Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Transform New Release Blitz #IndiGo

Title:  Transform

Series: Crossing Nuwa, Book Four

Author: Sean Ian O'Meidhir, Connall Braginsky

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: 12/19/2023

Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 58600

Genre: Paranormal, cyber mage, demons, vampire, established couple, interspecies, magic users, mythical creatures, psychic ability, shifters, road trip, vacation, weddings, Hawaii, puzzle

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Description

After a harrowing rescue, Theo and Robbie take Kat to Maui to recover, only to be swept into another intrigue. Robbie comes into his own and learns to appreciate who and what he is while Theo comes to terms with his family. But a greater prophecy is at play—one that may draw the couple into things they are not yet ready for.

Excerpt

Transform
Connal Braginsky & Sean Ian O’Meidhir © 2023
All Rights Reserved

Chapter One
Theo

Clueless dumbass idiots. I can’t understand how people get themselves into so much shit and then need to be rescued. What the hell ever. I’m sure that stupid mind mage and his baby vampire boyfriend will either be okay or the cyber fae will experiment on them. Kinda don’t care.

I’m taking Kat and Robbie to my place in Maui until the heat is off. And now I have more pressing matters—Thanksgiving—and I’m somehow hosting! How that happened, I haven’t a clue. It was supposed to be just the three of us. How did it blossom into the three of us plus Robbie’s cousin, her new husband, and her aunt? It’s been a couple years since I’ve been to the house I acquired in Wailea when I was eighteen—a foreclosed investment just as the market was recovering. Bad for them, nice for me. I’d been on my own for three years and had established myself pretty well in my chosen profession—that of cyber thief. Made a few million by that time and thought real estate was pretty solid, so I picked up a half-dozen properties, in different names, around the world. I now have most listed online for rent.

This one in Maui is a four bedroom, three and a half bath with private beach. Fully furnished and stocked at all times, I have a property manager who takes care of the landscaping for the four acres of manicured lawn, maintenance, and housekeeping, so it’s pretty sweet to just arrive.

“This is really nice, Teddy,” Kat said, her skin shimmering in the afternoon rays. She pushed one of her long red dreads over her shoulder as she took in the estate before bouncing through the door with her usual exuberance.

Originally hailing from somewhere near Batswana, my two-hundred-year-old great-great-great grandmother is a force to be reckoned with. She looks like she’s my age, so we say we’re cousins. I guess being a blood mage has its perks.

I smirked, used to the nickname she gave me when I was born. “Thanks, Kat. There are two guest rooms upstairs for you to choose from. I suggest the one with the lanai because it’s got the better view, and you won’t hear Robbie cry out in ecstasy when I’m fucking him.”

I didn’t have to look. The heat radiating off my partner’s face could light the house for a year, and his embarrassed gasp made me chuckle.

Kat took everything in stride. For her, sex was an essential part of life. She was the first one I came out to when I was thirteen. Well, the second. My best friend who I had sucked off the night before was the first. Kat was the one who taught me about the many cultures through the centuries and how the “zeitgeist” of religion and politics influences societal and cultural thought. Polynesian culture has always been a lot more accepting, despite various religious influences trying to change it, and it continues to be fairly inclusive despite those would-be haters. Much more so than many regions of the mainland and other areas of the world. Shame, but not something I care about. I like to fuck dudes. And fuck the hell out of them. I make no apologies.

“Good suggestion.” She winked at both of us while carrying a bag up the stairs. Shooting me an incredulous look, Robbie scrambled to haul her second one and one of ours up after her. Kat is very self-reliant and has often laughed off Robbie’s attempts at being chivalrous—not something he even thinks about consciously. His twisted upbringing made him practically a slave to his messed-up mother and aunt, people Kat and I had helped to rescue him from over a year ago.

Robbie’s smile is my kryptonite, the sounds he makes a drug. I cannot seem to get enough of either and will do anything to make sure we both get more. Both are reserved just for me, which may sound conceited but is definitely the truth. The way his jade eyes glint when he sees me never ceases to give me pause. It’s as if I’m the only person in the world, even though I royally messed up and almost lost him because of my insecurities this past June.

