Hi guys, we have G.B. Gordon stopping by with his latest release When to Hold Them, we have a great excerpt, a brilliant giveaway and we have Aerin’s review for you to check out, so enjoy the post and leave a comment (with a way to be contacted) to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~

When to Hold Them

G.B. Gordon

Doran Callaghan doesn’t know when to fold ’em. His gambling has landed him in debt and in jail, and now it’s got him stuck in the sticks in a reintegration program. He wants to turn his life around, but old habits come knocking, and some creditors are harder to shake than others.

Xavier Wagner cares more about the National Park he works in than the people around it, until a stranger awakens desires he didn’t know he had. Doran’s natural submissiveness turns Xavier’s ideas of how to treat a lover upside down. But Doran doesn’t seem to know about boundaries—or even to have any—and Xavier’s not sure that Doran will say no if he needs to. Which means someone’s going to get hurt.

While Xavier struggles with his principles, Doran’s past comes calling. Trusting each other is suddenly a matter of life or death, but Doran has to decide whether counting on Xavier—or himself—is a gamble he’s willing to take.

Excerpt

The day-long drizzle turned more and more into a light rain. It wasn’t even five and already dark. He gave the can one last kick, then jogged the rest of the way to the stop. The hoodie was crap in the rain. He could apply for a voucher for a coat, of course. But it meant filling out forms, and handing in the receipt. Mostly, though, it meant that he’d have to explain what had happened to his old coat. Which he’d lost in a bet. So explaining that wasn’t really an option. Maybe, if he went another week without giving in to temptation, he’d have enough for one of those cheap plastic rain covers that went over your coat. Those couldn’t be more than five or ten bucks, could they? Of course they looked stupid as hell. But he’d be dry. That was worth some stupid.

The lights of a car swept the bus shelter with their glare, then passed. But instead of continuing on its way, the car stopped, then backed up. Shit. Creepy.

Doran stepped out into the rain, so he wouldn’t be trapped in the shelter if he needed to run. The car, a truck, stopped right in front of him, the single streetlight above not enough to illuminate the driver. Wait. Was that a dark line running the length of the light-colored truck? That was a totally different kind of Shit.

The passenger-side window rolled down at the same time as the interior light came on.

“I’m going into Port Angeles. Want a ride?” Wagner said.

Sitting next to Wagner in a nice, warm car rather than next to some stranger on a smelly bus? Hell, yeah. Plus, he wouldn’t have to hoof it from the stop to the probation counselor’s office. He was already reaching out to open the door when he realized, damn, he’d have to tell Wagner where to let him off. Right. Not going to happen.

He froze mid-reach, then quickly turned the movement into a no thanks wave. “I’m good.” A mumble that sounded anything but.

“Are you sure?”

“Sure.” At least that came out a bit more solid.

“Suit yourself.” The window hummed back up, and the truck moved forward. Doran watched it make a right about a hundred yards up the road. Which was weird, because there was no road there. Just the lot of a used car dealership that was closed now. Maybe Wagner was picking someone else up? Who? None of your business, Callaghan.

He turned back in the direction the bus would be coming from and leaned against the inside of the shelter, hands in his pockets, the damp seeping through to his sweater and T-shirt where his shoulders touched the glass, the rain a steady patter on the roof now.

How was he supposed to get Wagner out of his head if he ran into the man at every corner? And, whoa, Sunday.

He’d watched the gas station, of course, as he always did. This time he’d even had a voice to go with his fantasy. A quiet rumble that made little pebbles under his skin. He’d just been able to see Wagner through the windows of both buildings, where he stood at the counter, paying for his gas and whatever else he’d picked up. Beer? And then the ranger had turned his head and looked straight at him. One heartbeat. Two.

It was like being caught with your dick in your hand and your heart in your throat. Even when Wagner had looked away again, it had been several more heartbeats before Doran had been able to move again. He shivered at the memory, laid his head back against the glass, and looked straight into Wagner’s eyes.

What? He was hallucinating now, and he hadn’t even smoked anything.

“Merely wanted to double-check you’re really okay.” Wagner studied him intently, and Doran was sure he’d read his face like a book. “If you don’t want a ride, that’s fine, of course. But you . . . You sounded a bit off.”

Well, duh. Wild ideas of denying where he was headed ran through Doran’s head. He didn’t want Wagner to be offended. Especially not since he’d apparently gone to the trouble of parking his car and walking back here to check on him. But since only one bus stopped here, and that bus ran between Bluewater Bay and Port Angeles, that would not help to make him sound any more sane.

“I’m really okay.” He didn’t want that to be it, though, because then Wagner would just nod and leave. But he couldn’t blurt out his fantasies either, because then Wagner would leave even faster. “I really wasn’t checking out your truck,” he added, just to keep talking. And it was only half a lie. He’d wanted to see what kind of person Wagner was, whether there’d be any clues to that in the truck. And he’d found a tidy reader of poetry. Who’d’a thunk it.

