Moving across the country may have been the worst thing I have ever done in my entire life. Maybe it was a cop out and all I was doing was running away from my problems. I wasn’t looking to ever fall in love again. And then Matt came along and wouldn’t leave me alone. It was my own fault. I turned to him in the midst of the worst panic attack I had ever had in my life, and he refused to let me go. My past came back to haunt me when my father decided that 1500 miles of distance was still too close. He was one of the reasons I ran, but that wasn’t enough. Now I have to wonder if Matt will really stick by me, or if he’ll be the reason I fall into a darkness I can never come back from.

I've always been willing to do anything for love. Even if it means leaving everything I know behind.My relationship with my favorite author, Mariah Marie, started with a message telling her I love her books. She actually messaged me back and made my entire day. We talked every day from then on, and our relationship blossomed into this explosion of passionate fire. We couldn't be happier.One night, Mariah came home with our dinner shaken to the core. I've never seen my girl so terrified. I feel like I'm out of my depth, and I'm forced to get help. Problem is, I don't know anyone except our neighbor, Lieutenant Matt Chance, an incredibly hot cop who I have a super secret crush on.Running to Matt could possibly be the biggest mistake, or the best decision I've ever made. Matt vows that he will do whatever it takes to protect us both. In his hands, he holds the power to turn our world's upside down. He'll either save her, or destroy us both forever.

I’m a Lieutenant with Gainesville Police Department and a Commander with our SWAT team. My job is my life, and I like it that way. No chance my heart can get broken. As fate would have it, my Captain drops Lyric Sharpe into my lap. Her Field Training Officer is out with an injury, so guess who gets stuck with her? Me. She’s a sassy new recruit. A brat who doesn’t take orders and challenges me on every level. I hate it because it appeals to every part of me that needs to be in control. Before I know what she’s done to me, Lyric has burrowed into the cockles of my cold heart. I want to spend all of my time with her. In typical Matt Chance fashion, though, I make a mistake that shatters all the progress we’ve made, causing her to flee right back into the fog she had just managed to escape from. I refuse to give up on her or us. Hopefully, I can make it to her in time before I lose her forever to the clutches of the demons who haunt her. Content \- Cop Romance \- Mental Health Themes \- Mentions of Physical Violence

Most people think I have a pretty good head on my shoulders. I have a good job. I’m a Sergeant with the Gainesville Police Department. I’m on the SWAT team. I have an incredible family. I’m a single dad, but I work hard to make sure my kids have everything I didn’t. I’ve never complained. I put my head down and push through whatever I face because everything I do is for my family. But I have a secret. A very large secret. A secret I fear could destroy everything I’ve worked for. The respect and rank I have in the department. The friends I’m close with. My family. Everything. My entire world could explode into a firenado if my secret is revealed. I’ve done very well at hiding it behind a carefully crafted persona. No one knows what I keep hidden. That is until I’m sent on an undercover mission with my best friend. The one person in all of creation who has the power to figure it out. Because he’s the object of my secret. I try to keep my feelings private. But when he becomes the target of the cunning serial killer we’re trying to take down, I’ll do everything I need to do to protect him. Even if it destroys me in the process.

Given my reputation, most people wouldn't think of me as romantic. I'm tough. I can be gruff. A hard ass. I know being a Captain with the Gainesville Police Department has probably gotten me more than a few dates. I have a reputation for being a ladies' man. Truthfully, all I've ever wanted is to settle down. I've just never found the right woman to do it with. Until Mariah Marie comes into my life. She's an author who just moved to Gainesville. Her popularity has grown exponentially in such a short period of time. Wherever she graces with her presence, a call for service is sure to follow. I can't blame those that flock to her. She's enchanting. Beautiful. Sweet. Intelligent. Fierce. She has a wicked sense of humor, and a tantalizing way with words. I find myself falling more and more in love with her the longer she allows me to be a part of her life. I'm thankful that she trusts me enough to let me in, despite the abusive past she came from. I love that she's fiery as hell in all aspects of her life, but soft and submissive with me. When the attention of one of Mariah's adoring fans becomes more than innocent adoration, all of my instincts go directly into a territory I'm completely unfamiliar with. Suddenly, we're both thrust into a dangerous world that threatens to destroy us. When it's over, what will be left of us when we emerge from the carnage?

Matt: I’ve never had a complicated love life. I’ve always known what I want. I want Lyric Sharpe. Enter Captain DJ Rens and one drunken night that I can’t forget. Not for lack of trying. And just to complicate my life more, I had to go and add Mariah Carter to the mix. But I don’t really have a chance to sort my feelings out before all of us are put into serious danger. Lyric: I’d resigned myself long ago to the single life. I’m far too sassy, and too much of a brat for men, apparently. I guess being a cop who knows what she likes is wrong. So when I meet Matt, my direct commanding officer, I’m thrown totally off my game when he shows interest. The problem? I have a serious thing for my roommate, Mariah, and my Captain, DJ. Feelings I don’t get to explore before we all start receiving threats to our lives. DJ: The idea of being a Captain who sits behind his desk has never been appealing to me. When I got my promotion, I did it with the stipulation that I was still allowed to patrol the streets of Gainesville like I loved. But when Mariah enters my life, I regret everything about that decision. I wish I’d never met her because now she’s all I want. Everything I can’t have. To complicate my life more, I fall for Lieutenant Matt Chance and Lyric, another patrol officer. When all of our lives are on the line, I must figure out a way to protect those I love. Mariah: I fell hard for DJ when I first met him. I didn’t know my partner was my Captain, though, and the blow was heartbreaking, knowing he’d never be mine. It’s totally forbidden to date my boss. The feelings never go away, though. Even after a drunk night of mindblowing passion with Lyric, my roommate. When we all start being threatened by a large gang, Matt comes to the rescue like an Avenger. But sorting out my heart will have to wait. The focus is our lives because we might not make it out of this one breathing.

