Red’s Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

Red’s Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com Wed, 19 Oct 2022 22:42:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 http://www.ilovenovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png Red’s Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com 32 32 The Contractor (Red’s Tavern #8) Read Online Raleigh Ruebins http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-contractor-reds-tavern-8-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Wed, 19 Oct 2022 22:42:32 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/the-contractor-reds-tavern-8-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Genre: M-M Romance Authors: Raleigh Ruebins Series: Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
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Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)

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He’s my best friend, my best worker, and it was just a silly crush.
Then he kissed me. Now it feels like he’s mine…

I’ve shown my best friend Tristan everything: how to use a circular saw, how to lay grout, and how to do a kitchen renovation right. On the job, we became close friends—then even closer as we learned to share a camping tent.
It was all harmless. Just like my crush on him.
Then one night at Red’s Tavern, Tristan pretends to be my boyfriend. And apparently he likes it, because he’s trying things with me he never has before.
…Like kissing me. Touching me more. Dragging me into bed. He invites me on a trip back to his Colorado mountain hometown, and I fall in love with his big, awesome, quirky family, then end up in bed with him each night.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

1

JACK

“I’m here,” I called out as I pushed open the familiar front door of Tristan’s house. “Please tell me you have your clothes on by now?”

“Depends on your definition of clothes,” Tristan said as he rounded the corner of the hallway into his living room. He had a towel slung around his waist and water droplets clinging to his shoulders, slowly dripping down the taut curves of his pecs and his biceps.

Good God.

I swore his body somehow got even better anytime I’d been away from him longer than a week.

I rolled my eyes, even though I wished I could watch him. “You’re just trying to show off your abs. Go get ready.” I looked away and shook my head at him, crossing over to the couch.

He just stared at me. “I’m ready for you to get your ass over here and give me a hug,” he said.

“Hurry up, then,” I said. “At least wait ‘til you’re dried off to give me a hug, you weirdo.”

“You fuckin’ love it.” He gave me his signature playful smile. His black hair was short on the sides but a little longer up top, and right now, it was sticking up in a million different directions after being toweled off. “Come here, Blue.”

Before I could protest, he’d crossed the room and wrapped his wet, warm arms around me.

I let out a long breath, feeling like I was home, for the first time in weeks. He held me close and I got a big whiff of the familiar scent of his clean skin. If he were anybody else, I’d have complained about my shirt getting all wet, but I was pretty sure I’d let Tristan Wood do anything to me.

So what if I was sort-of, kind-of, completely in love with my best friend? I needed him. He was like a magnet I’d been hopelessly stuck to since the moment we met.

Show me the poor sucker who could be around Tristan as much as I was and not fall in love.

There wasn’t a chance in hell.

And not having him here around town for the last month had absolutely fucking sucked.

When he pulled back, a loose thread on his towel snagged on my belt loop and the towel dropped to the floor, the loop of string ripping a small portion of the towel.

“Oh, fuck,” Tris said, and I averted my eyes. I was an expert at keeping my gaze away from his cock, actually, and I’d had to do a million times before. Tristan was a fan of skinny dipping in the river or in pools, and he wasn’t exactly ashamed of his body. He had a good one, and he knew it. Reason number twenty-two million why I loved him.

“I got it,” I said, pulling my multi-tool from my pocket and using the scissors to cleanly cut the string.

Tris puffed out a laugh. “You can just rip it off,” he said. “That towel’s old and ragged anyway.”

“No way,” I said. “I can rescue it. The multi-tool saves everything.”

“That thing is like your fifth limb,” Tris said.

I snipped the snag in the towel and handed it back to him. “Put this back on. Last thing I need is an eyeful of your dong.”

“You know I have no shame,” he said. “I’m proud of my cock. Look as much as you want.”

Sure thing, Tris.

I’ll just look at your cock, get hard within two seconds, and make everything weird.

Like I said. Not a chance in hell.

I rolled my eyes. “I hate you,” I said. “And… I missed you. A lot.”

“I missed the hell out of you,” he told me. “And I was only gone for what, twenty-six days?”

“Twenty-seven. Torture.”

Tristan had been away visiting his big, sprawling family in Jade River, Colorado. It was the longest stretch of time that the two of us had been apart in the last twelve years. Not only were Tristan and I best friends, but we also worked together—I was a general contractor and he worked mostly as a trim and carpentry subcontractor. In other words, Tristan knew his way around a piece of wood. Any project where I could bring him in, I did. At this point, everybody we worked with just sort of expected us to come as a team.

“You’re never going to stop, are you?” I asked, noticing fresh ink on the side of his ribcage.

He turned to show me, and I tried to focus on the new tattoo instead of his abs. “Got it one of the first nights I was in Colorado,” he said. “My brothers went with me. It’s a spruce pine. You like it?”

“Hate it.”

He opened his eyes like I’d just physically wounded him. “Oh, hell no.”

“Of course I like it,” I finally told him, and I meant it. “I love all of your tattoos.”

“Thanks, Blue,” he said.

He called me Blue mainly because of my eyes, which were the only thing anyone ever really noticed about me. Tristan had always been the noticeable one—loud, funny, outgoing, and covered in tattoos. I was the opposite. I was just Jack Damien, Mr. Responsible. Jeans and a white T-shirt. Slow and steady. Boring, according to some people, probably.

