Live For You
Hello, I’m LaQuette, the romance author with the Brooklyn-girl flair. Thank you, Kathy for inviting me to drop by and chat a bit.
One of the most interesting ideas we’ve constructed in polite society is the idea that one must think of others before we think of ourselves. It’s something that’s drilled into us from infancy. We are socially conditioned to exhaust ourselves pleasing other people but are never told to remember to please ourselves. Camden Warren, one of the heroes in my upcoming release, Under His Protection, is a perfect example of what can be lost when we seek to please others and not ourselves.
On the surface, Camden is the quintessential spoiled, rich kid. He’s used to getting his way, he appears superficial, and his actions sometime appear to reflect an over-inflated sense of self-worth that’s annoying at best, nauseating at worst. It would be easy to write him off as elitist, labeling him a snob who thinks he’s better than everyone. But if you move beyond the surface of his personality, it’s easy to see that Camden, like most of us, has spent so much time attempting to please other people, that he’s lost a sense of who is and what’s truly important to him.
Camden is taught that duty should proceed love. Now, there are cases where the argument could be made that submitting to one’s responsibility is a good thing. Taking care of one’s obligations is in fact admirable. However, when those obligations are placed on someone’s shoulders without their consent and serves no other purpose than to make someone else happy, duty can be an unbearable burden.
Camden is forced to live his life the way his father has dictated. He’s educated in the places his father has selected, he works in the career his father has chosen for him, and now he is expected to choose a life-partner based on his father’s criteria and not his own. Unfortunately for Camden’s father, Camden meets Elijah, and recognizes the joy of doing something simply because it makes him feel good. He learns that being a little bit selfish isn’t just a luxury, it’s a necessity in keeping the things and people you love sacred.
In my opinion, this is a lesson we all have to learn. Yes, handle your obligations. But don’t allow your obligations to dictate how you live your life. Determine what works for you, and don’t make excuses for it, don’t justify it. Instead, make your needs a priority. When you’re creating that to-do list, make sure you add taking care of yourself and fulfilling your dreams too. Otherwise, you’ll end up like Camden when we first meet him in Under His Protection, angry, petulant, and ultimately, miserable.
Title: Under His Protection by LaQuette
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Imprint: Dreamspin Desires
Genre: Contemporary, Gay, Romance
Length: 250 pages/Word Count: 65,123
Summary:
They can escape their enemies, but not the desire between them.
Prosecutor Camden Warren is on the fast track to professional nirvana. With his charm, his sharp legal mind, and his father as chief judge in the highest court in NY, he can’t fail. Nothing can derail his rise to the top… until an attempt on his life forces him to accept the help of a man he walked out on five years ago.
Wounded in the line of duty, Lieutenant Elijah Stephenson wants to ride his new desk job until retirement—not take a glorified babysitting gig with more risk than it’s worth… especially not protecting the entitled lawyer who disappeared after the best sex of their lives.
The threat against Camden’s life is real, but their passion for each other might prove the greatest danger they’ve yet to face.
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Excerpt
“TELL me about your father.”
Camden was still half-buzzed from his orgasm, drifting somewhere between sleep and wakefulness as Elijah spooned him from behind. He could’ve sworn Elijah mentioned something about his father, but with the way Elijah’s spent cock rested in the slit of his ass, Camden was too distracted to swear to his own name, let alone the subject of Elijah’s question.
“Sorry, didn’t catch that.” Camden looked over his shoulder to find Elijah’s waiting mouth and smiled as he thought of the pleasure it had wrung from him only a handful of moments ago. “What were you asking?”
Elijah tightened the arm he had draped over Camden’s bare abdomen and pulled him closer. The solid wall of man pressed against Camden’s body was reassuring and comforting like a human body pillow customized specifically for him. Their first night together, there hadn’t been any intimate moments of pillow talk. There was just desperate coupling and the exhausted oblivion of postcoital sleep.
“Your dad,” Elijah responded. “What’s he like?”
Camden took a deep breath before speaking. There were so many ways he could answer that question. There were moments as both a child and an adult that Camden could see how much his father cared for him. He’d always been Camden’s greatest cheerleader. Whether it was Camden reciting his lines in a school play or graduating from an Ivy League law school at the top of his class, Michael Warren had pushed his only son to be the best at everything he endeavored. But all of his drive to make Camden perfect at everything often made Camden wonder if his dad pushed him so hard because he doubted Camden’s abilities.
