• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
RJ Scott MM Romance Author Gay Romance

RJ Scott

Valentine Trail – Never A Hero by Marie Sexton

RJ Scott/ Uncategorized

Marie's News:

On February 18th, I'll be re-releasing Cinder, my gay
re-telling of Cinderella. And on March 16th, I have a novella called Normal
Enough
coming from Amber Allure. It's a fun and sexy little
fetish story.

Buy links

Riptide:
http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/never-hero-tucker-springs-novel
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00CR3DO7O

Competition

Simply comment on this post to win an ebook from Marie's backlist (winner's choice).

News and Information from Marie

Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along. Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway.

You can find Marie at http://mariesexton.net/, and on Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MarieSexton.author

Twitter: http://twitter.com/MarieSexton

Excerpt

“Have you noticed the moon tonight?” Nick asked suddenly.

The change of subject surprised me. He was staring out my sliding glass door, and he reached out to me. “Come look,” he said as his fingers touched my arm.

Such a simple gesture, but it caused me to freeze in my tracks. Nobody ever touched my left arm. Not casually, at any rate. Sure, doctors had touched me there with cold, practical efficiency. And my mother had touched me there, but only out of embarrassed necessity. Friends or relatives occasionally, but always by accident. They always apologized for it, turning quickly away. But in twenty-eight years, I couldn’t recall anybody touching me there the way Nick was touching me now. I felt the need to hold perfectly still, lest he realize he was touching my ruined arm and pull away.

His fingers moved again, a tickle on my flesh, a spark of energy that raced up my arm, over my shoulder, and raised goose bumps on the back of my neck. I shivered, suddenly transported back to a day from my childhood: sitting in the cold, prickly grass in the shade of a tree, the buzz of a distant lawnmower, traffic passing on the street, and me, enthralled by a ladybug crawling on my left arm. The almost imperceptible kiss of sensation as it crept down my biceps, over the inside of my elbow, around the pink apex of my stump. That tiny, beautiful bug was oblivious to the horror beneath her feet. My left arm was as good as my right as far as she was concerned. In my whole life, no person had ever touched me like that, as if unaware that my left arm wasn’t normal.

Until Nick.

“Owen?” he asked. His hand shifted. Not pulling away, but changing from a brush of fingers to a gentle grip around my biceps. “Are you okay?”

I opened my eyes, like waking from a dream, to find him staring at me. My vision blurred.

“I’ve upset you. What did I do?”

Jesus, I was crying! I turned away, trying desperately to wipe my eyes. “It’s n-n-n—” And now I was stuttering, too. As if I needed a reason to be more embarrassed. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. Tell me what I did.”

“I’m fine. I’m s-sorry. Must be s-something in my eye.” God, was that really the best I could do?

“Owen?”

I felt his hand on my arm again, sliding downward toward the hideous joint of my elbow, and I pulled away, suddenly horrified. “Please,” I said, holding up my arms to ward him off, but that only served to draw attention to the fact that one was longer than the other. I looked at the stump of my left arm, pointed obscenely in his direction, and hurried to tuck it back down out of sight at my side. I tried to turn away, but I’d gone as far as I could. I was against the wall, and there he was, staring at me, his eyes wide—not with horror, but with compassion and confusion. I wiped furiously at my eyes. I forced my tongue to move without betraying me. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Just tell me what I did.”

How could I explain it? Talk of soccer and superheroes had left me raw, and something as simple as his hand on my arm had apparently done me in. “It’s n-not your fault.”

“But—”

“Give me a m-minute, okay?”

“Sure.”

And he did. He took a step back to give me space. I didn’t have to look at him to know he was still watching me, patiently waiting for me to get my shit together and stop acting like a freak. Waiting for me to get my traitorous tongue under control. I took a couple of deep breaths. I dried my cheeks. My heart had at least stopped racing. I wasn’t as flustered, which meant I could speak clearly. “I’m being stupid. It’s really no big deal—”

He reached out again and put his hand on my left shoulder, cutting my words short. For half a second I found myself wondering why he kept touching the left side of my body, but then I realized it was obvious—he was right-handed. And unlike most people, his discomfort at my disability didn’t overcome his natural inclination to use his dominant hand.

