Bex Dane's Blog, page 2

Magnum's Chapter 2

Chapter 2 The Happy Couple

Magnum

Magnum
Gavin followed me outside and I tried to check my anger. He was my brother and I loved him for that, but all this drama was cutting into my routine. Time was money and playing games with Gavin did not pay well.
"You're being an ass to her, Antoinne." He stopped on the sidewalk and crossed his arms like I'd done him wrong.
I gave him the death glare. "Call me that again and we're throwing hands."
He didn't challenge me with any that's your name bullshit which was smart. We were the same height at six-foot-four, but I had fifty pounds on him and a lot of training. We used to spar back in the day, but I'd stopped kicking his ass when he got hooked on drugs. The kid was scrawny back then, and I didn't want to break his bones. He looked healthy now, but those memories remained. I'd probably never get to rough him up again. Too bad. We'd bonded through those fights.
"Is she even legal?" I asked him.
He raised his chin. "She's twenty-one."
Well, shoot. Coulda fooled me. She looked like she'd just been excused from prep school with the way she dressed. She was only seven years younger than me and four years younger than Gavin.
She didn't have an accent or give off any signs she wasn't a local, but I was grasping at straws. "Is she looking for a green card?"
He frowned and glared at me, fury brewing in his eyes. "No. She was born here. Stop insulting her."
"I'm just trying to figure out her angle."
"That's what's great about her. She has no angle. Can you just be nice for once?" His mouth turned down and his eyes pleaded with me to understand him. My little brother was still in there. Young and vulnerable, looking to me for acceptance like he always did. I wanted to give that to him, but something wasn't right about this.
"I just find it hard to believe a girl like her would be interested in a guy like you."
"Why? What do you think she is and I'm not?" His voice reeked with indignation and wounded pride, but Gavin needed my guidance right now. In order to give that to him in the right way, I needed to understand the full situation.
"She's a good girl." I motioned back toward the dining room where she was sitting dutifully waiting for her knight in shining armor to return to her.
"I'm a good guy," he insisted.
"Since when?"
He stepped back and gave me that smarmy grin he gave when he knew he was lying and no one was buying. "Since I found God." He raised his palms up flat like he was in church jamming to a praise song.
"Bullshit."
Our combined laughter broke the tension. We both knew there was no way he'd turned into a God fearing man in the last six months since I'd seen him. He liked sinning way too much.
"No, really, man, since I met her."
"She's wearing fucking pearls and loafers. You're gonna wreck her."
"I'm wearing a fucking bow tie and a suit." He held out his hands and performed a comical twirl for me.
"You look ridiculous."
"So what, Mag? Let me have this. Let me have a taste of goodness. Just a taste. Maybe I fuck it up. Maybe it goes wrong, but if it goes right? Can you imagine the old gator rat making good for a change? Don't I deserve a chance like everyone else?"
God, how did I get so jaded that I didn't see it that way? I didn't even give them any benefit of doubt. So maybe. Maybe this was legit love. Perhaps she was the monumental change that Gavin needed to get his life off the rails, and I was the one holding him back by not believing in it.
"Anything is possible, bro." He saw me deliberating and kept making his case. "Might even be a hot chick with a pearl necklace out there for you somewhere."
"Not a chance. That's why this doesn't make sense. What's she after? Protect yourself, bro. Don't let pussy lead you astray."
"Oh, now you're giving advice like you know shit about relationships? How many times has a bitch led you astray?"
"Never."
"Remember Sheila?"
Sheila was a mistake on my part. I thought she could handle me, but she lost it and followed me around for months, posted about me on social media. She put several missions at risk. "Do not mention her name."
"Every fucking day you're chasing women when you should be working, doing your training, making money. You spend half your time either getting it or getting rid of it. You risk your life for it, so don't go telling me you wouldn't jump on the chance to hit that virgin cunt right there."
I flinched and looked away from him as I checked out the traffic on the street. "Ah, man, bro. Nice way to talk about your future wife."
He glared at me sideways and brushed his shoulders like he was shaking off the insult. "We done with this conversation? I'm presenting this to you as something I want you to be a part of. If you can't cope, then don't come to the wedding. That's your choice, but I'm asking you to be there. Maybe we can be a family again, a fucked up imperfect family, but maybe she's what we need heal from all the crap we've been dealt in our lives. Maybe we're due some goodness for a change."
He did have a point, and he'd never asked me to accept anything like this before. He seemed like he genuinely liked this girl for whatever reason. "You love her?"
"Yes, I do." He stared me straight in the eyes and said it like he meant it or believed it for now at least.
"Hmm. When's the wedding?"
"Friday," he said like that was a totally acceptable answer.
"This Friday? Like in three days?"
"Yes."
"Why the rush?"
He shrugged. "When it's right, you know." He relaxed his stance and peered back into the restaurant through the window. "That hostess was bangin'. You gonna bag that one?"
"Shut up."
"I'm gonna be a married man soon. I'll have to start living vicariously through you."
"You better not cheat on her. She don't seem like the type who can take it."
"I won't cheat. Give me a chance."
"Fine. I accept this is what you want. I'm here for you now and always. You're my little brother and I love you."
He beamed at me and it was good to see him happy.
I patted him on the shoulder. "Let's go toast to the happy couple."
We walked back inside and she looked worried as she watched us take our seats. He kissed her cheek again and she seemed to calm down.
Maybe I was just jaded. Maybe this really was the girl he needed to turn his life around.
So I picked up my expensive Chinese booze and I raised a glass. "To the happy couple."
"Thank you." Gavin smiled and sipped his liquid fire.
Wren sniffed hers but didn't take a sip. For the first time, I noticed she was wearing a gold band on her ring finger, a miniscule diamond attached to it. It looked like jewelry a child would wear.
She tilted the tumbler and pressed the liquid to her lips.
Her sleeve hitched up.
Small marks caught my eye.
Moon-shaped crescents. Tons of them. All around her wrist. Under her beaded jade bracelet.
Disappearing up under her sleeve.
I took my sip and tried to play it off, but I'd seen it.
She had marks on her arms. No doubt.
Either self-harm or someone was hurting her. Gavin would never hurt a woman so someone else must be involved here.
I knew this shit was not what it seemed. Nothing ever was.
The waiter dropped the bill, and Gavin gave him a funky looking solid black card.
"I'm sorry we don't accept that card."
"Oh well, that's all I brought." He turned to me. "I can't pay with crypto here. Can you do me a solid and pick up the tab?"
Crypto? Gavin was tied up in cryptocurrency? Total recipe for disaster. I'd heard way too many stories of people losing everything through that scam.
"Sure, brother." I placed my platinum credit card on the waiter's tray. "I got this. Consider it a wedding present."
Gavin nodded and I could see it in his eyes. We were good. I took care of him when he needed it, and right now, he needed me.
Wren's eyes followed our exchange. Something flickered there. The first sign of doubt I'd seen in her face all night. Then her gaze switched to mine and softened. Her lips pressed together and turned up in the tiniest hint of a smile at the edges. She was a mystery, her deep dark eyes holding in so many secrets, and I had no clue where to even start with her.
It was attractive. Gavin was lucky to have her. Hot sludge oozed in my chest. It tightened into a knot followed by a strong urge to grab her, force her to tell me everything, and then spank her innocent ass. I'd mess up her hair and smear her lipstick. Call her a bad girl and make her beg for forgiveness as tears fell from her eyes.
I shook my head to break the trance. Fucking hell. What was wrong with me?
My brother's girl.
My skin felt hot. I was not in the right frame of mind for this. I needed to decompress after the action we'd seen earlier. My brain was not thinking straight.
I cleared my throat and looked around.
Where was that hostess?
I needed to blow off some steam and she would do just fine.

