Table of Contents
Dedication
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
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Find love in unexpected places with these satisfying Lovestruck reads… The Best Friend Problem
The Army Ranger’s Surprise
Trouble Next Door
Her Sexy Challenge
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Melia Alexander. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Entangled Publishing, LLC
2614 South Timberline Road
Suite 105, PMB 159
Fort Collins, CO 80525
[email protected]
Lovestruck is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.
Edited by Heather Howland
Cover design by Bree Archer
Cover photography by Master1305/Shutterstock
bbsferrari/Getty Images
ISBN 978-1-64063-882-2
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition November 2019
Dear Reader,
Thank you for supporting a small publisher! Entangled prides itself on bringing you the highest quality romance you’ve come to expect, and we couldn’t do it without your continued support. We love romance, and we hope this book leaves you with a smile on your face and joy in your heart.
xoxo
Liz Pelletier, Publisher
To the Chamorro people of Guam, my island home. From you came the legends that fueled my imagination and gifted me with the love of storytelling. Si Yu’us Ma’åse! I am forever grateful.
Chapter One
Zandra York readjusted her crossbody bag and dragged her roller behind her as she scanned the signs for baggage claim, her nerves a jumble of anxious excitement, jet lag, and the need to get away from her obnoxious seatmate.
Her first international flight hadn’t exactly been stellar. How she made it across the Atlantic without smacking the guy was beyond her. He clearly had no filters when it came to flying etiquette. Hell, he probably had few filters at all. Who would help himself to a fellow traveler’s leftover food? Who sang—badly—the lyrics to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” in an effort to drown out the sound of the plane’s engines?
Unfortunately, her earbuds hadn’t been much help. Equally unfortunate was that smacking someone wouldn’t help her brand. Nope. The world knew Zandra York as friendly and engaging, not someone who assaulted loud, noisy people when they were all packed tight in a flying tin can. Then again, the other passengers might’ve appreciated it.
Zandra eased in a deep breath. Calm. She had to stay calm. She was well on her way to redefining herself. After all, she was morphing into Zandra 2.0, and that meant she knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to go after it, no matter what anyone else thought. What she lacked in skills or knowledge she’d figure out. She could do this thing called life.
Life. Right.
She passed a gift shop and focused on the rack of T-shirts with a heart and Frankfurt, Germany emblazoned across them. Hearts. She smiled. Hearts were her talisman, a symbol that everything was going to be fine. She took another deep breath and reached for her cell.
Now would be a good time to slip in a quick livestream. The fact she’d had less than an hour nap on a seven-hour flight? Or that she’d been exhausted from her besties’ weekend bachelorette party, Chicago-style?
Who cared? It was all about giving her followers a peek into her life. Never mind that most of them were friends and family who’d turned their Instagram notifications on specifically for this trip, mainly because they wanted to know she’d made it in one piece.
Besides, she wanted to share this moment with them because, hello, she was in freakin’ Germany.
She grinned. Her. First. Real. Assignment.
A zing of electricity flowed through her, anticipation seeping into every cell. Flights and Sights had finally taken a chance with her. They wanted to use her quirky, fun style of photography in their next edition, and she was going to deliver. She could do this, foreign country or not. The e-zine had made it clear: she turned in photos that sold more e-zine subscriptions, and there’d be a much-needed, sizable bonus at the end of this rainbow, along with an even better assignment. Didn’t matter where it was, she’d go.
She pulled up Instagram, tapped the icon, and held her cell phone at just the right angle to capture the slight tilt of her head. The guy at the cell phone store swore the card he’d put in would work anywhere in the world, but she still held her breath as she waited for the connection. Zandra blew out a breath when it finally went through and smiled.
“Hey, everyone,” she said, waving at the screen when friends and family began popping onto the live. There were the usual friends from college as well as some new ones she’d made at the bachelorette party. “I made it to Germany! So far, this trip is pretty ah-may-zing.”
It’d better be. She’d rolled the dice and went with what her heart wanted instead of the boring and practical accounting job she’d walked away from. Maybe this assignment would finally prove to her parents that she could make a living as a photographer so they’d stop the constant badgering about returning to the family business. Granted, boring and practical paid the bills, but photography filled her soul. A chance to make a living at it beyond selling prints here and there on social media was priceless, and life was too short to waste on working a job that sucked her soul dry.
She wove her way through the crowd as best she could. Thank God for her T-shirt dress and lace-up Vans. It was like wearing a nightshirt in public, only more stylish and socially acceptable.
