Taming Blade (Kings Reapers MC Book 5)
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Taming Blade
Kings Reapers MC Book 5
Nicola Jane
Contents
Spelling Note
Warning
Acknowledgments
Social Media
Playlist
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
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
COMING SOON
Taming Blade
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any similarities are entirely coincidental.
Taming Blade Copyright © 2021 by Nicola Jane. All rights are reserved. No part of this
book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the author,
except in the case of brief quotations used in articles or reviews. For information, contact Nicola Jane.
Cover Designer: Charli Childs, Cosmic Letterz Design
Editor: Rebecca Vazquez, Knox Publishing
Proofreader: Jackie Ziegler, Knox Publishing
Publisher: Knox Publishing
Taming Blade can be read as a standalone, but it does follow on from the fourth book in the series, Saving Blu.
Created with Vellum
Please note, this author resides in the United Kingdom and is using British English. Therefore, some words may be viewed as incorrect or spelled incorrectly, however, they are not.
Trigger Warning
The material in this book may be viewed as offensive to some readers, including graphic
language, sexual situations, murder, and violence.
Acknowledgments
A quick thank you to everyone who has read and loved the Kings Reapers so far. Thanks to each and every one of you who left a review or rating or spread the word and recommended the series to your friends and family.
I never get tired of hearing how you love my books. It really is a dream come true.
If you enjoy reading books by Nicola Jane, keep up to date with what she’s got
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Check out what music Nicola Jane played while working on Taming Blade!
Some Guys Have All The Luck - Maxi Priest
Consequences - Camila Cabello
No Hard Feelings - Melii
Can’t Rely on You - Paloma Faith
Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
Perfect - Ed Sheeran
Take Care - Drake ft. Rihanna
Maybe Don’t - Maisie Peters ft. JP Saxe
all the good girls go to hell - Billie Eilish
Another Love - Tom Odell
Go Tell Her Now - Tom Odell
Loving You - Jonathan Roy (Cover Version)
Breathe Me - Jonathan Roy (Cover Version)
Breaking The Rules - Jack Savoretti
Hold On - Chord Overstreet
Headlights - Eminem ft. Nate Ruess
Bad Things - Machine Gun Kelly ft. Camila Cabello
Sunshine - Gabrielle
Chapter One
TILLIE
I stare idlily out the shop window while scribbling patterns on a white paper bag. I love to doodle. I sometimes do it automatically without thinking. Sara, my friend and colleague, nudges me, causing me to draw a line across the paper. “Your stalker is coming,” she whispers excitedly.
I roll my eyes. She’s referring to the hot guy who comes into the shop every other day to buy red liquorice twists. He’s harmless and loves a flirt, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes. “You’re blushing,” she adds.
“Because you’re being silly,” I hiss, nudging her back.
He enters the shop and I stare down at my scribble, pretending not to notice the hot, well-built, tattoo-covered stallion with a serious addiction to sweet treats. He clears his throat and I look up into steely grey eyes. “Sunshine,” he says and I shiver. His deep rumbling voice has that effect on me. He’s called me ‘Sunshine’ from the very first day he came into my grandmother’s sweet shop. He said it’s because I brighten his day. Swoon.
“Mr. X,” I say, reaching for the jar of liquorice he always asks for. He never tells me his name and I’ve given up asking.
“How’s tricks?” he asks, leaning his hands on the glass top counter. His muscles flex and I swallow hard. Just that one masculine move has me clenching my thighs.
“Good. It’s been a steady week. What about you?” I ask, taking a paper bag and sticking ten liquorice sticks into it.
The door opens and another guy pops his head in. He’s wearing a similar leather jacket to Mr. X, with a skeleton sewn onto the front. “Blade, we gotta run, brother. Riggs needs us at the Windsor,” he says, sounding rushed.
“Um,” I say, smiling as I hand him his bag of goodies. “Blade.”
Blade grins. His fingers touch mine as I hand the bag over, and I tingle all over when he hooks his little finger around my own. “I prefer Mr. X,” he says, winking before turning to leave.
Once he’s gone, Sara fans her face with her hand. “Dear lord, that man is HOT. Seriously, how have you not thrown yourself against him and stuffed your tongue down his throat? How is it possible that he walks around like a god and streams of females are not chasing him down the street, screaming out how much they love him and want to lick his—”
“Do not finish that sentence, you horny cow,” I smirk.
“It’s given me an idea, though,” she says, pulling herself to sit on the counter.
I groan. “Your ideas always end in trouble.”
“His friend mentioned the Windsor. It’s a bar,” she says. “Why don’t we go there tonight for a few drinks?”
“No!” I say firmly, shaking my head. “Absolutely not. No way.”
“You’re always saying we should try new places. You complain when we go to the same wine bars every weekend.”
