Switched at his Desire 1

With no job, no money and a pregnant wife to care for, Mark becomes desperate. Giving himself a five-finger discount, he nearly succeeds and gets away with it. Caught and confronted by the store owner, he is given a choice: become his personal maid or go to jail.

He doesn't realize that means switching his gender until he's backed into a corner and it's too late. Will he give in to his rich benefactor and become the woman he desires? Or will he back out and face the consequences?

Excerpt:

My heart beat furiously in my chest as I leaned up against a brick wall and thought about what I'd done. I pounded my fist in my palm. Dammit! I had to do it. It wasn't like I hadn't explored every option beforehand.

'Get some groceries, Mark,' my wife had said, 'or don't come back.' Amy was nine-months pregnant with our first child and I had absolutely no way to support myself, let alone a wife and child.

So, I'd done the only thing I could think of: stole it. A tear formed at the corner of my eye as I thought about what I'd done. Now, not only was I going to have to live with the knowledge that I'd stolen something that wasn't mine, I was going to have to lie to Amy about where I'd gotten the money from. I've never lied to her before.

I cupped my face in my hands as hot tears trickled down my cheek. How did things get like this? I'd been a good boy. Didn't the teachers tell me that if I did exactly what they said and got good grades, I'd go to college and have a wonderful life? That was the lie they sold me. With my bachelor's degree and a dollar, I could barely afford a cup of coffee.

Something had to give. The last thing I wanted to do was to turn to crime. What if I got caught? I'd never see my wife or daughter again - that much I was sure of.

But what was the alternative?

As I slowly turned to make my way home, I heard shouting behind me. Oh no! My heart thumped wildly in my chest. They found me. I'm so dead. If they catch me, my life - such that it is - would be over.

Before I even had a chance to run, I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. When I turned around, I saw that it was the store manager. Shit. I'd been caught. I tried to wrestle out of the big guy's hands, but he was too strong.

"Son, come with me," he said gruffly, panting heavily from the exertion. At twenty, I hated being called 'son,' but under the circumstances I just gritted my teeth and kept quiet.

He took me to the backroom and it was the longest walk of my life. I was whisked right past several customers - some of whom I recognized.

"So, kid," he said, emptying the ill-gotten contents of the backpack on the table. "Why'd ya do it?" He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He was a pretty good-looking guy - perhaps forty - with brown hair and deep brown eyes. Tall, but not wiry.

My hands shook with fear as I thought about what I was going to tell him. If I wanted to get out of this with my asshole intact, I was going to have to tell him the truth.

"I...I..." I closed my eyes and gulped, feeling the sweat from my brow fall into them, stinging them. "I can't find a job and I -"

He held up his hand. "Say no more. You need a job? It just so happens that I need a maid. Perhaps we can come to some sort of arrangement." He looked at me expectantly with his big, brown eyes.

Dettagli