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Secrets never stay in the dark…

Charlie wanted to succeed in her career at all costs. She was even willing to sacrifice her love for it. Like a thief in the night she sneaks out of Reeece’s arms, leaving with his heart. Only to appear six years later with secret she couldn’t tell him.

He proposed and she said yes, he didn’t understand why she would leave him behind. Reece spends six years trying to discover Charlie’s reasons of abandoning him just as their lives were set to begin together. Then one day he comes face to face with Olivia, a five year old girl who loves keeping secrets.

Will Charlie confess or will a little girl’s innocence sell her out?

Get your free read! SECRETS

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A wife for hire, turned into his most precious possession.

Drew had to annul his marriage hours after he said I do, when he found his wife and best man in a compromising position. In order to claim his inheritance he needs to find a wife in just a month.

Falling in love with sleeping beauty.

Piper first saw him in the ER after a gruesome accident, she watched over him for several days, finding something new to love about him each day. So when he finally wakes up and asks her to marry him, she obviously said yes. Piper just didn’t know that this fairy tale, didn’t necessarily end with a Happily Ever After.

Get your free read! BROKEN HEARTS

SECRETS

“No touching, Corisi,” she hissed as she placed her nine millimeter gun on the desk. It wasn’t fancy, but the diamond encrusted hilt made her look the part. She shot the man a loaded look, fierce with all the warnings that words weren’t needed. “I’m here to count your money, not play French maid with you. Put your junk back in your pants and your money on the table.”

She walked around the desk, letting him take her all in before she hid behind the iron desk. Her white bandage dress hugged her curves and stopped a few inches under her round ass. Her long chocolate legs led into white pumps with metal studs at the heel. And up north her tongue swept over her thick glossed lips, as her long hair cascaded into curls down her back. She wanted to keep the meeting professional, so besides the light mascara and the golden brown eye shadow that enhanced her deep brown eyes her bandage dress had sleeves and a popped collar.

Charlie knew she looked seductive, almost edible; sex on stilettos was what Corisi called her. A woman needed to use her advantages in this male-populated business. Plus, having Alexandra Corisi lusting after her was the only way she would stay alive, be protected, and last in this game. Alexandra never handled this sort of business face to face. He had many deputies to do it for him. But when he heard of his new accountant – the sexy siren – he had come to get a glimpse of her himself. Her job was now her life and she had sacrificed the love of a good man to get here. She didn’t care what it took to get the job done at this point. She would have her day and the sweet taste of victory would come when she took the Corisi family down.

“Amore, how do you expect me to keep my hands to myself when you look so…” he hissed as he took in a deep breath, “so delicious.”

“I’m not a dessert, Corisi.” Her lips curved into a sly smile. The lord of the underworld liked his women nice and easy; that was why he discarded them soon after a short affair. She wanted to keep up the chase but she had to be smart about it. Getting him aggravated and worked up only to turn him down time and time again would only make him angry. And everyone who knew Alexandra Corisi knew he was dangerous when he was angry.

“Money on the table,” she ordered. “I have a busy schedule today, Corisi. You are not my only client.”

“I want to be.” He gave her a sly smile. “I want to own you exclusively.”

Alexandria Corisi was well over six feet tall; he had a heartbreaking smile and eyes that could lure the devil to the light, only to take his throne in the underworld. His jet black hair hung to his jaw, accentuating how strong he looked. His body was packed with muscle and he dressed to perfection in only the best. He commanded all the drug dens in the Washington State. Having conquered that world, Corisi had soon graduated to trading ammunition and nuclear weapons with terrorist cells in the country and internationally. That was why she was here.

She took a good look at him one more time, shaking her head at what a waste his beauty was. If he wasn’t the devil and if she wasn’t in love with someone else, Charlie might have cast her net in his direction.

“Let me guess, you want this to go to your charities,” she asked without looking up at him. His ‘charities’ were just shell organizations he used to launder his money.

He nodded. Alexandra pulled out a chair and sat across from her. He waved his men away and once they had left he leaned towards her. “I want you all to myself. Amore, I want you to be mine.”

“No one owns me.” Charlie leaned back in her chair and gave him a challenging gaze.

“Your eyes do things to me. It’s a temptation for me to come here and be so business-like with you, when all I want-”

“Corisi!” she barked, waning off his advances.

“The way you say my name, it makes my soul tremble.” A sly grin claimed his lips.

“I was not aware you had one.” Charlie stood up and walked towards the door, beckoning him to follow. “Corisi, I don’t mix my business with my personal life.”

“Then we don’t have to do business,” he offered as he stood and turned towards her.

Charlie panicked, regretting her last words. But she tried to recover from it. “There is no guarantee I’ll want to see you after our business is over.”

“Give me a few weeks to find a new accountant, then you and me, amore, we will be lovers.”

He tried to kiss her lips, but Charlie turned away, making him kiss her jaw. She pushed him out, shut the door behind him, and moved to the window. She watched as he and his men occupied three black range rovers and drove off.

“What the hell was that, Montgomery?” Charlie winced as the angry bellow pierced her eardrums.

“I’m sorry about that, Captain, but trust me on this one. There is no way Alexandra Corisi is going to let me slip away.” Charlie pulled her ear piece out when the man’s voice went from reprimanding to hysterical. She twisted the ring on her finger.

“The stress is going to kill him,” she mumbled as she thought of a new plan.

Charlie changed into a t-shirt and jeans that night. She wanted some time off from the tight clothes and insanely high shoes. Besides she had to meet her contacts. The task force on the Corisi family was wide. She wanted her boyfriend to join: that way he could keep an eye on her and she could have him close. But the captain disagreed, saying it would affect her judgments and work. This was her big break and she hoped the love of her life would understand.

But Charlie was relieved about one thing, her DCPD contact was married to one of the people her boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend, worked closely with. She would get the briefing about how he was doing from him. Once the meeting ended, she asked David to hang back for a while.

“Go ahead and ask,” David said as he took a swig of his beer.

“How is Jenny doing?” She was going to ease into it.

“Jenny is awesome. Morgan, however, isn’t doing that well.” David gave her a punishing look.

“I had to take this chance. If I had let it go, I wouldn’t have forgiven myself. Then what good would that be, for both of us?” she tried to convince him. She had used the same speech on herself countless times. It only managed to make her feel better for a couple of seconds.

“Keep telling yourself that.” He groaned when she winced in pain. It would have hurt less if David had just landed a punch squarely on her jaw. “It’s been a month. Give him another and he’ll be over you. He’s a good looking guy, he’ll rebound.”

“Don’t I know it?” Charlie took a sip of her beer then a gulp before she emptied the contents of the bottle. She wished she could get totally plastered, but she would end up calling Morgan and spilling her guts. Alexandra had moles in the Bureau, and although she knew Morgan wasn’t one of them, there was no telling who he would confide in. The next couple of days, weeks, months or years were now leased to Homeland Security. Until the day they put the whole Corisi clan in jail, she could do nothing.

“Morgan just doesn’t understand. When this is over he will, and he’ll probably forgive you.”

“Probably?” she asked with a bitter chuckle.

“Probably he will kick your ass first, I can guarantee that, but he’ll forgive you,” David said as he squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“Did you tell Jenny yet?”

“Nope, I can’t. The Captain threatened to take away my gun and badge and throw me in jail for treason,” he moaned.

“It’s going to be a lot worse when your wife finds out, especially since she has a license to carry a loaded weapon.” Charlie laughed. “She’ll just shoot you one night and profile you to be a mad man whose violence stemmed from the fact he wasn’t held enough as a child.”

“And that I snapped when she announced she was pregnant.”

“What?” Charlie asked in disbelief. She jumped off her chair and gave her companion a bear hug. “You finally did it. You finally knocked her up.”

“Did you doubt me?” he asked.

“For a minute there I did.”

“Don’t worry; my gun is loaded and ready to fire at will.” David laughed and Charlie found herself envying his happiness.

#

Charlie cursed herself when she heard that Corisi was shopping for a new accountant. There was nothing she could do as his mistress and plenty as his accountant. She was getting all his bank records and one day she knew he would trust her enough to give her the accounts to the terrorist cell. Then she would nail him, and go back to what she hoped were Morgan’s open arms. She sat behind her desk this time in a red suit. She wanted to look seductive, but businesslike; somehow she was going to keep Corisi’s business.

“Amore,” he called to her, his arms opened wide. But Charlie didn’t stand up. Instead, she felt a repulsive need to hurl boiling up from the pits of her stomach.

“What’s that in your hand?” she asked as she nodded at the foil wrap in his hand.

“It’s my balogna sandwich. A guy has to eat sometime.” He smiled.

“Throw it out the door, the smell is making me nauseous,” she barked out as she pulled out his ledger book.

“You seem in a foul mood today.” She almost laughed at the concerned look on his face. “What is it, my love?”

“You are ruining my business, Corisi,” she snipped. “Word on the street is that you’re looking for a new man for your books. My other clients are getting skittish and threatening to leave me. I won’t let you ruin my business, Corisi. I have worked long and hard to get to where I am.”

“I want you in my bed more than I want you handling my business.” He took a seat and leaned back in the chair. “So what if you lose a few clients.”

Charlie pulled out her gun and walked over to where Corisi sat. She saw his men move forward but she knew they wouldn’t hurt her, not without his say so. Alexandra’s look of intrigue and amusement told her he had other things in mind.  Charlie stood before him, leaned to grab the chair right in between his legs, and pulled it towards her. She craned her neck and saw his bodyguards take a step towards them. Alex raised his finger, stopping them from approaching any further.

The barrel of her gun pushed against the pulse point in his neck. “Listen to me, you bastard, I will kill you first. Believe me when I say spilling a little blood for all the money I get doesn’t keep me awake at night. I’ll kill you then get your brother to do business with me. Neither of us will miss you or your pretty face.”

“My brother would never betray me.” Alexandra leaned into the gun, making it push against his skin deeper. Charlie could see the desire burn deep in his eyes. The disgusting bastard was getting off on her threat.

Charlie raised her foot and settled it where her hand was, exposing the luxurious flesh of her thigh. She leaned closer to him and put a kiss on his lips as she watched how his eyes looked hungrily at her. “You want to bet?” She straightened and pushed his chair back with her foot.

“You are not going to resist me forever, bon bon,” he said in a hiss.

“That’s what they all say,” she said as she took a seat. “Money on the table, boys.”

#

Charlie could feel her head start to spin. The morning sickness was beginning to wear her down. She paced back and forth as the alarm notified her that her three minutes were up. She was nervous, she didn’t want to know and yet this eddy excitement danced in her womb.

“Shit!” she cursed. Taking out her secure line she called the only person she knew would help. “Daddy, I’m in trouble.”

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ONCE UPON A PLAYBOY

His life was like a fairy tale, and this was how it read: Once Upon a Playboy

It just didn’t end like one—at least it hadn’t yet. There was still hope.

Maybe.

If he’d only known how much trouble his wandering eye and equally eager penis would get him into, DJ might have done things a little differently. He had been trying to run away from his father’s deception and had ended up just like him—in fact, even worse. His decisions, his unwise choices, were what had brought him to this moment, alone, in a hospital waiting room, worrying his thumbs. DJ had a never-ending prayer dancing on his tongue.

“It’s going to be okay…it’s going to be okay.” He had been telling himself this for two years now, and he had yet to believe it. Karma, that was the issue here. It was a formidable foe to him and a friend to everyone else. Look at everyone in his life. Lisette and his big brother Reno had managed to survive a betrayal that had once ripped their love apart and, four kids later, they were more in love than ever. AJ had managed to put down his playboy badge and be a loyal and faithful husband to Katherine. And Catalella…that girl had gone through a bad marriage and cancer and, as her reward for good karma, she’d gotten a wonderful husband and two babies.

This, however, was where all his bad karma brought him—to the hospital, his clothes covered in blood, the woman he loved in surgery, and shame oozing out of each and every one of his pores.

“Mr. Kent?”

DJ jumped to his feet at the sound of the nurse’s voice. He stared at her, his heart beating a mile a minute. His breath caught in his chest and an eerie fear claimed his heart.

“She’s not dead, is she? She can’t die again. I can’t lose her again.”

“Calm down, sir. Your wife is out of surgery. She is in recovery. I was wondering if you wanted to call your family. I could do that for you.”

Her family was his family. One thing was for sure, however. If her brother found out why she was in the hospital in the first place, it would be the end of him. But DJ couldn’t keep this from them any longer. Soon it would be all over the news, and if any one of them stopped by his apartment, the swaths of yellow tape would tip them off.

“Do you mind doing that for me?” he asked.

“Not at all. For now, would you like to see your son?”

I have a son. DJ knew everything he needed to know about babies. It was something he had learned for his love. The

moment she’d told him she wanted a child, he’d moved Heaven and Earth to make sure he obliged her. It was the least he could do, considering that it was his fault they had lost their first child.

“Yes, I would like that.” Maybe after seeing their son, DJ hoped, he would be allowed to see his wife. He could tell her about their son, gush about the little things, like his toes and who he looked like. He wanted those moments; he was desperate for them. If only his trip to Nice had turned out differently. The city had brought him so much love and, in return, DJ had given it pain and betrayal.

DJ walked into the NICU, not knowing what to expect and yet preparing himself for the worst. The nurse made him wear a gown, gloves, and a mask. He was dressed like someone going into a biohazard zone and not like a father going to meet his son for the first time. His eyes fixed on the swaying, dark ponytail at the back of the nurse’s head. DJ moved slowly, and when she walked into the high-dependency room, he froze at the door. Fear, that was what had him rooted to the spot. But then he urged himself forward, reminding himself that, at that moment, he was the only parent his son had. He had to do this for the baby, and for Eyve.

He followed the nurse to an incubator that looked more like a bread bin. And in that pod of life was a tiny baby hooked on to so many wires and tubes. His son was a few weeks premature, but this wasn’t what he’d expected. DJ had thought he would see a very pink, large boy, screaming his lungs out and giving the nurses a hard time because he was just so lively, because he was a Kent. However, the baby he saw before him was pale and, apart from the small rise and fall of his chest, he didn’t move at all. His eyes were taped closed. His foot had an IV line taped to it, and there were wires that started from his chest and ended at a beeping machine next to his pod. His head was covered in a blue beanie, and his bum in a diaper three times his size.

DJ had always dreamed in detail about the moment that his and Eyve’s child would come into this world. Happiness,

joy, and excitement: those were the words he’d thought he would use to describe this moment. Instead, it was just fear.

