by Lila Kane
THE PLAYER
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ENEMIES TO LOVERS, BOOK 4
LILA KANE
THE PLAYER (Enemies to Lovers, Book 4)
By Lila Kane
[email protected]
Copyright © May 2017 by Lila Kane
First E-book publication May 2017
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental. Please respect the author and do participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.
CONTENTS
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Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Epilogue
Excerpt: The Ex (Enemies to Lovers)
About the Author
Summary
When Alexis Carter is hired at Ink, Inc., she longs to prove herself. Not just as a great tattoo artist, but as the only female tattooist there. But stories of her boss Kane are legendary. Not only is he one of the best, he’s got a reputation for being a player—and both things intimidate her. Worse than that, as the newbie, he’s keeping his eye on her and it’s starting to irritate the hell out of her. Especially when his watchful gaze makes her hotter than she’s ever been around any man.
Kane Stone hasn’t ever hired a female tattoo artist before. But Alexis is one of the best and he’s not one to discriminate—particularly when she’s making clients happy. When one late night at work and an innocent ride home turns into something more, Kane can’t stop thinking about Alexis. He’s not above mixing business with pleasure, and he vows to make Alexis his.
All books in the Enemies to Lovers series can be read as standalones. You’re guaranteed a steamy short story with lots of heat and a HEA
Chapter 1
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Alexis
She could feel his eyes on her, piercing. Penetrating. No, she reminded herself, it wasn’t her, it was her work. That’s what he was looking at. Either way, it still made her feel like he was waiting for her to fail.
Kane’s tattoo shop, Ink, Inc. was the most well-known tattoo shop in Colorado, and he worked hard to keep it that way. Which was why she was pretty sure he was just looking for a reason to fire her. After all, she was the first female artist he’d hired. Which meant—what? He didn’t think women could hack it?
Alexis gritted her teeth as she shaded the corner of the rose. It was a simple tattoo, but evidently the man was one of Kane’s best clients, so she had to be perfect.
And she was. Every line, color, saturation—everything. It was perfect. Alexis might be a girl, but she was just as talented as the rest of the men who worked here.
She’d prove it every single day if she had to, until they treated her like one of their own. No, until Kane treated her like that. Like she belonged.
Alexis leaned back, examined her work, and grinned. “All done.”
Her client peered down at his forearm. Narrowed his eyes.
Kane walked over as well to examine the piece, and her stomach clenched. Both of them exchanged a look she couldn’t decipher, and then finally her client stood and held his hand out.
“Good work. Best arm piece yet.”
Her stomach unclenched and her shoulders drooped with relief. Hell. If that wasn’t a good endorsement, then what was?
She looked at Kane, ready for the praise she deserved, but he only nodded once and then walked with the client to the front of the shop.
Alexis mumbled a few curse words under her breath before she turned to clean up her station. One of the other artists, Levi, came over and sat in her chair.
“Good work,” he said, reclining with his hands behind his head.
“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
He squinted his eyes at her. “Huh?”
“Saying I did a good job. That wasn’t hard. So why can’t Kane, Mighty King of Ink—and women, apparently—say so?”
Levi chuckled. “King of Ink and Women. Nice. He’s got one of those women waiting for him at the front right now.”
“I know.” Alexis peered out to the lobby and grimaced. “She’s got more tattoos than me.”
And she was pretty hot. Like all the others. Kane had a woman out there pretty much every day. They’d come in and watch him work or wait in the lobby, and then ride off with him on his bike every night after work.
“Everyone has more tattoos than you,” Levi said.
She hit him on the head with a roll of paper towels. “I’m trying to tell a story here, not see how many tattoos I can get for the sake of it.”
Besides, three right now was plenty. She put a lot of thought into her ink and she wasn’t about to get one for no reason.
“That was praise, by the way.” Levi stood. “Kane not firing you after you worked on his best client—and then nodding at you. That was his form of praise. You’re in.”
“What?”
Levi grinned. “You’re officially off Kane probation. If his best client approves, then Kane approves. Which means you didn’t get your sorry ass fired, and he’ll probably lay up on the watchdog bit. Don’t worry. He did it to all of us, too.” He nudged her with his arm. “You’re just better to look at.”
She laughed. “Thanks.”
“So it’s beer, nachos, and darts tonight. Any of which you can substitute for something else. Everything but the location. We always go to Don’s.”
“Don’s?”
Levi nodded. “To celebrate. You’re one of us now, so we celebrate.”
Warmth filled her insides. One of them. She liked the sound of it. She just wished Kane was the one to say it. Wished for once he’d say something else to her besides what she was doing wrong. And maybe…maybe part of her wished he would look at her like he looked at those women in the lobby.
