Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Yes, You Are by Willa Okati - Release Blitz with Excerpt and Giveaway

 

Title: Yes, You Are

Series: Second Chance Omegas #2

Author: Willa Okati

Publisher: Changeling Press LLC

Release Date: August 27, 2021

Heat Level: 4 - Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 109

Genre: Romance, New Adult, Action Adventure, Sex/Gender Shifters & MPreg, Single Parent/Pregnancy Romance, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Second Chances

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Synopsis

Darian's as unique an Alpha as Coby is an Omega, but opposites attract twice in Second Chance.

Everyone always assumed small, pretty Darian would be an Omega. He ticked all the boxes -- except for the temper and the tendency to cuss a blue streak. But whatever, right? And everyone always assumed big, athletic Coby would be an Alpha. Just stood to reason -- as long as you paid no mind to his tender heart. When they met in passing as teenagers, both boys had no reason to doubt that was who they’d be. Everyone said it, after all. But everyone was wrong.

When Darian and Coby meet again in grad school, Darian’s still small and pretty but he’s one hell of a ferocious Alpha -- and tall, muscular Coby still struggles with having turned out to be an Omega. The college is short on space due to storm damage, and they’ve got no choice but to share living quarters and come to terms with themselves and their past -- and when Coby gets pregnant, their soon-to-be future.

Opposites attract like lightning and steel rods when they meet again in Second Chance, but do they have what it takes to overcome the unexpected for the long haul?

Excerpt

All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2021 Willa Okati

Keys in hand, Darian was five steps ahead before he realized Coby hadn’t budged. He looked over his shoulder. “Well? Are you coming?”

Reluctantly, taking one more glance at the admins probably to make sure this was really happening, Coby unfolded himself. He was still half a foot taller than Darian, maybe more, and he’d filled out those lanky bones into wide shoulders and legs long enough to make a man want to try and climb him like a tree. <em>I mean -- damn.</em>

But Coby didn’t walk like he used to, full of confidence. He sloped along with a slouching kind of gait that suggested bashful uncertainty, and the way he kept his head down indicated shyness, but the look on his face was nothing but pure, frustrated rage.

Darian couldn’t blame him. Hell, this was fucking with his head. He could only imagine how tangled up Coby had to feel about it. Coby, an Omega? Seriously? He made an even weirder specimen that way than Darian did in his, so what the fuck even.

Behind them, Oscar gave them a wry salute before turning to head for his single digs.

“Bastard,” Darian muttered before turning to give Coby a dose of straight eye contact. “This isn’t how I planned for things to turn out either, but since they did, we can either bitch about it or make the best of it,” he said bluntly. “So come on. Or don’t, but if that’s your call then I’m going to leave you behind. It’s not even noon and I am fucking tired. So?”

Coby looked like he was going to argue, then shook his head and fell into step. He tried to stay behind, act like they weren’t together, but his legs were too long not to catch up. When he did, Darian had the weirdest urge to take his arm. Just an urge, of course. An Alpha thing, a real throwback to the days when a gentleman would take a submissive’s arm to guide him. If he tried that now, fuck knew if this new angry Coby would try and break his elbow.

Darian didn’t do playing it safe, but unusual times called for unusual circumstances. He kept his hands in his pocket and his walk to an amble, and -- again, not his usual thing -- took a stab at small talk. Anything to calm Coby down before his head imploded. “You’re a teacher too, huh? No kidding. Makes sense, now I think of it. I don’t make sense, but I’d started the pre-classes before things turned out like they did, and I’d put in too much work to go back.”

No answer.

Annoyed, Darian tried again. He hooked a thumb backward. “That was Oscar, a friend from back home. He can be a real douche sometimes, but deep down he’s pretty decent. A good guy to count on, in case you were wondering.”

Which Darian could tell Coby wasn’t. Too lost in his own head and his flinching awareness of every single person who paused to give them either odd or shocked looks when they put two and two together. Darian would have ignored those -- he’d gotten used to them years ago -- but being with Coby made him glower at everyone, daring them to make a deal out of it, and he could only do that so much before he gave himself a fucking migraine.

One more shot. “What are you teaching?” Darian asked. “I’m math. Calculus, trig, and basic algebra as I need to.”

