by Laura Kaye
“Listen, it’s almost seven. Bunny said there’d be a big celebratory dinner tonight to welcome everyone back. Let’s go down.” Cora’s bright green eyes were filled with so much enthusiasm and excitement.
Haven hated nothing more than disappointing her friend—her only friend, really. The only one who hadn’t given up on her when Haven had been forced to drop out of school in tenth grade. Cora’s father occasionally worked for Haven’s, which had paved the way for Cora to be allowed to visit and even sleep over. Haven had lived for those visits, especially when her father’s tight control hadn’t let up even after she’d turned eighteen. Or twenty-one.
“I don’t know, Cora. Can you just bring me some food later?” Haven asked, dubious that her appetite was going to rebound but knowing Cora liked taking care of her, running interference for her, protecting her. Despite how tense things had been at her father’s house, Cora had slept over more and more in the time before they’d finally run. Because she’d known it had cheered Haven up so much. “I’m not hungry right now anyway.”
“Oh,” Cora said. “You know what? I’m not that hungry, either. I’ll just wait.” Her stomach growled. Loudly.
Haven stared at her, and they both chuckled. “Just go,” Haven said. “Don’t stay here because I’m too chicken to be around a bunch of strangers. Really. I’m so used to being alone. You know I don’t mind.”
Cora frowned. “That’s exactly why I don’t like leaving you.”
“I’ll feel bad if you stay. Go. Eat, visit, and meet everybody. Maybe ... maybe I’ll come down later,” she said. Yeah. Maybe after the dinner was over, she could sneak down to the kitchen and help Bunny clean up. That might allow her to get a feel for some of the club members without being right in the middle of them, without feeling like she was under a microscope with everyone looking at her and wondering about her.
Grasping her hand, Cora’s gaze narrowed. “Are you sure? You know I don’t mind hanging out.”
“Totally sure.” Besides, Haven couldn’t help but feel like she held Cora back. Cora was adventurous and outgoing and pretty much down for anything at any time, which was one of the main reasons Haven was here and not in Georgia married to a horrible stranger. But now Cora was on the run, too, though every time Haven expressed guilt about that, Cora told her it was better than waitressing at the truck stop back home and watching her father drink too much. “I might actually take a nap anyway. I didn’t sleep great last night ...” Because Bunny had told them all the bikers would be returning to the club today.
Cora just nodded. She didn’t have to ask Haven to explain. She knew her too well. “Okay, well, I’ll bring food back later. But come down if you think you can. Even for a few minutes. Okay?”
“Yup.” Haven sat on the edge of the bed and threw a wave when Cora looked back over her shoulder. The door clicked shut behind her friend. On a huff, Haven flopped backwards against the hard mattress. Why couldn’t she be more like Cora? Or, at least, more normal?
Because what did gaining her freedom mean if she was too scared to ever actually live?
* * *
Dare Kenyon should’ve been happy—or at least content. The huge fight his club had joined with the team of Special Forces Army veterans operating out of Baltimore’s Hard Ink Tattoo was over, those who’d been responsible for killing two of his brothers were either dead or in custody, and all Dare’s people were here at the compound, safe and sound and partying it up like tomorrow might never come.
Which made sense, since today was all anyone was ever guaranteed to get.
Standing at the far end of the carved wooden bar in the club’s big rec room, Dare contemplated the tumbler of whiskey in his hand. Tilting it from side to side, he watched the amber liquid flow around the ice, the dim lighting reflecting off the facets in the cut glass. Around him, his brothers busted out in laughter as rock music filled the room with a pulsing beat. Couples danced and drank and groped. In shadowy corners here and there, people were pairing up, making out, getting hot enough to find a room upstairs. Hell, some of them didn’t mind witnesses, either.
Finally, Dare tossed back a gulp of whiskey, savoring the biting heat as it seared down his throat.
“Hey, Dare.” A woman with curly blond hair, a deep V-neck, and huge heels stepped up to the counter beside him. She ordered a drink from Blake, one of the prospects working the bar tonight, then turned her big smile and a generous eyeful of her cleavage toward Dare.
“Carly,” he said, giving her a nod and already considering whether he was interested in what she no doubt was about to offer. He’d been with her a few times, though not much lately, since it had become more and more clear she was holding out hope to be his Old Lady.
“I’m sure glad you all are back,” she said, sidling closer until she was leaning against him, her breasts against his arm, her hand rubbing his back. She was pretty, but she was also a sweet thing, the club’s nickname for the attractive women who partied at the clubhouse and hung out at their track on race nights, seeking attention from and offering themselves to the brothers. Dare didn’t mind having friends like Carly in the community, but he knew her interest was as much in being a part of the MC scene as it was in him. At thirty-seven, he wasn’t sure he was ever going to settle down with one woman, but if he did, it certainly wasn’t going to be with someone half his brothers had enjoyed, too.
And, anyway, he wasn’t looking.