“Because I need a bank loan just to pay for one glass of wine in those places,” I say. “Anyway, I think the Windsor is on the corner of Queens Road and those bars are at the complete opposite end of the scale to what you’re used to,” I point out. “You’ll ruin your fake designer shoes.”
Sara sniggers. It’s a known fact she owns nothing fake in her wardrobe and probably owns more designer brands than all the Kardashians put together. “I don’t mind slumming it for one night if it means you get at least one kiss off that piece of heaven.”
“Seriously, we’re not going there. He’ll think I’m stalking him.”
Alcohol is a bad, bad thing. My sober brain was very adamant that I’d not be stepping foot into the Windsor or anywhere along Queens Road tonight, yet here I am, standing right outside the run-down looking bar in my borrowed Louis Vuitton shoes. Sara grins wide. “Shall we?”
“I feel like this is a bad idea,” I mutter. “Like Alice right before she went down the rabbit hole.”
“Alice was on drugs, following talking rabbits who insisted they were late and attending tea part
ies with a person claiming to be mad. The whole thing screams fucked up.”
I laugh and take her hand. “Fine, lead me into temptation, but when it all goes wrong, I’m coming for you.”
There’s no doorman out front, which is bizarre. You’d think this bar required security with its boarded-up windows and dilapidated appearance.
When we step inside, it’s busy. Heat hits us from all the bodies crammed in such a small space. A few territorial men by the doorway stare at us like we’ve lost our minds to dare come into this place. They’re wearing the same jacket as Mr. X, or Blade as I now know him. They either all shop together or this is some kind of gang.
Sara leads us to the bar in the centre of the room. It reminds me of an old-fashioned pub where older men would drink. There are no LED lights or glass chandeliers. The floor is covered with a threadbare, swirly, red patterned carpet with at least twenty years’ worth of dirt and cigarette burns.
A barman glowers at us with disdain. It doesn’t deter Sara, she’s got thick skin. “Two sex on the beach, please,” she says politely and the bar man breaks out in a huge smile.
“There ain’t no beach for miles around here, baby, but I can give you sex in the toilet or the back alley if you don’t mind the smell of piss and puke.” He grins, showing yellow teeth.
“Um,” hums Sara, tapping her chin with a red pointy nail. “As tempting as that is, I was thinking more cocktail than cock.”
I snort laugh and his dark eyes fix on me. “Something funny?” he practically growls and I shake my head and press my lips together. A few of the guys seated at the bar have begun to listen to the exchange and I feel myself blushing.
“Let’s just go,” I whisper, tugging on Sara’s hand.
“If you don’t know how to make a cocktail, may I recommend my friend come behind there and show you what she can do? She’s amazing,” says Sara, and I cringe, squeezing her hand harder. It’s true that I’m a natural when it comes to mixing cocktails. I have a dream of opening up my own bar one day. Sara often plays this game with barmen to get us free drinks. “If she can’t wow you with her skill, we’ll leave, but if she can, we get the drink she makes, free.”
The barman rubs his rounded stomach, smirking. “Okay, let’s see what she’s got.”
My eyes widen. “Sara, are you mad? I’m not making cocktails in here, look at these men,” I hiss in her ear. “Do they look like cocktail drinkers to you?”
“No,” she says, smiling, “so convert them.” She pushes me towards the gap in the bar. I swallow as I brush past the scary-looking barman. I assess the array of glass bottles on the shelf behind the bar, then I run my eyes over a man sitting glumly and staring into his whiskey glass. He seems not to have noticed the excitement that Sara is trying to stir up around him.
I reach for the bottle of whiskey, the Vermouth and an orange flavoured bitter. A traditional Manhattan is boring but something these guys would probably prefer over a sex on the beach. The barman watches me mix the drink before serving it over ice. I hand it to him proudly. “Not had this for a while,” he says, smelling the drink and taking a sip. He smiles, showing me his teeth again. “Yah know, my ol’ lady loved a Manhattan.”
“A classic drink,” I say. “With not much on your shelves, there wasn’t a huge choice,” I add.
“Around here, there ain’t much call for cocktails,” he mutters. “But seeing as you had the balls to get back here and make a drink, I’ll let you have another go at one of those girly sweet drinks for you and your friend. On the house.”
I grin. Trust Sara to win a free drink in a place like this. “So what did yah think?” she asks him, leaning over the bar.
“You win,” he mutters. “She’s gonna make you a drink. Just one.”
I decide on a cosmo, simply because this bar is seriously lacking in choice. As I hand Sara her drink, I freeze. Right behind her, steely grey eyes are fixed on me. I blink to make sure I’m seeing correctly. Yep, that’s definitely Blade, and beside him, it’s like a runway of male models. Sara glances behind her to see why I’m staring. She grins like the cat that's got the cream and turns to face him. “Well, look who it is, our number one customer,” she purrs.