True Anchor Chapter 1

True Anchor Chapter 1 Betrothed

Magnum

An engagement party. This was the reason my brother gave when he insisted I meet him in Los Angeles tonight.

The text simply said he was getting married and he wanted me to attend a party to celebrate his coming nuptials.

Well, here I was.

Where the hell was he?

I'd just returned from a hostage rescue that went to shit in Guatemala, and I needed to unpack and clean up, but he'd said it was urgent. I dropped everything to be here for him because that was what I always did.

Now, I was standing in the lobby of the Golden Dragon restaurant in Chinatown and he hadn't shown, which was what he always did.

The place wasn't that busy considering it was dinnertime. Mostly old men, the unmistakable smell of burnt grease heavy in the air. The hostess was cute though and stealing glances at me. A Black girl in a tight little red silk dress, tits high and round, sexy necklace dropping down between them. My type. Might as well work my magic on her while I was waiting for Gavin to show up, maybe give her a ride on the Magnum machine later, rock her world.

I walked up to her podium where she held a dry erase marker over a laminated map of the tables. Her head tipped back and her mouth dropped open when she saw me up close. Her eyes glazed and she licked her lower lip. "Oh my."

Yeah, babe. I get that a lot.

Finally, she gained her composure. "Just one tonight?"

I caught her gaze and held it. "No. I'm waiting for my party."

She snapped her mouth closed, popped out a hip, and plastered on a vixen smile. "What's your name, honey? I'll let you know when they get here." Her voice was much higher and sweeter now.

"Beaumont."

She bent forward and scribbled down Bomount on her little map.

Excellent. My kinda girl. Couldn't spell for shit.

Her lips smacked like she was suddenly chewing gum. "You like dim sum?" Oh yeah, too easy. Maybe my trip to LA wasn't such a waste of time.

"Is that what you're servin'?" I stepped forward and invaded her space, towering over her tiny wooden podium.

She held her ground and her breath hitched. "I'm offerin' whatever you're takin'."

Way too easy. "What time you get off?"

"I'm off at nine." She smacked her imaginary gum harder.

I nodded but didn't promise her nothing. I had no idea where I'd be three hours from now, and I was already getting tired of her after just a few words. But she looked like a good fuck so maybe I'd find a way to be back here when she got off. Maybe not.

She kept eye-fucking me the whole time I was waiting for my brother. Thank God, he finally showed.

Or at least it looked like him. He'd cleaned up. Short hair, fresh shave, suit with a bow tie, shiny business shoes.

I was laughing as he walked up to me. "What the hell happened to you, man?" We hugged and I patted him on the back. I'd never seen him in anything other than oversized jerseys and jeans hanging off his ass. His hair was always long or braided and he rarely shaved.