I observe him with others. He’s always so reserved, sometimes even showing a hint of fear, although that has faded a lot since his mother died this time last year. It’s been a year of helping him to learn how to be in the world and unlearn some other things—like not making eye contact with women who I swear he still believes are his superiors. We’ve been working on that. I think his going to college has probably helped the most. But having Mrs. Gomez, our housekeeper, and Kat around has also helped. He no longer completely shuts down when they’re in the room. In fact, I’ve seen Kat get him to laugh more times than not. Not the full belly laugh he gets when we’re alone, but it’s good to see. I think I heard him offer an actual opinion the other day when she asked him something. And Kat, may all the Gods love her, is the absolute most caring and patient person I’ve ever met. I know in her own subtle way she has been trying to get him out of his shell. And he’s taken to helping Mrs. Gomez in the kitchen because while his major is accounting, he added a culinary arts minor just this past semester. I’m a really lucky guy and willing guinea pig.

It’s so strange too. I was more than happy living on my own, but now I can’t imagine not having him here. Hell, having the whole house full. I was living on my own in California and then Kat claimed one of my guest rooms for her own. Then, after seeing what a slob I am, she insisted on adding Mr. and Mrs. Gomez, our live-in housekeeper and landscaper. And now Robbie lives with us. I guess not much about it is negative except me having to remember to throw on some underwear when I go downstairs. Otherwise, the house is clean and usually smells great.

We’d been like this, all living together with Robbie in Santa Rosa, California, for almost a year, when the shit hit the fan last month. Yeah, instead of getting to celebrate our anniversary like I had planned, we had to get the hell out of the San Francisco Bay area. I somehow got mixed up with this clueless mage and his neonate vampire boyfriend, and Kat got kidnapped by some goddamned vampire about whom no one can give me a good answer if he’s still alive or not. While the companies Impetus and Paradigm are on my forever-shit-list, at this time the most prudent action is recon. So, I packed off the Gomezes to their family in South America for the holidays, and then Kat, Robbie, and I made it out here to Wailea, Maui, to one of my little homes away from home. Robbie asked if we could fly out his cousin Abi and her new husband for a sort of second honeymoon, and who am I to say no? Then, of course, Maggie—Abi’s mother and Robbie’s therapist—had to come. Fuck me if the whole goddamned gang won’t be here soon.

“What are we going to do when Abi and Maggie get here?” Robbie asked, quietly coming back into the kitchen, his tone dripping with bashful concern. I was digging around in the fridge for sandwich fixings and stewing about the upcoming festivities and for a full five seconds couldn’t fathom what he was asking. Then I all but fell over laughing. You see, Robbie’s loud. In bed only. Everywhere else he is soft-spoken, almost reverent. But the octaves I can coax from him are musical.

Catching him around the waist, I whispered, “Ball gag,” before nibbling his ear. Boy, I like where the man’s mind is.

He wrapped his arms around me as he perched his lithe athletic frame atop the counter to do battle with my tongue. I began grinding gently against him, and his legs had just wrapped around me when Kat came in. She was behind him, so I just gave her a thumbs-up and kept kissing him. Guess it was the noise of the sandwich making that clued him in. She had three started, with bread out and mayo added, before his head whipped up in surprise, and he choked, falling off the counter and spinning around in my arms.

“You like all the veggies, Robbie?” Kat asked, nonplussed.

I pulled him back, wrapping my arms around his waist as he laughed softly and said, “Yes, please.”

“You don’t like raw onions,” I reminded him gently, unable to keep myself from kissing his reddened ear and working hard to contain the mix of emotions I always had when I felt his flight response rear up.

“But…no onions, please.” He squirmed, and I gave him a reassuring hug.

Maggie Koch, his aunt, told me it’s something called “exposure therapy.” She encouraged me to have him interact with as many women as possible in healthy ways, and to encourage him to advocate for himself so he could see the benefits. Or some psychobabble. Though…it did seem to be working. He would have just eaten the onion without complaint.

“Okay, honey. And you, Teddy? Meat and cheese, yeah?”

“Yep. Thanks. Don’t want to catch a vitamin and die.”

