by Shayla Black
I don’t know anyone at all who broods quite like you, Zack.
He could hear Liz’s soft Southern voice teasing him. She was the one who often pulled him out of his broody moods. She was the one who made him look forward to waking up in the morning. She was certainly the one who’d made him look forward to the future. For so long, he’d been looking forward to formally dating her. After the campaign for his second term, he’d planned to do just that. He’d even thought about how nice it would be to have a White House wedding…and maybe a baby.
Now everything had changed. He was running away so he wouldn’t kill her.
No, he was running away because once Connor had brought the incriminating evidence to him, his first thought had been to drag Liz to his bed and teach her that she couldn’t betray him without consequences. He ached to tie her up and make sure she understood exactly who was in charge and that she would never be allowed to betray her country—or him—again. He’d thought about marrying her so he could remind her every night that she served at the pleasure of the president—and no one else—and always would for the rest of her life.
That would be a terrible mistake.
She was somewhere in the West Wing working with Gus, who thought Zack was the worst human being for mistreating her friend.
He was going to have to tell Gus to be careful of the people to whom she gave her trust.
Zack grabbed his cell phone, then pocketed it. Maybe he should call this weekend off, but he wasn’t going to. He needed this. And he owed his friends. They had elected to fight with and beside him. That meant getting all their ducks in a row before the Russians came at them again. Maybe they’d even mount an offense of their own.
He strode out of his room, nodding at people he passed down the hall. He moved quickly, not wanting to be drawn into conversation. He needed a glass of Scotch and the company of his pack.
Would they still be his friends if the worst about his past and his parentage proved true? Maybe it was silly to worry, but he did.
Thomas waited at the limo. “I’ll be driving you today, sir. And for the record, it’s been a pleasure to serve you. Don’t get the car too bloody.”
“Bloody?” Zack shook his head as he peered inside the open limo door to climb in. “What are you talking about?”
But Zack instantly saw that the backseat wasn’t empty. The lights from the car door illuminated a pair of expensive loafers and designer slacks in the otherwise dark car. Someone was sitting inside his limo.
A chill raced through him. “Thomas?”
“I hope you don’t fire me, sir. But respectfully, I insist you talk to him. It’s time.”
So Thomas was in on this conspiracy, too. He had wolves all around him—the kind in sheep’s clothing. They wouldn’t kill him, not today. They had plans for him, after all…
Better to get this over with. Maybe he would finally find out everything he needed to know. Information would certainly help him decide how best to fight back.
Zack climbed into the limo and sat, then turned to face his enemy, still sitting in shadow.
The outline of the face seemed eerily familiar. The shape of the nose. The piercing color of those eyes.
But that was impossible. Wasn’t it?
“Hey, buddy. Do you have any idea how good it is to be back in civilization? I’m done with the prepper shit, and no matter how hard I tried, there was nothing glamorous about glamping.” Maddox Crawford leaned forward, light shafting across his face. He held a crystal tumbler filled with Scotch and wore a jaunty smile. He looked a little older than he had a few short months ago, before his “funeral.” But he also looked utterly alive. “I’ve been living on freeze-dried crap, and Lara’s friend Freddy makes this rotgut whiskey that’s truly horrible.”
Zack blinked. “Mad?”
“In the flesh and even more handsome than before I died,” Mad shot back with a wink. “I’ve had time to perfect my skin care regime. You need some, buddy. You look like shit. Now let’s get down to business and talk about who’s trying to twist your balls and ruin this country because you have fucked this up terribly.”
Zack stared at his not-dead friend as the car pulled away from the White House. He grabbed Mad’s arm to make sure the guy was actually real. “I can’t believe it’s you. Where have you fucking been? How could you let us think you were dead? Why the hell—”
“I know. I know. But it’s all part of the conversation,” Mad assured. “Settle in. This won’t be easy.”
Zack’s mind whirled with possibilities and implications, but he grabbed a Scotch and sat back to listen. It was going to be an interesting, informative ride.
Zack, Liz, and the entire Perfect Gentlemen family (including Mad) will return in AT THE PLEASURE OF THE PRESIDENT in Fall 2018!
MORE THAN WANT YOU
More Than Words, Book 1
By Shayla Black
NOW AVAILABLE!
Click here to purchase
A fresh, sexy, and emotional contemporary romance series by Shayla Black…
I’m Maxon Reed—real estate mogul, shark, asshole. If a deal isn’t high profile and big money, I pass. Now that I’ve found the property of a lifetime, I’m jumping. But one tenacious bastard stands between me and success—my brother. I’ll need one hell of a devious ploy to distract cynical Griff. Then fate drops a luscious redhead in my lap who’s just his type.
