romance

Beautifully Unexpected by Lily Morton: New Release Review

July 1, 2021 by Denise

Sometimes love comes when you least expect or want it.

Magnus Carlsen is determined to grow old disgracefully. At fifty-two, he doesn’t believe in keeping anything. Men, sofas, books—everything gets jettisoned, eventually. He’s divided his life into happy compartments. A successful trial lawyer, he spends his days lecturing jurors, exasperating judges, and striding arrogantly around courtrooms. He fills his nights with a parade of handsome young men who want to make him happy. Why date someone his own age to discuss back pain, retirement-planning, and corns, when he can date men who don’t care to discuss anything at all?

However, when one of these sunny young men shows an inclination for dramatic scenes, Magnus meets his new neighbour. And his whole world implodes.

Laurie Gentry is nearly the same age as Magnus, but that’s where the similarity ends. He’s messy and creative and nosy and mysterious. He’s everything that Magnus has spent a lifetime avoiding. So, why can’t he get Laurie out of his head?

Luckily, Laurie is only in London for the summer. Magnus can uncover Laurie’s mysteries and indulge their annoyingly hot attraction, and Laurie will be gone before complications arise. A few months isn’t long enough to lose his heart. Is it?

From bestselling author, Lily Morton comes a romantic comedy about two footloose older men and how one summer in London brings something quite beautifully unexpected into their lives.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Swoon. One of my favorite authors writing about 2 men my age and one of them is named Laurie- which is from one of my favorite books of all time. My heart sang!

The opening chapter had me laughing so I knew I was in for a ride. Magnus (Mags) and Laurie (swoon) were so obviously meant for each other from the get go. When we learn of their connection through friends and family, it is surprising that they hadn’t met before. But perhaps it hadn’t been their time to meet.

Both are self proclaimed bachelors who have no interest in a relationship. Magnus because he is all about work as a barrister and Laurie because he is an artist who tends to live and work by his call to paint. And yet…

There’s something going on with Laurie though, and what I thought isn’t what it was. But what it was- oof. Cue tears. But no spoilers, so READ IT.

The way they both snark on each other, “take the piss” and challenge each other is just so entertaining. And by challenging each other is where they fall for each other. Both of them are such strong characters that they needed to be challenged. Even if one of the challenges ends up with Endof. You’ll see.

Although there were tears, there was far more laughter. I was completely invested in these men and watching them find happiness.

Again, swoon.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

The Prince’s Vow: Starian Cycle #3 by Iris Foxglove: Blog Tour, Exclusive Author Interview, New Release Review and Giveaway

June 29, 2021 by Denise

Adrien de Guillory may be the heir to the throne of Staria, but no one in court believes that the submissive, meek-minded prince will ever be king. What they don’t know is that Adrien is hardly the meek, shy creature he pretends to be and that he has his own plans for the future. To see those plans through, Adrien embarks on a journey to Mislia, the land of his mother’s ancestors, to seek an answer to controlling his magic of foresight.

The one thing Adrien’s visions don’t predict is Isiodore de Mortain, his father’s confidante and the subject of Adrien’s long-standing, deeply embarrassing infatuation. Isiodore intercepts Adrien on his way to Mislia. But it’s too late to turn back—the two of them are now stranded on foreign soil, forced to rely on each other in order to get home in one piece. With Isiodore set on keeping Adrien safe and Adrien determined to become the most troublesome prince in Starian history, a storm is brewing over Mislia…one that will surely sweep both of them out into uncharted waters.

(The Prince’s Vow is an m/m dark fantasy novel, set in a fictional world where everyone is biologically either a dominant or a submissive and compelled to satisfy those urges. As such, the biological imperative kink in this story is pure fantasy, and not intended as a representation of real-life BDSM practices or dynamics.)

Title: The Prince’s Vow

Series: Starian Cycle #3

Author: Iris Foxglove

Release Date: 6/22/21

Heat Level: 4 – Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 64,000

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, BDSM, AU

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

When did you write your first story and what was the inspiration for it?

Foxglove: My family couldn’t afford a computer for some time, but we did have a typewriter for homework purposes. The big rule was that in order to use the typewriter, what you were writing had to be worth it. The first story of mine that was deemed worthy featured a group of fairies who caused a hurricane because they partied too hard, and a girl who told them to kindly knock it off, please. I wasn’t a big fan of hurricanes, to be fair.

