Last One Standing

by Ali Wilde, Andy Slayde

It's good to be the king. Or is it? Clark Davis, heir to The Makai resort on Oahu, has it all: wealth, prestige and a girlfriend to die for. Having to live his life in the closet is just a minor setback. After all, there are clubs he can go to and plenty of men who don't know him. Content with his life, Clark figures he doesn't want or need anybody cluttering up his well-ordered existence. Until a chance encounter with Xavier, an overly tempting hustler and skilled pickpocket, turns his life upside down. Clark knew the man would be trouble, but gave in to his date's plea for a threesome. By the next morning he wishes he'd never seen Xavier. By the end of the week, he wishes he'd left Xavier on the beach to rot. By the end of the fortnight, the whore has become the most important thing in Clark's life. Will Clark stand up for what is right at the risk of losing it all?

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Ali lives in not-so-rural suburban Adelaide with her zoo and writes constantly with Andy Slayde. Andy Slayde lives half a world away in rural upstate New York with hers. Due to lack of money they haven’t met and spend days and nights talking and plotting over MSN messenger. They have been writing together for several years because they have nothing better they want to do. It has been muttered that they both need to get out more.

Reviews

[Mara Ismine · Rating 4 out of 5]

28 pages weren't enough to do justice to this story, and the ending left me wanting more. It felt a little darker than these authors usually produce.

Xavier has never had a regular job and his irritation with his new career of dishwasher is amusing. His frequent impulses to just walk away seem very natural; turning tricks might not guarantee regular meals and his own bed, but no-one shouted at him or treated him with such contempt.

Spoiled brat Clark is a much shallower figure to start with and his change of attitude seems rather abrupt at times, but a short piece like this doesn't leave room for more detailed development.

I wish the ending could have been a day or more later with them settled and working - at least temporarily. I was worrying along with Xavier that Clark didn't really know what he was doing. I'm hoping for a sequel to fill in the blanks!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent m/m romance about a prostitute who tries to blackmail a customer and instead ends up off the streets, working as a dishwasher. I liked this a lot more before the ending - it felt like the story simply stopped. If this kicks off one of those Torquere serials, I'll be mightily annoyed. (Also, if they managed to tie the Tarot into this Arcana, I completely missed it.)