The Reanimator’s Remains (TRM #3) comes out on October 29th, so about a little over a week from now! In order to whet your appetite, I thought I would share another lengthy excerpt. This time from chapter one. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter One: Secrets and Surprises
Oliver Barlow did not keep secrets or enjoy surprises, yet he found himself eagerly doing both for Felipe. As Oliver buttoned his waistcoat, he went over the plan for that night’s outing once more. First, he would borrow one of the Paranormal Society’s steamers and take Felipe to the botanical gardens. Oliver wasn’t certain Felipe particularly cared about plants, but he enjoyed walking far more than sitting through a play. Besides, going to the greenhouses would be like visiting forests and gardens all over the world without ever leaving New York. Unlike at the theater, they could freely talk, and there was still a chance they could sneak a touch or kiss on a secluded trail. On the way back to the society, Oliver planned to stop at an Italian restaurant Louisa and Agatha had raved about. Felipe had mentioned wanting to have dinner there one day, but in the chaos of cases and meetings, they had never gotten around to it. Oliver wasn’t certain if the restaurant served dessert, so he double checked the maps in the archives to confirm there were places nearby where they could get an egg cream or some rugelach if Felipe was still peckish.
Oliver drew in a calming breath and shook out his hands to keep Felipe from feeling his anxiety on the other end of the tether. He didn’t need him running down to check on him and ruining the surprise. After listening to confirm Felipe hadn’t reached the laboratory or closet outside his basement bedroom yet, Oliver retrieved the strong box from under his bed. Tucked under papers and old photographs sat a ring box. A nervous smile crossed his lips as he turned it over in his hands. More than anything, he wanted Felipe to enjoy their outing because when they got back to the apartment, Oliver would give him a ring. Popping open the box, he marveled at the way the globe of polished amber set in gold caught the light. When he first saw the amber ring in a display case at the jeweler’s, he couldn’t get it out of his mind. Inside the fossilized resin were bits of ancient flower petals forever frozen in time, but what truly drew him to it was that the amber was nearly the exact shade of Felipe’s eyes when they caught the sunlight. He even got it inscribed with My light in the darkness to drive home to Felipe how much he meant to him. A man who reminded Oliver of all the beauty and softness in the world deserved a ring that reflected that light and life.
Oliver’s thumb drifted to the gold and black enamel band on his ring finger. Even though he wore it every day and kept it on a chain around his neck during autopsies, he still couldn’t believe it was there. He had never expected to be proposed to or to be proposing to Felipe. Men like them rarely found someone, let alone someone who wanted to stay with them forever. Oliver knew it was different at the Paranormal Society, that they could have some semblance of permanency and normalcy, but he never expected that he would find anyone who loved him like that. When Felipe had suggested they take a trip to Coney Island to relax, Oliver never thought it would end with Felipe presenting him with a ring and asking him to spend the rest of his life with him. Oliver swallowed hard at the memory. He would have given anything for that, proposal or not, but the ring with its grinning skeleton and Felipe’s message of Don’t go where I can’t follow was as much a memento mori as it was a memento vivere. If Oliver had his way, they would have so many more years together.
Shutting the ring away, Oliver shoved the strong box back under the bed with his foot. Felipe knew the proposal was eventually coming; Oliver had asked him if he could do it in return after all, but even if it couldn’t be a true surprise, he wanted Felipe to feel special and loved, the way he had made Oliver feel. At the clack of the laboratory door, Oliver stuffed the ring box into the jacket he left hanging on the desk chair and scrambled to his feet. He had just finished smoothing the wrinkles from his trousers when the bedroom door opened, and Felipe slipped inside with a tired sigh. His curly brown hair and suit were rumpled, and beneath his eyes, dark circles blotted his tan skin, but when he saw Oliver watching him, a relieved smile spread across his lips. Oliver crossed the room in two strides and caught his partner in his arms. The shorter man sagged against him in a boneless heap.
“That bad?” Oliver asked with a small smile.
Felipe grunted into Oliver’s chest. “You don’t know the half of it. You’re lucky you work down here. If it wouldn’t make a mess for both of us, I would fully retire now just to not have to deal with these meetings.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Everyone’s getting on my nerves,” Felipe replied, leaning into Oliver’s touch as he combed his fingers through his hair. “During the meeting, the head inspector let us know that a case is being transferred to us from the New Jersey Paranormal Society, so of course, everyone has to pipe up that they are too busy to take it. It couldn’t possibly go to them. Give it to someone else.”
“Do you want to take it?”
“God no, but I didn’t start griping about how we’ve been run off our feet since the Institute for the Betterment of the Soul case. Everyone is busy. Yelling at each other and fighting over whose case is bigger isn’t going to make us any less short staffed. Besides, it hasn’t even been officially transferred to our branch. None of us even know what the case is about, so why start making trouble before we even know what we’re up against?”
“I’m assuming there’s no corpse, or it would be my problem too.”
Kissing the top of Felipe’s head, Oliver inhaled the familiar scent of his aftershave mixed with coffee. When his lips traveled down Felipe’s cheek and into the hollow beneath his jaw, the other man’s hands tightened on Oliver’s back and a low moan broke from his throat. Oliver’s tongue rasped against Felipe’s stubble as his lover’s hands snaked under his waistcoat and down his backside. Halfway down the dark blue wool, Felipe’s hand stilled.
Opening his eyes, he pulled back to look over Oliver’s form. “You’re in your new suit.”
“I am,” Oliver replied with a sly smile.
Felipe stepped back to take Oliver in. His walnut brown eyes raked over Oliver’s form, pausing pointedly on his navy-clad legs and backside as he circled him. A blush rose on Oliver’s cheeks at the heat in Felipe’s gaze. Letting out an appreciative whistle, he ran his hands down Oliver’s sides before kissing him in that slow, deliberate way that made every thought scatter like billiard balls.
“And what’s the occasion for so much color? Last time I saw you, you were in work charcoal.”
“I thought we could go out this evening. I have a whole itinerary. Unless you’re too tired, of course. We could always put it off until tomorrow if you would prefer to stay in. I don’t mind waiting.”
You can read the rest of chapter one when The Reanimator’s Remains comes out October 29th. Preorder it here. Paperbacks will be available very soon.