Sassy college senior Keeley Kent accepts my challenge to learn how to become Griff’s perfect girlfriend. But somewhere between the makeover and the witty conversation, I’m having trouble resisting her. The quirky dreamer is everything I usually don’t tolerate. But she’s beyond charming. I more than want her; I’m desperate to own her. I’m not even sure how drastic I’m willing to get to make her mine—but I’m about to find out.
This book is the first in the More Than Words series. The books are companions, not serials, meaning that backstory, secondary characters, and other elements will be easier to relate to if you read the installments in order, but the main romance of each book is a stand-alone.
This book contains lines that may make you laugh, events that may make you cry, and scenes that will probably have you squirming in your seat. Don’t worry about cliffhangers or cheating. HEA guaranteed! (Does not contain elements of BDSM or romantic suspense.)
* * * *
“This will be our last song for the set. If you have requests, write them down and leave them in the jar.” She points to the clear vessel at her feet. “We’ll be back to play in thirty. If you have a dirty proposition, I’ll entertain them at the bar in five.” She says the words like she’s kidding.
I, however, am totally serious.
Keeley starts her next song, a more recent pop tune, in a breathy, a capella murmur. “Can’t keep my hands to myself.”
She taps her thigh in a rhythm only she can hear until the band joins during the crescendo to the chorus. Keeley bounces her way through the lyrics with a flirty smile. It’s both alluring and fun, a tease of a song.
Though I rarely smile, I find myself grinning along.
As she finishes, I glance around. There’s more than one hungry dog with a bone in this damn bar.
I didn’t get ahead in business or life by being polite or waiting my turn. She hasn’t even wrapped her vocal cords around the last note but I’m on my feet and charging across the room.
I’m the first one to reach the corner of the bar closest to the stage. I prop my elbow on the slightly sticky wood to claim my territory, then glare back at the three other men who think they should end Keeley’s supposed sex drought. They are not watering her garden, and my snarl makes that clear.
One sees my face, stops in his tracks, and immediately backs off. Smart man.
Number Two looks like a smarmy car salesman. He rakes Keeley up and down with his gaze like she’s a slab of beef, but she’s flirting my way as she tucks her mic on its stand. I smile back.
She’s not really my type, but man, I’d love to
hit that.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch the approaching dirtbag finger his porn ‘stouche. To stake my claim, I reach out to help Keeley off the stage. She looks pleasantly surprised by my gesture as she wraps her fingers around mine.
I can be a gentleman…when it suits me.
Fuck, she’s warm and velvety, and her touch makes my cock jolt. Her second would-be one-night stand curses then slinks back to his seat.
That leaves me to fend off Number Three. He looks like a WWE reject—hulking and hit in the face too many times. If she prefers brawn over brains, I’ll have to find another D-cup distraction for Griff.
That would truly suck. My gut tells me Keeley is perfect for the job.
Would it be really awful if I slept with her before I introduced her to my brother?
Love Another Day
Masters and Mercenaries, Book 14
By Lexi Blake
NOW AVAILABLE!
Click here to purchase
A man born to protect
After a major loss, Brody Carter found a home with the London office of McKay-Taggart. A former soldier, he believes his job is to take the bullets and follow orders. He’s happy to take on the job of protecting Dr. Stephanie Gibson while the team uses her clinic in Sierra Leone to bring down an international criminal. What he never expected was that the young doctor would prove to be the woman of his dreams. She’s beautiful, smart, and reckless. Over and over he watches her risk her life to save others. One night of pure passion leads him to realize that he can’t risk his heart again. When the mission ends, Brody walks away, unwilling to lose another person he loves.
A woman driven to heal
Stephanie’s tragic past taught her to live for today. Everything she’s done in the last fifteen years has been to make up for her mistakes. Offering medical care in war-torn regions gives her the purpose she needs to carry on. When she meets her gorgeous Aussie protector, she knows she’s in too deep, but nothing can stop her from falling head over heels in love. But after one amazing night together, Brody walks away and never looks back. Stephanie is left behind…but not alone.
A secret that will change both their lives
A year later, Stephanie runs afoul of an evil mercenary who vows to kill her for failing to save his son. She runs to the only people she trusts, Liam and Avery O’Donnell. She hasn’t come alone and her secret will bring her former lover across the world to protect her. From Liberia to Dallas, Brody will do whatever it takes to protect Stephanie from the man who wants to kill her, but it might be her own personal demons that could destroy them both.
* * * *
“Somehow I think the subs at The Garden took care of you. It’s all right, Brody. We weren’t together. It was one night and it didn’t change anything.”
One hand tugged the band out of her hair, spilling it across her shoulders. “I think the baby sleeping in the next room is evidence that night changed everything. And I’m trying to tell you that I haven’t had another woman since I left you. I wasn’t off gallivanting around and forgetting you. I spent every moment of our time away from each other miserable as hell. So let that towel drop and give me what I’ve only seen in my dreams for a year. Let me see you.”
