A Warrior's Love [Blackhawk Brothers 3] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)
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Blackhawk Brothers 3
A Warrior’s Love
Tyrell Blackhawk is home and staying at the lodge his brother Devon owns. Recovering from near fatal wounds, he’s not easy to live around. Hiring a private physical therapist goes against the grain, especially a sassy and very feminine one like Page. Acting like a wounded wolf, the sparring match begins.
Nadia isn’t at all happy with stopping over at the Blackhawk Lodge. Her peeve vanishes when she steps up to the desk and encounters Tyrell’s brother, Devon. Who would have thought she would find the perfect man for her ad campaign out here in the sticks?
As they try to untangle attractions that grow in spite of their outward choices, a fifth entity asserts itself. Tyrell’s wolf, a totem carried by the Blackhawk gene, makes it clear that Nadia is Tyrell’s life partner. Tyrell wants none of it. He is ready to settle down, and Page is more his type of woman, but his need for Nadia is undeniable.
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 59,491 words
A WARRIOR'S LOVE
Blackhawk Brothers 3
Lavada Dee
ROMANCE
www.BookStrand.com
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A SIREN-BOOKSTRAND TITLE
IMPRINT: Romance
A WARRIOR'S LOVE
Copyright © 2014 by Lavada Dee
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-596-7
First E-book Publication: November 2014
Cover design by Christine Kirchoff
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
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
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
About the Author
A WARRIOR'S LOVE
Blackhawk Brothers 3
LAVADA DEE
Copyright © 2014
Chapter 1
Devon unlocked the door to the swimming pool that was closed for the night. He was running a little late, and he didn’t like it. Usually he got to the pool before his brother. Tyrell wouldn’t admit out loud he needed help, or that it wasn’t safe for him to be in the water by himself, so Devon played a game where he just happened to be swimming at the same time. Tyrell, of course, knew what he was doing, but other than grumbling about the crowded pool, he took Devon’s help with as much good grace as one could expect from a wounded hero.
Tonight was different in that it was the physical therapist’s first night on the job. Devon was relieved that Tyrell had finally accepted the fact that if he wanted a full recovery he was going to need some professional help. Curious, Devon entered the main pool area and was immediately bombarded with colorful language. His brother’s deep bass boomed out with some words that even Devon had never heard. When an equally angry voice answered back, Devon was stunned. A woman? Tyrell had hired a female therapist.
“Listen, you big ape. Just because you’re big and…loud…and…”
Tyrell’s answer was loud, that was a given. “Big is the key word here. What in the hell did the agency think, sending over a pint-sized woman. You are going to be worse than no help at all.”
“Oh really?
With the words ringing in the air, Devon watched as a pert little blond in a modest swimsuit walked behind Tyrell’s wheelchair and released the lock, dumping him unceremoniously in the pool.
Wow! He had to admit that Tyrell was right about her size. At first glance she looked to be maybe five four, and her build was slight. But when she’d lifted the chair to propel Tyrell out, he could see the muscles in her arms and across her back. It was no doubt this little bombshell could pack a punch.
Smiling at Tyrell’s outraged sputtering, Devon dove into the pool at the far end and swam down to be introduced. By the time he got down the pool Tyrell was holding onto the side and scissoring his legs like she was instructing him to do as she stood above him. Devon hefted himself up on the edge beside her, and grinned down at Tyrell. “Evening brother, you going to introduce me?”
Tyrell glared at him. “You privy to that little scene?”
Devon nodded. “Didn’t think she could or would do it, did you?” He laughed. “I didn’t, either.”
Ignoring the woman, Tyrell shook his hair back sending out a spray of water. “She’d better damn well get her licks in tonight because that’s all the time she’s going to get.”
The woman dove into the water in a neat, no splash dive, and came up close to Tyrell. “Yeah, well, big guy? Tonight’s mine and you’re paying me for physical therapy, not talk, so let’s get started.” She glanced Devon’s way. “Hi, I’m Page. I understand you’ve been swimming with Mr. Blackhawk, but tonight we’re going to do a lot more than swim.” Her words were what you’d expect, but her tone said it was her show and she didn’t need any help.
Devon heard loud and clear. “Okay, then guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning, bro.”
Tyrell wasn’t going for it. “What the hell do you mean? You stay right here. If this keeps up, this little woman is going to need protecting.”
Page smiled, or, to be more accurate, smirked. Devon wasn’t worried about leaving her, but he wasn’t so sure about abandoning Tyrell. He looked at Page and said, “You sure?”
