Hi there! Today I’m sharing the release day festivities for the fourth episode in the Will and Patrick series. FIGHT THEIR FEELINGS is a sweet and sexy continuation of this M/M romantic comedy. You can check out my reviews for WAKE UP MARRIED, MEET THE FAMILY, and DO THE HOLIDAYS–but let’s also get to this next books shall we?
Catch the excerpt, my review and enter to win any of the Will & Patrick serial episodes (two winners!).
Follow Will & Patrick in this fourth installment of the romantic-comedy serial, Wake Up Married, by best-selling author Leta Blake and newcomer Alice Griffiths!
Will and Patrick have embraced adding hot sexy-times to their fake marriage, but as their emotions deepen, they confront whether or not they want to be more than friends-with-benefits. Freshly free of a restrictive relationship, Will’s not ready for more than exploratory fun. And no matter how Patrick feels about Will, his own difficult past has left him wary of love.
The heat is high (and occasionally kinky) in this episode of the Wake Up Married serial, but Will and Patrick struggle to accept their mutual affection, much less confess it. How long will they fight their feelings?
How about a tasty morsel?
Wrung out after the long night, Patrick shovels in the eggs and toast he ordered from room service. His mind drifts lazily as he eats, but when he hears the shower turn off, his stomach churns. He hates that his brain can ruin a perfectly good moment with memories that make him twitchy.
“About last night…” Will’s voice cracks slightly.
Patrick’s heart stops.
“Maybe it shouldn’t happen again?”
A sharp, deep pain lances into Patrick and he can’t breathe. It’s so unexpected, this horrible feeling, and he can’t think of anything to say. But hope and lust surge together as Will shoves away from the door. He grabs Patrick so hard it hurts and kisses him until the world shifts under their feet.
Yep, it had happened again. Had it ever. God, their second night in a row of sex had been—
Patrick jerks back to the present as the bathroom door swings open and Will strides out fully dressed in a pair of trousers and a button-up shirt. The eggs churn faster in Patrick’s stomach.
Will sits at the breakfast table. He tests, calculates, and injects his insulin before starting on his cottage cheese on toast. He looks up, fixing Patrick with a resolute gaze.
Patrick dodges the look and pokes his eggs with his fork. “Do we have to talk about it?”
Will takes another bite and chews deliberately.
“Because I don’t want to talk about it.” Patrick’s much more interested in a “don’t think, just do” policy when it comes to sex with Will. He’ll take that over revisiting the surprising pain of Will’s near-rejection the night before.
Will’s brows draw low and he chews for a long, tense moment. Patrick’s heart lurches like a skipping record until Will speaks. “Really? So you think there’s nothing to talk about?”
“Nope.” Patrick’s fork scrapes against his plate. “I don’t see why there would be.”
Will, of course, has other ideas. Like that’s anything new. “Patrick, we had sex again last night. Three times.”
“I know what we did, Will.”
“And?”
“And I liked it. And I don’t regret it.”
Will pulls his lower lip between his teeth. “You really liked it?”
“Puddin’-pop, you were there. Do you doubt you’re the best lay I’ve ever had?”
“The best?”
“Unequivocally.”
Will grins and eats some more of his cottage cheese on toast, joy rising up like the sun on his face. “You too. I mean, you’re the best I’ve had.”
Shocking. Patrick wants an award for not saying that out loud. He reaches out and takes hold of Will’s fingers. “I like being with you. I like what we’re doing and I don’t want to talk about it.”
Will pulls his hand away and scratches his ear uncertainly. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want us to stop.” He clenches his fist on the table and summons the strength to say, “Unless you want to stop?”
Will shakes his head and studies the food. After putting some eggs on his plate and compiling another cottage cheese and whole-wheat toast sandwich, he clears his throat and tentatively meets Patrick’s eye again. “So you think it’s okay if we—”
“Screw without professing our undying love first?”
Will flushes but nods.
“We’re having sex, not committing a crime. Of course it’s okay. Why make it into something it’s not?”
Will butters his toast and carefully doesn’t meet Patrick’s gaze again. This. This is why Patrick doesn’t want to talk about things. “What did I say wrong now?”
Will shrugs and takes a bite of toast. He finishes chewing and swallows. “What would we make it into that it’s not?”
“That’s what I don’t want to talk about.”
“Because you think I’ll say we can’t have sex anymore if there’s no hope of us really falling in love and making a little family together?”
Patrick breaks into a fine sweat. “Won’t you?”
He has no idea what thoughts the tiny hamsters on the wheels in Will’s mind are cranking out, but he can imagine they’re racing overtime as Will gazes at him silently. He feels like he might puke.
