Category: LGBTQ Book Reviews

Release Blitz and Giveaway – RJ Scott’s Gabriel (Legacy #2)

 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | KOBO | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | iTunes
 
Length: 55,000 approx
 
Cover Design: Meredith Russell
 
Legacy Series
 
Kyle (The First Legacy) – Amazon US | Amazon UK
 
Blurb

 

Trapped in darkness, can an escort find a man to help him into the light?


Gabriel Reyes never gave in. He fought and was hurt, was abused but escaped with his life. He made his way in the world using the one thing he was good at: sex. He earned a place with a man who controls everything but Gabriel is safe; he’s made it.


Cameron Stafford hires Gabriel for a night, needing nothing more than a pretend boyfriend to get his dysfunctional family off his back. With the money he has in the bank and his own hotel, why won’t they just leave him alone? It doesn’t matter that a degenerative disease has stolen his vision, or that his last boyfriend was a bastard who tried to steal from him; for now he has purpose.


When Gabriel and Cam fall for each other, can they find real happiness and, maybe, a forever that will save them both?


A new story set in the world of Jack and Riley Campbell-Hayes and the Double D Ranch, Texas.


Please be aware: emotional and physical abuse are depicted on the page in this book


Excerpt

“You got another letter,” Stefan snapped, and threw it at Gabriel, where it bounced against his naked belly and fell to the floor. He didn’t make a move to pick it up, not until Stefan had left. Fucking letters and the ache they caused. Stefan had opened it, the tear jagged, and Gabriel could imagine the temper that Stefan must have felt when he ripped it open. He didn’t blame Stefan; who wanted Gabriel’s past to intrude into what they had now?

He finally picked up the envelope and slipped quietly into his room, closing the door. He didn’t lock it—last time he’d done that, Stefan had broken the door, told him a story about a time when he hadn’t been able to get into a room and that it scared him. That he was thinking about Gabriel.

The letter wasn’t long. They never were.

Legacy Ranch appeared at the top of the paper, in strong, determined capitals. Whoever this Kyle guy was, he had neat, considered handwriting. Gabriel scanned the letter and closed his eyes, waiting for the door to open.

And just like clockwork, Stefan pushed into the room, salve in one hand and a sandwich on a plate in the other, coffee perched precariously on the side.

“I made you some food,” Stefan said, and sat on the bed, causing Gabriel to shift toward him. Gabriel didn’t move away—he didn’t want to upset Stefan.

“Thank you,” Gabriel murmured.

“What did the letter say?”

That was normal. As if it was a test, even though Stefan had already read it. The first time Gabriel had said something wrong, Stefan had looked so damn disappointed. All he’d said was that he loved Gabriel but he didn’t like a liar. He hadn’t needed to say anything else, but the bruises had taken a long time to heal when he’d finished being disappointed with Gabriel.

“They have this horse, Mistry. Apparently it’s still not been claimed.”

“Anything else, Angel?”

Stefan’s use of that nickname was a switch inside Gabriel that made him tense.

“The usual things—that they want to help me and when I’m ready they’ll be there.”

Stefan reached out, and Gabriel schooled his features so he didn’t wince. Stefan cradled Gabriel’s face, and his grip was firm.

“You know what will happen if you go back to that kind of life, my sweet, innocent Angel. You know they’ll hurt you. You don’t need help. You have me. I look after you.”

“I know.” Gabriel knew the right answers to give now. He’d once hoped that the world this Kyle guy wrote about would have a place for him, but that wasn’t an option for someone like Gabriel.

“I look after you, Angel,” Stefan said, and pressed the softest of kisses to Gabriel’s lips. “Now get some sleep. I canceled your two appointments for tomorrow. You need to eat your food, get your chocolate and sleep.”

“Okay.”

Stefan helped Gabriel get settled in the soft nest of pillows, and brushed Gabriel’s short hair.

“This will grow back,” he said.

Gabriel placed a hand on Stefan’s arm. “They held my head, Stefan.” He wanted to say more about what they’d done, but he didn’t have to—Stefan wouldn’t want to hear the details.

“It will grow back,” Stefan repeated, then patted Gabriel’s head. “’Night.”

.î

Author Bio

RJ Scott is the bestselling romance author of over 100 romance books. She writes emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men and women who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing.

