Hold Water: A Dark MM Bully Romance

By Shiloh Lane

A vicious standalone bully dark MM romance set in the brutal world of elite college rowing.

Peter Cavanaugh ruined me once. Now he controls my place in the boat.

Four years ago, I was the boathouse keeper's son-and Peter was the untouchable heir who wanted me in secret.

When his friends discovered us, Peter watched them beat me. Then he protected his name by telling everyone I'd lied about our relationship.

I should've stayed gone.

Instead, a scholarship brings me to Latham College as the coxswain of Peter's championship eight. On the water, he has to obey my every command. Off it, he controls my housing, my money, and whether I have a future at Latham.

Peter doesn't want forgiveness. He wants me furious, dependent, and back beneath his hands.

Then evidence of what happened four years ago surfaces, threatening the rowing program, Peter's powerful family, and everyone who helped bury the truth. Peter will blackmail, destroy, and sacrifice anything before he lets me escape him again.

He already taught me how monstrous his love can be.

This time, he'll learn who commands the boat.

Tropes:

Dark MM romanceBully romanceCollege sports romanceEnemies to loversSecond chanceRich heir/working-class scholarship studentForced proximityBlackmail and coercionPossessive, morally black heroSize differenceHurt/comfortDual POV

Hold Water is a full-length, high-heat dark romance featuring an obsessive bully, a hard-won HEA, and no cliffhanger. It is Book One in The Latham Eight series and can be read as a standalone.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HGGMBL45
• ISBN13: 9798194310647
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.7" x 5.5"