Ex Meridian

by A.E. Via

I want to thank the Girls so so much for having me on again to promote another new release. These girls have been my biggest supporters from the early days and I can’t tell them how much I appreciate it. My MM action/romance novel entitled – Nothing Special VII: EX Meridian – that released on February 24th is already firing up the charts. I’m so excited to bring you the seventh installment in the award-winning, best-selling Nothing Special series. 

I wanted to take this time to thank my amazing cover artist – Jay Aheer of Simply Defined Art – for making me one kickass cover to the next. Each one she does exceeds my expectations.  As an author and avid reader, I’m asked all the time why I put so much work and time into my cover art. I really believe that the escapism experiences starts at the very beginning, at the time of purchase. On that first click. It all starts with the illustration on the front. What else is gonna make a reader, especially one that’s not already familiar with my name, to click on the title. There’s no synopsis to read beside it when you’re scrolling down the list.  

Minimalist covers have never been my thing. That’s okay for some authors but not me. The cover art on my books takes quite a bit of time and Jay never rushes me. She doesn’t stop producing drafts until I feel it’s perfect. She nailed Ex and Meridian in only a few rounds and I couldn’t be happier with this one. I think she really captured the darkness of this installment.

I told Jay that this book needed to be eye-catching and very different from the other six books. I also don’t conform to make the series all uniform. I like spice and variety. Sure, I could’ve just put a handsome man on the front and slapped the title up there, but that wouldn’t accurately portray my MCs or the book. I try to tell a piece of the story with my covers. I’m hoping Ex and Meridian’s cover show just how dramatic, dangerous, evil and sexy his character can possibly be. 

Be sure to follow me on social media, or sign-up for my newsletter to never miss another release. 

Happy Reading! 

xoxoxox

Adrienne V.

About Ex Meridian

Police Lieutenants, God and Day are under intense pressure from the chief to take back control of Atlanta’s streets. The last thing their task force needs is a pair of trained killers in town with a personal score to settle. 

Take a man and strip him of his ability to feel compassion, empathy, remorse, or any of the emotions that make him human, but leave the ones that ignite rage and aggression and you have the perfect killing machine—now imagine two of them. 

Code names Ex and Meridian are synonymous for ‘guaranteed death’ to international terrorists. Two broken men from the same crooked streets, recruited into an unsanctioned government program that few know about. Trained to operate most efficiently—lethally—together. 

When Ex returns from an op in Bolivia to learn his little brother has been accidentally killed in a feud between drug gangs, he’s stateside before he can consider the rules he’ll be breaking, and of course Meridian is right beside him. There’s mayhem on the streets of Atlanta and the police are losing control. If Godfrey and his elite team of detectives can’t get the job done then they’d be happy to lighten their caseloads for them. And Ex nor Meridian care about doing it quietly. 

“I know who you are.” The man grunted when Ex turned to leave. “You’re the fucking devil.”

Meridian walked past, glaring one final time. “Say that loud enough… maybe God will save you.”

But after their first run-in with the big lieutenant and his protective husband, Day, Ex and Meridian start to reevaluate their own relationship. Wondering if they could be even deadlier if they let loose the feelings for each other that they’ve been forced to suppress for years. 

Meridian’s dark eyes stayed locked on his, “A man who can fight beside the one he loves doesn’t make him weaker, Ex—it makes him more dangerous.”

No multiple pairings. No cliffhangers. Ends with a HEA.
Note: This is a partners-to-lovers, out-for-you, action romance.

Available at: Amazon

An Excerpt from Ex Meridian

“You’re on edge. We both are. Come on, that shower is calling us.” 

He heard Day kick his boots off and drop his duffle bag onto the bench behind the front door. Neither of them bothered turning on any lights, and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he felt Day’s arms slide up his chest to his throat, then up over his shoulders. It felt good. 

