Judgment of the Moon and Stars Read online

  

  Suncoast Society

  Judgment of the Moon and Stars

  Noah’s deep in the closet partially because of his high-profile job, but mostly because of his ultra-conservative family. He’s never been with a guy before, until a night at the Toucan resort with Jackson turns his world upside down in the best way possible. Except a work emergency calls him away before he gets Jackson’s last name…or phone number.

  Jackson doesn’t know if the cutie ghosted on purpose or through a simple misunderstanding, but at least he has work to focus on. Except now that Jackson’s had a taste of Noah, he wants more—wants all of him.

  After a chance encounter in the unlikeliest of places, Jackson knows he’s willing to do whatever he must to convince Noah this could be for life. Except Noah’s family is a problem and could cause problems for both of them. Can Jackson convince his boy to trust him to fight for their love, or will Noah’s fear drive them apart?

  Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), BDSM, Contemporary

  Length: 29,231 words

  JUDGMENT OF THE MOON AND STARS

  Suncoast Society

  Tymber Dalton

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  JUDGMENT OF THE MOON AND STARS

  Copyright © 2018 by Tymber Dalton

  ISBN: 978-1-64243-163-6

  First Publication: April 2018

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2018 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at

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  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  DEDICATION

  For my bestie, Trish, for the idea. For Hubby, especially for answering county admin-related questions for me.

  And for Sir, He knows why.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Tymber Dalton is the wild-child alter-ego of author Lesli Richardson. She lives in the Tampa Bay region of Florida with her husband (aka “The World’s Best Husband™”) and too many pets. Active in the BDSM lifestyle, the two-time EPIC award winner and part-time Viking shield-maiden loves to shoot skeet and play D&D with her friends. She’s also the bestselling author of over one hundred and forty books, including The Reluctant Dom, The Denim Dom, Cardinal’s Rule, the Suncoast Society series, the Love Slave for Two series, the Triple Trouble series, the Coffeeshop Coven series, the Good Will Ghost Hunting series, the Drunk Monkeys series, and many more.

  She loves to hear from readers! Please feel free to drop by her website and sign up for her newsletter to keep abreast of the latest news, snarkage, and releases. You can also find all of her Siren-BookStrand releases under all four of her pen names on her author page on the BookStrand site.

  Honest reviews are always welcomed. They help with a book’s visibility and can boost its placement on book retailer sites. Even a few lines about what you felt reading the book will help. Thank you so much, it’s greatly appreciated!

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  For all titles by Tymber Dalton, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/tymber-dalton

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Jackson was briefly introduced in Indifference of Heaven, and that munch scene is the same munch scene in the beginning of this book.

  I took a few minor liberties with county government and public services, simplifying a couple of things for the sake of not boring the heck out of you or bogging down the story.

  Some of the characters in this book appear in or are featured in previous books in the Suncoast Society series. All titles available from Siren-BookStrand.

  While most of the books in the Suncoast Society series are standalone works which may be read independently of each other, the recommended reading order to avoid spoilers and to not miss any backstory information is as follows:

