An Excerpt from Renewing Forever by Kelly Jensen (@kmkjensen) #giveaway

Comfort Not Speed (Excerpt)

Tom was about to open his mouth, to say it. To tell Frank why he’d hit him. To share his fears. Before he could, though, Frank cupped his cheeks and kissed him again, properly this time. Tom’s heart heaved a happy sigh at the sweetness of that mouth pressed to his. At the brushes of lips, the almost chaste exchange as they learned the shape of each other, how their lips fit together. It was familiar and strange and wonderful, and when Frank parted his lips, Tom flicked his tongue between, just once in a quick tease.

He felt Frank’s lips curve and couldn’t help grinning in response. Their kisses became pecks and near misses as smiles interfered with their ability to connect more deeply, as they nipped, touched tongues, and played. Played.

Oh, this! Tom could cry for the joy of this. This was what their first kiss should have been. Light and happy, yet full of expectation. The knowledge that this led to everything else burned a blissful path down through his middle. Anticipation tightened his gut. Around them, the frogs continued to sing in praise of their reunion.

Lips still connected to Frank’s, Tom got to his feet and straddled Frank’s thighs, sliding into his lap. Frank welcomed him with a hand to either side, gripping his ass and pulling him forward. Now high enough to look down at the face he’d never forgotten, Tom took time to pay homage to each feature all over again. Pale-ginger eyebrows and lashes, Frank’s almost button nose. His small, pink lips. Wide chin with a slight cleft between. The softening angle of his jaw. The pebble of one earlobe, then the other.

Frank’s hands traveled up and down Tom’s back. His hips seemed to undulate beneath him. Tom rode the wave, moving in with each crest until he was fused to Frank, until their mouths joined in the deeper kiss they both craved. Warmth touched Tom’s back as Frank delved beneath his shirt. Tom sighed at the spread of a broad hand over his spine, the way Frank pressed his thumb just there, over Tom’s hip, and traced up and down, as though he wanted to know every part of him.

Tom rocked forward, the heat in his groin hardening. The press of his zipper was uncomfortable, but pleasurably so. The strain over his thickening cock, another tease. He pushed a hand inside the collar of Frank’s shirt. Then, trailing a kiss downward, unbuttoned from the top, baring Frank’s chest while bending to kiss his collarbones. He scooted backward a little, opening a space between them. The hand at his back held him upright and steady. Tom left the rest of Frank’s shirt buttoned, but pulled it out of his pants so he could touch Frank’s hip, explore the softness of his stomach.

This was his Frank. Big and strong. Built for comfort, not speed. Tom wanted to be in bed with this man—enfolded in his arms and crushed up against his skin. His Frankie, his Frank.

*****

Renewing Forever is the second of a series of standalone novels focused on older characters who think love has passed them by. Frank and Tom’s story is a true second chance romance, reuniting childhood friends and first loves separated by an argument and thirty years of misunderstanding. I hope you enjoy reading about their renewed friendship and their plans for forever.

*****

About Renewing Forever

A neglected resort, a lost chance at love, and one last chance to renew forever.

Frankie and Tommy once dreamed of traveling the world together. But when seventeen-year-old Frank kissed Tom, their plans ended with a punch to the jaw and Frank leaving town without looking back. Thirty years later, Frank’s successful career as a journalist is interrupted by his uncle’s death and the question of his inheritance—the family resort where his childhood dreams were built. When he returns to the Pocono Mountains, however, he finds a dilapidated lodge and Tommy, the boy he never forgot.

Tom’s been keeping the resort together with spit and glue while caring for Frank’s uncle, Robert—a man he considered father, mentor, and friend—and his aged mother, who he refuses to leave behind. Now Robert is gone, taking Tom’s job with him. And Frank is on the doorstep, wanting to know why Tom is still there and why the old lodge is falling apart.

But before they can rebuild the resort, they’ll have to rebuild their friendship. Only then can they renew the forever they planned all those years ago.

Now available from Riptide Publishing!

*****

About the This Time Forever Series

Small towns and second chances.

Simon, Frank, and Brian think love has passed them by. Each is facing down his fiftieth birthday—Simon in a few years, Frank next year, and Brian soon enough. Each has loved and lost. But for these men, everything old really is new again, and it’s only when they return to their roots that they’ll find their second chances and the happily ever after they’ve been waiting their whole lives for.

This time it’s forever.

This series includes:

1. Building Forever — releasing October 15, available now!
2. Renewing Forever — releasing November 12, available for preorder!
3. Chasing Forever — releasing December 10, available soon!

*****

About Kelly Jensen

If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite having read over a hundred stories about the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.

Kelly is the author of a number of novels, novellas, and short stories, including the Chaos Station series, cowritten with Jenn Burke. Some of what she writes is speculative in nature, but mostly it’s just about a guy losing his socks and/or burning dinner. Because life isn’t all conquering aliens and mountain peaks. Sometimes finding a happy ever after is all the adventure we need.

Connect with Kelly:

Website: kellyjensenwrites.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kellyjensenwrites/

Twitter: twitter.com/kmkjensen

Tumblr: kmkjensen.tumblr.com/

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/kmkjensen/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/kellyjensenwrites/

*****

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Renewing Forever one lucky person will win a $25 Riptide Publishing gift card and a swag pack of stickers, art cards, and bookmarks! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on November 17, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!