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The Bodyguard (Red’s Tavern #7) Read Online Raleigh Ruebins http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-bodyguard-reds-tavern-7-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Tue, 17 May 2022 21:20:00 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/the-bodyguard-reds-tavern-7-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Genre: Gay, GLBT, M-M Romance, Romance Authors: Raleigh Ruebins Series: Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
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Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	The Bodyguard (Red's Tavern #7)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Raleigh Ruebins
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B09ZF22X3P
Book Information:
He’s the hot, charming movie star that everyone craves. But what he needs is my protection. My whole life, I’ve been training in martial arts, learning security protocols, and keeping my body strong. I was a bouncer at clubs and an overnight security guard, but in my heart, I’m just a small-town guy. Until recently, I haven’t had much to “protect” other than the chickens in my mother’s backyard. Then Theo Castille crashed into my life—like the wild, beautiful shooting star he is. Theo is a world-famous actor who gets more attention than any person could handle. He’s pretty and flirty, but on the inside, there’s something broken. When I learn that he’s being stalked by a dangerous man, all of my protective instincts kick in. Theo hires me as his personal bodyguard, and for the first time, I feel useful. I’m by his side at all times. He can’t take care of himself, so I teach him how. He can’t sleep, so I sleep next to him. But soon I’m addicted to being close to him. And when he kisses me, desires I’ve had for years come roaring to the surface. I’d do anything to protect him. But I’m not sure I can protect my own heart from falling in deep when Theo’s in my arms.
Books in Series:	Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
Books by Author:	Raleigh Ruebins

1

Roman

When I showed up at Red’s Tavern again, I wasn’t even sure what I wanted.

Did I just want to talk to a guy tonight? Kiss a guy? …Actually bring a man home and fuck him?

I could barely think about the last idea without my dick mashing up against the front of my pants, getting a little bit hard immediately, in the uncontrollable way it used to when I was a teenager.

I guess I wasn’t exactly good at being a “straight guy.”

Adrenaline surged through me each time I pulled up in the small parking lot and saw the nondescript brick building, even though so far, I’d gone home alone every time. My martial arts and security background should have prepared me for anything, but apparently the one thing that was bound to get my heart racing was the idea of being with another guy.

Another guy that might actually want me. Not one that would freak, bolt, and never speak to me again after I admitted my feelings.

It was crazy how your first heartbreak never really let go, even after years of trying to forget.

But that shit was in the past. Even if I hadn’t had the guts to actually seal the deal with any hot guys yet, I couldn’t stop showing up here.

I was addicted. And I didn’t want to stop.

I walked into the bar like I was on autopilot, swinging open the front door. The moment I went in, I began to relax. The place smelled like fresh, hoppy beer and citrusy margaritas. It was mostly empty, because it was still late afternoon on a Monday. Only one guy was sitting on one of the leather-topped stools at the long oak bar top, hunched over a drink. A couple of the booths had people sitting in them. The tavern could get rowdy and raucous at night, but right now, it was exactly the calm haven I wanted.

Somehow the big pride flag hanging behind the bar made me feel proud to be here, even though almost everybody thought I was straight.

I went and sat a few stools down from the guy at the end of the bar, still scanning the room. Being a security guard meant that even though I was off-duty right now, I could never really turn off my cautious, analytical thinking. I always knew where the exits were. I always took note of who was around me. And I never let anything surprise me.

“Welcome back,” Red said to me, giving me a nod. “What can I get for ya today?”

Red was the owner of the tavern, and he was part of the reason I could feel so comfortable here even when my mind was reeling. Red was a cowboy, through and through. He usually kept to himself, but was one of the kindest men you’d ever meet, even after only knowing him for a little while. I’d only been frequenting the tavern in the last couple of weeks, but already I felt comfortable around Red.

“Just a beer for me,” I said. “I’ll try that orange peel ale.”

“You got it.”

Red’s Tavern wasn’t strictly a gay bar, anyway. But it certainly was the gayest one around here for miles. Small-town Kansas had never exactly been full of them. My brother Brody had dragged me here a few times, but even now after he’d moved away with his boyfriend, I kept on coming back.

One of the younger bartenders, Sam, walked behind the bar, his eyes glued to the other guy who was sitting and nursing a drink at the end.

I glanced over to the end of the bar again, letting my eyes settle on the stranger. All I could see was his hair, since he was hunched over his drink and his phone. His locks of wavy hair curled at the ends, dark brown and perfectly mussed, falling to just below his ears. He was in a collared white shirt that looked buttery-soft and probably very expensive, the sleeves cuffed halfway up his forearms to reveal delicate wrists.

A shirt like that probably cost more than I made in a paycheck.

I couldn’t see the guy’s face, but even this view of his lithe body was enough to make me curious. He looked like he could have walked straight out of one of my favorite porn videos—I tended to like the ones where big, thick dudes like me were with smaller, pretty guys like him.

My cock ached a little. I shifted on my seat, trying to look away. I needed a game plan. Why did all of my flirting skills instantly go out the window when I saw a guy I wanted?

I pulled in a long, slow breath and took a sip of my cold beer.

Until recently, I never could have imagined that I’d end up here. Everything had been on track until Emily had opened my laptop that morning, six months ago, and everything had gone to shit.