Coby shook his head and kept his trap firmly shut, his head so far down that his chin almost touched his chest and yep, there went the temper Darian really did try to keep locked down. Didn’t help that looking at Coby made his mouth water and that pissed him right off because for fucks’ sake, his libido needed to mind its own business right now. The rest of him didn’t like the way the Coby he remembered had changed, and his being Omega wasn’t part of that.

He stopped in front of the big man, blocking his path, and lifted his chin. “Would you mind looking at me? And while we’re at it, what the fuck besides the obvious is your problem? It’s not like this is easy for me either.”

Coby glowered at Darian and shouldered past him, strong enough to jostle him aside.

Okay. That was really it.

Darian put on a burst of speed and shouldered past Coby in turn, minus the passive-aggressive shove, and walked in front of him all the way to the housing they’d been assigned. Not much to look at, just your basic small dorm. Still, his key worked on the front door and, down the hall, the quarters he and Coby would be sharing. God help them.

Which were not bad, actually. Darian’s eyebrows went up as he took it in. Roomy enough for two grown men to move around in without knocking elbows, decent closets, a closed door that was likely a private toilet. Even a mini-kitchenette with a sink, a cabinet, and space above a micro-fridge for a coffee pot and an illegal hot plate.

And of course, twin beds shoved in opposite corners.

Darian wrinkled his nose at them. “You’re not going to be able to fit in one of those. You’ll dangle off from the shins down.”

Coby shut the door behind them, and holy shit, Darian had not expected what happened then, nor had he noticed the near-total lack of airflow in there with the windows closed. His own Alpha scent wafted out in waves that completely failed to mask Coby’s Omega scent. Gunpowder and pennyroyal. They shouldn’t have gone together at all, but somehow they did and they gave Darian an immediate half hard-on that he was glad as all hell his loose shirt covered.

The Omega -- no, don’t call him that, he’s more than just a gender -- Coby -- was looking at him now, boy howdy, his hawk eyes gone so wide that the whites showed around his irises. “You really are an Alpha. How?”

“You really want me to explain biology to you?”

Coby ignored that. “You don’t look like an Alpha.” He started to reach for Coby with one hand, then pulled back at the last second. Even so, Darian had the strangest sensation that he’d followed through. He could feel the warmth on his cheek. “You’re still little, and still pretty, and -- look at me.”

Darian resisted the urge to rub his cheek. “I don’t look like an Alpha, and you don’t look like an Omega, so aren’t we an equal pair?”

“Equal,” Coby scoffed. He wrapped his arms around himself again squeezing tight. “Do you know the kind of shit I went through when I didn’t present, and when I did --”

“About the same kind of shit I did, I’d guess,” Darian retorted. “And if you’re going to have an attitude about it all summer --”

“Like you’re one to talk!”

Darian sailed past that. Mostly because he was right. “If that’s how you want to be, then I’m setting some ground rules.” He ticked them off on his fingers. “If we can’t get along, we keep our mouths shut when we’re in the same room. No bringing anyone back here to fuck, and that includes me with Oscar -- yes, we do fuck sometimes, because neither of us is all that sold on the standard rules. Find somewhere else or it’ll confuse everyone’s nose.”

Coby looked at him, shaking his head. “I didn’t ask for this. Any of it. I didn’t ask to be an Omega.”

“Who the fuck does? I didn’t.”

“You didn’t get it, either,” Coby fired back. “And you know what? I don’t need your help. I can take care of myself. I didn’t ask to share with you.”

“No, the resident director or whoever-the-fuck he is did, so if you have a problem you can take it up with him, mkay?” It wasn’t that Darian didn’t feel any sympathy or empathy for the guy. Turning out not to be what you’d always thought was hard, right? Which meant something else needed saying. He held up a finger. “One last rule. No bullshit embarrassment. We are what we are, and we can’t change that. In here, neither of us has room to hide.”

“And you’d be damned if you even wanted to try,” Coby scoffed. He dropped his bags in a messy heap, a deliberate insult from an Omega. “So it’s really easy for you to say, isn’t it? I’m out of here. There’s got to be somewhere else.”

He stormed out, slamming the door with a bang behind him.

“Shit,” Darian said aloud. He rubbed at his forehead. Well, this was going to be a fun summer, wasn’t it?

