Mateo Navarro is $405 in the red and exactly eleven days away from being homeless. Between a punishing grad school schedule, barista shifts, and a soul-crushing rent hike, Teo's survival plan is held together by spreadsheets and caffeine. So when he finds a listing for a luxury downtown penthouse at a miraculously subsidized $800 a month, his survival instincts scream that it's a trap. Enter Julian Black. Gorgeous, wealthy, and firmly in control, Jules doesn't need a roommate for the money. He needs someone to fill the empty space in his massive loft and serve as a presentable plus-one for elite social events. To ensure there are no misunderstandings, Jules even puts it in the lease: No additional services, physical or otherwise, are implied, expected, or required. But Jules runs his life like a curated portfolio, and the fiercely proud Teo refuses to be just another decorative acquisition. As they navigate the magnetic, forced-proximity tension of sharing a kitchen, a bathroom, and eventually a bed, the clear lines of their arrangement begin to blur. Jules is used to buying comfort to keep people at arm's length. Teo is used to fighting for everything he gets. When the heat cranks up and real feelings crash through their carefully constructed walls, they will have to decide if they are ready to rip up the contract and risk it all. The Sugar Lease is a steamy, high-angst, high-heat M/M contemporary romance featuring a billionaire with a praise kink, a stubborn urban planning student, forced proximity, and a hard-fought happily ever after.
