Romantic Behavior by L.A. Witt & Cari Z. Blog Tour, Guest Post, Excerpt & Giveaway!

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Hiya guys! We have L.A. Witt & Cari Z. popping in today with their new release Romantic Behavior, we have a fantastic guest post from Cari, a brilliant tasty excerpt and a fantastic giveaway, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~

Romantic Behavior

(Bad Behavior 04)
by

L.A. Witt & Cari Z.

Detective Andreas Ruffner is no fool—he’s found a man who loves him, puts up with him, and has stuck with him through hell and back, and it’s time to put a ring on it. Darren Corliss is the love of his life, and he wants the whole world to know it.

Now the fun part—the wedding!

Well, after the not-so-fun part of planning the wedding in between dealing with overbearing and impossible-to-please family members. With future mothers-in-law driving them both up a wall, the guest list growing out of control, and the wedding getting ever more complicated, Darren and Andreas have to wonder if they’re in over their heads.

But they’re going to make it to the altar if it kills them . . . and at this rate, it just might.

Cari Z.!

Finally, The Sex!

When I initially described these books to my husband, he referred to this one as “Finally Fucking,” and it’s the truth. These books haven’t had a lot of sex in them. Lori wrote about this during the last blog tour, and I think for her it’s a bit more of an aberration to have an adult-oriented book without sex, but most of mine have explicit scenes as well.

Not in Reckless Behavior. Heck, not even in the one before that, Suspicious Behavior, depending on how you qualify sex. It wasn’t a deliberate choice going into the series, but it became pretty clear after a while that our guys were going to be more about having moment of intimacy together than actual hot and heavy scenes, and that was mostly because they just didn’t have time. No shit, sometimes life doesn’t allow for all the sex you’d like to be having, and when you and your partner are both recovering from injuries and dealing with havoc-wreaking family situations, sex is one of those things that loses priority. Well, this book is where we give it priority again.

Not immediately, though. We still have those pesky family situations to deal with, and the guys are still working, and frankly, it’s a novella, there isn’t time for ALL THE SEX. But there is some, and I hope you enjoy it. I think everybody deserves a nice steamy scene, at this point. Well, we deliver.

Just the one scene, but I like it 😉

Excerpt!

Darren

Andreas was acting . . . strange.

Not “I’m meeting with a drug lord behind your back” strange, or “My kids don’t know about us but I’m going to invite them all to dinner and the hell with it” strange, thank God. We were past those points in our relationship. All of the big surprises were out of the way: everybody knew about us, nobody cared, our families were happy, and neither of us were involved in anything shady for the greater good. At least, I was pretty sure we weren’t. I wasn’t, but then I wasn’t the one on edge.

You wouldn’t think it had been less than two weeks since we’d come back to the precinct after the best vacation of my life. Three weeks of sunshine, sand, clear blue water, and tropical drinks with paper umbrellas that I’d saved to give to Emily, Andreas’s youngest. It had been a nice trip—a necessary trip, as far as I was concerned, the first real break we’d gotten from the job while neither of us was recovering from an injury. My stab wound was nothing but a scar now, and Andreas’s ankle was strong enough that he’d supported my weight and his for long enough to— Well, it was fine, is the point. Pretty much recovered.

Andreas scratched a fingernail across the pocket of his jeans, the fabric stuttering under the force of his hand. He’d been worrying that seam for the past half hour.

“You’re going to wear a hole in that if you don’t let up,” I said for the second time that afternoon.

“What?” He glanced at his hand. “Oh.” He took his hand away, only for his fingers to end up tapping the top of the desk a minute later.

“How much coffee did you have today?”

“One cup, this morning. Why?”

“Because you’re acting like Erin when she’s had nothing but Coke to drink for an entire shift.” Erin was Andreas’s oldest daughter, and she worked here in the precinct as an admin for the Internal Affairs office. She was nice enough that people got along with her despite that, though.

Andreas shook his head. “I’m fine.” His phone buzzed, and he picked it up and grimaced at the number. “I’ve got to take this. I’ll be right back.” He left without another word, and I watched him go, then sidled over to Paula’s desk on the other side of the bull pen.

“Okay, what’s wrong with him?”

“What’s wrong with who?” Paula squinted at her computer screen and tapped the backspace key. She was as bad as Andreas when it came to wearing her reading glasses at work.

“What’s wrong with Andreas?” Paula Morris was probably Andreas’s closest friend, and the hardest worker in the entire precinct. She’d helped us close some very big cases over the past year, and if anyone knew what was going on with him, it was her.

“Why are you asking me?” She looked up at me blearily. “You’re his boyfriend.”

