Bone Daddy

by David Gray

My Bone Daddy is destined to be my Forever Daddy

Draven is desperately trying to finish an advanced degree in costume design, but he’s driven to distraction by the sexy professor who lives across the street. Tre is obsessed with bones, in his lab and in his holiday decorations, but he doesn’t know yet how much he needs a costume. Halloween is rapidly approaching, so who’s going to be the trick and who’s going to be the treat?

Bone Daddy is a quick-read novella filled with gay romance, a happy ending, and plenty of Halloween hijinks. It is intended for adult readers.

contemporary MM romance ~ joys of an age gap ~ teach-me-daddy mentorship ~ hunky bears and cute cats ~ fun and easy low angst ~ decidedly spicy ~ obligatory happily ever after

Genres: Romance

98 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2025

About the author

David Gray is a retired scientist who finally has time to explore the adventure of writing fiction. His novels and short stories live somewhere in the intersection between romance, fantasy, and science fiction, with cozy themes and happy endings. He lives with his husband in sunny San Diego, where they dote on their jungle kitty Bagheera.

Reviews

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ridiculous, over-the-top, but also very cute and funny.
Short & sweet romance with a strong Halloween theme. Really loved the bones theme. So hilarious!
I am also very jealous of their decorations and costumes!

[Leonie Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short but super sweet age gap, student although not a direct student to the professor. Both characters are quite unique and I just loved how their relationship grew from watching and wanting to having with plenty of heat and laughs along the way. It's well worth your time reading!!! I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Julie Underhill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bone Daddy by David Gray is an older/younger man short story about neighbors who live across the street but have never met and have the hots for each other just from watching what they do outside and how they finally get together and fall in love. It’s the beginning of October and the town is starting to decorate their houses and yards for Halloween. Tre Matthis is a professor of biology in the Department of Biomechanics and Biometric Robotics at the local university and he loves anything to do with bones. Therefore, he is decorating his yard with skeletal statues of famous people from the past as well as dinosaurs that the kids will love. Across the street Draven is watching him work with his binoculars and calls him his Bone Daddy. He is finishing his advanced degree in costume design and is a creative genius when it comes to designing outfits and make-up and is making his 3 roommates zombie costumes for their part of Halloween. Draven’s bedroom is his costume studio and he has filled it with everything he needs for his work. In order to make Tre his he decides to make some talismans so the spirits can give him a sign that what he is doing is going to get him what he wants. The first one he makes is a macrame skull with crystal and bone beads that are meant to symbolize them being together and secretly hangs it on his fence one night. Meanwhile Tre is flexing his muscles while decorating his yard because he knows his Bear Cub is watching and sees him looking at him with binoculars. But his Cub is half his age and he’s been hurt before by being in a relationship with a younger man so he is leery of starting anything with him. He also has his best friend, Monica, who Draven doesn’t like because she calls him boyfriend and he thinks they might be together. But when she is helping Tre put together a T-rex skeleton she tells him he needs to meet his Pocket Bear and give him a chance. When Tre hangs his skeleton on his front door, Draven is sure it’s a sign that his door is open to him so he makes a his second talisman. When both men are at the home improvement store, they finally meet and Draven slips it in his pocket but calls him Bone Daddy and immediately runs away because he’s embarrassed and thinks he’s blown it. But Tre finds him and asks him out for coffee which leads to them talking and telling him he’ll make him a necromancer costume for Halloween and that Tre should make a bone throne to sit on while he hands out candy. When Tre comes over for measurements, he asks him to get some bones for a bone necklace and he also notices the books he has on symbology and knows the stones he used in his talismans meant love and passion. Tre likes how this feels and wants to pursue it so he invites him to help pass out candy on Halloween. Then Draven admits that he hasn’t been with a man before so their feelings that are growing lead them to have a hot love scene. They have a wonderful Halloween where the necromancer costume is a big hit and asks Draven if he would like to use his spare bedroom for his costume and design studio and he readily agrees. When he moves everything in Tre realizes that even though he has many things in his house, Draven makes it magical and they decide to live together. I really enjoyed this short story. Draven is so sweet, talented and very funny and I think it was hilarious that both men wanted each other for a long time but never acted on it. I also felt bad for him when his roommates constantly took advantage of him. Tre liked to see Draven watching him but was leery of starting anything because of what happened before when he dated younger men, but Draven’s enthusiasm won him over. Monica played a big part in the story as did Miya, Draven’s cat, who added some mischief. I highly recommend this book, especially if you like stories about a younger man who wants an older one and it takes a while for them to see they belong together and can find the happiness they are looking for and it all happens at Halloween.

