Time passed. The storm outside seemed to come in waves, lulling almost to a gentle rain, and then cresting again in a fury of wind and driven water…
One storm. Twelve men. The Storming Love series from MLR Press is a set of six novellas, loosely connected by Hurricane Lauris. In these books you’ll meet men dealing with the storm preparations, the violent, frightening and destructive impact, and the sometimes-heartbreaking aftermath of the hurricane. Each book stands alone. Each couple meets the challenges in their own way.
In my contribution, Nelson & Caleb, Nelson Dunn has a settled routine – an evening security-guard job, days off for his therapy dogs, occasional club sex, and good books. He sometimes dreams about more, but he’s made himself content. So when Hurricane Lauris strands Caleb Robertson at his house, Nelson has mixed feelings about having an attractive guy in his space. Especially when nothing more can possibly happen.
Caleb had gone to the hospital to get the cast off his broken foot. Instead, he finds himself waiting out the storm with Nelson, his three dogs, and a very wet cat. It’s less of a hardship than he’d have expected.
The novella is now available from MLR Press, Amazon, All Romance ebooks and soon at other retailers.
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excerpt:
Nelson reached over and snapped on the radio, tuning it to the traffic station. They rolled on through the steadily deepening gloom. The rain hit the roof like pebbles, and ran in sheets down the windows. Wind buffeted the high-riding SUV, first from one side and then another. They passed front yards already shiny with standing water and puddles that had hopes of becoming lakes. He drove around one and through another, the water arcing away from his wheels in a high fan. Another branch blew by, and he had to run over it. He winced at the crunch, grateful for the SUV’s high clearance.
“Take a right on County Road Seven,” Robertson said. “Unless you think we should stop trying to get to my place. You still have to get home afterward.” His voice sounded tight with stress.
“Don’t worry about me, sir.”
“Hey, you don’t need to call me sir. Caleb is fine.”
He hesitated a minute. His badge at work just said, “Dunn”, but there was no reason to keep a distance right now. “Nelson.”
“Good to know. Thanks for the ride, Nelson.”
The radio crackled, with reports of a power line down to the south of town. Another warning telling residents to take shelter and only drive if necessary was repeated. He was able to ease his speed up a notch despite the warning, becoming familiar with the shift and sway as the wind found gaps in the trees lining the county road. They were getting into more rural areas now, passing clumps of scrubby woods whipping around in the slanting downpour, and fields bleak, rain soaked and empty.
A truck blasted past them the other way. The wave of spray on the windshield blinded him momentarily, and he cursed and slowed until the wipers could catch up. He’d driven in worse weather than this, back when Protect and Serve meant taking his patrol car out in any storm, but it wasn’t comforting to think this was just the leading edge.
As they crested the next little hill, he peered ahead. “Damn.” He pulled over and stopped on the shoulder.
“What?” Caleb leaned forward quickly and rubbed fog off the windshield, trying to see better. “Oh. Not good.”
Ahead of them, the road dipped down before climbing the next ridge, and at the low point a sheet of water covered the pavement. It might only be inches deep, or it might be feet.
“We can try it,” Nelson said slowly…
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The other books in this Storming Love series include
Gage and Collin by S.J. Frost
Bradley & Mike by Stephani Hecht
Bear & Travis by Parker Williams
Austin & Troy by Kendall McKenna
Doug & Neal by Diana DeRicci
Twelve men, one storm, six love stories.