Dare just nodded to Carly as she pressed her way in closer until the whole front of her was tight against his side. Her hands wandered to his chest, his ass, his dick. Her lips ghosted over his cheek. “I missed you.” Her hand squeezed his growing erection through his jeans. “Missed you a lot.”
“Did you, now?” he said, taking another swig of Jack. The friction of her hand was luring him out of his head, out from under the strain of being responsible for so many people. It was an honor, one he’d built his life around, but he felt the weight of it some days more than others. Losing Harvey and Creed almost two weeks before, he felt that weight like a motherfucker. Hell if every new loss in his life didn’t whip up his guilt from the first two...
Sonofabitch.
Carly combed her fingers through the length of his brown hair, pushing it back off his face so she could whisper into his ear. “I did. Would you like me to show you how much?” Her fingers slowly worked at his zipper, tugging him from his thoughts.
Exactly what he needed. “What is it you have in mind?” He peered down at her, really appreciating the easy, lighthearted expression on her face. Nothing too deep, nothing too heavy, but full of life all the same.
Her fingers undid the button on his jeans and slipped in against his skin, finding and palming his now rigid cock. Fuck, that felt good. Warm and tight and full of promise.
Smiling, Carly slid herself in front of Dare, pinning her body between his and the hard wooden counter. Her eyes were full of heat and need. “I could drop to my knees right here. Suck you off. Let you fuck my face. Or we could go upstairs, baby. Whatever you want.” With the hand not stroking him, she wrapped an arm around his neck, her fingers playing with the long strands of his hair. “You seem ... tense, upset. Let me make you feel better?”
And now, on top of everything else, he had a warm, willing woman wanting to make him forget all his troubles. So, yeah, he should’ve been content.
Dare emptied his glass and slammed it down on the counter. Fuck it. Grasping her face in his hand, he trailed his thumb over her bottom lip, stroking, dipping inside so she could suck on his flesh. “Always did love that mouth,” he said.
She grinned around his thumb and nodded, then she slowly slid down his body.
Dare closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to lose himself in the moment, the sensation, the physical. But his gut wouldn’t stop telling him that some part of their recent troubles were going to come back and bite them in the ass. The past had a way of doing that. Which was why Dare always kept one eye trained over his shoulder. But th
is particular past was only days old and way bigger than their typical fights. Along with the SpecOps team operating out of Hard Ink, the Ravens had played a role in taking down longtime enemies and Baltimore’s biggest heroin dealers—the Church Gang. In the process, they’d exposed an international drug smuggling conspiracy involving a team of former soldiers turned hired mercenaries and at least one three-star, active-duty general. The Ravens had initially come into the fight as hired help, but they’d soon taken up the cause as their own when Harvey and Creed had been killed.
Given all that, Dare had a really fucking hard time believing the dust would just settle and life would go back to normal without any blowback.
As Carly got into a crouched position at his feet, Dare opened his eyes and tried to shake away all the churn and burn in his head. But then his gaze snagged on a girl in the doorway across the room. Clarity stole over him, pushing away the fog of lust and the haze of troubled thoughts. The girl had the longest blond hair he’d ever seen, like some fairy-tale princess, or a fucking angel. Pale, small, almost too beautiful to look at. She stood out so starkly that it was almost as if she glowed in the dim room. Like a beacon. Bright and shiny and new.
One of these things is not like the other. And it was the timid beauty wearing too-big clothes and no makeup, hovering on the edge of the room.
And Dare wasn’t the only man who noticed.
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About the Author
Laura Kaye is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly thirty books in contemporary romance and erotic romance and romantic suspense, including the Hard Ink, Raven Riders, and Blasphemy series. Laura grew up amidst family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses, cementing her life-long fascination with storytelling and the supernatural. Laura lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.
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Acknowledgements
I’m having so much fun diving into my first fully indie series, and I have a lot of people to thank for their support. First, to KP Simmon, for being the consummate cheerleader and champion. Thanks for all you do. Next, I must thank Liz Berry, whose wonderful support of my book Hard to Serve inspired me to go for it with the Blasphemy series in the first place. And third, to Lea Nolan and Christi Barth, who were excited right along with me and provided constant voices in my ear telling me I could do it.
I also have to thank my Reader Girls, who raved to me about Hard to Serve – and little is more fun to an author than readers gleefully sharing their enjoyment of one of your books. Your enthusiasm and interest made it possible for me to finish Bound to Submit when life kept conspiring against me, and I thank you for that. My Heroes, too, were right there cheering me and wanting that next book. You guys are the best!
Finally, I must thank all of you, my readers, for taking my characters into your hearts again and again and letting them tell their stories. ~LK
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The Raven Riders Series
Brotherhood. Club. Family.
They live and ride by their own rules.
These are the Raven Riders . . .
Ride Hard (Raven Riders #1)
Raven Riders Motorcycle Club President Dare Kenyon rides hard and values loyalty above all else. He’ll do anything to protect the brotherhood of bikers—the only family he’s got—as well as those who can’t defend themselves. So when beautiful but mistrustful Haven Randall lands on the club’s doorstep scared that she’s being hunted, Dare takes her in, swears to keep her safe, and pushes to learn the secrets overshadowing her pretty smile before it’s too late.
