Title: A Gentleman’s Bargain
Author: Hunter Raines
Publisher: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure
Genre: Gay/Contemporary M/M
Length: Novella
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
This book opens with a scene that makes me chuckle every time I remember it. No, I won’t spoil the surprise. I’ll just say that some things have a way of equalizing the playing field between men and women and make me realize that we all do the most embarrassing and incredible things to look great for the ones we’re trying to impress.
Seth Thompson is very focused on his career and he is determined to be the youngest Director to make Vice President of his company, which only gives him another three years. At 36 he has no time for fun and when he arrives in Lexington, Kentucky three days early for the annual company meeting, all he wants is a sandwich, a shower and a good lay, not necessarily in that order! What he gets is something or someone that he has wanted for over a year – the delectable David Leone, an executive for the same company that could make anyone but Seth break the ‘no mixing business with pleasure’ rule.
David has plans for Seth for whom he has been carrying a torch for a while and he is determined to make those plans come true, starting with getting him into his house when he finds out that every hotel in town is booked due to the Blue Grass Festival. At first Seth is angry that his reservation which was made several months ago carries no weight with the hotel. He has no option but to accept David’s hospitality with good grace, until David makes it clear that the room comes with strings attached. Seth is not prepared to jeopardize his career or David’s for a fling so they make a gentleman’s bargain that what happens that weekend only happens that weekend and only in the privacy of David’s house which means … not outside on the porch, not under the stars and definitely not in the boardroom on Monday.
Their first kiss rocks Seth’s world and it just gets better (or worse depending on your perspective) as David turns up the heat and he can no longer deny what he feels. For David this is a fantasy come true and the thought of letting Seth go at the end of the weekend is even harder than he imagined. The sex is incredibly hot and emotional and both men realize that this is more than just a weekend fling and it could seriously impact on their careers. Will they honour the terms of their gentleman’s agreement?
These two men are so great together that they make A Gentleman’s Bargain a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. The characterizations were wonderful and Hunter Raines ratchets up the tension and surprises to just the right level to keep my interest until the very end of this book, which I read in one sitting. I really enjoyed the story and highly recommend it to fans of Hunter Raines and other readers unfamiliar with her writing.
