Against a Rising Tide By Samantha Cayto

General Release Date: 29th June 2021

Word Count: 54,881
Book Length: NOVEL
Pages: 194

Genres:

CONTEMPORARY
EROTIC ROMANCE
GAY
GLBTQI
MEN IN UNIFORM

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Book Description

Love always finds a way.

Scott, a Navy SEAL, returns to his childhood beach house to deal with the emotional trauma of his latest mission. When a sniper killed his closest friend, Scott was left dealing with survivor’s guilt and the disturbing feeling that his friend meant more to him. He has always identified as strictly straight, attraction to men being something he has ruthlessly suppressed.

When he finds Kitt, a friend of his sister’s, hiding out from his abusive boyfriend, Scott is once again drawn to someone of his own gender. Although annoyed at the intrusion, Scott also instantly develops an interest in his unwanted houseguest. Keeping his distance is proving to be impossible and his growing desire for Kitt cannot be ignored.

Forced to leave home, Kitt entered into a relationship with a man who turned abusive. Having finally found the courage to escape, the last thing he wants or needs is another alpha male invading his space. But having nowhere else to go, he ends up staying with a man who disturbs him in more ways than one. As scary as the SEAL is, Scott is exactly the type of man Kitt dreams about.

The beach house is small, and the two men cannot avoid one another or the attraction between them. With each passing day, their bond grows stronger. Hesitation slowly gives way to passion. They need to trust their feelings and let go of the things that frighten them, to find safety and solace in each other.

Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of violence, attempted murder, stalking, PTSD and references to death in a war zone, abusive parents and relationship abuse.

Scott woke exactly eight hours after falling asleep. It was a weird and useful quirk of his brain that he could set an internal alarm clock to wake him after however many hours or minutes he wanted. He was back to being his usual alert self, although not exactly feeling fresh, given that he’d failed to open any windows or turn on the air conditioning unit. The room was stuffy, and as a result, he felt both sticky and dehydrated. Neither of those things bothered him, being merely passing observations as he shoved to a sitting position. He was grateful to be alone when he saw that he’d drooled all over his sister’s sham pillow. She would not appreciate that, given the meticulous way she’d decorated the old house in the years since they’d inherited the place.

Naturally, that led to thoughts of why he’d bedded down in her room and not his own. Being an experienced special operator, he didn’t need much time to remind himself of his sitrep. He knew where he was and, more importantly, with whom. He grimaced as he mulled the information with a clearer head. His hoped-for sanctuary was nothing of the kind. Instead, it had turned out to be a beach house game of musical rooms not of his making.

Scott stretched, yawned and scratched his belly while planning his next move. It was always best to tackle the biggest issues first. That meant ignoring his full bladder and his empty stomach and addressing the immediate problem that Kitt Tyler presented. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he called his sister.

“I was going to try you when I left work.” Typical Karen, she wasted no time.

“Hello to you too, sis.” Scott didn’t let her abruptness bother him. Their relationship was solid…always had been.

“People who don’t bother to let their loved ones know when they have returned safe and sound from God knows where do not deserve the usual courtesies.”

He winced at her frosty rebuke. It was no more than he deserved. “Sorry. You’re right. I just…got on the plane to Boston before I even knew for sure what my plan was.” So lame, but he wasn’t ready to admit how much he was struggling at the moment. Everything was still too raw.

Karen knew him well enough that he needn’t have worried on that account. Her tone softened with her next breath. “I understand. I’m being pissy because I didn’t expect Kitt’s staying there would be a problem.”

“Right—and that’s why I’m calling.” As he spoke, he stood and wandered over to the windows that overlooked the beach. The tide was already on its way out again, but the view of the wide expanse of ocean once more helped to ease that ache in his chest. “I assume he called and gave you the full story.”

Karen chuckled, confirming no detail had been left out. “He did. I assured him that you don’t shock easily.”

Shocked? No, he hadn’t been. Disturbed? That was something altogether different, not that he’d admit it to his sister. “I was surprised to walk in and find him here, but as you’ve more or less pointed out, that was on me. I should have told you I was flying back east.”