Over lunch Kat said, “So, I know Vinnie isn’t invited to dinner…”

“Kat, Dad doesn’t even know we’re on the island, let alone about this house. If you’re sayin’ we should visit, we can, but I don’t want him here—or him even knowing about this place. I’ve set up his accounts so they are never overdrawn, and he doesn’t have to worry about money, though I doubt he’s ever looked in the account. You know how he is.” My father…a useless, happy Italian drunk. He plays the guitar for various groups to entertain tourists and locals alike, gets free booze at the gigs he works at, and lives a very simple life. I check in on him whenever I’m in Maui, which is to say every few years. We have some beers, laugh, play music, but there’s just not a lot we have in common, and I guess I’m not as interested in drinking myself into a stupor each night.

“Honey, you know I say what I mean. It’s not about visiting your dad. In this case, I’ve been making headway with the whole scanning thing. The last of my tomes were stashed at your mother’s house after you left the island. I asked Vinnie if I could leave the books, and he said sure. I’d like to retrieve them so we can scan the rest to PDF and the cloud. You mind coming with me?”

Kat’s magical abilities have to do with life magic, specifically related to blood and predominantly completed through ritual magic. At one point, she had more than a hundred handwritten tomes, scrolls, books—you name it—stashed all over the world. An enormous library for blood magic. When I found out, after I had a cow, I told her she needed to scan stuff into digital format. Books get old, destroyed, lost! Digital is forever. It took a little convincing—and first teaching her how to use a computer and reasoning with her that even though I’m a technomage, you don’t have to be a wizard to use a frigging computer.

I partially credit Robbie for Kat’s transformation. Before him, she was rather set in her ways. But when I was teaching Robbie about technology, Kat would often sit and listen. Together, Robbie and I did most of the scanning for the first dozen books or so; then we got her a great scanner and taught her how to do it herself. Now she has scanners spread out across the world and this past year she has been going from country to country and saving everything into three different cloud-based systems I set up for her that she can access anywhere, with backups. Once she got used to the technology, she got excited to be able to access it from anywhere in the world. It was pretty neat to see her awakening. Kind of like watching Robbie’s.

“Nah, I’ll come. Probably best I check up on the old man anyway. Hey, Robbie, wanna meet my sperm donor?”
Purchase

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

Connal Braginsky is a software engineer who lives in San Diego, California. Diagnosed with high functioning autism, Connal sometimes struggles in social situations, but has an inner world that is always incredibly rich. With an insatiable thirst for knowledge about many esoteric things, Connal brings a lot of personal philosophies and interests to writing. Sean Ian O’Meidhir is a psychologist who lives in San Francisco, California. Sean is a hedonist who believes in living for today, living every day to the fullest, and enjoying as much as possible. Sean has been gaming since adolescence and has written about and played hundreds of lives, reveling in the chance to take on new personalities, dramas, even disorders.

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Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive a $50.00 NineStar Press Gift Code! 


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Friday, December 22, 2023

Serpent's Kiss Guest Post

  


New Release!

Serpent’s Kiss

By LisabetSarai

Paranormal Erotic Romance

Five flames

36,000 words, 136 pages

Smashwords and Amazon KDP

ISBN (Smashwords): 9798215674734

ASIN: ‎ ‎ B0CL2HPVV4

Hashtags/Keywords

#Paranormal #Shifters #Mayan #Mythology #Guatemala #FatedMates #Tikal #Ritual #Quetzlcoatl #Reincarnation #Apocalypse

Blurb

When a woman atoning for past sins heals the human avatar of an ancient god, she’s drawn into a perilous dance of destiny and desire.

From the first, Dr. Elena Navarro senses that the wounded man she discovers outside the gate of her rural clinic is not an ordinary mortal. With his chest ripped open, Jorge Pélikal still demonstrates unnatural strength and power. Elena is irresistibly attracted to Jorge, although he warns her their coupling could open the gates of chaos and cost her life. Despite his dire predictions, they fall in love. Gradually Elena comes to understand that Jorge is a supernatural player in a cosmic drama that will determine the fate of the earth and of mankindand that even if he triumphs in his apocalyptic struggle with his nemesis, she may lose him forever.

Note: Serpent’s Kiss was previously published by Totally Entwined. This new edition has been re-edited, revised and expanded.

Reader Advisory: This book may not be appropriate for individuals with a fear of snakes.