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The Tight End (Red’s Tavern #6) Read Online Raleigh Ruebins http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-tight-end-reds-tavern-6-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Wed, 23 Feb 2022 19:28:15 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/the-tight-end-reds-tavern-6-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Genre: College, M-M Romance, Romance, Sports, Virgin Authors: Raleigh Ruebins Series: Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
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Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >95

Read Online Books/Novels:	The Tight End (Red's Tavern #6)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Raleigh Ruebins
Language:	English
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He’s an introverted nerd, and I’m the football player everybody wants. But I only want to drag his shy, adorkable, irresistible self into my bed. All I’ve ever been good at is running fast with a football clutched tight to my side. As a star football player for the KMU Wolves, I’ve had any guy I wanted for years, and I'm more muscle than smarts. My new roommate, Logan, is something else completely. He’s the bookworm I never was, and it seems like the closest thing he’s had to a love life is with his books. I don’t do relationships, and I sure as hell don’t fall for anyone. But when I’m close to Logan, I’m pulled to him like a damn magnet. He’s been hurt in the past, and I want to prove to him that there’s more to me than just physical strength. When he finds out I’m totally screwing up my senior year classes, Logan offers to help. It turns out there’s a whole lot I can teach him, too—and not just about football. I feel myself falling for every part of him: his brilliant mind, his big heart… and every inch of his body. Being out and proud as a football player means I get more attention than I deserve, both good and bad. There’s no chance I’m letting Logan get dragged into the headlines and picked apart like I am. But I'm used to scoring. Winning. Getting what I want. And now all I want is him.
Books in Series:	Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
Books by Author:	Raleigh Ruebins

1

Logan

I lay back on my bed, propping a pillow up behind me as I flipped to the next page in History of the Kingdom. I was pretty sure I was the only person on campus doing this tonight, but it was one of the best history textbooks, for one of my favorite classes. I’d been waiting to take Advanced History of the British Empire for four years now, and the textbook was just getting to the good part.

Everybody else was out at a party or club tonight, either with somebody they loved or trying to find somebody to love. My senior year of college had just begun, and fall festivities were already in full swing.

But all I’d done tonight was jerk off alone and crack open a book.

In other words, my usual Friday night.

I slid a finger between the pages of the textbook as I shut it, looking over at the expanse of empty bed beside me. Before the school year began, I’d resolved that this year, I would be bolder. I knew I couldn’t hide behind books, perfect grades, and mountains of homework forever.

Would tonight really have been any better if I had a hot guy here, keeping the other side of the bed warm as I paged through my book?

Okay, yes. Definitely.

But it was easier to be alone.

Every time I was around somebody attractive, it was like my verbal brain functioning shut down. It had happened just earlier today, when I’d seen a cute guy sit down next to me in the cafe with a book about Ancient Rome.

He’s hot. Go talk to him.

But don’t talk too much about ancient history like you always do.

You’d just bug him.

He’s probably just trying to get a history requirement over with and move along.

No. More. Hopeless. Crushes.

Sitting here with a big mug of hazelnut cocoa on the table next to me and a heavy, glossy book in my hands should have felt amazing. It used to be my favorite thing, curling up with a good read, unbothered by anyone else. I’d always been able to put my feelings into a box, stuffing that box somewhere deep and far away. Loneliness was something I could deal with later.

But the touch of my own hand was losing its luster. Even when I walked by couples holding hands on the street, the ache in my heart wasn’t so easy to ignore.

I tried to shove the loneliness back into its place, same as I always had. But the box was starting to crack open. It was straining. Set to blow like a ticking time bomb.

Something had to change. But I was still at square one.

Maybe some people are just meant to live their whole lives alone. And maybe I was one of them.

The sound of footsteps and the front door swinging open broke my focus about an hour later. I’d gotten lost in the story of Alfred the Great again, sinking into stories from history instead of thinking about my own life. The door slammed shut and two muffled voices came down the hall. My bedroom door was closed, but I could still hear the sound of deep, drunken laughter floating in from the front of the apartment.

My new housemate was here.

Brody Bryant.

His name sounded like a gay porn star name to me, but I guess it made sense for one of Kansas Midwest University’s hottest football stars, too. Football was king here at KMU, even though I’d never paid two seconds of attention to it. I’d grown up in a house with two professors for parents, and since my mom and dad both taught here at KMU, I’d stayed in my little academic bubble forever. But most people at this school lived for football. The games were always packed, and students all over campus sported the white, green, and gold jerseys all of the time.

Now one of the KMU Wolves was going to be living in the same apartment with me.

My landlord had called to let me know that Brody had signed the lease and picked up the keys earlier today. I had been in my usual spot out at the library. I hadn’t even met Brody face-to-face yet, even though we’d emailed and texted a few times this week before he decided to sign the lease.

I pulled out my phone, navigating to my texts with Danielle.

>>Logan: He’s here. Tell me again why you had to abandon me?

>>Danielle: Your new roomie?

>>Logan: Yup. He sounds… drunk.

>>Danielle: I didn’t abandon you. I just really, really wanted to live with Henry.

>>Logan: I know. And I’m happy for you, promise. I just have to live with a football player now.

>>Danielle: LOL. You’ll do okay, Logan. It’s just a roommate. How bad could it be?

Danielle was a history major like me. She was a nerd, too, and for years, she’d been my best friend. My only friend, basically. Danielle was the one person who I could totally be myself around, never worrying for a second that she would judge me.

