Desert, Be Quiet While I’m Loud

When the desert storm locks them in, passion becomes their only escape. On a desolate stretch of Nevada highway, the Ocotillo Mirage Motel is supposed to be nothing more than a quick stop. But when a catastrophic sandstorm erupts and the road collapses, two strangers are forced into confinement with nothing but the storm—and each other—for company. Lark Monroe is a rising indie singer whose voice is her life, now threatened by the dust and silence pressing against the motel walls. Calder Reyes, a former Army medic, carries the weight of past failures and an unshakable vow never to lose anyone again. As the storm rages outside, the motel becomes a sealed chamber of fear, desire, and revelation. Candlelight replaces power. Shuddering windows mirror their trembling hands. Each thunderclap draws them closer, until survival and surrender blur into the same breath. But when dawn finally breaks and rescue arrives, Lark and Calder must decide if what they've found in the chaos can outlast the storm. Was it only circumstance—or the beginning of something that changes them forever? Cinematic, visceral, and breathtakingly intimate, Desert, Be Quiet While I'm Loud is a story of two souls trapped in a storm that refuses to let them go. 5th story in the Cindermath series, it captures the raw edge of survival and the unexpected beauty of falling in love when the world outside is breaking apart. ---