by Aliyah Burke
Table of Contents
Books by Aliyah Burke
Title Page
Legal Page
Book Description
Dedication
Trademark Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
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About the Author
Totally Bound Publishing books by Aliyah Burke
Single Books
Through The Fire
Seducing Damian
Code of Honour
A Marriage of Convenience
The Lieutenant’s Ex-Wife
A Man Like No Other
When Stars Collide
In Aeternum
Casanova in Training
Harbour of Refuge
Protected by Shadows
Polar Opposites
Theta Corps
Restitution
Contrition
Vindication
Interludes
Temporary Home
Alone With You
Till We Ain’t Strangers Anymore
The Edge
Called Home to The Edge
Straying to The Edge
Returning to The Edge
Cuffed at The Edge
The Monroe Sisters
Need You Now
Let Me Go
I Won’t Say Goodbye
Heart’s Compass
The Princess and the Marquess
Keeper of the Stars
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Astral Guardians
Chasing the Storm
Highlands at Dawn
Fields of Thunder
Branded by Frost
Driven by Night
Moon of Fire
What’s her Secret?
Preconception
A Little Bit Cupid
This Ain’t No Love Story
With Taige Crenshaw
Single Title
Unbreakable Bonds
Kemet Uncovered
Talios
Devi
Linc
Saffron
Taber
Ashia
My Bloody Valentine
PERFECT DUET
ALIYAH BURKE
Perfect Duet
ISBN # 978-1-83943-480-8
©Copyright Aliyah Burke 2021
Cover Art by Claire Siemaszkiewicz ©Copyright February 2021
Interior text design by Claire Siemaszkiewicz
Totally Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.
Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.
The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.
Published in 2021 by Totally Bound Publishing, United Kingdom.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors’ rights. Purchase only authorised copies.
Totally Bound Publishing is an imprint of Totally Entwined Group Limited.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book”.
My Bloody Valentine
When a vacation becomes running for your life, will you trust the one forced to be at your side?
It was supposed to be a vacation…
SWAT officer Xahara Asher is on vacation, meeting her cousins for some downtime. Taken captive during a heist, she is prompted to work with her kidnapper just to stay alive.
Deep undercover, Jager Cline is faced with making the ultimate decision—let an innocent get hurt or protect her by forcing her along as his hostage. Unbeknownst to him, she’s far more capable than he initially assumes.
Tossed into tight quarters, things heat up rapidly between them. When it all goes down and the smoke clears, who will still be standing?
Dedication
To my own Ride or Die crew. Thank you for always having my back, for never letting me forget we are one, and for always getting me into trouble.
Yep, I put it all on y’all!
Trademark Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Glock: Glock Inc.
Lincoln Nautilus: Ford Motor Company
Whats Poppin: Harlow, Jackman
Lycra: Lycra Company
SIG: Sig Sauer
Poison: Enigma
Chapter One
“I don’t know what else you want from me, Xaya. I’m here. I’ll be there soon enough, but I had to stop in here for a few moments.”
Xahara Asher rolled her eyes as she rested her shoulder against the wall of the waiting area in the women’s restroom. Nothing ugly and simplistic here, not at all. This was more of a lounge than a restroom in her mind. Rich people and what comforts they needed around them.
Gregory was a nice city. Good sized, a lot to do. She understood why Xaya had taken over a practice here, yet didn’t get why she loved it so much. Xaya had always been the small-town girl, but people changed. Some people. As for her cousin, Xahara was still suspicious she was actually running from something.
That was an issue to address later on.
“But you’re coming, right? This isn’t a ploy to somehow be transported back to Haver City and some fucking hypothetical SWAT emergency?”
If she’d been drinking, a mouthful of water would have spewed free. “Damn, girl. I don’t make hypotheticals. As much as I wish, no. I’m here in your town for a while. I promise, I’m on my way. Triple X will be together soon enough.”
A grateful sigh, and yet there was a bit of disbelief that she heard from her cousin through the phone.
“I know you think I’m being a pain in the ass, but Xandra is already here and we all know she’s typically last. Especially since she had farther to travel. You know that Haver City is closer to me than Marbleton.”
She couldn’t help but smile when she thought of her cousins. Rolled her eyes again because it was like ten miles closer on the map. They were still states away. “Not really. Ever since she had landed that high-powered job, she’s always been on time, hell, sometimes early.”
