TAMING THE BEAST: An Alpha Male

by Olivia Cox

  TAMING THE BEAST

  AN ALPHA MALE BWWM INTERRACIAL ROMANCE

  By: Olivia Cox

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  YOUR STORY: TAMING THE BEAST COPYRIGHT

  STEPBROTHER ALPHA’S BABY

  THE QUARTERBACK’S SECRET BABY

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  Thank you guys for your interest in ‘TAMING THE BEAST.’

  As a thank you to my fans, I am including two bonus books with this book as a special release celebration!

  Immediately following ‘TAMING THE BEAST’ you will find ‘STEPBROTHER ALPHA’S BABY’ – a sexy and forbidden step brother secret baby romance.

  Following ‘STEPBROTHER ALPHA’S BABY’ we have ‘THE QUARTERBACK’S SECRET BABY’ – a STEAMING HOT romance between headstrong and sexy as hell, Amanda and badass, arrogant womanizer, Cole.

  Both the bonus books are full length and as a result, TAMING THE BEAST may end at 50% on your kindle.

  I love hearing from my readers. Therefore, I humbly request you connect with me on FACEBOOK

  I promise you are going to love the contests, giveaways and other exciting stuff that happens in there!

  Enjoy!

  Happy Reading!

  Olivia

  YOUR STORY: TAMING THE BEAST

  COPYRIGHT

  Copyright 2016 by Olivia Cox - All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

  ********

  May be no one can love a beast,

  But then…

  They haven’t met Jack Stone.

  Jack Stone is rough, c*cky and arrogant. Not only is he a jock, but he is a jock with a bad temper. I know I will have to keep this one under a tight leash!

  The closer I get to the arrogant monster, the harder I fall for the passionate man underneath – Crude, charming, tough, dangerous, sweet…. but then, my baby girl also can’t seem to resist his charm!

  Do I risk my father’s reputation for this badass quarterback or do I protect the man who deserves a happily ever after?

  Wait…he deserves a happily ever after, doesn’t he?

  And so do I….

  ********

  Chanise was on her way down to the office when she got a phone call from her daughter's daycare.

  “Ms. Johnson?” the school secretary asked. “This is Amanda Palmer, from Bright Eyes Daycare.”

  “Yes? Is something wrong?” Chanise was in her car, with the phone on speaker. She started pulling over to the side of the road right away, worried that something had happened to her daughter.

  “Well, it's nothing too bad,” Amanda said. “But Deena has had a little accident.”

  “Accident?” Chanise's hands gripped tighter on the steering wheel. “Is she okay?”

  “Yes. Sorry, not an injury, Ms. Johnson. I mean she made a little mess. She's fine, but I'm afraid she needs a change of clothes.”

  “Oh.” Chanise let out a long breath of relief. “Okay. I can come by and pick her up. Sorry about that.”

  “It's no problem. She's just a bit upset about her dress, that’s all. She said it's new.”

  “Yes,” Chanise said. “She just got it for her birthday. All right, I can be there in about ten minutes.”

  “Okay, that'll be fine.”

  Chanise turned the car around and headed for the daycare. She would be late for work, but that wouldn't really be a problem. One of the few advantages of working for her dad was that he gave her a bit of leeway when it came to this sort of thing. She called him to let him know that she would be a little bit late. He told her not to worry about it. Apparently, there was only one patient scheduled for today anyway.

  When Chanise arrived at the daycare, Deena was sitting off to the side of the room by herself. The teacher greeted Chanise as soon as she came in. “Hi. Sorry, we had to call you in the middle of the day. Deena's been in a bit of a mood because of her dress.”

  “It's okay,” Chanise said. “I don't really have time to run home and get her a change of clothes, so I'll just bring her to work with me.”

  “If that's what you want to do,” Amanda said.

  Chanise went over to the table Deena was playing at. “Hey, baby girl. Momma's here.”

  “Momma!” Deena jumped out of her chair and wrapped her arms around Chanise's legs, hugging her tight. “I made a mess and my dress is ruined! Look!”

  She stepped back and held her skirt up, showing off the stain. Chocolate milk was spilled all over the front of the dress. It looked like an effort had been made to clean it up, but the stain was still visible.

  Chanise took her daughter's hand and led her to the door. “We'll get it cleaned up. I promise. But for now you're gonna have to come with me to Grandpa's office.”

  “Can Grandpa clean my dress?” Deena asked.

  “No. Don't worry about that, baby girl. I'm going to get it fixed up when we get home.”

  “But...”

  Chanise knelt in front of her daughter to look her in the eye. “Now, baby, you just have to be patient, okay? I promise. It’ll be okay.”

  “Humph.” Deena stomped a foot on the ground, frowning in her best grumpy face.

  Chanise sighed and stood up, tousling her daughter's braids. “Let's go, sweetheart.”

