A restaurant manager starting over. A merman learning himself for the first time. Will their plunge into the unknown lead to a life shared together?
Unbreak My Heart
Men of Neptune Book 4
by Deja Black
Genre: LGBTQ Paranormal Romance
A restaurant manager starting over. A merman
learning himself for the first time. Will their plunge into the unknown lead to
a life shared together?
Restaurant Manager Tony Aikawa moved to
Charleston, South Carolina, looking for a fresh start for his family. Life
after his wife left him with their four children has made him feel bereft. He’s
doing the best he can, but it’s hard doing it alone.
Law student Adamaris Hali thought he was
human. Or that’s what his father led him to believe. Now his father, a former
Guardian of Neptune, has left his family behind to join his mate in the city of
Atlantis. Adamaris has learned his mother didn’t just die but was viciously
murdered, and he is not human but a merman as well. Now, he has to learn how to
embrace the being within.
These two broken men are starting something
new. Will it lead to a forever together?
GUEST POST
What inspired you to write this book?
I fell in love with Kamau in Song of the Siren, his brothers, and his extended family long ago. And I can’t seem to leave them behind. I want glimpses, stories, marriages, children, and more. I want to see them grow. I wrote this one because I wanted to see what Tony was doing with the restaurant and how he would care for the place Lindh loved so much. Then for Tony and Adamaris, two broken men, to find a chance of hope in each other in Unbreak My Heart? I couldn’t wait to see how it ended.
What can we expect from you in the future?
You can expect more of the mermen. Someone’s knocking, so we have to be ready to hear his story. And I’m bouncing around ideas for the next Broken Series book. I think I’m ready for the guys to come home. They’ve been gone long enough. Flirty and Red needs the next book, too. Lots of plans. Lots of tales to come.
Where did you come up with the names in the story?
I typically decide on a name based on the meaning and that person’s genetic background (if I can say that). I’m into historical names sometimes and lyrical names at other times, and I’m always having to remind myself to move away from names that start with K and C. Don’t know why that’s my favorite sound, but it is.
What is your favorite part of this book and why?
I think my favorite part is when Tony sees Trllian from Life’s Greatest Masterpiece. Trilian’s possessiveness regarding Lindh, the way he can’t keep his hands off of him gives me joy.
Convince us why you feel
your book is a must read.
Read
this book for the characters, the storyline, and the sweet read. This is a
lighter series for me, unlike my Broken Series, which is sometimes described as
a dark romance. This is the tender version of my writing for those of you who
want a little spice in their read but just enough to keep it happy. If that’s
you, this series is definitely for you.
EXCERPT
Tony Aikawa checked his reflection in the
mirror above the bar, his curly red hair shining perfectly. He’d certainly
worked hard enough on it. He’d neatly trimmed his beard as well. He wore a soft
green shirt to complement his hazel eyes and a pair of starched black dress
pants. He looked the part of a restaurant manager. He felt it, too, even though
his nerves overwhelmed him.
He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, grateful for this chance at a new
start. Having to move states away from the home he and his ex-wife Julianne
shared had broken something inside him, but he and his babies needed a place to
begin anew where memories didn’t haunt them anymore.
He’d grown weary of his children looking in spaces their mother haunted,
hopeful she would suddenly appear. And they weren’t by themselves. How many
times had he prayed for the very same thing?
When he and Julianne married, he believed it was for life. Well, he’d thought
he would love her forever, and she would love him. That was what high school
sweethearts did. So after struggling to complete his culinary degree at
Sullivan University in Louisville, he quit his extra jobs when he found his
first dream career position, supporting every dream Julianne owned and ensuring
their four kids would live well. No more worries over bills. No more creative
dinners to feed hungry bellies.
But it hadn’t turned out that way. With him home more, he could see the woman
he fell in love with wasn’t the same person. Julianne hung out with her friends
every night and went places that left her coming home early the following day.
She’d blamed him for not being happy, insisting he’d been too focused on
earning his degree to see that his family needed him at home.
But even with him home every evening, she still did her best to avoid him and
their kids. She spent more and more nights away, leaving him scrambling to get
the kids to school the following day. He did his best to ensure they were clean
and scrubbed before heading to work. With Julianne gone so often, it forced him
to hire a sitter for when he was out of the house.
Tony hadn’t wanted his oldest child Riley to think she must be a second mother,
but Riley wanted desperately to prove she was a big girl. She resented anyone
Tony brought in to help, insisting she could care for him and her younger
siblings. But Tony insisted just as strongly that she shouldn’t have to.
