For Real: An M/Mx Romance (X Club Book 1)

Ash navigates a high-stakes life in San Francisco, balancing a prestigious career in real estate with a secret life as a sought-after professional Dominant. As a non-binary individual, Ash is tired of the transactional nature of their work and yearns to reclaim the joy of kinky exploration without the professional pressure. However, just as they contemplate moving on, a catastrophic privacy breach makes them a target for a dangerous criminal family. Enter Jefferson “Flowers” Flores, a man shaped by two decades of military service. Newly retired and recently out of the closet, Flowers is struggling to find his footing in a civilian world that feels foreign and isolating. He’s cynical, wary, and searching for a sense of belonging he never found in the ranks. When their paths collide, the dynamic shifts from uneasy encounter to desperate survival. Forced into close quarters to escape Ash’s pursuers, the two men find that their clashing backgrounds—the guarded, disciplined soldier and the free-spirited, queer professional—create an unexpected magnetic pull. Amidst the chaos of running for their lives, they must decide if they are brave enough to build a future together, or if their pasts will finally catch up to them.