Like Magnets, We Attract Read online

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  Excessica Publishing

  www.excessica.com

  Copyright ©2009 by Jaye Valentine

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  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

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  CONTENTS

  Like Magnets, We Attract

  Foreward

  Mauka/Makai

  King Kong vs. The Skinny Pirate

  Fairy Tail

  Lucky

  Forever

  Common Ground

  The Taming of the Bull

  The Hideaway

  Against the Current

  Fire and Water

  Contributors

  About the Editor

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  WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  This book is for sale to ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It contains substantial sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which may be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

  All sexually active characters in this work are 18 years of age or older.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the author's imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Design: Reno MacLeod

  Like Magnets, We Attract © 2009 Jaye Valentine, editor eXcessica publishing

  All rights reserved

  Like Magnets, We Attract

  Jaye Valentine, editor

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Foreward

  Lovers who are polar opposites. Perhaps one is an unskilled surfer falling for the surf god of his dreams. Maybe one is a fussbudget attorney who ends up going home with a grease-monkey. A prince trapped in a tower and a fairy with gossamer wings. A knight errant and the dragon he's been sent to slay. Vampires and their human lovers. The computer geek and the jock. These stories and more will bring you hot men who appear to be complete mismatches for their partners.

  Like Magnets, We Attract brings you erotic stories that range from the sweet to the scorching hot, from the dramatic to the whimsical, written by both well-known veteran writers of the genre and those contributing with their first professional publications. I hope your fancy is tickled by these well-crafted, diverse short stories as much as mine has been. Enjoy!

  —Jaye Valentine, Editor

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Mauka/Makai

  by Shea Meier

  Noah couldn't quite shake the feeling that he should be working. It was Saturday, earlier than he'd be up for work anyway, but the insistent hum of bugs outside his house and the crash of surf from only a block away had conspired against him getting any more sleep. He scratched at the short beard he'd been too lazy to shave off, looking out his living room window at the clear sky. The lack of clouds was enough of a rarity that it made up his mind for him, and he grabbed a towel and a quick breakfast, setting out down the barely paved road toward the cliffs. He could always drive to the park later if he really couldn't keep himself away from work.

  The muffin was a little stale even after only a couple days, but he ate it anyway, and tucked the wrapper into his pocket when he realized he didn't have anywhere else to put it. His toes felt gritty in the dusty grind of the cinders under his shoes, and the crunch of his footsteps down the road was the only sound he could hear except for the crashing surf. Up ahead he could just barely make out a break in the incongruous tangle of guava, pine, and ohia trees. As he got closer, the path to the cliffs beyond became more obvious, and he followed it easily, coming out of the trees only a few yards from the edge of the sharp drop into the water.

  It was low tide or near enough to it, and he dropped his towel on a smooth stretch of lava, leaving it to warm in the sun while he poked around the tide pools for awhile. A few crabs scuttled away from him, back into the shallow salt water left behind by the fountains of spray at high tide, and he could see a few sea urchins at the bottom of one of the deeper pools, dark purple and looking like a royal bitch to accidentally step on. Noah doubted that the scant protection provided by flip-flops that seemed ubiquitous to the Hawaiian outfit he wore would help much, and anyway, he'd never seen anyone wearing shoes at the beach here.

  The swells and cracks of the broken lava dropped off fairly sharply, and despite his long-held fear of water, he edged closer to peek over the side, wondering how the blowhole looked at low tide. He nearly lost his footing when a face appeared over the rim, sending him stumbling back into the tide pool as he flailed to stay upright.

  "Jesus Christ!” he said.

  A man pulled first himself then a five-gallon bucket up over the edge of the cliffs. “Ho brah, you okay? I never saw you there."

  It took a few seconds to translate the words in his head, and he was pretty sure he was staring stupidly the whole time. “I'm fine, just a little startled.” Noah took a careful step backward, reaching down to fish his floating flip-flops out of the knee-deep water. “What the hell were you doing climbing up the side of a cliff though?"

  "Opihi,” the man said simply, as if that explained everything. When Noah didn't reply, he smiled, teeth flashing white in a tanned face, and reached into the bucket, holding up a small shell. “Opihi. Good eating."

  "Huh,” Noah replied warily. His last brush with a supposed local favorite had involved something grayish-brown that tasted mainly of dirt, but he'd choked it down with a smile just to be polite. If anything, the wet black shell and the squishy thing inside it looked even less appetizing. The man laughed at him outright, and Noah couldn't help but smile a little in return.

  "Doesn't look good, but it's tasty. Promise.” The man took a knife out of the bucket, expertly prying something loose from the flat, conical shell. He held it out on the tip of the knife, and Noah took it, trying not to screw his face up too much before he put it in his mouth and chewed it as quickly as possible.

  "Huh,” Noah said again, surprised when it really wasn't much different than the texture of a raw scallop or maybe a clam, and even a little sweeter and cleaner. “That really isn't bad,"

  "Told you.” The knife dropped back into the bucket, and Noah took the hand held out and shook it quickly. “Kawika. Sorry I scared you."

