Flood Tide

She loved him from the moment they met.
He spent years denying what he felt—until the tide pulled them under together.

From the moment Iris Cunningham met Samuel Akin, the brilliant, quietly intense computer savant who happened to be her best friend’s cousin, she fell irrevocably in love. What began as an instant spark deepened into four years of longing—years where Iris hid her heartbreak behind bright smiles and careful silence.

Because Samuel didn’t want her. Or so she believed. But she never knew how violently he felt the pull.

Every time Samuel was near Iris, a flood of emotion crashed through him—want, fear, hope, devastation. He craved her. He feared her. He feared himself even more. Iris unraveled him in ways he didn’t understand, dragging the foundation of his carefully controlled world out to sea.

By the time he faced the truth, it was almost too late.

Their lives entwine in ways neither could foresee—first through an alliance born of trust. Then their relationship graduates to a passion, love, and marriage that survives their sworn existence—a responsibility built on secrets a rare few ever glimpse.

The life they choose demands half-truths and selective silence. Honor and duty test the threads binding them daily. And while Iris and Samuel can alternately delight, infuriate, and challenge each other in equal measure, one core disagreement opens a fracture neither of them anticipated.

Accusations of betrayal begin to swirl and the tides around them rise with crushing force. Iris and Samuel face the hardest challenge of their marriage.

Will they stand united against the waves threatening to pull their family apart or will a storm sweep their longstanding love away?

– Marriage in trouble

– Friends-to-lovers slow burn

– Unrequited (but mutual) crush

– Hero denies feelings / emotional repression

– Spy/secretive profession

– Accusations of betrayal

– Quietly intense hero × steadfast, brilliant heroine

– Love vs. duty conflict

– High-angst, deeply romantic