"A man can't look nice?"

"You look completely fucking different."

"A good woman will do that."

He moved aside and I saw her. His woman. A petite Asian girl, dark hair pulled back, a black and white argyle sweater with a white dress shirt underneath, small string of pearls beneath the sharp points of the collar, black slacks with a crease in the front, white socks, and penny loafers.

"This is Wren." Gavin beamed, so proud of his girl. She looked barely legal, sweet and innocent, and completely not his type at all. "This is my big brother Antoinne." His smile and voice dripped with smarmy sarcasm.

"Magnum." I corrected him but he knew what he was doing.

"Sorry, Magnum."

We'd had our fights over the years, but I was still his blood, so he'd better not be disrespecting me in front of his girl. She was clearly in over her head with a criminal like Gavin. What was her angle? What could she possibly want from him? Dude was broke and as soulless as me.

"Sylvie and Julian coming?" I asked my brother, ignoring Wren's outstretched hand.

"No. Too short notice." He glanced down at my snub of his girl's hand and frowned at it.

He didn't invite the other siblings? Only me?

"Any of your friends coming?"

"Nope."

"Her family?"

She looked away, and he wrapped an arm over her shoulders.

"No," he said with a tone telling me to back off. Right. That meant they didn't have the approval of her parents.

"So I'm the guest of honor at your engagement party?"

He'd duped me? Pretended it was a family gathering and it was just me. I hated being duped. I hated being lied to. Everyone was a fucking liar. Was it so hard to just be honest and tell the truth?

"Wren is the guest of honor. I wanted you to meet her. Now stop being rude and say hello to her."

"Hello," I quipped and turned back to the hostess.

She'd been eagerly watching the whole exchange. Her smile faltered when she saw my scowl, but she recovered.

"Table for three," I said.

"Sure thing. Follow me." She walked out into the main dining room, swinging her hips as she headed toward the crowded center where most of the patrons were sitting.

"That one." I pointed to an empty table in the corner by a ground-level patio. Privacy with an exit if I needed it. I had my personal service weapon concealed in my pocket if anything went down.

We took seats and the hostess left the menus. "Your server will be with you shortly." She sashayed away with her little attitude in check.

Wren reached for her napkin and opened it in a practiced way before placing it in her lap. She was fancy. High society. Again. What the hell did she want with Gavin? "You pregnant?" I asked her.

Her eyes bugged out at the same time Gavin scolded me. "Mag!"

"Is she pregnant? Tell me the truth."

"No. Alright? Now chill. I want us to be a family."

Ouch. Gavin nailed a blow right through the heart. We didn't have much, but we had each other. I always told him I was his family, his only blood brother besides Julian. He wanted to bring this girl into the Beaumont Clan, and she deserved a fair chance from me.

"Fine. What do you do, Wren?" I rested my forearms on the table and tried to relax my very tense fingers that would not uncurl.

"I work at a bakery," she said softly, head tilted slightly down, eyes barely looking at me. Very submissive.

"A bakery? Like birthday cakes and shit?" Gavin brought a sweet fancy girl who sold cookies to join our family? Our dysfunctional non-existent trashy psychotic slightly illicit family?

"More like Asian treats." She mistook my silence for confusion and continued to explain it to me. "Buns, cookies, pastries, specialty breads. Things like that." She grinned and nodded. "What do you do?"

"I blow shit up." It was true. My pants still had debris on them from the distraction discharge we'd set off during the mission earlier in the day.

Her brows drew together. "Oh, do you work for the studios?"

It took me a second to process her meaning. I'd forgotten we were so close to Hollywood and the movie industry. I knew a few team guys who worked in the movies, but, nah, not me. I liked the real stuff. No cosplay for me.

"Mag was a Navy SEAL," Gavin blurted out loudly. "Retired before the pension kicked in for some unknown reason."

Wren's eyes blew wide and she stared at me like I was trying to rob her.

"Jesus, Gav." He knew he wasn't supposed to talk about the details of my military service. All of it was completely confidential.

He leaned toward me and used a fake quiet voice that she could totally hear. "I'm marrying her. She's gonna find out."

I looked to the ceiling. God help me get through this.

"Now, he's a private commando for hire," he said confidently to Wren.

Wren smiled and nodded, but I could see she wasn't following along.

"That's enough." I growled. My job was dangerous and extremely sensitive. He was pushing too many boundaries all at once. My fists clenched, and I was very close to punching my brother in the face at his own engagement party.

Luckily, a waiter appeared and Gavin ordered like a pimp, a full spread including lobster noodles and Peking duck. Then he asked what their best liquor for toasting was and ordered a round of top-shelf Baijiu.

Wren watched him the whole time with adoring eyes. What a faker she was. There was no way she found Gavin's little display of recklessly ordering too much food attractive.

The chow was good and we ate silently. Wren wasn't a chatty bird. At least she had that going for her. Gavin was still a gabber like he always was, telling stories about us as kids, most of them untrue.

We didn't have fun times. We were too poor, too busy trying to survive. We had a trauma bond, but that didn't translate well to a girl wearing pearls and loafers, so he embellished. The guy lied as easy as he breathed.