Iris: I’m older than Foxglove and brought a word processor to college, LOL. But my first story was honestly very similar to Duke’s Demon — I joke that I’ve been writing some version of that story since I was twelve, but it’s true. I wrote a screenplay (I don’t know why it was a screenplay, to be honest) about a ballerina who was magically transported to an Irish castle and lived with a duke who was possessed by a demon. It was absolutely awful, but I still have it, and it makes me smile to think about how years later I published a (much better) version! I probably have had dozens of old Trapper Keepers filled with half-finished fantasy stories, but that was the first thing I ever finished in its entirety. It was called “At the Edge of Midnight” and my dad made me a cover on Print Shop on our family computer. To be honest, it would be a horrible movie but the concept was there, ha!

Where did the desire to write LGBT romance come from?

Foxglove: Well, I came out pretty young, which was rare in my conservative town, and I spent years carefully cultivating a small collection of LGBTQ fiction. It was important to me to know that there were writers out there who thought that people like me deserved love. Eventually, my room was searched and the collection was discovered—only one book remained hidden. I decided then and there that I would write my own stories to make up for the ones that were lost.

Iris: I’ve been a voracious reader all my life, especially of fantasy, and always wanted to see a story with someone like me in it. Especially because I always wanted romance in my stories, and the characters I wanted to get together were never the ones who did! I also wanted to write stories where people were accepting of all sexualities and genders, especially since so much of my love of fantasy is centered around the “found family” trope.

Briefly describe the writing process. Do you create an outline first? Do you seek out inspirational pictures, videos or music? Do you just let the words flow and then go back and try and make some sense out it?

Foxglove: We mostly babble at each other excitedly until a plot happens. There are a lot of moments that tend to go like this:

“So what IF, bear with me, but what IF this character…”
“Yes?”
“What if they did THIS?”

“OH MY GOD YES AND WHAT IF THEY DID THIS OTHER THING?!”
“AND THEN THIS OTHER THING HAPPENS?”
“YES!!!!”

It can get a little out of hand, but our brainstorming sessions are ridiculously fun.

Iris: It’s true!! We have so many books planned it’s unreal — the world that we’ve created is so fun, and we’re apparently going to write a story for the entire population 😀 We’re pretty good about writing a scene, then saying, “Hey, do you want to jump in, here?” and switching off. Usually we each gravitate toward a character and write their POV. Sometimes we outline, but it’s normally more of a general plot idea that we tweak as we go along.

We did write one of the books in the Starian Cycle out of order — look, we really love the pairing in The King’s Mage, okay — and after we went back and wrote Exile’s Gift, had to rewrite the fifth one!! So there’s two versions of book 5 floating around our Gdocs, lol.

I write best, personally, with music or thunderstorm sounds. Background noise is essential, but it can’t be anything I’m TOO interested in or I’ll get too distracted!

If you could sequester yourself for a week somewhere and just focus on your writing, where would you go and what would the environment be like?

Foxglove: Is this a magical place where I don’t have to cook anything? Can I go there? Also, my kingdom for a comfortable desk chair! I am a creature of simple needs.

Iris: Honestly if I could go somewhere it was raining and/or snowing constantly, with me in a comfy chair with sixteen blankets and a sweater with too-long sleeves and a huge mug of Earl Grey, I would still find a way to play a mobile game and be distracted. But I have such fond memories of finishing Traitor’s Mercy — I woke up at 5 am after I couldn’t sleep due to the excitement of nearly being done, and went to my then-office in our house and watched the sun rise with tea while I wrote Laurent being dramatic in the snow with Sabre. Then, I watched in real-time as Foxglove finished the epilogue, and immediately opened a doc to start Duke’s Demon! It’s such a happy memory, that feeling of excitement when you type “The End” (which I always do) is so satisfying.

I want to say right off that this is book three in the series and I haven’t read one or two. Which might have made a lot of nuances and sub-plots in this book easier to understand. I love fantasy and this had a really good start. In and amongst a fantasy plot the book had dominant and submissive tendencies which if that’s your jam was well done.

I think the plot got lost in detail a little in the middle, but there are a wealth of characters I am interested in discovering how their story progresses.