Excerpt 

The waiting room was dim. An unfamiliar smell lingered in the air, some kind of petroleum smell, like tar or kerosene. She sniffed suspiciously. She kept two Coleman lanterns in the storeroom, in case the generator ran out of diesel. Could some animal have got into the place and knocked them over?

Elena moved cautiously towards the door of the infirmary, not wanting to alarm a possible animal intruder. As she placed her hand on the doorknob, she heard noises behind her—footsteps, and the sound of the front door bolt being thrown.

She whirled around. “Who’s there?” In her sinking heart, though, she already knew.

You lied to me,” Teodoro Remorros growled at her. He looked as affluent and dapper as ever, but his handsome features were twisted into a grimace of rage. “You told me that you didn’t know Jorge, that you hadn’t seen him.”

Elena tried to swallow her fear. He might be only guessing, threatening her in order to get her to talk.

I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He’s been here, here inside this pathetic clinic of yours. I can smell him.”

The man’s nostrils flared, exactly like a beast’s.

How can you smell anything? The place reeks of kerosene. I was just going to check the storeroom…” Elena began inching backwards, toward the infirmary, the rear exit and freedom.

Remorros lunged forward and grabbed her arm. His nails bit into her flesh like talons. “I warned you, woman. You don’t know what you are dealing with. Jorge is not a normal man. He doesn’t have a man’s heart. He’s a power, a force of nature, hard and pitiless, implacable, vicious, evil.”

No, he’s not! He’s not evil!”

Fool!” Remorros dragged her into the infirmary and threw her on the cot. “You’ve been meddling in matters far beyond your puny mortal capabilities. And now you will pay the price.”



Embracing the Shadows

What makes paranormal romance so popular? I've been pondering this question for a while. Readers, it seems, are happy to consume as many tales about vampires, shape shifters, ghosts and psychics as we authors can produce. You'd think that they'd get bored, but that doesn't seem to happen. Why not?

I've got a theory. We're all tempted by the dark side.

The realms of paranormal romance are vast, but most books offer characters with dual natures, torn between normal humanity and―otherness. The “other” aspect conveys special powers―unnatural strength, heightened sensation, hidden knowledge―but always at a price. The characters suffer because of their power. Blood-drinkers and half-beasts are ravaged by conscience because they maim or kill. Immortals bear the weight of lonely, isolated centuries and the pain of watching mortal companions wither and die.

In my novella Fin d’Espoir, vampire Etienne de Rémorcy haunts the forest around the ruined plantation of his former mistress, guilty, bitter and alone. He has sworn to never again taste human blood, but when the woman he rescues begs him to take her, he cannot resist. My prescient hero Kyle in At the Margins of Madness can see the future but the fury of his visions drives him insane. In my new release Serpent's Kiss, Jorge Pélikal is the incarnation of an ancient god but each time he makes love to his human mate he comes close to killing her.

In the paranormal genre, power and darkness go hand in hand. Yet somehow, we are attracted to the darkness. We brush the suffering aside; we want to feel the power. A vampire isn't sexy when he's fighting against his blood craving. Only when he sweeps his victim into his arms and buries his fangs in her flesh does he make us breathless and moist.

How many books have you read where the human hero or heroine willingly submits to “the change”, the transformation that will make them “other” as well? How many characters, in contrast, manage to resist the pull of the dark side? Not many. Normal mortal life seems absurd, bland and empty after you've tasted power. This is especially true because sex on the dark side in erotic romance is always more intense, more extreme, transcending the limits that bind ordinary humans.

Even a villain with supernatural powers tempts us. A well-written antagonist should invite enough identification that the reader can understand what moves him to do evil. The best bad guys are ambiguous, able to justify their deeds so well that they draw our sympathy. They dazzle us with their logic and their beauty, until we can't see their wickedness. Lucifer still looks like an angel as he bargains for your soul. Stefan Aries, my villain in At the Margins of Madness, is handsome and brilliant enough to make Kyle want him, despite his being a murderer. Jorge’s evil twin Teodoro Remorros is suave, handsome, and terribly convincing as he tries to persuade Elena to abandon Jorge and the world he’s trying to save.

