About Came Upon a
Midnight Clear
Up-and-coming film producer
Kyle Wakefield lives in the closet rather than risk the wrath of his
influential, conservative parents. The only time he took a chance on love was a
tempestuous teenage affair with Nathan Carnes. But when Nathan proved himself hell-bent
on self-destruction and wound up in prison, Kyle closed off his heart.
Almost a decade later,
Kyle’s production partner hires Nathan’s stunt company, Second Chances, to work
on a big-budget action film in London. Nate is floored by his explosive reunion
with Kyle. But he sure as hell isn’t surprised that Kyle still treats their
mutual needs—and Nate—like dirty little secrets.
As the London holiday
season casts its dazzling spell, the two men find themselves falling in love
again. Kyle is one breathless kiss away from declaring himself to Nate—and to
the world—but they cannot ignore secrets borne of youthful mistakes. To protect
their bright new future, Kyle and Nathan will need all their passion and trust
. . . and a little Christmas magic.
Publisher's note: This is a lightly edited reprint of a
previously published novel.
Exclusive Excerpt
He ducked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Water
pattered down, filling the small room with white noise. Steam rolled out as the
water heated.
Being near Kyle was like mainlining heroin. That potency drove
straight to Nate’s veins. He’d get a wild shock, followed by drowsy afterglow.
The pain came with the withdrawal. How much worse would it be this time? Even
if he wanted an affair with Kyle to last beyond London, Nate couldn’t trust who
they’d be together. The golden boy in the closet and the ex-con in the shadows,
waiting, never really knowing which life Kyle would choose.
Nate couldn’t live that way.
He stepped into the shower, drawing shut the curtain. Hell, the
fact that he was about to shower in Kyle’s room instead of his own made no fucking
sense—except that fear of withdrawal. He might not be ready to crawl back into
bed with the man, but he didn’t seem ready to leave either.
Scrubbing both hands down his face, he ducked his head under
the stream. Near-scalding water stung his skin.
Still, there was no mistaking the sound of the door opening,
nor the quiet sounds of Kyle getting cleaned up.
The curtain moved aside. Kyle’s mouth was curved in a smile,
but his dark eyes were shadowed. Maybe hesitant.
“Room for two?”
Nate tugged him in by the wrist. “Of course.”
“Kind of cramped.”
It was, in the best kind of way. The shower wasn’t built for
two grown men, but that meant plenty of slipping and sliding against each
other. Nate’s dick brushed over the rough texture of Kyle’s outer thigh as they
traded positions. Kyle ducked under the water with a sound of pleasure that
went straight to Nate’s head. Then way lower.
On a ledge was a small glass bottle of expensive-looking body
wash. Only the best for Kyle, but the scent alone seemed worth it. Lively and
clean, the gel smelled like woods and crisp leaves.
He lathered up, letting his hands run slowly over his stomach
and chest. Kyle watched, and Nate liked that too much to say. His cock stirred
lazily. He was surprised they both weren’t rubbed raw considering how hard
they’d gone.
“Got any plans for the day?”
Kyle briskly washed his own body. “Paperwork. I’ve got to go
through a giant stack Steph left for me.”
“So fun. And on a Sunday, no less.”
His grin was sudden but bright. “It is, kind of. It’s all about
making my production company the best on the block.”
Nate shook his head and traded places to rinse. “I never, ever
would have guessed you’d end up in Hollywood.”
“No?” Kyle rinsed off fast, then bracketed Nate with hands on
the tile walls. “Not even a clue?”
His hands found a resting place on Kyle’s firm waist. His
thumbs made tiny strokes over the sharp V-line that arrowed downward. “I
thought you were going into finance like your dad.”
“Running hedge funds? No way.” Kyle chuckled. “I always said that
was the last thing I’d do. You didn’t believe me?”
Nate didn’t answer. He couldn’t. Yeah, Kyle had always said that, but he’d also talked about
coming out. Eventually. Once he was free of his parents. And look how well that
went.
“You were always damn good with numbers,” Nate said,
sidestepping the issue. “You got me through pre-calc.”
“Nah, once you got stubborn, you had it made.” Kyle nuzzled his
shoulder, wet on wet. “But all those hours we spent watching movies.
Everything. Every kind of movie. All the genres. It was practically training.”
Nate remembered those hours. Thousands of them, spent in Kyle’s
larger dorm room at the boarding school. They’d always gone to Kyle’s room
because his rich parents paid to make sure he didn’t have a roommate. Most times,
they’d spent their hours wrapped up on the couch, free to get as grabby as they
liked.
Nate had lived for lying with his head in Kyle’s lap. Nothing
in his life had been easy, starting with growing up without a mom. First she’d
been an alcoholic, then she’d been . . . gone. His dad had done the best he
could, filling out a hundred grant applications so Nate would have a better
option than the slums of DC. But ultimately he was a trucker on the road more
than three hundred days a year. Nothing had been easy for Nate, except for
curling into Kyle and hoping for more—more than a kid like him could ever have.
Being with Kyle had made that sort of dreaming possible.
But all he said was, “I remember.”
Kyle’s grin spread with endearing enthusiasm. “We practically
went to film school together.”
“If you wanna put it that way.” He ran his hands up Kyle’s firm
sides, let his thumbs slide over flat nipples that quickly beaded. “But if
we’re talking percentage of time used in those days, you and I ought to be porn
stars.”
“We watched plenty of that too. Another education in itself.”
The heat woke between them. Kyle’s neck thickened on a heavy swallow. He
wrapped a hand around Nate’s prick in a tight grip. “Want to practice for our
next close-up?”
He kissed Nate. His mouth, warm and soft, tasted of mint. Nate
framed the sides of that strong jaw, feeling it shift under his touch. He
pushed back and liked that Kyle subtly strained forward to keep the kiss going.
Small challenges. Neither giving ground. Neither wanting it any other way.
“Let’s get out of the shower first.”
About the 2017
Holiday Charity Collection
20% of all proceeds from this title will be donated to the
Russian LGBT Network.
Each year, Riptide
Publishing releases a holiday collection in support of an LGBTQ charity. Twenty
percent of the proceeds from this year’s collection will be donated to the Russian
LGBT Network.
The Russian LGBT network
was founded in April 2006. It is an interregional, non-governmental human
rights organization that promotes equal rights and respect for human dignity,
regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. They unite and develop
regional initiatives, advocacy groups (at both national and international
levels), and provide social and legal services.
This collection would not
be possible without the talent and generosity of its authors, who have brought
us the following holiday stories:
Pre-ordering this
collection will allow you to download each story two days prior to its official
release date, as well as save 20% off the list price of the individual books.
About Katie Porter
Katie Porter is the
co-writing team of Lorelie Brown and Carrie Lofty, friends and critique
partners of six years. Both are multi-published in several romance genres.
Carrie has an MA in history, while Lorelie is a US Army veteran.
Generally a high-strung
masochist, Carrie loves weight training but she has no fear of gross things
like dissecting formaldehyde sharks. Her two girls are not appreciative.
Lorelie, a laid-back
sadist, would rather grin maniacally when Carrie works out. Her three boys love
how she screams like a little girl around spiders.
Connect with Lorelie and
Carrie:
Giveaway
To celebrate the release of Came Upon a Midnight Clear, one lucky winner will receive a $10
Riptide credit! Leave a comment with
your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern
time, on November 25, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks
for following the tour, and don’t
forget to leave your contact info!
