“You can’t be here,” the little twit currently squeezing her arm insisted. “You don’t have an invitation, nor are you wearing the appropriate attire.”
I seethed, something dark and fierce uncurled inside me at the sight of him bruising her soft flesh.
On a good day, I wasn’t the sort of man to stick my nose where it didn’t belong, but I was compelled by some dark driving force to intervene.
“I’m not here for the party,” the caramel-haired female insisted. “I told you, I’m looking for my brother.”
“Not tonight, you’re not,” the male declared as he pulled her toward the front of the house.
“Hey,” she hissed, trying to pry his fingers from her arms. “You’re hurting me.”
I stepped into the male’s path, blocked his attempt to drag her away. Anger, hot and bright erupted and it took everything in me not to rip his head clean off his body.
“If you wouldn’t mind,” he huffed, trying to move around me. “She’s not permitted to be here.”
“I think she asked you to remove your hand.” I kept my voice even, the deep bellow all I generally needed to get the desired result.
The male sighed, glared up at me. “I’m not here to argue with you, Talon. She can’t be here. Master Arlington said—”
I nodded my chin toward his hand still gripping her arm. “Off.”
He released her, then stepped back, his palms coming up in a sign of surrender. “Whatever. I’ve got to inform the security team. They won’t be nearly as nice as I’ve been.”
“Tell whoever you need to.” Before he could walk off, I gripped his shoulder, my hand covering the entire shoulder joint, squeezing just enough to have his arm going numb. “Next time you think of being nice to her, I’ll break your fingers. One by one.” I leaned down to his level. “Then I’ll feed them to you.”
The male howled, his knees buckling as my fingers dug deeper into the nerves.
“Okay. Yes. I won’t touch her again.”
I released him, my eyes shifting to the female. More specifically the way she was rubbing her arm.
The bullshit excuse for security stormed off in a huff, but I was more interested in the big brown eyes peering up at me.
“Are you okay?” I took her wrist, gently raised her arm and studied the red marks the bastard had left. Perhaps I should break his fingers anyway.
Her eyes locked on the spot where my skin touched hers, but she didn’t pull away. When she peered up at me, those beautiful dark eyes were calmer.
“Yes. I’m fine. Look,” she said softly. “I really am sorry. I’m not trying to crash the party. I just need to find my brother.”
I motioned her out of the direct path of the other guests. “Who’s your brother?”
“Ransom Bishop.”
“He’s not here,” I told her.
Her eyes widened and a glimmer of fear replaced the determination. “He’s not? He said he’d be here.”
I motioned toward the front door. “Left about an hour ago. Said he had to take care of something.”
Her hand covered her mouth. “Oh, God.”
Releasing the wrist I’d inadvertently been running my thumb over, I motioned for her to step toward the hallway. No sense causing a scene.
Footsteps erupted behind me. With my body blocking her from view, I glanced over my shoulder.
“Hey. She can’t be here.”
The new arrival was glaring up at me as though he just might have the mind to take matters into his own hands should I not abide by his declaration. He attempted to look around me to locate the female. As though it was my sole position in life, I didn’t move, keeping her sheltered between my body and the corner, my back to the room.
I turned my attention back to the female while I continued to speak to the male who was making a feeble attempt at passing himself off as security. “She’s here. And she’s not leaving until I say she’s leaving. Understand?”
She craned her neck, staring up at me, but I didn’t detect any fear in those pretty brown eyes.
“Look, man,” the male muttered. “I’m not some submissive you can boss around. I’m TJ Arlington’s second-in-command.”
“Ah.” I smirked, never taking my attention off the female. “Well, why don’t you find me the top dog then. Perhaps he’ll have a bit more respect for Mr. Arlington’s guests.”
“She’s not a guest,” he argued.
“Maybe not. But I am.” I spared him one quick glance over my shoulder. “Consider her my plus one. Interrupt me again, you won’t walk out of here under your own steam.”
He swallowed, clearly detecting the sincerity of my threat. I didn’t bother waiting for him to walk away before I peered back at the female.
“What’s your name?” I asked, my voice softer than before.
“Braelyn,” she whispered, still looking up at me. “Braelyn Bishop.”
I nodded as I stood tall, still keeping her protected from the room. “I’m Talon.”
As though she’d heard my name before, her eyes flared slightly before settling.
I took one step back, giving her room to breathe, but I kept her shielded in the corner.
“Did you try calling him?”
“Yeah.” She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly. “Several times. But he does this on occasion. Ignores my calls when he’s too busy.”
“Talon?”
The familiar voice had me turning to see TJ Arlington strolling my way.
A foreign need to defend had me standing taller, maxing out my full six feet eight inches, broadening my stance as I turned my back on the female. Didn’t matter that I knew TJ wasn’t a real threat. The beast inside me panted, paced, readied for a fight and I’d never felt it as fiercely as I did at that moment.