“You guys, this airport is huge. When I get over to baggage claim, I’ll show you.” She quickly read one of the comments on her screen. “Oh, hey, Tina. For those of you who don’t know, Tina’s my bestie, and let me tell you, the girl can throw a bachelorette party, especially when it’s her own.” The comments section exploded with chatter, asking for details. She laughed. “I’m going to let her fill you in, but to answer her question, my first photo shoot is tomorrow. In Switzerland.” The word rolled off her tongue all right, but it was still too freakin’ incredible to believe. “I’ll post sneak peeks, obviously.”
The conversation turned toward the bachelorette party as she maneuvered her roller b
ag onto the escalator, careful not to tip it over. It’d likely take down the nun two steps down. And live on Instagram. Yeah, not a good marketing move.
Once in baggage claim, she headed for the closest wall and plastered herself out of the way. Her brother’s flight should’ve gotten in an hour ago, and with any luck, both Jackson and her photography gear would be waiting somewhere easy for her to spot, even in this thick crowd.
“Here, you guys have to see this.”
She tapped the screen to flip the camera around and panned the cavernous space packed with travelers, some looking harried as they rushed across the room while others strolled along like they were happy to be home.
Jackson was somewhere in this crowd with her camera pack. If she hadn’t had to haul a bunch of stuff to Tina’s bachelorette party, she’d have taken her precious camera herself. But Tina had also made it clear: Zandra was there to have fun. No photos allowed. It was like cutting off a limb, but she’d finally agreed.
Which was probably why she was so antsy to meet up with her brother. As part of Army Special Forces, he’d been all over Europe while she’d traveled no farther than Chicago. And that was just two days ago.
“My brother is in here somewhere.” She scanned the crowd a moment longer then glanced at the screen. “Wait, what? I missed a hot guy? Where?” Leave it to her new friends from the bachelorette party to pick out a hot guy in the middle of a crowded airport. “Here, let me zoom in so we can all get a better…look…”
What the…?
“Oh crap.”
Zandra blinked. The guy was the clichéd tall, dark, and handsome, all right. And he was headed straight for her, an amused smile on his lightly bearded face that mirrored the one he’d shot her way a couple of days ago in Seattle, just before she’d left for the airport. The comments came pouring in.
Oh crap? Wait do you recognize him or something?
OMG he’s soooo hot. And he’s coming your way!
Please tell us you know him.
And then from Tina, Is that who I think it is?
She swallowed. “Yep. That’s Blake, my brother’s best friend.”
And given the way he strode toward her, all two hundred pounds of purpose, her camera pack slung over his broad shoulder, Zandra was pretty sure she wasn’t going to like what was about to go down.
Chapter Two
There wasn’t a thing Blake Monroe wouldn’t do for Jackson. Unfortunately, his best bud recognized that fact, even though Blake planned to spend most of his four weeks of leave building a wall unit for his mother’s apartment and making small repairs around the place. The fact that his mom had pretty much told him to go away because she had a chemistry exam to study for and a human physiology paper to write? Well, that only added salt to the wound.
Which meant Blake was free, as far as Jackson was concerned—never mind the concert tickets he’d given up to go on this trip—so Blake was now set to protect Jackson’s little sister as she traipsed through Europe then safely deliver her back to Seattle in twelve days.
He shook his head. For all their wealth, her parents didn’t travel anywhere that required stepping foot onto an airplane, which meant Zandra knew little about domestic travel, let alone traveling internationally. At least she’d been smart enough to recognize it and accepted her brother’s help. And now Blake would be taking his place.
Consider it a mission, Jackson had said.
Blake took missions very seriously. Jackson knew that, too.
He glanced at the wide-eyed look Zandra cast his direction, along with the phone she held pointed at him, and blew out a breath. For once it’d be nice if she’d put the damn thing away and quit curating every move she made like it was a huge part of history. Why she felt her life had to be an open book was beyond him.
By the time he reached her, she’d ditched the phone, tucking it into the front pocket of her long T-shirt, if you could even call it that. The shirt hung down just low enough to cover half her thighs and exposed long, cream-colored legs, yet it was enough to make a guy wonder what was underneath it.
God knew Blake had been guilty of wondering since coming back to Seattle on leave. Sometime over the years, Zandra had grown from a scrawny girl in braces into one hell of a gorgeous woman. She’d filled out in all the right places and…
Whoa. What the hell was he doing? Zandra York was off-limits—for obvious reasons. Not the least of which being that she was his best friend’s little sister.
“Blake,” she said, pushing off from the wall and looking past his left shoulder. “Where’s Jackson?”
“Well, hello to you, too, sunshine.”