She smiled and nodded at his tall tales, dabbing the duck sauce from the corners of her lips. Was this girl just gullible as hell? She didn't doubt anything Gavin said? The dude was a poor street thug from the bayou, not the highballer he was pretending to be.

"What do you like to do for fun, Wren?" I asked her, my tone a little too accusing.

"Oh, I guess I like to feed the birds." She didn't seem sure of her answer.

"I hate fucking birds."

Her face froze in shock and she turned back to her plate. Couldn't handle cuss words and she was with Gavin? They could not be more mismatched.

By the time dinner was over, I'd had enough of their little show. "Let's talk outside," I said to my brother.

"I was going to make a toast." He lifted the small but expensive tumbler of booze he'd ordered.

"After we talk." I stood up and made it clear with my glare he would be following me.

"Fine. I'll be right back, sweetheart." He pressed a chaste kiss on her cheek, and bile rose in my throat. I'd only seen Gavin fucking girls on couches, ass naked in the air. Never seen him even kiss a woman anywhere near her face.

This whole evening was a huge farce.

Magnum's Chapter 1

True Anchor Chapter 1 Betrothed

Magnum

An engagement party. This was the reason my brother gave when he insisted I meet him in Los Angeles tonight.

The text simply said he was getting married and he wanted me to attend a party to celebrate his coming nuptials.

Well, here I was.

Where the hell was he?

I'd just returned from a hostage rescue that went to shit in Guatemala, and I needed to unpack and clean up, but he'd said it was urgent. I dropped everything to be here for him because that was what I always did.

Now, I was standing in the lobby of the Golden Dragon restaurant in Chinatown and he hadn't shown. Which was what he always did.

The place wasn't that busy considering it was dinnertime. Mostly old men, the unmistakable smell of burnt grease heavy in the air. The hostess was cute though and stealing glances at me. A Black girl in a tight little red silk dress, tits high and round, sexy necklace dropping down between them. My type. Might as well work my magic on her while I was waiting for Gavin to show up, maybe give her a ride on the Magnum machine later, rock her world.

I walked up to her podium where she held a dry erase marker over a laminated map of the tables. Her head tipped back and her mouth dropped open when she saw me up close. She stuttered and stumbled as she stared at my throat and shoulders.

Yeah, babe. I get that a lot.

Finally, she gained her composure. "Just one tonight?"

I caught her gaze and held it. "No. I'm waiting for my party."

She snapped her mouth closed, popped out a hip, and plastered on a vixen smile. "What's your name, honey? I'll let you know when they get here." Her voice was much higher and sweeter now.

"Beaumont."

She bent forward and scribbled down Bomount on her little map.

Excellent. Also my type. Couldn't spell for shit.

Her lips smacked like she was suddenly chewing gum. "You like dim sum?" Oh yeah, totally my type. Too easy. Maybe my trip to LA wasn't such a waste of time.

"Is that what you're servin'?" I stepped forward and got in her space, towering over her tiny wooden podium.

She breathed out a long sigh. "I'm offerin' whatever you're takin'."

Way too easy. "What time you get off?"

"I'm off at nine." She smacked her imaginary gum harder.

I nodded but didn't promise her nothing. I had no idea where I'd be three hours from now, and I was already getting tired of her after just a few words. But she looked like a good fuck so maybe I'd find a way to be back here when she got off. Maybe not.

She kept eye-fucking me the whole time I was waiting for my brother. Thank God, he finally showed. 

Or at least it looked like him. He'd cleaned up. Short hair, fresh shave, suit with a bow tie, shiny business shoes.

I was laughing as he walked up to me. "What the hell happened to you, man?" We hugged and I patted him on the back. I'd never seen him in anything other than oversized jerseys and jeans hanging off his ass. His hair was always long or braided and he rarely shaved.

"A man can't look nice?"

"You look completely fucking different."

"A good woman will do that."

He moved aside and I saw her. His woman. A petite Asian girl, dark hair pulled back, a black and white argyle sweater with a white dress shirt underneath, small string of pearls beneath the sharp points of the collar, black slacks with a crease in the front, white socks, and penny loafers.

"This is Wren." Gavin beamed, so proud of his girl. She looked barely legal, sweet and innocent, and completely not his type at all. "This is my big brother Antoinne." His smile and voice dripped with smarmy sarcasm.

"Magnum." I corrected him but he knew what he was doing.

"Sorry, Magnum."

We'd had our fights over the years, but I was still his blood, so he'd better not be disrespecting me in front of his girl. She was clearly in over her head with a criminal like Gavin. What was her angle? What could she possibly want from him? Dude was broke and as soulless as me.

"Sylvie and Julian coming?" I asked my brother, ignoring Wren's outstretched hand.

"No. Too short notice." He glanced down at my snub of his girl's hand and frowned at it.

He didn't invite the other siblings? Only me?

"Any of your friends coming?"

"Nope."

"Her family?"

She looked away, and he wrapped an arm over her shoulders.

"No," he said with a tone telling me to back off. Right. That meant they didn't have the approval of her parents.

"So I'm the guest of honor at your engagement party?"

He'd duped me? Pretended it was a family gathering and it was just me. I hated being duped. I hated being lied to. Everyone was a fucking liar. Was it so hard to just be honest and tell the truth?

"Wren is the guest of honor. I wanted you to meet her. Now stop being rude and say hello to her."