  "No problem. I just thought I was the only person here."

  "Not many dawn patrol guys come out here. It's junk waves. You live close?"

  "Yeah, a block up, back on Beach Road. I'm Noah, by the way."

  It was hard not to be drawn in by the wide smile and friendly face, especially when he hadn't talked to anyone outside of work since moving to Big Island a month ago. Kawika's bare chest, glistening with stray drops of ocean water, wasn't so bad either. In fact, he might have missed what Kawika was saying in a moment of rapt appreciation, because he was being looked at expectantly and he had no clue why.

  "Sorry?” Noah asked brightly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

  "You willing to trade me a shower for some fresh opihi? Or maybe something else,” Kawika said with a lift of his eyebrows and a tiny smirk.

  So the admiring stare h
adn't gone unnoticed. The not talking to anyone outside of work thing had left him celibate for entirely too long, but even so, Noah was pretty sure he still recognized a come-on when he got one. Pretty sure.

  "Sorry. Maybe you don't like opihi?"

  He was definitely being screwed with, and the innocently dismayed look was so patently fake that he had to laugh. But Kawika continued, his grin widening. “It's just you waited so long to answer. Thought maybe you didn't like shellfish."

  "I wouldn't say I didn't have a liking,” Noah said quickly. Ridiculous rubber shoes hanging from one hand, he ran the other through his dark-blonde hair, knowing it would stand straight up in crazy spikes but unable to stop the nervous gesture. “I just wasn't expecting to be offered any this morning."

  "Lucky you, coming to the beach so early."

  "I want to make a catch-of-the-day joke, but I think it might be tacky,” Noah said, earning a laugh. “You, uh, want that shower?"

  "Yeah, I think I do.” Kawika picked up the bucket, tipping it down into the tide pool to fill it with salt water, and then looked back at him expectantly.

  The walk back to the road, while not exactly in what he could call companionable silence, was certainly less awkward than it could've been, all things considered. Kawika hummed softly to himself, the sound a counterpoint to the sloshing bucket swinging at his side.

  As they reached the verge of the road, Noah dropped his shoes and stepped into them, looking up just in time to meet an amused gaze. “What?"

  "You haven't been here long,” Kawika said, jerking his chin in Noah's direction. “Feet are giving you away."

  "My feet?"

  "You're wearing shoes and not just for going to town."

  Kawika's feet were bare, but that didn't stop him from stepping out onto the cinders unhesitatingly. Noah rolled his eyes, grinning. “I guess I'm not tough enough to be local."

  The fingertip that brushed across his cheekbones was callused and warm, but not nearly as warm as the heat he felt drifting up from the body now disconcertingly close. “No local would burn like this."

  It was possible the warmth in his cheeks was from the fading sunburn he'd gotten a few days before, and for the sake of his pride he was hanging onto that theory.

  His house wasn't much to look at, but being that it seemed to mostly pass from one fellowship recipient to the next, it had at least been fully furnished when he moved in. Dull brown paint, a dull brown roof, and Noah still didn't know what to do with the mostly overgrown yard. He unlocked the door and let them into the dining room, which generally served as a place for him to dump his mail and set things on his way in and out through the back door. Kawika left the bucket of opihi outside in the shade of the carport, and then came with him through the living room toward the kitchen at the back of the house, looking around with interest.

  "My Auntie used to live here."

  "Really? Did your aunt work for the University?"

  Kawika laughed. “For the University? What would make you think something like that?"

  "They told me this house was always used for the fellowship recipients, but I guess that doesn't really make sense, does it? It must have been someone's home first."

  "So that's what you do then; you're with the University?” He looked interested but not particularly impressed. But then again, Noah was getting used to that reaction. There was something about being his age and working for a university in a non-professorial capacity—everyone ended up assuming you were a student.

  "Yeah, I'm with the geology department. There's only a couple places in the world where there's a chance to work around an active volcano.” Noah grinned and shrugged. “And honestly, I'm less of a parka and more of a t-shirt kind of guy, so Iceland wasn't really an option."

  "It would be a waste to hide you under a jacket,” Kawika said, and despite the fact that Noah was in a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt and not a jacket, Kawika was apparently more than willing to help him out of it, both hands going the frayed hem and tugging.

  Noah took a step closer, obediently lifting his arms as the thin white cotton brushed against his face, momentarily covering his eyes before being dropped unceremoniously to the kitchen floor. “Hey, a little respect for the shirt. That's a Copenhagen Hard Rock.” His laugh was muffled by a hard press of lips, Kawika's hips shoving up against his as he leaned enthusiastically into the kiss.

  "Think we can share that shower?” Noah managed to gasp.

  "Nah, you're on catchment here, so not unless you want to go dry the rest of the week. The couch though, it's comfortable. Auntie never skimped on furniture."

  There probably should've been something disturbing about the thought of having sex on someone's aunt's couch. And maybe a little worse when the someone was a virtual stranger and had probably spent family time on that same couch as a child. “Yeah, okay, the couch sounds great."

