The Homecoming Hearts Collection
HJ Welch
Contents
Scorch
Sneak Peek
1. Blake
2. Blake
3. Elion
4. Blake
5. Elion
6. Elion
7. Blake
8. Elion
9. Elion
10. Blake
11. Elion
12. Blake
13. Elion
14. Blake
15. Elion
16. Blake
17. Elion
18. Blake
19. Elion
20. Elion
21. Blake
22. Elion
23. Blake
24. Blake
25. Elion
26. Blake
27. Elion
28. Blake
29. Elion
30. Blake
Epilogue
Spark
Sneak Peek
1. Joey
2. Gabe
3. Joey
4. Gabe
5. Joey
6. Gabe
7. Joey
8. Gabe
9. Joey
10. Gabe
11. Gabe
12. Joey
13. Joey
14. Gabe
15. Joey
16. Gabe
17. Joey
18. Gabe
19. Joey
20. Gabe
21. Joey
22. Gabe
23. Joey
24. Gabe
25. Joey
27. Joey
28. Gabe
29. Joey
30. Gabe
31. Joey
Epilogue
Burn
Sneak Peek
1. Raiden
2. Levi
3. Raiden
4. Levi
5. Raiden
6. Raiden
7. Levi
8. Raiden
9. Levi
10. Raiden
11. Levi
12. Raiden
13. Levi
14. Raiden
15. Levi
16. Raiden
17. Levi
18. Levi
19. Raiden
20. Levi
21. Raiden
22. Raiden
23. Levi
24. Raiden
25. Levi
26. Raiden
27. Raiden
28. Levi
29. Raiden
30. Levi
31. Raiden
Epilogue
“One Night in Hawaii”
One Night in Hawaii
Steam
Sneak Peek
1. Trent
2. Ashby
3. Trent
4. Ashby
5. Trent
6. Ashby
7. Trent
8. Ashby
9. Trent
10. Ashby
11. Ashby
12. Trent
13. Ashby
14. Trent
15. Ashby
16. Trent
17. Ashby
18. Trent
19. Trent
20. Ashby
21. Ashby
22. Trent
23. Ashby
24. Trent
25. Ashby
26. Trent
27. Ashby
28. Trent
29. Ashby
30. Trent
31. Ashby
32. Trent
Epilogue
“Once Upon a Time”
Once Upon a Time
Blaze
Sneak Peek
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also Available from HJ Welch
Also Available from HJ Welch
Copyright © 2020 by HJ Welch
This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
For Nick, Brian, Kevin, A.J. and Howie D.
No I’m not kidding.
Scorch
Homecoming Hearts #1
Elion
Elion couldn’t believe this was happening.
He placed open mouthed kisses down Blake’s throat, listening to him moan. There wasn’t a camera for miles. This wasn’t for show. This was real.
Blake Jackson wanted him. Celebrity heartthrob to girls across the world. And here he was, cradling Elion to him as he kissed his way along his perfect, sculpted abs.
Elion could feel Blake’s cock thickening underneath him as they lay in the grass under the sunshine. They were all alone for the very first time, and Elion didn’t want to waste the opportunity he’d been given.
If Blake wanted to try playing boyfriends for real, Elion was going to make the most of it. He reached down and palmed Blake’s erection through his jeans, making him buckle.
“Too much?” Elion paused in concern.
He didn’t want to push Blake too far, too fast. He was certain Blake wasn’t as straight as he and everyone else thought he was. But Elion didn’t want to scare him by asking for more than Blake could give.
Blake shook his head. “Just a long time since anyone but me has done that,” he said with a shaky laugh. He pushed into Elion’s hand, demanding more.
Elion was only too happy to oblige.
“Oh yeah?” Elion asked, leaning down to kiss him on the lips again. “Do we need to check it still works? I think we need to check.”
Blake laughed into his mouth. Elion loved how good it felt to be the one who’d cracked Blake’s hardened exterior. Seeing him relax and open up to him was a gift.
Elion didn’t know how long this might last, or what it even meant to Blake. Blake had only gone along with the relationship for the sake of the show. Sure, they got along like they’d been friends for years. Better than friends at times. But Blake had asked him not to overthink this.
Blake was almost certainly not looking for a boyfriend. But that didn’t mean Elion couldn’t show him how good it could be if he was.
He cut his laughter off by latching his lips around Blake’s nipple. He groaned and arched his back at Elion’s touch. His warm, hard body promising Elion all kinds of delights.
“Christ, you’re so sensitive, aren’t you?” Elion said, utterly delighted.
Blake whined. “Don’t tease.”
“Te
asing’s the best part,” said Elion wickedly.
He was naturally playful during sex. But with Blake he felt he needed to keep it even more lighthearted. He didn’t want him thinking too much. This might be the only time they had together, and he wanted to enjoy it.
He wanted Blake to enjoy it.
Elion moved to the other nipple, sucking it into a nub and grazing his teeth against the tender skin. He reveled in the way Blake was moaning his name. He was painfully hard in his pants and needed to do something more for them both, soon.
Reaching down, he looked at Blake as he cupped his long, hard cock, thumbing the fly of his jeans. “Can I?” he asked.
Blake’s blond hair was mussed and his usually pale cheeks flushed. He looked divine.
A nod was all it took. A signal that Blake wanted this, needed it as much as Elion did.
Even if this was their only chance, it was real for now. Elion was going to make this the best it could be for Blake. There was no sense in worrying what was to come.
It was time to live for the moment.