Adrien as a character is a delight and very well balanced. Isiodore is good for him even if a little too patient sometimes. I wished I had read the previous two books first.

4 pieces of eye candy

Iris Foxglove is a shared pen name between two longtime fantasy readers who are committed to writing fun, escapist dark fantasy featuring decadent, kinky stories, intricate world building and unforgettable characters.

Author Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/irisfoxglove

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21219026.Iris_Foxglove

Email: irisfoxgloveauthor@gmail.com

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The Way to a Man’s Heart by Ann Marie James: New Release Review

June 28, 2021 by Denise

The heart wants what the heart wants…

Christian Diaz grew up as the best friend and unofficial bodyguard to the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Corazón. After an incident left him questioning his place in the castle, Christian joined the military and didn’t return for ten long years.

Now he’s been assigned to the castle as Royal Military Liaison to investigate the source of some recent threats against the crown. The annual Midsummer’s Ball is the perfect place for the anti-monarchy group to make their next move, so that’s where Christian will be too. If it gives him a chance to reconnect with his friends in the castle and make a play for the man he has compared all others to, it’s even better.

Max Ramirez is now the head chef for the castle. He started as a sous chef at age twenty when Christian was just an awkward teen. Now that Christian’s back at the castle, all grown up and interested in Max, the chef is determined not to let an opportunity with Christian pass him by.

When someone tries to sabotage the Midsummer’s Ball, Max and Christian need to work together to track down the people determined to make this event their last.

Amazon

I was looking forward to the premise of this book. A fictional monarchy, some suspense, intrigue…but it just fell flat for me. The MC’s in this romance did not date before Christian left town for 10 years. He shows back up, and immediately, as in right away, they are dating and living together, and said I love you a few days later. I understand insta-love, but this to me should have been more of a second change. However, these two never spent time together as a couple, and there was no learning new things about each other. It was just a look across a ballroom, and they were in love.

There was some backstory with the father of Christian, not sure we learned anything about Max’s backstory, and that was solved in a quick meeting with the King. Then some intrigue that really didn’t lead much of anywhere, and they moved in together and were talking marriage.

This book was rushed, which I can understand if you are working on a novella. However, there just wasn’t the story to allow the reader to understand the connection these men had, which left me feeling like it was a missed opportunity.

2.5 pieces of eye candy

Waiting on Life by Parker Williams: Quick Review

June 28, 2021 by Denise

Big, bald, tattooed, and more than a little possessive, Toby Tomlinson isn’t what you’d call a lady’s man. In fact, he usually got too serious before they were ready. One day, upon returning home from work, Toby finds a young woman kneeling to pick up mail she’d apparently dropped. Taken with her red hair and slender body, he says hello as he grabs his own mail. The woman jumps and bangs her head against the open door, then lets loose with a string of expletives. She turns around and Toby discovers…the person he’s been ogling isn’t a woman at all, but a man.

Kyle Roga’s heard it all before. High school was filled with taunting classmates who could tell Kyle was far too fabulous to be straight. And now, here he was, being pawed at by a man who stole Kyle’s breath away. He ticked every box Kyle had, and a few he didn’t even know he wanted ticked. The problem? Kyle’s been burned before by straight men who think you’re good enough for sex, but not for a relationship. He’s been bitten way more than once, and he doesn’t want to go down that path again.

Two men, each with a different way of looking at love, find themselves having to reexamine what they always believed about themselves. Will it be enough to bring them together? Will each discover what they’ve been doing isn’t living, but waiting on life?

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Not terrible, not great, easy read that doesn’t take a lot of brain power.

Toby is supposed to be this big, tough, scary dude. It is mentioned in the book. Often. But he is SO OBVIOUSLY a giant teddy bear.

Kyle is fairly recently out of college and he and his best friend move in to the apartment across the hall. First Toby thinks Kyle is a woman. Then realizes that he finds him attractive. But keeps telling himself that he “doesn’t like d*ck”. Come on. There are way better ways to say that.

Anyway, Kyle is immediately smitten with Toby. (even the name Toby is teddy bearish), but assumes he is straight and since he was burned badly by a previous “straight” guy, he isn’t willing to go there again.

I am sure you can glean what the rest of the book is like.

Again, there isn’t really anything BAD about the book (except timeline mentions), it was just fairly generic. An easy beach read to keep you occupied, but I doubt it would make your top 10.