The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.

mailto:rj@rjscott.co.uk
www.rjscott.co.uk/
www.facebook.com/author.rjscott?ref=ts&fref=ts
www.goodreads.com/author/show/3432558.R_J_Scott
twitter.com/Rjscott_author
www.librarything.com/author/scottrj

Giveaway

A Stella Review: After the Sunset by Lilah Suzanne

RATING 2,75 out of 5 stars

Caleb Harris and Ty Smith-Santos are struggling actors who have never crossed paths until their lives take a turn for the bizarre when they learn that a farm in Sunset Hollow, Washington has been bequeathed to both of them. Intent on selling the property, Caleb and Ty clear out the cluttered farmhouse, but soon find themselves falling for the charming farm nestled between two misty-topped mountains, the lonely man who left it to them, and each other. When a real estate developer offers them a hefty payout, will they take the money and run or keep the farm and their budding relationship?

After the Sunset was my first book by Lilah Suzanne, I was very curious about this author, I know her Spotlight series is well loved. So I jumped at the chance at reading this new novella and I was so ready for something amazing that the letdown I instead received was more delusional.

After the Sunset wasn’t a winner at all, it din’t satisfy me, on the contrary I found myself at the end of the book to be still interested in the characters lives because the author didn’t give me enough of them. I picked the book because I found the blurb interesting and although I loved the premises and the plot,  the sweetness and the setting,  IMO the development wasn’t okay.

First of all I didn’t like how the book was written, the present tense didn’t work really well in this case, it made the reading hard to follow to me, but this is just a preference of mine that led me to not enjoy it completely. The story was strangely developed, some scenes were well represented and explained, others were rushed and puzzling. Like the ending, so unexpected, too rushed, I was actually left speechless and not in a good way. That’s the reason I couldn’t give the book not even the three stars.

I have to be honest, at one point I didn’t even understand anymore what really happened to Ty and Caleb, were they together? Still living at the farm? Was there ever a HEA? I don’t know and I can’t even blame the length of the story because one hundred pages are plenty to create a believable and well done novella.

And then I wanted to know more about Ezra and Hugh and what I got wasn’t enough. Nonethless, they stole the scenes, simply because Ty and Caleb weren’t able to catch my attention.

After the Sunset stops at 2,5 stars to me, but I’m still interested in this author works. I put her books on my to-be-read shelf and I’ll give them a chance again.

The cover art is cute and well done, I love it.

Sales Links:  Interlude Press |  Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 94 pages

Published July 6th 2017 by Interlude Press

ASIN B0725QYGHQ

Edition Language English

RELEASE BLITZ for Trust with a Chaser by Annabeth Albert (excerpt and giveaway)

Title:  Trust with a Chaser

Series: Rainbow Cove, Book 1

Author: Annabeth Albert

Publisher:  Annabeth Albert

Release Date: 08-01-2017

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 75,000

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Law Enforcement, Small Town, May/December

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

One hot cop. One bar owner out for redemption. One smoking-hot summer fling destined to leave scorch marks…

Mason Hanks has returned to Rainbow Cove, Oregon with one goal in mind: turn the struggling coastal community into a thriving LGBTQ tourism destination. Step one is transforming an old bar and grill into a gay-friendly eatery. Step two? Don’t piss off Nash Flint, the very hot, very stern chief of police who’s not so sure he’s on board with Mason’s big plans.

Nash Flint just wants to keep his community safe and enjoy the occasional burger in peace. He’s not big on change nor is he a fan of Mason’s troublemaking family, especially his rowdy older brothers. But Mason slowly wins him over with fantastic cooking and the sort of friendship Nash has been starving for.

When their unlikely friendship takes a turn for the sexy, both men try to steer clear of trouble. Nash believes he’s too set in his ways for Mason, and Mason worries that his family’s reputation will ruin any future with Nash. Burning up the sheets in secret is a surefire way to crash and burn, and discovery forces a heart-wrenching decision—is love worth the risk of losing everything?

Trust with a Chaser is a 75,000 word stand-alone gay romance with a May/December theme, a hot law-enforcement hero, opposites attract, plenty of sexy times, and one hard-fought, guaranteed happy ending with no cliffhangers.

