Release Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway:
Hopeless For You by Raquel Riley
Hearts For Hire, Book 2
Cyan is hired to tutor Griffin in the ways of love. He never expects to become the student. Will their lessons lead to the real thing?
Griffin Clarke
A twenty-one year old virgin college freshman? Yeah, that’s me. But I haven’t waited this long to just throw it away. I dream of the perfect romantic night, straight out of one of my favorite novels. So, I hired a professional to get the job done right. There’s just one hitch; Cyan isn’t the playboy I expected. He’s so much more.
Cyan Morrison
I’ve been described as easygoing, charming, and a natural-born flirt. It’s for those reasons I’m one of Lucky Match’s most sought-after escorts. It’s also why Griffin Clarke wants to gift wrap his V-card and present it to me on a silver platter. Being with him changes everything I thought I knew about myself. He helps me realize I’m more than just the pretty playboy everyone else sees. The trick is to make him want to stick around, but he seems to only want one thing from me: love lessons. How can I make him believe he has more to learn than I can teach him in only one night?
Hopeless For You is a gay male escort romance with an HEA. This sweet heat, friends to lovers story features spicy love lessons, first times, well-meaning friends with terrible advice, and found family.
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Chapter 8 Griffin’s POV
Washing down the pancakes with a sip of my coffee, I asked, “So, do you have plans today?” I was curious about a day in the life of Cyan Morrison. Even though we were the same age, he seemed larger than life in so many ways. Cyan had more experience with everything because my parents kept me sheltered for most of my life.
He set his coffee down and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “I have a kid’s birthday party to photograph later, but I still have plenty of time to eat and drop by my house to change first. I was planning to stop by the nursing home and visit Lucky’s aunt. What about you?”
I kicked my foot under the table, beginning to feel awkward about finding the smoothest way to part ways. “All I have planned is studying and maybe working on my book blog. I feel so unproductive compared to you.” I chuckled, only half joking.
“You should consider volunteering. The guys and I try to visit Aunt Sadie at least once a week. She’s a riot. And Riley, Reid, and I volunteer at the LGBTQ youth center, Over the Rainbow. It’s a community run program, and they’re always looking for donations and volunteers. They help a lot of kids. It’s a great place. Maybe you could join me sometime. I bet you’d love it.”
“Wow. That sounds awesome. What do you guys do there?”
Cyan leaned back in the booth, looking relaxed. “Lots of things.” He shrugged. “Whatever needs doing. Sometimes, we help out with homework or fix things that need repair. We take the kids outside and kick a ball around or just sit with them and watch movies. Everything and anything helps; they just want to feel accepted.”
Cyan leaned forward and laced his fingers together, placing them on the table. “Hey, why don’t you come to that party with me today? You could be my assistant and carry my camera bag, help wrangle small children into group photos, and make sure they keep their sticky hands off me.” Cyan’s bright smile melted any resistance I might have had. I’m not sure how he managed it. He was hypnotizing. Captivating. And as much as I feared it, I was falling under his spell.
I held my hands up, laughing. “Stop. You’re smashing all of my preconceived notions. I feel so disillusioned.”
“Serves you right. That’s what you get for stereotyping people. You should know better.” He was still beaming his pearly whites at me.
My eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Stop pretending like you never do it.”
Cyan shrugged carelessly. “So what is it you thought of me I didn’t live up to?”“Everything you just said. Here you are volunteering with kids and visiting old ladies on the weekends. You’re a fuckboy. I mean, you’re nice and charming and well mannered, but ultimately, you’re a fuckboy. You aren’t supposed to have a heart.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong. I mean, I’m not denying that I’m a fuckboy. You’re right, that’s absolutely what I am. Where is the lie in that? But you shouldn’t assume that I don’t have a heart just because I expect my dates to pay me for the pleasure of my company. I’m worth every penny.”
My hungry eyes devoured him like a starving man at a buffet. “I bet you are.”
His beautiful cerulean eyes glinted wickedly. “But I would gladly comp you, Griff. You get the BOGO special because your company is infinitely more valuable than mine is. When you spend time with me, it’s you who’s doing me the favor.”
“That’s ridiculous.” I shook my head. “You know when I called you a fuckboy, I meant that in the nicest possible way, right? No offense.”
He dared me with his coy smile. “None taken. Although I would love to know how that was meant to be nice.”
Cyan was smirking, clearly enjoying my discomfort. “Of course, it’s nice! I’d give anything to be sexy enough to be classified as a fuckboy. It’s a compliment.”
Forget smirking. He was openly laughing now. “Well, luckily you don’t have to give up anything. You already are that sexy. Like you said, you’re just too sheltered to realize the appeal you have to most men. But that’s a good thing. The more men you open yourself up to, the more men try to take advantage of you. I would hate for anyone to take advantage of you, Griffin, besides me. After last night, I’m dying to take advantage of you.”
Somehow, Cyan could turn his creepy leer into an adorable tease. All part of his charm, I guess. “Yes. I’d love to tag along on your photo shoot gig. Who knows, maybe I’ll learn something.”
I was hoping to learn more about Cyan, not so much about photography.
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About the Author:
Raquel Riley is a native of South Florida but now calls North Carolina home. She is an avid reader and loves to travel. Most often, she writes gay romance stories with an HEA but characters of all types can be found in her books. Raquel weaves pieces of herself, her family, and her travels into every story she writes.
Stop by her author page on https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063078438670 for exclusive updates, new releases, and excerpts of her current work in progress. You can also visit Raquel and her characters from Cooper’s Cove in her Facebook reader group Raquel Riley’s Romantics. https://www.facebook.com/groups/519550045697964/
Find her on Instagram @authorraquelriley.
Listen to playlists inspired by Raquel’s books on her YouTube channel. https://youtube.com/channel/UC7hpKcfd9eOEC80PLPmEN9w
See Raquel’s character inspiration and visual storyboards on Pinterest. @Raquel Riley
Watch Raquel’s TikTok videos and book reviews. @raquelrileyMMauthor https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdkoQGAT/