We're drawn to the dark side, I think, because it's an escape. Sometimes the real world leaves us feeling so powerless―we can't help wanting the ability to take control, to bend the world to our will the way our paranormal characters do. Who wouldn't want to leave the dirty dishes and the unpaid bills behind and slip away into the night, to slink through the shadowy streets scenting for blood or to howl, unfettered, at the moon?

The dark side calls to us in paranormal romance. Every time we open a new book, we flirt with the possibility of ecstatic surrender.

About Lisabet

Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance – over one hundred titles, and counting, in nearly every sub-genreparanormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, LGBTQ, and more. Regardless of the genre, every one of her stories illustrates her motto: Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Youll find information and excerpts from all Lisabets books on her website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html), along with more than fifty free stories and lots more. At her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com), she shares her philosophy and her news and hosts lots of other great authors. Shes also on GoodreadsBookBub and Twitter. Join her VIP email list here: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh




Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Love Songs of the Zombie Book Blitz #rabtbooktours

 

Nonfiction

 

Is there a God? Can religion be compatible with science? Do miracles happen? Why do bad terrible things happen to good people? You are on a lifetime journey seeking answers to these questions.

You want to base your beliefs on science, reason, and logic, while still affirming purpose and meaning for human existence. You seek to value religious traditions and scriptures but want to avoid accepting obsolete dogmas and superstitions.

The author, a scientist and business leader, shares insights carefully collected and collated during his 70-year quest, and provides surprising, illuminating, and stimulating ideas to help point you in the right direction.

Is it still possible to experience and participate in spirituality like the ancients did? Yes, and it can be done with poetic flair and joy.

 


Contact Links

 

Website

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Instagram




RABT Book Tours & PR

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Nice and Naughty Teaser Tuesday #rabtbooktours

 

Gay Romance / M/M Romance / Romantic Comedy

Date to be Published: December 23, 2024

Publisher: Naughty Netherworld Press

 

 

Parsifal returns home to spend the Christmas holidays with his family. As he arrives at the airport, he is greeted by his brother Hart and his ex-boyfriend Bobby. Bobby is accompanied by his new boyfriend Seth. As they spend the day together, Parsifal notices something peculiar. Bobby seeks comfort from Hart rather than Seth after a minor accident at the park.

Meanwhile, Parsifal finds himself drawn to hot nerd Seth. The more time they spend together, the more Parsifal believes the feeling is mutual.

However, Parsifal's Christmas holiday is about to get even crazier. His redneck relatives are coming over for Christmas Eve dinner, and Parsifal is dreading the chaos that is sure to ensue. Between his family's quirky behavior and Seth's enticing presence, Parsifal’s vacation is shaping up to be anything but relaxing.

This is the second book in The Shape Of Heat series. It can be read as a standalone, but the first book, Awakening, should be read first if you wish to know more about the background of Parsifal and his girlfriends Candi and Luisa

 


Excerpt

Over the summer, things heated beyond the boiling point between me and my longtime friends Candi and Luisa. We grew even closer as the fall that never looks like fall rolled into the Caribbean island where we work and play. Our boss had nothing but praise for us as resort workers, and we were popular writers at Climax Productions. Everyone needs to rest sometime, though, so I was glad to be heading home to Tennessee to reconnect with family and friends over the winter holidays.

I was especially looking forward to seeing my big brother Hart and my ex-boyfriend Bobby. Although Bobby and I broke up after I cheated on him, we remained close friends. Plus, I was looking forward to meeting Bobby's new guy Seth.

Hart was waiting in the pickup zone in his beloved 1965 burgundy Mustang. He was a dark-haired, lanky drink of water who resembled the late, great Hank Williams. I’m a skinny beach bum with wavy, strawberry-blond hair. I think I look like a young Dennis Wilson. My girl Candi says I look like an elf. My little brothers say that Hart and I look like Beavis and Butthead. Well, what can you expect from little brothers? At least they have great taste in cartoons.

Hart gave me a great big bear hug and put my bags in the trunk. I settled in the passenger seat. Bobby and Seth, who had flown into Nashville from Los Angeles, were riding in the back.

Bobby reached around the seat to hug me. He was still the same golden-haired, freckle-faced ray of California sunshine that I remembered. Seth was quiet and had a brooding artist vibe about him. He had shaggy coffee-brown hair with long wedge bangs and a pale complexion. He smiled shyly when he shook my hand.