This was his fault. The universe was punishing him for his sins.

* * * *

Eyve smacked her mouth, trying to get rid of the cotton-ball taste and sensation. The sterile scent that assaulted her nostrils told her that she was in a hospital. The pain in her belly echoed her worst fear. She had lost her baby…yet again. Maybe it wasn’t her fate to carry a child of her own. However, she had managed to deliver DJ’s son and bring him into the world. DJ’s son was her son, not born from her womb but as good as her flesh and blood. After the accident, Eyve knew that carrying a baby was a near impossibility, words her doctors had echoed to her time and time again. But she had proved them wrong. A night of passion, love, and madness had resulted in a baby boy, cradled in her belly. Yet this miracle had only brought a new problem.

Eyve had blown into New York like a hurricane, intent upon destruction and vengeance. She wanted revenge against her brother, her so-called father and, most of all, the man she had given her love, her heart, and almost her life to. His cavalier and reckless handling of her love had resulted in the death of their first child. It was rational that she would want another to replace the one lost. But Eyve should have known that life wasn’t that easy, that love was a war she wasn’t equipped to fight.

Dennis Rogers Kent…a curse and a blessing. During their courtship, she had only known him as Dennis Rogers, a photographer with a weakness for beautiful girls. Dennis Rogers, in turn, knew her as Eyvette Rosalind Ross, the only child born to her mother, Elizabeth McCreery, a redheaded Irish widow who had a tongue that matched the color of her hair. Eyve knew nothing about her father—well, nothing except the fact that he was black. Eyvette had been a meek little girl, green to the ways of men and those of the world as a whole. She had been sheltered by her mother and, although she had rebelled against it at an early age, she wished she had stayed under her mother’s wing.

Look what her desire to experience life had left her: two children dead. Two pregnancies, with nothing to show for it. A man who was no doubt at the bedside of his mistress and the child she had borne him, while Eyve lay here in pain, both physical and emotional. Her soul had been torn to shreds by his actions, and he didn’t even see fit to come and see her for a second. Eyvette had walked away once before, and she was sure she could do it again. Maybe, just maybe, the loss of her children was God’s way of telling her that she didn’t need to be tied to Dennis Kent. Dear Lord, she prayed that there was a reason why she was doomed to face two great tragedies in one lifetime.

She would walk away again, just as she had once before.

A knock on the door pulled Eyvette out of her memory. She dried her wet cheeks and cleared her throat of any noticeable emotions and said, “Come in.”

DJ stepped in, his expression as tortured as Eyve’s. The uncertainty in his eyes grabbed her attention. Never in her life had she seen Dennis Kent ever doubt himself. His ego and pride always seemed to be at the forefront—like they were their own personalities in physical form and they would precede him each time he walked into a room.

Was DJ’s uncertainty a sign of remorse? Or maybe he was mourning their dead child. Either way, she couldn’t bear looking at him. Eyve stared at the wall, trying not to picture how her children would have looked if they had lived. No doubt they would resemble their father, with dark, thick hair from their grandmother’s Italian heritage. She was sure they would get her dark skin. She would never get to see them, or who they would grow to look like most. Unless she held a séance, but she didn’t know of any practicing witches or mediums. This was a crazy and desperate thought, even for her.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“I came to see how you are doing,” DJ said.

The warmth from his body radiated into her when he placed his hand over hers. For a second, Eyve almost let that warmth deceive her, like it had done throughout that year. She pulled away, not in the right frame of mind to engage her head in a war against her heart. A war it would most definitely lose.

“I’m great.”

“You just had surgery, so I guess you are in pain or…discomfort?”

“Despite stating the obvious, why are you here?” Eyve turned to him, looking past his glassy eyes as she held on to the anger gnawing at her heart.

“Do you remember the day we met?”

Did she? That day played over and over in her head. DJ had sat at a table at the café she worked at, having his breakfast alfresco. His jet black hair curled at the base of his head. His five-o’clock shadow enhanced the piercing honey brown color of his eyes. His olive skin made a huge contrast to the white flannel sweater he wore. Eyve had been watching him, obsessively studying him for a moment, when he’d turned his smile to her. To this day, she could not put in exact words how she had felt. Her heart had blossomed, like a rosebud under the gentle caress of the sun’s rays. He smiled…dear God, did he smile. The warmth of it took over his face, crow’s feet forming at the corners of his eyes, and his full, kissable lips held their frame just for her. She melted right there and then. Eyve found herself in the palm of his hand, malleable clay for him to manipulate however he wanted.

“I was a foolish, little girl, chérie. I promise that will never happen again.”

“When I first saw you, you reminded me of someone—Catalella.”

“Uh, yes! Who could forget the childhood crush that led your fancies to be hooked on me?”

“You could never be Catalella and she could never be you. You have a sweetness that she could never manage. You could charm a snake.” He chuckled.

“And so I did.”

“The first thing I remember about you is your eyes. They called to me in a way I thought impossible. Love at first sight was a myth I had heard about and an ailment I was determined not to catch. The sun’s rays fell with romantic affection—”

“—upon my glowing face? Yes, I know. You told me before.”

“You left me breathless.”

“Apparently not, because you lived to wreak havoc on my life and destroy the lives of those I loved more than my own life…including yours.” Since the day she’d met him, Eyve knew one thing. DJ was his own worst enemy, and his father’s past was a cross he shouldered through every stoic mile of his life.

“You reached into me in my darkest hour and pulled me into the light.”

“No.” Eyve pushed herself into a sitting position and cried out when her belly felt like it had ripped open. “It is you who reached into the light—my light—and pulled me into the bottomless pit of darkness. I used to smile every day, for no apparent reason. It used to infuriate my maman, but I was happy just being alive. Now, facing each day is a struggle. The darkness haunts me.”

“Catalella says—”

“Yes, her. A woman I have so much in common with, from my last name, hair, skin tone and our failure in taking control of our own lives. It infuriates me that my life is so much like hers, and she is happy while I am…not.” Eyve watched as DJ cringed within himself. “Shame has taken the shape of a man I am in love with.”

* * * *

DJ missed the sweet girl he’d met at a cafe in Nice. Her soft, emerald eyes, and a pout he desperately wanted to kiss. Eyve had no mean words in her dictionary. She put other people’s well-being ahead of her own. That girl had died that night…

Three years ago, Eyve had faced him with a declaration that had sent fear rocking through his very soul.

I’m pregnant.

DJ knew the pain of abandonment. His father was always working. Empire first, was his motto. His brother and sister had been abandoned. Reno’s scars always kept him wary of their father, and their sister…she had been stolen in the dead of the night and had yet to be found.

It took him a split second, that night, to decide his next move. He wasn’t going to become his father. He wouldn’t subject his child to the same hatred, betrayal, and loneliness that had accompanied Reno for the majority of his life. DJ ran out of his apartment without his shirt and shoes. He chased Eyvette’s car down the road, and reached it just in time to see her skip the red light—and a truck take out her Porsche.

No…no… No! The whisper had become a scream as he dropped to his knees and buried his face in his hands. The ache remained, even now, but how could he make her see?

“I thought you had died that night. I’m not just talking about your good nature. I thought your life had ended and, in so many ways, mine had too.”

“I think that would have been a far better choice than what I am going through now.”

“Why did you come to New York?” DJ had asked her this so many times. And each time she had deflected with an excuse or a recount of how much he had hurt her and didn’t deserve to ask any questions. However, he hoped that she had come back to town for him, because she loved him and didn’t want him thinking that she had died.

“You want to know why I came to New York? I’ll tell you. We can sit here and swap stories of what we have been up to since you left Nice.”

“If that is what you want.”

“But first I have to ask, what happened to Ava?”

“Ava is gone. She isn’t coming back. What happened after the accident?”

“Healing…physically, that is,” Eyve said as she turned her back to him.

Five years ago

DJ swirled the gold liquid in his whisky glass before throwing his head back and swallowing it in one gulp. He hissed as it burned on its way down, warming his insides. He got up from his chair and poured himself another glass.

“Don’t you think that’s enough?” his father, Dennis, Senior, asked.

DJ looked up at the old man. For all his life, he had hero-worshipped him. Looking at him now, he didn’t see the man who’d raised him, the father who had given him everything he could ever need or want. DJ had fashioned his life to be just like his father. The only difference between them, he had thought, was DJ’s healthy appetite for women. However, DJ had learned a new truth. He looked at the other man in the room—sun-kissed skin, a tribal tattoo that traveled up his arm and peeked from the collar of his T-shirt, and a face that was so much like his own. How could it not be? DJ was staring at Reno Kanaloa Kent, the first born son of Dennis Kent and Kono Kanaloa… the brother he had never known.

All his life, DJ had felt the weight, the burden, of being the first born. He had been taught that the family business and welfare would all be dependent on him someday. He was supposed to become the patriarch. That was, until a tidal wave had rolled in from Hawaii to the shores of New York, and instantly, that burden had been taken from him. A different man, probably a lesser man, would have been threatened by this. However, DJ couldn’t be happier. He had someone to share the family responsibilities with, a confidant, and a big brother.

“DJ, I said don’t you think that’s enough?” Dennis asked once more.

“I don’t think that you are in a position to tell me what enough is.” DJ threw back another shot and filled his glass once more. “Reno is twenty-eight years old. You have lied to my mother…or did you know?”

“Of course not!” Issadora exclaimed. “Do you think I would let my children’s siblings live on the other side of the country without looking into their welfare? Do you think I would have left your sister to whatever fate she is in now?”

“I’m here…no, wait, you must be talking about the other sister. The one father abandoned and who has now disappeared. Her name is Rayne, right?” Daniela slurred her words.

“I think you should be telling Daniela what enough is,” DJ said as he sat back down.

He was just about to tip the glass and drink the remainder of its contents when Reno spoke up. “DJ, that’s enough.” DJ’s hand froze with the glass on his lips. He wasn’t sure if Reno’s massive size, or that he was his elder brother and he had formed some immediate respect for the man, made him put the glass down.

“We need clear heads if we are going to discuss this. Daniela, I think you should go to your room,” Reno said.

“You won’t tell me what to do.” Daniela pouted.

“Go!” Reno’s cool but firm tone didn’t get any arguments from Daniela. “We’ll talk about what it is that you are taking, and figure out a way to deal with it together as a family.”

DJ was in awe as Daniela left the room without a tantrum. “I could have used your help for the past seventeen years. Oh! That’s right. I couldn’t because our father abandoned you.”

“DJ, it wasn’t that simple.”

“It wasn’t? Because to me, it does sound simple. Take care of your children. You abandoned them and now my sister is gone.”

“Don’t you think I know that? No one in this room is as tortured about Rayne’s disappearance as much as I am!” Dennis shouted.

“I think Reno is. He was six years old when his sister was stolen from her bed and sold by her junkie mother. The one person who should have been there for him, wasn’t.”

“I know the consequences my actions brought.” Dennis’ chest heaved as he sank into an arm chair. “I went to Hawaii for some time off, a boy’s trip. Do you think I expected to meet the only woman I would ever love?”

DJ saw his mother visibly flinch and immediately felt sorry for her. As much as he would want to steer the conversation away from Kono, there was no way he could. Dennis and Kono—that was the genesis of the story, and the truth would only be clear if they started from the beginning.

“I don’t expect you to understand that, DJ, leaping from one bed to another like you do,” Dennis said bitterly. “I was in love with a beautiful, island girl. She was everything I ever wanted in a woman…strong, gentle, supportive, and determined to face every day with a smile. And when Reno was born, I thought I could never be happier. This was the family I always wanted. My family.”

“But I guess money was more important than family.” The steel in Reno’s tone slashed through the room.

“I was going to give it all up. I did for a few months. But my father froze my accounts and the money I earned as a bartender couldn’t support us. Do you know how demeaning it is for a man not to be able to provide for his family? So I came back to New York. I didn’t tell my father about my son. I told him that Kono and I were done. I worked at the firm and every two weeks I would fly out to Hawaii to see my family.”

“Is that where you went? Issadora asked. “You told me you were going for business trips.”

“How did my mother fit in all this?” The look on his mother’s face tore DJ’s heart to shreds. She had been lied to,

used to disguise his father’s true intentions.

“My father wanted an alliance with her family. We dated, then got married, then had you and your sister.”

“So if you were here with Mother, and with Kono and Reno, when did you decide the double life was too much for you?”

“Before you were born. Father had just threatened to disown me. And I knew that I wouldn’t be able to provide for Reno and Kono if I didn’t stay in his…good graces.” Dennis let out a labored sigh. “I came back to New York and I made good with your mother.”

“What do you mean?” DJ asked.

“I went back to Hawaii and Kono told me she was pregnant. Then your mother called me to tell me she was expecting you. Issadora’s family was influential and could have ruined mine. So I made a decision.”

“So it was my fault,” DJ cut into his father’s story. He couldn’t believe it. The start of his life had led to the end of so many.

“It’s not,” Reno and Dennis said in unison, the one thing that they both seemed to agree on. Too bad DJ didn’t. “What he means to say is that marrying into your mother’s family money was more important than his poor family on the island.”

“It was my fault,” Issadora spoke up, her voice shaking. “I knew that your father wouldn’t commit without a push. So I got pregnant intentionally.”

“So he was sleeping with both of you at the same time.”

“You’re one to judge,” Dennis scoffed.

“The difference between you and me is that I wear a condom each time. Or wasn’t it invented when you were making your rounds?”

DJ had never seen his father as angry as he was now. His face contorted, Dennis took three large steps toward him. If it hadn’t been for Reno, DJ was sure he would have been sporting a black eye.

“Don’t you think I know that I broke my family? I destroyed Kono and turned her into…” Dennis shook his head, a tear rolling down his cheek, the truth too hard to say. “If I had been brave, my son wouldn’t have grown up in the environment he did. My daughter would be here, about to celebrate her twenty-second birthday with you. She was two weeks older than you. I only spent two weeks with my daughter. Kono didn’t want anything to do with me once I told her that you were on the way and I had married your mother. I broke her heart, and my own.”

“Oh, poor you. We should all feel sorry for you, right?” DJ clenched his teeth, fighting the tears that were determined to betray his cool façade. “Your heart got broken. Well Kono’s broken heart led to her death, and to my sister being sold off. So forgive me if I don’t feel sorry for you.”

“DJ—”

“What I don’t understand is this—grandfather has been dead for ten years. What stopped you for looking from your children?”