3 pieces of eye candy

Code Red N.R. Walker: RB, Excerpt and Giveaway

June 28, 2021 by Denise

The brighter the spotlight, the darker the shadow.

Maddox Kershaw is the main vocalist of the world’s biggest boy band. He’s at the top of every music chart, every award show, every social media platform, and every sexiest-man-alive list. He’s the bad boy, the enigma, the man everyone on the planet wants a piece of.

He’s also burned out and exhausted, isolated and lonely. Not in a good headspace at the start of a tour.

Roscoe Hall is Maddox’s personal manager. His job is high-flying, high-demand, high-profile, and he loves it. Maddox has consumed his entire life for the past four years. Roscoe knows him. He sees the real Maddox no one else gets to see.

He’s also in love with him.

When the tour and stress become too much, when the world begins to close in, Roscoe becomes Maddox’s lifeline. But as Maddox knows already, and as Roscoe is about to learn, the brighter the spotlight, the darker the shadow.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

“Roscoe Hall,” I answered my phone, out of time and patience. It didn’t dawn on me that it was Ryan’s number until after I’d said my name. It was my twentieth call this morning already.

“Just confirming ETA for 9:00 am.”

I checked my watch. It was 7:30 now and I’d already been up for far too long. It was a big day, and I could take a moment to breathe once we were all together.

“Yeah, Ryan. Will be there, thanks.”

There was a brief pause. “Is Maddox with you?”

“On my way to get him now.”

“See you there.”

I pocketed my phone and did one last check. Phone, wallet, passport, tickets, keys. I grabbed my carry-on, locked my front door, and wheeled my suitcase down to the waiting car. I hadn’t even greeted the driver when my phone rang again, and it beeped again on my way to collect Maddox.

I was organized and efficient, aggressively so.

It’s what made me good at my job. Being the personal manager for one of the world’s biggest boy bands was every minute of my life.

These boys didn’t accept second best for anything, and neither did I.

And I should clarify that while they were classified as a boy band, they were men. They might have started out as boys—they were just kids in high school when they formed their first band. But they were twenty-three now. They’d done the small local gigs, needing their parents’ permission to play in bars and clubs around LA when they were underage.

The story of how the band called Atrous made it to the big time was well-known.

The five boys came from nothing. A garage band that crossed pop with rock and rap, playing small gigs wherever they could, when a well-known radio DJ saw them and uploaded footage to his social media. Platinum Entertainment, one of America’s biggest entertainment management companies, signed them, and they’d been on the top of the world music stage for the last four years.

To the outside world, these guys were the ultimate success story.

They had no idea what went on when the lights went out.

Saying I was the personal manager of the whole band wasn’t true either. Personal assistant, handler, manager. It was all the same. But it wasn’t just me. I was one of three. Ryan Morten, Amber Seratt, and I were the personal managers of Atrous, as a whole. While the three managers looked after the five band members, I was, however, the unstated personal manager of one of them in particular.

Lead vocalist and rapper, main dancer, bad boy, Maddox Kershaw.

Ryan and Amber took care of Jeremy, Wes, Luke, and Blake. But Maddox was mine.

Well, not mine. But mine.

God, how I wished he were mine . . .

Over the last four years, Maddox and I’d just gelled. He didn’t trust easily, and for some reason he’d put his trust in me. And the truth was, he needed his own personal manager more than the other four guys.

Maddox was the face of Atrous. Unwilling, but the face, nonetheless.

He carried the weight of their reputation, their brand. He was the one they hounded, the one they chased, the one they followed, the one that made headlines every other day.

He wore black, he had a full sleeve of tattoos, perfect skin, and he had attitude to spare. His motto was to burn down the institutions, to stand tall for those who had to kneel, and to speak for those who had been silenced.

He resonated with the youth around the world.

He was also incredibly good-looking.

When I say good-looking, I mean hot. Sexy, enigmatic, ethereal, even.

His heritage had been talked about a million times. So much of his life was public. His grandmother on his mother’s side was Japanese, and his grandparents on his father’s side were Dutch. He was a second generation American, a very talented musician, and he was incredibly smart.

He sang like an angel and danced like the devil.

