Hi guys, we have Vivien Dean and Rick R. Reed popping in with their upcoming release Stranded With Desire, we have a quick intro from Vivien and an exclusive excerpt, so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~
Stranded With Desire
Vivien Dean &Rick R. Reed
When their plane crashed, their desire took flight.
CEO Maine Braxton and his invaluable assistant, Colby, don’t realize they share a deep secret: they’re in love—with each other. That secret may have never come to light but for a terrifying plane crash in the Cascade Mountains that changes everything.
In a struggle for survival, the two men brave bears, storms, and a life-threatening flood to make it out of the wilderness alive. The proximity to death makes them realize the importance of love over propriety. Confessions emerge. Passions ignite. They escape the wilds renewed and openly in love.
When they return to civilization, though, forces are already plotting to snuff out their short-lived romance and ruin everything both have worked so hard to achieve.
Vivien Dean & Rick R. Reed!
It’s hard not to love a stranded story. I mean, what’s more exciting than throwing two characters in danger with a host of emotional secrets to protect and nobody to rely upon but each other? The potential for conflict and drama is endless.
At the start of the story, Maine and Colby are finishing up a business deal in Seattle. For reasons unknown to Colby, Maine has asked him to move up their trip home to Chicago, but Colby makes it happen in spite of his concerns about the weather. The following excerpt takes place an hour into their flight home.
Exclusive Excerpt
He was about to unbuckle and get up to raid the first aid kit for some Tylenol when a violent shudder shook the plane. Colby’s book went flying, while Maine’s shoulder slammed against the window. The padded leather inlay softened the blow, but he was more concerned with what was going on in the cockpit than the ache in his arm.
“I thought we were past the storms, Rooster,” he said, twisting around.
“We are. Just hit a rough patch left behind. That’s all.” Rooster reached out of sight, and the jostling eased, the horizon ahead smoothing out again. “Best keep your belts on for the time being, though. I’ll see what I can do to get us around this.”
As Maine settled back, Colby scooped up his book from where it had landed on the floor. “So much for some relaxing reading.”
“Bad luck for you. Now you’re stuck entertaining your boring boss.” But good luck for Maine. He could claim Colby’s full attention without looking like he really needed it at the moment.
“That’s hardly—”
The rest was cut off by another sudden lurch. This time the plane took a definitive angle.
Down.
“Rooster!” Maine staggered to his feet, white-knuckling his headrest to keep his balance. Though Colby’s wide gaze tracked his less than graceful exodus, Maine blocked out the panic he saw there to move closer to the cockpit. “You said we wouldn’t have a problem getting back.”
“I also said to keep yourself buckled, but apparently nobody’s listening to me today,” Rooster growled.
His linebacker shoulders were rigid as he held on to the controls, and sweat speckled his bald scalp. Maine had never seen him so tense before, but the view of clouds rushing up to engulf them certainly explained it.
“You want a play-by-play, or you want me to get us out of this? Choice is yours.”
His answer was a grim turnabout. Getting in Rooster’s face had been a rash move, prompted by the raw maelstrom of his nerves. Maine knew better than that, and he hated how he’d let his impulses take over, even briefly. Control was key, especially now, so he took a deep breath before resuming his seat.
“Are we going to crash?” Colby whispered.
Maine’s heart twisted at the fear on Colby’s face. When this was over, Maine would find some way to make it all up to him. He’d put up with a lot of shit on this trip, more than any person should have to tolerate. Grateful as he was for it, Maine didn’t deserve that level of devotion.
“We’re going to be fine.” He pushed every ounce of conviction he could muster into the simple declaration, desperate for Colby to believe him. “Rooster’s a pro.”
Colby’s gaze skittered to the window, where the clouds now completely obscured their view. “We’re still going down.”
“He’s getting us to a safer altitude. That’s all.”
The weight of every second it took for Colby to drag his focus back was another burden on Maine’s soul.
“This would’ve been a perfect time for a cigarette, you know.”
Maine snorted and began digging around for his seat belt, where it was currently lodged between the thick cushions. “Well, if you still want one when we get back on the ground, I promise I won’t give you shit for it.”
A rumble rocked the plane into an alarming wobble. Maine slipped from his seat, his knee crunching to the floor, while his hand shot out to stop himself from a face-plant. The engines began to whine, an unnatural cry that stippled icy gooseflesh down Maine’s spine.
“Do me a favor,” Maine said, falling back onto his seat. “Put your head between your knees until we’re level again. Just in case.”
Nodding, Colby obeyed, but the image of his liquid eyes lingered. Maine couldn’t banish it as he struggled to buckle in or when he finally gave up because the plane’s continued pitching kept thwarting his attempts. He returned to his knees on the floor with Colby still in his thoughts and covered his bowed head with his hands.
I’m so sorry, Colby. I could’ve saved us from all this if I wasn’t so damn paranoid. A smart man would’ve called Leo and demanded to know what’s going on, but of course I didn’t do that. I dropped that ball. It feels like I’ve been dropping a lot of those lately.
“We’re gonna try and go up!” Rooster shouted.
Maine braced for the worst, swallowing down his nausea when Rooster acted on his call. Was Colby all right? He hoped so. He couldn’t look up to check. One glimpse of disappointment on Colby’s face and Maine would lose it.
You always see the best in me, but I don’t know how. I really don’t. I swear, though, that’s going to change. I will do whatever it takes to see you walk away from this, and when we’re on the other side, I’ll be better. I’ll be the man you think I already am, no matter what it takes.
The last five words became his silent mantra. Maine repeated them over and over, through Rooster’s updates and the turbulent shaking of the plane, until he was deaf to the mechanical screeches. When Rooster’s “Brace yourself!” fought to supplant all else, Maine buried his head deeper.
Then it all went black.
About Vivien & Rick
VIVIEN DEAN is a firm believer that love doesn’t care about gender. That’s why her titles encompass both GLBT and het, erotic and sweet, as well as a wide variety of genres. After growing up in the snowy and isolated Midwest, she went off in search of her creative muse. She performed on stage, wrote and directed indie films in Orlando, then met her British soulmate online. One wedding, two children, and ten addresses later, she resides in the Bay Area where it’s easy to indulge in her favorite pastimes—good theater, great movies, and amazing food.
Vivien is a three-time EPIC eBook Award winner and collaborated with Pepper Espinoza to write as Jamie Craig for five years.
CONTACT VIVIEN
www.viviendean.com | Blog | E-mail: vivien_dean@yahoo.com | Facebook | Twitter
Rick R. Reed is all about exploring the romantic entanglements of gay men in contemporary, realistic settings. While his stories often contain elements of suspense, mystery and the paranormal, his focus ultimately returns to the power of love.
He is the author of dozens of published novels, novellas, and short stories. He is a three-time EPIC eBook Award winner (for Caregiver, Orientation and The Blue Moon Cafe). He is also a Rainbow Award Winner for both Caregiver and Raining Men. Lambda Literary Review has called him, “a writer that doesn’t disappoint.”
Rick lives in Seattle with his husband and a very spoiled Boston terrier. He is forever “at work on another novel.”
STALK RICK
Facebook Page | Twitter | Google+ | Blog | Website | Bookbub | Email: rickrreedbooks@gmail.com