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The Stepbrother (Red’s Tavern #5) Read Online Raleigh Ruebins http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-stepbrother-reds-tavern-5-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Wed, 25 Aug 2021 09:51:07 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/the-stepbrother-reds-tavern-5-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Genre: Gay, GLBT, M-M Romance, Romance Authors: Raleigh Ruebins Series: Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
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Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >78

Read Online Books/Novels:	The Stepbrother (Red's Tavern #5)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Raleigh Ruebins
Language:	English
Book Information:
Sam’s guide to summer: Step 1: Get stuck on an epic family road trip with your straight, cocky, filthy-rich stepbrother. Step 2: Pretend he didn’t kiss you on the first night of the trip. In high school, Fox was my rival. My new stepbrother was already a career-obsessed city boy, and I was a proud small-town theater geek. I said good riddance when his cocky ass finally moved to the big city, leaving us behind. But now after years apart, Fox agreed to come on our big family road trip. And he’s _definitely_ not a teenager anymore. We’re sharing way more than just an RV. I’m closer to Fox than I’ve ever been before--camping, hiking, and swimming in the summer heat. I’ve grown out of my acne and glasses phase, and I’m not afraid to talk back to him. But I’m also getting lost in his eyes. When he kisses me, I’m not sure if I’d rather strangle him or push him into bed. ...But I want his lips on mine again. Even though I should know better. Fox has secrets, too. He’s been through hell, and I’m discovering the sensitive man behind his exterior. He takes me seriously, when everybody else sees me as a boy-crazy gym bunny in a tank top. But when Fox finally starts to win my heart, he gets an irresistible job offer back in NYC. But it doesn’t matter. It’s not like I was falling in love with my damn stepbrother, anyway. Right?
Books in Series:	Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
Books by Author:	Raleigh Ruebins

1

Sam

I glanced down at the blue glow of my phone, checking my text messages for what felt like the millionth time that night.

No new notifications.

Those words were going to be the death of me. I cursed under my breath, locking the phone and sliding it back into my pocket as I walked back behind the bar. I had three minutes left on my break, but already I could see empty pint glasses that needed to be cleaned up, surfaces that needed to be wiped, and a wayward slice of lime that had ended up on the floor. If I wasn’t going to get a text back from the guy I’d gone out with last week, I might as well get back to work.

I loved bartending. Growing up in small-town Amberfield, Kansas, getting my job at Red’s Tavern had been the first time I’d really felt like I fit in somewhere. I’d had tons of friends in high school, but it still never really felt like home.

The tavern did from day one, though.

And there was plenty of eye candy right here in front of me, anyway. A hot, greying daddy had just walked into the bar. There was a younger guy by the pool tables who looked straight out of a frat party. And a classy businessman was reclining in a booth, sipping a whiskey like he owned the place. As I bent over to pick up the lime, I pushed my ass out a little, and when I stood up I saw the businessman eyeing me.

I liked the attention. I always liked having eyes on me, even if it didn’t lead anywhere.

But when I walked back behind the bar again, I found myself checking my phone, as if I hadn’t done it sixty seconds ago.

Still nothing. Goose egg.

“Sam, you look like a kid who just dropped his last gummy worm into the sand,” Red said, crossing back behind the bar in his signature cowboy boots. “The guy still hasn’t texted?”

“Negative. And speaking of gummy worms, his dick did kind of look like one,” I said.

Red snorted. “So I take it the fling is over?”

“I got ghosted,” I said. “Not even a goodbye. God, what if he’s not okay? What if he got in an accident?”

“Somehow I doubt it,” Red said. “When was the last time you heard from him?”

I anxiously looked at the front doors, as if I expected him to walk through them.

“The last thing he texted me was a link to his favorite protein powder, six days ago.”

Red stood behind the beer taps, pulling a pint of the lager for a man sitting at the end of the bar. “Sounds like an asshole. You dodged a bullet.”

My heart ached. It didn’t feel like I’d dodged a bullet. Actually, it felt like everybody else was dodging me.

The guy I’d dated before this one had broken up with me after a month because he’d said his parents wouldn’t approve of my “flashy” fashion sense. And the man before that one said I wasn’t going anywhere in life, just because I’d told him I was happy with my job bartending.

People didn’t take me seriously. It had been like that my whole life. But now that I was in my late twenties, it was starting to wear me down.

I sighed. “Red, can you tell me next time?”

“Tell you what?” he asked. Nothing seemed to phase Red. That’s why he was such a good friend, and a voice of reason in times where my heart got the best of me.

“When you see me falling in love with a guy again after only two weeks, and I’m about to get my heart pulverized, just tell me so I can quit while I’m ahead.”

Red gave me a look. “Don’t even start with that.”

“What?”

“I’ve tried that before, and it didn’t work out great,” Red said. “You don’t listen to anyone when you’re in love, and you fall in love with everyone.”

I pulled in a long breath of air. “It’s not my fault. I was blessed with a big heart, a big head, and a big cock, and I really like using them all.”

Red didn’t even try to hide his smirk. “And you’re humble, too.” He grabbed the cleaning rag from under the bar and wiped off the area in front of us.

“I’m proud of what I’ve got, sure,” I said, grinning. “But that doesn’t make it any easier to find a good man.”

“You know I’ll always tell you what’s on my mind,” Red said. “But my advice is the same as it’s always been. Get off the damn hookup apps if you want a good man.”

“Hey,” I protested. “There are good men on apps, too. You just have to sift through lots of bad ones.”

“Maybe you need a break.”

“You know what? You’re right,” I said. “I’m vowing myself to celibacy for the rest of my life. Hot guys can’t be trusted. It’s one of the laws of physics.”

