Dixie Under Siege
A Warrior’s Passion Series
Book Two
Natasza Waters
Sensual Romance
Dixie Under Siege (Book Two) A Warrior’s Passion series
Copyright © 2020 Natasza Waters
E-book ISBN: 978-1-7774689-0-3
First Publication: December 2020
Cover design by DuskTilDawn Designs
Editor – Write Right edits
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
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
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Epilogue
Books by Nat
Message from Josh
Dedication
To second chances.
Acknowledgment
Effort, skill, creativity, and love are spun into every novel. My heartfelt appreciation to Sheri Fredricks, Carolyn Shelly Depew, Dawné Dominique, and my readers.
Prologue
Josh Hunter stood at the window overlooking Glorietta Bay from his office at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado. Training vessels departed the dock as part of the SEALs’ Phase Three work-up prior to deployment. Like his legendary predecessor, Thane “Ghost” Austen, Josh intended to deploy in August with his men.
At least that had been the plan until an hour ago.
A stalker had the woman he’d loved and nearly married, under siege.
Earlier in the year, Josh had been floored when he’d walked into the new coffeehouse called Erotic Bean for a cup of java, to find Dixie Hammond owned the place. Their reunion went as expected. She’d told him to get the hell out. Although angry with him, he couldn’t ignore that his pulse rose to a running pace when he set eyes on Dix.
He’d kept his distance from his ex, but returned to the shop many times. Since Josh didn’t especially love coffee, he questioned why he kept going back.
When he finally convinced her to share, Josh learned since graduating college, Dix had moved from state to state, trying to shake an unwanted admirer. San Diego was a new start for her until she received another note. The predator hunting Dixie had found her again.
Today, Josh had infiltrated her life whether she wanted his help or not. Begrudgingly, she’d allowed him to read some of the notes.
Think you could run away?
I’m watching you. Even when you sleep.
I love watching you take your clothes off.
The last note Dixie revealed made his blood boil.
I’m going to bind your hands and ankles and fuck you hard.
Her file cabinet held folders bloated with notes. Lt. Elijah Bach, Josh’s best friend, and Rayne Levy were in Dixie’s office when she’d admitted how long she’d been living under this guy’s reign of terror.
“I’ll deal with it like I always have,” Dixie had said.
A stab of guilt had gutted Josh. All those years ago, he hadn’t left Dixie because he didn’t love her. He left because he was a hot-headed fool.
“And how did you deal with it?” he’d asked.
She dropped her gaze. “Moved. Many times.”
Josh had gathered both her hands in his. A familiar but forgotten warmth ricocheted through his blood. “Running from this guy feeds his fire. That’s how he controls you.”
She’d shrugged. “Running from what? He’s never shown himself. I don’t know who he is.”
Lt. Bach had said, “You do know him. Maybe not intimately, but you’ve crossed paths. Enough for him to lock you in his sights. Over the years, he’s been forming a relationship with you. A cat and mouse chase that gave him a false sense of superiority. Your reaction to run is understandable, but this won’t end until you stop.”
“I’m not scared of him,” she’d proclaimed.
Josh couldn’t help but smile. “I know you’re not. You’re pissed because you can’t face off with him. You feel like you’re the puppet and he has control of the strings. Something you’ve always hated.”
Rayne and Lt. Bach didn’t know the details of his and Dix’s relationship, only that they had history.
Dixie had quickly given Eli and Rayne a summarized version. “Our families expected us to marry. I was eighteen-years-old and wanted to go to college. But this big oaf and our traditional families wanted me barefoot and pregnant.” She flicked her thumb at Josh. “He signed up with the Navy and scattered in the wind.”
Dix’s flushed cheeks had proved she was still angry at him but her assumptions were way off base.
“I never said I wanted you barefoot and in the kitchen. Like usual, you didn’t give me a chance. You lost your temper and cancelled the wedding. What the hell was I supposed to do? Hang around, waiting for you to change your mind, which you never do once it’s made up. When your knickers are in a knot, you’re like a shrew on steroids.”
Dixie had vaulted to her feet. “You call me a shrew!” She pointed a stiff finger at him. “You’re a pigheaded, short-tempered ass!”
Before Bach and Rayne ran for cover, Elijah suggested the team guys help identify her stalker.
Josh had mulled over the lieutenant’s idea. Her predator was likely someone she knew.
He’d asked, “Did you have…men you…did you have…” The words had caught in his throat because the thought of Dixie in another man’s arms unexpectedly bothered the hell out of him.