“Very.”
Devon grabbed one of the towels that Tyrell had brought down and wrapped it around his neck. He could hear Tyrell cursing and shook his head. It would be interesting to stay and watch this play out. For some reason, he was ready to lay odds on the physical therapist.
Not for the first time, his pride for his brother surged through him. Tyrell had been home four weeks, and had been told he was lucky. That it was nothing short of a miracle he had survived the injuries from his last mission.
The first two weeks he had spent in bed, complaining, demanding, and cursing. He didn’t want company, and was barely civil to any of the family. Then on the third week, he’d done an about face, well maybe not quite that far, but he started pulling himself into the wheelchair he’d arrived with. He kept to his room, but started ordering meals from room service instead of eating, or more accurately, picking at whatever someone provided. And even though he waited until late at night when no one would be there, he got himself to the lodge’s pool.
Devon could see changes almost daily. Tyrell still kept to himself, and was cold with anyone trying to get too close, but physically, he was healing. Tyrell, being Tyrell, hadn’t asked for his help in hiring a P. T. It wasn’t until the night before, when they finished in the pool, that he’d even mentioned it.
A loud splash had Devon gaping. Tyrell was sitting on the ledge smiling down at the woman. Smiling? He watched as she shook water out of her eyes, then reached up and pulled him into the pool with her. “We’re not through until I say we’re through, and for your information, I’ve been dunked by bigger and better than you.”
“Think so? Give me a week and I’ll have you begging for mercy, little lady.”
While Devon watched, Page gained control, and again started the water exercises. Shaking his head, he had to admit that she was quite a woman. She would be good for Tyrell. He needed someone like her. A foreign emotion rippled through Devon. Envy? That was absurd. The little P.T. was cute, but he was used to over-the-top beauty, and he had never had any trouble attracting women. In fact, just the direct opposite.
Feeling a little out of sorts, Devon pulled on sweats over his wet suit and took the back stairs up to the penthouse. The lodge was designed so that the fourth floor had two penthouses with meeting rooms in between. Because of the meeting rooms the main elevator went all the way to the fourth floor but the button was deactivated when they weren’t in use and needed a code to engage them.
Devon enjoyed living at the lodge that was one of many enterprises the Blackhawk family held. He also liked managing it. It wasn’t that he needed the income. He made more than he could spend developing software applications. No, it was more that it got him out of seclusion, and made him interact with people. On his own, he could immerse himself in the computer until he forgot everything but his current project. Not a healthy thing to do, mentally, emotionally, or physically.
A few minutes later, he opened the door and felt the penthouse suite welcoming him. He had decorated it himself and it reflected a soothing, understated elegance with its rich earth tones. Tyrell was using the twin apartment to his, but a professional designer had decorated it and he could already see his brother chafing to get into something less formal, something without the modern décor that screamed in contrast to Tyrell’s bigger-than-life persona. Of course, there was the possibility he would choose to redecorate, but somehow he saw Tyrell in a house, not an apartment.
Moving to the bar, Devon poured a generous glass of Scotch. His sweatpants were wet and he smelled of chorine. Taking his drink, he headed for the shower. Housekeeping had been in and everything sparkled. Room service and gourmet meals were the way to go. If he were Tyrell, he’d redecorate the penthouse and stay here. It couldn’t get better than this. Then, thinking of his brother Cooper and the house he’d built, the family he had, Devon felt a pang of restlessness. It didn’t help that Grant had followed shortly after. So now, of the four Blackhawk brothers, he and Tyrell were the only ones still single.
By the time Devon stepped out of the shower, he was all in. It had been a long day, but he had finished the computer app he’d been working on ahead of schedule, and now it was ready for beta testing. Restlessness again stirred in him, something that had been happening more and more, and it was getting more intense. Maybe because he was getting some downtime that he wasn’t used to. He couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t have a list of apps waiting for him to create. This was a first and a good thing, because he wanted to help Tyrell recover, and it gave him the chance to get to know this warrior brother of his better. Growing up, Tyrell had always been the loner. Devon had shared a room with him for a while, and he had watched as night after night Tyrell would climb out the window. Usually, day was breaking before he would reappear and fall into bed for maybe a couple hours sleep. Unlike Devon, who needed a good, solid eight hours of sleep, Tyrell seemed to thrive on only a few.
Devon poured another drink and settled on the large leather couch. How could he be so tired and not sleepy? It wasn’t like him. He thought about wandering down to Tyrell’s and hearing how the session with the new P. T. had gone…but what if she was with him? And, what if…. He felt irritated. Page wasn’t Tyrell’s type. Hell, she wasn’t his either. So why the snarky mood?
He turned on the television and surfed through the channels, finally settling for a travel program. That lasted for about forty-five minutes, then with a curse, he took the bottle of Scotch and headed for Tyrell’s apartment.
It was nice having Tyrell in the twin penthouse. Devon hadn’t realized how lonely he was until Tyrell had come home. He knew it wouldn’t be for long, maybe that was why he treasured the time they had.
Of the four brothers, Tyrell was the hardest to know. The night after Tyrell graduated from high school he had announced he was joining Special Forces. Their father hadn’t seemed surprised, but Devon remembered his mother’s tears. In the years since, Tyrell would come home, sometimes bringing some or all of his team. An aura of mystery surrounded the men and fascinated Devon.
That hadn’t changed. Tyrell was still a mystery to him. But he was enjoying the time that his brother’s injuries gave them to get to know each other better. Maybe the feeling that Tyrell’s restlessness would impel him to leave as soon as he healed had something to do with it.
The doors to the penthouses had keypads and Devon punched in the code. He wasn’t surprised to hear Tyrell’s TV, or the wrestling match playing on it. He also wasn’t surprised when his brother’s voice called out a welcome of sorts. “Hope you brought some of that Scotch you’re hoarding.”
“How in the devil do you hear through all that noise? I swear you could hear a pin drop on a feather bed.” Devon had brought glasses with him, so he bypassed the bar. “And, for your information I don’t hoard, but this stuff deserves to be savored and you’re such a barbarian.”
“Just pour,” Tyrell grumbled. “I’ll savor it, all right. Anything to ease some of this ache.”
“She give you a rough go of it, then?”
Tyrell took a drink from the glass Devon handed him. “She’s a lot stronger than she looks. The pain isn’t the same. This is more like when you work muscles you haven’t used, not like when it hurts from an injury.” He paused, and Devon could see him fighting with himself to keep from revealing more that he wanted to. Finally, he smiled and mumbled, “What the hell. It’s a combination of the muscles waking up, and feeling like a wet noodle.”
“So you going to keep her around?”
Tyrell chuckled. “You got to admit she’s nicer to look at than a guy.”
Devon let it go and the sounds of the wrestling match filled the room. Tyrell was healing almost in front of his eyes. It didn’t seem possible for a man to be able to do it so fast. At this rate his brother would be ready to move on soon. He couldn’t see him sticking around town for long. Not without
some action, and that wasn’t likely in Blackhawk, Montana.
Tyrell was stretched on the sofa with his feet resting on an ottoman. He looked comfortable, but Devon knew his legs and back still had a long ways to go before he’d be free of pain. He shifted his weight. “I’m not kidding. That workout really kicked the shit out of me. I feel like a newborn calf.”
That he was talking was new. Tyrell didn’t share how he was feeling, or what he was thinking. Devon waited, willing him to say more.
He was rewarded for his patience when Tyrell said, “You know, bro, I knew…hell, we all knew we were on our last mission. The five of us have been together from the first, and twelve years is a lifetime when you’re on foreign soil. A lot of missions, and we were beginning to feel our ages.”
“Thirty five isn’t exactly doddering, rocking-chair age.”
“It is when you’re carrying a two hundred pound man off a mountain or through a swamp or…” Tyrell shifted again. “Or running across a field with bullets splattering dirt up your ass.”
Silence again fell between the two brothers. The wrestling program had ended. The TV droned on unnoticed. Devon had come to know Tyrell’s “guys” over the years. He accepted their secret, like the rest of his family, but he remembered how terrified he was the first time he had seen Tyrell shift into a wolf and could hardly imagine seeing five big guys turn.
He remembered that first time. Tyrell had argued that he didn’t want to share a room with him and his dad had stepped in, had said if not Devon then one of the other boys. Devon had a hero worship of his bigger-than-life brother and remembered how happy he’d been when Tyrell had finally agreed. Two weeks later, he woke up in the middle of the night. Even now, years later, the image gave him goose bumps. It was January, and it was snowing. Tyrell was at the open window. All he could see was his shadow against the white of outside. Something made him stay quiet, until he saw the shadow change from a boy to a huge wolf. Then screams erupted from his throat.