There are women who build their lives on control, and others who refuse to be contained by it. The Code One Club series by Alison Naomi Holt brings those worlds together in sapphic stories where connection is anything but easy.

Synopsis

Set against a backdrop of intersecting lives and emotional barriers, The Code One Club series explores relationships that form between women who are not easily changed. These stories center on contrast, where power, grief, and survival shape how connection unfolds.

In The Inheritance, Phyla McGuire is powerful, controlled, and emotionally untouchable, while Ash Redux is a former Army K9 handler barely holding on, navigating life on the streets while battling PTSD. When their lives collide, what begins as circumstance becomes something deeper and far more dangerous. Their connection challenges both women to confront what lies beneath control and survival.

Whiskey-Colored Eyes centers on Jude Lorcan, who is navigating life after loss, and Dr. Noémi Boudon, whose composed exterior hides a quiet search for something real. Their relationship develops slowly, shaped by grief, hesitation, and the pull of something undeniable.

In Melt for Me, Alléandra Alfieri is powerful, feared, and emotionally locked down, while Maren Tempest is bold, unpredictable, and impossible to ignore. When their worlds collide, the connection ignites quickly, bringing intensity and disruption as control begins to give way.

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Excerpt

Melt for Me

Chapter 1

Mar thanked the driver as he pulled her suitcase from the back of his SUV. The portly, florid-faced man had been friendly and talkative on her ride from the airport, something she appreciated since she needed the distraction from the weeklong gathering that she’d agreed to attend with an old friend, Kelsey, whom she hadn’t seen in several years.

It was precisely because of his affable manner that she tipped him more than she usually would. She hadn’t expected to hire a car, but her plane had landed four hours past the time she was due to arrive, and Kelsey had texted that because of the delay, she had to get dressed for the evening’s dinner party and wouldn’t be able to pick her up at the airport.

As the man pulled away, Mar tilted her head back and counted twenty-three stories rising above the black and gold canopy marking the entrance to the Onyx Meridian Hotel. The building might not have been as tall as the others they’d passed on their way into Manhattan, but she’d read that it was one of the most historic, exclusive, exquisitely furnished hotels in the city.

She stepped to the side as a pair of businesswomen passed by with their heads together as they engaged in what appeared to be a serious discussion. Their pencil skirts and blouses screamed designer, and Mar glanced down at her own slacks and cotton blouse. They hadn’t seemed shabby when she’d boarded the plane, but after seeing the sophisticated attire worn by several other people entering the hotel, her clothing felt completely inappropriate by comparison.

A black-suited doorman dipped his head in respect as the women walked past and entered the revolving door. They were oblivious to his gesture, but it didn’t seem to bother the pleasant-faced man.

A limousine pulled to the curb, and a broad-chested, swarthy man in a dark suit exited the front passenger seat, buttoned his suit coat, and glanced up and down the sidewalk as though expecting trouble. The doorman hurried down the steps to the sidewalk and, after receiving a nod from the guard, pulled open the vehicle’s rear door.

A pair of shapely legs appeared first, followed by the hourglass figure of a stylish sophisticate in her mid-to-late forties, wearing a simple yet elegant sheath dress and three-inch heels that highlighted her strong calves to perfection. It was impossible to define the exact shade of the dress as its reflective surface shifted from deepest black to undulating purple as she moved. The dress hugged shapely hips and flowed in at the waist, accentuating a refined, sculpted figure. A gold and sapphire pendant dipped into the woman’s cleavage, drawing Mar’s gaze to the milky-white skin not covered by the garment’s graceful satin folds.

The woman paused. Something about the angle of her body alerted Mar, who tore her gaze off those perfectly rounded breasts to look up into a pair of dark, smoldering eyes. The woman’s classic beauty stunned her, and she forgot to breathe. She’d known beautiful women before, had even dated quite a few, but this woman’s aquiline nose, high cheekbones, and glistening, sensual lips were beyond compare.

Only…those lips weren’t sensual at the moment. They were pulled into a thin, irritated line that jerked Mar out of her stupor. Blinking several times, she tore her gaze from the red lips and stared into those quietly dangerous eyes. The woman’s head tilted slightly with unmistakable ire before she broke eye contact and glided up the steps to disappear through the revolving door. The security guard and a second man who’d appeared out of nowhere followed her inside.

Mar swallowed hard and mumbled, “Kelsey, what have you gotten me into this time?” Calling upon her inner wild child and the free-spirited joie de vivre she’d inherited from her vivacious and some would say, quirky mother, Mar pulled her shoulders back, lifted her chin, and climbed the six steps laid with a vibrant red carpet that led to the hotel’s door.

About the Author

Alison Naomi Holt writes bold, emotionally charged sapphic fiction centered on powerful women who refuse to be diminished. A former police officer, she brings grit, realism, and a sharp sense of humor to stories that explore love, resilience, and identity.

Her books often feature commanding “ice queens,” fiercely independent women, and unexpected connections that challenge both. Whether set in high-powered boardrooms, dangerous streets, or intimate emotional landscapes, her stories blend intensity with vulnerability, creating characters who feel as real as they are unforgettable.

Holt is also an advocate for literacy and believes deeply in the transformative power of stories to inspire confidence, connection, and change—especially for women. When she’s not writing, she’s often riding horses or chasing the next story idea demanding to be told.

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