“Shame and the fact that I am a coward.”

“Well, at least we agree on one thing,” DJ yelled. “You were my hero. My entire life, all I ever wanted was to be like you. But now that I know you, I’m ashamed to be your son.”

“That’s fine, you can be ashamed. The important thing right now is to find my daughter.”

“Why?” Reno asked. “So you can take care of her? Daniela, the one living in your house, is as high as a kite right now.

Neither one of you noticed. You can’t take care of anyone but yourself, Dennis Kent. I’ll find my sister on my own.”

“Our sister—though, of course, with Daddy’s money.” DJ smirked. “One thing you can depend on is that, unlike my father, I will support you in everything you want. So now, what do we do about your sisters?”

DJ didn’t know what shocked him more, that little Danny was addicted to some drug, or that his father wasn’t backing down from this fight. There was so much this family had to do before it could heal once more. The first was realizing that they had dropped the ball where Danny was concerned. They needed to get her better. If they were going to find Rayne and  put their wrecked family back together, they all had to be one-hundred-percent whole.

* * * *

DJ stared into his coffee, enjoying the French summer at his favorite café in Nice. He allowed his thoughts to drift. So much had happened in the past two years—Reno had gotten married to Lisette and now had a son and a daughter. Catalella had finally gotten an annulment and was in remission, and AJ had at last found a girl at the hospital, one as smart as he was. Everyone’s life seemed to be falling into place, except his and Rayne’s.

The lead in Hawaii about Rayne had gone cold, but they weren’t giving up. They had hired a second private detective, one with contacts in Hawaii, and he and Reno had briefed the man before he’d left. The waiting was the worst part—especially since Reno had assumed much of the responsibility for the company, leaving DJ with more free time than he knew what to do with. And, with relations still strained between him and his father, the whole situation seemed set to blow at any moment.

DJ felt selfish running away to Nice and not telling anyone, except Reno, where he was. He pushed the emotion aside, reminding himself that Reno had understood that he needed this time to himself. His parents were going through a separation and he wanted to stay out of it. There was enough tension without him adding his resentment into the mix. In fact, both he and Reno also wanted to keep Danny out of it. She was finally doing better and had decided to stay in Hawaii, the lifestyle and warm weather agreeing with her.

Having Reno around was the only thing that allowed him to take this time to himself, and although he’d never said the words, DJ guessed that Reno knew how relieved he was to have the responsibility shouldered by someone other than himself. DJ had even put his law career on hold, mainly because it seemed that everything he’d taken for granted had been snatched away. He needed to figure out if law was something he wanted to do, or if it was still about his father. So far, though, he’d given less thought to his future than he had to his present. Life was for living, and he was going to enjoy every last minute.

DJ’s phone buzzed and he scowled when he saw it was Ava. He stared at the phone, wondering whether he should pick it up or not. He had met the redheaded beauty at a nightclub two weeks back. She had just arrived from America and needed someone to show her the sights. Of course DJ had offered his services, and the first thing she saw was the view of the beach from the bedroom of his little cottage. Since then, he couldn’t shake her off. Ava was hooked, either by his talents in bed or his credit card. DJ didn’t know which, and didn’t particularly care. He had many playmates in the town and, as long as none of them demanded an exclusive relationship, he was all right with buying them whatever they wanted. He smiled when the ringing stopped, and didn’t bother to listen to the voicemail.

Kono was the love of my life, the only woman I would love…I broke her…my love, the love I took from her, destroyed her…one day you will know how it feels to love insanely and I hope you never lose it like I did.

His father’s parting shot played back in his head and made DJ shiver. It sounded more like a curse than a blessing. DJ couldn’t imagine himself loving that hard. Look at what that kind of love had done for his father, and for the innocent children who still carried the scars. “I most definitely don’t want to fall in love.”

“That is sad.”

DJ looked up and found himself staring into the most incredible emerald eyes he had ever seen. He labored to find words to describe them and her, but his brain seemed utterly frozen. So he just sat there and stared like a fool.

* * * *

“Eyve ! He is back, your handsome American.”

Eyvette wrung the towel in her hands. Nervous didn’t begin to describe how she felt each time the man came to the

café. Her reaction had always been to hide behind the counter, listen to him order, and melt in her own piece of heaven. His voice was rich and deep, and it poured over her like warmed syrup.

“Mon Dieu, Eyve, if you do not go out there and stake your claim, I will.”

Eyvette watched the petite blonde as she salivated over her man. She was sure that once Sophie went out there to introduce herself, there would be no chance for her. That was why she often pulled Sophie down with her when the man entered the café.

“He ordered a coffee,” Philippe, her boss and one-time boyfriend, said as he worked the cash register. “He is not going to be alone for long. I am sure one of his bimbos will be joining him soon.”

“Hate is a choice, Philippe, and jealousy is an ugly emotion.”

“I am not jealous. Eyve and I parted ways on good terms. And the only thing I hate is how many women he has.”

“And if Eyve plays her cards right, she could be one of them.”

“Eyve isn’t as loose as you.”

Eyvette wasn’t a lot of things. The main reason she had broken up with Philippe was because he called her safe, wife material. He didn’t want her to work or pursue her dream of owning her own restaurant. Eyve loved food, both eating and making it. She had just completed culinary school and was working her way to owning her own little place. Everyone thought her dream was crazy, her mother as well. Elizabeth was only interested in getting her daughter a rich husband. According to her mother, the only good thing about her were her exotic looks, something she could thank her black father for. Her mother’s fiery red hair also imbued Eyve’s beauty with the flecks of red in her dark, curly hair, which brought out her green eyes.

However, Eyve wanted to be more than the nice, exotic-looking homemaker. She wanted to be daring. And her first chance had just presented itself. It was a tanned man, with a body and a face to die for. Eyve walked out of the café, Sophie and Philippe’s voices dogging her heels. She walked up to him and he didn’t seem to notice her at all, a reaction she had never received before. Usually men watched her from afar, and each time she would approach they would be on their feet, offering her their chair. This man was stirring his coffee, deep in thought.

“I most definitely don’t want to fall in love,” he said.

And before she could stop herself, Eyve answered, “That is sad.”

The man looked up at her and the awestruck look she was used to getting from men registered on his face. It had to be her green eyes and the russet tones in her hair, a rare sight in biracial children.

Their eyes met, and Eyve felt a kick in her chest that knocked the wind from her lungs. “May I get you something else?” Her voice trembled on her lips. Eyve inhaled and tried to still her nerves, which were now on hyper drive.

“Non, merci.” The man looked away from her and, instantly, Eyve’s heart dropped to her belly.

It wasn’t like her to push, but Eyve wouldn’t give up. “Are you sure, monsieur?”

“Yes.” The man smiled at her before looking away once more.

“All right. If you need anything, just ask for Eyve.”

“Merci.” He smiled before turning back to his coffee, effectively dismissing her.

Eyve walked back into the café, more confused than ever. She sat down at a booth and looked out through the glass doors, staring at the strange man. There was something between them, an electric current that seemed to transfer through their eyes. The way he looked at her…it was like, something she had no experience in. However, she knew that when she made love to a man it would be that man, and he would look at her just as adoringly as he had a few minutes before.

“So?” Sophie asked.

“I found it.” She smiled as she ran out of breath. Her heartbeat out of her chest as tears stung her eyes. “I found him.”

“Who?”

“My one.”

“What nonsense!” Philippe barked.

“My mother is bitter, probably because she has gotten married more times than Elizabeth Taylor. She doesn’t know love, but I think she is searching for it.”

“Or for the wealthiest man she can find,” Sophie put in. “But go on, you found your one.”

“The way he looked at me.” Eyve stroked her cheek with the back of her hand. “It was like he had reached into me. No one has ever looked at me like that, no one has ever made me feel so…wonderful.”

“And you knew that from one look. From where I was standing, he seemed to be avoiding you,” Philippe cut in.

“He’s afraid. I heard him say that he doesn’t want to fall in love.”

“I have a feeling you are going to change his mind?” Sophie asked.

“I have to. My happiness depends on it.”

* * * *

DJ had never run away from anything in his life, until this moment. He couldn’t explain it, but his heart had kicked into gear when he’d looked into those deep, emerald eyes. She was trouble, and DJ couldn’t afford that kind of trouble while he was here. He was here trying to find himself, not his heart. He took out his phone and called Ava. “Change of plans. Meet me at my cabin instead.”

DJ gave one backward glance and instantly regretted it. Now he knew why they said once you decided to move on, you should never look back. Eyve, that was her name. It had to be creational. She was standing at the window, watching him with a look in her eyes he hoped didn’t mean more than a normal crush. DJ knew how to handle girls with crushes. He gave them a kiss, a night of sex, a piece of jewelry, and it was ci vediamo mai, as they said in his mother’s language. And for those who didn’t understand: see you never. However, Emerald didn’t look like the type a man had fun in the sack with and waved goodbye to. Not without taking a serious blow to the heart. That was damage he couldn’t accept. Falling in love was definitely not an option.

Then walk away. Stop staring at her. Don’t notice how perfectly the sun illuminates her glowing face. Look away from her thick hair that you would love to bury your fingers in as you kiss her. And, for the love of God, do not look into her enchanting, emerald eyes.

“Dio mio, don’t do this to me now.” DJ wasn’t a religious man, but when he came across a woman like Eyve, it was hard not to believe in divine intervention. He put on his sunglasses and half-ran, half-walked away.

A night with Ava, followed by a binge of sex with a few willing names he had in his phone directory, and in a few days he wouldn’t remember Eyve. Deciding never to go back to the coffee shop was also an added advantage. If he didn’t see the object of his…desire—no, torture—he wouldn’t think about her. Out of sight, out of mind.

DJ walked down the path that led to his beach cabin. It didn’t help that it was only a hundred yards from the café. He would have to look into moving. DJ stopped in his tracks and laughed at himself. He couldn’t believe that he was willing to go through so much to avoid an attraction… that was what it was. Love at first sight was saved for little children and their fairytales. This was real life. Kono knew that, so did Reno, and now Rayne. He needed to focus his attention on helping his big brother with their sisters. Thinking about the love he had for two of the most important girls in his life was bound to overturn the…fascination, for want of a better word, he had with Eyve.

For the moment, burying himself deep into a vivacious redhead with the talent of making a man buck in bed like a fish out of water would have to do. DJ stepped into his cottage and stripped off his shirt and jeans. He poured himself a glass of whisky and sat by the window, waiting. The moment he looked at his watch there was a knock on the door. Even though Ava regularly dropped by for sex, he’d never given her a key. A key symbolized more than he was willing to give. It meant, “Walk into—no, invade—my life when the need arises. Come snoop in my things. Put my drawers in disarray as you arrange yours.” And in DJ’s bathroom there was definitely no room for two toothbrushes.

DJ opened the door and Ava greeted him with a smile and a bikini top that showed more than it should. Her bare legs peeked from under the sarong she was wearing. With one sweep of his gaze, he took her all in. That was the moment he knew he was fucked, screwed, done for. Instead of pulling Ava into his arms and devouring her sexy body, he got the urge to shut the door in her face. His survival instinct kept him from doing it. Instead, he stepped back and let her walk in.

“Hallo, darling.” The sway of her hips seemed more exaggerated with each step she took. “I had to change my outfit since you changed our rendezvous place. I thought you liked the coffee there. It is morning.”

Ava swirled around and, by the frown on her face, DJ knew they were about to get into it.

“Whisky, this early in the morning? I know it is happy hour somewhere, but that somewhere is not here.” She looked down at her watch. “It’s barely ten o’clock, for Christ’s sake. I will not have an alcoholic for a beau.”

“Then it’s a good thing I am not your beau.” DJ threw back the contents of his glass and sat in an arm chair. “Take your clothes off.”

“I see you got a head start.”

“Stop talking and start stripping.”

[image error]Get Your Copy ONCE UPON A PLAYBOY

DEAR MUSE

DEAR MUSE

Don’t want to leave you really

I’ve invested too much time

To give you up that easy

To the doubts that complicate your mind

This is lyrics to #BethanyJoyLenz song WE BELONG by the way, for those who are wondering.

I’m not sure how other writers go through their ‘writing process’ or how they come up with their characters of their character journeys.

For me it’s kind of like that song ‘I knew I loved you before I met you…’

I fall in love with my characters before even knowing what their will be be. From that love/ love-hate relationships comes the story, the ups, the downs and the whatevers. Now that I am writing this, I am kind of understanding how weird this sounds.

Anyway, that’s for characters I make up in my head.

Now for Fan Fiction, that’s usually based on a character that already exists. It all comes from what else could they go through and how will they handle that. Simple enough right, yes when you are writing off another writer’s character. For example my #FanFiction based on the #TurkishDizi #ErkenciKuş #CanYaman and #DemetÖzdemir characters.

What would Sanem say when she found out that she had been standing by a man who lied to her and essentially led to her breakup with Can?

What would Can do or say when people finally found out the truth about Yigit? What would Sanem say or do?

What should’ve Can done when Sanem decided to leave because he lost his memory?

Just a series of questions that I had personally and answered in the most rational yet fantastical way possible.

You can read the Fan Fic here; Erkenci Kus- Remember Love

However, when it came to the other fan fic based on real people, the question was more of;

‘How far can their emotions take them?’

‘How would they love each other and hate each other with equal passion?’

These questions were all based on the idea or my own perceptions of what their characters were, in real life, that is. But i’ve reached a point of I don’t think she would do that, is it a matter of would or could, maybe she could but she probably wouldn’t.

Real life muses are the hardest thing to master. The love between a writer and a made-up character can be easily manipulated to fit the story arc or character journey or whatever. But it’s very challenging when your muse is a real person, because every time you try to push them in a direction, it’s like running head first into a brick wall. There is no climbing this wall, there is no going around it and you can’t build a door in the middle of it.

So you end up stuck, staring at this brick wall knowing that there is no amount of romancing that will move it. So what’s next, either change the character’s character, change the character or rediscovery, falling in love again.

KESKE is stuck, because I’m stuck.

Hopefully soon, I’ll get unstuck.

HIS LOVE

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

— 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Rayne turned and looked back at the cozy home that she had shared with her family for years. But now she was alone. Armed with a business degree that she couldn’t use, she headed to the city to be a governess. She was a small town girl and the first and only one in her family to go to a university. After the stupid mistake

she had made, her mother had to take out a loan to get her through school. Now the bank was there to collect. She counted herself lucky as her mother’s friend found out about a governess job—a fancy name for a nanny— for a two-year-old in the neighborhood she worked in. Otherwise Rayne would be out on her ass and eating out of the trash can. Fresh out of college, homeschooling a rich kid was the only job she could get.