[Miss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the idea.

The title, cover art and blurb for this are so good. Draven and Tre are setup as perfectly fine characters with some secret mutual admiration going across the street where they live. The first few chapters seem like the story inside will meet my expectations.

Then Draven, a seemingly hopeless romantic semi-virgin, goes from mooning over his Bone Daddy neighbor to on his knees giving relief to his fratbro housemate, Biff. There's nothing wrong with that other than everything else about Draven makes it totally weird. He later looks at Biff and thinks, "Seeing him standing there, all confidence and attitude, I’m starting to understand how shallow, how transactional, it all was" when to me, as a reader, it was obviously shallow, transactional and completely at odds with what a romantic would do amid their pining for someone else!

The inconsistent tone ruins this for me. It's a fun bit of seasonal erotica, but decides to introduce hostile fratbros jealous of Tre's bone Halloween decor in a way that leaves you sure that someone is going to destroy a skeleton or two, especially as Biff is painted as more and more jealous of Draven's feelings for Tre, but that goes absolutely nowhere. Draven doesn't seem insecure about his body or appeal yet he's used by Biff, amazed Tre actually wants to kiss him and can't believe he's really going to lose what's left of his virginity to Tre. So if he was insecure about his weight or anything like that and allowed Biff and other straight guys to use him until Tre gave him confidence in himself then that needed to be shown by Draven standing up to Biff in the end and demanding an apology for HIMSELF. Instead, the fratbro's petulant remarks toward the happy couple have Draven demanding, "Apologize to Doctor Matthis this instant" and Tre is so proud of this new confidence that Draven has to stand up for Tre.

Then there's the instalove. It was totally expected between Draven and Tre in a short story like this, but the way Draven went from bitterly jealous of Tre's friend Monica to absolutely loving her was weird. Also totally confusing was the time skip at Chapter 14-15. We go from Tre's perspective as he and Draven are just getting started on the sexy fun bedtime then jump to Draven's POV where it's apparently all over. These first times were implied to be such a big deal yet we go right past what should have been the best, hottest part.

A lot of wasted potential here that would really benefit from removing Biff and the bitter fratbros to keep the story focused on Draven and Tre.

[Tara Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY OPINION: This was a cute story of two guys simply finding each other. There is a lot of humor that is added to the story as a whole.

Draven, a college student, has been lusting over his college professor neighbor for a few years. He might not have been that sporty, perfect body guy, but he had some things to offer a guy. Specifically, his oral talents. It was win-win; it made him happy to pleasure a guy, and of course, the guy enjoyed it. He wanted more, though--he really wanted the hot professor from next door.

Tre, also known as Professor Matthis, has noticed the adorable young bear next door. He sees him with his binoculars, watching him in the yard. He admits he puts on a show for the guy, and when he gets some beautifully crafted gifts from the shy artist, it makes him brave enough to push forward. Even though there is an age gap, he thinks he wants to claim the man. With some encouragement from his best friend, he does exactly that.

These two come together, and Draven’s virginity means Tre is sweet to him. This is a nice book with plenty of cute moments. The spice isn’t over the top, but the story is fun. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all come together after a little bit of stalking? If you are looking for an hour, this is a fun age-gap story, with a couple of pretty neat men.