  1. Safe Harbor

  2. Domme by Default

  3. Cardinal’s Rule

  4. The Reluctant Dom

  5. The Denim Dom

  6. Pinch Me

  7. Broken Toy

  8. A Clean Sweep

  9. A Roll of the Dice

  10. His Canvas

  11. A Lovely Shade of Ouch

  12. Crafty Bastards

  13. A Merry Little Kinkmas

  14. Sapiosexual

  15. A Very Kinky Valentine’s Day

  16. Things Made Right

  17. Click

  18. Spank or Treat

  19. A Turn of the Screwed

  20. Chains

  21. Kinko de Mayo

  22. Broken Arrow

  23. Out of the Spotlight

  24. Friends Like These

  25. Vicious Carousel

  26. Hot Sauce

  27. Open Doors

  28. One Ring

  29. Vulnerable

  30. The Strength of the Pack

  31. Initiative

  32. Impact

  33. Liability

  34. Switchy

  35. Rhymes With Orange

  36. Beware Falling Ice

  37. Beware Falling Rocks

  38. Dangerous Curves Ahead

  39. Two Against Nature

  40. Home at Last

  41. A Kinkmas Carol

  42. Ask DNA

  43. Time Out of Mind

  44. Happy Valenkink’s Day

  45. Splendid Isolation

  46. Similar to Rain

  47. Happy Spank Patrick’s Day

  48. Fire in the Hole

  49. Pretzel Logic

  50. This Moody Bastard

  51. Walk Between the Raindrops

  52. Rub Me Raw

  53. Any World That I’m Welcome To

  54. Heartache Spoken Here

  55. Roll With the Punches

  56. See You Sometime

  57. Borderline

  58. A Case of You

  59. Reconsider Me

  60. Never Too Late for Love

  61. Blues Beach

  62. Happy Spanksgiving

  63. Our Gravity

  64. Friends in Common

  65. Almost Gothic

  66. Empty-Handed Heart

  67. Steady Rain

  68. Indifference of Heaven

  69. Like the Seasons

  70. I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead

  71. Through With Love

  72. Judgment Of The Moon And Stars

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  JUDGMENT OF THE MOON AND STARS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight


  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  JUDGMENT OF THE MOON AND STARS

  Suncoast Society

  TYMBER DALTON

  Copyright © 2018

  Chapter One

  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

  Jackson paused just inside the doorway to the restaurant’s meeting room and carefully scanned the patrons already seated at various tables.

  No one he knew.

  Not that it would be a huge deal if he ran into anyone here that he knew, but it could potentially make for an uncomfortable evening. Certainly one where he wouldn’t be saying much and would be trying to make his exit as quickly and unobtrusively as possible.

  Especially if they were parents of students of his, or fellow coworkers.

  At least they’d be here for the same reason he was—they were kinky.

  But depending on where he knew them from, his professional life could get…complicated.

  He had a damn good job at Sorrellson Academy, teaching history and art. Last year, he’d been appointed the head of the social studies department, which encompassed history, government, civics, and other related classes. It meant it cut his art classes back to one, an introduction to art history that was open to all students from grade five and up, instead of the hands-on classes he’d enjoyed teaching. It was also an increase in his responsibilities, but it also meant a pay raise.

  In addition to that, two years ago he’d been named the head of Sorrellson’s development and expansion committee. They were currently working on finalizing the zoning change that would allow them to kick off their big expansion project. All that was left was a final county commission hearing coming up soon.

  Going on eleven years at Sorrellson, his first job out of college, he was happy working for them. He made a decent living wage at the private academy, the students were great, the parents usually non-assholish, and he got to do what he enjoyed without worrying about the ridiculous mandatory state testing bullshit public school teachers had to endure.

  His job came with better benefits, too.

  The only thing lacking at this point was someone to share his life with. After having survived a crushing heartbreak early in his college years, he’d held back his heart and played things cautious, careful.

  Except…

  Sure, he’d dated plenty of times over the years, and had play partners, but never anyone he clicked well enough with to want to make things permanent. He could find kinky bottoms, or guys who were great in bed yet more on the vanilla end of the scale, but no one who wanted a Dom full-time in their life.

  Or he found the opposite end of the spectrum—guys who wanted a sugar Daddy, who wanted every tiny aspect of their life controlled and planned, and Jackson didn’t have the time or energy for that.

  He needed a guy who fell somewhere in the middle of the kinky rainbow, one who could run his own life, who wasn’t a doormat, but who would cede control to him on demand.

  So far, he’d epically failed in that quest.

  If he was physically attracted to the guy, they weren’t kinky—or they were little more than a rentboy. If they matched up on the kinky end of things, he wasn’t attracted to them either physically or emotionally—or sometimes both.

  It was starting to feel like he was hunting a unicorn, and the party and club scene up in Tampa was not his thing.

  There’s got to be a better way.

  Up until now, he’d tried to avoid getting into the local BDSM scene, mostly because of his job. Fortunately, attitudes were looser now thanks to popular movies and book series, and people were less likely to freak out.

  Hence after spending the past year lurking on FetLife, Jackson had finally decided to try attending a local Suncoast Society munch. He’d visited clubs up in Tampa and Orlando before, and knew there was a dungeon right there in Sarasota. Except with his job, he’d kept those kinds of outings to a minimum and had never visited Venture.

  This seemed to be the safest way to ease himself into the local kinky dating waters since he’d struck out online.

  He was tired of being alone, and the benefits finally outweighed the risks.

  A man walked over to him. “Hi, I’m Ross, one of the hosts tonight. Your first time here?”

  Jackson shook with him. “Yeah. Jackson.”

  “Nice to meet you…”

  Ten minutes later, Jackson found himself seated at a table with several people, including a blue-eyed blond named Boyd he wouldn’t mind getting to know better. Everyone seemed very friendly and willing to talk.