“Seth Dinapoli,” he said, his voice cool and whispery like the winds outside a haunted castle.

“Parsifal Matveev. Pleased to meet you.”

"The pleasure is all mine," Seth said, unaware of how he was killing me with his seductive gray eyes peeking from behind his dark curtain of hair.

“Don’t even think about it, Parsley,” I admonished myself as I felt a stirring in my loins when I gripped Seth’s pale, slender hand. “We’ll draft a nice Gothic story about a smolderingly seductive vampire who has his way with the innocent young prodigal son who just returned home to Ye Olde Manor after a year away. We will have naughty video chats with our sexy girlfriends. We will not, and I repeat, will not seduce our ex-boyfriend’s new man.”

 

About the Author

Lil DeVille is a former nurse who started writing erotica after becoming disabled in 2019. She enjoys imagining quirky characters involved in lusty encounters anywhere from a tropical paradise or a rustic mountain village in the present day to an all-male mining colony on an asteroid in the distant future.

Lil likes to end her stories on a Happy for Now note with a promise of more good things to come. Although her writing sometimes addresses difficult subjects such as alcoholism or past abuse, she brings a note of love and support to scenes involving these issues.

Lil lives in a remote prairie town in Northeastern Colorado with her adult son and three cats. When she isn’t cooking up spicy stories, she enjoys baking and crafts.

 

Contact Links

Amazon Author Page

Lil’s Latest

Naughty Netherworld Press Blog

Naughty Netherworld Press Books

Naughty Netherworld Press Start Page

Naughty Netherworld Press Substack

Naughty Netherworld Press Tumblr

Readers Roost Book Blog

Readers Roost Twitter

 

Purchase Link

Amazon



RABT Book Tours & PR

Blades Teaser Tuesday #rabtbooktours

 

(Devil’s Fury MC)


Motorcycle Club Romance, Age Gap, Suspense

Date Published: Dec 29 2023

 

 

China -- I came to the US to further my education. I never counted on falling for a gruff biker who was so much older than me. But Blades never hesitated when I told him I was pregnant. He was the best man I’d ever met… until he went to prison. All our lives unraveled after that. My daughter was taken from me, and I was sold. I thought I’d never escape the hell of being exploited and abused, until he walked through the doors again, looking like a wrathful angel. He may have saved me, but do I really deserve his love?

Blades -- Being falsely accused of murder was bad enough. Finding out someone stole my woman and daughter was another. Our precious little Meiling found herself a good man, and she’s safe. Now I need to save her mother. My China. I’m going to gut everyone who dared to touch her and send them all straight to hell… then I’ll do whatever it takes to prove to her she’s safe with me, and that I’ve never stopped loving her. China and Meiling are my entire world, and I’m going to protect them -- this time.

 

WARNING: Guaranteed happily ever after, no cliffhanger, no cheating. Recommended for readers 18+ due to adult situations, language, and violence.

 

 


EXCERPT


Copyright ©2023 Harley Wylde

 

I eyed the man in front of me. It had been a long ass time since I’d seen the Devil’s Fury cut. “So, one of you finally came to see me. No one’s ever brought a pretty woman with them, though.”

The name Dingo wasn’t one I was familiar with. Then again, he looked young. Probably started prospecting after I’d been locked up. He put his hand on the woman’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“You’re Robert Young?” she asked.

“Don’t go by that name anymore. I’m Blades. Who’s looking for Young?”

She took a breath and seemed to be steeling herself. I should have been the one preparing. Her next words would have knocked me on my ass if I’d been standing.

“I’m Meiling Shan Young. Your daughter, if my birth certificate is correct.”

I fell back against the metal chair. My daughter? “Fucking hell.”

“So you do know who I am?” she asked.

“Yeah. Told your mother not to bring you here. Why did she let you come now?” In all this time, China had stayed away just as I’d demanded. Had something happened to bring my daughter here after all these years?

“She didn’t. I don’t even remember her,” Meiling said.

My gaze shot to Dingo. Who the hell was he? Why had he brought her here? “Are you responsible for her being here? How she’d get mixed up with the club? I told Xi-wang to keep away from the Devil’s Fury.”