He had worked hard to make life easier for his family than what he and Julianne
had experienced as children. And when he’d finally reached his goal, Julianne
didn’t seem to want them anymore.
Trying to convince his kids that it wasn’t them making Mommy stay away, that
they were beautiful and good and kind, hadn’t worked. If anything, they cried
more and began crawling into his bed at night, too sad to stay on their own. He
held them when they wept and took them out bowling or skating on the weekends,
but it was never enough. Buying them things couldn’t make them forget their
mother’s absence. He hadn’t thought it would, but he would try anything to ease
their pain.
Then one day Tony had come home drained, unsure if he needed to have a meal
ready for his kids after the sitter left, to discover Julianne had vanished.
She’d taken her clothes and left him and their kids behind.
Tony didn’t understand if it was good or bad at first. Sure, his broken heart
torched him inside, but instead of wondering when or if it would happen, asking
and pleading for a chance to fix whatever went wrong, it was simply over.
Julianne just walked away. When the dust settled, Tony and his babies lived in
the shadow of forgotten memories.
Turning over each day in the bed he had shared with Julianne hurt. Getting up
every day to fix breakfast, thanking Riley for helping her brother dress, then
cleaning up the house as much as he could before he left for work hurt.
Receiving papers in the mail asking for a divorce and giving him full custody
of the kids hurt. Staying in the same place, wishing and praying for Julianne
to walk in the door and remember how much she used to love him and their
children hurt
He needed more. His children needed more. They all needed a change.
So he’d applied for a position almost ten hours away from Louisville that his
cousin Jerod told him about, located in a small Charleston, South Carolina
community. The job offered a place to live, the entire run of an established
restaurant, and a chance to begin again.
He was grateful for Jerod. He was a good guy who looked out for him. As a
counselor at a high school, Jerod took mental health seriously and noticed Tony
wasn’t doing well. Finally, Tony admitted that his emotional balance had
suffered because of his divorce and fear for his kids. Jerod had suggested a
change. Tony had agreed.
With a final glance in the mirror, he deemed himself presentable. He turned and
examined the decor of Iliana’s Safe Haven as he wiped down the bar. Something
about the place spoke to his soul. He had loved the restaurant the moment he’d
first stepped inside the spacious sitting area. The stained-glass chandeliers
depicted sea animals—sharks and a school of fish. An octopus seemed to be the
running metaphor, with dolphins as part of the floor’s inlay. The place was a
work of art, and he was proud to be here, to call it home.
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Book Links:
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Apple: https://books.apple.com/nz/book/unbreak-my-heart/id6469474777
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unbreak-my-heart-deja-black/1144228248?ean=2940179252924
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Deja_Black_Unbreak_My_Heart?id=qPPcEAAAQBAJ
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/unbreak-my-heart-33
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eXtasyBooks: https://www.extasybooks.com/Unbreak-My-Heart
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Song of the Siren
Men of Neptune Book 1
Graham is a broken soldier in body and soul.
With no place to go, he moves to the coast to live with the only relative who
loves him. Lost and without hope, Graham is not sure how he can get his life
back. That is until he hears the song of the most gorgeous man he has ever
seen.
Kamau is a siren who lives part of his life with his siren mother the other
part with his human father. Dutiful son to mother and father but never true to
himself. That is until Graham walks into the church and Kamau realizes he has
found his mate.
Jonah Anderson is the pastor who relies on his son’s gift to grow his church.
All is going well for him and the church. That is until he sees the way Kamau
looks at Graham.
At a time when Christmas presents are given for the holiday, will Graham and
Kamau receive the gift they’ve dreamed of for a lifetime? Each other.
EXCERPT
Graham’s leg ached, or the knee did right
above the piece that had been blown away. He breathed slowly through his teeth
as it cramped while sitting in the tiny pew built for a person who wasn’t six-foot-seven.
He still worked out as much as he could so that his arms were large and his
shoulders wide. Imprisoned in the confined space was not comfortable. The
ability to turn and find a spot where he didn’t ache remained difficult. Graham
had bumped his cousin, David, over into his husband at least four times between
Angus Dei and What Child is This.
“Sorry, man.”
David smiled at him for about the fifth time, but who was counting, right?
“It’s okay, Gray. No worries. It’ll be fine.”
Yeah, fine. If fine was packing up and leaving a place where he grew up because
his mom couldn’t deal with him finally coming out, and his sister acted like
she hated his ass for being alive. Fine. Nothing was fine, and he didn’t know
what to do to make it better.