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The Single Dad (Red’s Tavern #4) Read Online Raleigh Ruebins http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-single-dad-reds-tavern-4-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Sun, 13 Jun 2021 18:22:12 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/the-single-dad-reds-tavern-4-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Genre: M-M Romance, Romance Authors: Raleigh Ruebins Series: Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
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Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >79

Read Online Books/Novels:	The Single Dad (Red's Tavern #4)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Raleigh Ruebins
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B095QRTHF4
Book Information:
As a newly single dad, I had hard rules. And a sensitive, smoking hot military vet is breaking every last one…. I’ve always had everything figured out. Dream job? Check. Three beautiful kids? Check. Married my high school sweetheart? Check. …Until my marriage fell apart. Now I only see my kids for half of each week, and for the other half I’m left alone in my big, empty house, figuring things out all over again in my thirties. My rules were simple: no hookups for two months, no dating for a year, and nobody meets my kids. I blew right through that first rule with Luke. He’s got deep eyes, beautiful tattoos, and a big, wounded military vet’s heart. At night I’m also chatting online with a guy that feels kind of like home, but is totally off limits. I find myself wishing… hoping?… that he might even be Luke. Before long Luke is flexing his handyman skills, helping me fix up my house and transform my life into something that feels like home again, too. We have baggage the size of mountains, and pasts that haunt us. But we both know that nothing is serious… so what’s the harm?
Books in Series:	Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
Books by Author:	Raleigh Ruebins

1

Cam

“Okay, I need a six-letter word for bent over.”

“Folded,” my brother Perry said. “Like what this place is going to be, if I don’t get back in the kitchen soon.”

“Fucked!” another voice said from behind the bar, which I immediately knew belonged to Sam.

“This is the local Sunday crossword puzzle,” I said. “I’m pretty sure they’re not going to have one of the answers be fucked.”

“Cameron, the answer is always going to be ‘fucked,’” Sam said, winking at me before strutting across to go help a customer who’d just sat on the other side of the bar. Sam still had a flower tucked beside his ear, placed there by the last customer he’d flirted with.

I looked at the six blank spaces. “Folded is good, but it doesn’t fit,” I murmured. “The third letter is a G.” The din and chatter of Red’s Tavern surrounded me—people trying to find hookups, get wasted, and have the best night they could.

But I wasn’t doing any of those things. I wasn’t going to hook up or date for a very, very long time. I was focusing on one thing at a time. One day at a time. And right now, that was this crossword puzzle.

“G?” Perry asked. He bit his lower lip, lost in thought. My brother was good at a lot of things, but puzzles had never been one of them. Growing up, he’d been like a father to me—cooking us meals, hanging out with me when Mom was away at work. But I’d always been more of a brainiac than him. I was better with numbers, better at computers, and definitely better at all games and puzzles.

“I’m starting to think this puzzle is out to get me,” I said.

Really, I knew the truth. I had sucked at doing puzzles for a while now. Especially since last Thursday, when my divorce was finalized. I was off my game in a big way. But I knew the only way to get past it was to keep going. I wasn’t going to stop for anything.

Back in the day, I would have texted Rachel a picture of the puzzle, and she would have come up with the answer in two seconds flat. Rachel was always good like that. Sharp as a tack. It was why she was so great at her job—a shrewd lawyer who fearlessly fought against environmental injustices.

And it was also why she had been swift, methodical, and quick as hell to end our marriage. We’d only finally decided to get divorced a few months ago, and now I was sitting here at the bar, a single man. I hadn’t even known it was possible to get divorced so fast.

Of course, I’d known for at least a year that our relationship had problems. Big problems. But that didn’t mean it felt any less weird to be sitting here alone, at a gay bar, as a single man.

“Perry, we’re gonna need a round of sliders,” Red said, appearing behind the bar.

“I’m on it,” Perry said. “Good luck, Cam.”

“Cameron,” Sam said, appearing again behind the bar. “Please tell me you’ve been active on the app.”

People had always called me a ray of sunshine, but Sam had even more energy than I did. He was young, fit, and always bouncing around behind the bar, flirting with some guy. He wore tank tops almost daily, and sometimes had glitter on random parts of his body. He’d taken pity on me since finding out about my divorce, and had made it his sole mission to play Cupid for me.

He was a sweetheart. But for the first time in a long while, I didn’t have the energy to be a ray of sunshine back to him.

“You’re going to hate me,” I said.

He looked at me like I was a sick puppy. “You haven’t even looked at the app, have you?”

“Nada,” I said.

“But I’m tired of seeing you so mopey and sad around here,” Sam protested.

“I am not mopey,” I said. “I come here to visit my brother.”

“And you always get hit on by hot guys,” Sam said, lifting an eyebrow, “and you always reject them.”

A few nights ago, Sam had convinced me to join a singles app called BackOutThere. It wasn’t technically a dating app, but more of a local group chat, specifically designed for people who were newly single and wanted to “get back out there.”

Some people used it to find dates. Some just used it to talk and commiserate. Some, inexplicably, seemed to only use it to post photos of their pets, which I wasn’t complaining about. I sure as hell wasn’t looking for dates. But I’d signed up for the group right here in Kansas, and it had seemed to get Sam off my back for a couple of nights.

“I think the app is perfect for you,” Sam said. “You’re a techy kind of guy to begin with. Don’t you fix computers for a living?”

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The Silver Fox (Red’s Tavern #3) Read Online Raleigh Ruebins http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-silver-fox-reds-tavern-3-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Mon, 29 Mar 2021 07:32:36 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/the-silver-fox-reds-tavern-3-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Genre: M-M Romance, Romance Authors: Raleigh Ruebins Series: Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
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Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	The Silver Fox (Red's Tavern #3)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Raleigh Ruebins
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B08YDB743S
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I rescue people from danger every day. But my love life? That’s a dumpster fire I can’t put out. I had a badass life, my dream job as a firefighter, and I could snag anyone I wanted in bed. But when an injury temporarily took me off duty, it all screeched to a halt. Now I’m healing, staying with my brother Red in Amberfield, this small town with jack-all to do. Other than flirt with Perry. A hot-as-hell, shy but smoldering silver fox. And I think he wants me bad, even though I’m a straight, babyfaced jock in a baseball cap. Perry is a family man, through and through. He would do anything for his mom, brother, nieces and nephews. When family drama threatens to ruin his big family reunion, I know I can help. I offer to be Perry’s fake boyfriend for the reunion, so all eyes will be on us. And then the plan works. A little too well. Turns out Silver Fox isn’t as bashful as he seemed. Now I’m becoming addicted to the feeling of his lips on mine. His skin pressed up against me in bed. Soon, I’m fantasizing about going all the way with him, and I’m not sure I can call myself “straight” anymore with a straight face. At first I just craved the attention. But Perry isn’t just great in bed--his family is fun as hell, too. For once, I feel like I belong somewhere. And once we're done faking it, I don’t know how the hell I’m going to leave.
Books in Series:	Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
Books by Author:	Raleigh Ruebins