“He’s acting cagey, and he hasn’t met my eyes all day. I don’t think he’s going to tell me anything right now.” And it hit me, just then, how bothered I was by that. I thought we were past the big denials, the keeping-things-to-yourself phase that had sucked so bad. Paula was right. I was his boyfriend. I should know what was going on. That I didn’t was disturbing.

“Whatever it is, he’ll come out with it when he’s ready. Or if you just man up and ask, probably.” She laughed, leaning back in her rolling chair. “Just watch out if he wants to take you somewhere fancy all of a sudden. My last boyfriend broke up with me that way. Guess he thought if I was full of gourmet food and out in public, I wouldn’t kick up a fuss.”

“Was he right?”

“Yeah, but he made the mistake of telling me before we’d had dessert. I ordered the entire dessert menu and took most of it home with me. I was swimming in chocolate ganache and crème brûlée for a week.” She smiled. “Good times.”

“The dessert was more memorable than the guy, huh?”

“The dessert didn’t bitch and moan about me staying late to hunt down rapists and murderers instead of going home to cook him dinner and watch the latest episode of Downton Abbey together.” She pursed her lips. “In retrospect, his thing for corsets and Victorian porn makes a lot more sense.”

“Ooo-kay.” Andreas chose that moment to come back into the room, and I was desperately grateful for the out. “Thanks for the chat and never, ever talk to me about that again.”

“Be a man!” she shouted at my back as I returned to my desk.

Andreas was still fiddling with his phone, but at least he looked at me when I got close this time. “So,” he said dryly, “when did you stop being a man, and is it permanent?”

I grinned. “Ha ha, shut up. Who was that?”

“The call? Oh . . . nobody, nothing important.” His free hand was rubbing over his pocket again. “Listen, I was thinking. How about we eat out tonight?”

“Sure.” We hadn’t been out to dinner since we’d gotten back from vacation. “That sounds great. You want to invite any of the kids?” Erin had a date with her boyfriend, I was pretty sure, and we didn’t have Emily this weekend, but Lisa, Andreas’s ex, was always willing to share time.

“Nah, just you and me tonight.” He put his phone away and took a deep breath. “I was thinking Laudisio’s.”

I froze in the act of putting on my jacket. Laudisio’s was the nicest Italian restaurant in the entire city. I had eaten there all of two times, and I could still remember exactly what I’d ordered, it had been so good. It was ridiculously popular and exorbitantly expensive, and not the sort of place where you just dropped in. “We’ll need reservations,” I said slowly, finishing with my jacket and putting my hands in my pockets, just in case they were visibly shaking.

“We’ve got them.” Andreas wasn’t avoiding my eyes anymore, and the intensity of his look would have been enough to send me running if I were a criminal. Or if we’d been at home, it would have had me tackling him to the bed. But this wasn’t the time. Especially since I had no idea what was going on.

Ask him. But my tongue was stuck to the top of my mouth, dry and useless, and I couldn’t quite make myself unstick it. Awesome. Now I was nervous.

We took Andreas’s car to the restaurant—we pretty much took his car everywhere, since we worked and lived together. Mine had been relegated to the apartment’s garage for months, and I didn’t miss it, but now I found myself wondering if I needed to get an oil change, or at least check the battery. Just in case I had to start driving it again regularly. Just in case Andreas asked me to move out or something.

“You okay?”

“Hmm?” It was my turn to be jolted back into the real world. Thank God I wasn’t the one behind the wheel. “Yeah, I’m fine, just wondering why tonight. I haven’t missed an anniversary, have I? You’re not having another birthday, right?”

“No,” he said emphatically. “I’m not in any hurry to get older.” The fact that he was in his midforties and I hadn’t quite hit the dirty thirties yet bugged him sometimes.

“Oh, I don’t know.” I sank into bantering with grateful ease. “I think you’d make an excellent silver fox. We could frost your tips, get you used to the idea.”

“I would sooner shave my head than dye it.”

“Mmm, that would work too. Make you look tough.” Well, tough¬er. “You could grow a goatee and really complete the supervillain look.”

“And then you could grow a beard and pretend to be a— Oh wait, no, I forgot, you can’t grow a beard.”

I rolled my eyes. “My mother should never have showed you those photos.”

“They were cute. You were trying so hard to be grunge.” And failing miserably, he didn’t have to add.

“Well, I think if you let yourself go, you’d have the hipster look down to a tee.” Ah, there was the dramatic scowl I was going for. “You’d have to grow your beard out really bushy, maybe curl your moustache. I bet Erin would be happy to take you shopping for skinny jeans and vintage T-shirts.”

“All of my T-shirts are already vintage, according to her.” Now he sounded a little annoyed. “She stole my favorite Metallica shirt for a concert and hasn’t given it back yet.”

