Blog Tour: Dirty Laundry (A Tucker Springs Novel) by Heidi Cullinan (Review+Guest Post+Excerpt+Giveaway)

Title: Dirty Laundry

Series: Tucker Springs: Book 3

Author: Heidi Cullinan

Release Date: March 29, 2019

Category: Contemporary, BDSM

Pages: 199

Sometimes you have to get dirty to come clean.

When muscle-bound Denver Rogers effortlessly dispatches the frat boys harassing grad student Adam Ellery at the Tucker Springs laundromat, Adam’s thank-you turns into impromptu sex over the laundry table. The problem comes when they exchange numbers. What if Adam wants to meet again and discovers Denver is a high-school dropout with a learning disability who works as a bouncer at a local gay bar? Or what if Denver calls Adam only to learn while he might be brilliant in the lab, outside of it he has crippling social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Either way, neither of them can shake the memory of their laundromat encounter. Despite their fears of what the other might think, they can only remember how good the other one feels. The more they get together, the kinkier things become. They’re both a little bent, but in just the right ways.

Maybe the secret to staying together isn’t to keep things clean and proper. Maybe it’s best to keep their laundry just a little bit dirty.

First Edition published by Riptide Publishing, January 2013.

Buy Links:

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Excerpt (contains sex/strong language)

Adam closed his eyes, head lolled back onto Denver’s shoulder, and when he spoke, his voice was so subdued he almost slurred. “It’s not that I don’t want you.”

“I figured that one out.” Denver cupped Adam’s erection, teasing his fly undone with his thumb.

“It’s just not… safe to be alone with someone like that. That alone and vulnerable.”

Had something happened to Adam? Was that why he was so nervous, bopping around like a rabbit? The idea made Denver hot to find whoever had hurt Adam, made him so afraid, and pound them into oblivion. He pulled Adam in tighter, turning his fondling of Adam’s cock into a caress. “You tell me what you want, baby. Tell me what is safe, and I’ll give it to you.”

“This.” Adam’s hands rose up and back to clutch at Denver’s head, knocking at his hat and rubbing against the bristles of his cheeks. “God, this.”

“In the hallway, right by the door?”

“Yeah. Against the wall, you behind me. They can see me, but they can’t touch me, because you’re here. Like with the laundry. You won’t let anyone fuck with me.”

The words rushed through Denver, making his whole body swell with pleasure, pride. “Just me.” He pulled Adam’s cock out of his pants and stroked him meaningfully. “I’m going to fuck with you, though. Fuck you, baby. Right into the wall.”

“Yes.” Adam’s hands clutched harder at Denver. He was so lost he was barely there. High on mineral water and Denver. Denver fucking loved it.

“I want to fuck your mouth.” Denver growled this into Adam’s ear, stroking him harder. “I want you on your knees in front of me, looking up while I fuck that sweet mouth.”

Fingernails cut into Denver’s neck. “Yes.”

God help him, he almost did it right there. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had fucked on the main floor, maybe even at the front door. He could have whipped it out and rutted fast, burying into Adam like he was asking for, knocking some good moans out of him so enough people heard to look and admire. The very idea of it filled him with such a rush it made his teeth ache, made him want to turn animal and just do it. But even if Jase wouldn’t hang him for it, or the cops, who felt the need to nip in and make sure the world wasn’t coming to an end via public exposure, he didn’t want people seeing Adam that way. He got the feeling this wasn’t something Adam did on a regular basis, and he wasn’t sure Adam understood that if Denver fucked him against the wall, others would try to repeat the performance when Denver wasn’t around—they’d ask, but again, he just had this feeling that Adam didn’t quite know how to play this game.

Adam had decided Denver would protect him, so Denver would. Resisting the urge to fuck him into the wall, at least right here, seemed to fit into that scenario.

He kept Adam snug against him as he walked into the bar, waving at Kevin to get his attention. Taking a break, he mouthed, jerking his head at the storeroom.

Kevin paused in midpull of a draft, looked meaningfully at Adam, who was breathing hard with his cock hanging out of his undone pants. Kevin rolled his eyes. But he nodded too, which was all Denver needed. Pushing aside drunken patrons and a few who made approving or jealous sounds as they got a good look at what Denver was doing, Denver covered the distance to the storeroom door.

The harsh fluorescent lights cast Adam in a sickly, pearlescent glow. His hair had been done in that carefully mussed style, but now it was simply mussed. His lips weren’t swollen, but they were damp and parted. His eyes weren’t bloodshot, but they were unfocused and drunk with lust. No terror, though. Not a drop of fear lit those pretty brown eyes.

Denver ran his thumb over Adam’s lip, soaking in the image. Then he placed one of his huge hands on the top of Adam’s head, pushed him onto his knees, and gripped his hair, drawing his head back as he pulled out his cock and ran it over those sweet, parted lips.

This was a pretty damn good image too.

Copyright 2019 by Heidi Cullinan. All rights reserved.

What’s new in Dirty Laundry?