"Hello," I quipped and turned back to the hostess.

She'd been eagerly watching the whole exchange. Her smile faltered when she saw my scowl, but she recovered.

"Table for three," I said.

"Sure thing. Follow me." She walked out into the main dining room, swinging her hips as she headed toward the crowded center where most of the patrons were sitting.

"That one." I pointed to an empty table in the corner by a ground-level patio. Privacy with an exit if I needed it. I had my personal service weapon concealed in my pocket if anything went down. 

We took seats and the hostess left the menus. "Your server will be with you shortly." She sashayed away with her little attitude in check.

Wren reached for her napkin and opened it in a practiced way before placing it in her lap. She was fancy. High society. Again. What the hell did she want with Gavin? "You pregnant?" I asked her.

Her eyes bugged out at the same time Gavin scolded me. "Mag!"

"Is she pregnant? Tell me the truth."

"No. Alright? Now chill. I want us to be a family."

Ouch. Gavin nailed a blow right through the heart. We didn't have much, but we had each other. I always told him I was his family, his only blood brother besides Julian. He wanted to bring this girl into the Beaumont Clan, and she deserved a fair chance from me.

"Fine. What do you do, Wren?" I rested my forearms on the table and tried to relax my very tense fingers that would not uncurl.

"I work at a bakery," she said softly, head tilted slightly down, eyes barely looking at me. Very submissive.

"A bakery? Like birthday cakes and shit?" Gavin brought a sweet fancy girl who sold cookies to join our family? Our dysfunctional non-existent trashy psychotic slightly illicit family?

"More like Asian treats." She mistook my silence for confusion and continued to explain it to me. "Buns, cookies, pastries, specialty breads. Things like that." She grinned and nodded. "What do you do?"

"I blow shit up." It was true. My pants still had debris on them from the distraction discharge we'd set off during the mission earlier in the day.

"Oh, do you work for the studios?"

It took me a second to process her meaning. I'd forgotten we were so close to Hollywood and the movie industry. I knew a few team guys who worked in the movies, but, nah, not me. I liked the real stuff. No cosplay for me.

"Mag was a Navy SEAL," Gavin blurted out loudly. "Retired before the pension kicked in for some unknown reason."

"Jesus, Gav." He knew he wasn't supposed to talk about the details of my military service.

He leaned toward me and used a fake quiet voice that she could totally hear. "I'm marrying her. She's gonna find out."

I looked to the ceiling. God help me get through this.

"Now, he's a private commando for hire," he said confidently to Wren.

"That's enough." I growled. He was pushing too many boundaries all at once. My fists clenched, and I was very close to punching my brother in the face at his own engagement party.

Luckily, a waiter appeared and Gavin ordered like a pimp, a full spread including lobster noodles and Peking duck. Then he asked what their best liquor for toasting was and ordered a round of top-shelf Baijiu.

Wren watched him the whole time with adoring eyes. What a faker she was. There was no way she found Gavin's little display of recklessly ordering too much food attractive.

The chow was good and we ate silently. Wren wasn't a chatty bird. At least she had that going for her. Gavin was still a gabber like he always was, telling stories about us as kids, most of them untrue.

We didn't have fun times. We were too poor, too busy trying to survive. We had a trauma bond, but that didn't translate well to a girl wearing pearls and loafers, so he embellished. The guy lied as easy as he breathed.

She smiled and nodded at his tall tales, dabbing the duck sauce from the corners of her lips. Was this girl just gullible as hell? She didn't doubt anything Gavin said? The dude was a poor street thug from the bayou, not the highballer he was pretending to be.

"What do you like to do for fun, Wren?" I asked her.

"Oh, I guess I like to feed the birds."

"I hate fucking birds."

Her face froze in shock and she turned back to her plate. Couldn't handle cuss words and she was with Gavin? They could not be more mismatched.

By the time dinner was over, I'd had enough of their little show. "Let's talk outside," I said to my brother.

"I was going to make a toast." He lifted the small but expensive tumbler of booze he'd ordered.

"After we talk." I stood up and made it clear with my glare he would be following me.

"Fine. I'll be right back, sweetheart." He pressed a chaste kiss on her cheek, and bile rose in my throat. I'd only seen Gavin fucking girls on couches, ass naked in the air. Never seen him even kiss a woman anywhere near her face.

This whole evening was a huge farce.

Excerpt from today's writing

They have removed the edit buttons for the blog so here's an updated version of this excerpt from Mag's book.
(removing edit buttons is a huge pet peeve of mine). The blog has disappeared from Amazon and is not under a tab on the mobile version but whatever. It's still here so I'm using it.
I do have a Substack blog but I'm only going to post edited stuff there.