“Relax, big guy,” TJ joked. “I just wanted to let you know you’ve got access to any place in my home.” He motioned down the hall. “There’s a library and an office that way. Guest rooms upstairs. I’ve informed my boys to keep clear.”
I offered a nod of thanks.
Without waiting for more, TJ turned and walked off, greeting another guest.
“Why don’t I try calling him,” I told Braelyn when I turned back, gestured for her to head down the hallway. “Perhaps we should check out the library.”
She smiled, obviously hearing the amusement in my tone. I would never understand why someone had a library in their home. I had bookshelves full of books in my house, but they weren’t in the library, it was simply a room. In my house.
Perhaps that was too pretentious for me.
When we stepped into the room, I retrieved my phone, pulled up Ransom’s contact info and dialed. A minute later, I was leaving a message for him to return my call.
“Does he usually avoid your calls, too?” Braelyn asked, her cute little ass leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest.
“No. Never.”
“Shit,” she bit out seconds before she began pacing the ridiculous room.
The ceilings were roughly twenty feet tall, some awkward mural of what could’ve passed for Greek mythology painted across it. The walls were lined with dark wood shelving, all filled to overflowing with books. The bulk of which I was almost certain cost more than a small country. One bookshelf was dedicated to TJ Arlington and his wealth of publications revolving around romantic BDSM fiction.
I doubted Braelyn would’ve been able to tell me the color of the shelves, her attention directed to the overpriced gold rug covering a majority of the floor.
“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on,” I suggested. “Perhaps I can help.”
When she stopped her midnight marathon, Braelyn turned to look at me. This time, when those beautiful eyes met mine, they were flooded with tears.
It was then, that very moment in time, when I realized exactly where I was meant to be.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Of course, I have to thank my wonderfully patient husband who puts up with me every singl
e day. If it wasn’t for him and his belief that I could (and can) do this, I wouldn’t be writing this today. He has been my backbone, my rock, the very reason I continue to believe in myself. I love you for that, babe.
I also have to thank my street team – Naughty (and nice) Girls – Your unwavering support is something I will never take for granted.
I can’t forget my copyeditor, Amy at Blue Otter Editing. Thank goodness I’ve got you to catch all my punctuation, grammar, and tense errors.
Nicole Nation 2.0 for the constant support and love. You’ve been there for me from almost the beginning. This group of ladies has kept me going for so long, I’m not sure I’d know what to do without them.
And, of course, YOU, the reader. Your emails, messages, posts, comments, tweets… they mean more to me than you can imagine. I thrive on hearing from you, knowing that my characters and my stories have touched you in some way keeps me going. I’ve been known to shed a tear or two when reading an email because you simply bring so much joy to my life with your support. I thank you for that.
About Nicole Edwards
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nicole Edwards lives in the suburbs of Austin, Texas with her husband and their youngest of three children. The two older ones have flown the coup, while the youngest is in high school. When Nicole is not writing about sexy alpha males and sassy, independent women, she can often be found with a book in hand or attempting to keep the dogs happy. You can find her hanging out on social media and interacting with her readers - even when she's supposed to be writing.
Want to know what’s coming next? Or how about see some fun stuff related to Nicole’s books. You can find those, as well as tons of other stuff including exclusive content for your favorite series on Nicole’s website.
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BY NICOLE EDWARDS
ALLURING INDULGENCE
Kaleb
Zane
Travis
Holidays with the Walker Brothers
Ethan
Braydon
Sawyer
Brendon
THE WALKERS OF COYOTE RIDGE
Curtis
Jared
Hard to Hold
Hard to Handle
Beau
Rex
A Coyote Ridge Christmas
Mack
AUSTIN ARROWS
Rush
Kaufman
CLUB DESTINY
Conviction
Temptation
Addicted
Seduction
Infatuation
Captivated
Devotion
Perception
Entrusted
Adored
Distraction
DEAD HEAT RANCH
Boots Optional
Betting on Grace
Overnight Love
Jared
DEVIL’S BEND
Chasing Dreams
Vanishing Dreams
MISPLACED HALOS
Protected in Darkness
Salvation in Darkness
OFFICE INTRIGUE
Office Intrigue
Intrigued Out of the Office
Their Rebellious Submissive
Their Famous Dominant
Their Ruthless Sadist
Their Naughty Student
Their Fairy Princess
PIER 70
Reckless
Fearless
Speechless
Harmless
Clueless
SNIPER 1 SECURITY
Wait for Morning
Never Say Never
Tomorrow’s Too Late
SOUTHERN BOY MAFIA/DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND
Beautifully Brutal
Without Regret
Beautifully Loyal
Without Restraint
STANDALONE NOVELS
Unhinged Trilogy
A Million Tiny Pieces
Inked on Paper
Bad Reputation
Bad Business
NAUGHTY HOLIDAY EDITIONS
2015
2016
Their Fairy Princess (Office Intrigue Book 7) Page 42