Fuck. Alexis finished cleaning up her station. No. She didn’t need Kane’s eyes anywhere near her. Or the rest of his body for that matter. He was too hot for his own good and he knew it. Hence the entourage of women wherever he went.
Worse than that, he seemed just as irritated by her as she was by him. They could be professional, they could work together, but that was it.
And she figured if she needed the praise, she could get it from Levi or any one of the other guys. They seemed perfectly happy giving her pointers and expressing what a great artist she was. Especially Levi.
Too bad she wasn’t interested.
Alexis did a once-over of her station—she knew she’d hear it from Kane if it wasn’t spotless and prepped for the next client or the next day. Then she congratulated herself and decided Levi was right. They needed to celebrate.
Chapter 2
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Kane
Don’s was rowdy tonight because it was the weekend. He hadn’t said a word to Alexis or the guys, but they knew the drill. If they could ink one of his best clients and get a handshake, Kane accepted them. Alexis officially worked for Ink, Inc. now. Which meant, despite the fact that he knew it was better to stay away from her outside of work, he had to be here.
He watched her over the rim of his s
ingle beer. Everyone else was practically wasted and it showed. His three best guys surrounded Alexis at the jukebox, dwarfing her with their height, while she paged through the songs.
Kane expected some Taylor Swift bullshit, but when she pushed the button and Joan Jett blared over the speakers, his lips curled into a reluctant grin. Then he frowned. That was the third time Alexis had surprised him. The first had been when she’d initially walked into his store. Hair fire-engine red, platform combat boots that still set her a foot shorter than him. Damn, his cock had gotten so hard he’d had to make an excuse to leave the room. The next had been when he’d seen her ink her first customer. It was flawless. And though his brain had screamed at him not to give her the job, he couldn’t turn down good art.
No, not just good. Great.
Alexis was a true artist. Firing her now would not only be unfair, it would be stupid. He’d been looking for a fourth member for his team, and now he’d found one.
Too bad he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off of her. All he wanted right now was to walk to the jukebox, shove aside the guys—especially Levi, who seemed to have his eyes on Alexis more than he had them on his own work—and haul Alexis into his arms. He’d tell her he wanted her—when, where, and how rough—and then he’d drive away with her on the back of his bike.
If it’d been any other woman, he would have made good on his word. But this was Alexis, an employee. If he crossed that line, things could get sticky, and his business was the most important thing in his life.
He didn’t fuck with sticky.
When his team made it back to the table, they ordered another round of drinks. He watched Alexis as she pounded another shot. The guys cheered. He just sat back, amused. Work was going to be a bitch for them tomorrow, but that wasn’t his business. As long as they showed up looking halfway respectable, did their job, he didn’t care.
But he didn’t normally stay at their celebrations this long. Usually he was home by now, or maybe spending a little time with Leslie. Or Denise. Or Stephanie. His cock twitched. But it wasn’t because of Stephanie. It was because Alexis had reached up to pull her hair off her neck. Her shirt rose with the gesture, exposing a wide sliver of bare skin at her stomach.
Damn it. He downed the rest of his beer. He should have gone home thirty minutes ago. Before the drinking got heavy. Before Alexis started to get a little sweaty. Before her tiny, tight little body started swaying to the music.
“It’s getting late,” he said, standing.
Levi frowned, almost falling off his stool when he looked at his watch. “But…we’re celebrating.”
“You won’t be celebrating when you have to drag your sorry ass into work at 9 am.”
Drew grinned. “Pretty sure I don’t care right now. Right Alexis? We should dance.”
“No…” She sighed. Her eyes were a little glassy, but she wasn’t as bad off as the others. “I think Kane’s right. I need to crash.”
Levi put his arm around her waist, and Kane’s teeth clenched. “Come on, Alex…A few more drinks, a few more songs…”
Kane knew exactly what Levi wanted to follow that up with. Alexis was polite when she smiled. She pushed him away. “Nope. I’m done. I just…”
She searched her purse for her keys and he started to shake his head. No way in hell was she driving home. But then she pulled out her phone. “Gotta get a ride home.”
“I’ll drive you,” Levi said.
“Get a damn cab,” Kane told him. “All of you. Or none of you have jobs anymore.”
He was all for a good time, but that didn’t mean they had to act like idiots.
Levi grabbed Alexis again with a smile. “Let’s share a cab.”
“No. Levi…”
When he didn’t release her, Kane walked around the table, prepared to step in. But then Alexis surprised him again. She shoved Levi back a step.
“I said no. You’re drunk, you need to get home. Sleep it off and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Her words were strong, but Kane didn’t miss the slight tremble in her hands when she reached into her purse again and pulled out her wallet.
“The drinks are on me,” Kane said.
