Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
A Taste of Sir
Doms of Decadence
Laylah Roberts
Copyright
Laylah Roberts
A Taste of Sir.
© 2017, Laylah Roberts
[email protected]
laylahroberts.com
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.
This story contains explicit sex scenes and BDSM. R18
Cover Design by: EDH Graphics
Editor: Eve Arroyo
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Books by Laylah Roberts
Doms of Decadence
Just for You, Sir
Forever Yours, Sir
For the Love of Sir
Sinfully Yours, Sir
Make me, Sir
A Taste of Sir
Men of Orion
Worlds Apart
Cavan Gang
Rectify
Redemption
Redemption Valley
Audra’s Awakening
Old-Fashioned Series
An Old-Fashioned Man
Two Old-Fashioned Men
Her Old-Fashioned Husband
Her Old-Fashioned Boss
His Old-Fashioned Love
Haven, Texas Series
Lila’s Loves
Laken’s Surrender
Saving Savannah (coming Nov 2017)
WildeSide
Wilde
Sinclair
Luke
The Hunters
A Mate to Cherish
Contents
A Taste of Sir
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
Prologue
“Ciao, bella.”
Lacey looked over with a blush as she walked towards her car. She couldn’t help it. He was so damn hot. Every morning, he jogged by her place. Sometimes, she stood in the window of her apartment and just stared at him. Sweat coated his lean, muscled body. He was deeply tanned, with black hair that spoke of Italian heritage, although she wasn’t entirely convinced the accent was genuine. Not that it mattered. He was only a fantasy she indulged in; he’d never be her reality.
Still, it was a boost to her confidence each morning when he called her beautiful, even though she was certain he called every woman bella. She sighed as he jogged out of sight. She wouldn’t even know what to do with a man like that in her bed. She wasn’t exactly experienced, and her one long-term boyfriend had cheated on her, claiming she hadn’t spent enough time with him and he was neglected.
She snorted. As her cousin Travis had said, he was a real dick.
Exhaustion pulled at her, and she closed her eyes for a minute. The Latin Lothario case was really draining her. Six women dead. It was horrifying.
She opened her eyes again and moved to her car, frowning as she saw a brown envelope resting under the window wiper. She pulled it out then unlocked her car and climbed in, studying the envelope. There was no name. No return address. Nothing.
Odd.
She opened the unsealed envelope.
Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Your lover is watching.
He’s waiting for you.
Oh, God. Oh, fuck.
She’d just been targeted as the next victim.
The Latin Lothario was coming for her next.
Chapter One
She was a failure.
Lacey gripped the steering wheel tighter. Her teeth aching as she clenched her jaw, her shoulders tightening.
Drive forward.
No.
Her breathing quickened. Her heart raced so hard she thought she’d pass out. A hot flush washed over her as the car closed in around her. She stared at the sign in front of her.
Welcome to Albany. A great place to live, work and visit.
Maybe for some. Not so great for her. She took a deep breath. You can do this.
No.
Yes. You’re a trained psychologist. You can damn well go home without having a panic attack.
Her breath came faster. Harsh pants filled the car.
“Stop it, Lacey. You’re over this.” Logically, she knew her brother’s death wasn’t her fault. She’d been through therapy. She’d worked that out a long time ago. But everything that had happened during these last few months had brought up old feelings of guilt over Brax’s death.
And anger. God, she was so angry.
Angry that they’d made her feel like Brax’s death was her fault. Angry that she cared what they thought, that despite everything she still wanted them to acknowledge her. To care. Anger and guilt were a bad combination.
But she’d come too far to turn back now and it wasn’t like she had to stay. She’d flown into JFK last night. She could have flown straight into Albany, but this way she had an excuse to leave early if she needed to. Nobody needed to know that her flight home wasn’t until tomorrow. Plus, there was the slight possibility her father might have asked her to stay the night. And the last thing she needed was to stay the night in her childhood home with her father and his new bride.
Ick.
A knocking noise made her startle. She opened her eyes and screamed, cringing away in fear. Her stomach clenched, nausea rising. The door opened.
Oh, God. Oh, God. He’s found me. He’s here.
“Lacey? Honey, it’s me. It’s Clay. It’s all right. It’s just me.”
The beating of her heart almost drowned out the deep, masculine voice. He crouched down, and a familiar face filled her vision, concern crossing his handsome face. But even though her brain recognized him, her body still reacted, fear holding her paralyzed.