Will’s mouth tilts up at the corner. “No.”
“What?” Patrick chokes on his toast and has to grab a swallow of water.
“No, I won’t say we have to stop. We’ll keep on…you know.”
“Having sex.”
Will’s eyes go hot with lust. “Yeah. We’ll keep having sex.”
“I knew you liked it.” He leans forward, smirking. “Now, tell me what you liked best. In detail.”
Will adjusts his napkin in his lap. “I thought you didn’t want to talk about it.”
“I didn’t want to talk about ‘Oh, woe, it was wrong, and I’m still hurting over Ryan, and we’re getting divorced as soon as possible,’ because I know all that.”
Will finishes off his cottage cheese sandwich. “I get it.”
“Tell me all the dirty stuff. I want to hear how much you loved it.”
Will’s smile is soft. “Oh, I loved it.”
My Review:
This is the fourth episode in a serial novel, and should be read in sequence. I’ve read the first three and while the romance was slow to build–it truly began in the third episode–it is in full force now. While technically a novella, it’s over 40K words–so it’s a juicy read that’ll keep you occupied for hours.
Summary of the past three books: Will and Patrick have lived in the honeymoon suite of the Tallgrass Hotel in Healing South Dakota ever since their drunken “I Do”s in Vegas in early November. It’s now the beginning of January and they have finally consummated their marriage–twice. They cannot get a quickie divorce because doing so will cause Will to lose control of the Molinaro Trust–former mafia money that he has funneled into Good Works, a multimillion dollar humanitarian foundation. Patrick had lost his staff position in Atlanta and is now the chief neurosurgeon in the new Healing Hospital that Good Works has funded. Will had an emotionally abusive partner, Ryan, whose callous phone break-up triggered Will’s Vegas bender, and Will’s a recovering alcoholic and diabetic that Patrick has managed to keep healthy and sober for their entire marriage (barring the wedding night!).
In this episode, FIGHT THEIR FEELINGS, that’s exactly what’s going on. Will and Patrick have finally become sexually active, much to their mutual delight. Will has a lot of baggage to unload regarding sex, in part because his and Ryan’s sex life was horrendous and in other part because his family has rather peculiar ideas about sex, and homosexuality.
Will felt guilty having relations with a person whom he didn’t “love” but Patrick is someone that he does love–though he holds back from hoping/wishing/praying that they have a future together. Patrick continues to make it clear that he’s only sticking around until they can manage to get divorced. But that’s because Patrick doesn’t want to admit that he’s hopelessly in love with Will.
See, because he’s fighting his feelings…
This is a real emotion-driven episode with both Will and Patrick airing their vulnerabilities and asking for absolution in the only way they can. I liked it so, so much. Also, the sexytimes. GAH! Smoking hot and not skimping on the deets. Expect a bit of kink to make an appearance. (I don’t consider that a spoiler as it’s part of the disclaimer at the front of the book.)
The connections deepen. Will and Patrick build strong bonds that both satisfy and frighten them. And, of course, just when I think these guys are FINALLY on track, well, Will’s family manages to screw it all up. Again. Perhaps.
I’m going to leave you with this song, this freaking song that always brings tears to my eyes, and pretty much sums up Patrick’s feelings for Will.
Dan Hill’s Sometimes When We Touch has QUITE SERIOUSLY been haunting me ever since I finished this episode. So, yeah, I’ve been filled to the brim with melancholy, bittersweet, sentimental, impossible love for three days now. Thanks Leta and Alice.
As the series goes, it’s just getting more and more delicious. Can’t wait for the next episode.
Interested? You can find Will and Patrick FIGHT THEIR FEELINGS on Goodreads and Amazon.
****GIVEAWAY****
Clink on this Rafflecopter giveaway link for your chance to win any of the Will and Patrick episodes. (Two winners!)
Good luck and keep reading my friends!
About the Authors:
Leta Blake
Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.
You can find out more on her website, Facebook and twitter.
Alice Griffiths
A long-time reader of romance novels, Alice Griffiths finally took the plunge into writing, teaming up with best-selling author Leta Blake for the ‘Woke up Married’ serialized comedy. A lover of tropes, Alice enjoys mining old ideas and putting a fresh, funny spin on them. Formerly working in the newspaper industry, Alice is now an art curator. She lives in Sydney, Australia.
You can find out more about her by following her on Twitter and Facebook.
I just finished and that song about made me cry!! Omg it’s such a great book, a fabulous series!! Everyone should read!!
I’ve heard that song off and on in my head for nearly a week now. Total heart-tugging earworm!
Glad you liked the book. I’m excited to see what happens next! Thanks for popping in.
V:)