Before her,
I was:
Rich.
Entitled.
A
possessive pain in the ass.
Who am I
kidding? I still am.
Love wasn’t
for me.
I’d come to
terms with that a long time ago.
And then I
met her. I was this close to freedom. But one look at her and I was caught in a
web I could’t escape. One I didn’t want to escape.
But then
someone took her from me. Now they’ll find out just how far I’m willing to go
to get her back.
To save the
woman I love, all I need to do is expose my secrets. Secrets that will have
consequences for her and the crown.
Excerpt
I scanned
the crowd. Apparently, kink didn’t scare off the young, elite, and rich. The
usual crowd I’d see at China White were all here trying too hard not to look
desperately bored. Through the crowd, I spotted a flashbulb go off, and I
stiffened.
Calm
down, mate. Of
course, the club had hired photographers for the event. But I eyed the
shutterbug again. Slight build. Dirty blond hair gelled up into spikes. I could
have sworn I’d seen him before. The hairs on the back of my neck stood at
attention, but I couldn’t place the guy. I needed to calm down. The hiring
staff would only hire reputable photographers. They knew that we required the
utmost privacy, and they wouldn’t hire anyone who had ever worked with the
tabloids. But still, I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d seen the guy before.
Maybe he was one of Xander’s students?
“Speaking
of complications…” I muttered. I couldn’t have missed Abbie’s entrance with her
friends if I’d been trying.
Sophie
squealed when she spotted me, and immediately a flock of women swarmed the
models. One of the guys put his arm around Abbie, and I had the irrational urge
to plant my fist in his face.
She’d
texted earlier to say she was going out, but I had no idea she’d end up here.
As always,
she looked stunning. She’d worn her braids piled on top of her head in some
kind of bun, with long dangling earrings showing off her slender neck.
Gemma
glanced toward the entrance. “Given the electric sparks between you two across
a room, I see why the urgency.”
“Leave it,
Gem.”
“Just
saying. Give me a couple of weeks before you two get cited for public eye
shagging.” She gathered up her purse. “I think I’ll go see what Nick’s up to.”
I didn’t
even see which way she went because my attention was so focused on Abbie. And
as if she felt my eyes on her, she immediately looked up.
When our
gazes locked, need chased the elation through my veins. I’d only seen her
yesterday, but any time I spent away from her felt like eons. But it wasn’t
like I could really complain. She’d had work to do for my brother. I tried not
to think about what Xander had said about her. It didn’t matter what Xander thought.
I couldn’t stop seeing her.
She climbed
the stairs, her soft skirt swishing against her legs as she did. When she
reached the landing, she fixed me with a smile. “Fancy meeting you here.” She
looked around surreptitiously. “In a sex club.”
“Oh, is it
a sex club? I hadn’t noticed.” I grinned. “Nick’s idea.”
“Ahh, he
didn’t really strike me as the whips-and-chains kind of guy.” She shrugged.
For several
moments, we stood facing each other, neither moving, forcing anyone who wanted
access to the stairs to go around us. Finally, I angled my body a little closer
to her and said, “It’s one of his dad’s clubs. Do you want to go somewhere a
little more private… to talk?”
Her eyes
flashed. “Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “Talking seems like a really good
idea, actually.”
I took her
hand and led her through the throngs of the VIP section, past the dominatrix
with her victim for the night, and past the sex viewing rooms. She held on
tight to me as we passed by them.
“Are they
having…”
“Yeah.” As
much as I wanted to be with her, I hated having her here in the midst of all
the kink that was going on. “Maybe we should leave the club?”
“I—No. It’s
okay. We came as a group for Jasper’s gig tonight. Apparently, there’s some big
promoter here. Jasper’s hoping to get some representation tonight. We’re sort
of supporting him. Everyone would notice if I left.”
“Right.” Jasper.
Jasper might be my friend, but jealousy ate at me. I wanted her there to
support me. Of course, I’d have to tell her something real about myself first.
I found the private rooms, then after looking around to make sure no one paid
us any attention, I dragged her inside. Dim red light illuminated the
comfortable-looking couch and bed. Her eyes widened as she glanced around.
“This is… cozy.”
I kissed
her softly, and for a moment, all the tension ebbed out of my body. “I just
wanted to be alone with you for two minutes before things get crazy out there
and we don’t have a minute to talk all night.”
“No. It’s
fine.” She placed a hand on my chest, and my heart hammered. “I’d rather get a
minute with you, even if it’s in a sex room. I wanted to talk to you about
something.”
We’d spent
a lot of time together over the last week, but we hadn’t been alone.
Always out in public. Even the photo lab had been occupied when I’d gone to
help her. The one night we’d made a date for her to go to my place, she’d had
to do some schoolwork for Xander and rescheduled. The prick of guilt stung as I
thought of how badly her last critique had gone.
“Okay,
talk.” I kissed the crook of her neck and inhaled. Her perfume, mixed with her
unique scent, drove me a little crazy and made my head swim.
“Alexi, I
can’t—” She moaned when I licked her. “I can’t think when you’re doing that.”
“Okay,
sorry.” I drew back. “Sometimes I forget to slow down.”
She blinked
up at me and inhaled deeply. “Sometimes I don’t want you to.”
I stilled. What?
“I don’t understand.”
“Have you
noticed that even after we said we’d ease up on intensity we’ve been spending
every minute we can together?”
Something
ominous and slimy squirmed in my gut. “I thought that was a good thing.”
“It is.
Maybe we don’t need to take it quite so slow anymore.”
Relief
washed over me like a wave. As did panic. I was totally fucked. I was
completely in love with her. And there were things she still didn’t know about
me.
Also Available
Author Bio
USA Today Bestselling Author, NANA MALONE’s love of all
things romance and adventure started with a tattered romantic suspense she
borrowed from her cousin on a sultry summer afternoon in Ghana at a precocious
thirteen. She’s been in love with kick butt heroines ever since.
With her overactive imagination, and channeling her inner
Buffy, it was only a matter a time before she started creating her own
characters. Waiting for her chance at a job as a ninja assassin, Nana, meantime
works out her drama, passion and sass with fictional characters every bit as
sassy and kick butt as she thinks she is.
The books in her series have been on multiple Amazon Kindle
and Barnes & Noble best seller lists as well as the iTunes Breakout Books
list and most notably the USA Today Bestseller list.
Until that ninja job comes through, you’ll find Nana working
hard on additional books for her series as well as other fun, sassy romances
for characters that won’t leave her alone. And if she’s not working or hiding
in the closet reading, she’s acting out scenes for her husband, daughter and
puppy in sunny San Diego.
Want to hit me up? Just email me:
nana@nanamaloneromance.com
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