Hey, book bae!
Here’s a look into my next release - Her Gangster, The Gentleman - which releases October 5th! A little further down is the preorder link to my contemporary release - The Influence Of Love!
Synopsis:
Kahreem “Caliber” Lou has one goal—leave the streets before his thirtieth birthday. He has one job left, then his debts will be paid, and his loyalty will only be to himself. When he gets to his last job and finds a damsel in distress, he chooses to prioritize her life over his freedom… and only time will tell if it costs him his life.
In the streets of Memphis, Joy Dixon is known as Trouble. Trouble has seemed to follow her and her mother all the days of her life. The night Joy thinks her life is about to end, she’s rescued by Caliber. Used to men expecting a lot of something for nothing, Joy expects Caliber to demand the world. It catches her by surprise when he doesn’t ask for anything in return. In fact, he only offers to keep her safe. When she finds out exactly who he is, Joy embarks upon the hard journey of trusting and finding solace in her gangster… the gentleman.
Unedited***
Kahreem “Caliber” Lou
Friday Evening
Pop’s Diner
There wasn’t too much that Caliber would miss about Memphis, but he would miss Pops and his diner. This wasn’t just the place he came for a good meal. Pops had become Caliber’s voice of reason. The man he went to for guidance. The angel on his shoulder and in his ear when his boss, Ben, had him wreaking havoc like the devil.
It had never been Caliber’s intention to get caught up in this street shit, but when your father, who never even fucking claimed you, was serving a life sentence and every woman you got attached to left, died, or was taken away… there weren’t too many options to choose from.
“You good, baby boy?” Savannah checked, squeezing his shoulder.
Caliber looked up and gave her a smile. She was too damn pretty to spend her nights waitressing at Pop’s Diner, but her loyalty to her father wouldn’t have her anywhere else. His eyes lowered to her breasts. They were pushed up and exposed through the unbuttoned buttons of her tight fitting white shirt. Placing her hands on her hips, Savannah smiled, giving him the grace to give his eyes a proper fill of her. Caliber’s eyes dropped to the red apron around her waist as he nodded.
“Yeah. How much longer on my food? I got some moves to make tonight.”
“I’m trying to hold you here for as long as I can in case I don’t see you before you go.”
Caliber’s head tilted as he smiled. Resting his hands on top of the table, he licked his lips, bobbing his head and motioning for her to sit down. Though Pops had taken Caliber under his wing like a son, Caliber always had a thing for Savannah. They’d fucked around over the years… even had a baby that Savannah aborted… but things would never be on some forever shit with them. Caliber had gone against the man that had chosen to love and care for him to be with Savannah, and when she ended their baby’s life, he cut off all the love in his heart for her.
“Pops told you about that? Or the streets?”
Savannah shrugged, smiling softly. “Pops has been walking around pouting all week. He finally told me why this morning. You staying away for good?”
Caliber released a lazy exhale, slumping his body further down in the booth. “That’s the plan. Ain’t shit left for me here.”
Her smile fell, teasing eyes replaced with sadness. “What about Pops?”
“He can come and visit me anytime.”
“And me?”
Caliber looked away, unable to grow weak from looking into her hazel eyes. “Go check on my food, Savannah. I got some shit to do.”
Even though her eyes rolled, they were playful, and that was one of the things Caliber loved and hated about Savannah at the same time. He could never really tell when she was serious about him. About them. At this point, it didn’t even matter anymore.
He’d promised his mother that he would get out the streets by his thirtieth birthday, and he planned to do just that. If things hadn’t changed between them by now, it wasn’t going to happen over the next couple of days.
With Savannah out of his view, Caliber’s eyes scanned the crowded diner. It was small, always packed. No matter how much business Pops brought in, he never expanded. The only reason Caliber was able to get a booth whenever he slid through was because of his connection to Pops. Otherwise, he’d be waiting just like everyone else.
Against the bright lights and red and white décor, the caramel hued woman dressed in all black gained his attention. She made her way past the hostess, looking around the crowded diner in disbelief. Head flung back, she muttered to herself before turning slightly and looking around again. When her eyes landed on Caliber’s booth, she smiled.
As she made her way over to him, Caliber allowed himself to take in her beauty. Her short, layered hair came down to her chin. Its big curls rounded her face, covering her eyes with a bang. The second she stood by his table, his nostrils inhaled a deep whiff of her intoxicating, sensual scent.
