Book Title: Inhale
Author: D.P. Denman
Cover Artist: AJ Corza
Release Date: July 20, 2023
Genre: Contemporary Gay Romance
Tropes: damaged lead finds love, professional model, learning to love again, blackmail, voyeur, private investigator stories
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 75 000 words/ 300 pages
It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
What can you do when love takes you by surprise? Just breathe.
Blurb
Cole Rinne is a model with an impossible problem. An invasion of his privacy ends up in the hands of a blackmailer and the details could go public any day. His only hope is to ditch the spotlight and hide in the shadows. Then he meets someone with a solution.
Gage Marx is a PI who specializes in impossible problems. He’s used to solving the unsolvable. The only thing he’s ever declared a lost cause is himself.
From the start, Cole’s case holds more surprises than Gage expects. The most shocking is that for the first time in over a year, Gage’s broken heart is showing signs of life.
Their plan to wade slowly into love comes apart when an unexpected opportunity threatens to turn it all into a long-distance relationship. Will occasional reunions be enough to keep them together or will their separate careers tear them apart?
Cole walked to the living room, wondering at the mystery that was Gage Marx. He followed the sound of clicking keys to the kitchen. Gage was where he’d left him: perched on a stool in front of his laptop. The work obsession was the one piece Cole could define with any certainty. Gage lived for his job.
Cole leaned against the counter several feet from where Gage sat. Gage smiled at him and removed his earbuds, eyes drifting to the damp hair that flopped in Cole’s eyes.
“You can use my hair dryer if you want,” Gage said.
Cole shook his head, hair sweeping back and forth across his brow. “It’s fine. It loses too much curl if I dry it without a diffuser.”
Gage’s attention snagged in those same curls. “I like the highlights.”
“Thanks,” Cole said. “Free hairstyling is another perk of the job. I don’t always like their taste, but this works.”
“It does.” Gage nodded.
“One shoot director had them put in purple ones.” Cole stepped closer. “Thank god it washed back out.”
“Do they ever cut your hair?”
“Nothing more than a trim. They only own me for a day. I have to be available for other shoots when they’re done. I can’t do that with half my head shaved or dyed bizarre colors.” He took another step.
“Does that bother you? Being treated like property.”
“Sometimes. It’s like any other job, I guess. Some bosses are better with people than others. I do, however, have an appreciation for how chihuahuas feel. Nobody asks them what they want to wear or whether they like the color of polish on their toes. Their opinion doesn’t count. I think that’s why they’re so grouchy.”
Cole watched Gage, looking for the flicker he’d seen earlier. All he saw was amusement.
“The stylists would love your hair.” Cole reached out and held a lock of Gage’s shoulder-length brown strands between his fingers, pretending his interest really was in his hair. “I doubt they’d change it at all.”
Amusement turned to wary interest. Cole kept talking.
“They might add a clear lip gloss. Maybe some subtle glitter eyeshadow to catch the light, but I guarantee they wouldn’t put you in skirts. They’d build on your masculinity.”
“Do you care when they dress you in women’s clothes?”
“They aren’t really women’s. They’re for anybody who wants to express their feminine side, but no.” Cole released the strands to trace the line of stubble with his fingers. “I’m usually all skinny jeans and button-down shirts. Sometimes it’s fun to dress up. Even in stuff I’d never wear off the catwalk.”
He knew he was pushing the limits of Gage’s patience. He could see the tension twitching in his jaw. Cole took a final step and stood straddling one of Gage’s knees, a palm pressed to his cheek, the dark stubble prickling his hand.
“I want to kiss you. Would you mind?” Cole asked.
Gage stared back at him, motionless. He knew Gage had heard him. He’d watched the question register in his eyes. Some internal discussion was tying up his tongue. Cole waited, unmoving.
The shake of Gage’s head was the barest twitch from one side to the other. Cole held his face, bent close, and kissed him.
Award-winning author DP Denman wrote her first short story when she was eight and has been crafting fictional adventures ever since! You can usually find her with a cup of coffee in hand, contemplating her next story.
A covert romantic, she writes addictive, character-driven gay romance about damaged people who find the strength to put their lives back together. Her stories are gripping and dramatic — guaranteed to hold you hostage to the last word!
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