Ten years ago, Maxwell you-can-just-call-me Clark thought he would spend his life as a military man. But his world turned into a nightmare when a suicide bomber destroyed Clark's career. It's been a long road to recovery, but now Clark finally has peace. His bar, Glow, is the place to be in the city of New Amsterdam; Lucian Gray, the son of the mayor, employs Clark as a confidential information man; and Clark’s side venture as part-owner of a BDSM club is quite the profitable release. Clark’s life is a good one, so long as no one gets too close.<br><br>Then a man walks into Glow who will forever change Clark’s rules and reality. Thinking Professor Daniel Germain is just another handsome face ripe for Clark’s kind of good time, Clark puts on his smoothest moves. When the professor turns him down, Clark goes on the hunt, and what he discovers shows him that even the deepest wounds can be healed by submitting to love.

Hearts Under Fire

“Not entirely,” Clark answered, thinking Daniel adorable in his fascination. “Too many glitches to be perfect, though my superiors were happy enough with it. Ultimately, though, they thought it was better for me to rejoin the civilians.”


Daniel sat back and took another bite of his sandwich, nodding. “Wounded in the line of duty. Thank you for your service. That can’t have been easy, speaking of acceptance of oneself. Unless all the rumors are wrong.”


Clark laughed, though it was slightly forced. No, learning to live with parts of another human’s eyeball was not the easiest thing in the world. It was a constant reminder in every mirror of what had happened and all the consequences.


Clark pushed back to stand by the bar instead of leaning against it, and a thread of old anxiety swirled through him. He blamed it on memories best left cold in the back corners of his mind.


Chapter 5