Hard Target
An MM Bodyguard Romance
by Chase Power
Pairing: MM
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ Scorching
Tropes: Bodyguard, Age Gap, Grumpy/Sunshine, Forced Proximity
He’s paid to take a bullet. He wasn’t hired to steal a heart.
Caleb Hart lives his life in 4K resolution. As “PixelPrince,” he’s a top-tier gaming streamer with a bratty online persona, thousands of adoring fans, and a penthouse view of the city. But when the digital adoration turns into physical stalking, the safety of his screen shatters.
Enter Grant Morrison.
Ex-Army Ranger. Stoic. Dangerous. And nearly twice Caleb’s age. Grant is a security expert who speaks in commands and looks at Caleb like he’s a problem to be solved, not a person to be charmed. He’s everything Caleb avoids, yet he’s the only thing standing between Caleb and a terrifying threat.
Trapped together in a high-tech fortress during a city-wide blackout, the professional boundaries begin to blur. Grant sees past the crop tops and the attitude to the frightened young man underneath—a man who craves control, just not the kind he performs for the cameras.
You’ll love this if you enjoy:
✓ Grumpy protective bodyguard with a commanding presence
✓ Bratty sunshine streamer who needs to be kept safe
✓ Significant age gap with protective Daddy vibes
✓ Forced proximity in a high-stakes situation
✓ Romantic suspense with real tension
Hard Target is a high-heat MM romantic suspense novel featuring a grumpy bodyguard, a sunshine streamer, forced proximity, an age gap, and a guaranteed happily ever after.
Read Chapter One Free
The Threat
The neon glow of Caleb’s triple-monitor setup bathed his face in electric blue and hot pink, turning his dyed hair into something that belonged in a cyberpunk fever dream.
“Okay, okay, chat is WILDING right now,” Caleb said, his voice pitched high with performative energy as he leaned back in his ergonomic gaming chair. The crop top he wore—black with a pixelated broken heart across the chest—rode up just enough to show a sliver of defined abs. Intentional. Everything about PixelPrince was intentional. “Y’all really think I can’t clutch this? Have you MET me?”
Sixty-eight thousand viewers. Not his record, but respectable for a Friday night at 11:47 PM.
Then, in the bottom right of his screen, a donation notification popped up.
WATCHERINTHEWINGS donated $500.
The automated text-to-speech bot began reading the message aloud in its robotic monotone:
“Nice gaming chair, PixelPrince. Is it as comfortable as your bed with the gray sheets?”
Caleb’s fingers froze on the keyboard.
Gray sheets. He’d changed his sheets yesterday morning. The ones that were currently on his bed, in his bedroom, in his penthouse apartment on the fortieth floor.
No one knew that. He didn’t post his bedroom on social media. He didn’t even stream from in there.
Someone was watching. Not just his streams. Him.
The elevator chime at 1:15 AM sounded like a church bell tolling.
Behind Rivera, a shadow moved. No. Not a shadow. A MAN.
He was MASSIVE. Six-four, easily, with shoulders that looked like they could support a building. His hair was dark with silver threading through it, buzzed military-short. His face was all hard angles—sharp jaw, straight nose, a scar bisecting his left eyebrow.
But it was his eyes that made Caleb freeze.
Steel gray. Cold. Assessing.
“Caleb,” Rivera said, “this is Grant Morrison. He’s your new shadow.”
Caleb stared at the man’s back. “He looks like he eats people.”
“Only the ones who don’t listen,” Grant said without turning around. His voice was deep, rough, like gravel underfoot.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hard Target spicy?
Yes! Hard Target is a high-heat MM romantic suspense with explicit content. Heat level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Scorching). Expect tension that builds through forced proximity and protective moments before exploding in detailed intimate scenes.
Is this a standalone?
Yes! Hard Target is a complete standalone with no cliffhanger and a guaranteed happily ever after.
What tropes are in this book?
Hard Target features: bodyguard romance, grumpy/sunshine, significant age gap, forced proximity, protective Daddy vibes, and romantic suspense with a stalker threat. It’s tension-filled and steamy in equal measure.
Is there a happily ever after?
Always. Every Fractal Enigma book ends with a guaranteed HEA. No cliffhangers, no unresolved endings—just two characters who earn their happiness together.
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