by Joanna Wylde
Rome’s Chance
A Reapers MC Novella
By Joanna Wylde
1001 Dark Nights
Rome’s Chance
A Reapers MC Novella
By Joanna Wylde
1001 Dark Nights
Copyright 2018 Joanna Wylde
ISBN: 978-1-948050-22-7
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
Rome’s Chance
A Reapers MC Novella
By Joanna Wylde
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Joanna Wylde comes a new story in her Reapers MC series…
Rome McGuire knew he was in trouble the first time he saw her.
She was sweet and pretty and just about perfect in every way. She was also too young and innocent for the Reapers Motorcycle Club. He did the right thing, and walked away.
The second time, he couldn’t resist tasting her.
Gorgeous and smart, fun and full of wonder, she jumped on his bike and would’ve followed him anywhere. Still, she deserved a shot at happiness somewhere bigger and better than a town like Hallies Falls. Walking away wasn’t so easy that time, but her family needed her and he had a job to do.
When she came around a third time, he’d had enough. Randi Whittaker had been given two chances to escape, and now it was time for Rome to take his.
This time, the only way Randi would be leaving Hallies Falls was on the back of Rome’s bike.
**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
About Joanna Wylde
Joanna Wylde started her writing career in journalism, working in two daily newspapers as both a reporter and editor. Her career has included many different jobs, from managing a homeless shelter to running her own freelance writing business, where she took on projects ranging from fundraising to ghostwriting for academics. During 2012 she got her first Kindle reader as a gift and discovered the indie writing revolution taking place online. Not long afterward she started cutting back her client list to work on Reaper's Property, her breakout book. It was published in January 2013, marking the beginning of a new career writing fiction.
Joanna lives in the mountains of northern Idaho with her family.
Also from Joanna Wylde
Click to purchase
Reaper's Property
Reaper's Legacy
Devil's Game
Silver Bastard
Reaper's Fall
Reaper's Fire
Reapers and Bastards
Shade’s Lady
Acknowledgments from the Author
Thank you very much to Liz Berry, M.J. Rose, Kim Guidroz, Jillian Stein, Fedora Chen, Kasi Alexander and Dylan Stockton for making the publication of this book possible. 1001 Dark Nights is unlike anything else in the publishing world, and I’m incredibly appreciative to be part of it. Thank you again.
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
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three
Click here to explore
HIDDEN INK by Carrie Ann Ryan
BLOOD ON THE BAYOU by Heather Graham
SEARCHING FOR MINE by Jennifer Probst
DANCE OF DESIRE by Christopher Rice
ROUGH RHYTHM by Tessa Bailey
DEVOTED by Lexi Blake
Z by Larissa Ione
FALLING UNDER YOU by Laurelin Paige
EASY FOR KEEPS by Kristen Proby
UNCHAINED by Elisabeth Naughton
HARD TO SERVE by Laura Kaye
DRAGON FEVER by Donna Grant
KAYDEN/SIMON by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
STRUNG UP by Lorelei James
MIDNIGHT UNTAMED by Lara Adrian
TRICKED by Rebecca Zanetti
DIRTY WICKED by Shayla Black
THE ONLY ONE by Lauren Blakely
SWEET SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Four
Click here to explore
ROCK CHICK REAWAKENING by Kristen Ashley
ADORING INK by Carrie Ann Ryan
SWEET RIVALRY by K. Bromberg
SHADE'S LADY by Joanna Wylde
RAZR by Larissa Ione
ARRANGED by Lexi Blake
TANGLED by Rebecca Zanetti
HOLD ME by J. Kenner
SOMEHOW, SOME WAY by Jennifer Probst
TOO CLOSE TO CALL by Tessa Bailey
HUNTED by Elisabeth Naughton
EYES ON YOU by Laura Kaye
BLADE by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
DRAGON BURN by Donna Grant
TRIPPED OUT by Lorelei James
STUD FINDER by Lauren Blakely
MIDNIGHT UNLEASHED by Lara Adrian
HALLOW BE THE HAUNT by Heather Graham
DIRTY FILTHY FIX by Laurelin Paige
THE BED MATE by Kendall Ryan
PRINCE ROMAN by CD Reiss
NO RESERVATIONS by Kristen Proby
DAWN OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
Also from 1001 Dark Nights
Tempt Me by J. Kenner
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Table of Contents
Book Description
About Joanna Wylde
Also from Joanna Wylde
Acknowledgments from the Author
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Four
Foreword
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Five
Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights
Discover More Joanna Wylde
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
Author’s note: Rome’s Chance takes place eight years after the events of Reaper’s Fire. Rome’s Chance stands alone, and you need not read any other books in the Reapers MC series to enjoy this story.
Hallies Falls, Washington
Friday morning
Randi
“So are you gonna buy me condoms or not? I don’t like buying them myself because it’s embarrassing, so I usually just steal them. But they said the next time I get arrested, I’m going to juvie.”
