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Arm Candy
"I don't normally wine and dine hookers,
no matter how top shelf they are."
- Aurick Spencer
It was undoubtedly the wine followed by many, many whisky shots-or Mercy Haggins' desire to escape society's expectations. Regardless of which and encouraged by her equally drunk friends, the millionaire heiress enrolls on a sugar daddy dating app, reinventing herself as a poor, pitiful orphan.
New to the city, Aurick Spencer, the CEO and President of an expanding conglomerate, is manipulated into attending one such date. When an incredibly gorgeous prostitute arrives-he's game.
He's the kind of man Mercy's attracted to-conceited, self-assured, and devastatingly handsome.
No one denies Aurick and he sets out to possess her by any means necessary.
In a twist of fate, the only option left for Mercy is to accept his offer with a couple of concessions:
Number one, no sex.
Number two, she keeps her day job.
With each passing day though, she's tempted to break rule number one. And, rule number two gets complicated when Aurick's company jeopardizes her family-owned company's growth strategy, forcing her to choose sides.
This steamy, but sweet romance may contain the following: alcohol, assault, blood, death, depression, foul language, sexually explicit content, and violence. Reader discretion is advised.
The Sugarverse Series follows generations of friends and family through their intricate love lives. Read the books as stand-alone novels or in numerical order. Cupid's arrow strikes a new victim at the end of one book, and that love story is the subject of the next. Never lose your favorite couples to The End, because you will see their relationships flourish throughout the entire Sugarverse series.
If one person reads this novel, feels an emotional connection, and gets excited to find out how it ends. That's all that matters. -
Front cover design by Nicole Farrer
It was undoubtedly the wine followed by many, many whisky shots-or Mercy Haggins' desire to escape society's expectations. Regardless of which and encouraged by her equally drunk friends, the millionaire heiress enrolls on a sugar daddy dating app, reinventing herself as a poor, pitiful orphan.
New to the city, Aurick Spencer, the CEO and President of an expanding conglomerate, is manipulated into attending one such date. When an incredibly gorgeous prostitute arrives-he's game.
He's the kind of man Mercy's attracted to-conceited, self-assured, and devastatingly handsome.
No one denies Aurick and he sets out to possess her by any means necessary.
In a twist of fate, the only option left for Mercy is to accept his offer with a couple of concessions:
Number one, no sex.
Number two, she keeps her day job.
With each passing day though, she's tempted to break rule number one. And, rule number two gets complicated when Aurick's company jeopardizes her family-owned company's growth strategy, forcing her to choose sides.
This steamy, but sweet romance may contain the following: alcohol, assault, blood, death, depression, foul language, sexually explicit content, and violence. Reader discretion is advised.
The Sugarverse Series follows generations of friends and family through their intricate love lives. Read the books as stand-alone novels or in numerical order. Cupid's arrow strikes a new victim at the end of one book, and that love story is the subject of the next. Never lose your favorite couples to The End, because you will see their relationships flourish throughout the entire Sugarverse series.
If one person reads this novel, feels an emotional connection, and gets excited to find out how it ends. That's all that matters. -
Front cover design by Nicole Farrer
266 pages, Paperback
Published January 14, 2022
1 person is currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Marlayna James
7 books17 followersCould you live with a small child, who had forty imaginary friends – names, interests, clothing and features, all laid out?
Don’t feel awful if you answered ‘no’. Marlayna James’ mother couldn’t either.
At that age, though, what would she actually write? Marlayna glued paper together to form books about talking vegetables at the supermarket and solved their dilemmas. The young girl wasn’t a fan of illustrations, never wanting to be an artist, so she chose vegetables because they were the simplest to draw, a circle here and an oval there then throw on a few squiggles for eyes and a mouth.
In her subconscious, at three or four, she must have known it was what she needed to do, create worlds for diverse characters to live in. The inexperienced girl wouldn’t begin her exploration into writing until she was seven or eight.
She was one of those children, the enthusiastic one who busily sharpened her pencil, anticipating the phrases ‘you’re going to write an essay’ or ‘summarize the history of the cotton jenny’. Marlayna would write and shred it, then rework it and wrote it again. It was never quite perfect enough!