1
Blake
Blake didn’t know it, but everything was already set in motion before his plane even touched the ground.
He rested his head on the small glass window and watched the Cincinnati airport circle into view. One step closer to home. One step closer back to a normal life.
With a sigh he shifted his weight and tried not to disturb the sleeping woman in the seat next to him. The flight from L.A. was only four hours, but she had been unconscious the entire way. Blake was grateful. He didn’t feel like making small talk.
Several people had recognized him as he’d made his way through check-in and security earlier. He hadn’t minded signing a few autographs for the kids, but some older fans had asked if the rumors were true.
Had Below Zero really broken up?
He scoffed and arched his back, making his back pop. He needed to stretch.
It really depended on your definition of ‘broken up.’ If it was ‘dumped unceremoniously without so much as a thank you from their record label,’ then, yes. The band had broken up. ‘Creative differences,’ the press conference had said.
That was horseshit. But of course their contract stopped Blake and the four other guys from badmouthing Sun City Records anywhere. Even after getting let go, they still had to toe the line. Unless they wanted to get sued.
For the past few years, Blake hadn’t gone a day without being told where to go, what to wear, when to work out, and how much he could eat. All of it with Joey, Raiden, TJ and Reyse by his side. Now he was traveling alone, set adrift, with no idea what he was going to do with his life.
A voice came over the intercom announcing that they were beginning their decent and to make sure passengers had their seats and tray tables upright. Blake bit his thumbnail and continued looking out the window.
It was hard not to feel like he’d let down his parents, who’d thrown everything into his success. But when it came down to it, Below Zero’s last record had been produced too fast, not marketed well enough, and sales had suffered. There’d been nothing he could do.
It wasn’t the end of the world, he knew. But at the same time, this had been his whole life for five years. Now he was just Blake Jackson of Perryville, Ohio again. A twenty-something who used to be famous.
Not that he’d miss the celebrity. He’d never gotten used to the constant attention or strangers knowing his name. It had been bearable with the other guys by his side. However, the prospect of going back to his small home town was actually appealing when coupled with the hope that he wouldn’t be bothered nearly as much as when he was traveling.
As the plane bumped down onto the tarmac he nodded to himself. Things weren’t so bad. If he could find a way to nurture his love of dance and stay in touch with the guys, maybe everything would be okay.
It wouldn’t be a struggle to keep talking with Joey. They had shared an apartment back in L.A. and been best buddies, pretty much inseparable. Sure enough, when Blake switched his phone off of airplane mode he had a couple of messages already waiting from him.
Joey sure as hell wasn’t going home. He was sticking it out in L.A. and already had a new agent getting him auditions. Blake truly wished him the best of luck. But he would miss him.
Raiden, like Blake, had cut his losses and was already back in Kentucky with his folks considering what to do now. TJ’s entire plan seemed to be to party so hard his Instagram was in danger of overloading and his liver failing. At least he was having fun. Allegedly.
Then there was Reyse. Blake sighed and waited for the seatbelt light to turn off. He didn’t begrudge Reyse Hickson anything. He was his friend and he wished him all the best. But there had never been any doubt as to who the most talented member of the five of them was.
It was easy to guess the real reason behind the label’s decision to drop the band. They’d already hitched their wagon to what promised to be a far more successful solo artist.
The woman beside Blake finally woke with a snort and looked around as if she had no idea where she was. “We’ve landed,” said Blake when she looked at him.
“Oh, right,” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. “Thanks. Hey, aren’t you from that band? The one with the ‘Oh oh oohh’ song?”
She sang the ‘Ohs’ badly, but enough for Blake to recognize it as Hearts Bound, their most successful track. “Um, yeah. That’s us.”
He did his best to be patient with the woman as she started grilling him on the music video for that song. Apparently, their live performance at the MTV Awards was much better, and they should have made a video like that. He smiled politely and did his best to sound sympathetic.
But he was trapped until their row was allowed to slide out and disembark. He didn’t really feel like defending things the band and their management had done when he still felt like everything was too raw.
He was able to distract her by getting her carryon down from the overhead bin. Then he let a family ahead of him, so the woman was swept away in the tide of people.
A pretty air stewardess standing by the door gave him a blush and bright smile as he went past, but he didn’t mind that so much. “Thank you for traveling with us Mr. Jackson!” she blurted as he went past. He gave her a smile back and felt like he’d made her day.
That side of fame was nice. It was when people felt you owed them something despite never having even met them that grated on his nerves. Still, he was grateful for all the success he’d had, and refused to resent it.
Blake sighed as he made his way off of the plane. With his sunglasses and baseball cap to cover his golden hair it helped to avoid people recognizing him. But he still hurried through baggage claim and through the terminal to Arrivals.
It was sort of pathetic that his life fit pretty much into two huge cases and a carryon bag. Admittedly, he’d left a fair number of things with Joey. Mostly silly knick-knacks. He didn’t expect to ever see them again. Just maybe this way, Joey wouldn’t feel so alone.
He stopped before he and his bags rolled out into the waiting area. There had been a few times when fans had been waiting to great him on the other side of the barriers. Hopefully this wouldn’t be one of those occasions.
He had other messages, but he fired off a quick few words to Joey first, telling him he’d landed and asking how his audition that morning had gone. Blake worried about him keeping up with the rent even though Blake had paid his half up until next month. Joey was as stubborn as he was gentle though, so with any luck he’d be okay.
That wasn’t Blake’s concern right then though. He’d done what he could for his buddy. Now, he needed to think about himself.