I stared at my little sister, wondering what the hell I was supposed to say. There were so many things wrong with that sentence. So many, many things… How could two girls who came from the same mother be so different? I mean, I’d been boy crazy when I was her age, but half the time I’d been too scared to talk to them, let alone have sex. Lexi, though… Lexi was sixteen going on thirty, and I swear to God, that had to be a push-up bra she was wearing.
Since when did sixteen-year-olds wear push-up bras?
“You know, abstinence education doesn’t work,” she said, popping her gum at me through dark ruby-red lips that went perfectly with her Betty Page hair. “They taught Mom abstinence. Look at how that turned out.”
Seeing as our mom had me when she was seventeen—and I was one of five by four different fathers—it was hard to fault the kid’s logic. I tossed a double pack of Trojans into the cart.
Cheaper than a baby shower.
“Thanks, sis,” she said, bumping her shoulder against mine, and I wondered when the hell she’d gotten so big. I’d been twelve when she was born. In some ways she’d been like my very own baby. Mom was always working, so it’d been my job to take care of the littles.
If you move back to Hallies Falls, you know you’ll get stuck taking care of them again, I reminded myself. Lexi stretched her arms behind her back, putting her already full teenage rack on display. Not good. Not good at all.
“Can we buy a watermelon and some of that salad mix?” Lexi asked, and I nodded, because this was a purchase I could get behind. There hadn’t been a fresh fruit or vegetable in the house my whole childhood, and so far as I could tell, Mom hadn’t changed her buying habits since I’d left home. To be fair, she was living on disability these days, ever since she blew her back out. Money was tight.
“Why don’t you go and get it?” I told her. “I’m going to stock up on some stuff for the freezer. Oh, and we still have to pick up Mom’s asthma meds. Don’t let me forget.”
“We need some TP, too,” she said. “And tampons. We’re totally out of those.”
Of course they were. Food stamps were great for a lot of things, but they sure as hell didn’t cover toiletries. “I’ll get some toothpaste, too.”
“You’re the best, Randi!”
Just like that, she was skipping down the aisle toward the produce section, and for a minute there she almost could’ve been the little girl I used to give airplane and piggy-back rides to. Happy, carefree, and full of mischief. Now she was forcing herself to grow up too damned fast, just like I had.
It wasn’t right.
“Randi?” I froze, because I knew that voice.
Rome McGuire.
The sound was rough and sexy, with just a hint of a growl. Deeper than it’d been eight years ago, when I’d thrown caution to the wind and hopped on the back of his motorcycle for one glorious night.
Back then, I’d still been a shy little thing, terrified that some hot biker might actually want to talk to me, let alone take me out. When I caught him watching me at the party, I remembered studying the floor, his shirt collar, even the beer in my plastic cup, because I hadn’t known what to do with myself around such raw male glory. Apparently some things never change, because when I turned to face him, I found myself staring at the floor again.
This was a mistake, because his feet were down there. And the battered, black leather boots he wore led to jeans-covered legs. Legs topped by thick, muscular thighs.
Stop it. You’re acting like a giant dork! My brain hissed.
Oblivious and mesmerized, my gaze rose to the faded denim around his fly, and it was all over. My eyes started tracing the folds of the Okanogan Fire and R
escue T-shirt covering his still-muscular chest, although the Reapers Motorcycle Club vest he wore was a change. Back then, he’d been hanging around the Nighthawk Raiders MC. That whole club had disappeared for reasons I’d never fully understood, and the Reapers had taken over the town shortly afterward. Apparently Rome was one of them now.
Interesting…
I’d always wondered what’d happened to Rome after I’d left. We’d never said goodbye. That summer, the wildfires had swept through so fast that my family had to evacuate with the clothes on our backs. We hadn’t bothered to come back and sift through the ashes.
I’d kept in touch with my old boss, Tinker, of course.
I’d even considered asking her about Rome, but in some ways those fires were the best thing that ever happened to me. Starting over meant starting college in Missoula, and then a whole new life.
Wasn’t like Rome and I could’ve ever been anything real, anyway. Guys like him weren’t for girls like me.
My gaze reached his neck, which bristled with thick, black stubble that was more than a little out of control—this was different from when I’d known him before. Not that he’d ever been baby-faced, but he’d definitely matured. Now there were a few wrinkles around those dark blue eyes, although the dimple was still there. So was the crooked smile that’d spontaneously combusted my panties.
Correction.
A crooked smile that was currently combusting my panties. Who knew that a supermarket could be such dangerous territory?
“Been a long time,” he said. I shrugged, unsure what to say. I mean, yeah, we’d gone out on a date. He’d kissed me and wow… Not that we’d gotten much past second base, but he’d scored a home run in the lower deck of my ballpark, if you know what I mean. But he was one of those guys—you know, the kind of guys who hit lots of home runs with lots of girls.
