Hey, everyone! I have some wonderful news to share with you all. I have a
tentative release date for my upcoming novel, HEARTSTRINGS. According to what my editor and I are predicting, it should release on May 11th at
MLR Press. Woo hoo! Not very far away at all! There's always the possibility that date could change, but if it does, it won't be by much. The book is well into edits at this point.
So with it's release drawing closer, I thought I'd share with you all a little sneak peek excerpt. I unveiled this at
The Sweet Spot this past Saturday, but I thought it would be nice to share it here, too :-) I do apologize if you see any typos since we're still editing. And, there is some adult language and thoughts going on, so beware. I hope very much you'll all enjoy this glimpse at Las Lamont and Quinn Patrick of HEARTSTRINGS!
Blurb:
When violinist, Nicholas “Las” Lamont” would make his treasured violin sing, he could transfer the emotion of every piece to his listeners. That was before his passion faded. As Las performs the last concert on his tour, he realizes his lackluster playing goes against everything he used to love about music and he has two choices; rediscover his love for music, or stop playing.
Quinn Patrick, the leader and drummer of the Scottish rock band, Lions Rampant, lives for music. The instant he and Las meet, Quinn sees in him a man with a beautiful gift, but who’s lost his way. He wants nothing more than to bring back the sensitivity and passion that made Las the virtuoso he is.
The more time Las spends with Quinn, the more he learns about what it is to love music. But if he’s to truly find happiness, he must open his heart not only to music again, but to Quinn as well.
Excerpt:
Lying on the king-size bed in his hotel room, his eyes closed, Quinn let the soft notes from the violin float over him. He could almost feel them caressing him. Each one moved so fluidly, with such masterful skill in Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, and yet with a power so subtle, his emotions stirred. He went from a sensation of awe, to yearning, to invigoration, and behind his closed eyes, moisture built in appreciation of the sheer beauty. The music coursed through him, filling not only his ears, but his whole body and being.
The way the violin sang, its voice lush and rich, made it seem as though he were listening to a living entity perform. Perfection. It could be described as nothing less. This was the work of a virtuoso. This was Las.
With the violin’s voice fading into the piece’s end, a knock sounded on his door. Quinn opened his eyes, pulling in a deep breath. He felt like he’d just come out of a trance. He sat up slowly, sitting with his legs hanging over the edge of the bed, the violin continuing to whisper through his mind.
Knocking rattled the door a second time.
Quinn shook his head slightly attempting to clear it and rose to his feet. He switched off the stereo and moved through the bedroom suite, smoothing his clothes on the way to the door. Anticipation replaced the sense of peace the music had brought to him. Since meeting Las that afternoon, he’d had trouble focusing all through lunch with Greg and the meeting afterward, wanting the business to wrap up so he could call him.
Quinn stopped at the door, doing a final glance down at his clothes and running a hand over his hair. He opened the door, presenting a smile. His breath caught as he looked at Las.
Las stood with one hand on the outer doorframe, the stance pulling open the top of his black button down shirt. Quinn could see the muscled lines of Las’s chest, the skin smooth and a light bronze. Las wore a black leather jacket that ended just below his hips, and perfectly pressed black dress pants.
Having been looking down, Las lifted his head. Quinn noticed he’d forgone shaving, the stubble accenting his dark dress. He had his dark blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, same as he’d worn it that afternoon, and Quinn couldn’t help but want to see what it looked like taken down. Las’s eyes, a light brown, locked with his own. It took only looking into them to wake his cock and send his heart pounding. God, but he wanted to be fucked by this man.
A sensual smile slid over Las’s lips. “Hey. It’s good to see you again.”
Quinn took a breath. “You, too.” He turned from the door, using the moment of not looking at Las to find his senses. “You can come in. I just need to grab my wallet.”
Las walked in, closing the door behind him, his gaze on Quinn’s ass fitted in snug black leather pants. Quinn wore a white long-sleeved shirt, the material hugging his torso and arms to where Las already had a vision of what the muscular body beneath would look like unclothed. Rings ornamented Quinn’s fingers, and beneath the left shirt sleeve, Las saw the edge of a thick black leather cuff bracelet. As Quinn turned for the bedroom, he watched him shake his fingers through his long, black hair.
Las smiled to himself. Quinn was so rock star. It was impossible to look at him and not think he was involved with rock music in some way. There was simply a different feel to him from other people, as though the energy and power of the music he played reverberated around him all the time. It made him wonder what Quinn would be like in bed. Wild and unhindered, he imagined, and he hoped to find out tonight.
Las cleared his throat, lifting his voice to carry into the bedroom. “I’m glad you called me this afternoon.”
Quinn stepped out, smiling and pulling on a black leather coat. “And I’m glad you weren’t busy. I was afraid it’d be too short of notice and you’d already have plans for the night.”
“Actually, other than Julian, I don’t know anyone in this city. I live in New York, but my final concert ended up being here after the first in the tour was canceled, thanks to the flu. I just decided to stick around for a couple days to visit Julian.”
Quinn headed toward the door. “You two go a ways back, then?”
“Back to Juilliard. He was a couple years behind me, but we were still good friends.” As Quinn reached to open the door, Las took a graceful step to the side, putting a hand on it to keep it closed. He met Quinn’s eyes. “But I wanted to ask, do you really want to go out to dinner, or should we just order something up?”
A surprised laugh broke from Quinn. “Well, you’re not shy, are you? But I normally like to have at least a couple hours of good conversations with someone before I fuck ‘em.”
Las took his turn to laugh. “And here I thought all rock stars fucked on the fly.”
Quinn’s smile grew larger. “Oh, I’ve done that, too. And I still do from time to time. But you see, if I want to have a conversation with you first, then it means I really like you.”
Las moved his hand down to the doorknob. “In that case, I feel honored. Shall we?”
Quinn nodded and walked through the held open door. With Las behind him, he adjusted his cock, made fully hard from Las’s lack of subtlety.
The elevator opened right after he hit the down button, and as he stepped in, Las moved to stand close to his side. Though Las didn’t touch him, Quinn’s skin tingled with the desire to feel him, even if it was just a brush of his hand. He took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself, but all it did was let him inhale the spice of Las’s cologne, the fragrance strong, sharp, and bold. Fitting to its wearer.
He slowly turned his head toward him, finding Las gazing at him.
His voice low, husky, Las said, “You look really good.” He touched the top of Quinn’s leather pants at his hip. “I especially like these.”
“If that’s so, then you’d probably really like my black leather kilt.”
Las leaned closer to him. “The easier the access, the better.”
Quinn wet his lips. He started to regret deciding against having food brought up to his room, and wondered if it was too late to change his mind.
The elevator door opened, snapping Quinn back to the moment. He hadn’t even felt it stop. He glanced out, seeing a small group of people staring at them, seeming hesitant to enter. If how he felt inside transferred even halfway to his appearance on the outside, then he most likely looked about ready to drop to his knees to suck Las’s cock down his throat, so he could understand the people feeling uncomfortable. He gave a polite smile and nod to the group, and stepped out of the elevator.
Copyright 2012 by S.J. Frost and MLR Press