“He believes in service. He believes serving in any public capacity is the highest honor any man or woman can hold.”
“That sounds admirable.” Elijah dropped a quick kiss on Camden’s shoulder. “My dad feels the same.”
Camden shook his head. These last few days he’d spent in Walter Stephenson’s presence showed him the man believed in his boys. He believed in their decisions and their life choices.
Camden was a man well over thirty, and his father didn’t seem to think Camden could tie his shoelaces without the older man’s guidance.
“Trust me, Elijah, your father might believe in service, but he doesn’t appear to demand you serve in the ways he deems appropriate.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
“Let me ask you this. Did you become a cop because your dad demanded it?”
“No.” Elijah’s answer was quick and succinct. If asked, Camden knew he couldn’t respond in the same manner. “I became one because I wanted to work from the inside to build better relations between my community and the police. I hated seeing how communities like mine were being labeled as wastelands because of criminal activity. I hated that the media and often law enforcement seemed to forget that there were good, hardworking people in Brooklyn who deserved their protection and dedication. My father was happy about my choosing to go into the academy, but it was never a requirement.”
“You’re lucky to have been given the choice.” Elijah must’ve heard the tiny hitch of regret in Camden’s voice, because he rose up on his elbow and pulled at Camden’s shoulder until Camden turned around and faced him.
“What do you mean by being given the choice, Camden?”
Camden took a deep breath before answering. He’d done his best to not think too much about the path he’d taken into his current career. Dissecting the intricate methods his father used to get Camden to this exact position took more energy than Camden had to spare.
“My father never asked me what I wanted to be. He simply told me where I’d be going to school and what I’d be studying. I think his words were something like, ‘Unless you have a way to pay for it, you’ll study what I tell you to.’”
“So, you wouldn’t have become a lawyer, a prosecutor, without him pushing you?”
Camden didn’t know the answer to Elijah’s question. He was a damn good prosecutor; knowing the answers to questions and how best to respond to those questions was a large part of his job. One would think a simple inquiry like this wouldn’t take much effort on Camden’s part. Yet, while Elijah waited for him to reply, Camden ached for someone else to hand him the answer, like a contestant on one of those game shows where he needed to phone a friend.
“There’s no easy way to answer that. I’m good at what I do. I enjoy it. Now, I don’t know if that’s because he forced me onto this path, or if it was because I’m a natural. I just know this life, this plan, is all I’ve ever had.”
He could see a spark in Elijah’s eyes. Confusion or curiosity, at this point Camden couldn’t tell which, mixed in with just a touch of sadness. He waited for Elijah to speak, to fill the gap of silence that appeared to be widening by the minute. But he said nothing, just continued to stare at Camden with his penetrating gaze.
He could feel the warmth of their intimacy being stolen from the room. He grieved its recession and snuggled closer to Elijah to reclaim it. “Please, don’t ruin this moment by making me talk about this. The only thing I want is to stay present in the now.”
Elijah’s gaze softened as he rubbed a gentle thumb over Camden’s lips. It was a simple gesture meant to do nothing more than comfort Camden. But the reassuring touch made him feel whole, as if his broken parts were being carefully sewn back together.
“You will always have a choice with me.” Elijah pressed his lips against Camden’s, then enfolded him into eager arms. Lying there, with his head on Elijah’s chest, listening to the lull of his strong heartbeat, Camden understood, for the first time in his life, what it was to just be yourself with no expectation attached to it. He wrapped his arms around Elijah’s frame and snuggled deeper into the embrace. He had to savor it now. Once this was all over, there was no telling when he would get the chance to experience this again.
Author Bio
LaQuette is the 2016 Golden Apple Award Author of the year winner. She writes bold & sexy tales for diverse characters who are confident in their right to appear on the page. Represented by Latoya C. Smith of LCS Literary Agency. Visit her at LaQuette.com and LaQuette@LaQuette.com
Author Links: Website * Email * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads
Great point! I believe that we can’t take care of others well without taking care of ourselves first. Really looking forward to reading this book!
“You will always have a choice with me.” Wow. After Camden’s upbringing, who wouldn’t want that?