The trip from Wyoming to the Hamptons was going to be a long one, but she had no other choice. She needed the job. She had promised her mother that she would be better—that she would command the world at her feet, but it looked like the world was forcing her to her knees. She was going to accept defeat, for now.

Rayne looked back at her old home again. The old fashioned three bedroom house had served them well over the years. She knew that once she stepped out the door it would be lost to her, but she would keep the laughter, the memories, the sacrifices, and love that were made there. She wished she could leave with the kitchen door. Her mother had engraved her and Reno’s growth spurts on there. Those were the happy times she was going to hold on to, before everything went wrong. She peered into the kitchen and she could see a perfect picture.

Her brother, Reno, was giggling next to her as he shoved cereal down her shirt. She whined in protest and her father used his newspaper to swat her brother’s hands away. Her mother, she just stood there, leaning against the stove, an accomplished look on her face.

Rayne knew that there were things her parents kept from them, like when there was no money for a birthday party, or when her grandmother frowned at her mother for being different.

It was obvious how dissimilar her families were. They were a perfect mix of the two. Her mother was African American, her long afro hair came down to her back, her brown eyes filled with warmth. Her father was Caucasian, he had honey brown hair and his green eyes shown like emeralds of love. He always looked at her mother like she was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Rayne wished that she could find a man who looked at her that way too. She ran her hand over her face trying to push the unwelcomed memories away. She thought she had, but…

It was time to go, time to face the cold new world away from the warmth of her home. She walked out of the house and as sure as if they were vultures prowling around a dead carcass, the bank officials were there, posting repossessed signs on her front door.

She walked past them and shot them a gaze loaded with hate. She walked toward the taxi waiting for her; she was headed to the bus station, to her new job, and her new life. But she knew one thing for sure; whatever waited for her wasn’t as good as what she was leaving behind.

***

Antonio could hear her crying, but he didn’t have time to humor her right now. Where is that nanny? He swore. When he walked into the dining room, he could see everyone staring at him. He wasn’t sure if he had spoken his thoughts out loud. These days he couldn’t tell the difference. The conversations he had in his head were as clear and sound as the ones he had with others.

The difference was, no one talked back in his thoughts. The voice that echoed in his head was beautiful. Maria. He smiled. She was the love of his life and always knew how to get in his thoughts.

“Aren’t you even going to see what she wants?” his mother scolded.

That’s why they are staring. Antonio shook his head and went back to his Blackberry. He had three meetings that day. No time for lunch, maybe I could order in. That Italian place around the corner is pretty good. They do take-outs. Do they deliver? That new guy can go get it.

His eyes lifted from his phone to his mother’s face. The scowl was still there and she was staring daggers at him. She was beautiful, a true Spanish aristocrat. Her jet-black hair was always in a bun or clipped tightly at the back of her head. She looked tender and sweet the complete opposite of his father. He was American with a frown permanently settled on his face. He was all business. Money commanded the world and what not. Money commands respect. It was something his father had told him since he was six years old. On his tenth birthday he got a leather briefcase with his initials on it, not the remote control car he wanted. Obviously his mother had gotten the car for him later, but his father only accused him of being soft.

Kane Antonio Burke, those were his official names, there were others too from his mother’s Spanish side of his family, but he never saw them to be of importance. His heritage, she always told him. He was named after his father, but when he started working at the company he dropped Kane and went by Antonio. That way it didn’t confuse his co-workers. He may have taken after his mother in looks, but in business he was a ruthless shark. His father had ensured that he earned his way up, from the mailroom to C.E.O. He had taken over after the tragedy, and now his father retired at the house in the Hamptons. Of course he hadn’t completely retired.

“Sofia, leave the man alone.”

Man, he snickered. His father, Kane, had finally referred to him as a man. He was twenty-six years old and his father had never referred to him as such until the year before. He had taken the reigns of the company and finally gotten his father’s approval. His misery drove his need to succeed in the business world, especially since he failed everywhere else. His mother didn’t like the idea though. According to her it was turning him into less of a man and more into a monster. My own mother called me a monster. But there were some things he couldn’t remedy. Like that cry, it called out for comfort and for the longest time, but all he felt was spite.

“I thought the nanny was coming today,” he grunted. “What happened to the other one?”

“You fired her.” His sister dragged herself into the room. She was still in her pajamas at eight o’clock in the morning.

“Remember she asked you if you would like to hold your daughter and you told her to get out?”

“Jacqueline, be nice to your brother,” Sofia said.

“It’s his kid and he doesn’t even look at her.” She sneered in his direction.

They were so alike, but so different. Jacqueline had their father’s amber eyes, but her hair was jet black just like Antonio and Sofia’s. She took a laid back approach to life and never thought that conforming to the ‘man’ was the way to live life. She was six years younger than Antonio, but always acted like she was still sixteen.

“This isn’t any of your concern.” Steel slipped into Antonio’s tone. His eyes reduced to slits as he stared down his sister.

“Excuse me, sir.” A younger man came scurrying toward him. New guy, what was his name again? “What do you want?”

“It’s almost time for your meeting.” His eyes avoided Antonio’s cold stare.

“It’s my company. I will get there when I get there,” Antonio barked.

Kane, Antonio’s father, waited for the man to run away, his tail tucked between his legs before speaking. “It’s actually my company. My chair. My desk. My office. If you screw up even once you are out.”

“Of course.” Antonio half-bowed mockingly. “You have been telling me that since the day you gave me my first briefcase.”

Antonio turned and started to walk away, wondering why he still lived in his parents’ house. Then another cry reminded him why.

“What about the baby?” Sofia called out.

“Give her away to Goodwill.” He didn’t mean it. Or did he?

“That’s what you should have done with him.” He heard Jacqueline say to their parents.

[image error]

Buy Link; HIS LOVE 

ONE NIGHT STAND

“What do you mean?” A warm tear rolled down her cheek. She wanted to wipe it off, to show how strong she was, but there was no room for pretense—not now when she was about to lose everything.

She was standing in the middle of the living room, in a home she had made with the man she loved. And even though she looked at him, saw his dark curly hair, his amber, honey eyes, and that crooked smile, she still couldn’t believe it was him. “In sickness and in health, through good and bad times, till death do us part,” she mumbled.

“Well, Cat, it seems like you’re almost there,” he barked out. And as soon as the words left his lips she could see the regret in his eyes. He combed his fingers through his hair, as he always did when he was frustrated. Ever since she got sick, she realized this simple act had grown habitual.

“I love you,” she whispered choosing to disregard his last statement

“And I love you—”

“But not as much as you used to.” She finished the sentence for him—it sounded less painful coming from her than it did from him. Cat let another tear roll down her cheek as she fought for control and to keep her breathing in check. “So what do you want to do?”

“We can’t be together,” he mumbled as he shook his head. “Eighteen was too young to get married. We should have listened to your parents.”

“Michael.” A bitter laugh rolled through her. “You aren’t leaving because we got married young and you don’t love me anymore. You’re leaving because you’re tired of this,” she yelled as she pulled off the scarf that covered her bald head. She then pulled the corner of her shirt down to show the chemotherapy port next to her armpit. “You’re leaving because you’re sick and tired of me being sick.” Her words labored as she said each one with a huff.

“That’s not it,” he shouted then repeated it, exasperated: “That’s not it. I want kids.”

Cat stumbled back, the weight of his accusation hitting her in the chest like a ton of bricks. “You decided not to freeze my eggs. It’s your fault that we can’t have any kids. The doctor told you the chemotherapy, the radiation and whatever juice they had me on would fry my eggs.”

“Can we just not argue about this anymore?” Michael waved his hand in a dismissive, exasperated gesture and turned his back on her. He headed to their bedroom, and when he returned he had his bags with him. “My lawyer will call you. I don’t want to drag this out. You can have anything you want. I will also help with the medical bills.”

“I don’t want anything,” Cat mumbled as she sank into the chair beside her. “Please leave. I don’t want to see you ever again.”

“There’s no need to—”

“Maybe I’ll die even before the papers get here.” Cat laughed, the pain in it evident.

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Maybe you aren’t the only one who thinks I’m a burden. Maybe it would be easier if the treatments and the transplant failed once again. Maybe everyone will be able to move on with their lives without me holding them back,” she mumbled, feeling lost all of a sudden.

“Don’t try and guilt trip me, Cat, it won’t work,” he said.

“I know, because you have an ice box where your heart used to be.” Cat sang it out in tune then laughed. She slid down on the floor and rolled around, her painful laughter filling each corner of the small apartment. The sound of the door banging closed pulled her out of her trance. It was done. She was now officially alone.

Cat sat up and the loneliness crept in. She felt desperate, and all she wanted to do was to be free of herself, and to free everyone else in turn. She had a fifty-fifty chance of the transplant and treatment failing a second time, and a one percent chance of ever conceiving. This gave her an equally one percent chance to find a guy who would love her. With all the odds stacked up against her, she wondered why she should bother with the world any longer when it seemed to have turned its back on her already. Her tired body and mind pleaded for release, asking her why she was struggling with a life that didn’t want her.

She felt a slight shiver and her arms encircled her frail body. She decided on a warm bath. And, in those few steps from the living room to the bathroom, she was going to decide what to do with her life.

Cat turned the tap on and sat on the side of the bath. She pulled off her clothes and stood in front of the full length mirror. The chemo-port had left an ugly scar above her breast. The treatment had turned her once voluptuous, luscious body to that of a skeleton. The shine of her bald head pulled her attention to where she once had long, thick, curly, jet black hair. Her once bronze skin was now ashen and seemed to be peeling off.

Cat didn’t like the way she looked, or how she felt. Michael had left her. And although she had her family with her they were supposed to be there, had been engineered by God to love her. The only person who had chosen to be with her had walked out the door.

She pulled herself away from the frail image in the mirror and headed for her medicine cabinet. She had a bottle of sleeping pills—they were supposed to help her sleep when she was in pain. She never used them because the pain reminded her that she was still alive, and sleep was the last thing that she had ever wanted to do. The act of sleeping seemed too close to death, so that she often didn’t want to risk closing her eyes…just in case.

But now she felt like she was feeling too much. She wanted to mute the voices in her head and to numb the feelings in her weary body and her broken heart. In that second, what people called an act of selfishness, she thought of as an act of selflessness. Cat climbed into the bath tub with the sleeping pills in hand. Once she was comfortable, she popped them in her mouth one at a time and waited for the cold breeze of death to take her away.

* * * *

He rolled to the left side of the bed, but no one was there. His hand felt the cold, empty space his wife had left there, and also in his heart. But it was his fault. He couldn’t give Ava what she wanted the most. He used to be able to command, had the entire world at his feet, but all he had now was a rat-infested motel.

Ethan groaned when his phone rang. But he had to look on the bright side—at least his phone wasn’t cancelled. The old man seemed to still want to keep the communication lines open. But when Ethan answered it wasn’t his father but his uncle, Harry.

“Hallo? What? What do you mean?” The questions flew out of his lips without pause, voicing the thoughts and fears racing through him.

Ethan jumped off the bed and hunted for the only set of clothes the building manager at his apartment had let him take. He ran out of his motel room, only to be reminded that he didn’t own a car any more. He ran towards the road, hoping to catch a cab. A cab that he wouldn’t be able to afford. He heard someone call him from behind and, when he turned, the motel owner was coming after him with a baseball bat.

Ethan jumped into the first cab that pulled up and gave the driver the address. He couldn’t think of how he was going to pay him. He could only hope Harry would take care of it. Right now the only thing he would think about was what his uncle had told him. Harry’s words echoed in his ears. “Your father is dead.”

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THE DEVIL’S ANGEL

“No!”

Yvan shot up from his bed, wracked in cold sweat and the shakes. He covered his face with his hands and focused on his breathing. Ever since he had met the Santos girls it seemed his life had gone from one extreme to the other—unimaginable happiness and unfathomable fear and anger. His lust had gotten them into so much grief, but he had hoped that the love would save him. How could two women be so similar and yet be so different? Like night and day…but the appropriate term would be good and evil.

He closed his eyes and he could almost hear the sound of her red stilettos against the hardwood floors of his office. She was beautiful, exotic and had a pout that could drive a saint mad with desire. The rumor of a black dress caressed her lovely curves like a jealous lover. Her black hair lay straight on her back and her caramel skin made his mouth water. He wanted to taste her so bad, and he had. Rubi—he hated how his loins stirred at the thought of her. There were some things that she could do in bed that could not be rivaled. He hated himself for still wanting her, but he was still a man.

A man who had been led by his cock, his eyes so glazed over with want that she had blinded him from what she truly was. One year ago today his life had unraveled. Even as he was getting ready to go back home to his wife and his new future, he couldn’t help but think of the genesis of the greatest hit his life had taken. The day he stopped trusting women and thought of them as vultures. Well, his wife was an exception.

* * * *

One year ago…

 “Fuck,” Yvan D’Alessandro hissed through clenched teeth. He pulled his belt buckle open and freed his engorged member.

“Oh. Excuse me, sir,” Rubi said in a little schoolgirl voice. “Would you please help me with something?”

Yvan pulled his tie free, shoved his suit jacket off and yanked his shirt over his head. He didn’t have time to bother with the buttons. “What is that, my very personal aid?”

Rubi giggled and, for a second, his world tilted off its axis. He couldn’t count how many times that sound had bounced off the private bathroom of his office, echoed into his ear and landed in his pulsing groin. He couldn’t wait to bury himself inside her. But Rubi was one for games. She wouldn’t give up the cookie without a few games first. Yvan was more than willing to play, because she was the best damn fuck he had ever had. Rubi would tease and play, but at the end of their lunch break she was either up against the wall or on all fours, taking what he gave her like a good girl. He watched her with lust-filled eyes and inhaled the potent scent of sex, so wonderful and unique.

Rubi caressed her inner thigh and continued up until he couldn’t see her hand anymore. But he could imagine what her fingers were doing. Yvan inhaled sharply, trying his best not to lessen the moment by grabbing his dick in his hand and giving himself relief. She suckled seductively on her thumb, twirling her tongue around it just as she would do to his dick whenever he sat at his desk. He closed his eyes and groaned at the memory of her on all fours, her full lips cradling his sex, her tongue teasing his head.

