Beast

by Elizabeth Reyes

  One guy eyed her then smiled. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes.” Drew took off her sunglasses. “I’m a friend of Allison’s, Leonardo’s wife. I’m here to pick up her purse. She left it here yesterday.”

  He looked lost and glanced around at the other two guys washing their hands at a sink. They both shrugged; then one of them made her heart stop when he yelled out, “Nine!” God no. “Someone’s here for Beast’s wife’s purse?”

  Trying not to look like she might faint, she stood there chin up as she glanced around at the far more fancier shop than she expected. To her horror, the guy she’d been greeted by and the guys washing up at the sink, started getting their things together, turned off the loud music that had been blaring when she walked in, and shut down some lights.

  “He should be coming down in a bit,” the first guy told her as he wiped his hands off then glanced upstairs. “Nine, we’re out!”

  Thankfully, Drew’s phone dinged, distracting her for a moment. She clicked on the text from Brad and read it.

  Meet you tonight for a drink at Moby’s? I should be done here in about an hour. You don’t have Chelsea tonight, right?

  Despite her drumming heart, she smiled and responded.

  No, she’s with her dad until tomorrow morning. I should be good to meet you in an hour.

  She’d barely finished typing up her response when she heard the footsteps coming down the stairs. Hitting send on her phone, she closed her eyes before taking a breath and glancing up at the sight of Nine coming down the stairs in jeans and a wife beater, displaying his heavily tatted muscles with that smirk she was sure she was in love with now.

  Lust. Just lust, Drew. Nothing more. You got this.

  “I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever hear from you again.”

  “I, uh . . .” She took a few steps around the motorcycles in the middle of the shop. “Allison asked me if I could stop by and pick up her purse. She left it here last night.” Drew shrugged with a smirk. “Wacky pregnant brain and all.”

  Nine eyed her playfully from top to bottom like he always did: unrestrained, unabashed with that gleam of approval. “Yeah, Beast said someone would come by for it today.” He got to the bottom of the stairs and headed away from her to what appeared to be an office. “If I’d known it was you, I could’ve planned something. We could still go grab a bite or a drink or something. That is, of course, if your boyfriend wouldn’t mind.”

  “My fiancé.” She wasn’t sure what hurt more, correcting him or turning him down, but she had to. “And thanks, but I’m actually meeting him for drinks in a little bit.”

  He slowed so much she thought he might stop, but then he kept walking, grabbing something just inside the office door. Taking a second to examine the purse, he finally turned around to face her.

  “Is that right?” he asked, walking back toward her.

  Drew nodded but said nothing more. She couldn’t, not when he looked at her in the way he was looking at her now. The smile was gone, but he didn’t look upset or angry, and why should he? Drew felt stupid for even making note of it. He was just peering at her with intense curiosity, and that was normal. Well, the curiosity anyway.

  “So, you’re getting married now?”

  “I am.” She tried to smile as genuinely as she could.

  “Is that why you stopped returning my texts?”

  He was close enough to hand her the purse, but he still took a few more steps even closer to her. Drew gulped but had the presence of mind not to flinch and embarrass herself. “I’ve been really busy.” She shrugged, refusing to let him rattle her like he always seemed to do. “So much . . .”

  She paused with a gulp when his eyes went straight to her lips, and he licked his. The man had features any woman would envy, from the perfectly shaped and arched brows to the long thick lashes and those naturally full and crimson lips. Yet, everything else about him oozed of carnal masculinity.

  “So much going on,” she went on even as her voice began to trail.

  “I guess congrats are in order.”

  She nodded, not sure what that meant until his arms were around her and she felt the warmth of his breath at the side of her head. “Congratulations,” he whispered without pulling back. “I’m happy for you.”

  To her surprise, he kissed her cheek, making her freeze even as she’d begun to hug him back. Her hand stopped on his upper arm as he pulled away to look at her. Just touching him was something else. She’d been privy enough times to the sight of his big tatted muscles, but feeling how hard they were and being this close to him had her breath catching.

  He was staring at her now as if he knew what that harmless little kiss had done to her. As if he’d known for weeks now what he did to her and now her trembling body was proof he’d been right. He licked his own lips then glanced down at hers again.

  NINE

  Boyle Heights #3

  2018

  Add to your TBR shelf on Goodreads.

  Acknowledgments

  I can hardly believe this is my TWENTY-SIXTH book out! So, for starters, I'd like to thank all my loyal WONDERFUL readers and all the bloggers who've stuck with me all these years! Without you, this would never have been possible. I started this journey in 2010 and watched many author friends climb to unimaginable success. But sadly, I've also seen many who have left the world of writing after not seeing the success they'd hoped. While my journey has had its ups and downs and this business is VERY different from when I first started, I'm still here because of YOU and plan on staying here for the long haul. So, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your continued love and support. As long as you keep reading and reviewing, I'll continue writing!

  As always, thank you Mark, my “assistant,” my everything, my inspiration for so many of the funnies in my story. LOL Thanks for constantly keeping me giggling, laughing, and even snorting! I love you!

  I lost a few beta readers this year because life happens. But I’d like to thank my longtime STILL WITH ME beta readers: Emily Lamphear, Theresa Wegand, Judy DeVries, and, last but CERTAINLY not least, Amanda Clark.

  Once again, A VERY special thank you to my “critique partner,” JB Salsbury! Your input as usual is invaluable. I love your sincere honestly and awesome suggestions. I'm sure this book is better now because of your input! I know you have so much going on with your own writing and such and still you take the time to do this. I promise you it's VERY MUCH appreciated.

  Thank you to Theresa (Eagle Eyes) Wegand, my one-stop superhero, beta reader/editor/formatter, listener to all my whiny rants/vents and obsessive worrying. As always, your work is impeccable, and I can’t say enough about it. Thank you for sticking with me, too, even with everything that’s changed. Here’s to many more years of doing this together!

  Thank you to Amanda Simpson of Pixel Mischief Design for my cover art. You’re an amazing talent and awesome to work with. I love, love, LOVE how all I have to do is tell you what I'm envisioning for the cover and you always deliver. I'm SO excited about the next two covers for We Were One and Nine. My readers are going to LOVE them!

  Shout out to my street team “Reyes Royals” and to my admins, Leslie Cary, Jenn DaSilva, Delashawne Acevedo, Sarah Mannering. Finally, I've met you all in person! Thank you for all your work and continuing to be part of the team. I COULD NOT do it without you, ladies! MUCH LOVE!

  Lastly, gracias a mi “par de consentidas DRAMATICAS” for making me laugh so much and ALL your love!

  About the Author

  USA Today Bestselling Author Elizabeth Reyes was born and raised in southern California where she lives with her husband, Mark and their two adult children, Mark & Megan, a Great Dane named Dexter, and one big fat cat named Tyson.

  She spends most her time in front of her computer, writing and keeping up with all the social media, and loves it. She says that there is nothing better than doing what you absolutely love for a living, and she eats, sleeps, and breathes these stories, which are constantly begging to be
written.

  Representation: Jane Dystel of Dystel & Goderich now handles all questions regarding subsidiary rights for any of Ms. Reyes’ work.

  For more information on her upcoming projects and to connect with her--she loves hearing from you all—here are a few places you can find her:

  Website: www.ElizabethReyes.com

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