  She got Deena into her car seat and they headed for Grandpa's office. When they got there, there was a single patient waiting in the waiting room. He was a big, muscular man who was nearly as tall sitting down as Chanise was standing up. He smirked at Chanise as soon as she walked in, his eyes roaming over her curvy figure. “Well, hello there,” he said. “I was getting mad about being kept waiting, but I'm starting to think it was worth the wait.”

  Chanise snorted and rolled her eyes. She didn't have time for her father's patients to be flirting with her, especially not some jock white boy who looked way too full of himself. “I'm sorry about the delay,” she said, keeping her most professional tone. “If you'll just give me a moment, I'll get your paperwork.”

  “Take your time,” the man said.

  His eyes followed Chanise as she led her daughter through the door that led to her desk, separated from the waiting room by an opaque glass wall. She kept the window closed for a few minutes while she got Deena changed out of her dress. She didn't have any clothes in Deena's size stored at the office, so she zipped her up in a spare hoodie that was so big in such a way that the bottom sagged on the ground. She had to roll the sleeves up several times to keep them from dangling off the ends of Deena's arms, and Deena had to pull the bottom of the sweatshirt up in order to walk.

  “Okay, baby girl,” Chanise said, “you go color or read one of your storybooks, okay? Momma has to work for a while.”

  “But I wanna play outside,” Deena protested.

  “Later, baby, okay?” Chanise smiled at her daughter and kissed her forehead. “I promise I'll take you outside in a little bit.”

  Once Deena was occupied with her coloring books, Chanise opened the window between her desk and the waiting room. The patient walked over and leaned his elbows on the windowsill, looking down at her and smiling. “So, are you my shrink?” he asked.

  “No, you'll be speaking with Dr. Johnson.” She decided not to mention that the counselor was her father. There usually wasn't any reason to let patients know that she was related to him. It tended to lead to people making assumptions that she had only gotten the job
because he was her father. When the truth was that she had turned down a higher paying job in order to work at her father's practice. She felt like this was the best place for her, and she was proud to help her father keep his business running. Especially since without her help, he would never be able to keep the books in order.

  “Your name, please?” She asked the man, slipping into her professional tone of voice. Since there was only one patient scheduled today, it was a moot question, but she had to make sure that the man wasn't in the wrong office. There were several other practitioners in the same building, and mix-ups did happen from time to time.

  “Jake Stone,” he said. “What, you don't recognize me?”

  She glanced up at him. His face wasn't familiar. Ruggedly handsome, but not familiar. “Sorry, should I?”

  He looked a bit disappointed. “I won the Superbowl a couple of years ago. Come on. Don't you watch the news?”

  “Not the sports news,” Chanise said. “Sorry. Here, I'll need you to fill this out.” She handed him a clipboard with the standard questions for a new patient.

  He took the clipboard, frowning at it. “Is this really necessary? I'm only here because my coach said it’s mandatory. I figured I would go in, talk to the shrink for a few minutes, and then you can sign off on it to show I did what I was told. No big deal, right?”

  “I'm sorry,” Chanise said, handing Jake a pen. “We have the same procedures for all patients. It'll only take a few minutes.”

  He let out a long sigh. “All right. If I have to jump through hoops, I will.”

  He took the pen, and his fingers brushed against her caramel skin just for a moment. A deliberate moment, she thought, based on the way he winked at her.

  She pulled her hand away and slammed the window shut, blocking him out. Then, while he was filling out the required forms, she checked the computer for information about the patient. It turned out he had been sent here for therapy because of issues he had been having with other players on his team, resulting in some kind of fighting in the locker room. According to the information the coach had emailed them when booking the appointment, Jake had to undergo mandatory counseling for anger management before he would be allowed to return to the field.

  Chanise snorted and shook her head. Not only was he a jock, but he was a jock with a bad temper. She knew she would have to keep this one under a tight leash.

  A few minutes passed before Jake knocked on the window. Chanise opened it and took the clipboard when he handed it to her. “Thank you,” she said. “It'll just be a few minutes.”

  She started to close the window, but he leaned into it again, blocking her from shutting it. “Mind if I wait here?” He asked. “It's not every day I get the chance to chat with a fine piece of caramel delight like you.”

  Chanise narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”

  “What?” Jake spread his hands, grinning at her. “It's a compliment. I like a girl with a bit of booty on her, too.” He leaned through the window a bit, trying to look at her ass.

  “Okay, you listen to me,” Chanise said, standing up from her chair. “I am not your 'caramel delight,' and I don't need some pasty-faced jock coming in here, trying to get his freak on with me. Now, if you'll excuse me.”

  She shoved him back and slammed the window shut before he could say another word. He protested from the other side of the window, offering her an apology, but she ignored him. And she made sure to excuse herself into the back to take care of some paperwork when her father came out to bring Jake back into the counseling room. She didn't care to look at that fool man's face ever again.

  * * *

  Chanise saw Jake again a week later when he came in for his next appointment. It was a busier day that day, and there were several other patients in the waiting room. One man was busy filling out updates to his insurance information, and a young mother was sitting and reading a magazine while she waited for her teenage daughter to finish her counseling session.