“Did I have lovers?”
He had squashed the jealousy in his gut and continued. “Exactly. Did you have a boyfriend? Someone who…who…”
“Who I slept with?”
Of course a woman as beautiful as Dix had lovers, but accepting the idea twisted like a knife. He’d nodded for her to go on.
“No, Josh. I didn’t bring anyone home with me, if that’s what you’re asking.”
He had no right to judge her, but his heart didn’t have the same sentiment.
“I usually went to their place,” she added.
“Did you notice a change in the notes when you dated? Did the messages become more aggressive?”
Dixie had tapped the desk with her index finger, then flipped through the notes, burrowing to the bottom of the pile and pulled one out. She opened it to check the content and extended the paper to him. “I received this yesterday.”
Josh’s resolve to find this prick cemented itself as he’d read the note. He’d fixed his stare on Dixie, then turned to Eli. “I came in here yesterday. Thought I’d mend a few bridges and asked Dix to join me at church service. This means he’s watching her.”
“What does the note say?” Rayne asked.
Dixie answered, because he hadn’t wanted to recite the message. “It says, ‘I’ll kill you, before letting him put his cock inside you.’”
Josh had planned to stay at Dixie’s place, but she put up a fight when he’d voiced the idea. Rayne and Eli quickly departed the office when the argument became personal. He hadn’t anticipated his temper to soar knowing Dix had been with other men.
Josh had heard the door click shut but didn’t veer his attention from the little firebrand glaring back at him. “You’re the one who kicked me to the curb.”
Finally, she broke the staring contest and plucked the folder with the notes from her desk. “If you think you can catch the guy who’s stalking me then I’m not going to refuse your help, because I’m all out of ideas.”
“Give me those,” he’d said, extending his hand.
Dixie had slapped the folder onto his palm. “Even if I told you to mind your own business, I’m guessing you won’t.”
Josh had almost laughed. Same old Dixie. “You got that right, Miss Hammond.”
Dixie’s teenage years long past, she exuded confidence. It had been a complete surprise to find her here in San Diego. Regardless of their past, she deserved peace of mind.
“Any regrets?” he’d asked out of total curiosity.
“Plenty, but since you’re still a bachelor, I’m sure you don’t.”
Joining her in the hallway, he’d waited till she’d locked the door to her office. He had a boatload of regrets, but she’d nailed his pride to the cross once before. That was enough.
She’d uttered a ‘pfft’ of disdain when he didn’t answer.
“If I were you, Dix, I wouldn’t get too comfortable in that self-righteous throne you’re sitting on.”
She’d thrust her hands on her hips. “Oh, yeah, why is that, SEAL?”
Her cocky expression deflated when he’d grinned. “I clearly remember every inch of your mind-blowing, naked body and what drives you wild.” With one step, he had her trapped, his palms against the wall on either side of her slender shoulders. “We might have been young, but I haven’t forgotten how easily you made me come. Or the games we played. Before you have time to blink, your stalker will be behind bars. Then we have unfinished business.”
“You always talk as if you have the world figured out,” she’d stuttered, her fiery tone replaced with uncertainty.
“I know one thing’s for sure.” With her shoulder blades pinned to the wall, he’d watched her gaze zigzag across his features. “I’m the only man who can tie you into erotic knots. The only guy that gives you a little pain with your pleasure. That was always our secret, wasn’t it?”
They’d been alone in the hallway but that didn’t mean his voice couldn’t carry into the shop, so he’d placed his lips next to her delicate ear. “Not hearing a flurry of arguments, Miss Hammond.”
She hadn’t moved when he’d grazed his cheek against the soft skin of her clenched jaw.
“If I slid my hand under your skirt, I’d put money down that you’d let me. That you’re already wet. I could make you come right here, right now, because I know you remember every second we shared. I might not have the world figured out, but you can count on two things: I have you cornered and I’m going to find the sonofabitch who’s tormenting you.”
Josh had gently pressed his finger under Dixie’s chin and closed the gap that had opened between her lips. “And if you’re wondering who’s going to run away first? Fair warning. It won’t be me.”
Dixie Under Siege
A Warrior’s Passion Series Book Two
Chapter One
Standing in front of her parents’ grandfather clock, Dixie’s father shouted, “Do you have any brains in your head?”
The pendulum swung back and forth with an even tempo, unlike her father, who was ready to vault into a speech on Hell and damnation.