“I was wondering if you could whisper something to my pussy. She’s been really lonely these days. Ever since you left on that business trip she wouldn’t stop begging for attention. And there is only so much that I can do.” Her right hand still under her skirt, she used her left to free the buttons of her blouse. She pulled her breast out of her bra and fondled it. “Other parts of me have missed you too.”

“Oh really?” Yvan advanced toward her, but Rubi held her hand out to stop him.

“Not so fast, sweetheart.”

Rubi was exotic, half Cuban and half black. She had a look about her that spelled out luxury. Her hair cascaded down around her high cheek bones and feminine jaw. A smile curved on her generous bottom lip…she obviously enjoyed the torture she exerted on Yvan. It was a sexy, wet smile, and one meant to tease.

Yvan’s arousal was quickly turning into anger. Trust Rubi to turn him on and piss him off at the same time. Rubi liked angry sex. She liked to be taken rough and hard. It made her come harder. Something primal surged through him when she rolled her brown nipple between her fingers, hot and dangerous. Rubi leaned against the vanity, her eyes closed, her lips parted. Her breath came in short, quick sighs. No doubt she was on her way to bringing herself to a climax. Yvan couldn’t allow that.

“Don’t even think about coming before I allow you to.”

Rubi chuckled as she eased her skirt down her legs, and then her red, lace thong. Her shirt and bra soon followed. She stood before him in nothing but her crimson stilettos. Rubi turned to her side, her thigh hiding her pussy from him. She spread her legs slightly and her hand reached down once more. Rubi watched him as he watched her, her eyes never leaving his for a second. She moaned as she touched herself and Yvan could just imagine how wet she was and how sweet her center would taste.

Tired of the games, he rushed for her. He hooked his elbow under her knee and lifted her onto the vanity. He lowered his head between her legs and suckled her clit.

“Damn, you taste good.”

Rubi let out a shriek and his chest rumbled with approval. He pushed her thighs as far apart as he could. He wanted to feast on her, watch as her clit got hard, as her pussy glistened from pleasure as he serviced her. It was like drinking cool water from a fountain after days in the desert.

Rubi grabbed his hair to force his head closer but Yvan smacked her hand away.

“Behave or I’m going to stop. Do you want me to stop?” He grabbed her shoulder and forced her back against the wall. Rubi whimpered and shook her head. “Damn, I wish I could spank you right now, but I don’t have time. I have a meeting in thirty minutes.” With the flat of his tongue he took a long lick of her juices. “I wish I could eat you all day, but there’s no time.” He reached down into his pants pocket and took out a condom. With an easy rip, he sheathed himself and lingered at her entrance.

“Please.” Rubi begged.

“Ah-ah.” Yvan pulled her toward him and he hooked her knee over his shoulder. He placed his head on her shoulder and held her back. “Open your eyes…look at me. You can whore around with whoever you want to, but no one fucks you as good as I do.” Yvan entered her with one swift stroke and buried himself to the hilt. Rubi came undone in his arms. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, just like all women did when they orgasm, but he didn’t let her. He forced her back and hammered into her repeatedly.

* * * *

Yvan sat at his desk and stared through the glass wall to where Rubi should have been sitting. She wasn’t there. The sex was great but he didn’t understand why she consumed his every thought. He wasn’t in love with her—far from it. It was more about possessing her, making sure that no one else tasted her passion and appetite for sex. He could marry her, for the sex alone that is. Yvan didn’t believe in love. His parent’s didn’t love each other. In fact it always seemed like they could barely stand the sight of one another. His father had his affairs, while his mother kept on a pool boy who didn’t do much pool work. Why not marry for lust instead of the elusive love? That was it. He made up his mind.

Yvan saw his mother barrel down toward his office and, for a second, he thought about hiding under the table. But she had already seen him. He plastered a smile on his face and stood up to greet her.

“Mother.” He kissed her cheek and held out a chair for her.

“Your father is having an affair,” she stated in a matter of fact tone.

“And?” Yvan tried not to sound so callous, but he was exhausted with playing the intermediary between the two.

“I think he plans on divorcing me and marrying the chit,” Claire huffed.

“Oh God,” Yvan whispered. He labored to find the right words. So instead he took a seat and let the laughter roll out of him. “Is he serious? He knows that if he gets divorced he loses control of the company.”

“Psh. Your father has been building up a nest egg from siphoning off company funds. I believe he’s got enough to get out of this D’Alessandro curse. Your grandfathers were bastards.” Claire toyed with the pearls around her neck. “What am I going to do? I need the money. And what about my society friends? They won’t be seen with a woman who was left by her husband. Your father won’t do this to me. I’ll kill him first.”

“Please do.” Yvan got to his feet and opened his office door for his mother to leave. “Then maybe I could have a little bit of peace.”

“I am your mother, young man.”

“Then start acting like it. I have a lot of work to get done.”

Claire rose from her chair with the ease of a queen. She held out a manila envelope for him and, for a moment, he almost didn’t take it.

“What is this?”

“The woman he has been sleeping with.” Claire clicked her tongue and, with a cold edge in her voice, said, “Although I don’t know why you would need a picture. The whore works here. I bet that you are also screwing her. Que cosa, father and son dipping in the same honey pot.”

Yvan’s gaze trailed Rubi as she emerged from the direction of his father’s office and took a seat at her desk. “That’s impossible mother. Rubi would never—”

“Let me finish that for you my son. Rubi, would never sleep with a rich old man for his money, jewelry or anything his wallet can give her that his dick can’t. Don’t be stupid, son. Don’t tell me you are in love with the chit?”

Yvan avoided Claire’s piercing gaze. He wasn’t in love with her. Of course not. “Rubi Santos!” he bellowed.

Rubi swayed into his office as she usually did, wearing a loaded smile that only he knew the meaning of.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. D’Alessandro. What can I do for you, Mr. D’Alessandro?” She sounded so professional, and no guilt was evident in her eyes.

Yvan gave the pictures to her. In a controlled voice he asked, “Explain these please?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Let me guess—you have an evil twin sister out there sleeping with married men,” Claire said sarcastically.

“I wouldn’t call her evil, just misguided.” Rubi ran to her desk and back. She held her phone up to Yvan to see, “Look, her name is Rae. She’s four minutes younger than I am.”

Yvan took the phone and a closer look at the picture. He saw two identical girls dressed in Halloween costumes. One as Little Bo Peep and the other in a Catwoman costume that looked almost like the one in the scandalous picture with his father. Yvan never thought he could feel so relieved. Over his mother’s head he gave Rubi a reassuring smile, a sign to show that he had never doubted her for a second.

“I’ll take care of this, mother. Maybe you should go speak to father.”

“I’ll do that. Tell your sister to stay away from my husband,” his mother warned before storming out of the office.

“You don’t know how relieved I am—”

“You thought that was me!”

Yvan cringed at the horrified hurt look in Rubi’s eyes. What the hell is wrong with me?

“I know we don’t have an exclusive relationship, but I don’t have sex with multiple partners at the same time. You might be used to that but I’m not. I’m honestly hurt right now, Yvan. All this while I’ve been hoping…”

“What?” Yvan waited with bated breath. “What have you been hoping?”

“It’s silly. I should go. No doubt your mother wants me fired now.” Yvan’s heart broke when he saw the tears roll down her cheeks. “I’m out of a job. I’ve lost a man I care about. You’ll have my resignation by the end of the day.”

“No…wait.” He couldn’t let her go. Not like this. “Have dinner with me tonight. Then tomorrow, spend the weekend with me in St. Bart. Let’s forget this mess with your sister and my father. Let’s just think about us.”

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ROOMMATES WITH BENEFITS

He chuckled as he tossed in the narrow bed again. AJ’s dreams were usually vivid, as AJ generally only dreamed of his two favorite things, surgery and sex. Lately he hadn’t been able to kick the beautiful blonde with blue eyes from his dreams. It was frustrating because he couldn’t see the rest of her and plus, AJ wasn’t monogamous in real life so he hated the fact that his dreams were. His lips caressed her creamy shoulders as his hands held onto her curvaceous body. AJ assumed it was her body, because he couldn’t see the rest of her.

“Ross,” she called out his name as would a mermaid seducing a sailor.

“Paging Doctor Ross To The Nurses’ Station.”

“Paging Doctor Ross To The Nurses’ Station.”

AJ startled awake as the voice of the on-call nurse’s voice rang in his ears. He groaned, he moaned, he let out every protesting voice he could master. He grabbed the pillow from the bed, in the on-call room, and covered his head. “I’m technically not a doctor yet. Get someone else,” he shouted in the darkness.

“How about you? You shut up!” He heard the groggy voice of a female on the top bunk.

He threw the pillow to the foot of the bed and sat erect, moving so fast that his forehead came into contact with the bed frame. “Shit! Can this day get any worse?”

“I promise you it will, if you don’t shut up and let me sleep,” she grizzled.

“Sorry.” Adrian began to apologize, but when he touched his forehead he winced in pain. His fingers were coated with the warm crimson of his blood. “I think I cut my head on this bed frame.”

“Are you bleeding?”

“Yes.”

“Are you a doctor?”

“Yes.”

“So get up, go stitch yourself up, and let me sleep. I am begging you. I am ready to pay you anything for some peace and quiet.” The girl’s voice got a little harsh as she thrashed on the bed.

AJ jumped to his feet, afraid that all her movement would send the bed crushing down on his head. “What’s your problem?”

“You are my problem!” She raved as she leapt off the bed, landing inches away from Adrian. Both of them were stunned by each other. They stood in silence for a couple of seconds before she said “You’re a big guy.”

“So I’ve been told.” AJ drawled as he wiped the blood rolling down his forehead.

AJ studied her. Her long blonde hair was in a ponytail at the back of her head, her eyes were a swirling blue-gray color. She almost resembled the woman haunting his dreams. But then her stubborn chin reminded him so much of his sister Lisette, any fantasy which had started hatching in his dreams died instantly. He groaned inwardly, disappointed. He would have loved to kiss her pouty lips, caress her full body and weave his fingers into her hair, but that stubborn jaw put him off—with his two younger sisters, he didn’t need another aggressive woman in his life.

“Do you mind helping me with this?” AJ smiled, slowly and sexily. Lisette had described his smile as wolfish, as if he just about to chomp down on Little Red Riding Hood. AJ knew was his smile was his best wing man and it always got him the response he wanted, so this time should be no different.

Katherine’s hands shook as she raised them to his forehead. It took all of AJ’s self-control not to wrap his hands round her tiny waist and pull her against his aching body.

* * * *

Katherine Henry watched as the hunk of a man stared at her with indifference in his eyes. At first she thought she had caught a hint of desire, but something she had done put him off. He was a big guy. His hard muscled frame oozed with sexiness. She wanted to reach out and smooth her hands along his body, just to feel his hardness.

“Do you mind helping me with this?”

Katherine licked her lips as she was torn out of her fantasy. “What? Help you with what?” Her raw throat made her voice sound like a scratchy whisper.

AJ chuckled and the sound washed through her like a warm cup of cocoa. “Can you help me with the cut on my head?”

“Sure, I am a doctor!” Katherine bit her tongue, holding back from saying anything else stupid. Internal heat surged her cheeks when his lips pulled into a disgustingly sexy smile. “Of course I’m a doctor that’s why I’m here. So are you, you are a doctor too. And—I’m going to shut up now.”

“How about we go to the nurses’ station and you can look after me there.” AJ lips curled into a sly grin as laughter claimed his brown eyes. Katherine noticed his lips must be his best asset, his secret weapon in getting women to go home with him. Hell, she was ready to leave with him and he was a bloody mess.

“Of course.” Katherine snorted. “Do you use that line a lot?”

“That wasn’t a line. I just want you to stitch me up. If you can’t I’ll get someone else to do it.” He turned toward the door.

Katherine reached and grabbed his arm before he left. She cursed herself as her fingers barely wrapped themselves around the bicep in his arm. She desperately wanted to feel his strong arms around her, even for a second. But when Adrian opened the door and let the world in, she had no other choice but to step out. As she did, Katherine noticed a lot of eyes staring at both of them suspiciously, and for a second she thought she saw a sad look in one nurse’s eyes before they turned into pure rage.

“I think that one likes you,” Katherine said as she pointed at the disapproving nurse.

“If my memory serves me right, she likes me a lot.” Adrian shot her a grin.

“Oh brother, you are bad news aren’t you?” Katherine chuckled. “Its not bleeding too bad. A band aid will do just fine. Take a seat on the gurney and I’ll be right back.”

Katherine arranged her tools on a sterile tray and slipped on a pair of gloves. She turned toward Adrian just in time to see him wink at a nurse who was walking by. She was mad, enraged at how ignorantly he was behaving. She felt like taking a scalpel and cutting off his lips.

“Try and control your hormones for five minutes, Doctor Ross.” She hissed through clenched teeth. Now she had managed to still her own hormones she was in control of the situation. “Do you want something for the pain?”

“No, I have to keep a clear head, I’m on call tonight.” He grunted when she put in the first suture.

Sexy and he can withstand pain too? Katherine wanted to kick him in the nuts.

Being so close to him reminded her of the night they had spent together in the back seat of his Range Rover. It wasn’t very romantic but it was exciting. The thought that someone could catch them having a tryst in a public place made the sex more exciting. But here, now, she was standing between his strong thighs—thighs she knew so well it pained her—as she treated his wound.

‘Take care of me.’ Those were the words she had used that night. She had been at the bonfire with her younger brothers who had dragged her there, saying she needed a bit of fun—and it had been fun. But that was almost two years ago. Maybe that was why he didn’t remember her.

“I think you might just live long enough to seduce all the nurses on this floor, Doctor Ross,” Katherine said.

“Thank you, Doctor…” He was embarrassed.

“The name is Katherine Henry but my patients call me Doctor Henry.” She had given him her name and was eagerly waiting for some indication of familiarity. But there was none. Not surprising, really—I don’t think he remembers the names of nurses he’s slept with this week. How could he remember the name of a girl from a bonfire almost two years ago?

“I don’t seduce them,” he was mumbling. “They just seem to come to me.”

“Come with you or by you?” Katherine spat out with a steel tongue. “Sorry,” she quickly said when she saw the hurt look on Adrian’s face. “They flock to you because you are a sexy guy. One look at you, and they want to gobble you up. You are like sex on legs.”

“You mean that?” The smile was back on his lips, the laughter in his eyes.

