Release Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway:
The Linebacker
Portland Protectors- EHM Security Series, Book 2
By Emerson Beckett & Rheland Richmond
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Is it wrong for me to want the world to know I’m in love with Patrick Griffin and have been since we were eight-years-old?
Patrick Griffin
I hurt him. I didn’t mean to.
Now he’s gone, and I deserve it.
As a linebacker in the NFL, I’ve never found the right time to come out of the closet. Not even when I promised Cole I would.
But now, with Cole’s band, Fallen Angel, in the spotlight along with my team, the pressure is mounting. Everyone thinks we’re just best friends, but the weight of my secret is tearing us apart.
And it just might be too late to save us when I can.
Cole Bradley
Is it wrong for me to want the world to know I’m in love with Patrick Griffin and have been since we were eight-years-old?
He is the love of my life, but it’s been years of waiting and excuses.
All our friends, even his teammates, have a public life. So why can’t we?
He promised it would be different in Portland.
But then he tells yet another reporter he’s single. I need a break. It’s perfect timing since our band is heading out on tour.
I don’t know if I can live without him. But I don’t think I can do forever in the closet.
It’s always been Patrick for me, but is it too much to ask for the world to know he’s mine too?
The Linebacker is a secret romance and childhood best friends-to-lovers MM Romance. It is book two in the Portland Protectors-EHM Security Series and the eleventh book in the Package Deal World.
To maximize reader enjoyment, it is highly recommended to read the other books in the Package Deal Series, as well as book one, The Rockstar. Series reading order can be found at the beginning of each book.
Content Warning: Referenced off the page homophobic violence toward an off the page character, and an automobile accident.
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Excerpt:
The luxury suite in our high-rise hotel was dark as I stood looking out the window. The only light that crept in was from the lights shining over San Francisco. It had a magnificent view of the water during the day that was dark and moody now. It was really kind of prophetic.
I heard the door lock disengage in the silence as Patrick entered the room. The air stirred around him and brought the smell of his cologne and body wash to my nose. My heart throbbed at the thought of leaving him tomorrow, but I knew in my gut that it was what we needed if we had a hope of surviving.
Strong, warm arms wrapped around me and pulled me back into his chest. “Babe, why are you standing here in the dark?”
There were so many things I wanted to say but chose not to. “Just looking at the city. It’s really beautiful from up here.”
I tilted my head to the side as Patrick placed kisses down the side of my neck and onto my shoulder. His familiar hardness pressed against my ass and made me long for him, even though I was standing right here, wrapped in his arms.
“I need you,” he murmured against my skin. There was an unmistakable edge to his voice. His big hand went to my middle and held me in place against him.
“Patrick, we need to talk.” I was fighting to keep my emotions down, but I knew I was going to lose.
He loosened his hold just enough to turn me around to face him. Warm caramel eyes met my blue ones as the smile slipped from his face.
“What’s wrong? You feeling okay?”
I slipped from his arms and went to sit on the sofa. Patrick followed me, his handsome face now missing the smile I loved.
“We need to talk about the tour.”
Patrick unfolded his six-foot-five body from the sofa and got on his knees in front of me. He wedged himself between my thighs and took my face in his hands. Looking into them, he pulled my face to his.
“I know things are strained between us, but can we please have tonight to celebrate and just be you and me? Forget the world and everyone in it. Just me and you, like we’ve always been.”
“Patrick,” I whispered, the emotion thick in my throat before he sealed his mouth over mine. His tongue slipped past my lips, and I sank into his warmth, wrapping my arms around him. I wanted to stay like this forever.
The Linebacker by Emerson Beckett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Cole the rockstar, is desperately in love with Patrick the football player, but it’s just not enough anymore. They had been friends (and later, more) since they were kids. Patrick is afraid if he comes out he will lose his career. Cole, fed up with the situation, decides he just can’t handle the misery anymore and leaves on his tour, knowing that will probably make him more miserable but he has to do something different, even if it’s wrong.
This story is dripping angst. Both Cole and Patrick carry around a lot of guilt about their relationship. Although they talk about it a lot there is never a resolution just more pain. Neither able to accept the other’s reasoning.
I liked the way the mental health care was handled and how Patrick’s therapy helped him deal with issues he didn’t understand.
This is another book with a very large cast of colorful characters. I’m not sure all their input was that helpful (but it was usually humorous). I think it would add depth to the story to have read what came before. The next pairing in the series seem like it should prove interesting.
Review Copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads.
View all my reviews
Enter the Giveaway: To celebrate the release of The Linebacker, Rheland & Emerson are giving away 2 e-books of the release!
A Rafflecopter Giveaway
Emerson Beckett is an avid sports fan and lover of M/M romance books, Emerson loves her new career as an author. It gets even better when she can combine the two. Emerson is the co-author of The Package Deal Series and The Portland Protectors: EHM Security Series with Rheland Richmond. The We Could Do This Duet is her first solo project.
Emerson lives in North Carolina and has been married to the same man for 34 years. She is the mother of three beautiful adults, one of whom is completely responsible for her addiction to MM Romance.
Emerson is now mom to an Australian Shepherd, four cats, and a cute bunny rabbit.
Connect with Emerson:
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For as long as she can remember, Rheland’s had her nose stuck in a book, getting lost in the world of someone else’s creation (She still does). Her love for writing came from her love for reading. She could never have one without the other.
Writing has always been a hobby and a cathartic experience for her. There are many stories lost to the never to be completed or published pile but needed to be written at the time.
She’s just a girl that loved stories so much she decided to write hers.
Rheland would love to hear from her readers and learn more about y’all. So if you get a chance… Get in touch.
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