She was quiet for a few minutes but I could feel something brewing in her head. Then she sputtered like she was holding back a giggle.
"What?" I couldn't pretend not to be interested because all her thoughts interested me.
"Nothing," she said, with a smile in her voice.
"It's not nothing. I can feel your brain overthinking and you can barely contain your mirth, so spill."
"Fine. Do women… Like when you were sleepy you said something so odd." She chortled and my whole body got tight.
"I don't remember what I said. Why you laughin'?"
"Okay. Okay." She struggled to get her chuckles under control. "Do you really have sex with women in their… back hole?" She sputtered and snorted in her merriment.
Jesus. "Dear God, help me." I growled and fisted my hands at my side. I wanted to grab her and tickle her to death. So sweet. So innocent. "I don't want to be the one that tells you that."
"Who else is gonna tell me?" It was dark, but I could see her turn toward me in the bed.
"Google."
"I don't want to look it up. I want to know about you, specifically. I mean I know people do that, but like do all the girls you're with, they just let you do that whenever you want? Like even if you're sleeping and you wake up, you can just do whatever you want?"
Wren needed to stop talking or we were never getting to sleep. How the fuck did I answer her very honest question? I chewed my lip trying to ignore my raging boner and find a way to respond that wouldn't scar her for life.
"First of all, I don't sleep with any women. I'm gone before that happens."
"Gone?"
"But if I did want to do that to someone, and she'd made it clear she's open to it." God, this was difficult to talk about with her. "Yeah, I'd take it."
She gasped and I heard her squirming around on her side of the bed. My dick was rock hard again at even the consideration of taking her that way. I rolled on my stomach to press it into the mattress. Hopefully, she was gasping and writhing in disgust and this topic would never come up again.
"How would she make it clear?" she asked timidly.
I groaned into the pillow for a long time which set off another round of uncomfortable giggles from her. "The right answer is you have a nice long talk about it and get consent and prepare for it and all that. The truth is, she feels my dick there and she don't tilt her hips away, it's a sign. I test it out with my fingers, she still doesn't flinch, maybe she moans a little…"
Wren let out a stifled mewl that I felt in my balls.
"That answer your curiosity?" I asked her.
"Yes," she said shortly with a high pitch.
"Now, go to sleep."
"Okay," she quipped.
Shit. Maybe she shouldn't have asked questions like that if she wasn't prepared for the answer. It took me an hour of thinking about spoiled rations and rotten corpses before my boner waned and I finally caught some shuteye.

Excerpt from today's writing

Spoilers for Mag's book

"Fine. Do women… Like when you were sleepy you said something so funny." She giggled again and my whole body got tight.
"I don't remember what I said. Why you laughin'?"
"Do you really have sex with women in their back hole?" She sputtered and giggled again.
Jesus. "Dear God, help me." I growled and fisted my hands at my side. I wanted to grab her and tickle her to death. So sweet. So innocent. "I don't want to be the one that tells you that."
"Who else is gonna tell me?"
"Google."
"I don't want to look it up. I want to know about you, specifically. I mean I know people do that, but like do all the girls you're with, they just let you do that whenever you want? Like even if you're sleeping and you wake up, you can just take what you want?"
Wren needed to stop talking or we were never getting to sleep. How the fuck did I answer her very honest question? I chewed my lips trying to ignore my raging boner and find a way to answer her that wouldn't scar her for life.
"First of all, I don't sleep with any women. I'm gone before that happens."
"Gone?"
"But if I did want to do that to someone, and she'd made it clear she's open to it." God, this was difficult to talk about with her. "Yeah, I'd take it."
She gasped and I heard her squirming around on her side of the bed. My dick was rock hard again at even the thought of taking her that way. I rolled on my stomach to press it into the mattress. Hopefully, she was gasping and writhing in disgust and this topic would never come up again.
"How would she make it clear?" she asked quietly.
I groaned into the pillow for a long time and she started giggling again. "The right answer is you have a nice long talk about it and get consent and prepare for it and all that. The truth is, she feels my dick there and she don't tilt her hips away, it's a sign. I test it out with my fingers, she still doesn't flinch, maybe she moans a little…"
Wren let out a stifled mewl that I felt in my balls.
"That answer your curiosity?"
"Yes," she said shortly with a high pitch.
"Now, go to sleep."
"Okay," she quipped.
Shit. Maybe she shouldn't have asked questions like that if she wasn't prepared for the answer. It took me an hour of thinking about spoiled rations and rotten corpses before my boner waned and I finally caught some shuteye.

Writing Excerpt from Magnum's Book

I walked up to her podium where she had a book with a map of the tables. "Just one tonight?" Her mouth dropped open when she saw me.
Yeah, babe. I get that a lot.
I caught her gaze and held it. "No. I'm waiting for my party."
She snapped her mouth closed, popped out a hip, and plastered on a vixen smile. "What's your name, honey? I'll let you know when they get here." Her voice was much higher and sweeter now.
"Beaumont."
She bent forward and scribbled down Bomount.
Excellent. Also my type. Can't spell for shit.
Her lips smacked like she was suddenly chewing gum. "You like dim sum?" Oh yeah, totally my type. Too easy. Maybe my trip up to LA wasn't such a waste of time.
"Is that what you're servin'?" I stepped forward and got in her space, towering over her tiny wooden podium.
She slowly raised her head and breathed out a long sigh. "I'm offerin' whatever you're takin'."
Way too easy. "What time you get off?"
"I'm off at nine." She smacked her imaginary gum harder.
I nodded but didn't promise her nothing. I had no idea where I'd be three hours from now, and I was already getting tired of her after just a few words. But she looked like a good fuck so maybe I'd find a way to be back here when she got off. Maybe not.

