Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 5

to not say much and I have no problem giving them what they demand of me. Sit where they tell me to sit. Run where they tell me to run. I never demand anything from them. But in return I get to have the one thing I want. You ."
    Suddenly I was very conscious of the places where his skin touched mine. I squeezed our hands tighter and leaned my forehead against his. A smile spread across my lips and for the first time in my life I understood the meaning of being blissfully happy.
    I let Lukas know. "You are the thing I want too."
    His quiet laugh was contagious. Without warning his lips pressed against my forehead and that innocent display of affection changed my world.
    Lukas wasn't just the boy that saved my life; the boy that showed me the outside world for the first time. He wasn't just my best friend and the person who understood me like no one else ever would. He was all of those things. But he was also the boy I loved.
    I tried to push away this realization, hiding it behind a friendly smile. "What happens now?" I asked before a yawn escaped my lips.
    Lukas stole my yawn and held me close in a place between awake and sleep. My eyelids felt heavier and I could hear Lukas's words just before I fell asleep, his voice sounding far away. They were words that spoke the truth of my future. The fate I could not escape. Words that will haunt my dreams, but also made me a promise.
    "We train like they want us to. We change. Become the weapons they want us to be. And we never let them tear us apart."
    THE END
    Author bio: Ashlyn Daube is the penname of Myka. A longtime fan of all things geeky. Admittedly addicted to reading manga, love stories, and anything that makes her cry. She has been inventing stories in her head for as long as she can remember, and dreams of one day seeing something she wrote at the library.
    Website
    ****

JACKMAN
    by Penny Brandon

    Mike slowed his pace as he walked by "Jackman" as he liked to call him. The man's shirt clung to his skin with sweat in the summer heat, highlighting his well-developed muscles. Mike debates buying Jackman a cool soda and chatting him up, but he wasn't exactly the forward type. The jackhammer stopped and Mike's heart pounded as Jackman caught him staring. Mike's breath caught and Jackman gave him a smirk.
    ~ Penumbra

    genre: contemporary
    tags: construction worker; nerd; Australian; kissing in public; slow building relationship
    content warnings: Sexually explicit scenes; m/m anal intercourse
    word count: 7,126
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    JACKMAN
    by Penny Brandon
    Mike's footsteps slowed as the sharp, distinctive sound of the jackhammer just ahead had his stomach giving a little flip and his thoughts turning to mush. He'd thought they'd be gone by now, had almost wished they had, but as he turned the corner and the clamoring became louder, Mike realized that his wish was not going to be granted.
    Almost at a standstill, Mike forced himself to move. He didn't want to be caught staring again, but each time he passed this part of George Street and saw the man handling that formidable piece of equipment, he couldn't help but become absorbed by both man and machine.
    The machine was huge, its hammering action fairly pulverizing the pavement it was aimed at, but in the giant hands of the man who wielded it, it almost looked like a toy. Mike watched for a moment, then allowed himself to glance up the body of the man he'd come to call Jackman. It kind of suited, considering the man was as hard hitting as the jackhammer he handled.
    Absolutely massive, he had to have stood over six foot five with shoulders as wide as the trunk of a tree, and muscles that bunched and flexed and pretty much screamed dominance. Mike doubted there would be anything that would stand in the way or concern the man who seemed to rule everything around him. And that included Mike's fascination.
    But Mike wasn't about to allow his drooling obsession to materialize into something more. He had to get a hold of himself and stop ogling someone he wouldn't dare approach even if he knew the man was approachable, and by the look of fierce concentration on Jackman, he wouldn't be.
    Sighing, Mike took one last lingering look at Jackman's strong face when the hammering suddenly stopped. The resulting silence was startling, so too was the smirk Jackman aimed his way. Shocked, Mike was rooted to the spot, and he couldn't have moved now even if he wanted to.
    "Hey, Bill, I'm taking five!"
    Mike couldn't