Flatline — Alex Jace

When Rich opened the door to his childhood crush Parker one winter's night, he stepped straight into the firing line. Because Parker is fleeing from his murderous ex, Sinclair - and now Sinclair is back. He's dead set on getting Parker back. And the tighter Parker clings to Rich, the more Rich himself is in danger…

4400-word MM erotic romance.

Excerpt:

Sinclair backhanded Parker across the face. It happened so fast that Rich could barely follow it. The blow was savage; the crack of Sinclair's hand across Parker's face echoed through the frozen air. Parker's head snapped back and he made a sound of pain.

Rich started halfway out of his seat in horror, his heart in his throat. “You hit him!” He had genuinely never seen one adult strike another before. It seemed so incredible in this peaceful little town that Rich couldn't even process it. His pulse had jumpstarted, his throat dry. “You can't do that!” Rich glanced around to see if anyone else had seen, but people were just starting to turn, their attention drawn by the sound.

“Clearly I can.” Sinclair flexed his stinging hand.

Parker shuddered, but he made no more sound. He touched his face and his fingertips came away bloody where his cheek had been cut. The gaze he lifted to Sinclair was pure murder. His muscles bunched, his lip curled into a snarl and for a terrifying second Rich thought he was about to go for Sinclair's throat.

Sinclair leaned toward him, holding his eyes. Sinclair spaced his words very precisely. “If you ever touch me, I will kill you. So don't even think about it.”

“You shouldn't hit me.” Parker's voice had gone dark and thick with hatred.

“And you should do what you're told.”

“No.” Parker spat the word. “No. I won't. I'm not coming with you. Never. I'm staying here with Rich. He likes me, he's nice to me. He'd never hit me. Leave us alone.”

That pissed Sinclair off. His eyes narrowed as his expression tightened, his pale grey eyes chilling even further. “I don't think so, Parker. You don't tell me to leave. I'm not done with you yet. And believe me, regardless of what you want, you will be coming back to London with me. I don't care what you think, I don't care what you say. The only question is how much pressure I have to apply to get you to do what I want. And I haven't even started applying pressure yet. I can crank it up so far you will be begging me to stop. You like this, Parker? Living the quiet life in the countryside? I can burn this down. I can set fire to it all. I can tear that little house stone from stone, I can kill your precious Rich. Until there is nothing left here but the smoking crater of everything you once dreamed of. I haven't even begun to punish you yet.”