And he answered the door looking like a mix of both. His hair was wet from the shower, he smelled warm and clean, he wore black cargo pants, a black T-shirt, and combat boots. It was his standard attire. Seeing him like that made my heart feel far too big for my chest. “Forget your key?” he asked. He even almost smiled.

It had been so long since I’d seen him smile . . .

Yes, I had a key to his house. But that was for emergencies only. I followed him inside. “You ready? The others are meeting us there.”

He grumbled something that sounded like assent. His house was still dark, open and vast, mind-bogglingly expensive, and it felt empty. It was in Beverly Hills, worth a reported twelve million with incredible views of the canyon and the city, but Maddox had the blinds drawn.

He plucked a black hoodie off the back of his sofa and pulled it on. I ignored how his T-shirt lifted a little, exposing a sliver of pale skin above his waistband. I’d seen him shirtless a thousand times. Hell, I’d even seen him in his underwear. It was nothing new, but it still managed to warm my blood.

I grabbed his two suitcases, wheeling them toward the door. He picked up his black backpack. “Got my passport?”

“Yep,” I replied. “We’re all good. Your mom’s got her key and security numbers?”

“Yeah,” he said with a shrug.

His mother was going to come look after his place while we were gone. We’d be gone for almost seven weeks. Seven long, grueling weeks.

“Come on, I have an iced coffee waiting for you in the car.”

He pulled up his hood, but I swear there was the beginning of a smile before the shadow stole it.

My phone buzzed again, and I pulled it out of my pocket and groaned at the screen. Another message that could wait until we were in the car. I pulled the door shut behind us, made sure it was locked, and wheeled the luggage to the waiting car. I opened the car door for him, I closed the door for him, I loaded the bags into the trunk—it was my job to do these things for him—and finally I got into the back of the car with Maddox.

My phone buzzed again, and I thumbed out a quick reply. We’d been driving for about ten minutes when I realized Maddox hadn’t said a word. He’d sipped his coffee but not much else. I looked at him then, really looked at him, and underneath the killer good looks was a tired man.

“You sleep okay?” I asked.

He scoffed as his answer, then glanced pointedly at my phone. “Did you? Has your phone stopped yet?”

I didn’t need to reply because we both knew the answer.

He nodded because he knew he was right and proving his point, I replied to some more emails and messages on the drive downtown. Yes, we all lived in LA, and yes, we were staying at a hotel in LA because when the tour began, the band and the whole crew would stay together. Mostly for logistical and security reasons, but also for bonding. We were one unit from day one, regardless of location.

As the car pulled into the hotel’s underground parking lot, Maddox’s eyes trained on the people rushing about. “The guys are already here?” he asked.

“Yep. Arrived five minutes ago.”

His shoulders relaxed a little, and for that I was glad. He and his bandmates were like brothers; they’d been through everything together. He was closer to Jeremy than the others, but the bond between the five of them was clear. I was relieved that he’d be with them again. I was pretty sure he’d spent the last few days by himself, holed up in his house. I’d spoken to him on the phone, even came to see him a few times, but getting ready for a tour was a busy time for me.

Before we came to a complete stop, he was quiet and chewed on his bottom lip. I wanted to ask him if he was okay, but there wasn’t time. I doubted he’d even answer that question, or answer it honestly, anyway.

“You excited?” I asked instead. “Sellout stadium tour, twenty-three concerts. You ready for that?”

He met my gaze and didn’t look away. His smile was as brief as it was beautiful. “Yeah. Of course.”

I didn’t believe him, and it was devastating how he could look right at me with those dark, dark eyes and speak so sincerely while he lied.

I spent almost every day with him. I knew him. I knew the real Maddox Kershaw, not the Maddox he showed the world. The private one, the quiet one, the intellectual one . . .

The miserable one.

The Maddox I’d been secretly in love with for years . . . the Maddox I could never have.

“Maddox,” I said, but his door opened from the outside, and people were getting luggage from our car and giving directions, and there was no time.

The commotion had begun. These seven weeks were going to be brutal.

He lowered his head, pulled up his hood to hide his face, and got out of the car.

N.R. Walker is an Australian author, who loves her genre of gay romance. She loves writing and spends far too much time doing it, but wouldn’t have it any other way.

She is many things: a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer. She has pretty, pretty boys who live in her head, who don’t let her sleep at night unless she gives them life with words.

She likes it when they do dirty, dirty things… but likes it even more when they fall in love.