Author Update

Clocking in at 66K, Magnum's first draft is done! I struggle with first drafts because there are so many ways the story could go, but now it's set. Mag and Wren are so entirely awesome, and this is the first fake relationship book I've ever written. It's also my first Black male lead and my first Asian female lead. Lots of firsts!
After this: second draft. This is where I'm at my best. I love to kick it up a notch, add the emotion and the body language. Add all the Easter eggs that are hidden until the end, and it's just a good time for me to linger with my characters and really slash their hearts out before I put them back together again.
Second draft should take about a month and then some time for editing and ARCs. I should have it out on Amazon by this summer.
So excited to share it with all my readers.

Sneak Peek at Chapter 1 - Knight Security Book 4

Sneak peek at Chapter 1 of Magnum's book - tentatively called "True Anchor"
First draft is done, watch for the pre-order coming soon.

Chapter 1 The Happy Couple
Magnum
An engagement party. This was my brother's pretense for calling me here to this restaurant in Chinatown, Los Angeles.
The text simply said he was getting married and he wanted me to come to the party.
Well, here I was.
Where the hell was he?
Put my job on hold for him to drive up here for him. He'd better show.
The Golden Dragon restaurant wasn't very busy. Only a few tables full of mostly old men, smelled like grease and smoke. The hostess was cute though and looking me up and down. A black girl in a tight little red silk dress, tits high, sexy necklace dropping down between them. My type. Might as well work my magic on her while I was waiting for Gavin to show up, maybe take her out later, rock her world.
I walked up to her podium where she had a book with the tables listed. "Just one tonight?" Her mouth dropped open when she saw me.
Yeah, babe. I get that a lot.
I caught her gaze and held it. "No. I'm waiting for my party."
She snapped her mouth closed, popped out a hip, and plastered on a vixen smile. "What's your name, honey? I'll let you know when they get here." Her voice was much higher and sweeter now.
"Beaumont."
She bent forward and scribbled down Bomount.
Excellent. Also my type. Can't spell for shit.
Her lips smacked like she was suddenly chewing gum. "You like dim sum?" Oh yeah, totally my type. Too easy. Maybe my trip up to LA wasn't such a waste of time.
"Is that what you're servin'?" I stepped forward and got in her space, towering over her tiny wooden podium.
She slowly raised her head and breathed out a long sigh. "I'm offerin' whatever you're takin'."
Way too easy. "What time you get off?"
"I'm off at nine."
I nodded but didn't promise her nothing. I had no idea where I'd be three hours from now, and I was already getting tired of her after just a few words. But she looked like a good fuck so maybe I'd find a way to be back here when she got off. Maybe not.
She was eye-fucking me the whole time I was waiting for my brother. He finally showed.
Or at least it looked like him. He'd cleaned up. Short hair, suit with a bow tie, clean shoes.
I was laughing as he walked closer. "What the hell happened to you, man?" We hugged and I patted him on the back. I'd never seen him in anything other than oversized jerseys and pants hanging off his ass. His hair was always long or braided and he never shaved.
"A man can't look nice?"
"You look completely fucking different."
"A good woman will do that."
He moved aside and I saw her. His woman. Short, hair pulled back, a black and white argyle sweater with a white dress shirt underneath, small string of pearls beneath the sharp points of the collar, black slacks with a crease in the front, white socks, and shiny loafers.
"This is Wren." Gavin looked so fucking proud of his girl. She looked barely legal, sweet and innocent, and completely not his type at all. "This is my big brother Antoinne." His smile and voice dripped with smarmy sarcasm.
"Magnum." I corrected him but he knew what he was doing.
"Right."
We'd had our fights over the years, but I was still his blood. I was the only blood he had, so he'd better not be disrespecting me in front of this "girl." She was clearly in over her head with a criminal like Gavin. What was her angle? What could she possibly want from him? Dude was broke and as soulless as me.
"Sylvie and Julian coming?" I asked my brother, ignoring Wren's outstretched hand.
"No. Too short notice." He glanced down at my snub of his girl's hand and frowned at it.
He didn't invite the other siblings? Only me?
"Any of your friends coming?"
"Nope."
"Her family?"
She looked away, and he wrapped an arm over her shoulders.
"No," he said with a tone telling me to back off.
"So I'm the guest of honor at your engagement party?"
He'd duped me? Pretended it was a family gathering and it was just me. I hated being duped. I hated being lied to. Everyone was a fucking liar. Was it so hard to just be honest and tell the truth?
"Wren is the guest of honor. I wanted you to meet her. Now stop being an ass and say hello to her."
"Hello," I quipped and turned back to the hostess.
She'd been eagerly watching the whole exchange. Her smile faltered when she saw my scowl, but she recovered.
"Table for three," I said.
"Sure thing, handsome. Follow me."
She walked out into the main dining room, swinging her hips as she headed toward the crowded center where most of the patrons were sitting.
"That one." I pointed to an empty table in the corner by a ground-level patio. Privacy with an exit if I needed it. I had my personal service weapon concealed in my pocket if anything went down.
We took seats and the hostess left the menus. "Your server will be with you shortly." She sashayed away with her little attitude in check.
Wren reached for her napkin and opened it in a practiced way before placing it in her lap. She was fancy. High society. Again. What the hell did she want with Gavin? "You pregnant?" I asked her.
Her eyes bugged out at the same time Gavin called my name. "Mag!"
"Is she pregnant? Tell me the truth."
"No. Alright? Now chill. I want us to be a family."
Ouch. Fuck. Gavin nailed a blow right through the heart. We didn't have much, but we always had each other. I always told him I was his family, his only blood brother besides Julian. He wanted to bring this girl into the Beaumont Clan, and she deserved a fair chance from me.
"Fine. What do you do, Wren?" I rested my forearms on the table and tried to relax my very tense fingers that would not uncurl.
"I work at a bakery."
"A bakery? Like birthday cakes and shit?" Gavin brought a sweet, fancy girl who sold fucking cookies to join our family? Our fucked up dysfunctional non-existent white trash psychotic slightly illicit family?
"More like Asian treats. Sticky buns and specialty breads. What do you do?"
"I blow shit up." It was true. My pants still had debris on them from the distraction discharge we set off during a hostage rescue earlier in the day.
"Oh, do you work for the studios?"
It took me a second to process her meaning. I'd forgotten we were so close to Hollywood and the movie industry. I knew a few former team guys who worked in the movies, but, nah, not me. I liked the real stuff. No cosplay for me.
"Mag was a Navy SEAL," Gavin blurted out loudly. "Retired before the pension kicked in for some unknown reason."
"Jesus, Gav." He knew he wasn't supposed to talk about the details of my military service.
He leaned in toward me and used a fake quiet voice that everyone could totally hear. "I'm marrying her. She's gonna find out."
I looked to the ceiling. God help me get through this.
"Now, he's a private commando for hire," he said confidently to Wren.
"That's enough." I growled. He was pushing too many boundaries all at once. My fists clenched, and I was very close to punching my brother in the face at his own engagement party.
Luckily, a waiter appeared and Gavin ordered like a pimp, a bottle of merlot and a full spread including lobster noodles and Peking duck. Then he asked what their best liquor for toasting was and asked for a round of top-shelf Baijiu.
Wren watched him the whole time with adoring eyes. What a fucking faker she was. There was no way she found Gavin's little display of recklessly ordering too much food attractive.
The chow was good and we ate silently. Wren wasn't a chatty bird. At least she had that going for her. Gavin was still a gabber like he always was, telling stories about us as kids, most of them untrue.
We didn't have fun times. We were too poor, too busy trying to survive. We had a trauma bond, but that didn't translate well to a girl wearing pearls and loafers, so he embellished. The guy lied as easy as he breathed.
She smiled and nodded at his tall tales, dabbing the duck sauce from the corners of her lips. Was this girl just gullible as hell? She didn't doubt anything Gavin said? The dude was a poor street thug from the bayou, not the fucking highballer he was pretending to be.
"What do you like to do for fun, Wren?" I asked her.
"Oh, I guess I like to feed the birds."
"I hate fucking birds."
She frowned and turned back to her plate.
By the time dinner was over, I'd had enough of their little show. "Let's talk outside."
"I was going to do a toast." He lifted the small but expensive glass of booze he'd ordered.
"After we talk." I stood up and made it clear with my eyes he would be following me.
"Alright. I'll be right back, sweetheart." He pressed a chaste kiss on her cheek and I wanted to vomit. I'd only seen Gavin fucking whores on couches, ass naked in the air. Never seen him even kiss a girl anywhere near her face.
This whole evening was a huge farce.