“You start work on Monday. You’re staying with us until you find your own
place. Everything will work out.”
Graham loved his cousin, but he didn’t have the same faith he did. He looked
around them. Christmas wreaths and poinsettias. Christmas trees and the smell
of candles burning. White walls and stained glassed windows. Wooden pews and
worn bibles. Tradition. He’d grown up in church, had gone each Sunday with his
mother and his sister. He’d been in every Christmas play and attended every
midweek service, Sunday school, and church service.
More than ready to leave his mother, and the church that bound him, he’d fled
into the military. And, he’d returned broken. An old GI Joe toy with its leg
torn away. What good was he? Hell, why was he alive when guys better than
him—more worthy than him—were buried and gone?
He glanced over just as Louis curled his hand around David’s and kissed him
gently on the cheek. Graham was happy for them. They’d found a church where
they were accepted, where they used their skills and were an integral part of
the community. David, a corporate man, ran a partnership that helped the youth
of the church. Louis worked as a journalist using those skills to write for New
Direction Church. They’d found a place where they fit.
Graham had none of that.
He arrived the other night and wanted to stay in his room, in a bed almost too
small for him, and take his pain pills. If a tiny part included thoughts of
tipping the bottle so he could swallow all of them together, he’d never tell.
But, he didn’t have to. David knew him, loved him, and kept him solid. So
instead of attending the pity party for one in the house, alone, he sat in
church waiting for the next part of the show.
And, then he heard him sing.
Broken vessel healed by the potter’s hand.
It was Christmastime. Where was the jolly and holly? Another song that praised
the birth of a child born long ago?
Filled with the waters of hope, enough to clean the soul and heal the man.
Graham felt warmth run through him and reached to his aching knee running his
fingers over the prosthetic. Metal and plastic made to look like him, but it
wasn’t real.
Broken vessel healed by the potter’s hand.
Filled with possibility, just needing a reason to be.
The words spoke to him, but the voice seared his soul. He looked up to find the
singer and saw a man whose eyes were focused on Graham, his hands reaching up
and out toward the congregation but who was singing directly to him.
Graham wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. The notes of the song danced
around him, entwining him layer by layer until all he saw, all he heard was
Kamau.
David mentioned Kamau earlier, how they’d met in college. He told him how Kamau
mesmerized people with his singing. David followed him to this church and
remained ever since. Graham saw why. He sat ensnared, and he didn’t want to
leave, didn’t want to do anything but be Kamau’s captive. His heartbeat
battered his chest so intensely he heard its drumbeat in his ears, and tears
lay at the corners of his eyes.
No longer a broken vessel but an instrument of destiny.
The song ended, and the layers of notes fell away freeing Graham. He gasped for
air while people around him screamed and clapped, tears staining their cheeks.
One woman stood at the front, her arms raised above her head as she shouted
praises, and Graham had to escape.
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Book Links:
Amazon: https://a.co/d/87CesWN
Apple: https://books.apple.com/nz/book/song-of-the-siren/id1332135742
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/song-of-the-siren-deja-black/1127784450?ean=2940154922606
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Deja_Black_Song_of_the_Siren?id=V1hDDwAAQBAJ
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/song-of-the-siren-2
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/771717
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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37643779-song-of-the-siren
**Don’t miss the rest of the series! **
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Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HHSMYJR
Apple: https://books.apple.com/nz/book/song-of-the-siren/id1332135742?see-all=author-other-books
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/series?id=E_swGwAAABAi4M
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/series/men-of-neptune
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eXtasyBooks: https://www.extasybooks.com/index.php?route=product/series&series_id=1505
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/series/235399-men-of-neptune
About the Author
DEJA BLACK had fantasies of men loving men,
men who felt strongly, loved hard, and needed a hero. Then one great day she
came across a book and discovered the world of m/m writing, encountered others
who shared her obsession as much as she did, and found a world where she could
not only be accepted for the lives and loves she envisioned, but she could
create them too. So why not? Why not take the stories she would write and throw
away as a teenager, grow them, dream them, and make them a reality where she
could know her own characters, let them live their story, and make them real
for someone else? And she did. Now, with the support of her hubby and some
intense time management, she is learning to balance her family of two children
at home and the many others she teaches each and every day with her passion of
writing what she loves to read.
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Author
Links
Website: https://www.dejablack.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deja.black.69
X: https://twitter.com/DejaBlack69
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dejablack69
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/deja-black
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Deja-Black/author/B013MQ5A3U
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13889783.Deja_Black
Giveaway
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I enjoyed the guest post. This story sounds fascinating to me.
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