He peered straight down at the large boulders lining the shore. A flash of white caught his attention. Kitt was bounding around the rocks wearing the same top and cut-offs that he’d put on earlier. Only now, his hair was pulled back into a ponytail that bounced with each leap. Scott’s breath caught at a particularly dramatic hop from one rock to another. He almost threw open the window and called down to the boy to go back to the sandy spit of land. It was dangerous to romp along the shore. Except that would have been ridiculous. Hadn’t he and his sister done the same thing long ago in their childhood? Kitt wasn’t a little boy, either. He was a grown man…sort of.

“How old is he, anyway, fifteen?” he heard himself ask before his intelligence could catch up to his tongue. He mentally facepalmed.

There was a telling pause before Karen answered. “Twenty-two, as it happens.”

“Still a baby,” he muttered, again before he could self-censor. Maybe he should have waited to call his sister after all. He wasn’t as alert as he’d thought.

“Says the old man who is barely past thirty.”

By SEAL standards, that was an advanced age. Spec ops was a young man’s game. It wouldn’t be much longer before he found himself benched. His back and knees were already making themselves known with not-so-subtle twinges each day. And it wasn’t only the physical problems that were warning him that his time in the Teams was almost up. The mental toll was mounting as well, especially after this last mission. So yeah, he felt every one of his thirty years—a weight bearing him down. He didn’t say any of that to his sister, however. She had enough on her plate without him adding his crap to it.

Scott turned away from the window and the sight of his pretty houseguest frolicking. “Sorry… I’m off point. What are we going to do about him?”

“Nothing. I told Kitt he could stay. He has nowhere else to go at the moment.”

Scott grimaced again and rubbed the back of his neck. This wasn’t surprising news. “I assume that his own home is out of the question, given that someone has been beating on him.” The memory of the bruise stark against the boy’s pale skin caused his blood pressure to spike, nearly taking his head off. Nothing ticked him off more than what he had to assume was a man using his brute strength against someone weaker and apparently in need of protection.

Karen huffed. “I promised him I wouldn’t discuss any of that, but you’re a smart boy, Scott, particularly good at adding two and two.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He paced over to the bed and sat heavily. “I’m not trying to be an asshole, Kar. I was hoping for some peace and quiet for a few days. I suppose I could go to a motel.”

“No! That would be silly. We used to jam eight of us in that house when Grammy was alive, and the twins were babies. The two of you will have plenty of room to carve out for yourselves.”

Scott had to smile at the mention of happier days. For a couple of very special years, they’d had the benefit of four generations sharing magical times together. Things had changed very quickly, and now, other than more distant relatives, all the family Scott had was his sister, her husband and their two children. He knew they’d do anything for him, and likewise he would literally die for them. Griping about Kitt’s presence—something obviously important to Karen—was cowardly. And really, if he couldn’t handle one other person being in a house with him, he was washed up as an operator.

“You’re right, of course. It’s not like I have to entertain him.”

“You certainly don’t, and if you’re lucky, he’ll cook for you. He’s wonderful, really. If he weren’t such a fabulous hair cutter and colorist, I’d encourage him to become a professional chef.”

“I don’t expect him to play homemaker for me.” As he said the words, however, the idea of Kitt buzzing around the kitchen on his behalf had more appeal than he was comfortable with. “I only want some solitude. That’s all. He’s, ah, hard to ignore.”

“Oh, Scott Carpenter, you’re not worried that some of Kitt’s gay is going to rub off on you?”

 

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Samantha Cayto

Samantha Cayto is a Boston-area native who practices as a business lawyer by day while writing erotic romance at night—the steamier the better. She likes to push the envelope when it comes to writing about passion and is delighted other women agree that guy-on-guy sex is the hottest ever.

She lives a typical suburban life with her husband, three kids and four dogs. Her children don’t understand why they can’t read what she writes, but her husband is always willing to lend her a hand—and anything else—when she needs to choreograph a scene.

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