“I rarely pay any men compliments. My three brothers taught me that. So…you should take what I said as a compliment and run with it.”

“I have two sisters. When I saw you stick out your stubborn chin I wanted to turn in the other direction and run.”

“Siblings, they run your life, but living without them is unimaginable.” Katherine said. “There, you’re done. You’d better go figure out why they’re paging you.”

“Uh-huh, thanks. By the way…could I get your number?”

You already have it, you jackass. Katherine wanted to say. But instead she smiled, shook her head and started to walk away.

* * * *

AJ couldn’t help but chuckle when the ‘friendly’ doctor walked away from him. He had picked up on her annoyed attitude, plus her desire for him. That was hard to miss, because as the sliver of steel on her tongue slashed through him, the hard tips of her nipples stared him in the face. She wanted him, and although the feeling was mutual he couldn’t add doctors to his list of medical conquests, even though her touch did seem familiar.

“Hi.” Adrian’s view of Doctor Henry was cut into by a short red-headed nurse.

AJ groaned inside, his chest rumbling with the sound. If there was one thing he loved, it was red-heads. Each girl represented a sexual ‘something’ to him. He didn’t believe in the stereotypes attached to blondes. But that might be because he only engaged with ones with medical training. He loved them tough and smart.

But women with red hair, at least, the ones with whom he had come into contact, did almost anything in bed. That was the only reason why all the blood had left his head and shot southward.

AJ stood up and had the pleasure of seeing the redhead’s eyes widen as he showed his full length and size. You’re a big guy. He chuckled at the memory. But when he saw the redhead’s pink tongue sweep over her full lips, every memory of Katherine flew out of his head as the redhead drew all his attention.

“Maybe we can get a drink later,” she said in a breathy tone.

“Maybe. But if you can convince me you’ll get a definite ‘yes’.” AJ lowered his head and whispered to her.

“I am a gymnast,” Red said through pouted crimson lips.

AJ chuckled. He could feel his groin chuckle with him. This night, no matter what happened in the hospital, would definitely have a great end.

“Name and number, and I will pick you up at the end of the shift.”

He watched as she quickly scribbled her details down. She was an eager one, he could tell. AJ could feel someone watching him, and when he lifted his head, he caught the dagger-like glares nurses were shooting in his direction. He turned away and was unlucky enough to catch Katherine’s disapproving frown. Her stubborn chin was out again. AJ felt his body shiver with censure. There was no way he was going to invite another woman in his life, who was so opinionated and critical of what he was doing. That was what he had Catalella and Lisette for.

* * * *

“What are you staring at?”

Katherine jumped, startled by the baritone echo in her ear. She watched helplessly as the charts which were next to her, crashed to the ground, announcing to everyone around the nurses’ station how clumsy she was. She bit back an oath, and ducked behind the desk when AJ’s gaze swung her way. She was down on her hands and knees, the charts already gathered in her arms, yet she gave herself five seconds more, hoping AJ would have left by then.

“Hi.”

“What?” Confused, Katherine lifted her gaze and noticed the resident squatting beside her. Doctor Kenneth Lyle was her attending. He was the cardiologist who she was shadowing, and for the longest time Katherine had thought he had the hots for her. “Oh! Hi Doctor Lyle. I was just picking this up.”

“After you were caught drooling over Adrian Ross,” he snickered.

Katherine snorted as she jumped to her feet. She dumped the charts on the desk and began rearranging her hair—anything to distract her from the uncomfortable ache at the bottom of her belly. AJ was still watching her, an amused smirk on his lips. The redhead was still chatting away at him. But he was watching Katherine over her head, nodding and not exactly paying attention.

“You’re staring again.” Kenneth chuckled. “Don’t tell me you believe he is an Adonis. I thought nurses were the only people susceptible to his charms.”

“I am not falling for his charms.” Katherine scoffed. She turned her back toward AJ, but still watched him over her shoulder. Katherine bit on her lower lip, while her tongue swept over her plump lips. Her back straightened when AJ’s eyes darkened with desire. She watched as he stepped around the redhead, and took a step toward her. To Katherine, he seemed to be floating toward her. Her heart crashed to her stomach when he winked at her, his lips spreading into a sly smile.

“Oh, dear God,” she swore, when she felt the moisture pool between her thighs.

“Katherine?”

“Mmmh?” She turned toward Kenneth, the whole time her body whined from being denied the view of the subject of its desire. She smiled, beside herself. Katherine willed her mind to take over her body—she took a deep breath trying to control the out of control pitter-patter her heart was doing.

“Maybe I could give you a heart transplant. Replace it with a man’s heart.” Kenneth laughed. “Oddly enough he has some men swooning over him, others wanting to be him and the rest—emasculated whenever they are around him. He makes men feel ugly being around him.”

“What about you?” She was curious which category he put himself in. There was no way he could compare to AJ. Kenneth was cute; his blonde hair cut short, his green eyes smiling, while his talented hands worked magic on any ailing heart. He was a seasoned heart surgeon. But she knew he was also threatened by AJ. Everyone in the hospital was talking about AJ’s talent. The departments were already fighting over him. The Neurology and Trauma were the last departments standing. She knew Kenneth was glad AJ had taken his interests elsewhere.

“My knees are steady. I don’t quake under the glare of his toothpaste commercial smile.”

“What about his surgical talent?” Katherine wished she hadn’t said anything the moment the words left her mouth. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“That’s alright. But just because he’s talented doesn’t give him an excuse for being a jackass.” The steel in Kenneth’s tone sliced through her. Kenneth had been the wonder kid before AJ. But now Kenneth was thirty-four, and AJ was ten years younger than he was.

“He’s not a jackass, he’s just…” Katherine looked over her shoulder again. A swarm of women surrounded AJ. Weren’t there any sick people needing nurses to take care of them? But if AJ wasn’t a jackass, he was just—what? Katherine felt a need to find out who the true AJ was—she had to. She couldn’t live with herself, knowing she had given up her virginity in the back seat of a Range Rover Sport to a jackass. She needed to find something good in him, or she needed a do-over. Since the latter was close to impossible she would have to work on the former.

“He’s just what?” Kenneth sneered. “Let me guess, he pitched his tent in your panties. Now you can’t see him for what he really is.”

“And maybe you are just pissed off that someone ten years younger than you, barely out of medical school, beat your time at replacing a heart valve. A final year intern, who by the way isn’t specializing in Cardiology. Who only got the surgery because they were trying to use it as a bribe to lure him to the specialty.” She couldn’t control the steel at the tip of her tongue. “I heard you didn’t have any Heads of Departments fighting for you either.”

“Wow, you’ve really got a hard-on for this guy.”

“I haven’t—I just…I just—” She just what? Katherine had offended her attending and couldn’t come up with a reason why

* * * *

Katherine snapped her gloves on as she walked up beside AJ at the Emergency Room arrivals bay. They were expecting the results of a six car pile-up. Facing a dozen mangled bodies wasn’t as daunting as being in AJ’s presence. She looked up at him and could see the serious set on his face. He was in the zone, and for a second didn’t look like the Lennox Hill Lothario.

“Why can’t you be this way, every minute of every day?” She raised her voice to speak above the sirens of the oncoming ambulance.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said as he turned toward the sirens.

Katherine tossed her head. It was as if she wasn’t there. As if he hadn’t been flirting with her five minutes earlier. Or had she misread the signals? She breathed a sigh of relief when AJ turned a cold shoulder to his admiring redhead.

“What I mean is.” Katherine began as she stepped in front of him. “When you are in this “doctor zone”, you don’t flirt or make sexual innuendos with your body language.”

AJ threw his head back, his laughter occupying the cold air of November. She’d never thought she would have heard laughter which sounded so appealing. It was low, throaty, an exhibition of life. Katherine noticed that everyone around them had stopped looking for the ambulance, and were now staring at him. She even caught the flirty smiles of the emergency room nurses, but also Kenneth’s disapproving glare.

“There is this verse in the Bible that says there is a time for everything.” He winked at her. “I can still turn you on while I’m elbow deep in someone’s chest. But I choose to give my full attention to my patients. It’s the respectful thing to do.”

“It’s not that you can’t multitask.” Katherine’s eyes were glued to his smile, and she didn’t realize her lips were aping his.

“I can definitely multitask. I would like to show you, but duty calls.”

Katherine stilled at that suggestion. What exactly did he mean?

Katherine realized the ambulances had arrived as the doctors and nurses rushed past her, almost knocking her to the ground. When she got her senses back and her feet moving, she raced toward the ambulance Kenneth had charge over. But his scowl made her make an about turn. The only other ambulance available was the one AJ was working. She took an uncertain step toward him, half expecting his attending to turn her away. But the trauma surgeon had taken a step back, a smile curled on his lips as he watched AJ at work.

“I need hands!” Katherine’s head lifted to AJ’s at the sound of his bark. It was more like a command from an officer, and like a good soldier, Katherine volunteered her hands, applying pressure on the patient’s chest. Before she knew what was happening, AJ’s hands were around her waist, hoisting her onto the gurney. She found herself kneeling over the patient.

“Don’t worry, you won’t fall. I got you.” His voice was now calmer. Katherine felt as if she could trust him. She shot a look at his attending, and his proud grin had curled the corners of his mouth. With AJ around the old goat didn’t have to do anything.

Katherine fought to stay steady as they pushed the gurney into the hospital door. Once or twice she thought she would fall, but AJ’s grip that held her in place.

“We are going to need to open his chest up.” Katherine nodded feverishly, her hands still applying pressure as AJ lifted her off the gurney. She caught the sigh her excited body was about to whimper as he settled her on the ground. “Do you think you can do it?”

Katherine could hear him barking out orders. But her mind could only focus on two things, applying pressure to the chest wound, and keeping her body from crying out for AJ’s touch. She realized he was talking to her when a dozen eyes turned to her.

“What?”

“I asked if you could open him up.” His brow furrowed with intensity. “This is your area of expertise.”

“B-but I’m just an intern.” Katherine head whipped to her right, and there stood Kenneth his hands folded on his chest, watching, doing nothing to help. “Doctor Lyle?”

Kenneth stood back, not answering her plea for help. The corners of his lips curled in a smirk and she knew—he was setting her up. She shouldn’t have praised AJ so much, implying Kenneth was second best. Now he was playing his hand. Katherine could feel her body shiver with fear and uncertainty. She could try going it alone, but risk killing the innocent patient, or proving to Kenneth she was better than he was. She stared at her bloodied hands. The patient had already lost too much blood. Her eyes flicked to the monitors, and watched his vitals plummeting with each wasted second.

After looking at the patient’s face, her eyes caught sight of AJ’s confident gaze. He gave her an encouraging smile and a nod, and for a second Katherine thought she could do it on her own. That was all she needed—her back straightened in confidence. “Let’s crack him open.”

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FIRST CHAPTER BROKEN

“The Hornets better watch out, Dwight Scott seems to be on a roll!” The commentator’s voice boomed inside the little sound box. His enthusiasm and excitement bounced off the walls, the echo urging him on.

“Hold on, Mickey,” his co-commentator cut in. “My senses are tingling.”

“You know what that means, Donny. Greatness is about to occur.”

“Look at that. It’s a steal by Dwight Scott. He’s got the whole Hornet’s team chasing after him.”

“You can call him Peter Pan. Watch this—it’s a flawless layup! Dwight Scott dunks on the rim.”

“He just wants to make sure it got in.”

“The clock is winding down, and the Hornets are walking off the court,” Mickey announced.

“A stellar performance by Dwight Scott, a true giant.”

“The ladies are going to be clawing at him.”

“Heck, I’d lay on my back if that engine continues to drive us to the playoffs and the NBA final.”

“I don’t think you’re his type, Donny. Once again Dwight Scott leads the Knicks to another victory.”

* * * *

“Good job, man!”

Dwight met his teammates’ accolades with a smile. He was exhausted. His body felt like it was about to give up from the stress he was putting himself under. He could almost hear the bones plead and the muscles cry, asking his brain why the hell he kept pushing them to the extreme. The answer was easy enough—he wanted to be the best. And according to the sports gurus, he was on his way there.

He exhaled, hoping the tension in his body would leave him just as easily as the breath through his mouth. But it was still there. Maybe I can find a little lady who wouldn’t mind giving me a massage. Dwight definitely didn’t lack for female companionship. All he had to do was step out of the stadium and handpick from the hordes of women camping out to see them. He chuckled to himself; he loved that part of his job almost as much as he loved winning.

Sure, his grandmother would like to see him settle down and give her a few great-grandbabies before she left for the great beyond, as she called it. But Dwight was just fine being the most eligible bachelor in New York.

He stretched, and a grunt of discomfort left his lips. The way he felt, he would be lucky if he could leave the stadium, let alone bed a woman. Maybe she could do all the work this time. His turn to lie flat on his back.

“That grin on your face tells me you’re thinking dirty thoughts,” Dylan, one of his best friends, said.

“Maybe he was thinking of a ménage à trois,” David put in.

They were ‘the triple D’, a name given to them by the press. Hardly anything or anyone could stop them when they were on the court together. Dwight was six foot five and full of muscles. Physically, he was the better of the three, and talent wise, he surpassed their potential. But he had to admit that David and Dylan were his left and right hand.

Their friendship and bond had ruffled a few feathers on the court. Especially since they always seemed to play a three-man game instead of a five-man game. They fed him the ball and were there to catch his rebounds when he couldn’t. The truth was they made him look good.

He had more in common with David. Both Dwight and David were African American, and Dylan was the marshmallow in their Oreo. Dylan was the silent type, a great contrast to Dwight and David’s loud and rowdy personalities. Dylan was just as tall as Dwight, while David was six foot three. Both Dylan and David were twenty, which was considered the ripe age in the sport, and at twenty-three, Dwight felt as if time was catching up with him. But he loved basketball and often joked about not retiring until he was six feet under.

“So what do you guys want to do tonight?” Dwight asked as he pulled his t-shirt on.

“Whatever it is, I can’t stay out too late. I’m taking my mother to church.” Dylan’s Texas drawl always amused Dwight. And when he started talking about church, all Dwight could picture was Dylan in a buggy, his old horse pulling it to a local run-down church. The image in his mind looked like a scene from the 1860s. Dylan always had a straw hat on his head and was chewing on a piece of straw.

“Your mother is in town?” David asked.

“Yep, and my daddy too.”