Excerpt

Chapter One

Mason

When Adam stepped inside the glorified closet I was using as an office, eyes all twitchy and hands wringing a bar towel, I knew I wasn’t going to like what came out of his mouth.

“Sheriff Sexy just walked in. He’s your problem.”

Fuck. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. “Please don’t call Police Chief Flint that. He might hear, and I’m pretty sure he’d find a citation for you. And I am not bailing your ass out.”

“You’re just worried that one of these days you’re going to slip up and call him that.” Adam grinned at me. This was an old argument—he’d been calling Flint that stupid nickname since we were in high school. The hard-nosed cop wasn’t one to cut teen drivers any slack—especially if they were in any way associated with the name “Hanks.” “Anyway, you know he freaks me out. I’ve got no idea what he wants—all our permits are in order, right?”

“Of course.” Standing, I grabbed the folder with the permitting paperwork. I prided myself in the organization I was bringing to the bar and grill that I co-owned with Adam and our friend, Logan. Flint wouldn’t find anything to complain about, not with me in charge. “I’ll go deal with him. You go back to the bar in case we get a rush.”

Adam snorted. Despite it being opening weekend, traffic had been embarrassingly light. We’d worked for weeks transforming the old tavern—a Rainbow Cove institution for decades—into the newly renamed Rainbow Tavern. The gay-friendly bar and grill was our vision for pulling our sleepy little coastal town into the twenty-first century. Logan had crafted a new menu of upscale bar food ready to go, and Adam had innovative drinks specials at the ready. All we needed were customers. And to not run afoul of Nash Flint on our first day of operation.

Flint was a Rainbow Cove institution himself—born and raised here, same as Adam and me, but unlike me, he’d never left, sliding into his father’s shoes as police chief and apparently fitting the role as easily as a pair of broken-in jeans. He’d been Officer Flint last time I’d seen him, almost ten years prior.

Guess I could have seen him had I come down for Freddy’s trial, something I still felt niggles of guilt over, and I told myself that was why my stomach fluttered on my way out to the tavern’s dining room. Unlike Adam, I’d never found Flint particularly…

Sexy. All my thoughts fled as I took in the man sitting in front of the plate-glass window. He dwarfed the small wooden chair, one of dozens that Adam and I had painted bright colors. Broad shoulders stretched the confines of his uniform shirt, biceps bulging under the short sleeves. His cut-glass jaw was firm as ever, as were those hard hazel eyes. But what had been frankly terrifying to my teenaged self made my twenty-seven-year-old libido sit up and take serious notice.

Flint blinked as I approached, head tilting to one side. I’d been getting a lot of that since I’d been back in town. “Mason…Hanks?”

“The one and only.” I stuck out my hand. “What can I do for you, Chief Flint?”

He returned my handshake with a sure grip, only a moment’s hesitation. I guessed he wasn’t all that used to shaking hands with a Hanks. Oh well. I was out to prove to the whole damn town that I wasn’t like my father and brothers, and if I had to start with Flint, so be it.

“Nice place you’ve got here.” His eyes swept around the renovated room—restored antique bar on the far wall where Adam wasn’t bothering to conceal his nosiness, dance floor beyond that, colorful tables and chairs in the front of the bar, only a handful occupied despite the dinner hour.

“Thanks. Our permits are all in order.” I held out my folder. “Liquor license is on top.”

He waved the folder off. “Not worried about that.”

No? Then why the heck was Flint in my establishment? “Good. We’re on the up-and-up. You won’t have trouble from us—”

“Glad to hear it,” he said levelly, eyes skeptical, reminding me that I was, after all, nothing more than a Hanks. “Cheeseburger?”

“Pardon?”

“That Ringer kid didn’t see fit to give me a menu, but I’m trusting you all offer something approximating a burger? Salad, no fries, and an iced tea.”

“You want to order?” I was still struggling to keep up with him.

“This is a food establishment, right?” He shook his head as if he hadn’t expected more from me, and that rankled.

“Of course.” I crossed the room in long strides, grabbed an order pad from the bar, ignoring Adam’s gaping. As soon as I returned to Flint’s table, I added, “Anything you want. On the house.”

“None of that.” He sighed like my very existence was tiring. “Got my meals from the old tavern for years. They kept a tab open for me.”

“We can do the same—”

“Let’s see if you can cook first,” he said, voice drier than yesterday’s toast. “I thought I’d come by, check the place out.”