She pursed her mouth into a thin line. “Sorry. Sleep deprived, and I wasn’t expecting you.” She peered around him. “This is a joke, isn’t it? Jackson’s hiding somewhere getting a hell of a laugh, right?”
Yeah, figured she’d see it that way. But given the pranks they’d pulled on her over the years, Blake wasn’t too surprised.
“He said he’d talk to you.” Actually, Jackson had said he’d try to talk with Zandra before he left for the field. “I take it that didn’t happen.”
He shifted the camera bag onto his other shoulder. If he’d had his way, he’d have shoved her gear into his backpack, but Jackson had warned him how touchy Zandra got when it came to her photography equipment.
“Nope.” She crossed her arms in front of her and stared at him. “I’m really too tired to play twenty questions. Just, please, tell me where Jackson is.”
He cleared his throat. “Remember that special assignment he was waiting to hear about? The one that he’d gotten clearance from so he could go with you on this trip?”
She blinked those pretty blue eyes. “Yes. He promised me it was a done deal.”
“His CO changed her mind.” Wouldn’t be the first time. The woman was badassed and took no prisoners when it came to advancing her career or the reputation of her team. Blake was just glad he trained Special Forces operatives and had a halfway decent Commanding Officer.
Zandra blew out a breath. “So, by now he’s somewhere halfway across the world.”
“Maybe. They don’t exactly disclose secret stuff like that.”
He rubbed his hands together and looked around. “So, world-famous photographer, you ready to grab your suitcase and head to Stuttgart?” He glanced at his watch. One thing he’d learned to bank on was the efficiency of the German train schedule. “The next train should be here in about an hour, just enough time to grab your stuff, clear customs, and get to the train station.”
She shook her head. “Wait. That’s it? Jackson’s not here, but you are, so we just go on our merry way? He asked you to stand in, didn’t he?”
“Yep. You got any other suggestions? This is your gig, after all.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I wouldn’t mind heading back to Seattle.” Even if his mother was too busy, there were still things he could fix around her apartment—like the leaky faucet she didn’t want to report for fear of her rent going up.
Zandra shook her head and pushed a lock of blonde hair out of her face, then she studied him a moment, those gorgeous eyes assessing. Damn, but he was tempted to return the favor. It was bad enough he’d noticed her legs at all.
“As. If,” she muttered like she’d read his mind. “I’ve been handed an opportunity, and I’m not walking away from it.”
Yeah, she’d sure changed from Jackson’s pesky little sister into one amazingly sexy, talented, intelligent woman. And if he knew what was good for him, Blake would back the hell off.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. Maybe Zandra wasn’t the only one suffering from jet lag. His brain was definitely harder to control once it hit the Zandra zone.
“Let’s grab your suitcase.”
He led the way through the crowd, skirting past a family with three kids in a stroller and the poor
bastard who was strapped down with bags as well as the cart that held a mound of suitcases. If the guy looked this defeated just starting his vacation, Blake hated to see what he’d look like after.
One thing was for sure, Blake wouldn’t fall into that trap anytime soon. He had huge life plans, ones that involved getting his mother through med school before he left the Army and settled down to start his own life trek.
Anything he went through until then was worth it, even spending the next week and a half babysitting Zandra. This was just another mission—nothing more. He needed to remember that every time his brain wanted to head down Zandra Lane and fantasize about all the ways she could wrap her legs around him.
Fuck. Blake gave himself a mental shake.
Special Forces training specialist my fucking ass. He had better focus than what he’d shown so far.
He sucked in a deep breath. Okay, time to regroup.
All he had to do was keep her safe and haul her shit around. He just hoped he could eventually convince himself of that.
Chapter Three
Zandra peered into the mirror and applied another coat of mascara. Other travelers passed behind her, rushing off to the next leg of their journey. If her brother were here, she’d be just as anxious. The trip could even be considered fun, given that he was prone to finding adventure in just about anything—the kinds that they’d never experienced growing up, thanks to their overprotective parents.
Only now Jackson wasn’t here and she was stuck with his best friend instead.
Wasn’t that just special?
She stared at her reflection and took a deep breath. This was her first trip abroad, she didn’t speak the language, and she wasn’t familiar with taking a train. Not even the Seattle Center monorail. Anything beyond figuring out Google Maps would likely land her in Russia instead of Stuttgart. Hell, even Google Maps was a challenge.
All of these were reasons why she’d planned for her brother to come along. She’d get the hang of it all eventually—hopefully—but the last thing she needed was to be a frazzled, lost mess until she did.
Seduced by the Soldier Page 1