by EM Gayle
“That Russian bastard is one kinky fucker. Likes them young too.”
“My sources also report they haven’t met up in over six months. I think Viktor will make sure he sees her.”
Ronin closed the file and handed it back. “Doesn’t mean he has to get off that boat to do it. He could make her come to him.”
Alex raised a brow. They both knew from those pictures that Viktor would not be the one making demands. Nonetheless, he’d already accounted for that possibility just in case.
“That’s why there is a second lure. One I think even you will appreciate as it’s quite barbaric. Philip Chang has arranged a no limits, high stakes to the death adventure hunt in downtown Singapore tonight.”
Ronin’s eyes grew wide. “Wow, brother. You certainly do surprise me. I never would have thought you would support a Philip Chang event. You do know that people die at these events, right?”
He lifted his shoulders. “Desperate times and Philip has assured me that all the players in tonight’s hunt are voluntary participants. Most are death row inmates or terminally ill looking to earn some money to leave their families. I’ve made a generous donation to the players’ proceeds. Besides, we both know this party was going to happen with or without me, I simply got the date arranged to suit our needs. As for the rest, the accompanying party is scheduled to begin in one hour on the penthouse floor of this hotel. Everything has been arranged.”
“And the prize for this blood thirsty event?”
“One of Chang Industries latest biotech weapons valued at over sixty million dollars.”
“Damn. You really are taking this seriously. I should have never doubted you.”
Alex’s jaw hardened a fraction before he answered. “No, you shouldn’t have. I’m tired of playing games, Ronin. We need to end this tonight and then we all have to move on. I’m going home to my woman tomorrow and I don’t want to keep looking over my shoulder for your next move. This thing between us has to end here. It will end here. Are we clear?”
Ronin studied him with his eyes narrowed and his facial features hard. While he was younger than Alex by several years, he had no doubt his stepbrother was smart enough not to push him on this. They had toyed with each other for years and yes, maybe Viktor hadn’t been entirely wrong about it being a game between them. But the time for their games was over.
The stakes were too high now.
Harper wanted to start a family and it still shocked him how appealing that sounded to him too. The idea of seeing her belly round with his child did something visceral to him that he couldn’t explain. But the more time they spent apart the longer it would take to make her dreams come true and that he found unacceptable.
“Seriously, Ronin—”
“Goddamn it, Alex. I know. I just needed some time to let it sink in. You know I like Harper. Hell, I thought she was my dream girl, not yours. However, she has chosen you and I chose to respect that. As for the other…” He lifted his shoulders. “Whatever. If you’ve decided to spend more of your time playing house then so be it. I want no part of that. I prefer to fuck and go anyway. Keeps life a lot less complicated.”
Alex smiled. Ronin’s apparent distaste for a long-term relationship sounded eerily familiar. “Don’t knock it before you try it.” He clapped his hand on Ronin’s shoulder. “When you meet the right girl she’s going to plant the idea of a baby in your head that you won’t be able to get out. You’ll be walking around all day with a fucking hard-on dreaming about your—”
“Just stop,” Ronin groaned. “I don’t think I can take any more details without losing my lunch. Jesus, Alex. No one wants to hear about your dick issues. Get a grip, man.” He handed the folder back that contained the pictures of Viktor and Lina. “I’m out of here.”
Alex bit back a smile. He still had a very serious situation to get through. “Wait. You didn’t choose your poison in this bet. Which one will it be? The woman or the hunt?”
“I’m going with the hunt,” Ronin answered. “At this point it won’t surprise me any more if Viktor chooses the pussy, but at least this way I will get to enjoy the game Philip has planned and probably win a new toy.”
Alex shook his head. His stepbrother’s constant fascination with death and violence did not go down easy. It probably never would. He needed a new focus and soon. But that wasn’t his problem—not tonight.
Tonight, Viktor would pay for putting Harper in danger and tomorrow he would return to the woman who belonged to him as much as he belonged to her.
Twenty-six long hours later Alex walked into his dark and eerily silent penthouse apartment. For a moment a prickle of unease worked over him. Although Gerard had already assured him that Harper was in their home waiting for him as he’d requested.
His eyes adjusted to the darkness as he tossed his jacket across the back of the entry chair and dropped his travel case on the floor. He pulled at his tie as he walked through the empty rooms, anxious to find her. As he neared the living room he saw a faint glow coming from the space.
