Today on Waves of Fiction I am participating in the blog tour for If It Drives by Aleksandr Voinov & L.A. Witt! I have a fin excerpt to share with you as well a review!
Enjoy!
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If It Drives by Aleksandr Voinov & L.A. Witt
Published on March 31, 2014 by Riptide Publishing
If it flies, drives, or fornicates, it's cheaper to rent it.
After driving James Harcourt, his wealthy banker boss, around for a year and a half, Cal isn’t surprised by much anymore. Not even James’s regular trips to Market Garden, London’s most elite gay brothel.
But when James leaves the Garden alone one night and turns to Cal instead, Cal’s floored. After crushing on his boss for ages, it’s his wet dream come true . . . until the awkward morning after. Cal still has a job to do, but he wants to offer more. Yet James doesn’t take him up on it; he keeps Cal at arm’s length and continues his chauffeured jaunts to Market Garden.
As Cal learns what James needs from the rentboys, he tries to fill that need himself. But there’s more to James’s penchant for rentboys than Cal realizes, and it may be one role that Cal can’t fill without overstepping his duty.
Excerpt
Since Nick and Spencer show up in If It Drives to help Cal find his footing as a Dom, we thought we’d do a little flashback to If It Flies, back when Nick and Spencer were still finding their footing…
“Spencer.” Nick’s voice was firm, though kind, nothing like that easily commanding game voice he used. “Look at me.”
Spencer did, and Nick looked at him intently, like this was terribly important. “Right now, you’re in a pretty weird place. Open doors and all that. You’re discovering what you really like, and that’s fine by me. I’m more than okay to train you. But the thing is, it’s intense. It can be really intense, and emotions get muddled. What’s lust and getting off on the pain can quite easily get mistaken for something more than that. I’m not saying ‘more serious,’ because that stuff is damn serious, but I know people who’ve made life decisions based on those feelings and ended up making mistakes. Do you understand?”
“What if you’re wrong?”
“I’m not,” Nick said, matter-of-factly. “I’ve seen it before. I can be your Dom, but there’s no way in hell I’ll date you.”
Double ouch.
“Okay. I appreciate your honesty.”
“Just making sure you don’t end up in a bad place there, Spencer. I have to look after you. Part of the job. If I take you there, I have to make sure you’re safe and find your way back.”
“Sounds very . . . ethical.” It hurt a bit, but maybe Nick was right and this was the best moment to nip it all in the bud. Maybe it was just flying high from the pain that felt similar to a crush or something even worse. The lust was a given, the emotional side . . . wasn’t. But with his normal everyday defences stripped, maybe it was just too easy to fall into that trap—to think this could be more.
“For the record,” he said, “I think people not dating you for your job are fools.”
The subtle grin broadened into a full-blown smirk. “Well, you’re a lawyer. You would say that.”
Spencer laughed. “Come on, I don’t spew bullshit that badly. It’s not like I’m a defence lawyer.”
Nick threw his head back and really laughed, which didn’t do a damned thing to build Nick’s case that this was all some instinctive response to being stripped down to raw vulnerability. God, he was gorgeous.
Spencer masked a shiver by turning onto his side and propping himself up on his elbow. “So when you say you’re willing to . . . train me? Be my Dom? What exactly does that mean?”
“It means you become a regular client.” Nick was all professionalism and negotiations again. “I’ll do what I did earlier and—” he winked, breaking out of that strictly business mode for a second “—what I still plan to do tonight, and let you sort out what you want, what you don’t want, and what kind of submissive you really are.”
Spencer rolled the idea around in his brain for a moment. He’d never thought of himself as a submissive or a masochist, it had just happened—quite naturally—in Nick’s company. He’d have been lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued by the idea of more. Pro? More sex with Nick. More of this insanely amazing pain. Maybe figuring out what the fuck it was he wanted in a man. Con? More sex with Nick. More of this insanely amazing pain. Quite possibly figuring out that what the fuck he wanted in a man was everything about this man.
“You’ll get a better grasp on it all as you go,” Nick said, eyeing Spencer like he could hear his thoughts, “and you’ll be able to tell where the physical ends. Because that’s all this is. It’s physical. There’s some deep psychological shit going on, and it’ll get even deeper and stronger, but it’s not what it seems like to you right now.” He trailed his fingers down Spencer’s face. “It’s the pain and the domination. Not me.”