She used to think having people in her head talking to her was weird, until one day she happened across other writers who told her it was normal.

She’s been writing ever since…

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bookbub

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The Way to a Man’s Heart by Ann Marie James: Blog Tour, Exclusive Author Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

June 24, 2021 by Denise

The heart wants what the heart wants…

When someone tries to sabotage the Midsummer’s Ball, Max and Christian need to work together to track down the people determined to make this event their last.

Title: The Way to a Man’s Heart

Author Name: Ann Marie James

Publisher: Totally Bound

Release Date: Tuesday, June 22 2021

Story Type: Novella 20k-50k

Word Count: 33982

Genres: Contemporary Gay Romance

Pairings: m/m

LGBTQ+ Identities: Gay

Keywords/Categories: Contemporary, Erotic, Romance, Friends to Lovers, Gay, LGBT, LGBTQ, Royals, Thrillers and Suspense, gay romance, mm romance, gay, new release, announcement, giveaway

Warnings: This book contains mentions of drug use, obsession, references to parental abuse, drink spiking, violence, attempted rape, and attempted murder.

Amazon

Pride Publishing

Ann Marie James sitting down with one of the characters from The Way to a Man’s Heart

Ann Marie: Greetings, Princess Zia. Thank you for agreeing to an interview.

Princess Zia huffs, while crossing her arms over her chest: My parents didn’t give me a choice. They said you’ve interviewed everyone else and I have to do it.

Ann Marie: Well, I appreciate you being here at any rate.

Princess Zia: I’m here what do you want to know?

Ann Marie: Are you excited for the Midsummer’s Ball?

Princess Zia: Not really. I mean my sister invited so many people. She wanted it to be inclusive. Really? It’s supposed to be an event and she invited the gardener and his wife. She said he earned it with all the hard work he has done for her.

Ann Marie: I understand it’s quite different from your event.

Princess Zia: Oh yes. My ball, you had to be someone to make it on the list. It was wonderful. Everybody being so nice to me to try to get an invite. I was sorry the event was over and people went back to their regular lives. Not that the lives aren’t fabulous of course. I can’t live a life that’s not absolutely spectacular.

Ann Marie: I can see that. I don’t think there’s one thing on your person that isn’t designer. Let’s move on to a new topic. Your sister heads to college in the fall. Your brother also has his bachelors and masters. Any plans for you to attend college?

Princess Zia: Who has the time? I have responsibilities here. I can’t leave.

Ann Marie: We would be interested in what those are?

Princess Zia: Making sure this family stays relevant. I mean my parents are rather boring. They would rather stay in and eat as a family. We need to be seen. Make sure everyone knows who we are.

Ann Marie: I’m sure everyone in the country, if not the world knows who you all are, would they really forget if you went to school for four years?

Princess Zia: The people on this island need something to aspire to. They look at me with my perfect hair and my perfect clothing and they want to be me.

Ann Marie: I hear more about Prince Sebastian and Princess Katarina whenever I talk to people on the island. They do a lot of good in the community.

Princess Zia sniffs: Like I care about what the people on the island think. You obviously haven’t spoken to the right people. The people with money and power.

Ann Marie: Ah. So it’s really just the rich people you want to impress.

Princess Zia: Exactly. And I do impress them. As I said, they want to be me.

Ann Marie: Okay then. Well, I think we’ve covered everything. Anything you would like to add?

Princess Zia: Only that if people think that Katarina’s ball is something, then they should have been at mine. Oh wait, they couldn’t. (Princess Zia laughs her way out the door.)

The royal family of the Kingdom of Corazón greeted their guests for the Midsummers Ball as Christian watched. He ran a hand down the front of his dress military uniform to straighten it while he waited for his turn to be announced. This was his first formal duty as the newly appointed Royal Military Liaison, and he needed to make sure he looked his best. He shifted his feet to find some relief for his ankle, which was still sore from him standing for a long time. His last mission had not gone to plan, and a broken ankle had been the result. Although the cast had come off a couple of weeks prior, it still wasn’t one hundred percent.