“Appreciated,” I said and meant it. Business, any business, was good, but people in Rainbow Cove trusted Flint. If he gave us the seal of approval, more locals might give us a try, make us less dependent on the tourist trade that we were going after. Tourism took a while to build, and our grand plans of making Rainbow Cove an LGBTQ travel destination weren’t going to happen overnight. We needed every customer we could get, Flint included, even if he was the unlikeliest of allies.

“You still haven’t brought me a menu.” He shook his head. “But whatever you’ve got passing for a burger is fine. Nothing vegan though.”

“We’ve got local grass-fed beef, third-pound patty on a brioche bun with a pesto mayo and local gouda. Or—”

“I reckon that will do fine.” Flint always had a bit more country than coastal in his voice. Not Southern, but you could tell he was rural Oregon through and through, and I liked the slow, deep rumble of his words. What I didn’t like, however, was the implication in his tone that he wasn’t expecting much from us.

“Sure you don’t want fries? We have hand-cut sweet potato as an option with a chipotle dipping sauce. As far as salads, I’ve got side, Caesar, spring berry and pecan—”

“I’m on duty here. Kind of pressed for time. The burger and a side salad are fine. I don’t need anything fancy.”

Yeah, well, maybe I want to give it to you. I quashed that thought, same as I had the one about how hot he looked in his uniform. Wanting to impress Nash Flint wasn’t going to get me anywhere.

“I’ll put a rush on it.” I made a note on the order pad, not that it was really needed since Logan hardly had a packed house to worry about.

As I walked over to the window to put in Flint’s order, I noticed more than one table giving him curious glances. Hell, maybe I was wrong about any business being good business. Last thing I needed was Flint scaring away what few customers we had. Not that he was known as a gossip or anything like that, but he was awfully…old school. Traditional. The last kind of guy you’d expect to find at a gay bar, that was for sure, and even though we were attempting to attract a mixed clientele, he stood out.

Purchase at Amazon

Meet the Author

Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.

Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two children.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram

Annabeth’s Angels Facebook Group | Annabeth’s Mailing List

 

Giveaway

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An Alisa Review: Resistance (Roguefalls #2) by April Kelley

Rating:  4 stars out of 5

 

Christian Martin has been in several battles in his life, but the one he has with his mate may just be the one that brings him to his knees.

 

Christian has never had a serious relationship in his life. He doesn’t plan to start with an alpha wolf shifter who thinks he can dictate what Christian is and isn’t going to do. Ward Malone might trigger every warning bell Christian has, but he also triggers every sexual fantasy. Christian wouldn’t mind giving in to Ward if fun was all he wanted. Unfortunately, Ward is an all-or-nothing kind of guy.

 

This was another good story in this series.  We saw Christian and Ward meet at the end of the last book and I was excited to see their story.  Christian has never really had a family and makes a point to not allow close connections with anyone other than Dylan.  Ward throws all of his feelings and plans out of whack.

 

We learn a little more about the world in which these characters live and how much Christian’s childhood has affected his adult life.  Ward thinks he has everything figured out with how their future looks but gets a rude awakening with the others’ reactions.  Both Christian and Ward have to learn to make some compromises for them to work together.

 

We get to see both of these characters while they work out their feelings for each other and, for Christian, those around them.  Ward is confused by Christian’s reaction to him and is willing to walk away if that is what he really wants.  I loved seeing Christian’s team make him really see that there are people there for him and give him the opportunity to go after his mate.

 

The cover art by Erin Dameron-Hill is nice and follows the pattern for the series.

 

Sales Links: Extasy Books | Amazon | B&N

 

Book Details:

ebook, 107 pages

Published: July 7, 2017 by Extasy Books

ISBN: 978-1-4874-1355-2

Edition Language: English

Series: Roguefalls #2

A Lila Audiobook Review: Personal Secrets (Personal #3) by K.C. Wells and Narrator: Cornell Collins

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Blake Davis and husband Will are delighted when Ed Fellows turns up at the hospital the night their daughter is born—even if he is covered in mud from playing rugby and drunk out of his skull. Team-mate Colin is the Good Samaritan who drives him there, and when Colin takes Ed home, Colin finds himself on the receiving end of a blow-job. He has no problem with that whatsoever. He’s been in lust with Ed since Ed joined the rugby team some fourteen months ago. Only thing is, Colin’s assumed up ’til now that Ed is straight. Except the man sucking him off certainly didn’t seem straight….

