Kyrell Knight believes life is a game to be played and thoroughly enjoyed. He rarely takes anything seriously, lives in the moment, and indulges in as much pleasure with women as possible. But the sarcasm, money, and women are an attempt to erase the memories of his past as he tries to forget what he came from. It works until his past wants to be a part of his present.
Kyrell reconnects with Quinn Halifax at their mutual best friend’s engagement party. They spark up a friendship that quickly turns to flames when it becomes a superficial, no strings attached relationship.
Kyrell is struggling with his past while Quinn is trying to secure her future. Neither is looking for more, but fate has other plans. What happens when two people collide with fate?
Content Advisory: child abuse, death, mentions of suicide
“Hm…is this right?” I mutter to myself while I check the GPS. “Damn, this is right. I thought my apartment was nice.” I mumble aloud.
When I left the city and started heading for the hills I thought he had a given me the wrong address. I even called him to double check and he assured me it was right and to just follow my GPS. Now I’m staring at a stunning mansion with black stone exterior. I park next to his Jeep and notice his garage is full of cars. No wonder he seemed so unbothered by me possibly fucking up his car the other night. It looks like he could afford to buy several if he wanted to.
As I walk towards his door it occurs to me that I really don’t know much about Kyrell. I know the basics–he’s the same age as me, owns a dispensary, invested money into a nightclub, but did he acquire all this on his own? He’s never given me the arrogant rich boy vibes you typically get with men who think they’ve made it because they own a pair of exclusive sneakers and lease a foreign car. In fact, Kyrell has never flaunted his money.
I fluff up my curls one last time as I knock on the front door. When it opens, I’m greeted by a shirtless Kyrell. He has nothing on but a towel loosely slung around his hips and beads of water are trailing down his abs. He has a few tattoos scattered across his chest and legs.
I’ve never wanted to be water so bad in my life.
“Hey, c’mon in.” He says as his eyes drink me in. “I just need to get dressed.” He waits for me to stop ogling him and walk through the door. I step inside and look around. “Or we can hang out here. Either way, I need clothes.” He says as I follow him through his house.
Does he really need clothes? I lick my lips out of fear I’m drooling. “Uh… nice house. I didn’t realize you lived in the hills.”
“You never asked.” He says with a smirk. “I bought it a few months after I moved out here.”
“How? If you were only twenty-one at that time?”
“With money, as does everyone else.” He answers vaguely.
“Did you sell your soul?” I ask half joking, half serious.
He turns around to face me but doesn’t stop walking. “Damn near.” He says with a wink.
A.E. Valdez discovered her passion for writing when she was given a journal by her 5th grade teacher and has been creating poetry, works of fiction, and gaming narratives ever since. As a child, she wanted to read more stories with people that looked like her.
She loves all things romance, from heartbreak to happily ever afters. She pours her own heart and soul into the stories she brings to life. Causing readers to fall in, and sometimes out, of love alongside her characters.
Amanda currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their two sons. Most days you can find her sipping on an iced latte while she writes or enjoying time with her family.
Title: Up in Arms Author: Kindle Alexander Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Up In Arms is a heavily revised rerelease of the original story published in 2012.
Reed Kensington, self-made millionaire, ruthless attorney, and handsome playboy has the perfect
life…just ask him. Which is why he’s surprised when a chance encounter at his baby brother’s
wedding makes him cross-exam his plans for his future.
Trevor West loves his friends and his life in the military as a special ops team member. Though he longs to find a special someone, he refuses to jeopardize his career on something as elusive as love. Until he meets Reed, and the desires running through him threaten his hard-fought self-control.
When a dangerous mission blows their world apart, Reed doesn’t let anything stop him from jumping in. But can he convince Trevor that they belong together…that he deserves a chance at love?
Best Selling Author Kindle Alexander is an innovative writer, and a genre-crosser who writes classic fantasy, romance, suspense, and erotica in both the male/male and male/female genres. It’s always a surprise to see what’s coming next!
I live in the suburbs of Dallas where it’s true, the only thing bigger than an over active imagination, may be women’s hair!
Usually, I try for funny. Humor is a major part of my life – I love to laugh, and it seems to be the thing I do in most situations – regardless of the situation, but jokes are a tricky deal… I don’t want to offend anyone and jokes tend to offend. So instead I’m going to tell you about Kindle.
I tragically lost my sixteen year old daughter to a drunk driver. She had just been at home, it was early in the night and I heard the accident happen. I’ll never forget that moment. The sirens were immediate and something inside me just knew. I left my house, drove straight to the accident on nothing more than instinct. I got to be there when my little girl died – weirdly, I consider that a true gift from above. She didn’t have to be alone.
That time in my life was terrible. It’s everything you think it would be times about a billion. I love that kid. I loved being her mother and I loved watching her grow into this incredibly beautiful person, both inside and out. She was such a gift to me. To have it all ripped away so suddenly broke me.
Her name was Kindle. Honest to goodness – it was her name and she died a few weeks before Amazon released their brand new Kindle ereader. She had no idea it was coming out and she would have finally gotten her name on something! Try finding a ruler with the name Kindle on it.. It never happened.
