Title: AT ATTENTION
Series: Out of Uniform, book 2 (but stands alone
well--different couple for each book)
Author: Annabeth Albert
Publisher: Carina Press
Release
Date: April 10, 2017
Heat
Level: 4 - Lots of Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 73,000
Genre: Romance, Military romance, contemporary, age
difference, may/december, SEALS
Synopsis
Lieutenant Apollo Floros can ace
tactical training missions, but being a single dad to his twin daughters is
more than he can handle. He needs live-in help, and he's lucky a friend's
younger brother needs a place to stay. He's surprised to see Dylan all grown up
with a college degree…and a college athlete's body. Apollo's widowed heart may
still be broken, but Dylan has his blood heating up.
It's been eight years since the teenage
Dylan followed Apollo around like a lovesick puppy, and it's time he showed
Lieutenant Hard-to-Please that he's all man now—an adult who's fully capable of
choosing responsibility over lust. He can handle Apollo's muscular sex appeal,
but Apollo the caring father? Dylan can't afford to fall for that guy. He's
determined to hold out for someone who's able to love him back, not someone who
only sees him as a kid brother.
Apollo is shocked by the intensity of
his attraction to Dylan. Maybe some no-strings summer fun will bring this
former SEAL back to life. But the combination of scorching desire and warm
affection is more than he'd expected, and the emotion between them scares him
senseless. No fling lasts forever, and Apollo will need to decide what's more
important—his past or his future—if he wants to keep Dylan in his life.
Book Two of the Out of Uniform series
This book is approximately 73,000 words
Excerpt
**This is from the first chapter**
Hamburger. Onions. Pickles. Ketchup.
Buns. Buns.
Well, hello, there. Possibly the most
perfect specimen Apollo had ever seen was bent over in the bakery aisle at
Sprouts, looking at a rack of organic cookies. High. Tight. Round. Attached to
muscular legs poking out of board shorts, the kind of legs that suggested a
serious investment in a sport or fitness. He wasn’t going to do more than look,
but even when he’d been with Neal, he hadn’t been blind, and it was nice to
know perfection like this guy existed in the world.
It was like swimming by a perfect coral
reef on a dive or the blue of a cloudless sky right before a jump—
Wink. Fuck. The guy straightened before
Apollo could look away and caught Apollo staring, and instead of blushing or
serving him with the angry glare he deserved, he gave Apollo a saucy wink. It
was the sort of wink that a decade ago would have had Apollo crossing the shiny
linoleum and getting the guy’s number, but those days were long gone.
Instead he grabbed the closest twelve
pack of hamburger buns and one of hot dog buns and headed to the next aisle.
Those were the only kind of buns he had any business letting himself be
distracted by. He was a father for crying out loud, not some single guy out
treating the natural grocery store like his own personal pickup joint.
Reflexively, he rubbed his ring with the side of his pinky, making it spin on
his ring finger. Yeah. No more looking.
“Apollo! How are you?” Bridget from down
the street almost ran her cart into his as he navigated the aisles. Her
red-haired toddler waved at him from the basket.
Hell. He knew he should have brought at
least one of the girls shopping. Then Bridget could have focused on the kids,
and not his least favorite question in the universe.
“Hanging in there.” Apollo gave her a
practiced a smile. “Good” would be a lie and no one wanted to hear “same as
yesterday,” which was closer to the truth. But what the Bridgets of the world
all wanted to hear was that Apollo was moving on—like time was the magic cure
for the hole in his heart. “Having some people over for a barbecue later.
Apologies if anyone parks in front of your place.”
“Oh, no worries.” Bridget patted his
arm. “Having friends is so important.”
“Yeah, it is,” Apollo agreed because
Bridget was a nice person, but inwardly his teeth gnashed together. He was so
tired of well-meaning people telling him what was good for him when not a damn
one of their suggestions would bring Neal back. “I better get on with my list.”
“You do that. And be sure and let us
know if you need anything.”
Apollo nodded. Two years. It had been
two years of neighbors and friends stopping him like this, making kind offers,
but none of them able to do the one thing he wanted more than anything.
Fuck. Snap out of it, Lieutenant. No one
wants your mopey ass around on this sunny May weekend. And it was an absolutely
gorgeous day, perfect for playing with the girls outside and kicking back a few
beers with his friends. He wasn’t on duty and had three consecutive days off
for the first time in a long time. No sense dwelling on sad shit. Time to get
stuff done.
Find something else to focus on.
Like that perfect ass?
No. Absolutely not that. Like…pickles.
Lots and lots of pickles.
He saw Mr. Perfect Butt again in the
juice aisle, and it was damn hard to keep his resolution to stick to shopping.
The guy was model cute—curly hair falling just so over his forehead, sparkling
eyes, chiseled jaw, and a tight T-shirt advertising a British soccer team showing
off a defined chest and tight stomach. The guy smiled at him again and looked
like he might want to speak, so Apollo grabbed the juice boxes for the girls
and got out of there like he’d just launched a flash bang in the guy’s
direction.
At the checkout, Mr. Perfect Butt was
ahead of him in the only line that seemed to be moving. Apollo very carefully
did not look at his butt again and busied himself grabbing some gum and trying
to give off “don’t talk to me” vibes.
But those vibes seemed to be an utter failure
as the guy turned, offering another movie-star-worthy grin. “You want to go
first?” His voice was husky, like every word was a secret.
“I’m good,” Apollo said.
The man nodded, shy smile teasing the
edges of his mouth, making his blue eyes dance. “You know—”
“ID please.” The cashier interrupted
whatever flirtation the guy had planned as his six pack of beer went across the
scanner.
“Oh, yeah.” A faint red flush spread up
the guy’s neck. Oh hell. He wasn’t just younger than Apollo. He was a kid. A
kid who still got carded, and rightfully so with that baby face. What the hell
had Apollo been thinking, admiring his body?
Apollo focused on unloading his own
groceries, making neat rows for the cashier, and making sure the buns wouldn’t
get squished.
Buns. Nope. Not going there. The kid
hung around after paying for his groceries, mouth moving as if he were debating
speaking, but Apollo kept his attention squarely on the cashier.
No more looking. Remember who—what—you
are now. When he finally looked up, perfect butt guy was gone, and if Apollo
felt a twinge of regret for being a bit on the rude side, he squashed it
quickly. Wasn’t like he’d ever see the guy again anyway.
****
What will Apollo do when he discovers
that Perfect Butt guy is his best friend's little brother? Find out in AT
ATTENTION!
Purchase
Links
Amazon:
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/at-attention-annabeth-albert/1125140553?ean=9781335013446
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.
Author
Links
Website: http://www.annabethalbert.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annabethalbert
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnabethAlbert
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/annabethsangels/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/Nb9yv
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