Talk about the morning after the night before…. Ed awakens to find a nearly-naked Colin asleep on his sofa. The problem is that for some reason, he can’t get Colin out of his mind. Okay, so it wasn’t the first blow-job Ed’s ever gotten from a guy—or given, for that matter—but that was a long time ago, right? And why does Ed now want more?

With friends Rick, Angelo, Blake and Will to advise him, Ed finds himself on a completely unfamiliar road, as he struggles to accept that maybe the line he is walking isn’t as straight as he’d first imagined….

Personal Secrets is a lovely romance about two men whose friendship transformed into a blossoming relationship. It wasn’t easy but Colin was more than patience with Ed. Their love was simple and their everyday interactions let the reader see how they fall for each and how Ed changed the more time they spent together.

I enjoyed how naturally Ed’s sexuality evolves during the story and how his friends are there when he has questions. There’s no internalized homophobia or traumatic experience. He acknowledges his attraction for Colin and flows with it. There are some misunderstandings between them, but in the end, they were always willing to talk it through.

The story has many sweet and spicy moments and in occasion, I wanted to skip some of the sex scenes to learn more about the plot, but in the end, it worked considering Ed’s new found interest in men and not so straight sexuality.

Plus, we get several updates on Blake’s and Will’s relationship and Rick’s and Angelo’s. They are part of Colin’s and Ed’s story too, not just a figure in the background. The rest of the cast is excellent and we even get a small villain cameo. Overall, a nice addition to the series.

Cornell Collins did an excellent job with the narration. One of my complaints about book #1 was trying to read Ed’s dialogues. The audiobook definitely added to the appeal and highlighted Ed’s personality and attitude.

The cover by Meredith Russell is different than the e-book version, but it has a similar air. It’s easy to identify Colin and Ed, plus, it adds their love for rugby.

Sales Links:  Amazon | iTunes | Audible

Audiobook Details:

Narrator: Cornell Collins
Length: 6 hours 37 minutes
Published: June 12, 2017 (Audio Edition) by Island Tales Press
ASIN: B071ZSX7D4
Edition Language: English

Series: Personal
Book #1: Making It Personal
Book #2: Personal Changes
Book #2.5: More Than Personal
Book #3: Personal Secrets

Rosalind Abel with an Exclusive Excerpt from The Garden (Lavender Shores #2) (tour and giveaway)

The Garden (Lavender Shores #2) by Rosalind Abel
Publication date: July 25, 2017

Cover Artist: AngstyG

The Garden Amazon  Purchase Link

♦︎

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have Rosalind Abel here on the author’s Lavender Shore’s tour for The Garden. Welcome, Rosalind! 

 

✒︎

 

I’m so happy to be here at Scattered Thoughts with all of you for an exclusive excerpt from The Garden.

The Garden is the second book of the Lavender Shores series. Each of the novels can be read as a stand-alone or as part of the series. I’m going to let the excerpt and blurb speak themselves, but I will promise you romance, steamy sex, laughter, all the feels, and a happily ever after. Whether you read The Palisade (the first book in the series) or not, you will thoroughly enjoy this particular visit to Lavender Shores.

The Garden is available from Amazon and is also free on Kindle Unlimited. I can’t wait for you to fall in love with Gilbert, Walden, and Lavender Shores.

For our third stop on The Garden blog tour, I wanted to change things up.  The first two stops were all about Gilbert and Walden’s sexual chemistry, but they also have a lot of sweetness and humor.  I wanted to share a bit of that with you. Walden has just stayed the night at Gilbert’s for the first time, and he’s not quite sure where things stand.  The original plan was for Gilbert to take him back to where he was staying, but it looks like that might be shifting…

Exclusive Excerpt

“So no plans today, huh?”

My heart leaped. “Nope.”

Gilbert walked back to the kitchen. Maybe he was considering asking me to stay, maybe he wasn’t. “Breakfast will be ready soon. Help yourself to the shower and stuff if you need. Got about ten minutes.”

“You didn’t have to make breakfast.”