Through the course of that crippling event I was lucky enough to begin to write with a dear friend in the fan fiction world of Facebook. She got me through those dark days with her unwavering support and friendship. There wasn’t a time she wasn’t there for me. Sometimes together and sometimes by myself, we built a world where Kindle lives and stands for peace, love and harmony. It’s its own kind of support group. I know without question I wouldn’t be here today without her.
Marco Woodruff has hit rock bottom. He drunkenly propositioned his ex-girlfriend at his own wedding rehearsal dinner just over a year ago and ended up dumped and jobless with a broken nose. He’s been the pariah of his social circle ever since. Now, he’s trying like hell to change for the better.
Morgan Paulsen loathes Marco. He’s nothing more than the douchebag who broke her best friend Lily’s heart. He’s also the last person in the world she expects to help when she finds herself in a crisis. Her ailing grandma needs a full-time caretaker, something she can’t afford. So when Marco offers to look after Gram for free, Morgan takes it as a sign from the universe and reluctantly accepts under one condition: that they never tell anyone about their arrangement.
But Morgan quickly realizes Marco has a completely different vibe these days. The sweet guy who whips up homemade meals for her Gram and happily escorts her to bridge club definitely isn’t the douchebag she remembers. She’s falling hard for the tall, dark, and handsome hottie who kisses like a demon and rocks out to BTS and Taylor Swift. Marco is equally smitten with beautiful, badass Morgan. Never in his life has he felt so content and comfortable than with her. Never did he think he was capable of feeling so much for somebody.
Soon they’re falling hard into total bliss and blazing passion. But if they make it official, Morgan will lose her best friend forever. Can she come clean to Lily? Can Marco prove that therapy and cutting out his toxic family have really changed him? Or will being open about their love ruin everything?
It doesn’t take long for us to find trouble. Morgan and I end up at a naked sushi restaurant a few blocks from my place. My dating skills are rusty as hell. And I can see how this would feel all sorts of wrong for Morgan, being on a ‘friend date’ with the reviled ex of her friends. But even so, this feels good. Damn good.
And I think she feels the same way. She’s been non-stop laughing and smiling the entire meal.
“You had to have brought dates here before,” she teases as she mixes wasabi into soy sauce with her chopsticks.
“I hate to disappoint, but no. I’ve never been here.”
“But this place seems so… you.”
I cough on my sake and peer around the dimly lit space. A dozen or so naked models, both male and female, are lying on top of the dark mahogany tables. Banana leaves cover their X-rated body parts while trays of sushi and sashimi line their torsos.
“I don’t even know how to take that. Insult or compliment?”
Her head falls back as she laughs, and I swear to god it’s the most melodic sound I’ve ever heard.
“I didn’t mean it as an insult,” she says in a softer tone, as if she can sense my doubt. “I just mean that you always came off so brazen and confident. I admire it.”
“I appreciate the confidence comment, but I assure you I have my insecurities. Like, I’d never have the guts to do what this guy does.” I point my chopsticks at the guy serving as our table, who I notice is eyeing Morgan. “I’m surprised you were open to coming here honestly.”
She shrugs. “It’s a Friday, every other restaurant in the vicinity was full, and I didn’t feel like waiting hours. I was starving. If this were only naked women, no way in hell would I have been okay with this. But there’s equal-opportunity nudity here. I’m all for it.”
I have to bite back the grin that tugs at my mouth. This day is turning into something else entirely. We’re veering dangerously close to off-the-rails territory, but I’ve never felt so comfortable, so at ease on a date. I’ve never had one as good as this—and it’s not even technically a proper date because we’re here as friends.
That thought deflates me just a bit. But then I glance up and see a gleam in her eyes as she gazes at me, the corner of her mouth hooked up in the most gorgeous half-smile I’ve ever seen. I thought I sensed it earlier at my place, but now it’s clear as crystal. And I know what it is.
Trouble.
The best kind of trouble. Trouble I wouldn’t mind getting into again and again, as long as it’s with Morgan.
She scoots closer to me. “I’m having a really nice time.”
“Same.” That single word broadcasts one-one hundredth of the excitement that I’m currently feeling, but it’s all I can say to keep my cool.
Sarah Skye is the nom de plume of romance authors Sarah Smith and Skye McDonald. Sarah and Skye met on Twitter as fledgling authors seeking critique partners. That turned into a brilliant friendship, a joint podcast (Quick & Dirty Romance Podcast), and now a novel.
Sarah Smith (Faker; If You Never Come Back; Simmer Down) is a copywriter-turned-author who wants to make the world a lovelier place, one kissing story at a time. Her love of romance began when she was eight and she discovered her auntie’s stash of romance novels. She’s been hooked ever since. When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking, eating chocolate, and perfecting her lumpia recipe. She lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband and adorable cat Salem.
Skye McDonald (The Anti-Belle Series) is an author and personal development coach. Skye’s Anti-Belle series feature sassy GRITS (Girls Raised In the South) learning to love themselves before they can claim their happily ever after. (Spoiler: they always do!) Her coaching method uses fitness and life skills to teach individuals to do the same. When not writing sexy books or cheering for you to live your best life, Skye can be found out on a new adventure, usually with her pup at her side.