“Want me to hunt her down for you? Bring her in for questioning?”

“Eh, I can take it back later. I know where she lives.” He parked the car, and I realized with a start that we’d arrived. The restaurant gleamed with warm light, and elegant gold letters spelled out Laudisio’s over the door. I swallowed hard.

Any ease we’d established in the car vanished by the time we were seated at our table. It was nice, near the back and kind of removed from the rest of the dinner crowd. The tablecloth was perfect white linen, the water glasses were crystal, and the napkins looked like tiny cloth palaces. It was still the nicest place I’d ever eaten in, only this time that distinction scared me shitless. Was he going to . . . Was this . . .

Andreas finally broke the silence. “Okay, look.” I lifted my gaze from the table to him, and he was shaking his head and frowning. “I was going to wait until the end to do this, but I can’t put it off anymore. It’s been driving me crazy ever since we got back from vacation, and if I don’t say it now, I won’t be able to eat.”

“Uhm.” Very eloquent, moron. Fortunately, Andreas didn’t seem to need any input from me. He ran a hand through his hair, and I followed the movement with the kind of quiet focus that I only felt in a life-or-death situation. He was gorgeous, his dark hair lightened from three weeks on the beach, his skin warm and sun touched. His eyes had completely lost the wariness that had defined them when we first met, and I tried to see that as a good sign. If it was bad news, he’d be more tense, wouldn’t he?

“Here’s the thing. I— Look, I’ve thought a lot about it, about the two of us, and I—” He seemed stuck, and I resisted the crazy urge to slap my hand over his mouth so he couldn’t continue. “I just . . . Fuck, I’m doing this all wrong.” He sighed, then reached down into his pocket. “I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He opened his hand and held out a two-toned gold ring. “Marry me?”

I promptly choked on nothing, waved off both Andreas and the waiter, grabbed for my fancy water, and drained half the glass in one long go.

“Jesus Christ,” I managed once I could talk again. “Really? I thought you were breaking up with me!”

“What?” Now he sounded as astonished as I was. “Why the hell would I break up with you?”

“I don’t know! That’s what I was trying to figure out!”

“How could you even entertain the idea?”

“You’ve been weird all day,” I shot back. “Avoiding me, acting anxious, not talking unless it’s to witnesses or suspects, and then you got that phone call and wouldn’t tell me who it was, and then—”

“That call was from this place. Just checking to make sure I wanted the champagne and tiramisu for later, when I was going to be asking you to marry me, instead of now, when I actually did it and apparently broke your brain.”

“Oh.” I blinked at him. “I love tiramisu.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s your favorite.” Andreas looked worried. “So. I have to say, this proposal isn’t going exactly the way I pictured it.”

I chuckled. “Are you kidding me? This is so us, I don’t think it could have gone any other way.” I held out my hand. “Give me that.”

“Give me an answer first.”

“Bossy.” He didn’t give an inch, though, and it occurred to me that Andreas might be just as worried as I’d been, but for an entirely different reason. “Yes! Holy shit, of course I want to marry you!” If he’d asked before I had my test results back, confirming that I didn’t have the gene for early-onset Alzheimer’s that had killed my brother, the answer probably would have been very different, but now that I knew . . . “C’mon. Give me my ring.” I made grabby hands at it, and he passed it over with a relieved smile.

“Wow.” It looked like three bands of gold pressed into one: glossy yellow on the outsides and mellow white in the middle. It was slender but felt heavy, and as I turned it over in my hands, I caught sight of an engraving on the inside. I held the ring up to the light. I know, it read.

I gaped at Andreas. “You . . . you Han Solo-ed my wedding ring?”

He shrugged smugly. He was the only person I knew whose shoulders had such capacity for smugness. “It seemed appropriate.”

“If you were any more perfect, I would have to throw you across this table and fuck you right here,” I said seriously, reaching over and grabbing his hand tightly.

He squeezed back, still smiling. “Try to restrain yourself until after dinner. I had to call in some favors to get us a reservation here in less than a month.” He straightened out my hand, then gently slipped the ring onto my finger. “Looks good.”

“Feels good.” It felt right, like I’d been wearing it already but only just now saw it. “You’ll have to tell me where you got it so I can return the favor.”

“I can do that.” He kissed the back of my hand—I just barely managed not to shiver—and then let go, picking up his menu. “Ready for dinner?”

“I feel ready for anything.”

Bad Behavior series!

It’s “hell no” at first sight for newly partnered detectives Andreas Ruffner and Darren Corliss. Darren is too chipper, Andreas is too gruff, and that whole “IA wants me to prove you’re a dirty cop” thing really doesn’t get them off on the right foot.