“So how long?”
“Oh my god. One, you’re keeping me from peeing, because I’m not talking to you while I do that. Two, I haven’t even been seen yet, so give me a bit and I’ll call you when I walk out of this place.”
“You’re such a drama queen.”
�
��Am not.”
Xaya snorted. “How many times have you checked only to cuss when you can’t find your gun?”
She bared her teeth. “Has nothing to do with being a drama queen. Has to do with me being a kickass member of Haver City SWAT. And not liking being without a weapon.”
“I’ll let it go. For now. Thanks for coming, Xahara. I know Dad is looking forward to seeing all of us together again.”
She loved her cousins and enjoyed all the time she got to spend with them. And their fathers as well. She didn’t like being unarmed, but she’d promised no guns this time. Foolish on her part, she knew this and wouldn’t be agreeing to it again.
“Love you too.”
She hung up and quickly took care of her screaming bladder. As she washed up, she paused and cocked her head to the left.
What the fuck is going on? I know that sound and it’s automatic gunfire. The only reason I’m hearing that here is because I just landed in a fucked-up mess.
Cursing her lack of a gun once more, she opened the door and gasped as a heavy boot connected with it, driving it into her face, knocking her back a few steps. She recovered quickly and jumped on the armed gunman.
She winced when he punched her in the solar plexus. Retaliating with a solid kick to the knee, she grinned when he went down. Jumping on him, she slammed him down hard then choked him out.
Xahara wiped the blood off her face and pulled on him to get him out of the open view. The door didn’t have a chance to close completely.
“Manny, did you—?”
She flew back into action, this time her head rush slamming the woman into the open where she hit the wall behind her, the air being knocked from her lungs. Xahara didn’t wait to see what was going on, just worked swiftly to immobilize this assailant as well. It didn’t take a genius to know that some shit was going down.
The woman lifted her gun and fired. Flinching when it hit near her hip, Xahara swore and jammed her elbow into her chin. “Bitch, that fucking hurt!”
They came together in a snarl of feminine fury. Xahara cursed the fact that her hair wasn’t confined and did it again when the bitch grabbed a handful of it and yanked until she saw stars. With a throat punch, she got her to release her grip and sagged down.
Not giving herself nearly enough time to recover from the shot and subsequent hair pulling, she exploded up and used the crown of her head to slam into her attacker’s.
Bitch went out like a light.
May not have been pretty, but shit is effective.
Shocked the gunshot hadn’t pulled anyone else back to her location, she dragged this body in as well, making sure to gag both of them. Then she secured them so they couldn’t escape.
Digging for her phone, she swore as she spied it on the ground, a big spiderweb on the screen from where the jackass had stomped it.
Maybe they had phones. She pressed her hand against her side and winced. Painful to say the least. Looking around, she went to the dispenser on the wall and busted into it to withdraw a feminine napkin. Within moments she’d secured it on the bleeding wound and cut a strip from the man’s shirt to hold it in place. With several deep breaths, she crouched to search for a phone.
Flashes of pain owned her and she shook her head with frustration before moving to the woman. The man had nothing. Halfway through searching the statuesque brunette, she froze at the unfortunately all-too-familiar feeling of a gun barrel to the back of her head.
“Who the fuck are you?”
Hands out, she didn’t move, just waited.
A nudge with the barrel. “Answer me.”
“No one. Xahara Asher.”
“No one did this?” He stretched out one long muscular leg beside her to nudge the still unmoving form of the man.
“I was defending myself.”
“Up. Nice and slow.”
Hoping she didn’t pass out, she listened.
“What are you doing here, Xahara Asher?”
“Visiting.”
“So you’re not from around here?”
“Nope.”
He stepped closer—the smell of rich man filled her senses and she squeezed her eyes against the raw, visceral reaction it gave her.
“You wouldn’t be lying to me, now, would you?” The gun slid around to push against her chin.
“What good would that do me?”
“Good point. Let’s go.”
They stepped out into the hall and she swore at being unable to see his face. Hostage situations weren’t anything new to her, although, to be fair, she wasn’t typically one, the hostage, two, bleeding, and three, without weapons or her team as backup.
Typical Xahara Asher mess to land in.
The weapon moved to the base of her spine and rested.
“What the fuck is going on down here and who the hell is that with you, Jager?”