She wasn’t sure why she did it, but her feet moved. She stepped back, putting a small but critical distance between them as her hands floated up and she dropped the towel.
The offering of a submissive to her chosen Dominant.
The towel hit the floor and she felt herself flush. She wasn’t as pretty as she’d been the first time. Now she had stretch marks that spoke of her pregnancy. Her belly was still rounded, her breasts not as firm.
“Stop it,” he said. “Don’t you think about anything but how the air feels on your skin. Don’t you think about how you look. I’ll tell you what I see. I see the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. I see that my dreams of her were nothing compared to the real thing. She’s stunning and my heart aches at the thought of her not understanding how beautiful she is.”
“Brody, I still haven’t lost the weight I gained with Nate,” she said, trying not to let his words affect her too much. She was already on the verge of tears, and she’d cried enough.
“You get one,” he said, his voice deep. “One time I’ll let you get away with saying something like that, but now you know the rule. You are beautiful and thinking or saying anything else about yourself will end in discipline.”
“You can’t control my thoughts.” But she could feel her lips curling up at the very arrogance of him thinking he could. This was the Brody she’d fallen for. She’d known his larger-than-life, damn the torpedoes attitude had been half truth and half cover, but she’d adored it when he would walk in, take control, and do something or say something ridiculously over the top to make her day better.
“Watch me,” he replied. “After I’ve spanked the hell out of that gorgeous arse a dozen times, you won’t think that way again. I’ll tie you up and torture you until you agree with me that you’re the most gorgeous woman on the earth.”
“Fine, I’m gorgeous.” She didn’t believe it, but standing here felt weird. “Shouldn’t you get undressed? Or did you change your mind?”
His eyes roamed over her body, not missing an inch. “I didn’t change my mind at all. I told you how this is going to be. The first time we did this, I let you push me.”
“The first time we did this, you didn’t want to.”
His eyes narrowed. “You know damn well that’s not true. Turn around and put your hands on the side of the tub.”
“Why would I…” The answer hit her with the force of a steam engine. “You want to spank me?”
It should have come out in that horrified, I’m-a-feminist, shocked tone she often used when a random asshole told her she was cute to think she could be a doctor but they would prefer to see a man for their medical needs. Nope. It came out all breathy and porny. The porny part might have been because when she watched porn—rarely—she gravitated toward the movies where the big, dominant man spanked his lover to orgasm.
Which likely was a myth. Like most porn.
“Yes, and every second you make me wait is another smack to that pretty arse of yours.” His hands were on his hips, his jaw squared as he looked her over. “If you push me too hard, I’ll find a way to clamp your nipples and then I’ll spank you.”
What was she doing? She was standing here naked with a man who’d broken her heart once already.
“Tell me you don’t want to know what it feels like.” His voice had lost its harsh edge, sliding into silky smoothness. “Tell me you don’t want to try it once. You’re the woman who was brave enough to get on your knees and present yourself to me like the sweetest treat I’ve ever been offered. Do what I’m asking. You can always stop me. One word will work tonight. No is all I need to hear. If you say that, then I’ll get you dressed and I’ll sleep beside you so you know you’re safe. But I think you’re braver than that. I think you’re still a woman who knows what she wants.”
About Shayla Black
Shayla Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty novels. For nearly twenty years, she’s written contemporary, erotic, paranormal, and historical romances via traditional, independent, foreign, and audio publishers. Her books have sold millions of copies and been published in a dozen languages.
Raised an only child, Shayla occupied herself with lots of daydreaming, much to the chagrin of her teachers. In college, she found her love for reading and realized that she could have a career publishing the stories spinning in her imagination. Though she graduated with a degree in Marketing/Advertising and embarked on a stint in corporate America to pay the bills, her heart has always been with her characters. She’s thrilled that she’s been living her dream as a full-time author for the past eight years.
Shayla currently lives in North Texas with her wonderfully supportive husband, her teenage daughter, and two spoiled tabbies. In her “free” ti
me, she enjoys reality TV, reading, and listening to an eclectic blend of music.
Connect with me online:
Website
VIP Reader Newsletter
Facebook Author Page
Facebook Book Beauties Chat Group
Instagram
Twitter
Google +
Amazon Author
BookBub
Goodreads
YouTube
If you enjoyed this book, please review it or recommend it to others so they can find it, too.
Keep in touch by engaging with me through one of the links above. Subscribe to my VIP Readers newsletter for exclusive excerpts and hang out in my Facebook Book Beauties group for live weekly video chats. I love talking to readers!
About Lexi Blake
Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places. Lexi believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome or foursome may seem. She also writes contemporary Western ménage as Sophie Oak.
Connect with Lexi online:
Facebook: Lexi Blake
Twitter: authorlexiblake
Website: www.LexiBlake.net
Sign up for Lexi's free newsletter here.
Also from Shayla Black
Click to purchase
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
MORE THAN WORDS