[Kala B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a cute short story. Honestly, I was not expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. This story follows a professor and a college student. I’m giving a 4 out of 5 stars for the simple fact I wanted more out of the story.

It starts off with Draven who likes to watch the professor next-door through his binoculars. This has been going on for months, so he had finally got frustrated enough that he decided to court the professor next-door. What Draven doesn’t know is the professor, Tre, has been posturing a.k.a. giving him a really good view of his backside for months. I’m so happy it was consensual. The first chapter made the story iffy for a hot minute. Tre, the professor, likes to display life size bone replicas for Halloween. Tre has a life-size T-Rex in the front yard and several other Bone sculptures. Draven has been making him little gifts with bones,and he found them very beautiful. Tre decided to display them,to hint to Draven that yes he would like relationship. But as the story progress, they got closer and they formed somewhat of a relationship. The author does a really nice job spacing out how much time has passed. I did think they move pretty quickly but again it is a short story. I really did love it overall I would definitely read it again.

[Jeanette Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book of the Halloween season and it was a sweet blast. Draven was adorable. All confident one minute, and then shy the next. He and his cat have been spying and crushing on his silver fox neighbor for months. His cat meows at the right moment and he decides that he has to meet his crush. And woo him. Professor Tre Matthias knows the cutie across the street has been looking and he gives him a show, sexily removing his sweaty t-shirt as he works on his Halloween decorations. The little bear across the street is way too young for him, though.
A pushy best friend and a chance meet up in the hardware store finally.....finally, moves things forward. The pining was getting to be a bit much. Their chemistry is off the charts. The age gap soon becomes no problem. And then there's the steamy sizzle.
Actually, toooooo much sizzle. When one chapter became three, I started skimming. Less steam, more plot please. My kindle may have melted in the heat, but it was also a bit bored.
The relationship was sweet. I would've traded half the bedroom scenes for more of that.
I received an advanced copy of the book from GRR and this is my review.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute, short read from a new to me author, Bone Daddy has everything needed to get into the fall season.

Draven is a costume designer fantasizing about his next door neighbor, Tre. Draven is unapologetically himself - he knows he wants Tre and makes a plan to woo him with thoughtful little gifts.

Tre is a professor who has been burned by age gap romances in the past, and while he likes Draven’s attention, initially has no intention of doing anything about it.

The pair ultimately come together to create a costume for Tre’s Halloween exhibit and realize quickly that they belong together. It’s clear the author is passionate about the subjects in the novel and knows a lot about bones…in the best way possible. Ultimately, a super cute and short read that definitely got me into the Halloween spirit a month early; I only wish it had been longer!

[Heather Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

This is a fun, playful novella that is quick to read, along with being quick to love.

It’s Halloween season, which is serious business for neighbours Tre and Draven. This age-gap duo have been crushing on each other from afar, but patience is drawing thin; it’s time to make a move.

There’s some adorable courting and some seriously over-the-top decorating/costuming, but these two are super cute together.

It’s the kind of story that is meant to whisk you away to have fun and not take it too seriously.

[Helen Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy David Gray's unique perspective in his stories! Bone Daddy features Draven, a young bear cub with a love of alliteration, and his obsession with Tre, the older university professor who lives across the street and decorates his yard with 3D-printed skeletons. It took me a little while to warm up to Draven’s brashness, which was a bit in-your-face right off the bat. But once I got used to his internal voice, I enjoyed him. I warmed up to Tre right away, and Monica was a treat. I thought the moving-in conversation happened a bit too soon in the story; I would have liked seeing that take place later for better pacing. Overall this was an entertaining story!

[Suzanne Irving · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boney Short Story

As a seamstress I always like to read stories with people who sew in them like this one does. The idea of this story is fun, but I feel like some aspects could have been better written. Some of the way that the characters talk seems like author David Grey was trying for a young flirty tone, but some just felt weird and forced and put me off. There were a few other things like Draven never going to class, but this could be excused because it’s a short story. Maybe it just wasn’t my type of story? If you just want something fun and Halloween themed then dive in and enjoy.

