We are happy to have author Morticia Knight here with us today with her blog tour of Strip Search.
Welcome to Love Bytes, Morticia!
Author Name: Morticia Knight
Book Name: Strip Search
Series: Sin City Uniforms #7 (Can be read as a standalone)
Release Date: April 19, 2016
Pages or Words: 52,000 words
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Cover Artist: Posh Gosh
Blurb:
Stripping used to be fun, lucrative and a place for Dakota to practice for his professional dancing career. But the owner of Glitter Boys wants Dakota for himself and will stop at nothing to possess him. When his thirteen year-old brother runs away from home to escape their abusive father, Dakota is determined to find him before something awful happens to him on the streets.
Patrol officer Reed hasn’t been attracted to a man in a very long time, but when he’s called to an assault in progress at the LGBTQ teen shelter, a young man approaches him, begging for help in finding his missing brother. An instant spark occurs, but he pushes it away. When the same man is attacked outside a strip club later that night, he discovers the desire is mutual.
As the two men learn more about each other and become closer, the spectre of his obsessed ex-boss remains. In addition to that, Dakota has to fight the system to gain guardianship of his brother and keep him out of foster care. Dakota doesn’t know if the hunky cop he’s fallen so hard for can handle a relationship with an ex-stripper struggling with raising a teenager. But, will Reed be able to give up dating women for good and dedicate himself to their new family?
Categories: Bisexual, Crime Fiction, Gay Fiction, M/M Romance
We have a special contest for you! The exclusive excerpt for Strip Search that we have for you today may or may not have really happened to Morticia. Follow the tour to read the other excerpts. If you think Love Bytes has the correct one then come back and enter your answer in the rafflecopter. Of the correct entries, one winner will be chosen to receive an autographed copy of Strip Search!
Excerpt #4
“I’m, uh, sorry to bother you, but when I got here I was told that… Oh Jesus.” The young man put a hand to his chest and wobbled as if he might collapse.
Reed did drop his notes that time, then grabbed him by his arms, steadying him.
“Hey. Easy there. Do you need to sit down?”
“Sorry.” He placed his hand over one of the ones Reed had wrapped around his arm and the heat was electric, the chemistry instant.
Shit.
He raised his eyes, locking them on Reed’s. “Thank you. Is it okay if I just lean against the car? I’ll be careful.”
Reed glanced between him and the cruiser. “Don’t worry about the car.” Reed guided the young man to the vehicle then reluctantly let go of him. “That all right?”
He sucked in a deep breath then exhaled slowly. “Totally. Thank you.” He chuckled self-consciously. “I think I might’ve forgotten to eat anything today.”
Reed arched his eyebrows. “Forgotten? Did you come here tonight because you need help?”
With all that’d happened, the shelter had been taped off, the services temporarily unavailable except to those who’d been inside at the time of the incident. But a person’s individual need couldn’t be put on hold. At the same time, while the guy might be young, he didn’t appear to be a teen. He also didn’t strike Reed as homeless. It was hard to say in the limited lighting, but Reed was sure he had a touch of makeup on, he was well-kempt and his clothing seemed to be of the pricier variety.
“Yes, I’m trying to find my missing brother, but I couldn’t get past the crime scene tape.” He put a hand over his mouth, as he scrunched his brow. He took another breath, then let his hand fall away. “I was told by another officer that a thirteen-year-old boy was taken to the hospital with a stab wound.”
He dug into a satiny messenger bag slung over one shoulder, then brought out an eight by ten flyer. The young man handed Reed a photo of a boy with ‘missing’ in large letters underneath it. In the aftermath of the incident, there hadn’t been an opportunity for him to get a good look at the victim. He’d been focused on Brett while the medics had worked on the kid before they’d taken him away.
“There was, but I’m sorry, I didn’t get a good look at him.”
“Do you think the people here might know? Might recognize him if I showed them the picture?” The yearning in the young man’s voice tugged at his heart.
“What’s your name?”
“Dakota. Dakota Crane.”
“Reed Armstrong.” He reached under his vest and into his shirt pocket to retrieve a card. “Here you go. I tell you what. Wait here and I’ll take this to the shelter director and see if he recognizes him.”
Dakota grabbed his sleeve, startling Reed. The thrill from his touch had been unexpected.
“Please. Can I go with you? I’m not trying to be a pain in the ass, but the last cop who said that to me went inside and never came back. That was like twenty minutes ago. What if…” Dakota’s lip trembled before he got himself under control again. “What if it’s him and it’s too late and…”
Tears spilled from Dakota’s eyes and Reed had to work extra hard not to wrap him in a hug.
“Dakota. Look at me.” He waited until he had Dakota’s full attention. “You can come with me, okay?”
More tears fell, but he clasped his hands together in front of his mouth before dropping them to speak. “Thank you, Officer Armstrong. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. Come on.” He gave Dakota the most reassuring smile he could. “Let’s see what we can find out.”
Buy the book:
Author Morticia Knight spends most of her nights writing about men loving men forever after. If there happens to be some friendly bondage or floggings involved, she doesn’t begrudge her characters whatever their filthy little heart’s desire. Even though she’s been crafting her naughty tales for more years than she’d like to share – her adventures as a published author began in 2011. Once upon a time she was the lead singer in an indie rock band that toured the West Coast and charted on U.S. college radio. She currently resides on the northern Oregon coast and when she’s not fantasizing about hot men she takes walks along the ocean and annoys the local Karaoke bar patrons.
Where to find the author:
Tour Dates & Stops:
19-Apr: The Novel Approach
20-Apr: V’s Reads
21-Apr: Carly’s Book Reviews
22-Apr: Love Bytes
25-Apr: MM Good Book Reviews
26-Apr: Molly Lolly
Rafflecopter Prize: Signed Paperback of Strip Search and a romance swag pack with lots of goodies
New to these books–off to order the first book, and can’t wait to read the entire series.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy them 🙂
Congrats on your new book. This looks like a good series to get into, and I can’t wait.
Thank you for giving them a chance 😀
That’s a beautiful cover. I can’t wait to add it to my collection!
Thank you! My cover designer always does an amazing job 🙂
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Oh geez. I’m not even clever enough to try to create a stripper name for myself. Nobody would pay to see this thing dance nekkid. 😀 Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for stopping by! 😀
I wouldn’t really be able to do it but my name would be Kimi Starlight!