by Shayla Black
Dirty Wicked
A Wicked Lovers Novella
By Shayla Black
1001 Dark Nights
Dirty Wicked
A Wicked Lovers Novella
Copyright 2016 Shelley Bradley LLC
ISBN: 978-1-942299-56-1
Foreword: Copyright 2014 M. J. Rose
Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
All rights reserved. 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 author’s rights.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.
Book Description
Dirty Wicked: A Wicked Lovers Novella
By Shayla Black
From New York Times bestselling author, Shayla Black...
After being framed for a crime he didn’t commit, former private eye Nick Navarro has nothing but revenge on his mind—until a woman from his past returns to beg for his help.
Beautiful widow Sasha Porter has been hunted by his enemies. Desperate, she offers him anything to keep her young daughter safe, even agreeing to become his mistress. The last thing either of them want are emotional entanglements but as they entrap the ruthless politician who arranged Nick’s downfall and passion sizzles between them, danger closes in.
Will he choose love over vengeance before it’s too late?
About Shayla Black
Shayla Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty novels. For over fifteen years, she’s written contemporary, erotic, paranormal, and historical romances via traditional, independent, foreign, and audio publishers. Her books have sold millions of copies and been published in a dozen languages.
Raised an only child, Shayla occupied herself with lots of daydreaming, much to the chagrin of her teachers. In college, she found her love for reading and realized that she could have a career publishing the stories spinning in her imagination. Though she graduated with a degree in Marketing/Advertising and embarked on a stint in corporate America to pay the bills, her heart has always been with her characters. She’s thrilled that she’s been living her dream as a full-time author for the past eight years.
Shayla currently lives in North Texas with her wonderfully supportive husband, her teenage daughter, and a very spoiled cat. In her “free” time, she enjoys reality TV, reading, and listening to an eclectic blend of music.
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Also from Shayla Black
Click to purchase
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
The Wicked Lovers
Wicked Ties
Decadent
Delicious
Surrender To Me
Belong To Me
“Wicked to Love” (novella)
Mine To Hold
“Wicked All The Way” (novella)
Ours To Love
Wicked All Night – Wicked and Dangerous Anthology
“Forever Wicked” (novella)
Theirs To Cherish
His to Take
Pure Wicked (novella)
Wicked for You
Falling in Deeper
“Dirty Wicked” (novella)
Coming Soon:
Holding on Tighter (Coming February 7, 2017)
Sexy Capers
Bound And Determined
Strip Search
“Arresting Desire” – Hot In Handcuffs Anthology
The Perfect Gentlemen (by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake
Scandal Never Sleeps
Seduction in Session
Big Easy Temptation
Smoke and Sin (Coming 2017)
Masters Of Ménage (by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake)
Their Virgin Captive
Their Virgin’s Secret
Their Virgin Concubine
Their Virgin Princess
Their Virgin Hostage
Their Virgin Secretary
Their Virgin Mistress
Their Virgin Bride (Coming 2017)
Doms Of Her Life (by Shayla Black, Jenna Jacob, and Isabella LaPearl)
Raine Falling Collection (Complete)
One Dom To Love
The Young And The Submissive
The Bold and The Dominant
The Edge of Dominance
Coming Soon:
Heavenly Rising Collection
The Choice (Coming Fall 2017)
Stand Alone Titles
Naughty Little Secret
Watch Me
Dangerous Boys And Their Toy
“Her Fantasy Men” – Four Play Anthology
A Perfect Match
HISTORICAL ROMANCE (as Shelley Bradley)
The Lady And The Dragon
One Wicked Night
Strictly Seduction
Strictly Forbidden
Brothers in Arms
His Lady Bride, Brothers in Arms (Book 1)
His Stolen Bride, Brothers in Arms (Book 2)
His Rebel Bride, Brothers in Arms (Book 3)
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
The Doomsday Brethren
Tempt Me With Darkness
“Fated” (e-novella)
Seduce Me In Shadow
Possess Me At Midnight
“Mated” – Haunted By Your Touch Anthology
Entice Me At Twilight
Embrace Me At Dawn
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One
Click here to explore
FOREVER WICKED by Shayla Black
CRIMSON TWILIGHT by Heather Graham
CAPTURED IN SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING by Tina Folsom
DUNGEON GAMES by Lexi Blake
AZAGOTH by Larissa Ione
NEED YOU NOW by Lisa Renee Jones
SHOW ME, BABY by Cherise Sinclair
ROPED IN by Lorelei James
TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian
THE FLAME by Christopher Rice
CARESS OF DARKNESS by Julie Kenner
Also from 1001 Dark Nights
TAME ME by J. Kenner
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two
Click here to explore
WICKED WOLF by Carrie Ann Ryan
WHEN IRISH EYES ARE HAUNTING by Heather Graham
EASY WITH YOU by Kristen Proby
MASTER OF FREEDOM by Cherise Sinclair
CARESS OF PLEASURE by Julie Kenner
ADORED by Lexi Blake
HADES by Larissa Ione
RAVAGED by Elisabeth Naughton
DREAM OF YOU by Jennifer L. Armentrout
STRIPPED DOWN by Lorelei James
RAGE/KILLIAN by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
DRAGON KING by Donna Grant
PURE WICKED by
Shayla Black
HARD AS STEEL by Laura Kaye
STROKE OF MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian
ALL HALLOWS EVE by Heather Graham
KISS THE FLAME by Christopher Rice
DARING HER LOVE by Melissa Foster
TEASED by Rebecca Zanetti
THE PROMISE OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
Also from 1001 Dark Nights
THE SURRENDER GATE By Christopher Rice
SERVICING THE TARGET By Cherise Sinclair
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1001 Dark Nights story
The First Night
by Lexi Blake & M.J. Rose
Table of Contents
Book Description
About Shayla Black
Also by Shayla Black
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two
Foreword
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Epilogue
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three
Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights
Discover More Shayla Black
An excerpt from Holding on Tighter by Shayla Black
Special Thanks
One Thousand and One Dark Nights
Once upon a time, in the future…
I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.
I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and
the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast
library at my father’s home and collected thousands
of volumes of fantastic tales.
I learned all about ancient races and bygone
times. About myths and legends and dreams of all
people through the millennium. And the more I read
the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered
that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually
become part of them.
I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher
and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I
would not be telling you this tale now.
But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off
with bravery.
One afternoon, curious about the myth of the
Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to
see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar
(Persian: شهريار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then
sent yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It was written
and I had read, that by the time he met Scheherazade,
the vizier's daughter, he’d killed one thousand
women.
Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived
in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged
places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had
never occurred before and that still to this day, I
cannot explain.
Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have
taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can
protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to
protect herself and stay alive.
Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.
And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a
point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.
And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that
he might hear the rest of my dark tale.
As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new
one... like the one that you, dear reader, have before
you now.
Chapter One
Lafayette, Louisiana
Nick Navarro had been out of prison exactly thirty-five hours. Long enough to get a good night’s sleep, stock up on a few necessities, and visit his old friends, the Santiago brothers. Then he’d started putting his P.I. skills to good use, methodically searching for the woman he hadn’t forgotten a single detail about during the fifteen months of his incarceration.
He intended to hunt down the bastards who had framed him and offed his childhood friend so he could repay them in spades.
Sasha Porter was the key.
At first glance, it looked as if she had disappeared off the face of the earth. She’d fled her house, quit her job, abandoned her car, maybe even changed her name. But his gut told him she was still alive. She had reasons to fight.
He would burn down the world until he found her.
Nick was forcing himself not to pace manically when his doorbell rang, sounding above the din of pounding rain. He zipped his gaze to the clock. Quarter ’til midnight. Obviously this wasn’t a social call. Had his late buddy’s enemy gotten wind of him shaking the trees for Sasha? Or had that corrupt son of a bitch just come back for another pound of flesh?