[C.B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, my stars! I can't tell if this is more funny, hot or sweet! Draven is enrolled in an advanced design degree program. Tre is the Professor obsessed with bones. They live across the street from each other and are sensually aware of each other's presence. When they finally take the plunge and talk to each other, we join them on a hilarious wild ride that keeps us laughing. David, did an amazing job introducing totally cool characters while tickling my fancy through the entire story. More of this! Well done! I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Showarst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bone Daddy by David Gray is a cute novella about Draven and Tre. These two are neighbors and are attracted to each other but Tre is hesitant about the age gap due to previous relationships with students (which made me side-eye a little ).
I thought Draven was adorable and sweet. I did wish that this had been a little longer to really explore the relationship, but it was a cute short story.

I received an ARC from GRR for my honest review.

[Deb Kel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great, fun read. Loved all the quirky humour! Even though this was a quick read the author gaves us plenty of insight into the MC'S, Draven, a college student, and Tre the Professor Daddy who were such brilliant characters. Draven who has been lusting over Tre for a few years doesn't realise that Tre has been subtly trying to encourage him! So good and will definitely read more by David as love his writing style!
I received a free arc copy and this is my honest review

[what_emmareadnext · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was cute and fun! A quick and quirky read! Draven has had a crush on his hot Professor neighbour for a while. He’s a professor and works with bones, so naturally he’s Draven’s Bone Daddy. Because he will be his. Prof Bone Daddy just doesn’t know it yet.
What Draven doesn’t know is that Bone daddy aka Tre, knows that Draven is watching

[Denise GremoryKohta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun read.

I had a blast reading this. It was more than just funny. I enjoyed getting to know the characters too. Yes I saw Biff from the movie here though I think this one might have a bit more in his brain. That Halloween display sounds amazing. So much better than zombies in my opinion.

[Tammy Trueheart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute and funny book!

Bone Daddy the professor who loves all things bones then we have our Cubster who loves to make costumes.

The one who watches and the watching is invited.. put Halloween in the mix and you get a cute not so accidental love mix..

Cute puns even cuter story easy flow and just all in all a happy heart book

[Malia Winger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a super cute age gap Halloween story. Draven is a grad student who has a crush on Tre, his neighbor and university professor. What he doesn't know is that Tre has seen him watching and is interested in him also. After a meet-cute and sexy costume fitting, they just click. This is the perfect relaxing read for the Spooky Season.

[Lisa Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book by a new to me author. I enjoyed the storyline, but felt the story was a bit rushed. I would have preferred the book to be a bit longer to allow for more character development. I would read this author again.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily gave my honest review.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Once I warmed up to the characters I thought they were adorable. I really liked the storyline of the book. It was a great read and I enjoyed it. I liked how the author told their story. I am looking forward ro more from them.

[Ida Umphers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A college student and a professor find love amid the Halloween festivities. I'm a big fan of age gap stories, Halloween and cats so this one was right up my alley. It was short and sweet with just the right amount of spice and a wonderful HEA.

[b00ks_in_nature · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5
This was a cute, low angst, and somewhat spicy quick read. Things move quickly, but this is usually the case in novellas as there isn't time for a slow burn. I enjoyed both characters, and it was a perfect palate cleanser to get me in the spirit of Halloween.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit weird, a little bit different, a little bit touching. Not what I expected but it was ok.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun and silly Halloween novel.

It has age gap,
Older MC is a bottom,
Scientist x costume maker,
And a moody kitty.

[Adoraboy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was cute and funny. I really enjoyed it!!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute, quick, instalove neighbors to lovers read. Set around Halloween this was an adorable sweet, low angst fall read!

[David Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cute book about two guys who love watching each other from afar. Sweet book and a nice quick read.

[Amanda Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bone Daddy is a sweet and steamy short story about a baby bear and his bone daddy. This is an age gap, neighbors to lovers read about Draven and Tre. Really enjoyed the story and the characters.