Please Welcome Mickie B. Ashling

 Mickie has visited us a few time here, and this time she's bringing the hot BDSM with her latest novel, Fractured!

Blurb

Roque “Ro” Celdran dreams of a better life, far away from the hand-to-mouth existence of his migrant worker family. He moves to San Francisco to study Landscape Design but finds himself short of cash.  Tony, Ro’s identical twin, comes up with a plan to help Ro make ends meet.  The BDSM club Tony frequents is looking for gay men to act as submissives to the Dommes-in-training.  Ro reluctantly takes the job and falls headfirst into a world he neither understands nor desires. 

Lance Roberts is the new doctor at the dental practice started by Scott Gregory and Robin Kennedy.  On the surface, he seems to have it all: the Mensa IQ, blond and blue-eyed good looks, and the determination to make it in his competitive field.  Underneath lies a frustrated Dom in search of the perfect sub who can handle his obsessive behavior and debilitating need for control.

When Ro ends up in Lance’s dental chair, the last thing either one expects is a physical and mental connection.  Ro’s attraction to “White Bread” never pans out, and Lance’s weakness for Latinos always leads to a dead end. Could this time be different?  What happens between the two alphas leads to a lot of soul-searching and some surprising conclusions.

Excerpt

Lance had just stepped out of the shower when he heard the buzzer announcing Ro’s arrival. He wrapped a towel around his waist and headed toward the living room, uncharacteristically leaving a trail of wet footprints on the hardwood floor. His phone was hooked up to the building’s security system, and he could check a new arrival by tapping in a sequence of numbers, but he’d left it on the coffee table instead of taking it to the bathroom. He unlocked the entry remotely when he saw Ro’s image.

Dinner was sitting on the kitchen counter in a brown paper bag. His plan to cook had been derailed by a late afternoon emergency that had turned into an hour-long surgical procedure. He didn’t want to cancel on Ro but knew he’d be too late to cook, so he stopped at a local pizza joint and picked up a large combination and two house salads. Belatedly, he wondered if Ro would be able to bite into the pizza without a problem, but Lance would willingly hand-feed him smaller pieces if necessary. He smiled thinking about it.

He was still smiling when he opened the door and soaked up the sight of the gorgeous man holding a long-stemmed lavender rose. Ro was wearing an inconspicuous white shirt with rolled up sleeves and a button-down collar, but he made it look like something straight off a boutique’s rack. It was definitely the right color to offset his deep mahogany skin tone. Curly black lashes cast shadows on his cheekbones when he looked down to check out Lance’s barely there outfit before handing him the flower.

Surprised by the unexpected gesture, Lance reached for the proffered bud and inhaled the sweet scent wafting from the soft petals. He was stalling to get himself under control. He was at a loss, having never dated before. His roster of pool boys had always been at his beck and call, but they’d never thought to give him anything but sex. The hookups at the BDSM clubs never involved actual dating. No one in the long line of men he’d bedded had ever gone out of his way to do anything romantic, so this gift, simple as it was, hit the mark as surely as cupid’s arrow.

“I’ve never seen a rose this color,” he said lamely. “Thank you.”

“I saw it and immediately thought of your eyes,” Ro said evenly. “Lavender roses are fairly uncommon. They symbolize enchantment, among other things.”

“What other things?” Lance asked softly.

Ro paused for a second, and his cheeks turned a ruddy apricot before he answered. “Love at first sight.”

It would have sounded cheesy coming from someone else, but Lance knew Ro wasn’t the kind of guy who dropped the L word so nonchalantly. There was nothing flirty about him; in fact, the opposite was true. He was deadly serious most of the time, but his face was an open book. Lance could read the admiration and longing in those beautiful brown eyes. It did all kinds of funny things to his stomach.

He leaned forward and let his lips graze Ro’s, then pulled him into the apartment. The door shut with a quiet snick. Lance pinned him against the oak and began peppering him with tender kisses along his neck, ears, and collarbone. There was a faint whiff of cologne Ro must have applied before arriving, one Lance didn’t recognize but enjoyed nonetheless. It was a masculine scent, as understated as the man in his arms but just as enticing. Ro clutched Lance’s ass cheeks through the towel and drew him closer, grinding his stiff cock against Lance’s twin boner. They were close in height so their hips lined up perfectly. Lance began unbuttoning Ro’s shirt, making a mental note that Ro liked his shirts starched and pressed.

The parted fabric revealed a light layer of dark hair that narrowed into an enticing love trail Lance followed with his fingers. He snaked past the waistband and cupped the generous package. “I’ve thought about this all day.”

“Same here,” Ro said huskily. “You’re all I think about.”

“After Sunday night’s big reveal, I was worried you’d run for your life.”

“Not a chance.”

“Willy seems happy to see me,” Lance teased, gliding his thumb over the wet spot.

Ro chuckled. “Willy?”

“Do you have a pet name you’d prefer?”

“Call him whatever you want, so long as he ends up in your mouth.”

Bio

Mickie B. Ashling is the alter-ego of a multifaceted woman raised by a single mother who preferred reading over other forms of entertainment. She found a kindred spirit in her oldest child and encouraged her with a steady supply of dog-eared paperbacks. Romance was the preferred genre, and historical romances topped her favorites list.

By the time Mickie discovered her own talent for writing, real life had intruded, and the business of earning a living and raising four sons took priority. With the advent of e-publishing and the inevitable emptying nest, dreams were resurrected, and the storyteller was reborn.

She stumbled into the world of men who love men in 2002 and continues to draw inspiration from their ongoing struggle to find equality and happiness in this oftentimes skewed and intolerant world. Her award-winning novels have been called "gut wrenching, daring, and thought provoking." She admits to being an angst queen and making her men work damn hard for their happy endings.

 Mickie loves to travel and has lived in the Philippines, Spain, and the Middle East but currently resides in a suburb outside Chicago.

  Fractured is now available in paperback or e-book format at Dreamspinner Press.  

You can contact Mickie at mickie.ashling@gmail.com or leave a comment on her website at http://mickieashling.com or her blog  http://mickiebashling.blogspot.com.