A warm welcome to author Con Riley joining us today to share an exclusive excerpt from new release “His Compass”.
His new crew sprawled across a couch, a copy of Hello in his hands, absorbed by something vital on the magazine’s pages.
Tom took in long legs that were bare and golden, leading up to still-wet board shorts, no sign of a towel to save the cushions beneath him. Tom saw him reach out without looking, for a drink can and take a sip, too engrossed, it seemed, in the lives of the rich and famous to notice Tom watching.
Maybe that was just as well, Tom thought as he saw the drink can get set down in a puddle of condensation, and emotions soaked him. A splash of surprise came first, followed by a wave of relief that swelled right before breaking over a third fierce feeling. Anger clipped Tom’s greeting. “So, you’re alive then.”
“Skip!”
Nick scrambled to his feet, shoving damp strands of hair the colour of caramel back from a face that was easily as sweet. He appeared as guileless as Tom remembered, as though butter wouldn’t melt in a mouth that Tom knew from experience was too hot for him to handle.
“You’re here,” Nick said, breathy, his eyes widening as if he was the one who’d been left in the lurch. “Did you miss me?” Nick asked, like he wasn’t the reason Tom had lost so much sleep lately.
“Miss you?” Tom couldn’t look at him. Instead, his gaze fell on the table marked by more rings of condensation, on the spill of magazines, and on a discarded towel that could have protected these brand-new couch cushions. “Miss what about you, exactly?” He hauled his gaze back to meet Nick’s head-on. “Miss that you disappeared without letting me know you were leaving?”
“I did let you know,” Nick said, blinking. “I wrote you a note.”
“You didn’t.”
“Didn’t I?” Nick blinked a few more times, doe-eyed and so wounded Tom almost doubted himself.
No. He couldn’t let himself be distracted, or be made to feel one bit guilty. Not by someone with the emotional depth of a puddle. “I’m not going to argue with you. There was no note. End of story.” Tom turned away, only Nick matched him step for step, staying in Tom’s eye-line.
“I meant to write one. I meant to tell you what I thought of you,” Nick said, strangely earnest for someone who’d demonstrated how little that must be by his actions. His smooth brow furrowed. “I wanted you to know.”
“Well maybe I want to let you know what I think of you, as well.” Tom spoke with all of the frustration the last few weeks had built up.
“Yes?” Nick started to smile, those full, soft-looking lips parting, cheeks pinking as if he expected praise for some reason. “Tell me.”
“Okay. Are you listening?”
“Yes.” Nick nodded. He shoved hair back from a face Tom had fallen asleep recalling too often, and woken up concerned about for too long already.
Tom told him, wondering why Nick flinched when he was the one who’d left with no warning. “You’re the last deckhand on the planet that I’d ever choose to sail with.”
Cover Design: Natasha Snow
Length: 85,000 words
His Contemporary MM Romance Series
Blurb
Tom has one rule: don’t sleep with the crew. A second chance with a younger, gorgeous deckhand tempts him to break it.
After a busy season as a charter-hire skipper, Tom yearns for some downtime. His lonely heart also aches for adventure with someone special, but paying his bills has to come first. A surprise sailing contract and huge bonus offer his first glimpse of freedom for years. There’s only one catch: he must crew with Nick, a deckhand who jumped ship once already.
Nick’s as young and untested as the new yacht they’re contracted to sail, and he’s just as gorgeous. Forced to spend a month as Nick’s captain, Tom discovers depths he hadn’t noticed. He’s captivated, and happier sailing with Nick than he’s been in forever. However, their voyage is finite, and both men keep soul-deep secrets.
As the contract draws to an end, they must get honest about what’s in their hearts if they want to share a life at sea, and love, forever.
***
Featuring an age gap that’s only a number, forced proximity that makes hiding attraction impossible, and a yacht that’s nothing but trouble, His Compass is the second novel in the His MM Contemporary Romance series from Con Riley.
♥ This shared-world series starts with His Horizon, but each book follows a different couple, and can be enjoyed as a standalone novel complete with a fulfilling happily ever after. ♥
CON RILEY lives on the wild and wonderful Welsh coast, with her head in the clouds and her feet in the ocean.
Injury curtailed her enjoyment of outdoor pursuits, so writing fiction now fills her free time. Love, loss, and redemption shape her romance stories, and her characters are flawed in ways that make them live and breathe.
When not people-watching or reading, she spends time staring at the sea from her kitchen window. If you see her, don’t disturb her — she’s probably thinking up new plots.
FACEBOOK GROUP: facebook.com/groups/458421868222590
TWITTER: twitter.com/con_riley
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AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: amazon.com/Con-Riley/e/B00F8GT35O
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