  Except…turned out Boyd was a Top. Nothing against him, but Jackson wasn’t a bottom. Sure, in a relationship for sex he didn’t mind bottoming to his partner, but relationship-wise, he needed a submissive partner who had no desire to be on Top in terms of their life together.

  Before Ross and the other hosts called the munch to order, Jackson ended up invited to sit at another table with some other singles.

  More his speed, except while everyone was nice, there were three women, two straight subby guys, two straight male Doms…and no one for him.

  “You should come out to the club Wednesday night, if you’re free,” one of the Doms said. “There’s a roundtable discussion for male-identified Tops and Doms. Non-play session, just talking. Great for someone new to the local scene. I’ve learned a lot from them.”

  “Doesn’t matter that I’m gay?”

  “Gay, straight, bi, aro, taken, single—wherever you are on the rainbow, it doesn’t matter. There’s always a good cross-section of people there. This month they’re having a guest speaker before the open discussion session.”

  “Maybe I’ll look into that, then.” If nothing else, maybe he could talk to other gay Doms and get some dating pointers since he’d struck out with dating apps.

  By the time he headed home that evening, he felt…hopeful. Sure, he’d known the chances of him magically meeting his perfect subby boy that night were slim to none, but he had ventured out, he hadn’t encountered anyone he knew, and he now had another local event he could attend. The more events he attended, the more it stood to reason he’d increase his chances of meeting someone.

  It was a start.

  At thirty-three, he figured it was time he started somewhere, because he was obviously not getting anywhere by doing things the way he’d been doing them.

  * * * *

  Jackson’s work day lasted later than he’d planned Wednesday when he got caught in an impromptu development committee meeting after school that ran obscenely long because one argumentative parent newly named to the committee insisted on nitpicking over every point they’d already approved several times over.

  Finally, he was able to declare them adjourned, leaving him just enough time to grab takeout from Taco Bell before heading to Venture.

  Also, fortunately, he had a spare shirt with him, a plain, short-sleeved collared shirt. In the club’s parking lot, he quickly changed out of his work shirt—a button-up long-sleeved light blue chambray with Sorrellson’s logo embroidered on the left chest—and headed inside with his food.

  Joining the club was fast and easy, and once inside the main space he took a seat at a table with two other men.

  “Sorry about the food,” he said. “Work ran late. Jackson.”

  “No worries. Lots of people do that.” The first man shook with him. “Keith.”

  He turned to the other man. “Joel.” They shook, too. “First time here?” Joel asked.

  “Yeah. I’m hoping I can learn some stuff tonight.” Jackson snorted. “Including where to date and find single subby guys. I have completely struck out, and before you say dating apps, I’ve ground my last nerve on Grindr, Tinder has burned me too many times, and Plenty of Fish left me with an empty hook.”

  The men exchanged a glance and Keith smiled. “Never hit the Toucan, have you?”

  “The what?”
/>   While Jackson ate, Keith told him about the resort up in St. Pete that catered mostly to gay men. Somehow, its existence had completely escaped Jackson’s attention. Keith and Joel were both gay and happily taken, although Keith’s situation with a man and a woman as his slaves seemed more complicated, and Jackson felt like he was missing part of the story to really make sense of it.

  Not that he had time to do that. He was wolfing down the last of his tacos when a guy stepped forward and called for attention from the approximately thirty men in attendance and seated at the tables in the social area.

  “Welcome, and for those of you who don’t know me, my name’s Ted Collins. I’m the facilitator for this group, and a licensed, practicing mental health counsellor. We have a special speaker tonight, Niall Renard, also a psychologist, who’s going to talk about using hypnosis with play…”

  Jackson sat back and listened, intrigued but not sure how he could begin to apply any of it.

  Not when he didn’t even have a damn relationship.

  During a break in the evening, after Niall finished his presentation and before Ted reconvened them, Jackson stepped out into the office to use his phone to Google for information about the Toucan. He’d started to e-mail himself a link to their website when his eyes caught sight of a community information area. Business cards, postcards—

  Including one for the Toucan.

  Chuckling, he put his phone away and took a postcard, flipping it over to read the information.

  Interesting.

  His weekends were usually his to do with as he pleased. Normally, that meant yard work and chores. Or working on grading papers, working on committee plans…

  Working.

  Not that he had to. He worked every evening after getting home.