By the time she rushed into her teens, she started composing poetry on an old typewriter her mother had brought home from work. She would remain until it exhausted her and her eyes clouded with sleep, then wake the next morning and stare at it some more. Nothing could keep her from this passion, except maybe boys.
She shoved and forced her beloved typewriter away and it wouldn’t be until nineteen before she realized; Miss James is a writer. It’s all she ever wanted. To be the best-selling author on Oprah’s stage, gossiping about her latest book, her characters, and how their worlds escaped the pages and lived in readers’ minds. It would be epic!
Marlayna was confident in her ability and inventiveness, stoked to attend a full-time program. It would grant her the opportunity to explore herself, learn from her peers and receive assignments, which would challenge her personal boundaries. The now young woman took every entrance exam, ensuring no college would slip from her grasp, and then waited, not patiently, for her funding appointment to arrive. She strode in with her head held high, confident and embracing her new beginning. She excitedly described her dream to the career mentor, ‘here are my results’ and ‘here’s my passion’, a career in journalism or English. Marlayna would never forget the words the counselor spoke to her. ‘That’s the dream, but here we deal with reality’. She couldn’t tell you verbatim how the rest of the conversation went. Miss James was reeling from the blow her dream took as her stomach tried to retch. Basically though, ‘I’ll find you a career that steps you in the direction of your dream, let’s explore office administration’. I move on. I will visit my red lines each day and see if anything clicks.
It was evident, evident that the mentor would not recommend her funding if she continued dreaming of journalism or English. Marlayna, an unmarried mother of two, couldn’t afford to turn down any education, regardless of whether or not she preferred it. Beyond shattered and damaged, Marlayna took what the counselor offered, weeping.
It probably does not surprise you she plunged into a depression, so cavernous, painful and black, that she could not discover her way free. The notion of composing anything, regardless of subject, provoked her massive attacks of panic. She imagined herself in a game of anywhere but here, absorbed in the worlds her mind created. Characters who became as legitimate to Marlayna as her own children were. Nevertheless, she couldn’t bear the thought of changing them into words on a page.
She wouldn’t begin writing until twenty-four and then it was entirely technical subjects, like resumes or manuals, work materials.
After a dreadful death and a harrowing fire destroyed her life’s work, Marlayna sought solace in one of her characters, her part of the c
Don’t feel awful if you answered ‘no’. Marlayna James’ mother couldn’t either.
At that age, though, what would she actually write? Marlayna glued paper together to form books about talking vegetables at the supermarket and solved their dilemmas. The young girl wasn’t a fan of illustrations, never wanting to be an artist, so she chose vegetables because they were the simplest to draw, a circle here and an oval there then throw on a few squiggles for eyes and a mouth.
In her subconscious, at three or four, she must have known it was what she needed to do, create worlds for diverse characters to live in. The inexperienced girl wouldn’t begin her exploration into writing until she was seven or eight.
She was one of those children, the enthusiastic one who busily sharpened her pencil, anticipating the phrases ‘you’re going to write an essay’ or ‘summarize the history of the cotton jenny’. Marlayna would write and shred it, then rework it and wrote it again. It was never quite perfect enough!
By the time she rushed into her teens, she started composing poetry on an old typewriter her mother had brought home from work. She would remain until it exhausted her and her eyes clouded with sleep, then wake the next morning and stare at it some more. Nothing could keep her from this passion, except maybe boys.
She shoved and forced her beloved typewriter away and it wouldn’t be until nineteen before she realized; Miss James is a writer. It’s all she ever wanted. To be the best-selling author on Oprah’s stage, gossiping about her latest book, her characters, and how their worlds escaped the pages and lived in readers’ minds. It would be epic!