“Lacey? Say something, sweetheart. Come on, breathe for me. Just breathe. In then out. That’s it. In then out.”
She managed one breath then another. Finally, she thought she had herself under enough control to be able to speak. “Clay?”
“Yep. That’s me.”
“W-what are you doing here?” She tried to slow her breathing. To act like she hadn’t just completely freaked out because one of her cousins had knocked on her car window.
He
frowned slightly. “I’m headed to your dad’s place, honey. For lunch. You remember?”
“Of course, I remember.” She bit her lip, hearing how defensive she sounded. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He studied her thoughtfully. “What you doing pulled over here?”
She smiled at him, hoping she looked better than she felt. “I thought the car was pulling to the right. I was going to get out and check the tires.”
“That so?”
He wasn’t buying it. Damn it.
“I’ll take a look for you.”
“Thanks.”
Clay and his four brothers had all been wild growing up. Risk-takers. If it didn’t involve a few beers and a brawl, then it wasn’t a good Saturday night. But no matter how crazy they were, family always came first. And nobody messed with the Andrews boys. All she had to do was call, and they’d come running. When she’d broken down one night on a back road, she’d known better than to call her father, who was likely deep into a bottle of bourbon. Instead, she’d called Tyler, Clay’s youngest brother. He’d raced over to help her straight away.
Without bothering to get dressed.
Now, she loved her cousins, but she didn’t need to see that much of them. Apparently, he’d just charmed some girl into his bed when she’d called. But he hadn’t been upset with her for interrupting his fun. He’d scolded her for driving around alone at night instead of calling one of them to pick her up. Then he’d changed her tire and followed her home.
“Looks good, honey.” Clay came back and crouched by the open driver’s door. “Why don’t you leave it here and we’ll call the rental company and get it towed? You can come with me.”
It was right on the tip of her tongue to say yes. It would be so much easier if someone else was driving. She licked her dry lips. But was she seriously going to get her rental car towed when there was nothing wrong with it?
“Come on, Lace. You know I’m not going to let you drive now.” Clay reached over and undid her seatbelt, taking charge, as usual.
Each of her cousins was bossier and more dominant than the next, although Travis was definitely the worst. As the oldest, he thought it was his right to order everyone around. And most people did exactly as he said because he was scary as fuck.
But Clay was more easy-going. She looked up at him. “I’m okay, Clay. I probably just imagined it. Maybe it was a gust of wind or something.”
Yep, because it’s windy as hell today. Good one, Lacey.
Clay looked around, as though searching for this imaginary wind. She felt a blush rise up her cheeks. “Clay, please. I need my car.” In case I have to make a quick getaway. Today was not going to be easy.
“Haven’t met her yet, have you?” he asked with sympathy.
“No. What does it say about our relationship that my dad eloped without telling me, with a woman I haven’t even met?”
Clay gave her a look.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. He invited me home plenty of times.” But she couldn’t come. There were just too many memories. Anger and resentment and guilt.
You should have come home earlier. Should have worked all of this out.
Except somehow, it was easier to counsel other people than it was to take her own advice.
“He could have waited. Or visited me.”
“That he could have,” Clay said in agreement. “I know it’s hard to come home, honey.” He squeezed her shoulder. “We all feel it. But he’s going be really happy to see you.”
Will he?
That’s not fair, Lacey. Just because he has a new wife doesn’t mean he cares about you any less.
But then, how much had he ever really noticed her?
She smiled tightly. “You’re right. This is as much my fault as his. Don’t worry, I’m going to be polite.”
“When are you anything else, honey?” He gave her a funny look, and she felt her stomach tighten. Did he know? Did he realize it was all an act, and that underneath she was a complete mess? “If you’re going to insist on driving then I’ll follow behind. You feel the car do anything odd, you pull over straight away, hear me?”
She saluted him, her mouth too dry to speak. God, she hated coming home.
***
Her laugh sounded like a hyena on crack.
The high-pitched cackle made the hairs on Lacey’s arms stand on end. She watched as her father placed his arm around his new wife’s waist. She leaned into him, the top of her head not even reaching her father’s shoulder. All the Andrews men were tall. Even Lacey, at five-foot ten, felt small around them.
Another shrill chortle erupted from the woman. She shivered.
“You cold?”
She looked over as Travis sat next to her at the outdoor table. He put his plate down, which was piled high with sausages, steak, potato salad, and coleslaw. It was more than she could eat in two days.
“Not hungry today?” she asked.
“I can always go back for seconds.”
She snorted. “With your brothers around? I doubt that.”