Writing Excerpt from Magnum's Book

"Thank you for being my fake husband. It was fun. In the end, it was real though. I truly love you."

Magnum's book tentatively called True Anchor coming soon to Kindle Unlimited. Early chapters coming soon on Substack and Patreon.

Wren's Red Dress

In Magnum's book, a main event is their first date to a magic show at the bad guy's mansion. The red flowy one shows the mood at the mansion. The red and black one with lace is what she ends up wearing.
Here's the description: Stella spent a good amount of time meticulously patting my face with sponges and painting dramatic colors on my eyes, cheeks, and lips.

When we were done, I changed into the undergarments we'd purchased and slipped the dress up over them like a form-fitting drape that zipped perfectly into place. 

We added some black satin platform pumps with chunky heels and sparkly ankle straps. I practiced walking in them and wobbled about.

"Place the heel first, then follow with the toe," Brandy added. "Bend the knee and hip at the same time."

That worked, I was able to walk across the room without wobbling.

I checked myself in the full-length closet mirror and gasped.

I had been transformed.

From the little bird who hid behind the counter at the bakery to a beautiful red dragon with claws and cat eyes. The dress sparkled and hugged my curves. It was deep red satin with a sweetheart neckline that plunged all the way down to my sternum. The satin was sheathed by a layer of delicate black lace with a sexy rose pattern that flattered my hips and sprayed out at the shoulders to create little caps for sleeves.

"He's going to cry when he sees you," Brandy said.

I fingered the long dangling ruby earrings she'd given me. "I doubt Mag ever cries."

"I think he's going to cry." Stella nodded and attached a matching ruby necklace to my neck. "He's gonna bawl like a baby thinking that you're married to his brother."

Magnum’s book is tentatively titled True Anchor and it is book 4 in the Knight Security Series. Release date expected to be summer 2024. Follow me for updates.