Mayfly by JJ Asher

Mayfly is a hitman x secret agent dark short romance. This is not an atypical romance and I mean that in the best way possible.


From the blurb:

I just died and went to hell, because only the devil could write a narrative this utterly fu*ked

Curren
Some say London is the greatest city in the world. But I was born hating this place, and as soon as I got out of juvie, I started running and never looked back.
Fifteen years later, I'm in bed with the Romanian mafia - and they need me more than I need them.
I don't care what the job is, and I don't care if I come out the other side.
But I guess that's what makes me so good. It's easy to win when you aren't afraid to die.

Jude
Not all homecomings are welcome, but when you work for the King, you go where you're told.
Having MI6 Agent in front of your name doesn't make me a good man, though, no matter how desperately I want it to be true. Because it's hard not to be scum with a father like mine, and a mother complacent in your abuse.
She never fought for me, but I fought for him - the shattered boy on the other side that broken fence who desperately needed to be saved.
It's why I I do what I do.
It's why I pretend I'm a hero.
But this job has forced me back to London, and being confronted with the memory of how he walked away might just be the thing that finally breaks me.

Mayfly is an 18+ dark male/male, hurt comfort, best friends to lovers, novella about two men who survived harrowing youths. This book deals with heavy themes, and contains explicit content and scenes that some readers may find triggering.


Molly Otto's review:

Well, let's start with holy hell you are not prepared for what all unfolds. Two men bound by trauma in their youth, both do what they must do to survive. Curren lives on the dark path one step away from death to feel alive. Jude takes the somewhat lighter path yet still bears those demons. After seventeen years, their paths cross once more finally, and neither is prepared for it. This is not what you call an atypical or healthy romance, but it is meant for them to flourish. Their shared trauma makes them unstoppable together. Even in anger, they love one another. They were made to protect and kill for the other. Without the other, neither can go on now that they have each other once more.

Mayfly is currently available as an e-book and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription