by Violet Blaze
Royal glances down at my fingers, searching, I think, for a ring. When he doesn't find it, he comes to some other conclusion and reaches up to take my still extended hand.
When our fingers slide together … oh God. His hand is rough and calloused, grazing the smooth skin of my own with an almost tangible spark that makes me jerk back like I've been burned. The guys around Royal chuckle and I jump; I almost forgot they were there.
“You're the mayor's … sister?” Royal asks casually, lifting his chin and tucking his fingers into the front pockets on his jeans.
“Daughter,” I correct, hating that that's the truth, knowing what people think when I say it. She got that job because her dad's the mayor. If they only knew … I got the job in spite of that. “Youngest of three.”
“Shame,” Royal says with another wicked little smile. “I guess you're off-limits then?”
“Off … limits?” I ask as the boys behind him laugh again, all of their eyes on me, amusement apparent in their gazes.
“Yeah, I mean, how would the mayor feel if I took his pint-size prodigy daughter to the bedroom and tore off that bloody awful little skirt of hers?” I knew it! British accent. It's faint, but it's there.
Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I stand there dumbfounded for a second. I'm not stupid, okay, but I work in a mayor's office. Talk about prim, proper, and politically correct. This man's like a shock to the system.
“No offense, Mr. McBride, but this bloody awful skirt belonged to Toni Gladstone, the previous deputy mayor. I might have inherited her position and her suit, but I'll be damned if I inherit her mistakes.” Royal stares at me for a moment, his brown eyes dark and deep and soulful, then throws back his head and laughs, like I'm the most ridiculous thing he's ever seen.
“Oh sweetheart, I promise not to do a bodge job on you. We'll take it nice and slow and easy, alright?”
“The only thing you'll be taking, Mr. McBride, is a few hours of my time and a look at the papers I've brought you. I think you'll find that a healthy relationship with the mayor's office and the people of Trinidad will be beneficial for all of us.”
“Oh, I don't mind getting into bed with the mayor's office,” Royal says, eyes twinkling, mouth twisted to the side in a wolfish smirk as he takes a step closer to me. “Only I'd rather get into bed with you.”
“That rat bastard,” I snarl, slamming my car door and glaring out the window at Royal's retreating back. “Sorry to say, I'm too busy for that today, love,” I mimic, hating that man with every fiber of my being. Maybe it's some sort of defense mechanism against the overwhelming attraction I feel for him. Never in my life have I had this sort of reaction to anyone before. I'm generally a pleasant person. But Royal McBride? Ugh.
So I rescheduled with the club secretary and climbed back into my car, watching in the rearview mirror as customers pull their bikes into the shop—the shop whose books are good, so good that the forensic accountant my father hired to go over them couldn't find a single discrepancy. Thing is, we all know that the club is up to no good. And they know we know. But any efforts to actually catch them doing wrong have gone badly—for us. This … business arrangement we're considering, it won't stop them from doing what they do, but it will help my father's chances at re-election, show the city that he's 'cleaning up the riffraff'.
I sigh and turn the ignition, well aware that the club's on their best behavior right now. It's not like I'm going to see them trafficking illegal weapons or making drug deals in the bright light of day.
“Screw you, Royal,” I murmur, pulling out of my parking space and heading towards the front gates. It's not until I hit the highway that it starts to really pour, drops splattering against the roof of my car. I could go back to the office, but my dad's going to want to hear all about my meeting, and I have even less to report back on than Toni Gladstone did. She got laid by the president; I got dismissed like a stray dog.
My hands tighten around the wheel and my eyes wander to my cell phone, plugged in and laying across the passenger seat.
I press the dial button on my steering wheel, connecting with the Bluetooth in my phone.
“Call Royal McBride,” I say and listen as the phone rings over the speakers in my car.
“Wolf Cycle Service and Repair, this is Janae, how can I help you?” The sugary sweet voice of Janae, the club secretary, fills the quiet car and forces me to take a breath to clamp down on my anger. It isn't directed at her, isn't her fault that her boss is a dick. I think—though I'm not certain—that she's an … an old lady or something. Isn't that what bikers call their wives? A small shudder goes through me, but I make myself smile. People can hear it in your voice, you know.
“Hi Janae, this is Lyric from the mayor's office, I was wondering if you could get ahold of Royal for me?” There's a small pause as she considers my request. “I know he said he's busy today, but—”
“Busy?” Janae repeats with a small laugh. “Is that what he told you? Oh, bless his heart. Did he dodge out on your meeting?” My smile fades from my face. “There's a party tonight at the clubhouse. The boys are swearing in a new VP tomorrow.” I don't bother to ask what happened to the old vice president—I know she won't tell me. Club business stays club business. “He's probably just flirting with groupies and hauling in kegs.”
“Uh huh.” I can feel my mouth twitching with frustration. “Is that so?”
