We’re so pleased to have author Devon McCormack joining us today, with an exclusive excerpt from his latest release from Harmony Ink, The Night Screams.
Enjoy!
Thanks so much The Novel Approach for having me on the blog today to share a little from my latest YA title, The Night Screams, which comes out today! Yay! The Novel Approach has been there for me through so many releases, so I really appreciate all their support and encouragement. Today, I have an exclusive excerpt from the book. Hope you enjoy the read!
~ Devon ~
About the Book
Release Date: 28 July 2016
Length: 220 Pages
Category: Mystery/Suspense, Teen Fiction
Purchase Links: DSP/Harmony Ink || Amazon || iBooks || B&N || All Romance eBooks || Kobo Books
Blurb: After Cal escapes a deranged kidnapper who tortured him, he doesn’t even have the clothes on his back. Desperate and afraid, he breaks into a convenience store. But Jake, a clerk at the store, confronts what to him is little more than a petty thief. After a violent tussle, he knocks Cal out.
Jake encourages his Uncle Gary, the owner of the store, to report Cal to the police, but Gary can’t bring himself to report a kid who was just looking to steal food. When Cal wakes, Gary asks him if he’s okay. But Cal’s trauma has left him mute. Instead, he has to write his experiences down, relaying the horrifying events that led him to the store. The police track down the sick man who held Cal captive, and when he confronts them with a gun, he’s shot dead. However, Cal discovers that even with his captor gone, he is far from free of the nightmare he endured.
Gary and his wife welcome Cal into their home, determined to help him heal. Jake doesn’t trust Cal, and he isn’t afraid to say so. But buried beneath Jake’s disapproval might be the person who can help Cal recover from the terrifying experience that continues to haunt him.
Excerpt
Gary and Luce were asleep, as they’d told Jake they’d be when he called them on their way back. They walked through the kitchen holding hands, heading to their rooms.
As they reached the hallway, they turned to each other.
“I had a really good time tonight,” Jake said, smiling.
“Me too.”
Jake kissed him again, pressing his lips tighter against his.
He wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close. Jake slid his tongue past Cal’s lips. Cal savored the taste.
He could tell by the kiss and Jake’s firm hold he wanted more… a lot more than Cal was comfortable with… like what Keith had given him… like what Jyre had wanted from Cal.
I can do that.
If that’s what Jake needed to be happy, he would do it, if only for Jake. Surely he’d like it too… at least he hoped. Whether or not that was the case, he wouldn’t deprive Jake, because he cared so much for him, and if that’s what he had to do so they could be together, then it’s what he had to do.
He grabbed Jake’s belt and pulled him back into his room.
They stepped in, and Jake closed the door. As they continued kissing, Cal unfastened Jake’s belt and undid his button.
“Cal,” Jake said in a moment where their lips parted before returning to kisses.
Cal grabbed either side of Jake’s jeans and slid them down, his thumbs trembling against Jake’s sides.
Jake grabbed his arms and pushed Cal back. “Wait.”
Cal stopped. Was he doing it wrong?
Jake scanned Cal, as if something was wrong with him. “You’re shaking.”
Cal hadn’t realized until Jake mentioned it, but his entire body shivered as if he had a fever, as it had on cool nights when he’d been trapped in his imprisoning chamber.
“I’m fine,” Cal said. It was just nerves.
He knelt and grabbed Jake’s legs, hoping once they began, he’d relax.
Jake knelt with him, a disappointed look in his eyes.
Does he not want me like this?
“I can do this,” Cal insisted.
Jake pressed his hand against Cal’s face, stroking his thumb across his cheek. “I know you can, but you clearly don’t want to.”
But he did. He wanted to please Jake. He just couldn’t override all the worry and concern that filled him… the same kind that had filled him that day with Jyre.
“We don’t have to rush into this,” Jake said.
“Do you not want me like that?”
“Are you kidding? I’m fucking blue balling right now. I just don’t want you to feel like I’m making you.”
“You’re not making me do it. I’m making me do it.”
Jake’s gaze sank. He shook his head. “Cal, that’s not how it should be. I don’t want to go there until you’re comfortable with it… until you are so sure that’s what you want that it’s not about anxiety or worry but about sharing that with each other.”
A powerful emotion rushed through Cal. Jake could have easily fucked Cal, and Cal would have let him. But he hadn’t. He cared more about Cal’s feelings than Cal did.
Jake smirked. “I’ve got a better idea.”
He stood, pulled up his jeans, and headed out the door. He closed the door to his room and returned to Cal’s, closing and locking it behind him. He took Cal’s hand and led him to the bed.
Cal wondered what they were going to do.
Jake released Cal’s hand and lay across the bed. He reached for Cal. “Just lay down.”
Cal lay before him, and Jake wrapped his arm around him and scooted forward so his body was right up against Cal’s back. He kissed the back of his neck and nuzzled his nose against his ear. “Night, Cal.”
Cal felt so safe in his hold, so secure.
Such an amazing night, and Jake had made it even better. And knowing he was safe in Jake’s hold, he didn’t worry about the darkness that lingered behind the window blinds. He didn’t fear that some phantom would come and carry him off, because he was in Jake’s arms, and Jake would keep him safe.
He drifted off with more ease than he’d felt since his escape.
About the Author
Devon McCormack spends most of his time hiding in his lair, adventuring in paranormal worlds with his island of misfit characters. A good ole Southern boy, McCormack grew up in the Georgian suburbs with his two younger brothers and an older sister. At a very young age, he spun tales the old fashioned way, lying to anyone and everyone he encountered. He claimed he was an orphan. He claimed to be a king from another planet. He claimed to have supernatural powers. He has since harnessed this penchant for tall tales by crafting whole worlds where he can live out whatever fantasy he chooses.
A gay man himself, McCormack focuses on gay male characters, adding to the immense body of literature that chooses to represent and advocate gay men’s presence in media. His body of work ranges from erotica to young adult, so readers should check the synopses of his books before purchasing so that they know what they’re getting into.
And if you want to stalk me, here are some great links: Facebook || Twitter || Goodreads
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