Jack’s first kiss was careful, almost apologetic—a light, warm brushing of lips on lips—and Ellery’s answering kiss was reassuringly receptive. Jack kissed him again, not so lightly, and a lot more warmly. Sparks danced before Ellery’s eyes.
“I didn’t think this was going to happen,” Ellery said. He did not mean the kiss. They had kissed before.
“I did,” Jack said, and he also did not mean the kiss. “The first night I saw you at the Salty Dog.”
Ellery laughed. “Where do we go from here?”
“Hmm…” Jack raised his eyes ceilingward, which could have meant he was giving it some thought—or suggesting Ellery’s bedroom—then said, “If my crime-fiction-reading past serves me, you’re supposed to have someone staying with you to check on you every couple of hours during the night.”
“Yeah, but that’s pretty much a crime-fiction thing.”
“Is it?”
Ellery asked slowly, “Are you asking to stay the night?”
“Yes.”
“To wake me up every few hours.”
“Sure.”
“And that’s it? You’re just going to wake me up every couple of hours and tell me to go back to sleep?”
Once before he’d seen that slow, sweet smile from Jack. “I guess we’ll find out when I wake you up.”
Coming Soon
Scandal at the Salty Dog
Secrets and Scrabble Book Four
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Dear Reader,
Welcome back to Pirate’s Cove, where sinister secrets are buried deeper than Mrs. McGillicuddy’s tulips. But also, we never run out of cupcakes! Mystery at the Masquerade is the third book in my M/M cozy mystery series Secrets and Scrabble. As with all cozy mysteries, there is no on-screen violence or sex. (I DON’T MAKE THE RULES, I JUST REGARD THEM AS AN ARTISTIC CHALLENGE.)
You may have noticed there is no COVID-19 in Pirate’s Cove. You’re welcome.
According to the rules of the game (by game, I mean the cozy genre, not Scrabble), the stories are quick, light, and fun. This may not be your cup of tea, but in these trying times, I find myself turning more and more often to the reassuring comfort of (okay, yes, frequent) murder in a world where justice always prevails, good will triumphs, and love will usually find a way. If that sounds good to you, come shelter in place with me for an hour or two; let today’s storm pass us by.
These stories are set on fictional Buck Island. The character of Watson is based on my own adopted pup Spenser (formerly known as Watson).
Thank you a million-billion times over to Keren. Thank you to Kevin for keeping the home fires burning and for understanding that your partner in crime needs to disappear into a world of fantasy for months at a time—and for welcoming me back when I resurface.
Thank YOU, dear readers. Please, please be smart and play it safe.
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Tipsy Mermaid Martini
1 oz Cake Vodka
1 oz Watermelon Pucker
1 oz Blue Curacao
Splash of cranberry juice
Crushed ice
Fill cocktail shaker halfway with crushed ice. Pour ingredients over ice. Shake, shake, shake. Pour liquid into martini glass.
About the Author
Author of over sixty titles of classic Male/Male fiction featuring twisty mystery, kickass adventure, and unapologetic man-on-man romance, JOSH LANYON’S work has been translated into eleven languages. His FBI thriller Fair Game was the first Male/Male title to be published by Harlequin Mondadori, then the largest romance publisher in Italy. Stranger on the Shore (HarperCollins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan’s annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list). The Adrien English series was awarded the All Time Favorite Couple by the Goodreads M/M Romance Group. In 2019, Fatal Shadows became the first LGBTQ mobile game created by Moments: Choose Your Story.
She is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist (twice for Gay Mystery), an Edgar nominee, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads All Time Favorite M/M Author award.
Josh is married and lives in Southern California.
Find other Josh Lanyon titles at www.joshlanyon.com
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If you enjoyed this story, try these digital titles by Josh Lanyon:
NOVELS
The ADRIEN ENGLISH Mysteries
Fatal Shadows
A Dangerous Thing
The Hell You Say
Death of a Pirate King
The Dark Tide
Stranger Things Have Happened
So This is Christmas
The HOLMES & MORIARITY Mysteries
Somebody Killed His Editor
All She Wrote
The Boy with the Painful Tattoo
In Other Words…Murder
The ALL’S FAIR Trilogy
Fair Game
Fair Play
Fair Chance
The ART OF MURDER series
The Mermaid Murders
The Monet Murders
The Magician Murders
The Monuments Murders
BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS
Mainly by Moonlight
I Buried a Witch
SECRETS AND SCRABBLE
Murder at Pirate’s Cove
Secret at Skull House
Mystery at the Masquerade
OTHER NOVELS
This Rough Magic (A SHOT IN THE DARK Series)
The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks
Mexican Heat (with Laura Baumbach)
Strange Fortune
Come Unto These Yellow Sands
Stranger on the Shore
Winter Kill
Jefferson Blythe, Esquire
Murder in Pastel
The Curse of the Blue Scarab
The Ghost Had an Early Check-out
Murder Takes the High Road
Séance on a Summer’s Night
NOVELLAS
The DANGEROUS GROUND Series
Dangerous Ground
Old Poison
Blood Heat
Dead Run
Kick Start
Blind Side
OTHER NOVELLAS
Cards on the Table
The Dark Farewell
The Dark Horse
The Darkling Thrush
The Dickens with Love
I Spy Something Bloody
I Spy Something Wicked
I Spy Something Christmas
In a Dark Wood
The Parting Glass
Snowball in Hell
Mummy Dearest
Don’t Look Back
A Ghost of a Chance
Lovers and Other Strangers
Out of the Blue
A Vintage Affair
Lone Star (in Men Under the Mistletoe)
Green Glass Beads (in Irregulars)
Blood Red Butterfly
Everything I Know
Baby, It’s Cold (in Comfort and Joy)
A Case of Christmas
Murder Between the Pages
Slay Ride
Stranger in the House