“Royal Military Liaison Lieutenant Diaz,” the herald announced. Christian caught the eye of Crown Prince Sebastian toward the end of the greeting line and his best friend’s eyes widened in surprise before his face lit up with happiness at seeing him. As the only child of the Castle Commander, Christian had grown up here, but he’d been in the service away from the castle for ten years. At thirty, Christian was the same age as Crown Prince Sebastian. They had been best friends from the time they had been in diapers, and even though Christian and the prince still got together when their schedules allowed, it wasn’t the same as seeing and being with him every day. Christian had missed him fiercely.

The royal children of the kingdom were usually paired with a young playmate from the age of about ten. Christian had started earlier than age ten as Sebastian’s companion, since he was always with him anyway. As Castle Commander, his father was the head of the guard slash castle security. He’d taken the companion idea a step further and trained Christian to be as good as he could be in martial arts and marksmanship. In his father’s eyes, Christian was to act as another line of defense for the Crown Prince. While Christian had not carried a gun—that was the role of the actual bodyguards—he was trained in case he ever had to use one.

With a nod to the herald, Christian stepped forward to greet the Queen of the Kingdom of Corazón. Queen Tania reached out both hands to Christian, and he clasped them and raised them to his lips while bowing over them. “My Queen… It is a pleasure to see you. You haven’t changed a bit.”

“Lieutenant Diaz, it is a pleasure to see you as well. Ten years is way too long. We have missed you.”

“I apologize for the lengthy absence, Your Highness. I needed a change, but I am assigned here for the foreseeable future, so you will have time to get sick of me again.”

“So my husband has told me. I am excited to have you home, although in a different capacity as the Royal Military Liaison. I look forward to catching up.”

“As do I.”

The queen turned a stern eye on her eldest daughter, who was standing to her right. “Princess Zia, isn’t it wonderful that Christian will be back with us for a while?”

Christian tried to mask his sneer as his gaze went to Zia, who was not at all happy this evening. Of course, she wouldn’t be, since she wasn’t the center of attention. She wasn’t a very nice person and never had been. She was also part of the reason he’d left and joined the military. What she did… No, he wasn’t going to think about it. It was in the past. He was stronger and even more deadly now. It was time for him to face his demons. The military had finished the training his father had started, turning him into a true weapon. At twenty-eight, Christian had hoped Zia would have grown up and stopped being so self-absorbed, but the affliction seemed to have gotten worse instead of better in the time Christian had been away.

Christian gave Princess Zia a shallow bow. “Princess Zia.” That was all he could manage. He wasn’t going to lie and say he’d missed her.

Princess Zia tossed back her hair and gave him her haughtiest look. “Mr. Diaz.”

“It’s Lieutenant Diaz, actually, Your Highness.” Christian didn’t wait for her to respond, instead turning to greet the king of the Kingdom of Corazón. A striking man, even in his fifties, King Raul Hart exuded a sense of calm authority that Christian had always admired, making him seem larger than life. “King Raul.” Christian bowed low in front of the man. When he straightened, Christian was shocked to realize that he was now taller than the king. When they had met briefly the day before, the king had been busy on a phone call and had just waved him into his office and into a chair. Christian had experienced another surprise growth spurt after he had joined the military at age twenty and was now six-three, but he hadn’t realized that made him taller than the king.

“Hello again, Royal Military Liaison Lieutenant Diaz.” The king’s eyes twinkled at him as he ignored protocol and pulled Christian into a hug. “I didn’t get a chance to do that when we met yesterday. I wanted to correct that error.”

“Yes, sir.” Christian returned the hug before stepping back and offering him a crisp salute. “Lieutenant Diaz reporting for duty, sir.”

“As you were, Lieutenant. Now I think there’s someone here who can’t wait to greet you. It was hard keeping this a secret from him.”

“I know. I talked to him earlier, and I almost spilled the beans.”

Christian moved down the line and tried to keep a stern expression on his face as he saluted before grinning at one of his best friends. “Crown Prince.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were being assigned to the castle as Royal Military Liaison?”

“I thought you would like the surprise of it. It just happened a few days ago.” Christian once more ran a hand down the front of his military uniform. “First mission, the Midsummer’s Ball. It’s a very tough assignment.”

Ann Marie James is fluent in two languages, English and sarcasm. She believes that you will never learn anything new if you don’t read as much as you can, and/or talk to every stranger you meet. She always looks for the best in people and to treat people the way she wants to be treated. Above all Ann Marie believes in love, whatever form it takes. Relationships are hard, love is the glue that keeps it together.

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