Welcome to the Riptide Publishing/Aleksandr Voinov/L. A. Witt blog tour for the latest installment in the Market Garden series, On The Clock!

 

On the Clock, Exclusive Excerpt

 

Blake had never struggled this hard to concentrate on a meeting marathon. While Tristan and Jared’s skills had always provided a nice relaxed morning-after buzz, Jason was of a different caliber. The best Blake could do today was feign interest, make notes, and keep his face straight. Staring dreamily into space was a thing he couldn’t do at his paygrade. Just as well that nearly two decades in the corporate space had given him an immunity to and a decent command of bullshit buzzwords, not to mention a tolerance for PowerPoint presentations that verged on the masochistic. Those weren’t skills he included on his CV, but they sure made life easier.

Having sex into the gray hours of the morning wasn’t something he was used to, though, and even so, he’d left Jason this morning with considerable regret that they hadn’t had time to go another round. A shower, a kiss, some more playful snark, and then he’d handed over the cuff links—as well as a sizeable check for Jason’s trouble—before heading to his first meeting.

Back in his provisionary office, Blake found himself staring at his cell phone. He wished they’d exchanged numbers, but hadn’t been sure about the etiquette of this. Jason likely had to pay Market Garden a cut, so exchanging numbers with clients to attract repeat business might be against the rules. That might also shield him from customers who got too into him—there were probably more than a few of those. If this had been a normal date involving only wining and dining in terms of transactions, he’d know what to do—send a friendly text and prepare the ground for another date. But he was too smart and quite possibly too cynical to delude himself it had been a date.

Of course it hadn’t been a date. That was why Blake preferred rentboys in the first place. It was the best way to avoid gold diggers, simple as that. And while Jason had mastered the art of financially filleting him, it had been a much more enjoyable game than the ones nonpaid gold diggers played. It had been just a game, after all. Right?

He shook himself. Whatever it’d been, it was done, and every time he glanced at his private cell phone, he really regretted that he didn’t have Jason’s number. Then maybe they could’ve played again. They could’ve set up another hot, expensive meeting for tonight.

He went through some reports, all of which were decidedly lacking in that they weren’t about deliciously switchy British rentboys, and called it a day at seven.

While he gathered his briefcase and jacket to head downstairs, he debated his options, and it came down to two. One, go back to his hotel, take a shower, and sleep so he could function like a responsible adult for tomorrow’s meeting. Two, go back to his hotel, take a shower, and have the driver find the shortest possible route to Market Garden.

So really, he only had one option. Tomorrow’s meeting was an important one, and the guys he’d be talking to didn’t play games. Plus they all had that reserved British stiff upper lip thing going on, and Blake had to be absolutely sharp when he worked with them. Otherwise, he’d be liable to mistake a sniff of amusement for a subtle snort of derision or a huff of annoyance. With millions of dollars on the table, those weren’t mistakes he could afford to make.

But as he waited for the elevator, shifting his weight to get the blood flowing, a few lingering aches in his legs made him wonder if a rematch with Jason would be worth possibly making some costly faux pas tomorrow. He did like to live dangerously, after all. Maybe playing “super subtle emotional cue” roulette with a client wasn’t as crazy as skydiving or bull riding, but a fuckup could be expensive. On the other hand, the risk of an expensive fuckup would be a small price to pay for a long night with Jason.

The elevator opened, and Blake stepped inside and requested the street level.

Was he getting too into the thrill of hot prostitutes who could push his buttons? He was becoming more of an adrenaline junkie than perhaps was wise. At this rate, by the time he was forty—which wasn’t that far off—the only way he’d be able to get excited would be by having sex in the middle of the road during the running of the bulls.

Then again, after one hot night with Jason, why not indulge in another? Maybe a few more, since he was in town for a week? It was entirely possible that by the time he came back to London, Jason would have moved on anyway. If Blake wanted some of last night’s thrill, he was going to have to suck it up tomorrow.

 

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a choice of one eBook off each of our backlists (excluding On The Clock) and a $10 Riptide Publishing store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on July 18^th, and winners will be announced on July 19^th.  Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Please include your email so we can contact you if you win!

 

Blurb:

When Blake Raleigh’s favorite rentboys retire from Market Garden, they’re sure their friend Jason will be a perfect replacement. Though Tristan and Jared are a tough act to follow, Blake returns to London to test out their recommendation.

Jason is right on the money. Negotiations turn him on. Getting paid turns him on. The higher the stakes, the hotter things get. Each trip to London is more expensive than the last, and the webcam sessions don’t run cheap, but Jason is well worth the sticker shock.

The more time they spend together, the more Blake wants, and not just sex and transactions. But Jason’s been burned before by men who thought they were in love with him, and he’s not making that mistake again. When the lines between personal and professional start to blur, it’s going to take more than money, jewelry, and sports cars to keep Jason from clocking out and walking away.

Buy Links:

Riptide

amazon

 

 

Aleksandr Voinov

EPIC Award winner and Lambda Award finalist Aleksandr Voinov is an emigrant German author living near London, where he works as a financial editor. His genres range from science fiction and fantasy to thriller, historical, contemporary, thriller, and erotica. His books were/are published by Random House Germany, Samhain Publishing, Riptide Publishing and others.

If he isn’t writing, he studies hypnotherapy, explores historical sites, and meets other writers. He single-handedly sustains three London bookstores with his ever-changing research projects. His current interests include special forces operations during World War II, the history of chess, european magical traditions, and how to destroy the world and plunge it into a nuclear winter without having the benefit of nuclear weapons.

Connect with Aleks:

• Website: aleksandrvoinov.com
• Blog: aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com
• Twitter:@aleksandrvoinov
• Goodreads: goodreads.com/Vashtan

 

L.A Witt

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer who has finally been released from the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn’t lose her mind in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies. She also has substantially more time on her hands these days, as she has recruited a small army of mercenaries to search South America for her nemesis, romance author Lauren Gallagher, but don’t tell Lauren. And definitely don’t tell Lori A. Witt or Ann Gallagher. Neither of those twits can keep their mouths shut . . .

Connect with L.A.:

• Website: loriawitt.com
• Author Blog: gallagherwitt.blogspot.com
• Personal Blog: navywifeadventures.blogspot.
• Twitter: @GallagherWitt
• Facebook: facebook.com//L-A-Witt-MM-Fiction
• Goodreads: goodreads.com/GallagherWitt