Ride Rough (Raven Riders #2)
Alexa Harmon thought she had it all—the security of a good job, a beautiful home, and a powerful, charming fiancé who offered the life she never had growing up. But when her dream quickly turns into a nightmare, Alexa realizes she’s fallen for a façade she can’t escape—until her ex-boyfriend and Raven Riders MC vice-president Maverick Ryland offers her a way out. Forced together to keep Alexa safe, their powerful attraction reignites and Maverick determines to do whatever it takes to earn a second chance—one Alexa is tempted to give. But her ex-fiancé isn’t going to let her go without a fight, one that will threaten everything they both hold dear.
* * *
The Hard Ink Series
Five dishonored soldiers
Former Special Forces
One last mission
These are the men of Hard Ink...
Hard As It Gets (Hard Ink #1)
Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome—pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too. With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.
Hard As You Can (Hard Ink #2)
Shane McCallan doesn’t turn his back on a friend in need, especially a former Special Forces teammate running a dangerous, off-the-books operation. Nor can he walk away from Crystal, the gorgeous blonde waitress is hiding secrets she doesn’t want him to uncover. Too bad. He’s exactly the man she needs to protect her sister, her life, and her heart. All he has to do is convince her that when something feels this good, you hold on as hard as you can—and never let go.
Hard to Hold On To (Hard Ink #2.5)
Edward “Easy” Cantrell knows better than most the pain of not being able to save those he loves—which is why he is not going to let Jenna Dean, the woman he helped rescue from a gang, out of his sight. He may have just met her, but Jenna’s the first person to make him feel alive since that devastating day in the desert more than a year ago. As the pair are thrust together while chaos reigns around them, they both know one thing: the things in life most worth having are the hardest to hold on to.
Hard to Come By (Hard Ink #3)
When a sexy stranger asks questions about her brother, Emilie Garza is torn between loyalty to the brother she once idolized and fear of the war-changed man he's become. Derek DiMarzio’s easy smile and quiet strength tempt Emilie to open up, igniting the desire between them and leading Derek to crave a woman he shouldn’t trust. Now, Derek and Emilie must prove where their loyalties lie before hearts are broken and lives are lost. Because love is too hard to come by to let slip away...
Hard to Be Good (Hard Ink #3.5)
Hard Ink Tattoo owner Jeremy Rixey has taken on his brother’s stateside fight against the forces that nearly killed Nick and his Special Forces team a year before. Now, Jeremy’s whole world has been turned upside down—not the least of which by kidnapping victim Charlie Merritt, a brilliant, quiet blond man who tempts Jeremy to settle down for the first time ever. With tragedy and chaos all around them, temptation flashes hot, and Jeremy and Charlie can’t help but wonder why they’re trying so hard to be good...
Hard to Let Go (Hard Ink #4)
Beckett Murda hates to dwell on the past. But his investigation into the ambush that killed half his Special Forces team and ended his Army career gives him little choice. Just when his team learns how powerful their enemies are, hard-ass Beckett encounters his biggest complication yet—his friend’s younger sister, seductive, feisty Katherine Rixey. When Kat joins the fight, she lands straight in Beckett’s sights . . . and in his arms. Not to mention their enemies’ crosshairs. Now Beckett and Kat must set aside their differences to work together, because the only thing sweeter than justice is finding love and n
ever letting go.
Hard As Steel (Hard Ink #4.5)
After identifying her employer's dangerous enemies, Jessica Jakes takes refuge at the compound of the Raven Riders Motorcycle Club. Fellow Hard Ink tattooist and Raven leader Ike Young promises to keep Jess safe for as long as it takes, which would be perfect if his close, personal, round-the-clock protection didn't make it so hard to hide just how much she wants him—and always has. The last thing Ike needs is alone time with the sexiest woman he's ever known, one he's purposely kept at a distance for years. Now, Ike's not sure he can keep his hands or his heart to himself—or that he even wants to anymore.
Hard Ever After (Hard Ink #5)
After a long battle to discover the truth, the men and women of Hard Ink have a lot to celebrate, especially the wedding of two of their own—Nick Rixey and Becca Merritt, whose hard-fought love deserves a happy ending. But an old menace they thought long gone reemerges, threatening the peace they’ve only just found. Now, for one last time, Nick and Becca must fight for their always and forever.
Hard to Serve (Hard Ink #5.5)
To protect and serve is all Detective Kyler Vance ever wanted to do, so when Internal Affairs investigates him as part of the new police commissioner’s bid to oust corruption, everything is on the line. Which makes meeting smart, gorgeous submissive, Mia Breslin, at an exclusive play club the perfect distraction. Their scorching scenes lure them to play together again and again. But then Kyler runs into Mia at work and learns that he’s been dominating the daughter of the hard-ass boss who has it in for him. Now Kyler must choose between life-long duty and forbidden desire before Mia finds another who’s not so hard to serve.
* * *
The Hearts in Darkness Duet