“So you’re a mind reader?”
“No. Just experienced.” Nick’s expression hardened. “And the one condition of this arrangement, if you want to sign up for it, is that it stays like this. You’re learning to enjoy pain and be a sub. I’m making money. End of story.”
Spencer considered it for a moment. Nick was probably right. He did know his way
around all this crap. Spencer was a lab rat just stepping into a maze, and Nick had been through
it enough times that he knew what he was talking about when he said “don’t go that way.”
“All right,” he said. “Strictly business, and strictly, uh, training.”
Nick hesitated, and then smiled. “Good. I think this will be fun.”
“I thought it was strictly business?”
“Yeah, well, Mr. High-Powered Lawyer.” He winked. “Some of us actually enjoy our jobs once in a while.”
Spencer laughed.
Nick moved closer, and Spencer gasped when that slender hand drifted down his chest. “And speaking of which, I’m still on the clock.”
Aleksandr has been published for twenty years, both in print and ebook. He has ten years’ experience as a writing coach, book doctor, and writing teacher, and until recently worked as an editor in financial services.
“Spencer.” Nick’s voice was firm, though kind, nothing like that easily commanding game voice he used. “Look at me.”
Spencer did, and Nick looked at him intently, like this was terribly important. “Right now, you’re in a pretty weird place. Open doors and all that. You’re discovering what you really like, and that’s fine by me. I’m more than okay to train you. But the thing is, it’s intense. It can be really intense, and emotions get muddled. What’s lust and getting off on the pain can quite easily get mistaken for something more than that. I’m not saying ‘more serious,’ because that stuff is damn serious, but I know people who’ve made life decisions based on those feelings and ended up making mistakes. Do you understand?”
“What if you’re wrong?”
“I’m not,” Nick said, matter-of-factly. “I’ve seen it before. I can be your Dom, but there’s no way in hell I’ll date you.”
Double ouch.
“Okay. I appreciate your honesty.”
“Just making sure you don’t end up in a bad place there, Spencer. I have to look after you. Part of the job. If I take you there, I have to make sure you’re safe and find your way back.”
“Sounds very . . . ethical.” It hurt a bit, but maybe Nick was right and this was the best moment to nip it all in the bud. Maybe it was just flying high from the pain that felt similar to a crush or something even worse. The lust was a given, the emotional side . . . wasn’t. But with his normal everyday defences stripped, maybe it was just too easy to fall into that trap—to think this could be more.
“For the record,” he said, “I think people not dating you for your job are fools.”
The subtle grin broadened into a full-blown smirk. “Well, you’re a lawyer. You would say that.”
Spencer laughed. “Come on, I don’t spew bullshit that badly. It’s not like I’m a defence lawyer.”
Nick threw his head back and really laughed, which didn’t do a damned thing to build Nick’s case that this was all some instinctive response to being stripped down to raw vulnerability. God, he was gorgeous.
Spencer masked a shiver by turning onto his side and propping himself up on his elbow. “So when you say you’re willing to . . . train me? Be my Dom? What exactly does that mean?”
“It means you become a regular client.” Nick was all professionalism and negotiations again. “I’ll do what I did earlier and—” he winked, breaking out of that strictly business mode for a second “—what I still plan to do tonight, and let you sort out what you want, what you don’t want, and what kind of submissive you really are.”
Spencer rolled the idea around in his brain for a moment. He’d never thought of himself as a submissive or a masochist, it had just happened—quite naturally—in Nick’s company. He’d have been lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued by the idea of more. Pro? More sex with Nick. More of this insanely amazing pain. Maybe figuring out what the fuck it was he wanted in a man. Con? More sex with Nick. More of this insanely amazing pain. Quite possibly figuring out that what the fuck he wanted in a man was everything about this man.
“You’ll get a better grasp on it all as you go,” Nick said, eyeing Spencer like he could hear his thoughts, “and you’ll be able to tell where the physical ends. Because that’s all this is. It’s physical. There’s some deep psychological shit going on, and it’ll get even deeper and stronger, but it’s not what it seems like to you right now.” He trailed his fingers down Spencer’s face. “It’s the pain and the domination. Not me.”
“So you’re a mind reader?”
“No. Just experienced.” Nick’s expression hardened. “And the one condition of this arrangement, if you want to sign up for it, is that it stays like this. You’re learning to enjoy pain and be a sub. I’m making money. End of story.”
