Release Tour incl Exclusive Excerpt: Kim Stephenson – Stride for Stride (Running for the Romance #2)

Length: 75k words Series: Running for the Romance 2 Prior Reading: Prior reading NOT required Genre: contemporary, sports Tropes: Rivals to lovers; Only one tent; Olympics; Coming out; Secret relationship Trigger/Content Warnings: Reference to homophobia, Parental illness, Minor injury Designer: 100 Covers

Universal Link Amazon Link Rivals on the track. Teammates on paper. But could they be more? Jackson and Elliot have been neck-and-neck since their first race. Two elite marathoners constantly pushing each other to the limit. But with the Olympics looming, they’re forced to do the unthinkable: train together. Altitude camp means long runs, cold nights, and the kind of tension that’s not just competitive anymore. When a single kiss shatters the fragile line between enemies and something much more complicated, both men are left breathless, for reasons that have nothing to do with their last tempo run. But between the pressure of the Olympics, increased media scrutiny and career-threatening injuries, their chance at love might not make it to the finish line. Can they go stride for stride toward something real, or will the world pull them apart before they’ve even begun? Stride for Stride is the sizzling follow up to Your Pace or Mine. It is a standalone spicy MM Sports Romance and book 2 in the Running for the Romance series. If you loved Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid and Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffrey, you’ll fall hard for Jackson and Elliot in Stride for Stride. Curiosity got the better of him, and he tapped on Jennings’s profile. There was a newer post, taken in a hotel room identical to the one Elliot was currently lying in. His breath caught in his throat. He’d tell himself forever that it was the shock that Jennings appeared to have actually taken his hastily offered advice and cleaned his camera lens. It had nothing to do with the soft tilt of his head, or the way his hair tumbled loose from the green bobble he’d tied it up in, drawing the eye down the curve of his neck. God, even Elliot’s own brain wouldn’t let him hold on to that delusion. Jennings had set his phone up at an angle, catching his upper body as he moved through what looked like a fairly standard series of stretches. Shirtless, hair rumpled, muscles shifting visibly under pale, freckled skin as he went through slow, deliberate movements. There was something unguarded about it. He was smiling, but it wasn’t the usual infectious grin he turned on everyone he knew. This was casual, almost intimate. Elliot watched as Jennings yawned midway through a set, his mouth going wide, his abs flexing with the motion before he shook it off and kept going. The sleepy weight of it, the way his movements lacked their usual precision, made warmth coil low in Elliot’s stomach. He should scroll past. He really should. He was absolutely going to do that. Instead, he watched. And then rewatched. This was worse than the times he’d done this in his own flat, hidden from the world. Jennings was just down the corridor. His room looked exactly like this one. It felt almost intimate. Elliot swallowed. His mouth felt dry. He went to take another sip of his drink, only to remember it was empty. Shit. The video looped again. Elliot felt like he noticed something new each time it cycled through. He watched intently as Jennings rolled his shoulders back, his neck stretching enough for the tendons to stand out. His skin looked warm, like he’d crawled out of bed and decided to start moving. The low light made everything softer, more touchable. Elliot’s fingers tightened around his phone. He should turn it off. He should go to bed. Instead, he tapped the video so it filled the full screen. Elliot was already half hard as he watched the way the plaid pyjama bottoms fell lower on his rival’s hips as the routine progressed, as he catalogued the way stray strands of fiery hair escaped the bun Jennings wore it in as he moved, falling softly to his chin. Elliot rubbed himself over his tracksuit bottoms. He wasn’t going to do this, was he? It was too far, too pathetic. It had been a while, though. He’d been too…too something, to bother going out. Melancholic maybe. And now that his interest had been piqued, his cock was demanding attention. Elliot let the video keep looping, holding it directly over his face as he gripped his cock with his right hand. It felt fucking brilliant, and besides, it wasn’t like Jennings would ever know. Nobody would.

Kim Stephenson is a UK based author with a love for running and romance. When not writing you can find them hitting the local pavements and trails chasing PB’s and HEA’s. @runningfortheromance (ig) Kimstephensonauthor.com

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