“Okay, Miley Cyrus, you can ditch us tonight. I guess it’s just me and you, David.” Dwight took a look at himself in the mirror. He pulled his long dreadlocks from the tie behind his head, and with a few sprays of his favorite cologne, he was ready to go.

“Let’s go to the strip club first,” David said as they walked down the stadium hallway.

“Nope, too messy.” Dwight passed a window and caught his reflection. He couldn’t resist checking to make sure that during the few paces between the locker room and the team cafeteria nothing had come out of place. He wasn’t paying attention to where he was going and bumped into a tiny obstruction.

“Ouch!” a dainty, unmistakably female voice cried out. “Watch where you’re going, big foot.”

“What?” Dwight glared at the tiny blonde sprawled on the ground. Her Knicks’s cheerleading outfit left her creamy thighs out for viewing. “Nice,” he said, a saucy grin claiming his lips.

“I apologize on behalf of my friend,” Dylan said as he reached for the pixie’s hand and pulled her to her feet.

“Don’t worry. I guess they don’t make them like they do in Texas,” she spat out, the steel at the tip of her tongue slicing through Dwight’s confused haze.

“Make what in Texas?”

“Oh my God, he’s clumsy and dumb. Thank God you don’t need your smarts in order to throw a ball into a hoop.”

“Who the hell is this chick?” A sliver of irritation crept up Dwight’s back.

“I definitely wasn’t fathered by a cock, nor did I hatch out of an egg. And the last time I saw my mother, she wasn’t covered in feathers.” Just then she winced and swore.

“Are you in pain?” Dylan reached out to steady her before she fell to the floor.

“I think I hurt my foot.”

“I’ll take you to the ER,” Dylan, in his noble nature, offered.

“No, I’ll take her.” Dwight didn’t know what possessed him to say that. It definitely wasn’t her viperous tongue, which he found amusing. She didn’t have much up top, or bottom, but her creamy thighs had him ensnared. “I’m the clumsy idiot who knocked her down.”

“I said clumsy and dumb,” she said, a brow arched, her arms crossed over her chest in defiance.

“Sorry, I meant to say clumsy and dumb, not clumsy and idiot,” Dwight said, an amused smile tugging at his lips.

“Don’t sell yourself short—you’re both dumb and an idiot.” She tried to hobble past them but didn’t get too far before she tilted back.

This time Dwight was the one who caught her. He gathered her in his arms and headed toward the private door. He would have to let down the hordes of females waiting to see him.

* * * *

“I didn’t ask you to take me to the ER.” Aurora’s voice pierced through the blanket of silence that had settled around them.

Dwight grunted then shrugged his shoulders, never looking her way.

“You should watch where you’re walking instead of looking at every reflection of yourself.” Again, her statement was met by another non-committal shrug. “You are very arrogant. A giant among giants, what the hell does that even mean?”

Aurora was getting desperate for a response. It wasn’t fun goading a person if they didn’t even react. She liked sparring with words. That was something she had learned from her private school days. That and that money could get you anything you wanted.

Dwight Scott was a giant. Just looking at him, she estimated he was six foot five and could possibly weigh 200 to 250 pounds. He wore his shoulder-length, jet-black hair in dreadlocks. The goatee and moustache framed his mouth perfectly.

Aurora leaned forward to get a better angle. The man was sort of beautiful. Who was she kidding? He was chocolate sex on legs. If she could bottle him, she could make a killing and probably replace all the money her family had lost.

“You’re not much of a talker,” she commented. He shrugged again. “Or is it that I’m not your type? No silicone and lots of brains. Your mother must be real proud of the man you’ve become.”

Aurora felt the jolt of the seat belt as it snapped her back, after the force of the Jaguar stopped abruptly. Her hand flew to her bruised shoulder, and she let out a series of curses. She looked on in surprised silence as Dwight got out of the car and walked around to her side. He opened the door and stood waiting.

“What, you idiot?”

“Get out!”

What the fuck! Aurora watched Dwight, wondering if he had lost his mind.

Something she had said definitely struck a chord. It might have been the comment about his mother. She knew how that felt. In the upper-crust of New York society her family name was taboo. After her father and her uncle swindled most of New York out of their hard-earned money, her mother took the easy route and killed herself after their incarceration. Her aunt fled the country with her Latin lover. I should have done that. Now she was left responsible for her cousins.

“Get out!” The anger behind Dwight’s words snapped her back into the present. She was being kicked out of his car, without any money for a cab and wearing her very short dancer uniform. Her tongue had got her into a fix this time.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I don’t care.” Dwight reached into the car and unbuckled her seat belt. With one hand under her thighs and the other on her back, he easily lifted her out of the car. He walked a short distance to the curb and deposited her there.

“You can’t leave me here,” Aurora protested as she got to her feet and hobbled after him.

Dwight glanced over his shoulder at her and gave one of his famous shrugs. He then got into his Jaguar without giving her a second look.

Aurora wasn’t one to be outsmarted; she stepped in front of the car. She could see the angry twitch in his jaw as his eyes reduced to slits. But then a mocking smile appeared on his face and he started reversing. He pulled back and drove around and past her before she could do anything about it. Aurora was left staring at the red taillights.

Suddenly, the car stopped and he started reversing again. Aurora was determined to stand her ground, but when it didn’t look like he would slow down anytime soon, she got out of the way before he could run her over.

“Are you fucking crazy?” she yelled as he stopped the car beside her.

“No, just clumsy and dumb.”

“Don’t forget idiotic.” Aurora began to hobble to the passenger door when Dwight threw a hundred dollar bill out the window.

“Get a cab to the ER or home or straight to hell. I don’t give a fuck which one.”

Aurora cringed at the sound of rubber against gravel as Dwight sped away once again. She stood there staring at the taillights, knowing very well that he wouldn’t come back for her this time.

* * * *

Dwight felt guilty within minutes after he left her there, standing in the chilly air with almost nothing on. He brought his car to a halt and cursed his grandmother’s morally upright upbringing. He wasn’t that much of a bastard to leave a defenseless girl alone, prey to any psycho with an itch.

No matter what she had said about his mother, he shouldn’t have left her there. Sixteen years later and his heart still ached from the pain of loss, the sound of the screams and the image of the blood still fresh in his mind. His mother was dead, and if he didn’t hurry up, he feared he would find the blonde witch in the same condition.

Dwight turned around and returned to the street he left the blonde on just in time to see her get into a cab. He sped past the cab and parked in front of it. In the midst of angry honking and swearing, he got out of his car and walked to the cab. He opened the back door and reached in for the passenger.

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” the witch yelled as she resisted.

Dwight groaned. His body was still recuperating from the game, and the witch’s angry blows weren’t doing him any favors. He threw her over his shoulder and walked back to his car. But when he deposited her on the front seat, she tried to run away from him. Dwight picked her up again, demonstrating how much stronger he was than her.

This time when he put her in the front seat he buckled her in. “Listen, I’ve had a long night. I shouldn’t have left you there, but you pissed me off. Now just sit still and stay quiet.”

A shrill made Dwight look over his shoulder.

“Shit,” he swore. It was like an amber alert had gone out, letting every single groupie know where to find him.

“Your adoring public awaits.” He didn’t miss the sarcasm in her voice and didn’t appreciate it either.

“Don’t try getting out of this car or I’ll let that mob get you.” Dwight ran around the car, ignoring the angry words hurled his way by other motorists.

Once he got into the driver’s seat he made a quick u-turn and barreled down the road. In his rearview mirror he could see the groupies chasing after him. He winced as one took a tumble, taking a bunch of the others down with her.

“So is this the life of the mighty Dwight Scott?”

“You don’t know when to give up.” Dwight chewed on his lip to distract himself. “What’s your name?”

“Why?”

“So I can stop calling you ‘the witch’ in my head.” He took pleasure in her angry huff as she turned away from him.

Dwight had never been so relieved to see the tall, illuminated hospital building in his life. The last time he had allowed himself into the building was the night his mother died. He hated that it was the closest hospital he could get his witch to.

His fingers wrapped around the steering wheel in a tight grip. He sighed when he realized he didn’t have any other choice; he would have to escort his witch in there. He came to a halt at the emergency room entrance and wished that a nurse or an orderly would walk out and relieve him of his burden. But there was no such luck.

“Let’s go,” he murmured. She opened the door, but he stopped her from getting out. “Wait, I’ll carry you. You don’t know what kind of damage has already been done, and you don’t want to make it worse.”

“I don’t have to worry about my limbs. I’m not a basketball player. If it’s broken, I find another job. I’m just a dancer.”

“Just wait.” He couldn’t help the irritated tone in his voice. This woman knew just how to rub him the wrong way.

Dwight carried her into the ER and stopped at the nurses’ station. “My friend hurt her leg. I think it’s sprained.”

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” the nurse asked.

“The—”

“Aurora,” she cut him off with a glare. “Aurora Duncan.”

“Well, Aurora, if your friend—”

“Scott,” Dwight volunteered.

“If your friend Scott can bring you over here, we’ll take a look-see.”

Dwight smiled at the nurse. Her warm and motherly nature reminded him of his own grandmother. He followed the heavy-set woman to a hospital bed and deposited Aurora on it. He stepped back as the curtain was drawn, and he was left out of sorts. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

He walked to the waiting area and took a seat. He could leave; she’d definitely be able to find her way home from here. But he didn’t have anything to occupy him tonight, so he just waited.

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THE NEWYORKERS; BETRAYED

Lisette scratched her scalp in irritation, making her long thick curly locks fly about. In a huff she stomped her feet as she growled.

Lisette gave the six-foot-four giant who had become her father over seventeen years ago a scowl. Adrian Ross was the only father she knew now, the only one who loved her unconditionally. It was hard to trust him at first, but you had to give credit to a man who could stand up to a five-year-old’s tantrum, through a bout of stomach flu and dance recitals that weren’t for his own flesh and blood. Adrian had treated her like his second born child and first-born daughter.

Lisette didn’t remember much about her biological father, and she had to credit Adrian’s love for that. Adrian had erased the doubts, the fear and the low self-esteem that she had. And by the time she was seven, the nightmares had disappeared too. Lisette also noticed a change in her mother Rosalinda. She smiled more, laughed often and she was just—happy.

But the downside was, Adrian Senior brought with him Adrian Junior. He would pull on her hair, tease her—but he also always watched her back.

“Papa!” Lisette tried to use her assertive tone. “AJ is not coming with me, Papa. And that is final!”

The hard planes on Adrian Senior’s face were set. Lisette looked him in the eyes hoping she could get the old man to blink, even if it was just this once. The rest of their family, Rosalinda, AJ and the baby Catalella gathered around them as an audience. Each one of them was waiting excitedly to see who would give in first.

Lisette was afraid to breath. She was sure the second she took a breath her eyes would blink and she would end up losing. Her now hot fingers dug into her thighs, warming her skin through her sun dress. It was the first day of summer and she and her classmates from NYU were going to a bonfire at the beach just before they went on the semester break. Her jaw clenched, her stubborn chin stuck out. Lisette and Adrian were so much alike, it amazed her that he wasn’t her biological father.

Lisette heard her phone ring, but she never left the steady brown cool eyes of the man she challenged. Everyone around her let the phone ring until it stopped and after a couple of more rings curiosity had gotten the better of each one of them.

“Do you want to answer that call, sweetheart?” Adrian asked, his tone so smooth as honey she almost looked away. But then she caught his game when he added. “As long as you know, sweetheart, the second you move from that spot you forfeit, and AJ is going with you to that bonfire.”

Lisette chewed the inside of her lip nervously. She knew who was calling. It was Michael Mathews, her date. She had no doubt he was already here to pick her up. But there was no way she was dragging her monstrosity of a brother along with her. She doubted if AJ could fit his massive body into Michael’s car.

“AJ won’t even fit in the car.” she whined.

“What does he drive?” AJ asked.

“A Mini Cooper.”

“Ha!” Catalella’s mocking tone rang in the air. “Even I don’t drive a toy car.”

Lisette’s little sister’s personality was as wild as her hair. She was the perfect breed between an African-American man and a Latina woman. Sometimes Lisette envied her little sister’s exotic look. She was still sixteen and not yet out of high school, and her youth and naïveté was something that Lisette also craved.

“Not everyone is a spoiled little rich girl who gets everything from Daddy, baby girl,” Lisette bit back.

“Moody much?” Catalella hissed as she grabbed Lisette’s phone and begun reading out loud. “Babe, where are you? Babe we are getting late. Babe—ooh!”

Catalella’s drew a shocked breath and left the sentence hanging.

That was enough reason for Lisette to break her stand. Her little sister had probably read something she shouldn’t have. She grabbed her phone and held it behind her back, just in case her father asked to see it. Adrian turned his back to her and started to walk away before Lisette could issue her last plea. He only stopped for a second to give his son an instruction. “Go with her and make sure that boy keeps his grabby little hands to himself.”

“Yes, sir!” AJ bellowed teasingly. “By the way, we are taking my car.”

Lisette let out a loud shriek. She was determined to pierce each and everyone’s ear. But Adrian’s hiss sent her silent. She remained in the living room with her brother and her sister, each of them fighting to hold back a laugh.

“Since AJ is going, can I come with you?” Catalella asked.

“No!” AJ and Lisette answered simultaneously. There was much the two did not agree on, but when it came to their little sister they were of like minds.

“You guys are no fun,” Catalella moaned as she stomped away.

“Here is the deal—don’t do anything Mama or Dad wouldn’t approve of,” AJ warned.

“But aren’t you going to be there?” Lisette held down the bubbling excitement that was rising in her chest. She didn’t want to let it out just in case it was premature.

“I will be, and I’ll be checking the scenery out—”

Lisette scoffed. By scenery AJ meant women.

“—but I will have my eye on you, Lisette Mariana Ross. Don’t try to slip away from me. I have been playing this game since before you were born.”

“You are only one year older than I am. I doubt if the girls at preschool held your interests between the sniffling noses and the tea parties.”

AJ let out a bark of laughter as he playfully punched Lisette’s chin. “Let’s go, kiddo.”

“I’m freaking twenty-two years old. I can drive drunk but I can’t go on a date unsupervised,” she groaned.

“Let’s get going,” AJ scoffed.

“Promise me you will behave. Please, AJ, promise me.” Lisette pouted her lip and put on her best puppy dog performance.

She watched as AJ stared at her, his resolve slowly weakening. He wasn’t like Adrian Senior who had learned early in life to form a defense against the emotional manipulations of his little girls. AJ was the big brother who would give his little sisters all his limbs if they needed them.