Spencer considered it for a moment. Nick was probably right. He did know his way
around all this crap. Spencer was a lab rat just stepping into a maze, and Nick had been through
it enough times that he knew what he was talking about when he said “don’t go that way.”
“All right,” he said. “Strictly business, and strictly, uh, training.”
Nick hesitated, and then smiled. “Good. I think this will be fun.”
“I thought it was strictly business?”
“Yeah, well, Mr. High-Powered Lawyer.” He winked. “Some of us actually enjoy our jobs once in a while.”
Spencer laughed.
Nick moved closer, and Spencer gasped when that slender hand drifted down his chest. “And speaking of which, I’m still on the clock.”
Aleksandr has been published for twenty years, both in print and ebook. He has ten years’ experience as a writing coach, book doctor, and writing teacher, and until recently worked as an editor in financial services.
After co-authoring the M/M military cult classic Special Forces, Aleksandr embarked on a quest to write gritty, edgy, sometimes literary M/M and gay fiction (much of which is romance/erotica)—the only way he can use his American Literature degree these days.
He’s been published with Heyne/Random House, Carina Press, Samhain Publishing, and others, and is an EPIC Awards winner and a Lambda Awards finalist.
Connect with Aleks:
Website: aleksandrvoinov.com
Blog: aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com
Twitter:@aleksandrvoinov
Goodreads: goodreads.com/Vashtan
L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer currently living in the glamorous and ultra-futuristic metropolis of Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two cats, and a disembodied penguin brain that communicates with her telepathically. In addition to writing smut and disturbing the locals, L.A. is said to be working with the US government to perfect a genetic modification that will allow humans to survive indefinitely on Corn Pops and beef jerky. This is all a cover, though, as her primary leisure activity is hunting down her arch nemesis, erotica author Lauren Gallagher, who is also said to be lurking somewhere in Omaha.
Connect with Aleks:
Website: aleksandrvoinov.com
Blog: aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com
Twitter:@aleksandrvoinov
Goodreads: goodreads.com/Vashtan
L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer currently living in the glamorous and ultra-futuristic metropolis of Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two cats, and a disembodied penguin brain that communicates with her telepathically. In addition to writing smut and disturbing the locals, L.A. is said to be working with the US government to perfect a genetic modification that will allow humans to survive indefinitely on Corn Pops and beef jerky. This is all a cover, though, as her primary leisure activity is hunting down her arch nemesis, erotica author Lauren Gallagher, who is also said to be lurking somewhere in Omaha.
L. A.’s backlist is available on her website, and updates (as well as random thoughts and the odd snarky comment) can be found on her blog or on Twitter (@GallagherWitt).
My Thoughts:
I really enjoy this whole Market Garden world that Aleksandr Voinov & L.A. Witt have created. It's fun and sexy and well just yum yum yummy!
In this installment we meet Cal who is James' driver. He basically is at James' beck and call and for the past few months Cal has had a huge crush on him. Cal would love to fill in for the rentboys that James always hires from Market Garden but he works for him so it is out of the question. Until one evening when James asks Cal to come in. All bets are off at that moment and things go from quiet steamy to explosively hot!
If It Drives was another great addition to the Market Garden series. I have loved getting to know all the different characters throughout and I loved that we got to revisit Nick in this one. Cal needed some help with how to handle his situation with James and Nick was just the person to help him. If you read the previous books then you know why Cal had to go to him, but if you didn't then you really should read them because Nick makes quite the Dom!
This book like the others was hot, but with this one we get to see a different side in my opinion. I think that had to do with the main characters not working for Market Garden. The whole club was really just in the background so what we were left was a lot of steamy scenes but more emotional ones as well. I appreciated this because it let me get a better look into who I was reading about and it just made me feel more connected. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of steamy scenes and I had to wipe the fog from my glasses numerous times, but in this one the quiet moments really grabbed me. The story was a sweet one from the get go and I really loved seeing Cal go get his man.
I really hope there are more books planned for this series. I think I am two books behind but I hope to read those in the next few weeks. Cal and James were a great addition to the series and I can't wait for the next one. I will say that I am hoping I get to see Tristan and Jared one more time. I will even take them as side characters if I have to. Those two were the ones that made me fall for this series and I just can't get enough of them!
3 Suns