She flicked a glance toward Josh, who sat beside her with one muscled arm laying across the back of the sofa, his expression relaxed, if not slightly amused with his lips curling upward. Dixie, on the other hand, was mortified her father had caught them in the barn. Not just messing around, but right after a mind-blowing orgasm which he may have heard.
Her father glared at them the way he’d stare down Satan if he ever came face to face with the angel of evil deeds.
Her mother, Amelia Hammond, hung up the phone in the kitchen. “They’re coming over,” she announced, briskly walking into the sparsely decorated living room.
Crucifixes adorned each wall, accentuated with three paintings of Christ to remind anyone who entered their home that the Hammonds were a God-fearing family.
Josh shook his head slowly, unaffected by her father’s obvious displeasure.
“Young man, you defiled my daughter. I’d think twice about the position you’re in right now.”
Her mother sat on the edge of the green Barcalounger with threadbare armrests, and wrung her hands. “Alex—”
“No,” her father spouted before Mom had a chance to speak. He pointed a crooked finger at Dixie. “Not only have you sinned, but you’ve stained this family’s reputation.”
It wasn’t like Josh was some guy passing through town. They’d known each other since eighth grade and had just graduated from high school, both with a perfect GPA. They weren’t hell-raisers. Unlike many of their fellow students, they didn’t take drugs or drink to distraction.
“How have I stained our reputation?” Dixie asked. “The only people who know are in this room.”
As if she’d sucker-punched him, her father growled. “I’m the pastor of the Baptist church. If anyone should remain a virgin, it should be my daughter.”
Josh had a short fuse when it came to things he thought ridiculous. “Unless you issue a bulletin at church announcing the details, I don’t see the problem, Mr. Hammond.”
Dixie’s gaze swept to her mother. About to argue that their relationship was not akin to the Apocalypse, the hinge on the back door squeaked open.
“Hello?” Josh’s mother called.
Dixie’s mom didn’t get up to greet their guests. “In here, Doris.”
Josh’s folks, Doris and Henry Hunter, joined the hanging committee in the living room.
“Is everything all right?” Henry asked. “Doris said something had happened to one of the kids.”
“Our children have sinned in the eyes of the Lord,” her father said loud enough for everyone in the county to hear.
Henry Hunter’s brows rose and he darted a look toward his wife. They, too, were Baptists and attended church every week, but they weren’t hardliners like her parents.
“I’ll put on some coffee.” Dixie’s mother vaulted to her feet.
“This isn’t a social visit, Amelia,” Dad said before she could escape. “Everyone sit down.”
Henry removed his cowboy hat and ushered Doris to the early twentieth century settee that Dixie’s mom had inherited from her parents.
Obviously, her father assumed since he was the pastor, everyone would shut up to listen while he preached from his invisible pulpit.
“Dixie.” He grabbed the Bible on the walnut
credenza behind him and held it up. “Dixie, you have not only shamed yourself, you’ve also broken a vow to God.”
“Pastor Hammond,” Josh interrupted what looked like the start of a long tirade. “I respect you a lot. Always have. But a sermon on the sins of sex before marriage doesn’t change the facts. I’m not interested in listening to you rant or point a finger.”
“Josh!” Mrs. Hunter warned.
“Were you at least safe?” Dixie’s mother asked.
Doris and Henry blinked with surprise, but Dixie swore that Mr. Hunter seemed a little amused by it all.
Josh stood up. At six-three, he towered over her father. When her boyfriend chuckled, Dad’s face reddened. “Respectfully, folks. What Dix and I share privately is none of your damn business.”
Dixie gazed up at Josh, thankful for him making a stand. She understood that her parents would always be her parents and accepting their children as adults couldn’t be easy. Her boyfriend had hit the mark with few words.
“Pastor Hammond.” Henry Hunter drew her dad’s angry glare. “Your daughter and my son are in love. You raised a sweet, intelligent young woman.” He covered his wife’s hand with his weathered fingers. “Doris and I both think she’s a great gal. Son…I know you two are gonna be happy together.”
Josh’s mom added, “I agree. You should have waited, but maybe this calls for a summer wedding.”
What? “Wait a minute.” Dixie jumped to her feet.
“Why not, Dix?” Josh raised a brow and smiled at her. “Not like I hadn’t already thought about asking you.”
Her pulse raced. “Maybe someday, but…what about college? I’ve been accepted to Penn State. They have the second best marketing program in the nation.”
“You should have thought about that before lifting your skirt,” her father growled, his gaze burning mad. “This is the only appropriate course. You and Josh will marry this summer.” He turned his back on everyone and marched down the hallway toward his office.
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