Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. Readers can jump from one author to another who share hooks from their current WIP (work in progress) or any previously published books.
For this week’s edition of Book Hooks, I give you a teaser from Knight Moves, book three in the When We Were Young series, a m/m contemporary, young adult romance. You can check out other book hooks by participating authors here.
Although they’re torn apart, they still hold a piece of each other’s heart.
Blurb: After receiving his grade twelve diploma and marking his eighteenth birthday, René Oshawee cannot fight the temptation seventeen-year-old high school junior Billy Redsky blatantly offers now that what they share has become taboo.
When their secret romance is blown into the open, Billy’s foster parents send René to Toronto to complete the last of his schooling under the supervision of a family friend, leaving Billy behind at their Ojibway community.
Now Billy and René must make the biggest decision of their lives—fight for the true love they know they’ll never find with anyone else or go their separate ways.
Genre(s): Multicultural, M/M Contemporary Romance, LGBTQ+, First Nations Romance, Young Adult, New Adult.
Heat Rating: Level 2
Publication Date: April 16, 2021
Publisher: eXtasy Books
René cast aside his tie. He worked on the buttons to his vest. One by one, with the flick of his thumb and index finger, he unfastened them. Sure, Billy had witnessed René removing his rocker apparel after the day was done and then slipping into his sweatpants, white t-shirt, and boring socks, but he sure hadn’t observed the guy shedding his clothes in such a determined yet suggestive fashion before.
“Are…are you gonna answer me?” Billy’s knees jittered.
“My first time doesn’t count.” René let go of Billy’s other hand. He slipped out of his jacket and vest. Then he draped the garments over the chair at the fancy phone desk by the staircase.
“It-it doesn’t?”
“No.” Very slowly, René shook his head. He worked on the buttons to his dress shirt.
If Billy’s heart kept going from a raging fire to pounding thunder, the crazy thing might stop beating.
“What about you?” René’s question was gentle yet seductive.
“Wh-what about me?” The cold never ceased, even with fine linen covering Billy’s arms.
“Am I the only one who’s gonna strip?”
“Uh…” First a too-dry mouth, and now Billy’s tongue was thicker than Pumpkin’s rump.
“If you’re not ready, say so. I don’t want you to do anything—”
The anxiety coursing through Billy’s veins died. “I am. I’m more than ready.” The words dribbling from his mouth had more courage than what trickled inside him.
“You sure?” René removed his cuff links. His voice remained smoother than satin.
“Aren’t you nervous?” Billy spit out through his still-clacking teeth.
“Of course I am. You don’t think I thought about this moment in the shower all the time?”
If René kept speaking in his cotton-caressing tone, Billy might melt all over the floor.
René finished with the cuffs. Those were also set on the small table. He curled his finger in a gentle come here.
Rubbing his biceps, Billy managed the one step to seal the tiny gap separating them.
René laid his palm on Billy’s face. This time his gaze was readable. Tender. “I love you,” he quietly said. “I love you so much. It hasn’t been easy for me, although you think otherwise.”
“It’s been about me, hasn’t it?” The cracks in Billy’s voice was reminiscent of puberty.
“Yeah, it has. I don’t want to hurt you again. When you dumped me after I…” René kept stroking Billy’s face. “Being dumped wasn’t the kicker. It was why you dumped me. I never wanna let you down again. Ever. I won’t let myself be the person responsible for your pain. Your family and buddies fed you enough of that crap.”
“Oh man…” Billy croaked out. “I got more than your heart, don’t I?”
“Yeah, you do.” René’s mouth came down on Billy’s.
He was enveloped in a kiss gentler than the brilliant white clouds he’d painted the other day that had floated by on the azure sky. René’s lips were plusher than the puffy pillows Billy rested his head on every night. He locked his arms around René’s shoulders.
His first time wouldn’t be the disaster he’d heard about from a couple of guys in the boys’ locker room, one confessing he’d had no idea where to put it. When love was in play, each took care of the other. And René was cherishing Billy, even though the guy admitted he was also nervous.
With his mouth still being dusted with delicate kisses, Billy glided along the ceramic floor and past the pool table. His socked feet hit the carpet just as René’s tongue slipped between Billy’s lips. The licks weren’t deep or probing. They were as gentle as the kisses lavished on him moments ago.
This was dreamier than a dream. Sweeter and softer than cotton candy. The guys in the locker room were wrong to do the deed without love involved. Holding someone’s heart was a guarantee of tender care during a time of apprehension and fear.
René was going to make this the best experience of Billy’s life. He knew it. Felt it deep in his bones. He lavished René’s tongue with bold strokes. The saliva Billy needed after his mouth had gone dry was replenished by René’s offering.
The backs of his knees bumped the sectional in the TV viewing area. He was guided onto the smooth fabric, straight onto his back with René following Billy downward.
Maggie Blackbird 
Definitely sweet and hot! Well done!
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This is simultaneously sweet and hot. Great scene, Maggie!
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