Title: Beauregard and the Beast by Evie Drae
Once Upon a Vegas Night Tale Series Book One
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
House Line: Dreamspun Desires
Genre: Contemporary, Gay, Romance
Length: 206 pages/Word Count: 54,846
Summary:
A Once Upon a Vegas Night Tale
His greatest prize can’t be won in the octagon.
Champion MMA fighter Adam Littrell needs no distractions as he prepares for the fight that will determine whether he retires. But when he opens the door of his swanky Las Vegas home to his new personal assistant, Bo Wilkins, staying focused becomes a struggle.
Aware of Adam’s surly reputation, Bo doesn’t expect to like his new employer, let alone fall for him. But Bo is pleasantly surprised when a shared love of books leads them to study for their GEDs together and plan for a life after their current careers. Adam won’t be able to fight forever, and Bo wants a relationship on equal footing.
But just as their relationship is getting off the ground, the sister Bo raised needs his help, and he drops everything. With Adam’s final match looming and Bo in a different city, reuniting will be the real challenge.
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LINK TO BOOK TRAILER: https://youtu.be/c0cUznn1AW4
Excerpt
It wasn’t like they went out drinking on the regular, anyway. Alcohol wasn’t part of Adam’s approved diet, and Bo couldn’t hold his liquor to save himself.
A truth that became inherently obvious a few short hours later.
“You were so dang cute with that kid today.” Bo grinned, big and dopey. His words slurred ever so slightly, and his eyes were glassy behind the glare of his lenses. “I’m not sure you’ve ever been that stinkin’ adorable before. Like, not ever.”
Adam chuckled and sipped at the water he’d switched to after his first drink. He was all about celebrating, but getting shitfaced wasn’t his MO. Bo, on the other hand, needed exactly one drink to get him sloshed. And tonight he was cutting loose. Three drinks in and the poor guy was a sozzled mess.
“What do you say we head home?” Adam waved at the server for their private VIP lounge and pretended to sign the air, signaling for the check. The woman nodded and disappeared for the bar.
“Home.” Bo hummed and closed his eyes. “I like that. I like living in your home. My home. Our home.”
Damn. Adam straightened his shoulders. That sounded nice, didn’t it? Our home.
Bo’s glazed eyes drifted open and met Adam’s with bleary focus. “Would you fire me if I kissed you right now?”
“H’okay.” Adam hopped to his feet as a zing of bright hot lust arrowed straight into his groin. “It’s definitely time to get you home.”
“You wouldn’t, would you?” Bo frowned and swayed to a standing position, stumbling as soon as he was upright.
Adam caught him but was careful to keep distance between them. Bo’s frown deepened as he took a deliberate step forward. His slender body pressed flush against Adam’s, and for a brief pause, Adam allowed himself to press back.
“I’mma kiss you now.” Bo snaked his arms around Adam’s waist and lifted onto his toes. His soft, plump lips brushed Adam’s chin when his senses kicked back into gear at the last moment and he turned his head.
“Bo.” Adam gripped Bo’s shoulders and eased him away. The painful erection trapped behind the stiff fabric of his designer jeans throbbed in protest, but Adam forced the head with a brain to keep control. “You don’t want to do this.”
“Don’t I?” Bo lifted his brows. “Says who? You gonna fire me if I do? I don’t think so. You wouldn’t. You’re too squishy-hearted.”
Adam huffed out a laugh. “Squishy-hearted?”
“Yup.” Bo popped the p at the end with an exaggerated smack of his lips. “You’re a big ol’ softy who I wanna get very, very naked.”
“Fuck.” Adam groaned and held Bo firmly at arm’s distance. “You’re drunk. We can’t do this. I’m going to take you home and put you to bed.”
Bo’s brows waggled as he struggled to free himself from Adam’s grip. “Yes. Bed. Bed’s better than a bar for naked stuff.”
Have mercy. Adam closed his eyes and willed himself the strength to do what was right.
The server dropped off their check, and Adam had to free Bo to sign. He wrapped around Adam like a vine, the evidence of his drunken arousal pressing against Adam’s thigh.
“Kiss me.” Bo rocked his hips and clawed at Adam’s back. “Kiss me.”
Adam carefully extracted himself from Bo’s arms and once again held him at bay. “Bo, listen to me. You’ve had a lot to drink. I don’t want you waking up in the morning and regretting this. Let’s get you home and put you in your own bed.”
Bo’s brows furrowed as he yanked himself out of Adam’s hold. “I don’t care if I’m drunk. I know what I want.”
“Okay.” Adam drew out the word. He ran a hand through his hair to give himself a moment to think. “You know I want this too. Hell, I’ve wanted to kiss you since that first day you showed up on my front porch. But there are reasons we’ve kept our relationship platonic all this time. Rational, realistic reasons. We can’t let one night of lowered inhibitions get the better of us.”
“Fine.” Bo stomped his foot. Literally stomped his damn foot like a five-year-old throwing a temper tantrum. “I’ll be good for now. But you better brace yourself, ’cause it won’t be coffee I’mma use to wake you in the morning.”
With that, Bo turned on his heel and left.
It took Adam a full minute to get his wits about him as images of all the many, many ways he’d dreamed of Bo waking him danced through his mind. When he finally came back to earth, he cursed under his breath and hurried from the bar. He had a very drunk Bo to get safely home.
Author Bio
Evie Drae has won first place in seven Romance Writers of America® competitions and is a double finalist in the 2019 Golden Heart®. She landed her literary agent Eva Scalzo from Speilburg Literary following a dual win in the 2018 RWA® Heart to Heart.
She loves encouraging her fellow writers and started the #writeLGBTQ and #promoLGBTQ hashtags on Twitter to support LGBTQ+ authors and allies. She is married to the love of her life, is the mother of three fur babies, and runs almost entirely on coffee and good vibes.
Author Links: Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * Instagram * Pinterest * Newsletter
Giveaway
RELEASE WEEK GIVE AWAY (ENTER BY AUGUST 26th, WINNERS ANNOUNCED AUGUST 27th, 2019):
The GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive a personalized signed copy of Beauregard and the Beast, a $100 Amazon Gift Card, and an assortment of author swag! The RUNNER-UP will receive a personalized signed copy of Beauregard and the Beast and an assortment of author swag! Your followers can enter by clicking the following link: https://promosimple.com/ps/e886/b
