"Lael? The teenager we were looking for?"
Draco stood, moved behind her, and started massaging her shoulders. She should tell him to stop, but she didn't. "That's right. I found him and he's my brother."
Her head whirled. "That's crazy."
"I know." His voice was so close to her ear she could feel the heat of his breath. If she leaned back just so, he might kiss her there. God, she wanted to. This time, she stayed still.
"How did he teach you those things?"
Draco's hands did amazing things to her shoulders. She almost sagged with relief as he worked out a kink in her neck. "Ace was really angry, but he forgave me when I came home with Lael. Neither of us could turn him away. He's our brother. The same man abandoned us all. It's not an excuse, but I think I thought because my father was that way, I had to be that way too, that somehow, I was designed to fail at relationships at a genetic level."
Wendy's heart turned over. God, the pain. She didn't want to feel his pain so acutely. Right or wrong, she was still in love with him.
"Only I couldn't leave Lael and neither could Ace and that told me we weren't built like the man who fathered us all. It told me that if I could be a worthy person, the kind who spends all day helping my teenaged brother cope with grief, loss, and betrayal, then maybe, I could be worthy enough to be with you."
Wendy stood and spun around so fast, she nearly knocked him over. "You were always worthy."
He shook his head. "I should have been, but I wasn't. Somewhere along the line, I started to believe my own press. The way you saw me, the way you thought I was really good, I want to be
that man."
"You are that man. I've never seen you as anything other than that, Draco." He shook his head. "We're going to have to disagree."
She huffed as she pointed a finger at him. "This doesn't change anything. You told me you didn't want people you could lose."
"Wendy." He looked at the floor. "As I watched Lael grieve over the loss of his crazy mother, even though he chose to run away from her, I've learned that even if I run away from you I'm going to miss you every day for the rest of my life." He looked up. "If you'll have me, I'd rather spend what time we do have loving each other. I'd like to take you home, cherish you, love you, sleep with you in my bed—where, by the way, no one has ever slept but me because I was saving it for my wife—so if you'll have me, I'd—"
"Your wife?" She could hardly breathe.
"Can you? Can you forgive me and, maybe, love me forever? Could you be my family?"
Jumping on him, she pushed her mouth on his, hard. God, there were so many reasons to say no, so many reasons not to be his wife, but she didn't care. This was Draco. He loved her and she'd been in love with him forever. Yes, she would be his wife. Yes, she would love him forever.
She kissed him. "What is your real name?”
“What?"
"Don't you think I should know your real name? You said Draco wasn't your real name."
"Oh." He laughed. "I forgot I told you that. It's been so long since anyone called me anything but Draco. I actually think of myself as Draco now."
"You're stalling."
"It's not that it's bad, it's just kind of ordinary. It's Daniel."
Daniel...hmm...he was right, it was too ordinary for him. Even as just a "good man," he was Draco Powers.
He pulled away and she felt bereft. "I do have some conditions."
"Conditions?" Her heart pounded stronger.
"Yes, you have to play that game." He pointed to her computer. "Every night for at least one hour until you unlock the secret vault that lets you into the expert levels, and when I go back to work you have to be my Handler again. Other than that, you just have to agree to let me love you
forever."
"All right." She grinned. "But if you ever pull that shit again like you did after you rescued me, I'm going to let Ace do all the things he muttered about that night when he took me home."
He bit down gently on her lower lip. "He'd never be able to pull it off. I'm twice as strong as he is."
Swatting him lightly on the shoulder, she couldn't help but laugh at his audacity.
He was Draco, after all, her Guardian. Now if she could just get him to watch Space Adventures with her every night...
She was back in the mood to watch.
~The End~
A Thank you from Fated Desires
Thank you so much for reading Seductive Powers. We’re huge fans of all strong heroes (and heroines!) and all they stand for and we’re glad to have a novel that shows that in our lists. We do hope if you liked this, that you would please leave a review from where you purchased this or on anther platform such as GoodReads. Not only does a review spread the word to other readers, they let us know if you’d like to see more stories like this from us. Rebecca loves to hear from readers and talks to them when she can. You can reach her through her website and through her
Facebook and Twitter accounts. You guys are the reason we get to do what we do and we thank you.
If you are looking for more stories like these, you don’t have to wait much longer! Rebecca has her next book in the series, Adrenaline Rush coming soon, as well as another treat in the series. Also, we have a few new authors coming that will be sure to whet your appetite.
If you’d like to know more about Fated Desires, check out our website or email us at
[email protected].
