AUSTIN
All I ever wanted was to play football. I made it my life, sacrificing romantic relationships, figuring I’d have all the time in the world after I hung up my cleats for good. But here I am: in my late thirties, single, and ready to accept that I may never have a family of my own. But everything changes the moment I lay eyes on Paris Bellamy—the beautiful, strong, captivating single mother of three who’s more than ten years my junior.
I’m supposed to be coaching her sons and working alongside her at the Renegades facility, but when my cravings to care for her become too incessant to ignore, I find myself on her doorstep, desperate to be let in.
She wants to find herself after years of being torn down by her toxic ex. I’m determined to show her just how priceless she is, but can I be the man she needs? Or will I be left to go on without the woman and children who’ve quickly become the best part of my days?
PARIS
Being married with a baby before having a high school diploma certainly wasn’t what I had planned for my life. Neither was being a divorced mother of three at twenty-six years old, but that’s exactly where I ended up. Now, as the brand-new administrative assistant to the owner of the Rock City Renegades, I’m finally excited to be standing on my own after relying on others for far too long.
The last thing I expected was to develop a crush on my sons’ football coach, retired Renegades quarterback, Austin Baker. Unfortunately, his bright blue eyes and unyielding charm pulled me under at first sight, and now he’s showing me what it’s like to be cared for in ways I never thought I was worthy of.
My kids adore him, and I’m falling fast, but am I enough to keep a man like Austin Baker happy? Or has my past broken me so badly that I have nothing left to offer?
(ARC Read)
I want to purchase my own Austin Baker because F*CK, this man lives to do for others.
Austin is a caretaker down to his bones. He has the heart of gold, the golden retriever energy, the patience of a saint, and this innate need to make the lives of the people he loves easier. And after watching him want a family of his own throughout this series, pairing him with a single mom of three who has spent most of her life being expected to serve everyone else? C.L. Rose knew EXACTLY what she was doing.
Paris has essentially been doing it all on her own for years. Married and a mother before she even finished high school, she went from a strict upbringing straight into a marriage where her wants and needs were continually pushed aside. Now she’s divorced, raising three kids, working her first job, and finally getting the chance to figure out who Paris is outside of being someone’s wife and someone’s mother.
She wants independence. She wants to prove she can take care of herself and her children. But underneath that determination is a woman who has been torn down for so long that she doesn’t really believe she deserves anything good for herself.
Enter Daddy Austin.
I genuinely don’t think I could dream up a better man than Austin at his core. He doesn’t swoop into Paris’s life because he thinks she needs saving. He simply starts showing up. Coffee in the morning. Moving something before it can fall on her. Mowing the lawn. Helping with the kids. Making her day a little easier wherever he can because doing things for the people he loves is quite literally what makes this man happy.
Because I’ll be damned if she goes another day without being made aware of just how incredible she really is.
And LORD, watching him with Rowan, Rhys, and Lennon.
Austin was meant to be a dad. Period. The ease with which he steps into their lives, coaches the boys, holds Lennon, listens to them, encourages them, and becomes another person they can depend on absolutely melted me. There was never a feeling that he tolerated the kids because he wanted Paris. He fell for all four of them, and that distinction made their relationship so much more special.
But what I loved most about Austin was the freedom he gives Paris to discover herself.
“Your body speaks so loudly. You just need someone who’s willing to be quiet and listen to it.”
Paris has spent so much of her life being told what a woman and wife should be, including what she should want and how she should feel about her own sexuality. Austin gives her the complete opposite experience. There is no judgment. No shame. No expectation that she perform for him. He encourages her curiosity, lets her set the pace, communicates with her, and basically stands back in awe while she discovers this entire side of herself.
And the fact that he’s a service dom when Paris was raised believing she was supposed to serve her husband?
EXCUSE ME?!
Daddy Austin has entered the chat, and apparently he’d like Paris to sit down while he handles everything.
I’m addicted, and I’m ready to show her what it’s like to be served in ways she’d never imagine in her wildest dreams.
The spice was immaculate, but I loved that it was also so intertwined with Paris’s emotional journey. Her exploration isn’t there just to make the book hotter—although GOOD GOD, Austin’s mouth certainly accomplishes that. It’s another way she takes ownership of herself. She can be curious. She can ask for things. She can tell him what she likes. She can be open, honest, and completely unashamed, and Austin absolutely relishes watching her become more confident.
Also, reading her spicy book to her over the phone? The office? “Baby girl”? Kingsley Hotel Club?
Sir.
“Bless those smutty books for teaching you to talk like that.”
But beneath all the spice, Clock Play is such a sweet representation of opening yourself up to love again after betrayal has completely altered the way you see relationships. Both Austin and Paris carry insecurities from their pasts, but together they create something built on communication, support, vulnerability, and actually sharing the load.
Paris doesn’t lose the independence she’s fought so hard to gain by loving Austin. She finally learns that having a partner means she doesn’t have to do everything alone.
Because every part of me belongs to Austin Baker, and giving myself to him has been the most empowering experience of my life.
The found family made this even better. Everyone has been waiting for Austin to find his person, so when Paris and her kids come into his life, the entire Renegades crew is basically all hands on deck. Watching Paris gain not only Austin but this huge group of people ready to show up for her and her children made my heart so freaking happy.
And because this is the final book in the series, getting to see everyone together with their partners and growing families felt like the perfect goodbye. C.L. Rose has built one of those found families that gets better with every book because you’re not just falling for a new couple, you’re watching this entire little world continue to grow.
There was something about Clock Play that was just so sweet, warm, funny, sexy, and genuinely beautiful. Austin and Paris fit together in a way that feels effortless. She’s spent her entire adult life giving everything she has to everyone around her, and she finally finds a man whose greatest pleasure is giving some of that care right back.
And Austin finally gets the one thing he’s been longing for all along: a family to love.
Paris. Rowan. Rhys. Lennon.
All of them.
I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect ending for him—or for this series.
Oh, and f*ck Braxton.
Release Date: August 27th, 2026
Thank you to C.L. Rose for the ARC read!