She nodded, barely meeting his eyes, and then walked out the front of the bar.
Kane shoved some money into Drew’s hand. “Make sure these asshole’s get home, would ya?”
Drew nodded and reached for Levi. “Come on, Loverboy, it’s time to go.”
Kane turned his back on them and left the bar as well. He stopped just outside the door when he heard a quiet hitch of breath.
Alexis was leaning against the building, hand to her chest. “Sorry. God, Kane, you scared me.”
“You okay?”
“Oh.” She glanced to the door, like she expected Levi to come out after her again. “Yeah, sure. We all get a little friendly after a few drinks right?”
“Several drinks. And some of us can still control ourselves.”
Kane frowned, but didn’t continue. He trusted Levi, but he didn’t like to see his team get out of control. And he definitely didn’t like to see anyone’s hands on Alexis like that. Especially when he wanted his hands on her like that. Respectfully, of course.
“Did you call someone?” he asked.
She looked at her phone. “Not yet. Just getting some air. Trying to clear my head.”
He nodded to the parking lot. “I’ll drive you.”
Her mouth opened, then closed. Then opened again. “Drive me?”
“Take you home. So you don’t have to call a cab.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.” He gestured to his bike. “I want to.”
He felt like he owed her that much for Levi’s behavior. And for earlier, when he hadn’t even told her that her work was right up there with the best. She probably knew it, but it was his job as her boss to make sure she knew it.
Alexis debated for another moment, and then nodded. “Thanks.”
Chapter 3
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Alexis
He handed her his jacket and helmet to put on. She didn’t argue, just put them on. She hadn’t been on the back of a bike since she was a kid, but she didn’t tell him that either. Kane seemed to know what he was doing. The man hadn’t had more than one beer the whole night while the rest of them were getting wasted.
He knew a thing or two about control. She trusted he exercised that same control with his bike and kept it safe.
Alexis hopped on the back of his bike, then tapped his shoulder before he drove from the parking lot. “Don’t you need my address?”
“I already know where you live.”
Her stomach clenched. “W-what?”
For the first time, she saw him give a small smile. “You wrote it on your application, remember? I used to live in the same neighborhood, so I remembered.”
She couldn’t help the sharp release of breath. “Sorry.”
“I get it. Just being safe.”
She was, but that didn’t explain the quick thrill that had also gone through her body when she thought he might know something more about her. That he might have more of an interest in her than just professionally.
He started the bike, then glanced over his shoulder. “Hold on.”
She gripped his hips, the soft layer of his thin T-shirt.
“Harder,” he said, and then pulled away without her response.
When she almost pitched off the back of the bike, she scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. The air, the noise, the speed—all of it was disorienting after she’d had enough to drink that she couldn’t even drive herself home. It all blurred around her, but it was hard to pay attention to that when Kane was between her legs. When she could feel his hard muscles as they controlled the bike, moving in and out of traffic with ease. He tattooed the same way. Gracefully. Like it came naturally to him. Like he’d been doing it his whole life.
She closed her eyes, pressing her cheek to his ba
ck. Okay, maybe Kane wasn’t that bad. Sure, he was quiet, he could be sullen, he clearly had a thing for blonds—but he was looking out for her.
Kind of like a boss might do.
She opened her eyes again. That’s right, he was her boss, and if he was going to act like one, then it wasn’t her place to cross those boundaries. Even if her opinion of him had gone up several notches.
Even if he smelled like secrets and heat, and she could barely stop herself from leaning in and nibbling on his neck.
His bike slowed, and she straightened, realizing he’d pulled into her complex. She gestured to the building on the right and he drove them to an open space in front.
He let the bike idle as she got off. She passed over the helmet and his jacket. “Thanks.”
“Top floor?” he asked.
She glanced at the building. “Oh, no. It’s the next building back, but it’s easier to park here.”
He eyed the sidewalk, the broken streetlamp, and then turned off the bike. “I’ll walk you.”
“You don’t—”
One swift glance from him silenced her. Okay, she knew he didn’t have to, but still…it wasn’t like she was a little kid. But when he touched the small of her back and guided her to the sidewalk, she blew out a breath.
He was just being a gentleman. Same thing her father would have done when he’d been alive.
Alexis walked to the building, not sure what to say. Thanks? Or maybe, You remind me of my dad. Maybe not that one. It was insulting, wasn’t it? Kane couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years older than her. And he definitely didn’t look like her dad.
Her throat dried because then she started thinking about how he felt, and how big his muscles were and how big his cock had to be, and she wasn’t supposed to be thinking those thoughts.
“What are you thinking?” Kane asked as they rounded the front building.
“Nothing much.”
“Huh.”
“What does that mean?”