  Jake walked up to the window, flashing Chanise a smile. She looked up at him and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Fortunately, for her, he seemed to be in a more subdued mood this time.

  “Hi there,” he said. “Got any more forms for me to fill out?”

  “Not this time,” she said. “We have all the information we need from you. I'll just need you to sign in.” She handed him the clipboard with the sign in sheet.

  He signed his name and entered the time of his arrival. When he handed the clipboard back to her, he said, “Listen, I wanted to apologize to you for last week. I guess we got our signals crossed or something.”

  “Is that what you think happened?” Chanise asked, folding her arms. “Because to me, it seemed like you were trying to put the moves on me while I was at work.”

  He blushed slightly and lowered his eyes. “Yeah, well, I'm sorry about that. I'll be on my best behavior today. Promise.”

  She watched him doubtfully, but she decided to give him a chance. “All right. Take a seat. Dr. Johnson is with another patient. It'll be a short wait.”

  “No problem.” He turned away, then paused and looked back at her. “By the way, I don't think I ever got your name.”

  “Chanise,” she said.

  “Chanise. That's pretty.” He flashed her a smile, then went to sit down. Chanise watched him through the window as he started chatting up the young mother. Within a couple of minutes, he had her laughing and smiling.

  Chanise shook her head and turned back to her work. It seemed like some women were easier than others were.

  She was busy for the next hour or so, helping the man who needed to update his insurance forms, and working on scheduling for the next week or two. She barely noticed at first when Jake walked out of the counseling room at the end of his appointment. Her father walked out with him, walking Jake to the door. He had a hand on Jake's back, and he was leaning close and talking softly to him. Jake had his head down, nodding along with whatever Dr. Johnson was saying. At one point, he raised his hand to his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he were trying to fight off tears.

  Chanise watched the exchange, arching her eyebrows. With the way Jake had bragged that he was only here on his coach's orders, she hadn't expected counseling to have that sort of an effect on him. But it looked to her as if he'd had some sort of a breakdown. Of course, she didn't know the first thing about his life or his issues. But it made her curious. Maybe, she thought, his anger issues had some deeper cause.

  Her father patted Jake on the back, then left and returned to his office. Jake waited for a moment, composing himself. He started to wipe his eyes on his sleeve, then stopped and looked around the empty waiting room.

  Chanise picked up the box of tissues from her desk and set it on the windowsill. Jake walked over and took a few out. He wiped his eyes and blew his nose. “Thanks,” he said.

  “No problem,” Chanise said.

  Jake flashed her a weak smile, then turned to leave. She watched him go, wondering about his life and what had brought him to this point.

  * * *

  A few weeks passed. Jake came to his counseling sessions once a week, sometimes flirting with Chanise when he came into the waiting room, other times sitting quietly and keeping to himself. Chanise stayed out of his business; just like she did all of the other patients who came into her father's office. Though one day when she was home with her daughter, she ended up stumbling across something that told her a bit more about Jake Stone than she'd ever wanted to know.

  “Mommy, look!” Deena called out from the living room of their small apartment. “That man is on TV.”

  “What man?” Chanise asked. She headed from the kitchen into the living room, drying her hands on a towel.

  “Look,” Deena said, pointing at the TV.

  A news report was on the TV, with a picture of Jake on the screen, superimposed next to the anchor's face. The headline across the bottom of the screen read, “Superbowl Hopes Ride on Quarterback’s Mental Health.”

/>   “Deena, why are you watching this?” Chanise asked. “Where are your cartoons?”

  “I want to see this,” Deena said, hiding the remote behind her back.

  Chanise sighed and sat down, curious what was going on with Jake that would have him on the news.

  The report was already halfway done by the time Chanise started paying attention. “Sources say that the star quarterback has been suffering from severe stress and depression, for which the league has put him into mandatory therapy. At least once source, who spoke to us on the condition that they remain anonymous, has said that Stone will be unable to return to play at the beginning of the season. He may return as early as mid-season, but that may be too late as the team's record may already be too far behind by that point, potentially ruining their chances of making it into the playoffs.”

  Chanise shook her head. It was a shame to see that Jake was being kept off his team like that. Though what the reporter said next made it a bit harder for her to be sympathetic.

  “Stone's forced therapy comes after a suspension for disorderly conduct near the end of last season. According to reports at the time, Stone was accused of assaulting several of his teammates after a confrontation in the locker room during one of last year's playoff games. Many fans blamed Stone's suspension as the reason that the team didn't make it into the Superbowl again last year, even though they had seemed to be on a clear path to the championship all season long. Some fans are clamoring for Stone’s return, while others say that his behavior should disqualify him from any future career in the NFL.”

  The news report moved on to talking about the weather. Chanise sighed and got up, returning to the kitchen to continue working on dinner. “Deena, why don't you tune to Nickelodeon instead? You don't need to be watching this sort of thing.”