Saffron Stains by Alex Draven Release Date: April 15, 2009
Publisher: Torquere Books
ISBN: 978-1-60370-694-0
ISBN (10): 1-60370-694-1
Publisher Link: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1913
Blurb: Jem is tired of watching Kael come and go from the fae court, tired of wondering whether his beautiful lover needs him more than he needs his family. He waited patiently the last time Kael disappeared, but he's not sure he can do it again, and when Kael doesn't come home one night, Jem wonders if it's all over for good. Kael would much rather be home with Jem than be in the fairy court with his mother and sister, but he has obligations. Obligations that lead to him neglecting the one thing he truly cares about. Can Kael find a way to convince Jem that he wants to come home?
Excerpt:
Jem was really quite irritated with Kael.
Really, really quite annoyed, in fact.
Fucking incandescent would be another way of pronouncing it, but that wasn't really something he felt comfortable saying to his boss, so he'd settled for 'bit of a rough night' when Katie had asked him if he was okay earlier.
Now he was stuck out here on the counter, being polite to the retired ladies in search of sewing sundries who made up most of Browne's Haberdashery and Fancies' weekday morning customers. People looking for magical supplies tended to come in later, or on weekends.
His smile probably wasn't that convincing, but at least he hadn't sworn at anyone, not even when old Mrs. Haslet changed her mind for the fourth time about which color wool she wanted for her grand-nephew's new pullover.
The bell above the shop door rang, and Jem looked up from the now unwanted balls of wool.
"Oh, fuck," he murmured to himself, too quietly for Mrs. Haslet to hear, but loud enough that Katie whipped her head around and glared at him.
Jem rolled his eyes, and grimaced back at his boss. The very last thing he needed this morning was Lizabeth Anderson.
Lizabeth Anderson was just about Jem's least favorite customer -- worse than little old ladies who couldn't make a decision if the whole world depended on it, worse than the faie who thought Browne's was good enough to buy supplies from, but that Jem wasn't good enough to talk to; worse, even, than the wanna-blessed-be human teenagers with their idiotic ideas about magic.
Lizabeth Anderson had spent fifty years being the adored darling of the High Court, dripping with glamours from her lovers, and Sky, but the woman could whine for England. So the queen had finally tired of little human Lizabeth. It probably would be a shock to look into a mirror and all of a sudden see an old lady instead of a fresh-faced beauty, but really! Just seeing her was reminding Jem of all the things he was angry and hurt and pissed off about.