“That's so,” Janae says with a small laugh. “But I can try to wrangle him up for you if you want.”
“No, that won't be necessary. What time is the party tonight?”
There's a pause on Janae's end of the line.
“Could you hold a moment for me?” she asks.
“Sure thing.”
I'm already at my exit by the time she comes back.
“The party starts at six here at the clubhouse,” Janae begins, her voice holding a strange sort of hesitancy. “Although I'm not sure that this is the sort of party that you'd be interested in.”
I narrow my eyes, even though I know she can't see me, my gaze focused out the windshield on the wet pavement and the green of the trees flickering by on either side of the car. It's easy to see why they call this the Lost Coast; even with the fairly recent population boom, the area's still wild enough that I feel like it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to catch sight of some sort of Jurassic period monster—like Royal McBride.
“Six at the clubhouse,” I say, just to reconfirm. Not the kind of party that I'd be interested in. Please. If Royal thinks he can use his secretary to scare me away, he's dead wrong. “I'll be there.”
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Discover your next five star read with C.M. Stunich and Violet Blaze!
Listen to this playlist for FREE on Spotify by clicking here or visiting: https://goo.gl/AlS7dQ
Father, Brother – Escape the Fate
Crows – The Plot In You
Hell Yeah – Rev Theory
Bury Your Pain – Like Moths To Flames
Shadows – A Skylit Drive
Madness – All That Remains
Fallen – A Skylit Drive
1984 – Adestria
Compromised – Adestria
Props & Mayhem – Pierce The Veil
Wishmaster – The Word Alive
Alive – Wage War
Out Of Control – Hoobastank
Monsters Ball – Butcher Babies
Zero – Otep
This War Is Ours (The Guillotine II) – Escape the Fate
Wasted Age – We Came As Romans
Breathe (Until We Are No More) – Moonspell
Phantom Power And Ludicrous Speed – Pierce The Veil
The Fallen – Hoobastank
Inside Of You – Hoobastank
Rise Up – Secrets
Live Fast, Die Beautiful – Escape the Fate
Ghostflowers – Otep
My Old Ways – The Plot In You
Through Glass – Stone Sour
Bother – Stone Sour
Tired – Stone Sour
Say You'll Haunt Me – Stone Sour
Determined – Mudvayne
Do Me A Favor – Stone Sour
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) – Nico Vega
Blame It On The Boom Boom – Black Stone Cherry
White Trash Millionaire – Black Stone Cherry
Soul Machine – Black Stone Cherry
Stay – Black Stone Cherry
In My Blood – Black Stone Cherry
I Knew You Were Trouble – We Came As Romans
The World I Used to Know – We Came As Romans
Nature Of The Beast – My Darkest Days
Come Undone – My Darkest Days
Bulletproof – Evans Blue
Cry Sister – Royal Bliss
Footsteps – Pop Evil
Deal with the Devil – Pop Evil
The Beautiful People – Marilyn Manson
Cupid Carries A Gun – Marilyn Manson
Children Of Love – Crown The Empire
Let The Sin Begin – Drowning Pool
Tear Away – Drowning Pool
We Are The Devil – Drowning Pool
Freak Gasoline Fight Accident – It Dies Today
The Radiance – It Dies Today
Life Is A Highway - From "Cars" – Rascal Flatts
A Constant Reminder – It Dies Today
Bad Things – Jace Everett
Bad Things – Jace Everett
Burn – Crown The Empire
Violet Blaze's Super Interesting Life Story (aka Her Biography)
Violet Blaze is the best friend you've always wanted, but still love to hate. She embarrasses you at dinner and flatters you at the club. And you're pretty sure her ugly little dog is a 'poochon', even if you have no idea what that means (it's a mix between a Bichon Frise and a Poodle, just in case you wanted to know).
A California native, Miss Blaze loves the good ol' US of A, and enjoys dressing up in its stars and stripes. She lives in a house with bright pink walls, a chair shaped like a shoe, and a cat named Miranda Rose. Violet's been reading all of her life (often while drinking brightly colored cocktails); her favorite thing about books is that she gets to watch people fall in love over and over again. Really, who doesn't? And if she wasn't a writer, it's likely Violet Blaze would be a pop star who wore too much make up and wore too little clothing.
This raging feminist likes writing books about strong women and strong men who aren't afraid to express themselves (oftentimes in the bedroom). She hopes you'll join her in reading Glacier and wants to hear your thoughts, questions, and favorite quotes @IAmVioletBlaze.
(or you can be all old fashioned and stuff and email her at [email protected])
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Front Matter Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Signup for my Newsletter
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Biker Rockstar Billionaire CEO DOM Cover
Real Ugly Cover
Losing Me, Finding You Cover
Raw and Dirty Cover
Raw and Dirty Description
Raw and Dirty Excerpt
Stalk Me
More Reads
Glacier Playlist
About the Author
