Rules to Follow
Davey's Rules Series, Book 1
Susan Hawke
M/M Romance - Daddy/boy
Release Date: 07.14.19
Blurb
Davey’s Rule #86: A good Daddy will never lie to his boy… even by omission.
Travis Miller has a pretty solid life in the small California beach town he calls home. He’s working his way up in the district attorney’s office, he owns a home with an ocean view, and he has close ties with his family. Life is good. If only he could find a sweet boy to call his own, life would be… perfect.
Adam Nichols’ life has never been easy. Growing up in foster care taught him to be strong, so finding himself in a violent relationship was a shock. Now that he's finally free of it, he faces new problems. He's jobless, homeless, and terrified of starting from scratch.
With a little help from an old friend, Adam discovers a whole new world. He goes from rock bottom to renting a room from a hot assistant DA and working at Daddy’s Lap, a kink club that opens his vanilla eyes to things he’d never imagined. His new roommate is a balm to Adam’s damaged soul. The tender way Travis cares for him is almost like the Daddy kink community he’s seen at the club. But Travis isn’t a Daddy… right? If he were, surely he’d have said so.
What happens when a lie by omission threatens to bring their budding relationship tumbling down around them? Will Travis ever be able to earn Adam's trust again?
This is the first book in a new series about not-so-perfect Daddies, adorable “boys,” and one sassy brat with an insane list of rules. Grab your fan and tissues because this series comes with both a high heat advisory and all the squishy feels you’d want from a Susan Hawke book. Possible trigger for references to domestic violence.
Excerpt
I licked my lips as I checked out my date for the umpteenth time. I had high hopes for tonight. Travis was definitely hot Daddy material. I'd been checking this cutie out for a while. He was one of the Daddies who belonged to the private club where I'd been working as a bartender for the past couple years.
If Travis looked good inside the walls of Daddy's Lap, he looked downright edible sitting across from me in this fancy restaurant. God, I was just so sick of hookups and the whole dating scene. Maybe this date would be the one.
Seriously. Was it too much to ask to just want to find the perfect Daddy that I could settle down with? Hell, maybe we'd even get a puppy. Bitches like puppies. That would be me. I’m a bitch who likes puppies.
I was zoning out, picturing different dog breeds, when I realized the waiter was not-so-patiently waiting for my drink order. I gave the snotty twink the quick elevator treatment with bored eyes. "Sorry, hon. Just bring me a glass of the house red. No, scratch that. Make it a Merlot. God only knows what might pass for the house red."
The waiter—Todd, according to the name tag—rolled his eyes. He muttered under his breath, "Like you’d know the difference." I leaned back in my seat with new respect for the guy and silently clawed the air with my fingers. Meow, baby.
Travis cleared his throat. "Scratch that, Todd. The gentleman will have a glass of iced tea. In fact, bring a glass for each of us. Thank you."
Dammit. I'd had such high hopes for this evening and Travis had already broken rule number eight.
I didn't say a word, just made a mental tally mark in the con column. Travis was only a few years older than me. He couldn't have been much older than thirty, yet he had that total Daddy vibe that checked every box for me. Age wasn't a factor in whether or not a man was a Daddy. You either had it, or you didn't. And Travis? Oh, honey… Travis had it going on.
And yet… He’d totally broken rule number eight. I recited it silently while I reached for a bread roll and began to butter it. "Daddy must respect that his boy is also an adult and will treat him as such in public or on the occasions when the boy needs his autonomy."
Yep. Travis canceling my drink order was a complete rule infraction. However, I was nothing if I was not fair. Any potential Daddies would get three strikes before they were out. That meant Travis had two more chances to wow me, or not wow me, as the case may be.
Todd showed up with two frosty glasses of iced tea, garnished with a pretty sliced lemon floating on top. I wrinkled my nose and set the glass aside as I took another look at my menu. Todd was reciting the day's specials, but I didn't have time for that shit. Please, honey. Everyone knows the day's specials are just a way to get rid of the things that are about to spoil. Yeah… no. I'd be ordering from the menu, thank you very much.
"Are you gentlemen ready to order, or should I give you a few more minutes?" Was it me or was Todd giving me a judgmental look because I was still reading the menu? That just made me want to read it all over again, starting with the first item and reading like I’d forgotten my glasses.
My mouth fell open when Travis reached over and took my menu. He closed it and handed both menus to Todd. "I'll have the surf and turf special, and the gentleman will have the salmon almondine with the wild mushroom risotto." Todd jotted down the order and took off. I was too busy gaping at Travis to say a word.
How dare? How very dare? Sure, I'd been eyeballing the dish he’d ordered for me, but how dare he? Ugh. And in doing so, he'd just broken rule number seventeen—earning himself a second tally mark in the con column. I silently recited the rule as I continued to gape at Travis. Daddy will not order his boy’s meal in public unless his boy has specifically requested he do so.
Whether or not I'd been planning to order that dish was completely beside the point. Facts were facts and rule infractions were rule infractions. There had to be order in life or anarchy would reign supreme.
Come on, Travis. Don't make that third strike. I'd really like to take you to third base when we get out of here. That's a much better third to hit, honey.
As an avid reader and big romance fan myself, I love sharing the stories of the different people who live in my imagination. My stories are filled with humor, a few tears, and the underlying message to not give up hope, even in the darkest of times, because life can change on a dime when you least expect it. This theme comes from a lifetime of lessons learned on my own hard journey through the pains of poverty, the loss of more loved ones than I'd care to count, and the struggles of living through chronic illnesses. Life can be hard, but it can also be good! Through it all I've found that love, laughter, and family can make all the difference, and that's what I try to bring to every tale I tell.
I'm a happily married mom with one snarky teenage boy, and three grown "kids of my heart." I'm more widely known for my mpreg writings as Susi Hawke; this new name is a departure from that. Whether written by Susan or Susi, the books are filled with that all-important love, laughter, and family I mentioned; the only difference is that this name has no male pregnancy. I look forward to sharing my stories with you, and to bringing more romance and laughter into this world that needs it so very badly.
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