About the Author
As a teenager, Rebecca Royce would hide in her room to read her favorite romance novels when she was supposed to be doing her homework. She hopes, these days, that her parents think it was well worth it.
Rebecca is the mother of three adorable boys and is fortunate to be married to her best friend.
They’ve just moved to Texas where Rebecca is discovering a new love for barbecue!
She's in love with science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal and tries to use all of these elements in her writing. She's been told she's a little bloodthirsty so she hopes that when you read her work you'll enjoy the action packed ride that always ends in romance. Rebecca loves to write series because she loves to see characters develop over time and it always makes her happy to see her favorite characters make guest appearances in other books.
In Rebecca Royce's world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.
www.RebeccaRoyce.com
Also from this Author
Now Available:
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Love Beyond Time
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Love Beyond Loyalty
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Love Beyond Expectations
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Summer’s Wolf
Wolf Reborn
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Wolf’s Magic
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The Warrior:
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The Conditioned:
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Other Works:
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The Edge stories: Unwanted Mate, Bar Mate, Mate by the Music, Out of Place Mate Love In One Night
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Coming Soon:
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Excerpt: Dreams of Ivory
Did you enjoy this selection? Why not try another romance from Fated Desires?
From USA Today Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan’s Holiday Montana Series
Chapter 1
"Maybe if he got laid, he wouldn't be such an ass."
Jackson Cooper gritted his teeth as the words floated into the grocery store aisle. He gripped the handle on his cart then took a deep breath. He had two choices: either confront the woman who’d spoken or walk past her and act like the ass he knew he was.
The latter seemed like the best choice since he really didn’t give two cents about an opinion from a woman he’d turned down.
Twice.
He put the box of pasta on the bottom of his cart and moved down the aisle, passing Jessica Turnip’s—the woman who’d spoken—and Claudia Sanders’ wide-eyed looks.
“Oh, J-Jackson…” Jessica stuttered, her too-painted cheeks blushing, her heavily shadowed-eyes wide with mocking and just a bit of fear. “It’s good to see you. Um...I wasn’t talking about you…no…it was…”
Her voice trailed off as she clutched her throat—as if he’d strangle her for her comments.
Really? They’d been talking about another Jackson Cooper who happened to be a dentist?
The two gossips had been talking about how the single male pool had almost completely dried up in Holiday, Montana with the sudden marriages of the Cooper brothers. Well, at least four of the five brothers. It’d be a cold day in hell if he ever took that plunge. When they’d come to his name in the short list of available men, Claudia had giggled while Jessica had sighed.
Apparently they wanted him, and he wanted nothing to do with them.
Hence why they thought he was an ass.
Well, he was an ass, but he had good reasons—he didn’t particularly like people.
He just didn’t care about being nice for the sake of making people feel better about their own jealousy and insecurities.
Instead of saying what was really on his mind though, he merely raised a cool brow then turned his back to them, walking toward the check-out lines. He heard their mumbled voices as he left, but he didn’t bother trying to figure out what they were saying. Either they were commenting on his ass or the fact that he was an ass.
Most likely both.
Hell, he missed having his brothers free to be able to take the brunt of the female population, but now they’d all married within a short time of each other. Matt and Jordan had married first, soon after they’d gotten back together. Then Justin, Tyler, and Brayden had married the loves of their lives in a triple ceremony on the Cooper property.
Though the whole town had tried to come, Jackson and the women were having none of that.
No, everyone had wanted a small ceremony with only family and close friends. Even Jackson’s cousins had come into town, his cousin Caleb bringing his two girls to be flower girls along with Lacy, Brayden’s new daughter. Brayden’s two new sons, Cameron and Aiden, had been ring bearers while Jackson had stood awkwardly to the side acting like best man and maid of honor.
Apparently that had been the women’s wishes, so he’d done it, but he’d be damned if he let anyone other than his family mention the fact. It was either that, or let the women bring in another woman to take the job and match make.
Hell no.
Everyone had wanted the ceremony to be fast yet peaceful, so they had done just that back in March. Brayden and Allison had been dating for little more than two weeks before they got married, but really; they’d been circling around each other for ten years, so it hadn’t seemed fast for any of them. Tyler and Abigail had been the same way with their fast courtship. The two had known each other for years and were perfect for each other. Seeing how Tyler was a cupid, it only made sense his brother would know his own mind.
Well, that was as long as Tyler didn’t have a curse on him, but that was a whole other story.
Justin and Rina had known each other the shortest amount of time, but it didn’t seem to bother them that they were now shackled to each other.