“We don’t know yet what happened to Xi-wang. Shortly after you were locked up, your daughter went into foster care and her mother vanished without a trace,” Dingo said. “As to why she’s with me… she’s my wife.”

I shot to my feet. “Like fuck she is!”

After everything I’d been through to keep them safe, this had to happen? I didn’t know how she’d met this bastard, but I’d see to it he was buried six feet under. How dare he touch my precious child?

“Sit down, old man,” Dingo said. “She’s been accepted by the club as my ol’ lady, and we’re legally married. Besides, she could be carrying your grandchild.”

I felt my blood pressure rising and wanted nothing more than to wring his neck. Slowly, I took my seat. Going after him right now wouldn’t do me any good. If my daughter liked him, then it would only hurt my relationship with her -- assuming I ever had the chance to have one.

“Why the fuck are you here?” I asked, focusing on Dingo.

“We need some answers. Mei doesn’t remember her mother, and never knew about you. In fact, her birth certificate was buried and a false one put in its place. You tried to keep her a secret, but it’s time to talk.”

I didn’t like it, but they weren’t the only ones who needed answers. They said my daughter couldn’t remember her mother. Where the hell was China? If I found out someone had hurt her, I was going to slaughter everyone responsible. “Fine. I’ll tell you what I know, then you explain what’s really going on.”

I told them how I met Meiling’s mother, about us falling in love, and me keeping the two of them a secret from the club. Everything up until I went to prison. After that, I lost track of China. I’d thought she was only listening to me and keeping away as I’d told her to do. I should have found a way to check up on her.

Meiling slumped in her seat. “So you don’t know what happened to her, or how I ended up in foster care?”

“Nope. I never even heard she was missing. No one ever came to ask me about you, but you were mine legally. If someone finds out what happened, I sure the fuck want to know,” I said.

“Outlaw is working on it,” Dingo said. “He’s a hacker for the club. Only thing we know for sure is the foster family who had Meiling…” Dingo stopped mid-sentence.

I wanted to ask what the hell a hacker was, but more importantly, what was it he didn’t want to tell me? If it had to do with my daughter, then I deserved to know. He might be married to her, but she was my baby first and foremost.

Meiling met my gaze. I knew whatever they were hiding would gut me. “He doesn’t want to tell you.”

“Did they hurt you?” I asked.

“They made her into a whore by the age of fourteen,” Dingo said. Even I could hear the pain in his voice.

I slammed my fists into the table, and everything went red. I roared out my rage, standing so fast the chair fell over. I ripped the chain free of the table and continued to pound the metal surface, denting it. Guards rushed in, and I knew they were going to put me in solitary if I didn’t calm down, but I couldn’t. I wanted to make them all suffer. Every last person who’d harmed my baby needed to die, and I wanted to be the one to do it.

Dingo held up a hand, cautioning them to stay back. “Give him a minute. We gave him bad news.”

Bad news? I nearly laughed. That was putting it mildly. Finding out my favorite motorcycle had turned to rust would be bad news. Discovering my China had moved on and found someone else would be bad news. Hearing someone turned my daughter into a prostitute while she was still a kid made me want to set the entire world ablaze.

“No. Fuck that shit.” I looked from my daughter to Dingo. “I didn’t fucking kill those people. You find out who did, get me out of here, and I’ll handle the men who hurt my daughter.”

“I didn’t hear that,” one of the guards muttered. “Did. Not. Fucking. Hear. It.” He walked out, dragging the other one with him. At least they had some sense.

“Are you trying to say you’re innocent?” Meiling asked.

I gave a bark of laughter. Innocent? Me? Not hardly. “No, daughter. I’m far from innocent, but I didn’t commit the murders I was accused of. If Outlaw can find out what happened with your situation, then maybe he can help with mine. When I got locked up, there wasn’t anyone capable of digging up that kind of dirt, not within the club, and certainly no one who gave a shit about me. You get me out of here, and I’ll make sure they all fucking pay.”

“On one condition,” Dingo said.

He had some nerve adding a stipulation. Was he trying to keep me away from my daughter?

“What’s that, boy?” I asked.

