Note: The full Rogues and Magic novel was removed from tapas on November 4th 2020, so that it can be made a kindle unlimited novel. The following chapters are an (unedited) excerpt of the full novel.

If you like my work, but only want to read it on tapas, please check out Knights and Magic, the third novel in the Gamers and Magic series. It is a stand alone novel that can be enjoyed in its entirety without having to read the first two.

Thank you for understanding, and thank you for reading! <3

-TL Shay

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Ash held his breath as he watched the tall man come closer. He was just precisely Ash's type. A punk, emo, Gothic style covered the man's lanky frame. His favorite color seemed to be black, and Ash thought that was perfect for the person walking closer. The man's short spiked black hair was dyed blue on the ends, and he had piercings in his ears, lip, nose, and eyebrow. There was eyeliner smudged under gray eyes, making them stand out even more. Those eyes haunted Ash. They seemed to look into the doctor's soul like he could see all of Ash's secrets.

The man walked right up to Ash, in the middle of the street. He grabbed the doctor by his lab coat and yanked him closer. The man bent and kissed Ash roughly. He forced his tongue past the doctor's surprised lips and caressed his tongue against Ash's.

It took only a moment of surprise before Ash stood on his toes and pressed himself closer. Ash's hands came up to caress the cheeks of the man, as they shifted their mouths and tilted their heads in opposite directions. The world seemed to spin, and when they came up for air, they were standing in an alleyway.

“I want to fuck you,” Growled the deep voice of the man.

“Please fuck me, Jacob,” Ash begged.

“Good, you know my name,” Jacob growled again and pushed Ash up against a brick wall. “I'm going to f-BING BONG!”

Ash looked at Jacob in confusion. “What?”

Jacob opened his mouth again, “BING BONG, BING BONG!”

“You know, that bing-bong noise isn't very sexy,” Ash said in a matter of fact voice, somewhat disappointed in how his encounter was going.

BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG!

Ash sat up and rubbed his eyes. He squinted at the morning light and looked around the room. It was sparsely furnished, holding only a bed, a chest of drawers, and one side table. He blinked a few times before he remembered it was his new bedroom.

He groaned and flopped back on the bed. It was only a damned dream. He yanked the covers over his head and tried to go back to sleep. Maybe Jacob would still be waiting for him.

BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG! BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG!

“Fuck you doorbell!” he yelled in frustration. There was only one person he knew of who would be so inconsiderate to ring someone's doorbell like that, and he didn't want to deal with her this morning.

BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG!BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG!BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG!

He flung his blankets off and stood. His hard-on had disappeared the moment he'd realized who had interrupted the best damn dream of his life. He stormed out of his bedroom and down the hall to the front door. He looked out the peephole then closed his eyes and lightly banged his forehead on the thick wooden door.

He'd been right, it was her.

BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG, BING BONG!

Ash unlocked the door and yanked it open. “Will you stop ringing my doorbell, Hanami?!”

The woman dropped her hand to her hip, “I wouldn't have to ring it so much if you would just answer it, to begin with.” She looked down at Ash's bare chest, and it made him wish he'd put a shirt on before he stormed to the door.

“I didn't answer it because I was asleep. It's that thing people do for their bodies to continue functioning correctly. You should try it, it might bring back your sense of compassion and common courtesy.” Having her ogle his body made him more irritable.

“If you'd given me a key, I wouldn't have had to ring the doorbell,” Hanami shrugged and looked at him like it was all his fault.

“Why, by the power of Grayskull, would I give you a key?” This woman was seriously crazy!

Hanami raised one delicately crafted eyebrow, “Because I'm your fiance of course.”

“No, you are not my fiance.” He said with feigned patience. “you haven't been my fiance in over six months. Which is when I told you, my parents, and your parents that I was gay.”

She rolled her eyes and pursed her full lips, “Takashi, we all know that it's just an excuse because you were getting cold feet.”

“No. I am very gay. I like men. I only like me. This isn't a phase or an excuse to get out of marrying you. I would have never asked you to be my fiance in the first place. You know that was all because of our parents. Please, understand, I will never love you, nor will I ever be physically attracted to you, no matter how beautiful you are. It will never happen.” Everything came tumbling out of Ash's mouth, and he stood there huffing afterward.

“Nonsense. Our parents want us married, so we'll get married. Now let me come in and see what I'll need to do to make this new place of ours look habitable.” She tried to wave him away from the door.

Ash didn't move. “You are not coming into my house. How did you even find me?” He hadn't left any forwarding addresses, his parents had disowned him the night he'd told them he was gay, so they hadn't known how to find him. He was cautious and moved in the middle of the night so no one could follow him.

“I hired a private detective to find you.” Hanami shrugged.

Ash's mouth dropped, and he looked at the woman with horror, “You did what?!”

“I hired someone to find you.” She tried to push the door open, but Ash used every last bit of strength he had to keep the door from being forced open the rest of the way.

“You're crazy. I'm calling the police. You have five seconds to leave before I cause the biggest social scandal of your life!” He was bluffing, mostly because his phone was still sitting on his bedside table.

Hanami gasped and stumbled back a step, “you wouldn't!”

He tucked his head behind the door, “hello? I have an insane woman here trying to break into my house.” he pretended to talk into his phone.

A high pitch ugly shriek issued forth from Hanami's beautiful mouth and she stomped her foot. “fine! I'll leave. But I'll be back soon, and I'll bring your parents with me!”

Ash peaked his head out the door to see her angrily walking away, and he sighed as the tension left his shoulders. He shut the door and locked it, before sliding down the surface, to sit on the cold marble of his entryway.

He braced his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands. Would he ever be free to be himself? It was hard bucking traditions that went back hundreds of generations. He did love his parents, he absolutely respected them and wanted to please them. He swore that need was ingrained in his DNA.

His parents had wanted him to keep straight A's in school and college, so he did. His parents wanted him to learn the piano, so he did. His parents wanted him to study medicine and become a doctor, so he did. His entire life had been lived in a way to please them, but he couldn't satisfy them in this.

“Mom, Dad, Mr. and Mrs. Nakamura, and Hanami, I'm sorry, but I can't marry Hanami.” He'd said that night at the restaurant. His father and Mr. Nakamura both stood up, insulted by his words.

“What's wrong with my daughter? She is beautiful and rich! Why are you casting shadows on our Hanami?!” Mr. Nakamura cried out.

“How dare you, son! The Nakamura's and I spent a long time deciding this! You will marry her! Now apologize this instant!” His father yelled, and Ash was grateful they were in a private room in the back of the restaurant.

“I'm sorry father, I really can't marry her.” Ash took a deep breath, then blurted out his sin, “I'm gay.”

The room was so silent that the clatter from the kitchen could be heard as the chefs created five-star masterpieces.

His mother started crying, and that's when all hell broke loose. Mrs. Nakamura and Hanami joined his mother in caterwauling, bringing the sound to deafening levels. Mr. Nakamura threw down his napkin and grabbed his daughter's and his wife's hands and stormed out of the room.

His mother cried harder and beat at her chest with one hand. His father moved around the table to stand in front of him. His face was red, and his eyes glared at Ash. He'd thought his father was going to hit him, but instead, he just said in a low voice, “you are no son of mine.”

His father yanked Ash's mother out of her seat and left at a more sedate pace than the Nakamura's had. Ash stood still in the room, shell shocked from the reactions he'd received. His heart pained him, and shame flooded through Ash. He'd just been disowned by the parents that he'd spent his life pleasing.

Ash knocked his head back against the robust front door a few times and sighed. This day was already adding up to be one of those absolutely amazing days, he thought with sarcasm.