Release Blitz, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway:
Stray Awakening
By F.A. Ray
Rainbow Rescue Cat Café, Book 1
I fled my hometown seven years ago. I never planned to come back. I never planned to give up my city life for a small town. And I definitely never planned to fall for another man.
Henry
Tripp Lake, the place I love the most. Working at a cat café on Main Street gives me a chance to get some deserving cats their forever homes.
But when a blast from the past walks into my café, I’m not sure what to feel. Alex was always hot and popular in high school – and straight.
So it’s a shock when he keeps accepting my invitations to hang out. I don’t think I’m imagining the spark between us, but is Alex actually interested in me, or am I letting this straight boy break my heart?
Alex
Tripp Lake, the place I hate the most. I’m only here because of my father’s heart attack. But the second I return home, I remember all the reasons I ran away.
My parents are overbearing. This town is small and boring. And I want nothing more than to flee back to my new life in San Francisco – a life that doesn’t come packed with any surprising new feelings about a guy I went to high school with.
Henry is a ray of sunshine amid this bleak journey home. But I’ve never been interested in a guy before. When a relaxing hike results in my first timid kiss with another man, I start questioning a lot more than just my decision to leave Tripp Lake. Is Henry worth staying in this crappy town for?
Stray Awakening is a small-town MM romance with first-time gay experiences, a sweet ray of sunshine winning over a jaded grumpy, spicy open-door scenes, and, of course, lots of cats. Go to linktr.ee/faraywrites for CWs.
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Exclusive Excerpt:
I don’t realize that I’ve unconsciously leaned closer until Alex turns his head toward me. We both blink, surprised by the sudden proximity, but neither of us pull away. I’m so close he can probably count my freckles. My heart taps frantically at my throat. He isn’t leaning away. Why isn’t he leaning away? In fact, his lips lie gently parted, and my eyes remain fixed on them as a surprised inhale feathers across them.
I can taste his exhale, and that’s too much temptation for me. I lean forward, moving slowly despite the frantic drumming pulsing in my neck. Alex doesn’t move. I keep my eyes open, watching him as I tip forward. Still, he sits there waiting for me, until there’s nowhere left to run, nowhere left to go. Our lips are separated by a single hair, then by nothing at all.
My eyes flutter shut at last. Maybe Alex’s do too. I can’t tell when I land against his firm mouth. The rest of the world disappears, the beautiful scenery subsumed by the warmth of the lips against mine. The pine trees fade beneath the spiciness of his aftershave, the cool breeze even cooler as it brushes suddenly flushed skin. I want to push closer, to taste and feel more of him, but Alex’s mouth is indecisive against mine, neither pressing nor reeling away.
I don’t linger long, as much as I want to. I don’t actually know what he’s thinking. Maybe my impulsive greed shocked him so much that he couldn’t react at all. Maybe the anger and outrage is right around the corner. But if that’s the case, why didn’t he pull away? Why did he stay? Why is he staying even now?
Alex doesn’t speak or move or react. He sits on that rock beside me and just looks at me, as unreadable as the stone beneath us. My heart dances around my chest, unsure where to land, what emotion to settle on when there are oh so many to choose from. Fear, elation, anxiety, joy. Everything hinges on Alex, and the longer he remains silent, the more the dread in the pit of my stomach swells.
I kissed a straight guy knowing full well that he’s straight. What in the world was I thinking? I shouldn’t be waiting for a reaction. This isn’t a fairy tale. Of course he’s angry. Of course he’s disgusted. He wanted to go on a simple hike, and I turned it into something he never asked for.
In the end, it’s me who reels away, startling up to my feet and slapping my hands over my mouth like I can hide what I’ve done.
Enter the Giveaway:
To celebrate the release of Stray Awakening, F.A. Ray’s giving away 2 e-copies of the release!
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About the Author:
F. A. Ray started writing fiction as a child and has never stopped. When they aren’t writing, they enjoy rock climbing and hiking in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where they live with their partner and cat.
Visit linktr.ee/faraywrites to find out more. You can also sign up for my Patreon, where I post WIPs, updates, bonus scenes, deleted scenes and short stories that don’t appear anywhere else.
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