“You give your blessing for me and Mei to be together.” He cleared his throat. “I love her, and I will love and protect any children we have together. If we’re ever blessed with any.”

“You’re an idiot,” Mei told him, but I saw the affection in her gaze. “But I love you too.”

The way he smiled at the words told me enough. The bastard was head over heels for my little girl, and since they were already married, I might as well learn to live with it.

“Fine. You have my blessing, as long as you make her happy. Fuck up, and I’ll Goddamn bury you where they’ll never find your body,” I said.

The look he gave me assured me we were on the same page. I hoped like fuck the club was a better place than it had been when I got locked up. If it wasn’t, I’d need to find a way to get Meiling away from there. It didn’t matter if she was married to this little shit or not. I’d do whatever it took to keep her safe. I’d failed her until now. Never again.

“I know I’m a stranger to you, girl, but I’m your dad. I get out of here, and I’ll make things right for you. I don’t expect you to call me anything other than Blades, until I’ve earned the right to be called anything else.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree,” Meiling said. “Daddy.”

I felt my throat grow tight and my eyes stung. I flashed her a smile, hoping she knew how much it meant for me to hear her call me Daddy. I’d missed out on everything. Her first steps. First words. And because I hadn’t been there to keep them safe, someone had tried to destroy my family. Once I was free of this place, I’d seek retribution. I only hoped it didn’t take them too long.

My daughter came closer and put her arms around me. I knew we weren’t supposed to touch but fuck all of them. I hugged her tight, wanting to remember this moment forever.

“Love you, Meiling. Always have,” I said, my voice a littler gruffer than usual. “Even if I can’t get out of here, remember that. You were wanted, and you were loved. Never doubt it for a moment.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

* * *

I hadn’t realized they would have me freed within twenty-four hours. I’d spent eighteen years in prison for something I didn’t do. All this time, I’d thought my woman was safe. Off living her life, providing for our child. How could I have been so wrong? I knew about the evil in the world. Faced it every fucking day, even before I’d gotten locked up. It never once crossed my mind that darkness would touch my two girls, especially since I’d made sure to keep them away from the club.

It had taken a month to handle all the people who’d hurt my daughter and to find my precious China. She’d been dumped in a brothel not too far over the state line. From what the hackers had found, it looked like she was still there. If she wasn’t, I’d beat the hell out of everyone until I got some answers. One way or another, I was bringing her home.

Pulling into the parking lot of the Silk Purse, my heart hammered in my chest. It would be my first time seeing her in so damn long. Did she even remember me? Had they completely broken her?

I got off the bike and headed inside. The moment I saw her my fucking heart broke. My beautiful girl was just as stunning now as she’d been before, even with the scars clearly visible on her face and arms, and a few silver threads in her hair. She gave me a slight bow as I drew closer, but her eyes never met mine.

“Welcome to the Silk Purse. What will be your pleasure tonight?” she asked, her voice still holding the accent I’d so loved all those years ago.

“My pleasure?” I asked. She still didn’t look up. “I came to take my woman home. Our daughter needs her.”

She went still, completely frozen. Slowly, she lifted her head and her gaze locked with mine. The Xi-wang I’d known was there, but just barely. I could see her, but I could also see the road of pain she’d traveled while we’d been apart.

“Xi-wang.”

“Robert?” she asked softly. “You went to prison for murder.”

“Didn’t do it.” I reached for her, tugging her against me. “But I did kill a few people since then. They all deserved it.”

I stroked her cheek and wished I could turn back the clock. She’d had my heart the moment we locked eyes that first time.

About the Author

Harley Wylde is an accomplished author known for her captivating MC Romances. With an unwavering commitment to sensual storytelling, Wylde immerses her readers in an exciting world of fierce men and irresistible women. Her works exude passion, danger, and gritty realism, while still managing to end on a satisfying note each time.

When not crafting her tales, Wylde spends her time brainstorming new plotlines, indulging in a hot cup of Starbucks, or delving into a good book. She has a particular affinity for supernatural horror literature and movies. Visit Wylde's website to learn more about her works and upcoming events, and don't forget to sign up for her newsletter to receive exclusive discounts and other exciting perks.

 

Author on Facebook, Instagram, & TikTok: @harleywylde

 

Publisher on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @changelingpress

 

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