Thanks so much for having me today! I’m here to celebrate the re-release of Dirty Laundry at Dreamspinner Press and talk a bit more about what’s in the new edition.

I was so excited for Dirty Laundry to move to Dreamspinner for a lot of reasons, and one of the biggest ones was I was going to get another chance to brush up the editing. Due to several circumstances, the first edition’s experience didn’t leave me satisfied, and I always felt more distance to the book than I wanted. That Dreamspinner arranged it so I could work with my longtime editor, Sasha Knight, meant so much to me.

Whenever you look at an older work with newer eyes, there are some standard cleanup elements that happen, most of which readers barely notice. With Dirty Laundry, for me it was more about claiming it again. The plot didn’t change, the characters didn’t alter, and sometimes I’d move through the text without making many alterations. But sometimes I’d hit spots and enter a zone where something deep took over and I felt like I was weaving subtle but important elements into place for pages at a time.

The greatest change to the story? The sex scenes, and it’s not that I shortened them. I did rewrite a few of them—plot the same, but the wording different—but I don’t know that there’s a single one that didn’t get longer and more complex. It started with the first scene, where a whole other thread emerged and wove into the plot and went forward through every other scene. Again, all subtle stuff, but to me it meant a lot.

Dirty Laundry was a problem book for me for a long time, one I never knew how to feel about, which made me sad as so many readers enjoyed it. I’m happy to say I enjoy it a lot now. Reconnecting with it was a fun experience that taught me a lot about where I’ve been and where I’m headed next.

I hope you enjoy this second edition too.

Have you read Dirty Laundry’s first edition? What are you hoping I put in the second edition?

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Read more about Dirty Laundry! First chapter excerpt, buy links, and reviews.

Dirty Laundry is book three in the Tucker Springs series, a collaborative project between three authors. Find other books in the series at Dreamspinner Press and wherever books are sold.

4.5 Stars!

I loved this book. Adam is a graduate student doing his laundry when he's harassed by some frat boys. Denver, a bouncer at a gay nightclub, quickly saves Adam. Their encounter afterwards turns into more than either man expected especially when Adam and Denver both move out of their comfort zones.

Adam is brilliant, but has a lot of issues due to his social anxiety and OCD. He's currently trying his best to learn to live on his own after a bad breakup. He finds himself feeling safe with Denver and relishes the time when he's able to let go with him. Denver has his own issues that he hides. I liked that Denver didn't see anything wrong with Adam and was always willing to accommodate Adam's anxiety and OCD. And I liked that Denver didn't take advantage of Adam, when there were times he could have. And I also liked that Denver opened up and showed Adam his own insecurities and problems.

On the outside, these two characters should not work, but they do. In many ways, they are perfect for each other. I liked how Adam worked through his concerns with the kink that he and Denver enjoyed. While I wasn't happy with how their big fight occurred, I could see how it would be a tough situation for them both. I was happy to see Denver come to Adam's aid and that they worked things out.

I loved Adam's new friend Louisa. She was a force to be reckoned with and a devoted friend. I loved that she helped Adam find a better therapist so that he could feel free to discuss everything in his life. Denver's friend, El, was quite intriguing too; I loved their friendship and banter. All in all, I really enjoyed this one and hope to see the author write another book set in this town soon.

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement.***

3.5 Stars!

I love reading angsty books where a character manages to get a HEA after struggling just to find some normalcy. I’m not a huge fan of super sweet, OTT happiness in my reading. I think that’s why I like this series. It’s got the lightness to it that makes you smile and gives you a pick me up but it’s also balanced with angst, struggles and drama. The characters aren’t perfect but realistic representations of men you might actually meet. I’d say if you like the Tucker Springs series and the various characters we’ve already met and you don’t mind BDSM and reading about unique and special characters, you’ll probably enjoy Dirty Laundry.

You’d never guess these two would be a match. We’ve met Denver before in books 1 and 2 and I was anxious to really get to know him. I assumed he had a story to tell and I loved his interactions and banter with El in Second Hand. I’ll admit he wasn’t exactly what I thought but that was a good surprise. Adam had quite a few issues and had he been with someone else, they’d probably be too much. Denver though was able to match Adam and they had a unique way of dealing with it all.

I honestly can’t say this is my favorite of this series but it was definitely worth reading. You don’t need to read the previous books to enjoy Dirty Laundry but I think you should, if only to meet the other characters in Tucker Springs. I’ll be reading the next books for sure.

*** copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

Heidi's Bio

Author of over thirty novels, Midwest-native Heidi Cullinan writes positive-outcome romances for LGBT characters struggling against insurmountable odds because she believes there’s no such thing as too much happy ever after. Heidi is a two-time RITA® finalist and her books have been recommended by Library Journal, USA Today, RT Magazine, and Publisher’s Weekly. When Heidi isn't writing, she enjoys cooking, reading novels and manga, playing with her cats, and watching too much anime. Find out more at heidicullinan.com.

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