RELEASE TOUR
Building Home by J. Mackenzie
Length: 262 pages
Series: Home in the Berkshires Book 1
Prior Reading: n/a
Genre: contemporary
Tropes: Low-angst, Dual hurt/comfort, Found family, Renovation, Lots of pretzels, Even more dogs
Trigger/Content Warnings: Emotionally abusive relationship (off page and not between MCs), Parental death (off page), Nonmonogamy (MCs have sex on page with people who are not each other)
Spencer Lim has a good life—a decent apartment, a job renovating houses with his best friend, and a dog who’s the goodest boy on the planet. So what if he hasn’t slept with the same guy twice since he moved to Pittsfield? It’s not like he’s looking for a relationship, anyway.
Then he gets a call from Ian Collier, who has a wreck of a house and no idea what to do with it. This should be just like any other job. Except that Ian is quiet and serious and looks at Spencer in a way that intrigues him like nothing has in a long time. There’s a reason Spencer doesn’t do repeats, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember the more time he spends with Ian.
When Spencer volunteers to help Ian clean out the house’s basement, he starts to understand why dealing with the place has been so hard for Ian, and he’s tempted to share in return. Will opening up to Ian be a mistake? Or is Spencer finally ready to put himself out there again?
Spencer took Ian’s hand and led him over to the couch, pulling him into his lap. Ian’s hair was a bit wild from being outside and from Spencer playing with it earlier, and his pupils were blown wide. He licked his lips.
Spencer ran his hands up Ian’s sides over the soft fabric of his T-shirt. “What is this made of? Angels’ tears?”
Ian buried his head in Spencer’s shoulder to hide his laugh. “Pima cotton, I think.”
“Sure.” Spencer slid his palms down the expanse of Ian’s back to feel it again.
Ian wrapped his hands around Spencer’s neck and leaned down and kissed him. Spencer grabbed Ian’s hips, partially so he didn’t fall off the couch but mostly because it felt nice to have his hands on him. Spencer let himself slip into the sensation, not worried about what came next. It was so hard to worry when Ian was around. Ian’s lips were warm and gentle, and his tongue was moving leisurely against Spencer’s. Ian seemed to like to lead, so Spencer relaxed back into the couch cushions, tipping his head up to meet Ian’s lips. He felt calm, like he always did when he was with Ian, a warm pleasure suffusing his body.
Suddenly something wet was shoved between their torsos. “Oh my god, Norman.” Spencer extended his arm and snapped, trying to distract Norman as far away from them as he could reach. “Go the fuck away.”
Ian’s whole body was shaking with laughter. He looked beautiful, cheeks flushed, eyes bright, and Spencer got distracted by it until Norman nosed back in.
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Ian ran his thumbs over Spencer’s cheekbones. “He’s just encouraging moderation. I could have kept kissing you all night.”
“Norman has never enjoyed moderation in his life.” Spencer tried to look at the dog sternly, but his big, dopey eyes disarmed him like they always did. “I’m not sure what your plan for the night was, but if we get in bed and start, uh, other activities, he’ll leave us alone.”
“Yeah, that sounds nice.” Ian kissed him one more time, slow and sweet, then slid off his lap.
J. Mackenzie is an avid reader and writer of queer romance. Her favorite tropes are friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance, and found family. Her new novel, Building Home, is coming March 21.
