Book Name: Whistle Blower
Release Date: February 5, 2016
Money can’t buy
happiness. Jacob Nussbaum knows this better than anyone. He's a corporate
lawyer deep inside a huge New York firm, where he works overtime, sacrifices
any chance at a personal life, and has been selling his soul for years. With a
secretary as his only friend, he trudges on, until his whole world is blown
apart by a manila envelope of photos—evidence that one of the firm’s partners
is the dirtiest lawyer in one hell
of a filthy business.
In search of the truth,
Jacob travels to a small northern Wisconsin fishing resort. There he meets Ben
Anderson, a brutally lonely man, who
knocks him off his feet. Ben prompts Jacob to reevaluate his life. He’s a dozen
years older than Jacob, still recovering from the death of his long time love,
and doesn’t want to leave anyone a widower. But a jaded New Yorker on a soul-searching mission might be just the man
to convince the grieving Ben that it's never too late to begin again.
Pages or Words: 214 pages
Categories: Contemporary, M/M Romance, Romance
Ben got waylaid by a bunch
of little things, so it took him longer than he’d expected to get back to the
dock for Nussbaum’s—Jacob’s rowing lesson. As Ben approached the dock, Jacob
was facing away, staring out over the lake. Which was good, since he was naked
except for a skim of bright red Lycra that barely covered his ass. And what an
ass. What a body in general. It had been a long time since Ben had seen a
muscular olive-skinned back on which dark hair grew in such fascinating
patterns. Manny had a back like that. Ben had loved to run his tongue along the
thin lines of fur along his lower back. Manny hadn’t been hairy, really, just
never quite naked. Jacob had that same look, except he was younger, stronger,
and better built.
Feeling uncomfortable with
that comparison, Ben tore his eyes away from Jacob’s body. Aside from leaving
him feeling unfaithful to Manny’s memory, this was neither the time nor the
place and, in all probability, not the man to indulge that kind of fantasy. Ben
cleared his throat, and Jacob turned around. Jesus. Who’d have thought under
all those clothes, there’d be this—high definition, perfect tone, and all that
gorgeous skin. Ben forced himself to meet Jacob’s eyes. He reached into the
boathouse, pulled out one of the clean tee shirts he kept for changing after
rowing, and handed it to Jacob.
“It’s easy to get
sunburned out here.” For the love of God, he had to cover up the guy if he was
going to teach him anything, other than…. He cleared his throat again. “The
beginner scull is up here.” He walked back up the dock to the boat rack,
yelling at himself the whole way for unprofessional thoughts.
As Ben uncovered the
practice scull, he was hit by an unexpected wave of memory. Manny had bought it
for him their first summer in the Northwoods. It had taken Ben two years to
outgrow the added stability and another to decide to try Manny’s MAAS. He ran a
finger over the fiberglass patch from when he’d run the boat into the shore.
Manny, from his own scull twenty feet away, had admonished, “Never get in a
fight with a rock. The rock always wins.”
From behind him, Jacob
asked, “Need any help?”
Ben straightened and
walked to the far side of the boat. “Get the stern, would you?”
Jacob picked up his side
of the boat, and in a monkey-see-monkey-do motion, lifted it onto his shoulder.
Ben turned around, settling the bow onto his left shoulder, and led the way
back down to the dock. On three they flipped the scull into the water. Ben
squatted beside the boat, pointing and describing the various parts until he
felt comfortable enough in his role as teacher that he could glance over at
Jacob, who knelt beside him. Jacob was focused on the boat, taking in Ben’s
instructions. Ben exhaled. Jacob covered up and concentrating on the boat was
easier to deal with than he was as a just-about-naked man basking in the sun at
the end of the dock.
Ben noticed Jacob’s shoes
for the first time. No shorts, no water shoes. Evidently Mr. Nussbaum had been
expecting an entirely different resort vacation, probably involving mai tais on
the beach and plenty of bikini-clad young women. If he tipped over in the
scull, which he was going to do, everyone did when they were starting out,
those shoes would take a long time to dry. Ben had an extra pair of water
shoes. Maybe they’d fit.
“What size feet do you
have?” he asked.
Jacob glanced up. “Ten.
Why? Does it matter for the stirrups?”
Of course he wore tens,
because otherwise the physical comparison wouldn’t be perfect. “Your shoes will
be awkward as hell in the stirrups. You need something lighter and better in
the water. Don’t worry. I’ve got some you can borrow.”
Jacob wouldn’t fit in
Ben’s nine and a halfs, but Manny’s old tens were still where they’d always
been, on the top shelf in the boathouse. Ben found them. He brushed off the
dust and cobwebs. The shoes weren’t sacred, and it wasn’t disloyal to let Jacob
wear them. They were just old water shoes with cracks in the soles. Ben grabbed
a pair of oars and stepped back onto the dock, dropping the shoes by Jacob.
“Try these. I’ll get the oars set up.”
Ben fixed each oar in its
oarlock, concentrating hard so he wouldn’t have to watch another man put on
Manny’s shoes. Then he set about teaching Jacob Nussbaum the rudiments of
rowing.
Dev Bentham
writes soulful m/m romance. Her characters are flawed and damaged adult men who
may not even know what they are missing, but whose lives are transformed by
true love.
Where to find the author:
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Parker Williams, BFD Book Blog, KathyMac
Reviews, Bayou Book Junkie, Happily Ever Chapter, Elisa - My Reviews and Ramblings, Book Lovers 4Ever, A.M. Leibowitz, The Hat Party, Dawn’s Reading Nook, The Jena Wade, Andrew Q. Gordon, Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews, Louise Lyons, Velvet Panic, Inked Rainbow Reads, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, MM Good Book Reviews, Unquietly Me, Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents, Making It Happen, Book Reviews and More by Kathy, Molly Lolly, 3 Chicks After Dark, Alpha Book Club,
Rafflecopter Prize: A signed paperback copy of Nobody’s Home OR an ebook, reader’s choice,
from Dev’s backlist which can be found at www.devbentham.com