“Jagger, why is she behind the bar?” he asks, glaring at the barman. The smile I’m used to seeing is replaced by a stern, serious expression, and I don’t like it.
The barman grins. “You mean Manhattan?” he asks. “She’s teaching me a thing or two on cocktails.”
“Manhattan?” Blade repeats.
“Private joke,” says the barman, winking at me again.
I take my drink and head back to the right side of the bar. I don’t feel welcome with Blade glaring at me the way he is. “Fancy seeing you in here,” says Sara. “And you have friends,” she observes, running her eyes over the guys flanking him.
“How’d you get in here, Sunshine?” he asks, arching a brow and making my panties just about melt from my body.
“I just walked in,” I say, shrugging.
“Are you gonna introduce us to your little friends, Blade?” asks one of the guys, smirking.
He grins back, shaking his head. “No time, brother, she was just leaving.” He takes my hand, it feels good, and he leads away from his friends. Once outside, he turns on me, pressing his hand above my head and resting it against the wall. I feel caged in, but with his piercing eyes burning into me, I’m more turned on than threatened. “This is no place for you, Sunshine. Take your little crazy friend and go back to those overpriced bars you find fun.”
I spot Sara a few feet away, talking with a guy in the same jacket. She’s twisting her hair around her finger and biting on her lower lip, throwing all the signals his way. “I think your friend wants us to stay,” I say, and he glances back over his shoulder.
“My friend is drunk. Your friend is easy. It’ll not end well,” he says. He takes my drink from my hand, though it’s still full. “Go shine somewhere else,” he says quietly.
My phone buzzes in my bag and both our eyes fall to it. I give him an apologetic smile and pull it free. Travis. I groan. “Boyfriend?” asks Blade, peering at the screen.
“Complicated,” I say, cancelling the call. Of course, he calls me straight back.
“You should take it. He needs to speak to you,” he says.
I press the phone to my ear. “Yep?”
“My guys said they spotted you on Queens Road,” he barks. He says ‘guys’ like he's so important. I roll my eyes even though he can’t see me. “Are you looking for me?”
“God, no,” I say a little too abruptly. “I’m having a few drinks.”
“On Queens Road?” he snaps. “A little beneath you, sweetheart. Where are you now? I’m coming to get you.”
“Please don’t, I’m fine. We’re just leaving anyway,” I say. The last thing I need is to see Travis, the man who breaks my heart over and over because I’m too weak to walk away.
“Tils, where the fuck are you?” he growls.
I sigh. “Outside the Windsor.”
“Christ,” he mutters. “I’ll be two minutes. I’m not far from there.”
I disconnect the call. “Boyfriend to the rescue,” says Blade with a grin. We stare at each other for a few seconds until I lick my lips and he smirks. “You shouldn’t come looking for me, Sunshine. I’m no good for you,” he whispers.
“I’m a magnet for trouble,” I say, using the words my grandmother often throws my way. “I take after my dad,” I add. Something passes over his face and the amused, sexy expression is replaced with seriousness. He pushes off the wall and steps back from me. A car horn beeps and I look past him to see Travis’s car waiting.
Blade whistles to his friend who has his tongue stuck down Sara’s throat. “Let’s go,” he shouts, and he heads back inside the bar.
The guy hands Sara his phone and she puts her number in, smiling as she hands it back. I take her hand and pull her away from him. “Come on, Travis is here.”
BLADE
“Brother, they were fucking hot,” says Lake, slapping me on the back. He holds up his phone. “I got her number.”
“She’s way outta your league,” I say, drinking Sunshine’s cocktail. It’s actually quite nice for a chick drink. “They’re both out of our leagues.”
“Speak for yourself,” says Lake. “I’m giving her a booty call in half an hour,” he says confidently.
I shake my head. He’s worse than me when it comes to women and sex. “Who were they?” asks Chains.
“Dunno,” I lie. “Just walked in off the street.” I can’t tell Chains who she is because he’ll tell me it’s a bad idea, she’s not my problem, just like Blu told me. But I can’t stay away from her. She’s right—she is a damn magnet for trouble.
Half an hour later, Lake high-fives me. “I gotta head out. That chick you said is out of my league just sent me her address,” he says, grinning.
“Good luck, brother,” I say. “Is her friend there?” I add.
“Man, don’t tease me like that. If I get there and it’s a two for one, I’ll die a happy man.” He heads out the bar and I glare after him, burning holes into the back of his head with a silent, jealous rage.
The next morning, my phone wakes me. It’s Lake calling. “What time is it, brother?” I groan, covering my eyes from the morning light.