Jager? What a name. Although it kind of fit him. More than although.
A large hand settled at the nape of her neck, both soothing and disruptive at the same time.
“What’s it to you? I’m supposed to be back here. What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Who’s the bitch?” The man narrowed his gaze at him as he launched his own question.
She held still, waiting to see what would happen. She knew that with the gunshot wound, she had to take care and not lose it faster than she would if her heart was pumping harder. Rough fingertips skimmed along her suddenly hypersensitive skin. Need pooled deep in her gut and she struggled to not let anything show in her face.
Jager’s touch shifted from her nape to wind in and grab a handful of her loose curls. For the second time in one day, she wished she’d taken the time to confine them as she typically did. However, this man didn’t yank like the bitch had, but tugged. Definite and demanding, but instead of pain, it shot another layer of need through her.
Lifting her gaze to his, she fell within seconds to the deep blue of his eyes. There was an eerie fire that she wanted more of. None of it made sense, but she wasn’t about to argue with the man who held her life in his hands. Literally.
Sex had grown legs and turned into this man holding her immobile with his devilish blue eyes, brown hair, an extended goatee and lips she was desperate to try on hers.
“She’s mine,” Jager growled low, seconds before his lips claimed hers in a possessive, near brutal kiss.
Jager Cline had been shocked to see this woman, who stood close to five-eight, take down two of the gang’s most ruthless players as if it weren’t anything unusual. He didn’t know who she was or where she’d come from, but he knew she was law.
If Paul thought for an instant that she was who he believed she was, the man would slam a slug into that stunning face that would be a sin to describe as brown—it was so much more—and if his own life wasn’t in danger, he would have loved to spend time with her, touching her, all to learn how she appeared in the sun and which was the best shade to describe her skin tone.
Her jeans were hell on his ignored libido and the taupe-peach sweater with its big neck just had him longing to slide it up along her skin and follow the path with his tongue.
When Paul had shown up, he’d kicked himself into action and claimed her as his own. Paul had a vicious streak as wide as the Sahara Desert. While undercover, Jager’d had to do things that kept him up at night, but he wasn’t about to have the blood of this woman on his hands. Not when she might be an asset for him.
In order to do that, there were some things he had to accomplish first. Namely, keeping her alive. Then get her to trust him. After that, help. Should be a piece of cake.
So when the question had come, he’d spat out that she was his. In the past two years, he’d been extremely selective about any woman he messed around with, and he knew Paul watched. He was betting on the fact that he had been so secretive that Paul would buy it.
What he’d not been expecting was the cellular reaction to kissing her. Her soft, pillowy lips cradled his as if they’d been created
for him alone. His cock punched against the zipper of his pants and when she pushed against him tighter, he nearly pushed her against the wall to go farther.
“We’re in the middle of a job, Jager.” Paul’s tone was full of reproof.
Not looking at the man he had been sent to take down, he shrugged. Focus on the brown eyes of the woman before him, with her wealth of tumbling curls, he hoped she understood what was going on and how serious it was.
“My woman, and your dumbasses attacked her. I need to make sure she is okay.” He flexed his fingers once more around her neck.
“Who?”
“Mindy and her fucking boy toy who can’t take a piss without her holding his dick for him.”
Paul nodded once, displeasure flashing over his thin features. “Travis.”
“I tied them up in the bathroom there.”
He glared. “Why?”
“Because I needed to make sure you tell them if they try to retaliate, I will kill them. This woman is mine.”
Paul stroked the side of his rifle. “Go free them. I’ll stay here with your woman.”
The way he looked at her set his skin on edge. Set him on edge.
While he moved his fingers in small circles on her nape, he shrugged as if he didn’t give a fuck, even when his insides were telling him that the worst thing in the world he could do would be to leave her alone with Paul.
Claiming another kiss, he walked off as if he weren’t ready to shoot the bastard in the head instead of bringing him down. He opened the door to the women’s room and paused to look over his shoulder. Jager scowled as he noticed how Paul had sidled closer to her during that short time.
“Paul.” Dead eyes met his.
“Don’t you have a job to do, Jager?”
“I never share.” Then he walked in, allowing the door to close behind him.
Travis and Mindy were still out and he slung the automatic rifle over his shoulder before crouching by Travis first. His lips twitched. She’d done one hell of a number on him.