  Kawika tasted of salt, and smiled right before he pulled back slightly. “If it will help, I won't tell you about my auntie sitting on this very same couch having tea with the pastor. Every Sunday for twenty years."

  "Jesus,” Noah groaned. “Thank you, but no, that didn't help at all."

  "She and the pastor were good friends. Once I found them both naked here."

  It was said in such a matter-of-fact voice that Noah just stared for several seconds until Kawika grinned widely. “She loved life, Auntie. I liked that best about her."

  "How about we use the bed?” Noah said a little pleadingly, tugging Kawika down the hallway toward the bright bedroom. He hadn't made the bed that morning, and it was easy to fall back on it, Kawika coming up between his spread legs and leaning over him. Noah got his fingers tangled in the drawstring to his shorts, distracted by Kawika pushing his own down and stepping out of them.

  Kawika's cock was dark cinnamon like the rest of him, flushed and hard, but the head was lighter, and Noah propped himself up, leaning forward to suck it in. The same salty traces of ocean water were there, but just below them he tasted of something sharper. Apparently he hadn't realized how much he missed being with someone, because he only came back to himself after feeling a soft tug at his hair, Kawika's voice low and urgent.

  "Noah, Noah, you gotta stop man, I'm gonna lose it."

  Noah pulled off slowly, his lips tight around warm flesh for another second as he drew back. Reaching up to wipe at the corner of his mouth, he was surprised when his hand was pushed away, Kawika leaning down to kiss him, tongue darting into his mouth where he would no doubt be able to taste himself.

  "I want to fuck you,” Noah said when the kiss ended, trying not to sound as desperate as he felt. “Want you under me, my cock inside you."

  Noah's answer was Kawika slithering past him, lying beside him and looking back over his shoulder. “Safe kind only though, yeah?"

  "Yeah, yes, of course,” Noah stuttered, a little overwhelmed by the body offered to him, the blissed-out smile and lazy eyes, and the lithe, toned muscle hiding under skin he could swear still felt warm from the sun. He dropped a magazine and some Kleenex on the floor, finally coming up with lube and condoms out of his bedside table.

  To his credit, his hands were only trembling slightly when he ripped the package open, but Kawika laughed softly.

  "Look like you could use some help.” He didn't wait for an answer, instead sitting up just enough to nudge Noah onto his back and adroitly grabbing the condom from nerveless fingers. “Better let me do it."

  It seemed like a good idea, at least until Kawika's fingertips brushed his cock. Noah gasped sharply, hips thrusting involuntarily upwards. “Shit! Maybe ... maybe I should do it myself."

  "Nah, I'll take care of it, no worries.” Smiling slowly, Kawika unrolled the latex in a single smooth motion while Noah struggled to stay still. Breathing hard, Noah watched Kawika uncap the lube and squirt it into his hand, a torturously gentle grip slicking him up.

  "Let me get you,” Noah said. “Maybe a second or two will give me a chance to calm down a little.” He smiled
ruefully, and Kawika rolled over onto his back, legs parted.

  "You're missing the point, if you think you should be calm."

  Noah's eyes went wide, then almost drowsily drifted closed for a second, and he let himself smirk. Long fingers were good for a lot. He was careful, teasing and stretching until he wasn't sure he could hold off anymore.

  "Now, now, now,” Kawika whimpered, and it went right through Noah as he knelt between spread legs and pushed in slowly. The heat was incredible, the way Kawika's hips came up to meet him, the slow roll of pleasure that seemed to start low in his belly and radiate out between them.

  Noah sought out another kiss, their gasps lost, echoing between their demanding mouths. Fingers slid up and down his back, and he balanced himself enough to reach between them and wrap a hand around that cock leaving trails of precum against his stomach. Timing his thrusts to the twisting pull of his hand was more luck than skill, but if Kawika's words of encouragement were anything to go by, it was appreciated all the same.

  "Gonna—” was all Noah heard before cum splashed over his hand, and the pulsing draw of the body below him was more than enough to tip him over the edge, too. A few more shallow thrusts and he let himself down slowly, not sure he could move away just yet, not when he was warm and sated, and not feeling lonely for the first time in a long while.

  Noah was surprised when he felt the hand in his hair, petting, tracing the shell of his ear and stroking the side of his jaw. He smiled, eyes still closed, nearly afraid to open them and let go of the contentment. It took him a second to make sense of the words he heard.

  "Hey, pretty one, you wanna come to a luau at my sister's house? She makes the best lomi lomi salmon you ever gonna eat.” Noah could hear the smile in Kawika's voice, and Noah finally opened his eyes, nodding agreement. “Awesome. You think we can share a shower now that you've got the edge off? All platonic and stuff?"

  Noah laughed, both at the idea of being called pretty and the thought of trying to keep his hands to himself in the shower. “I guess I can try to behave myself. Just don't let me see you naked again, or I'll run myself out of water and blame you."