It doesn’t matter if they like each other. They’re partners and that’s final. Though Andreas is easy on the eyes. And Darren is kind of cute. And . . . okay, maybe they can make this work.

They’d better, because as their cases get more horrifying—and more personal—they’ll have to trust each other with their lives, and with their hearts.

Check out Bad Behavior!

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About L.A. & Cari!

L.A. Witt

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer who has finally been released from the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn’t lose her mind in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies. She also has substantially more time on her hands these days, as she has recruited a small army of mercenaries to search South America for her nemesis, romance author Lauren Gallagher, but don’t tell Lauren. And definitely don’t tell Lori A. Witt or Ann Gallagher. Neither of those twits can keep their mouths shut . . .

L. A.’s backlist is available on her website, and updates (as well as random thoughts and the odd snarky comment) can be found on her blog or on Twitter (@GallagherWitt).

Cari Z.

Cari Z was a bookworm as a child and remains one to this day. In an effort to combat her antisocial reading behavior, she did all sorts of crazy things, from competitive gymnastics to alligator wresting (who even knew that was legal!) to finally joining the Peace Corps, which promptly sent her and her husband to the wilds of West Africa, stuck them in a hut, and said, “See ya!” She also started writing, because some things she just thought she could do better. She’s still climbing that ladder, but can’t stop herself from writing, or from sharing what she creates.

Cari enjoys a wide range of literary genres, from the classics (get ‘im, Ahab) to science fiction and fantasy of all types, to historical fiction and reference materials (no, seriously, there are so many great encyclopedias out there). She writes in a wide range of genres as well, but somehow 90% of what she produces ends up falling into the broad and exciting category of m/m erotica. There’s a sprinkling of f/m and f/f and even m/f/m in her repertoire, but her true love is man love. And there’s a lot of love to go around.

Cari has published short stories, novellas, and novels with numerous print and e-presses, and she also offers up a tremendous amount of free content on Literotica.com, under the name Carizabeth.

Connect with Cari at http://cari-z.net/  or via her blog, http://carizerotica.blogspot.com/

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Giveaway!

To celebrate the release of Romantic Behavior, one lucky winner will receive a $10 Riptide credit and their choice in an ebook from each of Cari and L.A.’s backlist!

(Just leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest.)

Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

(Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on January 20, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.)
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Check out the other blogs on the tour!

January 15, 2018 – Love Bytes Reviews
January 15, 2018 – Dog-Eared Daydreams
January 15, 2018 – Unquietly Me
January 15, 2018 – Diverse Reader
January 16, 2018 – Boy Meets Boy Reviews
January 16, 2018 – Erotica for All
January 16, 2018 – Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
January 16, 2018 – MM Good Book Reviews
January 17, 2018 – We Three Queens
January 17, 2018 – Jessie G Books
January 17, 2018 – The Novel Approach
January 17, 2018 – The Day Before You Came
January 17, 2018 – La Crimson Femme
January 18, 2018 – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
January 18, 2018 – Open Skye
January 18, 2018 – The Blogger Girls
January 18, 2018 – On Top Down Under
January 18, 2018 – TTC Books and More
January 19, 2018 – My Fiction Nook
January 19, 2018 – Book Reviews and More by Kathy
January 19, 2018 – Bayou Book Junkie
January 19, 2018 – OMG Reads
January 19, 2018 – Two Chicks Obsessed

10 thoughts on “Romantic Behavior by L.A. Witt & Cari Z. Blog Tour, Guest Post, Excerpt & Giveaway!

  1. Thank you for the excerpt and post. It’s always good to have some build up to the intimacy.
    humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com

  2. Thank you for the excerpt. I’m really looking forward to reading this series
    susanaperez7140(at)Gmail(dot)com

  3. Thanks for the excerpt. I just started this series and can’t wait to read them all.
    heath0043 at gmail dot com

  4. Congrats, LA & Cari, and thanks for the post. Oh my, sounds like a great finale to the series. I just got book 1 to start it, so I’ll have to dig right in to catch up. – Purple Reader,
    TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com

  5. I am used to the great majority of L.A. Witt’s books that I’ve read having a number of sex scenes, but I didn’t miss it in “Reckless Behavior.” The protagonists had a lot of emotional issues they were dealing with, and they were supportive of each other. Darren and Andreas had a lot of stress in “Romantic Behavior,” too, but no one was actively trying to kill them. I liked how they eventually worked things out.

    neyronrose (at) gmail (dot) com

  6. I just bought the first book in the series today! Looking forwards to diving in!
    Thank for the chance to win more!

    psshepherd(at)earthlink(dot)net

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