Fortitude Smashed

“As long as you’re there, it’ll be something,” Aiden whispered.

  One side of Shannon’s mouth lifted. He tugged Aiden’s wrist to his lips and kissed his knuckles. “Something,” he repeated.

  The sun was gone, but it was still warm.

  Aiden was alive, and Shannon was his.

  The world turned. Aiden felt it.

  Shannon’s arm curled around his back. Their feet knocked together over the edge of the cliff, and Aiden leaned against Shannon’s chest. The impossibility of the two of them, an intricate something, was a wild, wonderful, magical thing.

  Aiden’s lips hovered over Shannon’s mouth, which was curled in a patient smile. They kissed, deep and slow and knowing, the kind of kiss that told a story.

  Impossibility tasted like Shannon Wurther, and Aiden would never get enough of it.

  Acknowledgments

  Fortitude Smashed took a lot of unpacking. I had a team behind me the entire time, sorting through the mess that gathered as I threw this and that over my shoulder. First was Matt, my reputable rescuer, who knows my befores and afters better than anyone. He has climbed to the top of many, many cliffs with me. He’s jumped off some, too. We’ll be jumping off more, I’m sure. The team at Interlude Press—Annie, Choi, Candy, Nicki, Linda—you brought this story to life, and I can never thank you enough for that. Mom and Dad, my unshakable support system: Your unyielding love for one another reminds me to believe in fate, even on days when I question it.

  ABout the Author

  After fleshing out a multitude of fantastical creatures as a special effects makeup professional, Taylor turned her imagination back to her true love—books. When she’s not nestled in a blanket typing away on her laptop, she can be found haunting the local bookstore with a cup of tea, planning her next adventure, and fawning over baby animals.

  For a reader’s guide to Fortitude Smashed and book club prompts, please visit interludepress.com.

  @interludepress

  Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Pinterest

  INTERLUDE PRESS

  YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

  Into the Blue by Pene Henson

  Tai Talagi and Ollie Birkstrom have been inseparable since they met as kids surfing the North Shore. Tai’s spent years setting aside his feelings for Ollie, but when Ollie’s pro surfing dreams come to life, their steady world shifts. Is the relationship worth risking everything for a chance at something terrifying and beautiful and altogether new?

  ISBN (print) 978-1-941530-84-9 | (eBook) 978-1-941530-85-6

  Buy Now: Smashwords

  Luchador by Erin Finnegan

  A young exótico wrestler in Mexico City’s professional lucha libra circuit charts a course to balance ambition, sexuality, and loyalty to find the future that may have be destined for him since childhood—a story about finding yourself from behind a mask.

  ISBN (print) 978-1-941530-97-9 | (eBook) 978-1-941530-98-6

  Buy Now: Smashwords

  The Star Host by F.T. Lukens

  Published by Duet, the YA imprint of Interlude Press

  Ren grew up listening to his mother tell stories about the Star Hosts—mythical people possessed by the power of the stars. Captured by a nefarious Baron, Ren discovers he may be something out of his mother’s stories. He befriends Asher, a member of the Phoenix Corps. Together, they must master Ren’s growing power and try to save their friends while navigating the growing attraction between them.

  ISBN (print) 978-1-941530-72-6 | (eBook) 978-1-941530-73-3

  Buy Now: Smashwords