: a steamy cop romance (the beautiful dream series)

Sometimes, I want to run away. Somewhere where no one knows me. Maybe then I could live my life in a manner no one expects of me. The way I want to live it. A place where no one will judge me. Somewhere I’ll just be left alone. Even I know that’s wishful thinking. My agent would hunt me down. I am contracted for another book, after all. Something to give Alexander’s Publishing House, the largest publishers in the world, another best-seller to tuck under their belt. I know I need a break. I need to go somewhere I can just be myself. I’m excited to book an only for lesbians cruise to the Caribbean. It’s time I do something for me. Unfortunately, fate has other plans. When my best friend is murdered in cold blood, I don’t feel like I can leave until her killer is brought to justice. As if that wasn’t enough, my management decides it’s the best time to keep up appearances. The only thing keeping me standing is the woman investigating my friend’s murder. She’s stunning. We quickly form a bond. I can’t stop thinking about her. I’ve fought my sexuality for a long time, but now that I’m ready to be who I really am instead of hiding behind a public facade, I can’t imagine it being with anyone else. Before I know it, I become the sole focus of my friend’s murderer’s attention. And never in a million years would I have guessed who it is. In order for me to survive, I have to rely on Officer Sharpe and her unmatched instincts and skills. She says I gave her a reason to live. My only desire is that she’ll be able to save my life so I have a chance to prove to her that her love is the greatest gift of all.

It’s not easy being a gay man in law enforcement. Especially one who is a high-ranking officer like I am. The stigma we face is even worse for those of us who are bi-sexual. It’s the reason few people I work with know my sexuality. I’m perfectly content letting the rest believe what they want. It’s none of their business anyway. Luckily, I found someone who shares my sexuality. Captain DJ Rens. Life for me and DJ has been just the way we like it for many years. We have each other. We have jobs with the Gainesville Police Department that we both love. And when we need to scratch our itch to share a woman, we head directly to our favorite club, Pandora’s Sapphire, a club filled with the type of women we long for, and where no one knows anything about us and who we are. We’ve never wanted to take anyone from the club home with us, though. We’ve happily gone to their place, had our way, and moved on. That is until the one night that changes our lives. Whether it’s for the better is something that remains to be seen, but we’ll never be the same. Not after having a taste of her. Unfortunately, DJ and I don’t have a chance to explore the possibilities she promises because we are violently thrown into a dark world of secrets and lies that we must unravel before more and more women end up dead in our beloved city. When the department decides on a plan that involves an undercover operation into the club, DJ and I are completely unprepared for the woman the Chief has decided to send in. The very woman we can’t get out of our minds. There’s no way we’re allowing this operation to go down without us controlling every aspect of it. Especially when it’s not just lives at risk… It’s our hearts.

They say a cop is sixty to seventy-five percent more likely to get a divorce. As a Captain with Gainesville, Florida’s, Police Department, I can attest to just how accurate that statistic is. I’m currently getting a divorce from wife number three. And I’ll fight her with everything I have if she thinks for a single second she has a chance of taking our teenage son from me. Not with her inability to act like a responsible adult or make rational decisions. But of course, she won’t give up without a fight. It’s the only thing she’s good at, and she loves doing it with me. My divorce has raged on for over a year with no end in sight. Needless to say, I’ve sworn off love forever. I’m done. I’d rather focus on my career and son. With the woman I consider one of my best friends by my side, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to accomplish that goal. She’s good at keeping me sane and focused on what matters. Soon, though, lines we’ve drawn between us blur. Walls we’ve built begin to crumble. Before either of us know what’s happening, we end up in a place neither of us intended. My bed. Just when I think my life can’t possibly get any more complicated, another mystery girl drops into our lap and knocks us both off our feet. I know immediately none of us are getting out of this with our hearts intact. As my own, personal battle rages on, will either of them come out on the other side with me? Or will the flames licking at our heels consume us?

Runaway. That’s what I’m called back home. A runaway. No one seems to believe that I didn’t actually run. I left because it was the only way for me to survive. If I hadn’t, I would’ve given into the demon that torments me daily. Two years later, in the Florida sun, I’m finally free of the suppression that held me down. But not from the darkness. I exist in a world that frightens me and keeps me moving in one direction. I walk a very straight line down the path of safety. Assurance. Where no one can hurt me except the evil fiend in my mind. Until one day, my entire world is flipped upside down. I’m shoved violently into the midnight blackness that exists in my own head. Then, a glint of light comes in the form of two men. Two police officers with the Gainesville Police Department. They want to be my light in the darkness. To help me destroy it. They’re determined to prove that love is the greatest weapon of all. While I want to believe them, I’m not sure I can. Sometimes, the pull of the shadow world is too strong…