“Owen?” he asked again.

He was so earnest and reassuring, and I blurted out the answer without realizing I was going to do it. “Nobody touches me.”

He pulled his hand away, looking stricken. “You’re saying you don’t like to be touched?”

“No.” And suddenly, the absurdity of the situation hit me. I laughed. It felt good, such a normal, healthy release of tension, but it made Nick look even more confused than before. “My arm,” I said, gesturing with my right hand toward it. “People don’t touch it.”

He blinked at me, processing that, and I saw comprehension dawn.

Now that the moment had passed, I was left with nothing but embarrassment that I’d overreacted, and in such a dramatic fashion. “I’m being stupid.”

“It’s not stupid,” he said. He put his hand up again, slower this time, and brushed his fingertips over my upper arm. “Our skin is our largest sensory organ. Humans don’t just want to be touched. We need it. Babies who aren’t touched enough don’t thrive. And neither do adults. Wanting to be touched isn’t stupid. It’s normal.” He stroked my arm again. Not a mere touch this time. It was a caress. “What is our flesh for if not to feel?”

Suddenly, embarrassment was the last thing on my mind. There wasn’t much space left between us, but he managed to move closer. My mouth went dry. I wondered if he could hear my heart pounding.

He stroked both of my arms. His smile turned from gentle and soothing to something that made the blood in my veins rush quickly toward my groin. He leaned forward and kissed my jaw, causing my breath to catch in my throat. His lips teased toward my ear. “The question is,” he said, his voice low and husky, “where else haven’t you been touched lately?”

* * * * *

Coming soon…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. JDKlaus says

    February 12, 2014 at 8:15 pm

    Never A Hero has a beautiful cover and sounds like an even more beautiful book.

    Reply
  2. JDKlaus says

    February 12, 2014 at 8:15 pm

    Never A Hero has a beautiful cover and sounds like an even more beautiful book.

    Reply
  3. Jambrea says

    February 12, 2014 at 8:50 pm

    I love this book.

    Reply
  4. ShirleyAnn says

    February 12, 2014 at 9:05 pm

    I loved "Never A Hero" it was one of my favourite books last year.

    ShirleyAnn@speakman40.freeserve.co.uk

    Reply
  5. Lisa G says

    February 12, 2014 at 9:08 pm

    I love your Coda series – thanks for the chance at winning one of your books. I bought the earlier version of Cinder – really like the new cover but will there be major changes to the story?
    lgrant1@san.rr.com

    Reply
    • Marie Sexton says

      February 13, 2014 at 2:48 pm

      Hi Lisa! Cinder has been re-edited, but the content is unchanged. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Deb :o) says

    February 12, 2014 at 9:12 pm

    This sounds like a good book! Going on my to get list 🙂

    Deborah H
    Deborahhansen52@yahoo.com

    Reply
  7. Emese says

    February 12, 2014 at 9:13 pm

    I liked "Never a Hero", I'm looking forward to "Cinder"

    Reply
  8. Tracy George says

    February 12, 2014 at 10:33 pm

    Beautiful cover. I look forward to reading it.

    Reply
  9. JillW says

    February 12, 2014 at 11:03 pm

    Loved this story!

    Reply
  10. Alishea Durham says

    February 13, 2014 at 12:20 am

    Wow, that excerpt was…. moving. I really need to get this series now.

    Reply
    • Marie Sexton says

      February 13, 2014 at 2:49 pm

      Hi Alishea. Just FYI, all Tucker Springs books were specifically written to work as stand-alones, so they do NOT have to be read in order. 🙂

      Thanks!

      Reply
  11. Jbst says

    February 13, 2014 at 1:20 am

    I have this book on my wish list.
    strive4bst(AT) yahoo(Dot) com

    Reply
  12. Debby says

    February 13, 2014 at 1:32 am

    They both sound great. I would love to read them.
    debby236 at gmail dot com
    thanks Debby

    Reply
  13. Jen says

    February 13, 2014 at 2:20 am

    Love the new cover of Cinder. I have Never a Hero on TBR list; it sounds really good. Thanks for the giveaway.

    jen.f {at} mac {dot} com

    Reply
  14. Jay Jules says

    February 13, 2014 at 3:40 am

    Please count me in.