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Meet the Author

 

Willa Okati (AKA Will) is made of many things: imagination, coffee, stray cat hairs, daydreams, more coffee, kitchen experimentation, a passion for winter weather, a little more coffee, a whole lot of flowering plants and a lifelong love of storytelling. Will's definitely one of the quiet ones you have to watch out for, though he -- not she anymore -- is a lot less quiet these days.

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Monday, August 30, 2021

Playing Offside by Jax Calder - Release Blitz with Excerpt and Giveaway

 

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Release Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway:
Playing Offside
By Jax Calder

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A M/M enemies to lovers sports romance

Aiden Jones, aka the Ice King, is one of the best rugby players in the world. He got there by working hard and sacrificing a lot, including denying a large part of himself. But there’s plenty of time to be the poster boy for gay rugby players after he retires. At the moment, he’s focused on passing a long-standing points record to cement his legacy, and he’s not about to surrender his starting spot to the cocky loudmouth who just joined the training squad, no matter how talented the kid might be.

Tyler can’t believe he’s made it into the New Zealand rugby training squad after only his first professional rugby season. Now management has decided that it’s a good idea for him to room with Aiden Jones, who Tyler’s had a long-range crush on for years. And although Aiden is icy to him both on and off the field, Tyler figures with a little charm, he can melt the Ice King. But even he’s not prepared for how heated things become between them. Now Tyler’s falling for the same guy whose starting spot he’s gunning for. But all is fair in both love and sport, right?

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Excerpt:

I was a strong man. But right now, I definitely wasn’t made of ice.

And it would have taken someone with a stronger willpower than Gandhi not to check out a half-naked Tyler Bannings standing a few feet away. All that golden skin lying over perfectly sculpted muscle. I swallowed. Hard.

“Like what you see?” He smirked.

Fuck. It looked like the direction of my attention had not escaped his notice.

I managed to stop my cheeks from igniting. I raised my gaze to stare straight at him. He was still smirking, and I had an overwhelming urge to wipe that smug grin off his face.

“Yeah, I do, actually.” The words were out of my mouth without me stopping to think through the consequences.

His smile dropped. “Wait, what?”

Now was the time to backtrack and turn this into a joke. But part of me liked the fact I had the cocky bastard flummoxed. I could always claim the joke later.

“I said I do like what I see.” My voice came out husky.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. “You’re shitting me, right? You’re just messing with my head?”

He’d started breathing harder, his chest rising and falling as he watched me. My smart-ass teammate was the most freaked out I’d ever seen him. Even more freaked out than when he thought the New Zealand coach disapproved of him.

And that caused anger to flash through me.

I quirked an eyebrow. “What? I thought you’re this enlightened, woke generation. You’re not going to tell me you’re homophobic, are you?”

His eyes narrowed. “You are messing with me.”

I shrugged. “If that’s what you want to believe.”

He licked his lips. I couldn’t help my gaze dropping to his mouth. When I looked back up, his eyes had heated.

Holy shit, maybe I’d read this situation wrong. He couldn’t be, could he?

Bannings stepped toward me, his dark eyes not leaving my face.

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About the Author:

Jax's stories are all about light-hearted conversations and deeply-felt connections. She loves exploring exactly why two characters are the only ones who’ll make the other truly happy, and the journey they take to reach their happily-ever-after

Jax lives in New Zealand with her family and a wide assortment of animals. She's a rabid sports fan, a hiking enthusiast and has a slightly unhealthy addiction to nature documentaries. She has also been known to read the odd book on occasion.

Connect with Jax:

www.jaxcalder.com
https://www.instagram.com/jaxcalderauthor/
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Friday, August 27, 2021

Not Alone by Christie Gordon - Release Blitz with Excerpt and Giveaway

 

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Release Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway:
Not Alone by Christie Gordon

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 Ash is a rock star. Micah is a broken man.
Neither one wants to be alone.

Ash Oakley has spent his life making music and doing what it takes to reach the top, along with his best friend (with benefits) Wells by his side. After a year of touring and opening in stadiums for rock legends across the globe, he needs down time and rents an apartment in a beach town outside of foggy San Francisco. He decides to take up surfing. His first time out, he discovers a rude, but mysterious man on the beach who captivates him in a way he didn’t expect. The man is clearly grief stricken, something Ash knows a lot about after losing his guitar-playing brother to a drug overdose.

Micah Knowles left his friends, his family, and his high-tech job to sit on the beach, day after day, struggling to heal from a devastating event he can’t even speak of out loud. He doesn’t deserve friendship and certainly doesn’t deserve love, not after what he did.