“Yeah, I know.” Wagner braced himself against the glass, his arm so close to Doran’s cheek that the sleeve would brush his face if he turned his head. That intent look was back in Wagner’s eyes, and Doran forgot to breathe. This wasn’t real. He watched a few raindrops run down Wagner’s face and reached out to brush them away with his fingertips.

Then, maybe because being cocooned in here with the rain falling all around them felt so much like one of his fantasies, he stood on his toes and kissed Wagner’s lips. Warm under the slightly cool raindrops, soft at first, opening with a surprised inhale. Then firm, pressing back, stubble against Doran’s chin, Wagner’s elbow touching the glass by his ear, his hand on top of the hood. The other hand running down the front of the hoodie to rest on his hip.

Doran slid both hands into the open jacket and around that big body that was so much warmer than his own. He wanted to wrap himself up in it, wanted . . . he didn’t even know what exactly. All of it. Everything.

Those lips on his, tongue and teeth licking and nipping, sent shivers of goose bumps all the way to his toes. A warm hand against his face, in his hair, thumb brushing his temple. Tongue dipping, teeth drawing his lower lip in.

The kiss grew more insistent, somewhere between gentle and demanding. The hand cupped the back of his neck. The shelter, the rain, everything fell away, leaving only the hard muscles under his hands, the taste and warm smell of the man, the moan rising in his throat.

Doran’s knees gave out. But a strong hand on his buttocks held him up and pulled him against a distinct hard-on.

A bright light swept across his closed eyelids, and suddenly all that was left brushing against his lips was cold air.

For more excerpt click here: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/when-to-hold-them (Just click the excerpt tab)

About G.B.

G.B. is Riptide’s Featured Author for August!

G.B. Gordon worked as a packer, landscaper, waiter, and coach before going back to school to major in linguistics and, at 35, switch to less backbreaking monetary pursuits like translating, editing, and writing.

Having lived in various parts of the world, Gordon is now happily ensconced in suburban Ontario with the best of all husbands. Santuario is G.B. Gordon’s first published work, but many more stories are just waiting to hit the keyboard.

Connect with Gordon:

 Website & Blog | Twitter  | Goodreads

Giveaway!

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a $15 Riptide store credit!

Don’t forget to add your email in the body of the comment so Riptide can contact you if you win!

Review

Title: When to Hold Them 

Series: Bluewater Bay 09

Author: G.B. Gordon

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Novel (221 pages)

ISBN: 9781626492943

Publisher: Riptide Publishing (August 17th 2015 )

Heat Level: Steamy

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4.5 Hearts

Reviewer: Aerin

Blurb: Doran Callaghan doesn’t know when to fold ’em. His gambling has landed him in debt and in jail, and now it’s got him stuck in the sticks in a reintegration program. He wants to turn his life around, but old habits come knocking, and some creditors are harder to shake than others.

Xavier Wagner cares more about the National Park he works in than the people around it, until a stranger awakens desires he didn’t know he had. Doran’s natural submissiveness turns Xavier’s ideas of how to treat a lover upside down. But Doran doesn’t seem to know about boundaries — or even to have any — and Xavier’s not sure that Doran will say no if he needs to. Which means someone’s going to get hurt.

While Xavier struggles with his principles, Doran’s past comes calling. Trusting each other is suddenly a matter of life or death, but Doran has to decide whether counting on Xavier — or himself — is a gamble he’s willing to take.

Product Link: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/when-to-hold-them

Review: This is my favorite book in this series so far, and I’m so glad it deals with regular guys. It seems like the books are farther and farther away from the movie theme this series started with, and I’m so happy about that!

I loved everything about this book, the characters, the plot, the writing; there was no unnecessary drama added just for the shock factor, and the danger, when it came, was dealt with in a way that worked perfectly for me. There were no stupid characters who don’t do what they’re told, no complication that result from said stupid characters, it wasn’t prolonged or dramatized to the point where it becomes painful or laughable. I just finished a book where that was the case, and I was annoyed to no end, so I can really appreciate the fact that this book was so nicely written.

I liked Doran a lot, I understood how and why he became addicted to gambling, but I also appreciated his maturity when it came down to analyzing his behavior. The chemistry between him and Xavier was off the charts, and even though I thought their relationship progressed too fast, I didn’t feel like it wasn’t real. The sex wasn’t overly descriptive, but it was smokin’ hot and there an emotional connection between them that made it very powerful. 

Xavier was a very real guy, he demands honesty above all else. He doesn’t try to fight the crazy attraction he feels towards Doran, but he’s not very sure of himself when it comes to his need to dominate Doran. I loved how that played out, I loved how they communicated about it; I thought the perfect balance was achieved once Xavier stopped being so pushy and Doran started sharing himself more. 

I loved the ending, although I’d love a follow-up a few years from now. I bet their kink will be even kinkier, and I’d love to see how Doran changed now that he’s secure and feels like he belongs. Great book!

Check out the other blogs on the blog tour