Topher - My friend’s brother needs an academic assistant, and I need a job. Problem.... Jocks are my weakness. Seriously. I lose my ability to speak coherently around muscle-bound hotties. Oh yeah, I lose my inhibitions, too - not a good look for a guy with a genius IQ. So what am I going to do about Simon? 

I’m done hiding who I am. Pretending to be straight, to be the loving, devoted husband and successful ER doctor everyone wanted me to be, has been exhausting. I numbed the pain any way I could, and in the end, it cost me everything. My job, my marriage, the relationship with my grown kids. But now I’m in recovery, and for the first time, I’m living my true life as an out gay man.

I’m a sniper. A trained operator. A bodyguard. A member of the elite private security force known as Vigilance. When my boss’s son acquires a stalker, of course I’m the one he calls to keep the guy safe. Mr. X’s one rule? Keep my hands to myself. Not a problem. At least, not until I meet Lane Porter. He’s gorgeous. Flamboyant. Fascinating. He makes me want things I can’t have. He stretches my self-control to the limit...and then breaks it.

Kind, caring, and protective. Those are the three qualities I’m looking for when it comes to my dream man. In a city as big as Chicago, you wouldn’t think he would be that hard to find, right? Wrong. Sure, my boss found a super-sexy detective and my best friend fell madly in love with the most eligible bachelor around. But the only person I’ve met recently is a broody bad boy who saved me at a sketchy pub. He’s grumpy, rude, and honestly, not that likeable at all. Hardly my “dream” guy. So why can’t I stop thinking about him?

Fourteen years ago, Braxton Kane’s feelings were forbidden. As an officer, he couldn’t fall for an enlisted…no matter how much he longed for Holt Madigan. Now — as a police chief in love with a digital assassin — his promise to always protect Holt is becoming harder to keep. Holt doesn’t understand why his best friend has been pushing him away for months. But when Brax’s life and career are threatened, Holt refuses to allow the distance any longer. The Madigans protect their own, and Brax is family, whether he believes it or not.