1

Rock

“Let’s head inside,” I said, tapping my fingers absentmindedly on the dashboard. “I need to find someone cute.”

“Just a sec,” Red said absentmindedly from the driver’s seat.

We were supposed to go inside the bar—his bar—but instead, my brother had been sitting there smiling down at the white-blue glow of his phone for three minutes now.

His boyfriend was texting him. Maybe dick pics, maybe facts about flowers. Whatever loving couples talked about. A familiar tendril of jealousy curled itself around my heart as I watched him write out a reply. Red was head-over-heels, make-everyone-sick, scream-from-the-rooftops in love.

But I was just waiting around.

I shifted my ass in the worn-in seat of the pickup truck, a dull ache shooting from my injured ankle all the way up my leg. I ignored the pain. The last thing I needed was to think about my injury.

Tonight, I wanted to walk into the bar, find someone hot, and get whisked away to their bedroom as quickly as possible. The last week had been an adventure in me trying and failing to do exactly that.

Small town hookups weren’t exactly easy to get. For me, so far, at least.

It was the same every time. I’d enter the bar confident and ready to prowl. I’d talk some poor local’s ears off until their eyes glazed over. They’d ask about my ankle boot, and I’d try to change the subject. Then in a few hours, I’d wind up on my own, slumped over a puddle of condensation on the dark oak bartop, smelling like whiskey or gin. And I’d go home alone.

Not even home. I was staying with Red. In his tiny guest room, which was more like a storage closet for cobwebs and dust. My brother wasn’t exactly a Betty Crocker kind of host.

“Wanna take bets?” I asked idly. “What are the odds I’ll strike out again and go home alone?”

Red wasn’t paying attention. His phone had buzzed, and he was all googly-eyed again. Long-term relationships sure were a hell of a drug. One that I’d never really gotten to ride.

Tiny glowing string lights hung over the brick front of the bar. Three couples had just walked out the front door, in a mini-parade of public displays of affection. Flirting. Kissing. Holding hands as they walked out into the balmy late summer evening.

My dick ached. My heart ached.

“That is what I want tonight,” I said, hypnotized, barely realizing I was saying anything out loud.

Red’s eyes snapped over to the door and then to me. He looked at me like I was nuts. “You want to hang out with Marshall and Barry? Believe me, you don’t. Barry gets burpy after his two vodka sodas, and Marshall can only talk about tractors.”

“Oh, now you pay attention to me?”

“Just trying to warn you about my regulars.”

I shrugged. “At least they have each other.”

Another couple outside the bar was mid-makeout now. A tall, burly man with a shorter guy. They embraced under the awning outside the building, cupping each other’s faces as they kissed in the dim glow. I couldn’t pull my eyes away.

A few years ago it would have made me gag to see anyone being so romantic—men, women, bees mating on a damn flower.

Now it made my sternum tight with envy.

“That’s what I want,” I said. The faint sound of their laughter floated through the cracked passenger-side window of the truck.

“You want to kiss another man?” Red asked. “That’s news to me.”

“I haven’t kissed a man since a drunken game of truth or dare back in college,” I said, stretching my leg out in front of me. “But at this point I think I’d take whatever I can get.”

Red chuckled. “Yeah right. Might want to look somewhere other than my bar for straight-people action.”

“Red’s Tavern isn’t only a gay bar,” I protested. “My straight ass is still allowed inside.”

“It may as well be a gay bar,” Red said, with pride in his voice. “Why don’t you go to Susan Murphy’s dive bar instead? You’ll snag plenty of women’s phone numbers.”

“But then I don’t get to hang around here and bother you,” I said, flicking his bicep.

He shook his head at me. “You’re an overgrown kid.”

I let out a sigh, leaning my head back against the seat. “I’m just restless.”

“I told you. You should explore Amberfield more.”

“It’s a tiny-ass town full of cows. What’s there to explore?”

“Size doesn’t matter,” Red said, winking at me. “People matter.”

“That sounds like a bad fortune cookie.”

He snorted.

Amberfield was what some people called “quaint” and what I called “boring.” Farmland, cattle, and amber plains of Kansas certainly never got me going, but my brother loved this place and had made it a home.

“Nobody wants to hobble into bed with a guy in one of these, anyway.” I tapped the side of the big, clunky grey walker boot that my foot and ankle were strapped into. The thing was like a damn straitjacket. I’d added a few stickers to it over the past couple weeks, one of which I’d grabbed from the back office in the tavern. It was sparkly and red and said “I’m Red’s Hot.”