He laughed. “Well, you may regret that I did. Andrew and his dad are the great cooks. I’m pretty sure I’m in the process of turning the bacon into bricks.”

He could feed me pond scum and I’d be touched he made me breakfast. And rather confused by it. Gilbert didn’t seem the type to cook for a hookup. “In that case, how about I take a three-minute shower instead of ten. That will decrease the odds of burning breakfast.”

“It won’t, actually. No matter what I cook, it goes from raw to burnt. There’s no in-between.” He grinned, though his expression was walled off. “Go shower. Your breakfast is doomed either way.”

“All right, my coffee and I will be back shortly.” I retrieved my bag from beside the bed and then locked myself in the bathroom.

Brushing my teeth made me feel a little more human, and the few sips of coffee mixed with the hot shower eased the baby headache. As the night before, I was getting mixed messages from Gilbert. He was making me breakfast, but there hadn’t been any flirting or touches or hints of sex later. Did he still see me as a hookup? Had I crossed into the friend zone? Was I overthinking coffee and burnt breakfast? Yeah, probably.

After drying off, I put my boxers and T-shirt back on, grabbed my empty mug and left the bathroom.

Gilbert had set the small table by the window overlooking the lake. “I was right, breakfast is burnt, but I’ve got some raspberry preserves, if you cover the bacon and eggs in that, you won’t notice.”

I couldn’t suppress a shudder. “That sounds awful.”

He shrugged. “Actually, it works pretty well. When you cook like me, you learn tricks to cover up what you’ve done.”

“You really didn’t have to make me breakfast. I feel bad that you went to the trouble.”

“I wanted to. It’s nice having—” A blush rose to his cheeks, the first I’d ever seen on him, and he gave a quick shake of his head. “Like I said, you won’t thank me after you’ve tasted it, but my mother is Southern. She drilled into me that you cook for guests. So, I cooked.”

I was a guest. Okay, then. That could be a billion different things. I helped myself to another cup of coffee, more to give my hands something to do than anything else, and then sat at the table while Gilbert brought over the platter of eggs, bacon, and toast. Sure enough, all three were burnt. I grinned up at him, hoping he could hear the humor in my voice. “You weren’t kidding, were you?”

“Nope.” He set down the platter and then twisted to grab a large glass jar off the counter. “Here’s the preserves. Robert made them… er…. Robert is Andrew’s dad.” Gilbert sat and reached out his hand, letting it hover in the air between us.

I took it tentatively.

“You wanna say grace, or me?”

I nearly dropped his hand. “You want to pray?”

He nodded seriously, then a smile broke through. “Damn, I really thought I could pull that off. I so wanted to see your reaction and hear what you’d pray about.” He chuckled. “Though, it’s probably good we didn’t try. I’m pretty certain if I prayed, lightning would be the only answer we got.”

I snorted. “Yeah, you and me both.”

Suddenly we were aware we were holding hands. Granted, awkwardly holding hands, but holding hands nonetheless. I started to pull away, but Gilbert gave a quick squeeze before letting go. “Thanks for staying last night.”

For some reason my throat constricted, leaving me no other choice but to nod. I couldn’t deny I was feeling so much more for him than I should, than made any sense.

Looking uncomfortable, Gilbert focused on his food. He didn’t taste it before lathering the bacon with preserves.

I took a bite of mine, then followed suit.

“Told ya.” Gilbert took a big mouthful of the bacon and gave a satisfied nod. “Robert knows what he’s doing.”

Surprisingly the combo of burnt bacon and sweet raspberry was pretty good. Much better than anticipated. “Huh, you were right. Though I’m not sure I trust you on the eggs and preserves.”

“It’s not as good as the bacon, but it still helps.”

Awkward silence fell, but it wasn’t tense. Nothing felt like we needed to rush through to get it over with. I simply didn’t know what to say. Gilbert didn’t seem to either.

The eggs were terrible, with or without the preserves, so I stuffed them between two burnt pieces of toast.

“Huh.” Gilbert copied and then nodded in approval. “Where were you years ago? You literally just changed my life.”

And no, I wasn’t going to read into that. All he meant was that I’d upgraded disgusting eggs to tolerable. Not that he wanted me in his life. Even the fantasy of that flitting through my mind should’ve been enough to cause me to stab myself in the eye with a fork. “Sandwiches cure anything.”