“Are you going to be a gentleman and offer me this seat since it’s the only one available, or do I have to take this shit?”
Her voice, low and sultry, made his hardened dick throb. His eyes zeroed in on her mouth, and Caliber tugged his bottom lip between his teeth at the sight of hers. It was slightly bigger than the top one, and he wanted to suck it into his mouth before swirling his tongue around hers.
“You can be a lady and ask for it, otherwise you can wait like everybody else.”
She smirked and sat across from him, pushing her bang to the right slightly. Her slanted eyes were lazy, like she’d smoked a few minutes before coming in, but she didn’t smell like weed.
Savannah set his plate in front of him, as she greeted his dinner guest with, “What’s up, Trouble? I didn’t know you two knew each other.”
“We don’t,” Trouble denied.
“Trouble?” Caliber repeated. “Fuck kinda name is that?”
She chuckled, leaning forward. “It’s not a name; it’s what I am.”
“What makes you trouble?”
Trouble licked her lips as her eyes lowered down his body. “Talk to me nice and you might find out.”
As much as Caliber didn’t want to admit it, his interest had been piqued. Seeing as he was leaving soon, he wasn’t in the market for anything serious, but he wouldn’t turn down some goodbye pussy from her fine ass if she threw it his way.
“Are you getting your usual, Trouble?” Savannah asked, inserting herself back into the conversation with a stern tone.
Caliber smirked, refusing to believe her ass was jealous. She was the reason they hadn’t been together in all these years.
“I wanted it, but I don’t know if I’ll have time to wait for it and eat. I need to get to the club in fifteen minutes. Do you think it’ll be out by then?”
Savannah checked the time on her watch. “Honestly, babe, I don’t think so. It’ll probably be twenty to thirty minutes because the kitchen is slammed.”
Her shoulders caved and she pouted.
“What do you want?” Caliber asked, regaining Trouble’s attention.
She pointed at his plate. “That. That’s what I usually get.”
Caliber looked down at the medium well done beef tips covered with mushroom gravy with mashed potatoes and sour cream.
“Put in another order for this,” Caliber ordered, sliding his plate over to Trouble.
“I can’t take your food,” she rejected, trying to slide it back.
“You in a rush ain’t you? Eat this shit and go.”
Trouble thought it over for a few seconds before pulling it toward her, making him smile when she grabbed his Iced Tea too.
“I thought you were in a rush?” Savannah reminded, but now… all Caliber wanted to do was watch the beauty across from him eat.
“I can wait.”
Savannah gave him a curt nod before walking away. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Caliber checked the time. He was still doing good, so he wasn’t pressed by Trouble’s presence creating a slight inconvenience to his otherwise perfect plans.
They didn’t make any small talk as she ate, and Caliber was cool with that. Not even seven minutes had passed before she was wiping her mouth and sliding the almost empty plate into the middle of the table.
“Thank you,” she muttered as she stood. “I’ve been craving that all day and really didn’t have time to wait.”
“It’s cool. By the looks of it you were hungry as hell.”
Trouble chuckled. “That’s not the only thing I’m hungry for.” She winked, looking him over again without shame. After pulling a twenty-dollar bill out of her pocket she tried to hand it to him, but he shook his head. “Take it.”
“Don’t insult me. Put that shit up.”
“Fine. I owe you next time I see you.” She placed a kiss on his cheek and thanked him again before briskly walking away. On the way out, she stopped Savannah and gave her the twenty as a tip, impressing Caliber even more…
Synopsis:
As a well-known social media Influencer, Arya Ingram has created a lifestyle for herself outside of her family that she never thought was possible. When her boyfriend, Zion, proposes, Arya believes she has everything she will ever need in life—until a scandal erupts on social media… threating to taint not just her character but destroy her career as well.
Sir’Kenya Mills had a plan for his life right after graduating high school. Now that he’s become CFO, he can finally start considering marriage and starting a family. Before he can choose a wife of his own, his grandmother’s failing health and last wish speeds up the process… forcing him to take a shortcut to love. Or, at least, pretend to.
Arya needs to save face if she wants her career to survive this scandal. Sir’Kenya needs to give his grandmother the only thing she’s ever asked of him. A fake engagement between childhood friends seems like the perfect solution for both. Will they part ways with just their friendship intact… or will they succumb to the influence of love?
Sneak peek available on my blog! Check out the previous post…