With every light in the living room on, Nick couldn’t pretend he wasn’t home. Besides, he refused to let this asshole think he was afraid. So he drew his weapon and jerked the door open, wearing a snarl.
Nick expected trouble, a gunfight, a battle for his life. Instead, Sasha Porter stood under his little portico, clinging near the door to avoid the deluge of November rain. Without a coat, she shivered. An exhausted little girl slept on her hip under a baby blanket, blond curls askew. A ragged duffel bag hung over her other arm. Rain had seeped through Sasha’s tattered blouse. Water ran down her cheek, which was marred with an unmistakable bruise. Dark circles discolored the skin under her hazel eyes, now wide with fear as she stared at his SIG. Cursing, Nick scrambled to holster his weapon.
This wasn’t the woman he remembered, and she wore the struggle for her survival all over her delicate face. The sight made Nick seethe, but he managed to blank his expression and open the door wider.
“Hi, Mr. Navarro, we met once about three years ago. You probably don’t remember me…” She drifted off nervously.
He ached to show her how wrong she was. Instead, he scanned her body. She’d lost weight, lost curves. He’d fix that. But as she had the first time he laid eyes on her, she incited a roaring lust in his blood that electrified every muscle, pore, and nerve ending. He didn’t just want this woman; having her felt necessary to his sanity. It didn’t matter that her honey hair straggled out of half a ponytail or that she wasn’t wearing a shred of makeup. Baggy jeans, plaid shirt…whatever. Sasha stood here in all her goodness. Despite everything she’d been through, radiance shone from her eyes. The brightest of angels tempting the devil himself.
Then he remembered she was his childhood friend’s beloved widow. He killed his smile.
“Mike Porter was my husband.” Her voice still shook. “You visited our house once. I’m—”
“Sasha,” he assured, determined not to frighten her. “Come in.”
* * * *
Blinking at Nick Navarro in surprise, Sasha inched inside his surprisingly posh house, hyperaware that she was dripping on his travertine floors. “You remember me?”
“I never forget a face.” He shut and locked the door behind her.
Because he’d once been a private investigator? She stared but his unreadable expression cloaked his thoughts.
Her late husband had called Nick a great friend…and a very dangerous man. Mike had made her promise to come to Nick if she ever needed help. Sasha was having second thoughts now.
Merely dangerous men could be reasoned with. Even they had limits. Staring at the six-foot-three mountain of muscle who holstered a gun he clearly wasn’t afraid to use, she feared no one could reason with Nick Navarro.
Da
ngerous seemed far too tame to describe him. It wasn’t just the harsh shave of his black hair down to mere stubble or the glimpse of new ink flirting with the edge of his gray V-neck. The T-shirt pulled across his chest and bunched around his thick biceps as if it strained to contain him. It molded so closely to his abs that Sasha could see his six-pack. Dark jeans cupped his bulge and tore a disreputable snag down his thigh. His black leather boots belonged on a biker.
Sasha swallowed.
Like the first time she’d met him, the air around him pinged with life. And violence. His conviction for rape certainly didn’t give her a warm fuzzy.
The closer he came on silent footsteps, the more wildly her heart beat. Every speech she’d rehearsed seemed silly now. God, would begging for his help even do any good?
Without it, she and her baby would probably be dead tomorrow, certainly within a week. She prayed Nick’s hatred of their common enemy was enough to persuade him to help her. She hoped Nick Navarro had a good side she could appeal to.
But she wasn’t counting on it.
When he reached for her, Sasha stiffened. If he noticed her reaction, he said nothing. He merely lifted the heavy duffel bag from her drooping shoulder and slid it to the ground.
“You look tired, hungry, and cold.” His dark gaze drifted over Harper. “You can’t carry your daughter all night.”
His words surprised her. Why wasn’t he demanding to know the reason she’d rung his doorbell so late? Or why she’d come at all?
She wished she had the luxury of telling him that she and her baby would be fine, like she’d been saying to people since Mike’s murder. But she couldn’t afford polite lies anymore. Nick Navarro was her very last hope.