“Apparently.”

We were talking about food. We had crazy sexual energy, and we were still there talking about food! This had to end. But I couldn’t figure out how to do it, other than standing up and stripping off my clothes. I considered that option, far more seriously than I should’ve. But doing so would’ve required another shot or two of scotch.

“So, I was thinking.” Gilbert’s gaze focused on his sandwich, not darting toward me at all. “I got up early this morning to work on a design that’s due next week. I’m actually pretty close to getting it done. Do you mind if I wrap it up after breakfast? It should only take a half hour or so.”

Seemed like a strange request, but it meant more time with him. Awkward or not, I didn’t care. “No, that sounds good. Like I said, there’s no plans for me to get back to. Take all the time you need.”

“Yeah?” He glanced at me then. “I was also thinking, after I’m done with that, if you wanted to hang out for a while, we could….” He shrugged. “You know….”

My God, he was nervous. I suppose that should’ve been obvious, but the idea of Gilbert being nervous about me was stupid. And kinda wonderful. “I’d like that, and my friends aren’t coming until around noon tomorrow. I’ve got all day.” Maybe I was pushing my luck, but I wanted to make it overtly clear I wanted as much of his time as he was willing to give.

Again, his smile was unreadable. Whether the idea sounded good to him or not, I couldn’t tell. “Okay, great. I’ll wrap the project up.” A familiar glint came into his eyes. “And then I’ll focus on your ass. I had plans for it last night, but I got… carried away.”

“Oh.” The switch was so abrupt that it threw me. My cock was quicker than my brain, however, and it sprang to life, thankfully hidden under the table. At least I supposed thankfully was the right word.

“That okay?” He sounded a bit nervous again.

“Oh, yeah. That’s totally, totally okay! More than okay.”

“Great.” He nodded, and Gilbert was back again. “I’ll wrap this up and then make up for feeding you a burnt breakfast.”

To be continued. . .

You definitely don’t want to miss Gilbert making up for that burnt breakfast.

I hope you enjoyed that glimpse of The Garden, and the chemistry between Walden and Gilbert. Pick up the book on Amazon and visit the town of Lavender Shores at:  http://www.lavendershores.com. Thank you so, so much!  ~ Rosalind

Blurb for The Garden

Beautiful Gilbert Bryant designs jewelry for the rich and famous, and he made his escape from his gossipy little hometown of Lavender Shores. However, with so many friends and family, he keeps getting pulled back. When he attends his best friend’s engagement party, Gilbert can’t help but sample one of the new men in town. It’s just some innocent—or not so innocent—fun. Nothing that will even cross his mind once he gets back to his everyday life.

Walden Thompson dreamed about living in Lavender Shores since he visited as a child. He finally gets his chance, and he embraces the opportunity to start over, to become someone new. He leaves both hurts and dangerous habits in the past, where they belong. When Gilbert crosses his path, Walden gives in to his baser instincts. He can indulge in the carnal pleasures this once and still be okay.

Their few hours together haunt Gilbert, the two-hundred-mile buffer from home no longer shutting out the past or the sexy man he left behind. Walden is just beginning to recover from the smoldering encounter with Gilbert when they are thrust together once more. This time, neither of them can walk away, no matter how hard they try. But when their pasts crash into each other as surely as the magnetism that pulls them together, walking away may be the only option.

About Rosalind

Rosalind Abel grew up tending chickens alongside her sweet and faithful Chow, Lord Elgin. While her fantasy of writing novels was born during her teen years, she never would have dreamed she’d one day publish steamy romances about gorgeous men. However, sometimes life turns out better than planned.

In between crafting scorching sex scenes and helping her men find their soul mates, Rosalind enjoys cooking, collecting toys, and making the best damn scrapbooks in the world (this claim hasn’t been proven, but she’s willing to put good money on it).

She adores MM Romance, the power it has to sweep the reader away into worlds filled with passion, steam, and love. Rosalind also enjoys her collection of plot bunnies and welcomes new fuzzy ones into her home all the time, so feel free to send any adorable ones her way.

Rosalind Abel Information page:

(Rosalind Abel Author)

Blog Tour:

July 25—The Novel Approach

July 28—Love Bytes

July 31—Scattered Thoughts

August 2—Boy Meets Boy