Day was his partner in the truest sense. His being was his existence. His need for him hurt. It was difficult containing the love he had for Leonidis in his chest—as if there wasn’t room. His lover’s fierce combination of skill, intelligence and wit, topped with his intense loyalty to only him shifted him continuously. The way he moved beside him in the field made him irresistible. Day was so quick and precise, disciplined to the core, just like him. An absolute badass. His match and equal, his one piece of good in this fucked-up world. 

“Go on and get the water hot. I’ll meet you up there.” God lowered his head and kissed Day on his temple before releasing him and urging him towards the stairs. He waited until he’d rounded the landing before God exhaled a tired breath. 

He couldn’t shake the weight of possibly losing his department from his shoulders. He didn’t want to bring his work to their bedroom so he went to the kitchen for a beer and about five bottles of water. He stood at the island in his quiet home and thought over the last twenty-four hours. Where had they fucked up with arresting James and Marcus Stewart? It’d been by the damn book. He finished the third bottle of water then opened his beer. 

He went to his office at the back of the house, not intending to work, just wanting to… he didn’t know… think better. God turned on the dim desk light and pushed around a few files and various images from surveillance around his desk. He landed on a forensic photo of Evan Martin’s body lying facedown in the street. He stared for an unknown amount of time, trying to force his tired mind to think in another pattern. He took a large swallow of his beer then grimaced at the blandness. He wished he could fully taste the bold, dark brew, but instead his mouth felt numb. As if he didn’t deserve to enjoy such luxuries when he’d failed so miserably. 

God set the bottle down on the windowsill and stared out into the pitch darkness of his backyard. Their property sat nudged against some dense woods that had nothing on the other side but more woods, then a wide, man-made lake, but their six-foot privacy fence prevented access. He inched closer to the glass, his eyes adjusting the more he stared. Why did it feel like someone was—?

“I thought you were gonna join me?” Day said from the doorway. 

God spun around surprised he’d been snuck up on so easily. Had he been that consumed? He was about to say some form of apology when his response fell away from his lips. His gaze roamed over his husband’s dripping, naked body clad only in a plush white cotton towel tied low around his waist. He was so wet he was leaving a trail of water at his feet. So fresh from the shower that the scent of his body wash was reaching God before Day even entered his space. 

“Do you want to argue with me?” Day said quietly into the dark. He put his hands on his hips, drawing God’s attention to the sharp points that led to the bulge pushing against the front of the towel. 

When his husband came at him like that, he knew the last thing on his mind would be arguing. Whatever the quarrel Day had with him… he’d already won when he stepped through the door. God lowered his head, feeling guilty and dropped the crime scene photos from his hand. He hadn’t meant to stay down there so long. They had a rule that office shit had to stay at the office. When they were home, he needed his husband, and Day needed him. Fuck. He frowned at himself, his voice thick with exhaustion. “I’m sorry, Leo.”

“Don’t be sorry, Cashel… be with me,” Day shot back.

About A.E. Via

A.E. Via has been a best-selling author in the beautiful gay romance genre for six years now, but she’s no stranger to MM. She’s been an avid reader of gay literature for over twenty years before she picked up her laptop to place her own kiss on this genre. She’s also the founder and owner of Via Star Wings Books, having published a couple great, new up and coming MM authors.  

A.E. has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Virginia Wesleyan College that she used to start her own paralegal firm after she graduated in 2008. She spent five years preparing and filing bankruptcy petitions for struggling blue collar workers who couldn’t afford to file with a lawyer. It was a rewarding and satisfying career… but another path called to her. 

Writing. 

A.E.’s novels embodies everything from hopelessly romantic to adventure, to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths. 

She’s recently celebrated her 20th book anniversary, and is well-known for her hardcore, love hard, bad boy, alphas. However, she does like to push herself to step out of her comfort zone, exploring different tropes. She’s head over heels for gay romance and she has tons of more hot stories to tell.  

Be sure to visit Adrienne on her social media pages and subscribe to her newsletter to never miss another release date! Go to A.E. Via’s official website http://authoraevia.com  for more detailed information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peek at upcoming work, free reads, VSWB submissions, and where she’ll appear next. 

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