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The Rebel Read online Raleigh Ruebins (Red’s Tavern #2) http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-rebel-2-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Wed, 01 Jan 2020 13:57:33 +0000 http://www.test123.demo2.xyz/the-rebel-2-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Genre: M-M Romance, Romance Authors: Raleigh Ruebins Series: Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
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Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87904 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	The Rebel (Red's Tavern #2)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Raleigh Ruebins
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B089NVVCGY
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Everyone wants to be with an adult film star. They clearly don’t know Liam Hardy like I do. Red: At first Liam was just a regular at the bar, and I was the clueless cowboy bartender keeping his glass full… then keeping him full in my bed at night. I had no idea he was about to blossom into a famous adult film star. But he ripped through me like a storm, losing himself in reckless partying until I had to walk away. I left and opened my bar, Red’s Tavern, here in the middle of nowhere, Kansas. I never expected to see Liam--all stormy-eyed, tattooed, and smoking hot--show up at my bar now, ten years after we’d cut things off. And it gets worse: he’s asking me to film an adult video with him for his new company. Two words: Hell. No. No matter how hot it sounds to ride in that rodeo again. No matter how much I want to fix that loneliness I’m noticing in his eyes. My bar is the only boyfriend I need, and I’m plenty happy with my dogs, my old-west house, and my friends. But I couldn’t help but kiss him. And now I’m aching for him and letting him film videos of me, doing things I’d never dreamed. And I remember how perfectly we used to fit together, body and soul. Liam’s always been the only one who could get to me... Like we were made to light each other the hell up.
Books in Series:	Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
Books by Author:	Raleigh Ruebins

1

Red

Glass crunched under my boots as I stepped behind the bar.

“Shit, I’m so sorry,” Sam said, staring down at the mess of martini glass shards.

I grabbed a broom and dustpan, holding them out toward him. “You don’t have to be sorry, you just have to start cleaning up,” I said.

I had to bite back a smile as I helped Sam gather the biggest chunks of glass. He was one of my best bartenders, but a minute ago he’d completely lost it when he saw a hot guy walk into the bar.

“When you see who just walked in, you’re going to shake in those cowboy boots, too,” Sam said. “Be glad I just dropped a few drinks instead of passing out on sight.”

The guy in question had walked in a minute ago, clearly just to use our bathroom and get out of the downpour outside. But Sam was in one of his usual freakouts, drooling over the glimpse he’d seen.

“Let me guess,” I said. “Another guy who you’re going to try to rope into being your future husband just because you saw him for two seconds and thought he was hot?”

“No. Not just hot.” Sam’s eyes were wide. “This guy is famous.”

The pink sparkly letters on Sam’s tank top glinted under the bar lights as he watched me and waited for a reaction. His shirt said Get Dirty, which was one of the tamer phrases I’d seen on Sam’s tanks. I’d never made my employees stick to a dress code, but sometimes Sam made me consider implementing one.

“You think anyone with more than ten Twitter followers is famous,” I said.

“I guess that makes me famous, because I have a hundred and sixteen,” he said, grinning.

I glanced over to one of our regulars, Henry, at the end of the bar, and noticed his water glass was empty. Tonight had been slow—the rain didn’t help, and Tuesday night turnouts were always weak to begin with. I tried not to think about all the money we were losing.

Just let every customer leave the bar happier than they came in.

It was my own modified version of the Campground Rule, and it was how I’d run the bar since the beginning.

My customers didn’t know I struggled to make ends meet. All they needed to know was that when they were here, they were a part of the Red’s family. They didn’t need to think about the world outside of these walls. And they’d never, ever be left with an empty glass.

I quickly went to refill Henry’s water. “Need another finger of whiskey?” I asked. He’d had his fair share already.

He shook his head. “Done with that for this evening,” he said, eyeing me and pausing for a moment. “Wouldn’t mind having a taste of you, though.”

He lifted an eyebrow, trying to be flirty.

I puffed out a small laugh. “Sorry, Henry. Not on the menu.”

“Aw, you’re no fun, cowboy,” he said. He was smiling, too, though, a glint in his eye. “I knew you wouldn’t, but I figured I’d ask for the hundredth time.”

I shrugged. “No such thing as a no-strings-attached hookup with a customer. Learned that a long time ago, and it’s been my policy ever since.”

Henry nodded, taking a long gulp of water before tossing cash on the bar and standing up. “You’re a stronger man than the rest of us. G’night, Red.”

“Night, Henry. See you soon.”

I crossed back over toward Sam, who was pursing his lips at me and shaking his head.

“You’re going to break that fucking rule one day, Red,” Sam said. “Probably tonight.”

“Haven’t broken it in ten years, and it’s not happening now,” I said simply. “I don’t care how hot a customer is, they ain’t coming to my rodeo.”

“Wait ‘til you see him,” Sam said.

“Just gonna be another customer, to me,” I said.

“But I’ve watched this guy get fucked before,” Sam said, keeping his voice low. “At least a hundred times.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Some old orgy friend of yours?”

He shook his head. “Porn star,” he whispered, like he was divulging a juicy secret.

My jaw clenched involuntarily. “I am not into porn stars.”

“Bullshit. I don’t care how independent and lonesome-cowboy you are, everybody watches porn,” Sam said.

“Nope,” I told him.

“You don’t jerk off?”

“This is a place of business, Sam,” I said. I glanced around the bar, making sure nobody was in earshot, but there were only two groups of people by the pool tables, plenty absorbed in their own conversations. “And of course I jerk off. Just never to porn.”

He cocked his head to one side. “Really?”

“Really.”

I was tense just thinking about it. Of course, Sam didn’t know why I had sworn off watching porn ten years ago, but I wasn’t about to get into that conversation now.

I bent down to make sure no more pieces of glass were on the floor. There were cracks in the grout between the tiles, and I couldn’t help but notice a jagged line in one of the lower wooden cabinets where it had been hit with a sharp piece of glass.