When their worlds collide, Ash must uncover the truth about the man he’s falling for and decide if he can handle it. Micah must face his demons to heal and let Ash in. But after all that, Ash’s very public world and lifestyle might be the thing that tears them apart.

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Excerpt:

Ash picked up the board, threw it under his arm, and strode to his backpack. As he set the board down, he glanced at his neighbor and flipped his blond hair up over one side of his head, the long ends splashing against the top of the wetsuit.

The neighbor hugged his knees tight with his head lowered.

“Hey, you sleeping?” He bent over the backpack, his hair dripping into dry sand.

The neighbor lifted his head.

A gust of wind blew over them, so strong it drove Ash forward.

The brim of the neighbor’s baseball hat fluttered and flew off, throwing the hood off with it, making his long, black bangs swirl up around his head. His gaze caught on Ash, the large, brown eyes, and thick lashes under straight brows, vulnerable, but intense. He lifted his face, every bit as perfectly laid out as if it were a doll, the cheeks holding a slight flush over porcelain skin.

Gorgeous. Ash whispered, “Holy shit.” He gawked, unable to move, his breath caught in his throat, his heart pounding.

The neighbor jerked around in the sand.

Ash blinked hard and scrambled for the hat. As he snatched it in his fingers, the perfect doll appeared in his vision again, this time gazing at him up close, too close. He plopped his butt in the sand, leaning on one hand, gaping at the vision in front of him.

The perfect doll sat next to Ash, lips parted, his dark, expressive eyes wide. “Uh, thank you.”

“Wh-what’s your name?” He stared at the doll, unable to look away, his heart thumping in his ears. Jesus, he needed to get a grip on himself.

“Micah.” His neighbor held out his hand.

He stared at Micah’s hand and placed his own inside it. He squeezed.

“Um, my hat.” Micah ripped his hand free. “Please.” He shimmied away from Ash. “Can you give it to me?” He dropped his head forward, letting the dark bangs cover his expressive eyes.

“Oh, yeah, sure.” What an idiot. As he flinched, he handed the hat to Micah, his other hand still tingling from Micah’s touch. He gulped hard and looked around him, fighting to find his voice, to calm the pounding in his chest. “Um…”

“You don’t want to be friends with me.” Micah placed the hat over his head and brought the hood up to cover it, then twisted around to face the surf.

“Wh-why wouldn’t I?” Did he hear that right? He stared at the back of Micah’s head.

“You just don’t.” Micah said, his voice unsteady, as if holding back tears.

And so, the rudeness was back. “Then why the fuck are you out here and not back at the beach in front of our apartments? You’re the one that told me to come here.” What the hell is wrong with this guy? He scowled at the back of Micah’s black, hooded sweatshirt.

“If you think I came here to watch your sorry ass surf, you’re mistaken,” Micah said, his voice wavering.

“Fine.” He didn’t need this shit from him. If Micah wanted to be like that, then fuck him. With a growl, he stood up, stomped back to his board and backpack, seized them up and trudged to his Jeep.

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About the Author:

Christie Gordon started writing gay and M/M romance fiction after becoming preoccupied with anime and in particular, the boys love and yaoi genres. She’s always had stories in her head and always enjoyed writing, so she took up fiction writing classes at a local community college and published her first book with eXtasy Books back in 2009. Christie likes to write complicated characters with painful pasts that refuse to be ignored until the characters are forced to face them head on. Angst? Yes. Happily ever after? Always. It’s the struggle to get there that counts.

Christie’s day job is in the high-tech industry with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration. She currently lives in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area and enjoyed eight years in the Bay Area of California but grew up in Minnesota. She shares a home with her partner of twelve years, a musician by night and a coder by day, who is currently in three bands, giving her plenty of time to keep writing. She is also a mother of two sons, one currently in college for engineering and the other preparing for nursing college. Her one-eyed, rescue pug is always by her side, snoring the day away.

Connect with Christie:
Newsletter: https://christiegordon.com/newsletter/
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Website: https://www.christiegordon.com


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Thursday, August 26, 2021

Imposing Saint by Jess Bryant - Release Blitz with Excerpt

 

Title: Imposing Saint
Series: All Saints Security
Author: Jess Bryant
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 26, 2021





Aaron Laughlin is young, rich, and a star among the Nashville political elite. That’s why nobody is more surprised than him when he ends up abandoned at the altar. But here he is, dumped on the most important day of his life, embarrassed in front of his entire city, and left with a bruised ego in place of a broken heart.

Needing time away to regroup after the fiasco that could very well derail his career, he decides to head to the mountains and enjoy his honeymoon on his own. Only, he isn’t alone. His imposing new bodyguard refuses to let Aaron out of his sight, or his reach, and the way his dark eyes follow Aaron’s every move gets under his skin in a way he can’t shake, and isn’t sure he wants to.

Isaac Chinn is practical, professional and takes pride in being good at his job. He’s never even considered breaching the client/bodyguard boundary, which is why being stuck on the side of a mountain with the gorgeous jilted groom that isn’t quite as straight as he’d like people to think, is such an imposition. The mayor might annoy and intrigue him in equal measure but Isaac knows better than to cross the line.

Only, the heat that flares between them refuses to be ignored. They’re like gasoline and a match, destined to consume each other if they get too close. But when faced with the cold of loneliness, is it worth the risk to feel the heat of passion, even if it might destroy them both?



“I don’t know why you got assigned to deal with me, maybe it was fate, but I’m glad it was you. I’m glad you're here with me so I’m not just wallowing and tearing myself apart. I like you, Isaac.”

“I like you too.” Isaac managed as Aaron removed his chin, propping himself up on an elbow on the sofa again.

“Thank you.”

Isaac’s brows furrowed, “For what?”

“Everything. Today was a total nightmare but somehow, you made it better, bearable I mean.”

“I didn’t do anything but my job.”

“You did more than that and you know it. You stopped me from making a scene at the church. You got me out of there. You talked to me in the lobby and on the plane to keep me from getting lost in my head. You got drunk with me even though you told me you don’t normally drink because you don’t like the feeling of being out of control. You’ve been there for me every step of the way today and I appreciate it more than I can say.”

Isaac was surprised by the mostly coherent words. Not just because Aaron didn’t stumble over a single word either. He hadn’t realized Aaron knew he kept talking to him so he wouldn’t dwell on what was happening. Aaron had been paying more attention than he’d realized and he didn’t sound as drunk as Isaac thought he was either.

“It is my job to take care of you.” He admitted, “But I’m glad I was able to be here for you too.”

Aaron was silent and Isaac took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He wasn’t sure why the lack of response felt like a slight but he pushed the feeling down. This conversation was getting too deep and too personal. It was better that Aaron had either fallen asleep or gone back to watching the movie. He was still trying to decide if he should call it a night and go to bed or finish watching the movie with Aaron when he heard his name whispered softly from just over his shoulder a few minutes later.

“Isaac?”

“Hmm?”

“Isaac?”

“Yeah?” Isaac turned his head to look at Aaron where he lay on the sofa behind him when he said his name again.

In the dim light of the television he realized they were a lot closer than he’d thought. The light flickered over Aaron’s handsome face and Isaac’s eyes automatically fell to his lips. Aaron’s mouth parted slightly and Isaac watched as his tongue flicked out to wet his bottom lip. Isaac’s groin tightened even as he told himself to look away, to move away, that whatever closeness he was feeling was only because of the alcohol in his bloodstream.

But before he could talk sense into his inebriated brain, Aaron leaned forward and pressed his lips against Isaac’s in the softest flutter of a kiss.









Jess Bryant is an avid indoorswoman. A city girl trapped in a country girl's life, her heart resides in Dallas but her soul and roots are in small town Oklahoma. She enjoys manicures, the color pink, and her completely impractical for country life stilettos. She believes that hair color is a legitimate form of therapy, as is reading and writing romance. She started writing as a little girl but her life changed forever when she stole a book from her aunt's Harlequin collection and she's been creating love stories with happily ever afters ever since. 
Jess holds a degree in Public Relations from the University of Oklahoma and is a lifetime supporter of her school and athletic teams. And why not? They have a ton of National Championships! She may be a girlie girl but she knows her sports stats and isn't afraid to tell you that your school isn't as cool as hers... or that your sports romance got it all wrong. 
For more information on Jess and upcoming releases, contact her at JessBryantBooks@gmail.com or follow her on her many social media accounts for news and shenanigans.



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