It's almost release time!

Another beautiful autumn Sunday here in southern California! At least the nights have finally turned cool, if not the days. All those meteorologists keep warning us that El Nino's on the way, but we're stil waiting.

It's finally release month for Chris Owen and me and we couldn't be more excited! The final installment of the Never Too Early series will be out on November 25. All three books will be released in print with all new covers! Our cover artist is super talented and did an amazing job and we can't wait to show them off. Stay tuned here or to our Facebook pages over the next few days for the reveals.

I'll leave you with the last little tease you'll get before Never Too Early: Full Circle comes out on November 25.

Chance was quiet for several minutes. A woodpecker in the front yard tree gave its high-pitched tweeting call before busily getting back to work.

"I definitely was not prepared," he finally said. "And I know Tuck wasn't. I'll have to really sit and talk with him to see what he thinks. I can't decide if us leaving today is a good idea or a shitty one."

"I'll miss you either way," Jake said. "I don't know Tucker well enough to know how long it takes him to think things through, and he might be uncomfortable being here. Which would suck. But you guys leaving and not being here to sort it all out sucks, too."

"There isn't much of a choice," Chance sighed. "Our flight is at two. If I didn't have to attend a meeting at headquarters tomorrow, I'd try and change it. But we -- well, at least I -- need to get home."

"I know." The distance sucked, and the fact that everyone had responsibilities they couldn't shake off was both a good thing and a bad thing. It made for good people, but it made it difficult to handle issues as they came up. "Maybe the four of us can make this morning a good one, and everyone will feel better by the time you leave. Even if things aren't completely settled, maybe they'll be better."

"It'll be better right now if you kiss me like you mean it."

Jake smiled and set his coffee mug aside. "Like I mean it?" He touched Chance's cheek and kissed his mouth softly. "More?"

"More." Chance smiled against Jake's lips and kept his eyes closed.

Jake gave him more, the smiles fading as the kisses deepened and Chance's mug was put down as well. They turned to each other, and Jake would have happily let his coffee go cold if he could stay right where he was for an hour or so.

Chance didn't seem inclined to go anywhere, either. He put both hands on Jake's face and held him gently as he pressed light kisses to Jake's forehead, cheeks, and bridge of his nose before returning to Jake's mouth with a sweep of his tongue and a slight nip. "I'll miss you," he murmured into Jake's ear, then sucked Jake's earlobe into his mouth for a split second.

"One of these days I'll ask you not to go," Jake whispered back. "Someday we'll stay together." Jake had no idea how that would work, but he knew that he wanted it.

Chance pulled back and looked at him, eyes soft. "Maybe someday we'll work it out."

Jake nodded and kissed him again. He was about to say something even more honest and probably embarrassing when the door opened and Tor said, "So, you two don't need more coffee, then?"

Getting closer...

November 5 is fast approaching! If you don't know why that matters, let me tell you. (I know I've told you before, but I personally need ten reminders about things before I can vaguely recall them.)

Chris Owen and I decided a while back that it would be an interesting experiment to see what happened if two of our most popular couples happened to meet each other. Jake and Tor from Bareback and Chance and Tucker from Heat might be able to make friends, despite their obvious differences and the fact that they don't live even remotely near each other, ha.

So we experimented. And our experiment grew into something neither of us expected. Namely, a really good book. A really good book that was too long to fit into just one novel, so we wrote three. And when we finished, we realized that this was a story that people needed to read.

Unexpected love stories are the best kind.

So that's why November 5 is a date you should remember. Don't worry, Chris and I will be reminding you. If you aren't familiar with Bareback or Heat, this is your chance to pick up those stories before November 5!

Leaving you on this gorgeous Sunday with a little excerpt. Have a great one, Slashers!

***

Tucker piped up again. "So then how come y’all wouldn’t hang with us last night? I mean, I know I said I’d buy you a drink, but dang. The bar serves Coke, you know." He smiled at Jake, flashing a hint of dimple.

Jake looked at Tor and then at Tucker. "Well, honestly, we had to have a talk to make sure we were on the same page about a couple of things. It's something we've learned to do, no matter what, even if we have to give up a pleasant evening with people."

"He means we had to be all responsible and shit, to keep from making a mess of our holiday."

Tucker’s eyebrows drew together. "Same page. About what?"

Since Chance also wanted to know the answer, he let Tucker do the asking, even though it was bordering on none of their business.

This time it was Tor with the shrug. "About spending time with attractive men, of course. What else?"

Chance could feel his own jaw drop. That was not the answer he’d expected. He blinked at Jake, looking for confirmation.

Jake, damn him, just gave him a slow grin. "They don't have mirrors in California?"

Chance could feel Tucker’s smirk without even looking in his direction. "I, well. We, you know. That’s cool. You know. Okay, whatever." Chance groaned inwardly. Tongue-tied wasn’t a good look on him. He cleared his throat and tried again. "It was only a drink. That’s all. Not a proposition."

"Good." Both Jake and Tor suddenly seemed serious. "We'd have to say no and excuse ourselves if it was," Jake said. "We're not looking for that at all. A nice conversation, though, is always welcome."

"We were not looking for that either," Chance said. It came out a little forcefully.

"Simmer down, Cap." Tucker slid closer to him and smiled at Jake and Tor. "What Chancellor is tryin’ to say is that he noticed you, he thought you looked pretty, and that’s as far as it’s gonna go. We don’t play that game. But we do make friends. Well, I do. Chance just yells at people." Tucker squeezed Chance’s hand to soften his teasing. "All good, right?"

"All's good here," Tor said with a nod. "Our talk had very little to do with y'all, honestly, and everything to do with us."

"That's true." Jake nudged his empty plate. "You'll have to take our word for it, I guess. But seems like all four of us are on the same page, now, so how about dessert?"

"Not for me," Chance said quietly. He was still mulling over the idea that someone might have thought he and Tucker were looking for another couple to play with. The thought hadn’t even crossed Chance’s mind.