Title: Outfoxed
Author: K-lee Klein
Length: Short Story

Rating: 4.25

Outfoxed is another one of the fabulous free reads that were part of the Goodreads M/M Romance group’s Hot Summer Days event. It has stuck in my mind since I first read it this summer, and I thought it would be a great fit for Rock Star Week (and be sure to check out the end of the post for a special excerpt from the upcoming prequel Theme of Hearts!).

Outfoxed opens hot and heavy as Glitter Fox band members Rylan Rivers and Gage Galeano can barely keep their hands off one another back in their hotel room after the show.  The men have been bandmates and friends for six years, and regularly hooking up for the last five.  Things are really heating up when a knock on the door interrupts the men.

Rylan is annoyed and disappointed at the interruption. It is his birthday and he had hoped Gage would want to spend it with him alone.  Although the men see other people, and frequently invite others into their bed, Rylan is realizing that what her really wants is just Gage.  But he doesn’t think Gage is ready for that type of commitment and he worries what asking for it might do to their friendship and the band.  Yet Rylan still can’t help but be angry at the sight of the young twink who shows up at their door and he storms out.  Fortunately, there is more going on that Rylan realizes and he and Gage may just be on the same page after all.

I really enjoyed this story and loved Gage and Rylan together.  They are tough and witty and battle for dominance in the sex lives.  I especially liked how Gage comes across as a bit harder and more pushy at the beginning, but by the end we get to see his soft mushy side too.  They guys were a nice combination of tough and dominant but also sweet and loving. I could totally see how they fit together.

As I mentioned, the story was posted to Goodreads and presumably never went through the same degree of editing as a published work.  There were a few places where I think an editor might have caught some issues that slipped through.  There were some small typos and an occasional issue I questioned, such Rylan wearing boxer shorts under skin tight leather pants.  But for a free story I have absolutely no complaints about that kind of stuff and it definitely didn’t get in the way of the flow of the book.

There were a few small things that bugged me a bit.  We get the story from Rylan’s POV, and it is clear he is in love with Gage and wants to make things more committed between them. But then we find out that he is still sleeping with other guys (on his own, not just as part of a threesome with Gage) which seemed surprising to me. And after Rylan returns after being angry about the twink, Gage seems to show little realization that Rylan is upset, even though it is presumably quite obvious.

Despite these issues, I really enjoyed this story.  Klein writes super hot sex and the book has a lot of intensity and excitement for a short story.  I was totally drawn in to the guys and their relationship and I was thrilled to hear that she is working on a sequel as well as a short prequel story coming out soon. I can’t wait to read more about Rylan and Gage and would definitely recommend this free story.

Oh, and gorgeous cover, isn’t it?  Totally fits Gage and Rylan!

P.S. You can download Outfoxed at Goodreads or at All Romance Ebooks.

And now for a special treat, K-lee Klein has brought an excerpt for us from her upcoming Glitter Fox prequel, Theme of Hearts!  Be sure to check out the Rock Star Week giveaways post for a chance to win a copy of Theme of Hearts as well.  

“Listen up, Los Angeles! We’re gonna slow things down a bit since we all know what day it is, don’t we?”

Gage Galeano paused, dramatically cupping his hand to his ear as he grinned out into the crowd. He pulled the strap of his guitar over his head and handed the whole thing to the guitar tech that had magically appeared beside him. Then, sneaking a grin and a wink at Rylan who stood smirking back off to the side, he positioned a hand on his hip, turned, and flung an arm into the air.

“Come on, Los Angeles! I’m sure I’ve heard how romantic you California kids are! What. Day. Is. It?”

Voices of all tones and pitches, men and women, boys and girls shouted back at the singer while Gage tugged on both his ears, screwing up his face in a look of I-can’t-hear-you, while he purposely ignored the V-word the crowd yelled at him. He grabbed the microphone and sprinted effortlessly across the stage, holding it out to a little girl in the front row.

“Hello, sweetheart. It’s a little past your bedtime isn’t it? Do you know what day it is, love?”

The young girl shook her head, thrust a little red card at him, then hid her face against the woman beside her. Gage reached way out, holding on to one of his bodyguards for support, and patted her little blonde head.

“See that big scary guy over there by the stairs? His name is Chase and he’s not half as scary as he looks. If you talk to him after the show, he’ll give you a fabulous t-shirt that you can show off to all your friends tomorrow. Would you like that?” he whispered, holding the mic away from his mouth.

The girl nodded her head and looked at Gage with big shining blue eyes. Gage blew her a kiss and straightened up, skipping back to his original spot on the stage.

“Hey Rylan!” he bellowed into the microphone, handing the little card to one of the stage hands. He turned his back to the crowd, languidly stretching out a long leg, then lowering his stance and wiggling his ass to the ecstatic approval of the crowd. Oh yeah, he loved the attention.

Rylan Rivers sauntered over to his own mic. “Yes, Gage?”

“Do you know what day it is today?” Gage held Rylan’s gaze for no more than a couple of seconds—just long enough to convey a tiny message of “Can’t wait to fuck you into the mattress later” with his eyes.

Rylan smirked again, then shrugged and tilted his head to the audience, face pulled into a goofy, confused look, lips pouting out a question. “Why no, Gage. What day is it?”

“Well…” Gage turned back to the audience. “I’ve asked them but they don’t seem to be cooperating with me. Maybe we should just cancel the rest of the show, whatdaya think?”

Letting out a long drawn-out “ohhhh” of shock, Rylan raised his hands over his head and shouted at the crowd. “Well we don’t want that, do we Los Angeles?”

The audience replied in a riotous round of “No’s.”

“All right! Then everyone repeat after me. Are you ready?” Rylan moved away from his mic, coming to stand beside Gage and wrapping an arm loosely around his neck, heads tilted together, sweat mingling and mixing. “What day is it, Mr. Gage?”

The crowd responded as one big voice this time. “What day is it, Mr. Gage?”

Gage opened his mouth wide, pulling away from Rylan and holding the mic very close to his mouth, platinum blond spikes sparkling beneath the hot spotlights. “It’s frigging Monday! Don’t you people have calendars in California?”

Rylan groaned in sync with audience, giving Gage a little shove before turning to head back to his spot. He let out a squeaky gasp when the singer’s hand slapped against his ass and the crowd screamed for more.

“So if it’s only Monday, do you think we need to pull our romantic side out of our asses, Los Angeles?”

A resounding “No!” filled the auditorium.

“Then what the fuck are we doing? Let’s play some rock and roll, people!”

Rylan shook his head then threw himself into the high-energy intro of “Killer Kult.”  Gage shot Rylan one last wink, bounced up and down on his toes, and started belting out the lyrics.

Another successful show—despite all the goddamn cupids and sparkly hearts shooting Gage in the gut.

Thanks again to K-lee for sharing her excerpt with us!