He glanced down at her uneaten food pointedly. “Then you better go add some more to your plate now, huh?”
She sighed. “Travis, I’m not seven anymore. You can’t tell me what to eat.”
“Couldn’t tell you then, either. Always were a stubborn thing.”
“Gee, I wonder where I get that from?”
They grinned at each other.
“Point taken,” he said. He looked over at her father and his bride. “What do you think of her?”
Lacey put her elbow on the table and leaned her chin into the palm of her hand. “Her name is Brandi with an I. That’s going to be annoying to remember when I’m writing out a card and stuff.”
Travis let out a soft grunt of laughter. “Because you intend to send her so many cards?”
“My point exactly. Christmas and birthdays come by once a year how am I supposed to remember to spell Brandi with an I? And isn’t she too old to spell her name that way?”
“You don’t care how her name is spelled.”
No, she didn’t. She was just searching for things to dislike about the woman. She didn’t know why. Her parents had divorced years ago. Yeah, it had been just her and her dad for a long time, but it wasn’t like Lacey was jealous. She might have had her dad to herself, but he’d never really been there for her.
He’d never noticed she was alive. No matter how much she’d tried to get him to pay attention.
“She has an awful laugh.”
“That she does,” he agreed around a mouthful of food.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” If he could scold her for not eating, then she intended to give as good as she got.
He rolled his eyes.
Her other cousins joined them. Clay sat opposite her, sending her a wink. Tyler sat on her other side then reached across her to grab the ketchup. She slapped his hand with her fork, and he gave her a hurt look. Rusty sat next to Clay and grunted at her. On the other side of Clay, her biggest cousin, Jace sat. The bench seat creaked under him. He took a drink of beer then burped.
She sighed. “You guys have appalling manners, you know that, right? It’s no wonder you’re all single.”
Rusty just grunted again, and Clay grinned. Beside her, Tyler tightened up, and she found herself wishing the words back. She knew how much his divorce hurt him.
“I don’t think it’s our manners keeping us single, sweetheart,” Travis told her.
No, probably not. They each had their issues. Things none of them wanted to bring up. She knew Travis and Rusty had seen things in the Marines they wouldn’t discuss. Tyler’s divorce was a taboo subject, and Jace hadn’t been the same since he’d quit working for the police force. Clay, well, she didn’t know what demons Clay had. Maybe he didn’t have any. Or maybe he just hid them better.
Brandi laughed again, and Lacey tightened up. Her father kissed the top of her head before leading her over to the huge mountain of food they’d put together for
this celebration.
Some celebration.
She glanced around the large garden. There were less than twenty people here to celebrate the happy couple. But then, her father had managed to alienate a lot of people over the years.
At least the guys had come. Without them, it would have seemed more like a funeral.
“Thanks for coming,” she told them, keeping her gaze down and moving her food around on the plate. “I didn’t know if you would be here today, but I’m glad you are.”
There was silence, and she looked up, meeting their serious gazes.
“We’re always here if you need us, Lacey,” Clay told her.
“Family first,” Travis said.
“Hell yeah,” Tyler added. “They’re the only ones you can count on.”
Rusty raised his beer, and they all grabbed their own drinks, clinking them. Only Lacey and Travis weren’t drinking. She didn’t drink because she hated being out of control and she was pretty sure Travis felt the same way.
She looked over at her father. She had first-hand experience of what could happen when someone turned to drinking to drown their problems.
“I was just asking Lacey what she thought of Brandi,” Travis told them.
She shot him a look. Couldn’t he leave it alone?
“And?” Clay asked.
She sighed. “She spells her name like a fifteen-year-old cheerleader, her laugh would make monkeys wince, and she dresses like a color-blind hippy.” She paused, realizing she wasn’t being fair. “And she seems to really love him. I’ve never seen him this happy.” Not since before her brother, Brax died anyway.
Even then, she couldn’t remember her parents acting like Brandi and her father were. She winced as she watched them kiss. Her father reached down and cupped his new wife’s ass. Oh, God, there were just some things a child shouldn’t have to see.
“So do we like her or hate her?” Tyler asked her.
Tears suddenly filled her eyes. God, she’d missed these guys. She needed to make more of an effort to see them. Maybe her parents hadn’t been there for her since Brax’s death, but these five had. They’d been everything to her. Protectors, friends, big brothers. It wasn’t until she left home that she realized how special they were.
A Taste of Sir (Doms of Decadence Book 6) Page 1