“Harper?”
He got no response.
Maybe she was still mad at him for canceling her party. But not only was he unable to make it back in time, he absolutely wasn’t up to dealing with his mother and Constantine. He had a feeling it was only a temporary reprieve as he’d discovered that Harper could be quite tenacious when she wanted to be. However, until Ronin returned there would be too many questions he had no intention of answering.
If Ronin wanted to use his disappearance as a pawn in his never ending games, then he could finish that one on his own. He was done playing. From now on Harper and her happiness came first under all circumstances.
He turned the corner to his living room and stopped short at what he found. Harper curled up on the couch, buried in a mountain of blankets, asleep and looking as peaceful as ever. The smile that stretched across his face could not be contained. With her dark hair spread across the pillow and the brown fur wrapped tightly to her chin, she looked like an angel. A fallen angel if he had anything to do with it.
He snorted.
She had a way of sparking his imagination that seemed to have no limits. Right now for example, as she slept innocently and blissfully unaware of his presence, he was already plotting the many wicked things he wanted to do to her in this room. Starting with—
“You’re home.”
Her sleepy voice pulled at him hard, but it was her smile that did him in. She’d been through a lot, they both had, but they were finally on the other side of it all.
“I am. Finally,” he answered, reaching down and swiping the hair from her eyes before pressing a hard kiss to her mouth. The resulting sigh from her was precisely the thing he needed.
With a tight grip on her hair, he tilted her head back and deepened the kiss until he couldn’t take it anymore.
“I missed you,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers and not caring how rough with need his voice sounded. From now on he always wanted her to know how much he wanted her.
“Mmmm,” she hummed. “What time is it? I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“Just before midnight.”
Her head shot up and forced his grip loose from her hair. She swatted at the covers until her legs were free and then scrambled away from him.
“It’s almost over.”
The alarm in her voice caught him by surprise. “What’s almost over? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Your birthday!” She pointed to a small table off to the side where a large cake sat waiting for someone to light the candles and make a wish. He’d been so focused on her he hadn’t noticed it sitting there.
The tension in his muscles fled as relief washed over him. He was half afraid she’d been about to spring the party on him despite his having canceled it.
He took her place on the couch and reveled in the heat she’d left behind. He also breathed deep and let her sweet scent fill his head. The idea that he needed to experience her snuggled against hi
m on this couch hit him with a force not to be denied.
“Come here,” he commanded, deepening his voice in the way he knew she would respond to.
She only hesitated for a second before she crossed back over to the couch and stood in front of him. She’d fallen asleep in one of his old t-shirts and he could see the faint outline of her bare nipples through the thin fabric. He reached up and pinched them through the shirt and tugged her forward.
“Closer, kitten.”
“You’re distracting me,” she whined as she took the steps necessary to put her tits in his face.
“No,” he said. “Just focusing you so I can have my way with you.”
She smiled on a soft laugh. “You always get your way.”
“Is that a bad thing?” he asked, moving his hands to grip her hips briefly before running his fingers along her soft curves all the way down to her ankles.
“I’m not sure yet. I wasn’t exactly thrilled that you canceled the party I had planned. Zia and I worked all day on prep for it.”
“I wasn’t ready, kitten.”
“I think it’s time for me to get to know the family. You can’t hide me forever, Alex. Not if you really want me in your life.”
“Are you trying to test me, Harper?” He drew his fingers up the inside of her legs, giving her panty covered pussy the barest touch before returning to her hips and sinking his fingers into her skin with a firm grip.
“No,” she said, her voice coming out on a throaty rasp. “But it would be nice to see your worry a little less.” She reached up and touched the side of his face. “You deserve happiness as much as I do you know.”
He turned to the side and pressed a kiss to her fingers. “I am happier than you can know. Especially now that we won’t have to worry about Viktor disrupting our lives anymore.”
“I know. I saw the news earlier. A Russian billionaire who got arrested in Singapore for drug trafficking is apparently big news AND big trouble. Singapore is beyond harsh on drug dealers. They often hang them in public. Did you have something to do with that? Is that why it took you so long to come home?”
He shrugged. “All that matters is that it’s over. Viktor only got what he deserved.” And the look on the man’s face when he spotted Alex in the crowd watching his arrest had been exactly what he needed to put this all behind them.