Marlayna was confident in her ability and inventiveness, stoked to attend a full-time program. It would grant her the opportunity to explore herself, learn from her peers and receive assignments, which would challenge her personal boundaries. The now young woman took every entrance exam, ensuring no college would slip from her grasp, and then waited, not patiently, for her funding appointment to arrive. She strode in with her head held high, confident and embracing her new beginning. She excitedly described her dream to the career mentor, ‘here are my results’ and ‘here’s my passion’, a career in journalism or English. Marlayna would never forget the words the counselor spoke to her. ‘That’s the dream, but here we deal with reality’. She couldn’t tell you verbatim how the rest of the conversation went. Miss James was reeling from the blow her dream took as her stomach tried to retch. Basically though, ‘I’ll find you a career that steps you in the direction of your dream, let’s explore office administration’. I move on. I will visit my red lines each day and see if anything clicks.
It was evident, evident that the mentor would not recommend her funding if she continued dreaming of journalism or English. Marlayna, an unmarried mother of two, couldn’t afford to turn down any education, regardless of whether or not she preferred it. Beyond shattered and damaged, Marlayna took what the counselor offered, weeping.
It probably does not surprise you she plunged into a depression, so cavernous, painful and black, that she could not discover her way free. The notion of composing anything, regardless of subject, provoked her massive attacks of panic. She imagined herself in a game of anywhere but here, absorbed in the worlds her mind created. Characters who became as legitimate to Marlayna as her own children were. Nevertheless, she couldn’t bear the thought of changing them into words on a page.
She wouldn’t begin writing until twenty-four and then it was entirely technical subjects, like resumes or manuals, work materials.
After a dreadful death and a harrowing fire destroyed her life’s work, Marlayna sought solace in one of her characters, her part of the c
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 11, 2022
A bit disappointing:
This book had the potential to be great however it came across as rather cumbersome and not very refined. Unfortunately there were quite a few discrepancies and errors which was surprising given that this wasn't a new release but rather it was first published in 2013 and this was supposed to be a "second edited edition".
The premise of the book was good and I certainly enjoyed the latter part of the book the most. Unfortunately I wasn't able to form as close a connection with the main characters as I would have liked, however I was still rooting for them and was glad when they finally sorted things out.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book had the potential to be great however it came across as rather cumbersome and not very refined. Unfortunately there were quite a few discrepancies and errors which was surprising given that this wasn't a new release but rather it was first published in 2013 and this was supposed to be a "second edited edition".
The premise of the book was good and I certainly enjoyed the latter part of the book the most. Unfortunately I wasn't able to form as close a connection with the main characters as I would have liked, however I was still rooting for them and was glad when they finally sorted things out.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 26, 2022
This is the 1st book I've read written by Marlayna James; I can’t wait to read more of her books.
This is the 1st book in the Sugarverse Series. The story is about Mercy & Aurick; she’s a millionaire heiress that is bored with her life so she joins a dating app as a poor orphan; he’s a CEO that gets tricked into agreeing to a date from the app thinking they are all prostitutes, but when she arrives he plans to possess her no matter what it takes. She keeps her identity secret but when his company puts her family business in jeopardized she must choose sides.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the 1st book in the Sugarverse Series. The story is about Mercy & Aurick; she’s a millionaire heiress that is bored with her life so she joins a dating app as a poor orphan; he’s a CEO that gets tricked into agreeing to a date from the app thinking they are all prostitutes, but when she arrives he plans to possess her no matter what it takes. She keeps her identity secret but when his company puts her family business in jeopardized she must choose sides.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
February 12, 2022
Oh my, what a meet cute for Aurick and Mercy. I wasn’t sure if I should giggle or be appalled at his misunderstanding. There was some definite chemistry between then but Aurick proved himself to be quite the gentlemen when required. I really loved both characters as they did seem to quite genuinely good people though did have problems with communication. I found this romance quite entertaining with and fun to read.
I received a free advanced review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a fair and honest opinion.
I received a free advanced review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a fair and honest opinion.
February 16, 2022
Aurick and Mercy, wonderfully written characters trying new things. The story flows smoothly. I cannot wait to read more.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 23, 2022
This is a fun and entertaining story about Aurick and Mercy. There first meeting is very interesting and a little like Pretty Women in some respects. I like this story and the characters. It develops nicely. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews