Nocturne Romance Reads: Guest Post: Cat Grant

Hello, everyone! Thanks for joining me on my Doubtless blog tour. (Didn’t I just do this last month? And the month before, and the month before that…) Leave a comment and you might win one of my backlist books!

Doubtless isn’t your typical romance – in fact, it’s more of a story about unrequited love and self-discovery – but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking in sexual tension. Here’s a taste to whet your appetites . . .

Steve’s doorbell rang promptly at nine. Stomach still in knots, he went over to answer it. Dylan stood on the other side, wearing jeans and that leather bomber jacket he’d had on the night they’d had dinner at Angelini’s, along with a big smile that, sadly, did nothing to make Steve feel any better. He considered begging off, but when Dylan’s expression morphed from “good to see you” to downright concerned, he didn’t have the heart. “Sorry it took me so long to get back to you,” he said, ushering Dylan inside. “Things at work have been a bit chaotic.”

“So I gathered from what you said on the phone.” He cast a quick glance around the living room. It was the first time he’d seen the place with the lights on; the other night they’d stumbled through the front door and straight to the bedroom. “In fact,” he added, his gaze settling on Steve again, “you look a little upset. Anything you want to talk about?”

The soft clink of ice against glass told Steve his hand had started trembling. He set his drink on the coffee table, then circled over to the bar to pour one for Dylan. Their fingers brushed as Steve handed it to him, a lightning bolt of heat crackling all the way to his scalp. “I’d, um, hoped we could pick up where we left off the other night.”

Dylan’s eyebrows arched. “That’s why I assumed I was here. But I’m getting the feeling your heart’s not in it this time. Having second thoughts? Feeling a bit guilty, perhaps?”

“Not guilty”—oh, you liar—“so much as . . .”

“Conflicted?” Dylan supplied with an odd, warm little quirk of his lips. “You usually go for women, right? Are you just curious about guys, or have you actually been with them before? I mean, before the other night.”

“A few times, back in the day. And despite Father Riordan’s warnings, I haven’t gone to hell yet.”

“Catholic school?”

“Twelve years. What, you too?”

Dylan grinned. “Looks like we both escaped unscathed.”

“Relatively.” Steve grinned back, his tension finally starting to fade.

They sat down on the couch together and sipped their drinks. Dylan gave the room a more leisurely look, taking in the cream-colored carpet, state-of-the-art home entertainment system, and Danish modern furniture. All of a sudden it struck Steve how sterile and impersonal everything looked. Except for the trio of framed photos on the far bookshelf, the entire room could’ve come straight from an interior designer’s catalog.

“Nice place. You’ve obviously done well for yourself. So, tell me, what can I give you tonight that you don’t already have?”

Steve froze, searching for an answer that wouldn’t make him sound like a needy loser.

After a few moments of dead silence, Dylan said, “The other night I got the impression nobody’s kissed you in a while.”

Steve ducked his head, staring into his scotch. “Smart guess.”

“I’m also guessing you enjoyed it, considering what happened after?”

Steve nodded again. “Yeah, it was all good. Really good, if a little . . .”

“Confusing?”

Another nod. “Yeah. To put it mildly.”

“Bisexuality usually is, until you come to grips with it.”

Oh. Oh. He sat up straight, a pang of, what? Recognition? Realization? sailing through him.

Dylan’s eyebrow arched. “Don’t tell me you’ve never considered the possibility?”

“Sure I have, but those other experiences were so long ago, I figured . . .” It was stupid, but he might as well go ahead and say it anyway. “They didn’t count?”

Dylan laughed. “That’s not the way it works. However, that said, sexuality is a pretty fluid thing. Sounds like you’ve been more into women these past few years. But if they’re not doing it for you anymore, there’s no law saying you can’t take a walk on the other side of the street.”

When he put it that way, it made perfect sense. In fact, now that Steve had had a chance to talk about it, everything that’d been staring him in the face for months was starting to fall into place. “Just call me king of the late bloomers,” he murmured with a rueful chuckle.

“Not at all,” Dylan replied. “I see a lot of married guys who didn’t understand their true orientation until later in life. Most of them still love—and sleep with—their wives, but as far as getting their other needs met . . .”

He flashed a quick smile. “Sounds like I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

Dylan smiled back. “Sometimes all it takes is the right person to open your eyes to a whole new world of experiences.” Leaning in close, he plucked Steve’s glass from his hand and set it on the table, then cupped his face with both hands and kissed him full on the mouth.

You can order Doubtless here: http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/doubtless

Blurb:

Loving your best friend is hard . . . especially when he's marrying someone else.

On the surface, Steve Campbell seems to have it all: a beautiful home, a snazzy car, and a dream job as one of the country’s top 3-D optics researchers. But underneath, he’s restless and dissatisfied, tired of empty encounters with leggy lab assistants and endless evenings alone.

A chance meeting with a handsome escort lifts Steve’s spirits and opens his eyes to his long-repressed attraction to men—and his love for his best friend and business partner, Connor Morrison.

Connor might’ve loved Steve like that once, but now it’s too late for their happily ever after; Connor’s about to ask his boyfriend to marry him. Fortunately, it's never too late to learn about yourself, and maybe Steve can find a happy ending on his own.

EPIC Award–winning author Cat Grant lives by the sea in beautiful Monterey, California, with one persnickety feline and entirely too many books and DVDs. When she's not writing, she sings along (badly!) to whatever's on her iPod shuffle, watches lots of movies, and fantasizes about kinky sex with Michael Fassbender.

Where to find Cat: