All Chapters of THE CHOSEN OFFERING: Chapter 141 - Chapter 150

It was a haunted house waiting to happen, a place that craved paint of every color, two bricks away from condemnation. No one in his right mind would step inside, let alone buy it.Ace fell in love.He wanted to give it new life - his new life. And as a bonus, the insane amount of work it would take would also help take his mind off Cameron.He wanted to paint himself into a fairy tale, all warmth and coziness -- with a touch of darkness. So he went to town on the walls, filling them with royal colors, deep and rich. And he then filled those walls with any random piece of art or rusty metal or salvaged road sign that caught his eye.He wanted to feel tucked into this house. And it worked. He could look around his little nest with a lot of satisfaction and know that he created a perfect home for himself.Unfortunately, he was still tucked in all alone.With nothing left to keep his hands or his mind busy on Sunday, Ace decided to wait for his guests on his creaky front porch.While he

It wasn't that Erik wasn't attractive. He was really pretty cute -- naturally wavy red hair and the accompanying freckles, a big sweet smile, sparkling eyes. He was a little shorter than Ace, and he had a very nice body, compact and trim. Having worked alongside Erik for months, Ace knew his friend was strong and smart and funny and kind -- a truly great catch.But he didn't make Ace's heart race. Not like Paul. Not like Friday night. Ace looked at Erik and saw a good friend, someone who was incredibly important to him.When Ace looked at Paul, all he could think was: gimme.It would be so much easier if only Erik did that same thing for Ace. As it was, dating Erik wouldn't be fair to either of them. And Ace would risk losing his one true best friend when things inevitably went sour. Not worth that risk.Ace knew exactly how lucky he was to find a single guy friend his age in a new town, especially considering he worked from home. Making friends in your single thirties is so much hard

Paul found it kind of remarkable. He never paid that much attention to his own home or where he put stuff - as long as it was functional and clean, he didn't really care much. But Ace was able to see exactly where things should go, and it made a huge difference. It seemed obvious in retrospect that everything should have been like this to begin with, but only Ace had been able to see that.This man was impressing him more and more. This was not a good thing.This never happened to him before. All the men he'd fucked had been one-night only affairs, and usually well out of town.And the thing was, he liked it that way. For Paul, every encounter was fired with that thrill of a first time, the uncertainty and the novelty, the rush of a new touch. By definition, a second time wouldn't have any of that. He already knew what Ace's body felt like, what his own cock felt like inside that unbelievable ass.So why was he craving another ride?He didn't have much time to reflect on that as Ace m

"Oh, plenty," Tanner smirked.It was odd having another person in his office. It had been a while since he'd shared an office space with anyone else, let alone shared that space in his own home. He was constantly aware of Tanner's presence; it affected the air around him, and not in a completely comfortable way.Ace sat in the chair he kept for his rare office guests and watched Tanner do some incomprehensible things at lightning speed on his laptop.The site was really coming together well. Erik hadn't steered him wrong by pointing him in Tanner's direction for this. Ace found a couple of typos and some alignment issues that Tanner set about fixing."So, I've been meaning to ask," Tanner said, his eyes rapidly scanning the code on the screen. "You're not from the area, you didn't go to KU. What the hell brought you to Lawrence at all?"Ace chuckled. "You say that like it's a small town you're ready to leave behind.""Well, sorta," Tanner said. "I mean, it's a cool place and a great s

So the choice was a fruitless, awkward lunch with his secretary or a sweaty, frustrating morning with Ace.Really not a choice."Nicole, could you call Mr. Phipps and reschedule his Saturday appointment?" He saw Nicole's hopeful expression fade from her face and felt a twinge of guilt for once again dodging her attentions."Is that what all the texting was about?" she asked, typing loudly on her keyboard to pull up Mr. Phipps' phone number. "Got a big date tomorrow or something?"No. Well, yes. Well, not really."Family emergency. Sort of. My presence has been firmly requested."Nicole was somewhat mollified. "Hard to say no to family.""You have no idea." He pulled out his phone and turned to go back into his office. "Let me know when Mrs. Donaldson arrives."He pulled out his phone before Holly could devise more punishments for him.I'll be there. Call off the dogs already.As he shut the door, he heard Nicole pick up her previous phone conversation."Well, that was a bust," she sig