I'm having a blast with S.A. McAuley's Damaged
Package...
Um, well...okay I didn't think that opening line
out quite like I should've probably—anyhoo...you've gotta take a looksy at this
book!
About S.A. McAuley: I
sleep little, read a lot. Happiest in a foreign country. Twitchy when not
mentally in motion. My name is Sam, not Sammy, definitely not Samantha. I’m a
pretty dark/cynical/jaded person, but I hide that darkness well behind my
obsession(s) for shiny objects. I’m the macabre wrapped in irresistible bubble
wrap and a glittery pink bow, I suppose.
Check out S.A. here:
Facebook -
http://www.facebook.com/authorsamcauley
Facebook Author Page -
https://www.facebook.com/samcauleywrites/app_10026589669034,
GoodReads -
http://www.goodreads.com/authorsamcauley
Instagram - http://instagram.com/authorsamcauley
Newsletter:
https://www.facebook.com/samcauleywrites/app_1002658966903
Tumblr - http://authorquestionmark.tumblr.com/
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/AuthorSAMcAuley
Damaged Package
Cover Artist: Garrett Leigh
Publisher: Self-Published
We've
got blurbage:
Forced into early retirement from his career as
a SWAT officer for the city of Detroit, James Deacon knew that when he failed
it would be a fall of epic proportions. He’s been living life by the tips of
his fingers for over twenty years, and his new gig organizing a group of misfit
military types into a functioning team—including his reluctant ex-fiancée—won’t
return him to stable ground anytime soon.
Trevor Barrow has been on the move for the last
seven years—hitting the road when relationships became too real or too much
work. He’s home now, working in the hazardous world of bike messengers in the
Motor City, and the only one of his eight siblings who knows he’s returned is
his sister Cat. It’s not as if reconnecting with them matters anyway, because
it’s likely he’ll be gone again soon.
Both men are lugging some heavy baggage, but
when they chance upon each other in a dive bar it’s hard to deny their flaws
are more like symbiotic quirks. Trevor’s backpedaling instincts and Deacon’s
dance-dance party past may just be intersecting at a time when things are about
to get explosive in Detroit.
And a
sneak peek:
Deacon paid for their last-round of drinks and
they stood at the bar as the lights clicked on. He reached out and swept back a
lock of Trav’s fringe, letting his fingers linger against Trav’s sweat-slick
skin.
“You gotta let me take you home,” Deacon said.
Trav scoffed and took a drink of his beer.
“Worst pick up line ever.”
“I thought the worst was saying that I’d never
seen you at Honest John’s before?”
“Yeah. You’re pretty bad all around.”
But instead of feeding Trav another line, Deacon
made the conscious decision to give an honest reply. “Dating’s just not my
scene.”
Trav tipped his head and studied him. “You know
what? I don’t know if I’m supposed to believe you and be reeled in by how
unconventional you are, or if this is all a game for you.”
He shrugged. Already he knew there was little he
could do to sway Trav either way—Trav was perceptive. “I’ll give you time to
decide that for yourself. In the mean time, though, I’m serious. Let me at
least ride with you in the cab back to your place. I don’t live far from you
and it will make me feel better to know you’re safe.”
“I ride a bike in downtown Detroit for a living,
James. Pretty sure I can handle myself.”
Deacon’s lips curled into a smile at both Trav’s
use of his first name and his brash confidence. “I’m positive you can.”
“Well, then… What? That doesn’t…” Trav pursed
his lips together in a thin line and left the remains of his trailing thoughts
unsaid. Trav took another swig from his beer, emptying the cup and setting it
on the bar. “Whatever. Yeah, you can take me home. But I’m not inviting you up.
Got it?”
Deacon would take it. He held out his hand and
waited for Trav to decide it was okay to take this one small step. When Trav’s
fingers curled around his after only a heartbeat of hesitation, Deacon worked
through the lingering crowd to the front door, unable to wipe the triumphant
smile from his face.
The ride back into the city didn’t take as long
as it had to get out to Ferndale. The city became a ghost town after a certain
time of night. And they’d passed that threshold hours ago. They rode in
silence, with hands still touching if not intertwined, and when they pulled up
to the Park Shelton, Deacon paid the cabbie and got out with Trav.
It took a moment for Trav to realize what had
just happened. He watched the cab drive away, glared at Deacon, back down the
road, then put his hands on his hips. “Whoa. Whatcha doing getting out of the
cab? I distinctly remember not inviting you up.”
“Huh,” was all Deacon said as he pointed at the
cab disappearing around a corner. “But there goes my ride.”
“I’m not a first date slut.”
Deacon groaned playfully, but his heart skipped
a happy beat to hear Trav considered this a date, too. “You're not going to
make me count out dates or something like that, are you?”
Trav’s fingers drummed against hips as he seemed
to be considering his options. Yet barely restraining a smile at the same time.
“Just for that response? Maybe.”
Deacon dropped to his knees on the sidewalk, and
raised his clasped hands to the heavens, pleading to Trav in an overly loud
voice, "Please, Trevor Barrow! What do I have to do for you to let me up
to your apartment, Trevor Barrow? I just want to watch the History Channel or
maybe So You Think You Can Dance, Trevor Barrow. I promise I have nothing lewd
or lascivious—”
A group of female college students walking by
giggled at his display, providing a running commentary as they eyed the scene
unfolding on the sidewalk. “Dude, Trevor Barrow, you should let him up.” Then,
“He's cute. He can come back to my place.”
Deacon couldn't have planned his public begging
session better.
Trav blushed and laughed out loud. “Alright. Off
your knees.”
“At least for now!” one of the girls yelled as
they turned the corner.
Trav sighed, offered his hand and pulled Deacon
up toward the front entrance of his apartment building. “You're going to give
me a reputation, Deacon.”
“I earn every reputation I give.” Deacon smirked
and held the door open for Trav once he’d swiped his key card.
“Where did the tears suddenly disappear to? The
histrionics?”
He shrugged. “I got my way.”
Trav stopped in the doorway and looked up at
Deacon wide-eyed. “Holy shit. You really are certifiable.”
Deacon ran his finger along Trav’s jawline,
wanting nothing more than to kiss Trav. But whether Trav wanted to believe it
or not, what happened between them next was up to Trav. “Cat’s completely right.
She just should have waited for you to find that out on your own.”
Trav shook his head, his voice laden with
sarcasm, but his stunning eyes crinkled at the corners in silent laughter,
“Yeah, like that would've taken me long.”
Tour Dates: 7/14/14
Tour
Stops: MM Good Book Reviews, Parker Williams,
Rainbow Gold Reviews, Havan Fellows, Prism Book Alliance, Nephylim, Velvet Panic,
Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Wake
Up Your Wild Side,
Fallen Angel Reviews, My Fiction Nook,
The Hat Party,
Sinfully Sexy,
LeAnn’s Book Reviews, Amanda C. Stone,
Love
Bytes, Smoocher’s
Voice, Dawn’s Reading Nook, Full Moon Dreaming, Pants Off Review,
Because Two Men Are Better Than One, It’s Raining Men,
Michael Mandrake,
Iyana
Jenna, Emotion in Motion,
Kimi-Chan
Let's not forget about the Rafflecopter...it is
just such a fun toy to play with!
*bows*
Thank you for visiting...and a special thanks to the mastermind behind the blast for S.A. McAuley's Damaged Package (yeah, that will never get old *winks*)...
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