She narrowed her eyes and he had to bite back a smile. That fire in her eyes that she barely held back turned him the fuck on. He hoped to God he never squelched that heat. He always wanted her submission, but only as long as she desired his dominance.
“I love you, Harper. More than I ever thought possible. So much so that it still surprises me every day. You surprise me. That’s why I need you to be safe. I know you think I need to make amends with my family, but I can’t promise that will ever happen.”
“Alex—”
“No. Let me finish. I’m not saying you won’t meet my mother. It will happen. Just give it a little more time and let me make sure you are safe for a while first. Then if you still want to have a party, we will have a party. Hell, you can have ten parties if that makes you feel better.”
She sank down to her knees and gripped his legs. “I’m not going anywhere anymore. You know that, right?”
He nodded, the lump in his throat making it pretty damned hard to answer.
“Well, I take that back,” she said, a sly smile crossing her face. “I am going on a trip, but I’m hoping you’ll go with me.”
Alex cleared his throat. “So where are we going?” Not that he cared. If she wanted him to take her on a trip, he’d make it happen.
“Zia’s leaving for Las Vegas in the morning and we’ve been invited to the opening of her restaurant next month. I’d really like to go.”
Of course. She’d mentioned this a few times in the last couple of weeks and in the midst of his planning for Viktor he’d let it slip his mind.
“Vegas is a decadent city. We could have a lot of fun there. They like deviants like me.”
She leaned forward and ran her slender fingers between his legs stopping just before she reached his cock. “Don’t you mean deviants like us?”
A low growl rumbled from his throat as he threaded his fingers in her hair and tugged her head back to bear her throat. “Do you know what else is perfect about Vegas, kitten?” He nipped at her sensitive skin making sure to leave a sting in his wake.
“What?” she asked breathlessly, obviously loving the pain.
He tightened his grip on her hair with one hand and reached for a nipple with the other. “Sin City has more wedding chapels per capita than any other city in the world…”
* * *
The End
* * *
I hope you enjoyed the What Alex Wants Duet! This was such a fun and challenging story to write and I can’t wait to see Alex and Harper again when the TRIPLE SIN series begins this fall. If you’d like to keep up with more on your favorite characters and upcoming release dates, be sure to sign up for my newsletter for the latest news.
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You can also join my Facebook group, EM Gayle Reader Group, for exclusive giveaways and sneak peeks of future books.
If you haven’t yet read my PURGATORY MASTERS series you may be curious about all the details of what Bill Bennett did and what happened to him. While he is featured in book 2 of that series, I would highly recommend starting with TUCKER’S FALL, which is book one.
The first book TUCKER’S FALL is available to one-click now!
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Also by E.M. Gayle
Contemporary Romance
Purgatory Masters Series:
TUCKER'S FALL (also available in paperback & audio)
LEVI'S ULTIMATUM (also available in paperback & audio)
MASON'S RULE (Also available in Paperback & audio)
GABE’S OBSESSION
GABE’S RECKONING
* * *
Purgatory Club:
ROPED (also available in audio)
WATCH ME (also available in audio)
TEASED
BURN
BOTTOMS UP
HOLD ME CLOSE (also available in paperback)
* * *
What Alex Wants Duet:
WHAT ALEX WANTS HE GETS
WHAT ALEX WANTS HE TAKES
* * *
Pleasure Playground Series:
PLAY WITH ME (also available in paperback & audio)
POWER PLAY (also available in paperback)
* * *
Single Title:
TAMING BEAUTY
Books Writing As Eliza Gayle
Southern Shifters Series:
DIRTY SEXY FURRY
MATE NIGHT
ALPHA KNOWS BEST
BAD KITTY
BE WERE
SHIFTIN’ DIRTY
NEVER KISS A WOLF
BEAR NAKED TRUTH
ALPHA BEAST
* * *
Devils Point Wolves:
WILD
WICKED
WANTED
FERAL
FIERCE
FURY
* * *
Pentacles of Magick Series:
UNTAMED MAGICK
MAGICK IGNITED
FORCE OF MAGICK
MAGICK PROVOKED
* * *
Single titles:
VAMPIRE AWAKENING
WITCH AND WERE
DRAGON MATED
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