As long as they left Jackson’s personal life alone, he’d stay on the sidelines and watch the happy newlyweds gush and smile at each other for eternity. Yet, it was the odd gleams in their
eyes when they looked at him that made him worry. They were either filled with pity that he was alone or were calculating how to make him join their wedded bliss.
Again, not for him.
Ever.
He’d made it to the checkout line when his phone rang. With a sigh, he checked the screen and answered Matt’s call.
“Yes?” he asked, his voice clipped. Not that he was angry with Matt, but if his brother was calling now, it was probably for an errand Jackson wasn’t in the particular mood to do.
“Hey, bro, we need a favor,” Matt said, his voice a little harried.
We.
Ah yes, we. That either meant him and Jordan, or him and the rest of the Coopers. Jackson never knew anymore since they all congregated together far too often. Not that he didn’t love his brothers and new sisters-in-law. He just felt that being alone and at peace would be nice every once in a while.
“Yes?” he said again, ignoring the looks of Jessica and Claudia as they passed him again.
“We need peanut butter. A lot of peanut butter.”
Jackson blinked. “Uh, don’t you already have some at home?”
Matt let out a shaky laugh. “Yes, but it’s not the right brand and right now all four women are at the house picking wallpaper and craving peanut butter.”
Jackson let out another sigh. “What kind?”
“I knew you’d help. Thanks, Jacks. Okay, Jordan wants the extra crunchy kind. Rina wants smooth. Abby wants that New Age organic kind with honey inside, and Allison wants the kind with the jelly already added. You know those mini Coopers. They’re picky.”
Jackson blinked again, almost at a loss for words as he ignored the mini Cooper reference, a term the girls loved and had begun calling their offspring. Having four women all entering the second trimester of their pregnancy at the same time was just about killing the brothers. How the hell had he become part of this? He wasn’t married to any of them, and yet now he was the peanut butter bearer.
Hell.
“Four… four types of peanut butter?” Jackson asked.
“Yes. Four. I’m alone in the house with four pregnant women who all want peanut butter of
their own choosing. For the love of God, help me.”
The panic in his brother’s voice made Jackson smile. Matt had the pre-daddy jitters. In fact, all his brothers did.
“Fine. I’ll get out of line and get your peanut butter, but there’s no way in hell I’m getting out of my car to drop them off. You’ll have to come out—sans women. I need to get to work since I took the morning off.”
Matt laughed. “I still can’t believe you did that. I called your office first to see if you’d pick some up on your way home, and your receptionist was there doing paperwork and told me you’d be in late. I thought hell had frozen over.”
Jackson gritted his teeth as he made his way to the peanut butter aisle. He still couldn’t believe there were so many types of it. He piled them into his cart and shook his head.
“I had a cracked bicuspid emergency last night and didn’t get home until late. I decided I could take off the morning since my appointments were easily moved.”
The perks of a small town was that he could afford to change things around if his loyal patients were on the books.
The downside was that he was the only dentist in town—as well as the county. He never got a break unless he inconvenienced someone.
“I’m not blaming you, Jacks, God no. It’s about time you take time for yourself.”
Jackson rolled his eyes and made his way back to the checkout lines—this time four jars of peanut butter heavier. “I’m fine with the way things are, Matt.”
“If you say so
, Jacks. Okay, I’ll be on the lookout for your car and will run out to you so you can speed off before the women come out. I’ll make the excuse that you have to head to work.
Which really isn’t a lie since it’s your favorite thing to do.”
Jackson grunted at his brother’s remark then hung up without saying goodbye. Matt would get the gist of it. He paid and made his way to his car, ignoring the looks of his townspeople. The Coopers were the most well known family in all of Holiday, so it wasn’t surprising he garnered a few looks.
Plus he was a single man in a town full of single women.
God, he needed a vacation away from Holiday.
When he got to Matt and Jordan’s place, he parked near the curb but didn’t go to the driveway. He needed a quick escape in case one of the women saw him. Considering one was a
witch, another a magical elf, and one more like a harpy, he wasn’t taking any chances. Not to mention that Allison was raising three children with another on the way and was as fierce as any momma bear.
Yeah, he wasn’t too afraid to admit—to himself—that he’d steer clear of the new Coopers as long as possible.
The front door opened, and Matt ran out, his hair standing on end as though he’d been running his hands through it throughout the day. Considering he’d been in the house alone with four pregnant women all day, Jackson couldn’t blame him.
“Oh thank God,” Matt said as he took the bag from Jackson. “They’re all upstairs looking at more wallpaper for one of the guest rooms. Jordan is going crazy with finishing renovations on the house, but don’t tell her I said that.” His eyes widened as if he’d just noticed what he’d let slip.
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