was such a creative idea that she really hit out of the park. Llew just.... omg.... I don't even know where to begin with him. Talk about a person inches away from having all his dreams just to have it ripped away, lit on fire, and pummeled to the ground OVER A SINGLE LIE! A.E. Via wrote a story about a genuinely great man having nothing but bad luck. Through the hell Llew goes through he does find a guardian angel in the most unlikely of places... prison of course! But, what was so interesting about this story is that I never for ONCE thought about people like Llew and the type of crime he's accused of, and forced to live with. Then came Shane. So, THAT'S what an angel looks like. Llew finds love in so many places. Yes, he paid an unfortunate price and lost SO much. But in the end, through tears, I read a finality that was breathtaking. This is an incredible story. Hot, in the way only A.E. can write. A plot that is sculpted perfectly. And of course absolutely and completely entertaining!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A.E. Via is still
a fairly new author in the beautiful gay erotic genre. Her writing embodies
everything from hopelessly romantic to spicy to scandalous. Her stories often
include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking
depths.
When she’s not
clicking away at her laptop, she devotes herself to her family—a husband and
four children.
While this is
only her seventh novel, she has plenty more to come. So stalk her – she loves
that - because the male on male action is just heating up!
Go to A.E. Via’s
official website http://authoraevia.com for more detailed information on how to
contact her, follow her, or a sneak peak on upcoming work, free reads, and
where she’ll appear next.
GIVEAWAY
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for the chance Quite a few of my friends on fb have already got this books and are raving about it I have added it to my wish/buy list' Congratulations on the new books
ReplyDelete