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The Best Friend Read online Raleigh Ruebins (Red’s Tavern #1) http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-best-friend-1-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Sat, 30 Mar 2019 13:57:33 +0000 http://www.test123.demo2.xyz/the-best-friend-1-read-online-raleigh-ruebins Genre: Gay, GLBT, M-M Romance, Romance Authors: Raleigh Ruebins Series: Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
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Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	The Best Friend (Red's Tavern #1)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Raleigh Ruebins
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B085BCL275
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My best friend’s a former quarterback, and I’m a nerdy math teacher. He has no idea how badly I want him. Back in high school, Mitch protected me from bullies and was at my side through tragedy. It didn’t matter that he was a football star and I was a mathlete, or that I was gay and he was straight. We stuck together like glue--until he married a girl and ran away. Now Mitch is back home, and he’s a divorced single dad. His son is in my math class, and I collide with Mitch everywhere in this small town. When he starts bartending at the only local gay bar, I’m screwed. Red’s Tavern is my haven, but how can I fake it for other guys when I’m in love with the big jock behind the bar? Then Mitch invites me into his bed, saying it's just for fun. But I’m addicted to him the second his body is on mine. I’ve done the math a million times. I know the odds are bad, but I know I want him. And now that he’s given me a taste, I can’t stop begging for more.
Books in Series:	Red's Tavern Series by Raleigh Ruebins
Books by Author:	Raleigh Ruebins

1

Evan

Woke up hard as diamond again, thinking about Mitch. The weird thing about best friends is you still dream of them, even if it’s been fifteen years since they up and moved their ass to Chicago.

The bottom of my empty pint glass hit the top of the wooden bar with a thud. I swallowed the last gulp of citrusy lager, already wishing I had more.

“So… you said you’re a math teacher?” the guy next to me was saying. He was trying hard to be polite. I’d started talking to him earlier in hopes that I could score a hookup for the night, but it was becoming more and more obvious that I was crashing and burning.

I nodded. “I teach math to Amberfield’s finest high school students. And you’re a… contractor?”

He frowned. “I’m a hair stylist.”

“Of course. I’m sorry,” I said. “I swear I’m not usually this forgetful.”

The beer churned in my stomach. I couldn’t even flirt right tonight. And of course I knew why I was falling flat on my ass with every guy I tried to pick up.

It was because none of these guys were Mitchell Price. None of these guys were my best friend.

My best friend who had moved back to town this week, after being gone for so damn long, and who decided he was moving back without telling me.

Mitchell knew I hated surprises. Fucking asshole. I loved him so much. And I was going to get to see him tomorrow for the first time in way too long.

“So, hair stylist,” I said to the guy next to me, who was poking at the maraschino cherry in his cocktail. “Is it fun?”

He sighed, swiveling to face me on his barstool. “Let’s cut the crap, okay? Obviously you don’t give a shit about what I do for a living.”

“Cut the crap? I—”

“I know I’m not the first guy you’ve tried to snag tonight.”

I sat up straighter, clutching my pint glass. “Okay. You’re not wrong. But I’m interested in what you do.”

He rolled his eyes. “Honestly, I don’t care. I didn’t come here to talk about cutting hair, I came here to suck someone’s dick.”

“A man who knows what he wants,” I said, still stunned that he was being so direct.

“You’re cute enough. Come with me to the bathroom.”

I definitely hadn’t been expecting that out of him.

“Really?” I said.

He lifted one eyebrow. “Yeah. Really.” He started to get up out of his chair, giving me a look that said hurry the fuck up and put your cock in my mouth.

Normally my dick would have perked up instantly. This was what I’d been trying to find: a guy who wanted me, no strings attached. But I felt nothing. Nada. Not even so much as a courtesy boner. It was like my dick had gone on strike for anyone other than Mitchell.

Which was bad, because my best friend wanted nothing to do with my penis.

The guy next to me sighed, gathering his jacket from the back of the chair. “Not gonna happen. Okay.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, and I really meant it. “It’s not you, it’s… well, it’s me being in love with my straight best friend.”

The guy laughed and put on his jacket. “Oh, honey, then I’m the one who’s sorry,” he said. He leaned in, giving me a light hug, complete with a pat on the back. “You’ll be okay. But believe me, nobody ever converts a straight guy.”

“I’m not trying to convert him—”

He was already walking off, giving me a peace sign as he pushed through the big wooden front doors of the tavern. I turned away, forcing myself to focus my eyes on the racks of liquor behind the bar. Rainbow-colored tinsel hung behind all of the bottles, shimmering in the light.

Red’s Tavern was the only bar I ever bothered coming to. Hot, single gay men came here, and even if there weren’t that many gay men in Amberfield, Red’s was always my best bet. There were great tunes and sometimes even live music. The beer was fantastic, and Perry’s food was simple home cooking, but stupidly delicious.

But today it felt like the usual magic of the tavern was lost on me.

Red was the only bartender on duty right now, and he was giving me a look somewhere between pity and sympathy. He had witnessed me fail like this three times tonight, and bless his heart, he hadn’t started making fun of me yet.

“Hey, hun,” he said.

I shook my head. “Don’t even.”

There was the beginning of a smile playing across Red’s lips, complete with unmistakable pity and misguided affection.

“You know tequila shots are half off, right? Not that I think there’s any reason you might want to completely forget what’s been happening tonight, or anything...”

His tone was the same gentle but firm tone I used when I had to tell one of my students that they got an F on a math test. Red felt sorry for me, clearly.

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