    Reply
  15. Elayne says

    February 13, 2014 at 1:00 pm

    I really liked this excerpt. Please count me in.

    Reply
  16. Janette says

    February 13, 2014 at 2:41 pm

    Loved this book!!

    Reply
  17. Marie Sexton says

    February 13, 2014 at 2:56 pm

    Thank you to everyone who's left a comment so far, and thank you also to RJ for hosting me today. Happy Valentine's Day!

    Reply
  18. Antonia says

    February 13, 2014 at 2:59 pm

    Thanks for sharing the great excerpt from Never a Hero and for the chance to win. The new cover for Cinder is beautiful.

    Reply
  19. gigi says

    February 13, 2014 at 3:46 pm

    Please count me in. Thanks!

    Reply
  20. Susan says

    February 13, 2014 at 3:49 pm

    I have almost all your books, but I'm also a contest junkie, so here I am.

    skadlec1@yahoo.com

    Reply
  21. SusanR says

    February 13, 2014 at 4:26 pm

    I adored Never a Hero!
    Please count me in!!

    Reply
  22. MaryMary says

    February 13, 2014 at 5:53 pm

    I love the Tucker Springs series! Count me in – thanks!

    Reply
  23. Alicia Groen says

    February 13, 2014 at 7:18 pm

    Looks like a good book.

    Reply
  24. Carey says

    February 13, 2014 at 7:44 pm

    I've been wanting read both Cinder and Never a Hero for a while now! Please count me in!

    Reply
  25. Starts with a C says

    February 13, 2014 at 7:57 pm

    I was having a difficult enough time being patient for Cinder. This hasn't helped 😉

    Reply
  26. Rhonda Wolf says

    February 13, 2014 at 7:59 pm

    Love the cover!

    rhondaw1965(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Reply
  27. Cinders Osborne says

    February 13, 2014 at 8:08 pm

    Need it , lol.

    Crozzy67@nctv.com

    Reply
  28. Ashley E says

    February 13, 2014 at 8:14 pm

    Oh my gosh, the cover for Cinder is gorgeous! And that tag line is perfect. lol

    ashley.vanburen[at]gmail[dot]com

    Reply
  29. Barbara Elsborg says

    February 13, 2014 at 8:23 pm

    What a lovely cover – well both are!

    Reply
  30. lenalove says

    February 13, 2014 at 9:14 pm

    Loved the expert. Came close a few times to buying Never A Hero but never got around to it. Am getting it now. Thanks!

    Reply
  31. Claudia says

    February 13, 2014 at 11:13 pm

    Thanks for the chance Marie would love to read this.
    (havenfieldwood@yahoo.com)

    Reply
  32. Nenei V says

    February 14, 2014 at 1:00 am

    That was beautiful.

    Reply
  33. J.K. Hogan says

    February 14, 2014 at 1:36 am

    Ooh I'm so excited about the re-release! I haven't read Cinder yet. (jkhogan(at)gmail.com

    Reply
  34. drtempledragon says

    February 14, 2014 at 10:09 am

    Ooo! They say never judge a book by its cover, but Cinder looks intriguing.

    Reply
  35. Jutta says

    February 14, 2014 at 5:30 pm

    I have "Never a Hero" already (loved it too), but I DO need "Cinder", Please!!!

    Reply
  36. Sherry says

    February 14, 2014 at 9:11 pm

    This sounds like a very good book.
    sstrode at scrtc dot com

    Reply
  37. waxapplelover says

    February 15, 2014 at 6:13 pm

    I love the Tucker Springs books. I got so excited when I saw the book cover!

    Reply
  38. Emily says

    February 16, 2014 at 8:30 am

    I can't wait to read both Cinder and Normal Enough.

    tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

  • FAQ

Copyright © 2025 · RJ Scott

Ella Theme by Code + Coconut