“All right, piggy.”

Usually Lisette would have had a nasty response for AJ’s nickname for her, but now was not the time. She was going to be the nice compliant little sister that she definitely wasn’t. “You’d better tell him to keep his hands to himself or, so help me, God.”

Lisette knew that growl in AJ’s voice all too well. It was just a sound made in a second but within it a warning that always comforted her for a lifetime. The first time she heard it was when she started school in a New York semi-private school. He was her guardian angel, even when he was being insufferable—and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Lisette walked out of the small townhouse and rushed into Mathew’s waiting arms. She buried her nose into his neck and inhaled the deep sensual scent of him. Michael was what Lisette termed as overbearingly metro-sexual. He didn’t have a single tough bone in his body. Sure, his five-eleven frame was packed with muscle and he had the strength to carry a bunch of grocery bags for an old lady, but he would never survive a fight against AJ. Lisette suspected that she could also take him. Compared to AJ, the gigantic freak, Michael looked small in comparison.

She pulled back and stared into the brown eyes that reflected a questioning glance. Michael was staring past her and she knew that her bodyguard was with her. “My brother is coming with us, my lawyer’s orders.”

“When can I see your father?” Adrian Ross Senior had seemed to have taken Michael’s attention away from junior.

“Not tonight, he is busy.”

“With a client?”

“Nope, with my mama.”

“What the hell is that?” Lisette turned toward AJ’s mocking bellow. “No shit, piggy, I definitely cannot fit in that.”

“When are you going to stop calling me that?” Lisette’s cheeks burned red from embarrassment, both from the nickname and for AJ’s disrespect for Michael’s car.

“When you are married and have a few kids.” AJ closed his distance from Michael with three long strides. He stood over the smaller man and growled. “And if that happens before she is twenty-six, you and I are going to have ourselves a little chat.”

“Of course.” Michael gulped.

Lisette rolled her eyes when she saw Michael swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. She circled both her hands round AJ’s arm and pulled him back.

“Wait for me here,” AJ ordered as he went into the garage.

When he brought out his jet black Range Rover Sport, Lisette could really see how small Michael’s car actually was.

“How can you fit in that thing? How tall are you anyway?” AJ’s condescending tone rang in the night’s warm air.

“Five-eleven,” Michael called out. “Plus it’s convenient.”

“For a clown car, I bet. Five-eleven. Shit, dude, a few inches shorter and you will be as tall as piggy.” AJ bellowed out a laugh. “I don’t think that car is safe for you piggy, get in mine. I will drive you, and chaparro over there can come back for his clown car at the end of the night.”

“AJ!” Lisette muffled a scream. “This car is perfectly safe and I will be going with Michael.” Lisette couldn’t help but look Michael over, AJ had called him a chaparro, short and squat, but he really wasn’t. Or was he?

“Fine, but no speeding. If I see you trying to accelerate that tin car I will push it off the bridge with you in it,” AJ warned.

Lisette swallowed the sobs building in her chest. She got into Michael’s car and folded her hands in her laps. The night already had a terrible start. There was no way it could get worse. She watched as Michael got into the car with ease and again his size came into question. She didn’t exactly like the beefy, body-building types—she loved her men tall, strong, with shoulders that seemed to be packed with pillows, and arms loaded with guns. She pulled her lips into a tight, unconvincing smile.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take your Evoque?” She heard AJ yell.

“No, AJ, I don’t want to drive.”

“I could drive it for you.” Lisette turned and looked into Michael’s eyes once he said that. From an early age she had learned how to sniff out the gold-digging gigolos, and Michael’s scent wasn’t getting that great at the moment. There was greed in his eyes.

“No, it’s fine.”

Michael drove out of the street and AJ followed closely. He never let more than two cars come in between them.

“Is he always this protective?”

“Ever since the first day of school.” Lisette laughed at the memory.

“Tell me about your integrated family.”

“Nothing much to tell,” she lied. “But AJ has always been protective of Catalella and me.”

“Catalella, that’s your little sister, right?”

“Uh-huh.” Lisette waited for the praise for her beauty that usually followed the mention of her sister’s name but none came. “When I started school here, I felt out of place. Then one day a boy started pulling on my pigtails. Before I knew what was going on AJ had flown into my classroom and taken the boy down. When the teacher finally realized what was going on, the boy had a bloody nose.”

“How did he know?”

“AJ says he felt I was in trouble.”

“Felt? You are joking, right?”

“Nope. Ever since then I have always had this feeling, no matter what’s happening AJ is always going to come to my rescue.”

“That’s nice, but he’s not very polite, is he?”

There was no polite word in this world in any language that Lisette could associate her brother with. He always said what he meant and meant what he said. AJ never pulled any punches and that was a trait he had inherited from his father. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to offend you.”

“It’s fine. Most of my friends wonder why a rich kid like me drives such a small car.” His lips pulled into a smile and Lisette could read the untruth hidden there. “I find this car to be convenient. I didn’t know you drove an Evoque.”

“I’ve had it for a while. My father ordered it early. I was one of the first people to get it. That was about five years ago.” She shrugged.

“You got it for your sweet sixteen, huh?”

“Nope, Adrian Ross doesn’t believe in rewarding for the mere fact that you were born. Sure we had birthday presents but nothing that cost as much as a car. I got it when I graduated high school at the top of my class. My brother and sister got theirs on the same premise.”

“That’s cool.”

* * * *

Reno walked through the crowded beach, a tall skinny blond on his arm. He didn’t know why exactly he had decided to come to this thing. Transferring from the university at the Hawaiian island was one thing, joining co-eds at parties like this was another. But he was looking forward to the summer of investigating he had ahead of him.

He had left the island after his mother’s death for one thing, to find his bastard of a father and make him pay. That his father, whom he wanted so much to ruin, was now using his money and power to find his little sister from whom he had been separated when she was five and he eight, he found puzzling. They were months apart. Their parents had been eager to add onto the brood, but just after his sister Rhyne was born, his cowardly father had taken off. He didn’t leave them anything to live on, and after a while, their mother left them too.

“Babe, do you want to get me a drink?” The girl purred into his ear.

Reno stared at the girl and wondered why he was still with her. She had been his lone welcoming party when he had enrolled into NYU late last semester. She had laid it out for him for the taking, literally, and knowing one person in the city of New York was comforting. He didn’t feel as lonely.

“Sure.” He smiled at her.

Just as they made their way to the bar, Reno’s eyes were pulled in by raven hair flying with the cool ocean breeze. There was something comforting about it. He just wanted to bury his fingers and his face in it. He froze as he waited for what seemed like an eternity as she turned around. Her eyes locked in with his, and he got lost in the abyss of them. Her eyes were just as dark as her hair. She had dark skin and looked like she was of Latina descent.

He was about to take a step toward her, but a gentle tugging in a different direction reminded him of his blonde. The spell was broken and Reno noticed the girl blushing as she hid her gaze from him. All he wanted to do was to cup her soft jaw in his palm and lift her face up to his for a kiss. But the guy next to her wrapped his arm around her waist and he knew she was taken.

“Sorry, I’ll just get out of your way.” Reno wasn’t blocking them but he was prompting her to speak. He needed to hear the voice that accompanied the beautiful face that alone would give him warmth for the rest of the night.

“It’s all right.” Her voice came out in a soft whisper, and when he saw the color burn in her cheeks, he knew that wasn’t how she intended it.

He watched for a long time as she walked away with her boyfriend beside her, wondering if he would ever get to see her again. “Who was that?”

“Michael Mathews and Lisette Ross,” his companion said. “We don’t like her by the way.”

You don’t but I definitely do, and the pulse in my pants proves it. “Why?”

“She is an opinionated and self-righteous little bitch. Plus she has all the guys lusting after her. It’s not because she is good looking. It’s only because her step-daddy and godfather control all the money in New York.” She sneered as she spoke

“Her stepfather is Adrian Ross?” Reno couldn’t believe his luck. Cautiously he asked. “Who is her godfather?”

“The biggest financial guru in New York, Dennis Kent.”

Reno couldn’t shake off the ringing in his ears that the name had left behind, Dennis Kent, finally. Reno took a step forward in the direction that Lisette and Michael had disappeared in, but his conscience and something else held him back. He could not and would not use Lisette to get to Dennis. He would have to ignore each and every nerve in his body that urged him to claim her. If they were going to meet again, it would be by chance and not because he had sought her out for his own purpose.

But just as he was about to turn away something else came to his mind. “What do you mean they are only after her for her money?”

“Her money and everything else that her mama gave her.” The girl let out a sardonic laugh.

* * * *

“Why are we here?” Lisette looked around the deserted part of the beach. Michael had pulled her away from everyone, including AJ. She should have known that once AJ had seen that blonde girl with the strange eyes he would be lost to her forever.

“I thought we could have some alone time.” Michael’s lips curled into a sly smile.

“Why?” That was the dumbest question that she had ever asked in her twenty-two years of existence. Of course she knew why he had brought her to a secluded part of the beach. But what he didn’t know was that AJ wouldn’t walk away unless he knew she was capable of defending herself.

“I wanted us to have some time for romance, before your brother comes after us.” His hands rubbed up and down Lisette’s bare arms and immediately she felt her body cringe.

Michael leaned in for a kiss. Lisette’s eyes were focused on his face, the way his eyes closed and how his lips, puckered, drew closer to hers. Hell no! She heard the defiant yell in her mind. She took a step back and that knocked off Michael’s balance.

“Why the hell did you pull away?” His lips had turned into a hard white line, as rage from the rejection burned in his eyes.

“I don’t want to kiss you.” She wanted to kiss someone else, but Lisette kept that part to herself. Ever since she’d first seen that guy at the bar, her mind couldn’t shake off the smile he had given her. Plus, the tribal tattoo turned her on. “I don’t think you and I will work out.”

“What? Why? We’re so good together,” Michael whined.

“I have only known you for a day. I’ve known our pizza boy longer than that.” Lisette paused and tried to think of how AJ would handle a situation like this. “It’s not you—it’s me. I’m just not into you.”

“In other words I am not good enough for the snooty, little rich girl,” he spat out.

“If you want to put it that way—” Lisette shrugged and turned away. She knew when it was time to make an exit, and the angry look on Michael’s face told her that it was time. As she started to walk away she felt him grab her arm. She stiffened with a shocked gasp as she was forced to turn to face him.

* * * *

“You are an idiot Reno,” he chastised himself as he walked toward the deserted part of the beach. He couldn’t get Lisette out of his mind, and knowing that boy only wanted her for her piggy bank, he felt like he needed to get her away from him. His heart stopped and his legs froze when he approached an unfolding violent scene.

He watched as Lisette tried to walk away from Michael but he grabbed her arm. He was just about to run in to defend her, when he saw her pull a karate move. Lisette had twisted Michael’s arm and hauled him over her shoulder. He landed on his ass with a distinguished thump. Reno laughed—this was his kind of girl. But he had to intercept before Michael got up, Lisette was only five-six and Michael had a height and weight advantage, whereas Reno was six-four and built of pure muscle. There was nothing Michael could do against him.

“Is there a problem here?” he barked.

“Look, Michael, your nanny is here to rescue you,” Lisette mocked.

Reno watched as Michael grew angrier. Lisette was like a little girl poking a lion. Either she was oblivious of the danger she was in, or his presence had made her surer of herself.

“Maybe he has a hanky you could use to wipe your sniffling little nose.” Reno held back a laugh as she went on. “Do you want to cry, Michael? Do you want to cry because I won’t let you in my pants, or because I won’t let you near my papa?”

Reno froze at that moment. She knew that people were only after her connections and that was all the more reason to stay away from her, until he was done with what had brought him to New York in the first place. He took a step forward as Michael launched himself at Lisette. But yet again the little pixie proved she didn’t need his help. She sidestepped him like a pro-football player and Michael dived into the white sand, face first.

“Oh, poor baby. I promise I will stand still this time.”

Reno barked out a laugh that caught her attention. He watched as Michael tried to take advantage of her distraction, but she just proved how much better than he was at fighting.

“What’s going on here?” Reno turned toward the deep baritone. The African-American man standing next to him was just as tall as he was, and almost matched him in build.

“It’s nothing, she’ll be fine.” Reno growled protectively. He felt this guy was another competitor for Lisette’s affection or riches.

“I know, I taught her how to fight without making any contact,” the man said. “Come on, piggy. I think you’ve humiliated him enough for a lifetime.”

“I think she could do a little bit more. It’s quite entertaining.”

“I know, but I have to get her back home early. Adrian Ross, or AJ,” he introduced himself.

“Reno Kanaloa.” Reno Kanaloa Kent, he thought. But there was no reason AJ had to know that just yet. This night was turning into one hell of an event. His ancestors must be on his side.

Reno turned just in time to see Lisette rush and hide behind them. Michael was coming after her, his anger fueled by his crushed ego. Reno flipped him on his stomach with one twist of his arm and AJ’s convenient sweep of the foot. They both crouched over him and held his body immobile on the ground.

“You weren’t going to hit a girl were you?” The thought angered Reno.

“No, he wouldn’t hit my little sister, because he knows very well that I would drown him in this water.”

“Maybe he needs a little swim,” Reno suggested.

* * * *

Lisette stood back and watched AJ and the guy he was with, as they easily lifted Michael off the ground and tossed him into the raging waves. She watched as they both walked back to her laughing. There was something genuine about his smile that pulled her in. Plus the way his black T-shirt clung to his chest, and his white shorts, screaming at the seams, made her have impure thoughts.

“Hi, I’m Lisette.” She stretched out her hand to him, and watched as he took it in his as if it was something dear and fragile.

“Reno. It’s nice to meet you.” Reno held her gaze and immediately she felt she was floating in the depths of their brown, honey pools. She just wanted to walk into his arms and give away the kiss that Michael wanted to claim from her. But AJ cut in.

“Thanks for the help, Reno. Maybe we could hang out later.”

“Definitely.”

Lisette bit back a moan of disappointment when his eyes were pulled away from her to AJ. She watched as the two men exchanged contacts, and almost fought her brother when he pulled her away from Reno’s godly beauty. Her disappointment was sweetened when he blew a kiss at her. She felt her heart melt and her knees go weak, so much so that she tripped over herself and if it wasn’t for AJ hoisting her up into his arms, she would have fallen flat on her face. Over AJ’s shoulder she watched as Reno watched them, waving at her as AJ carried her away.

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