Eyes On You: A Blasphemy Novella

by Laura Kaye

  Eyes On You

  A BLASPHEMY NOVELLA

  By Laura Kaye

  1001 Dark Nights

  Eyes On You

  A Blasphemy Novella

  By Laura Kaye

  1001 Dark Nights

  Copyright 2017 Laura Kaye

  ISBN: 978-1-945920-18-9

  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

  Eyes On You: A Blasphemy Novella

  By Laura Kaye

  She wants to explore her true desires, and he wants to watch…

  When a sexy stranger asks Wolf Henrikson to rescue her from a bad date, he never expected to want the woman for himself. But their playful conversation turns into a scorching one-night stand that reveals the shy beauty gets off on the idea of being seen, even if she’s a little scared of it, too. And Wolf loves to watch.

  In the wake of discovering her fiancé’s infidelity, florist Olivia Foster never expected to find someone who not only understood her wildest, darkest fantasies, but would bring them to life. As Wolf introduces her to his world at the play club, Blasphemy, Liv finds herself tempted to explore submission and exhibitionism with the hard-bodied Dom even as she’s scared to trust again.

  But Wolf is a master of getting what he wants—and he’s got his eyes set on her…

  About Laura Kaye

  Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty books in contemporary and erotic romance and romantic suspense, including the Blasphemy, Hard Ink, and Raven Riders series. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. Laura also writes historical fiction as the NYT bestselling author, Laura Kamoie. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

  Learn more at www.LauraKayeAuthor.com

  Join Laura’s Newsletter for Exclusives & Giveaways!

  Also By Laura Kaye

  Click to purchase.

  The Blasphemy Series

  HARD TO SERVE

  BOUND TO SUBMIT

  MASTERING HER SENSES

  EYES ON YOU

  THEIRS TO TAKE (Coming September 2017)

  The Raven Riders Series

  RIDE HARD

  RIDE ROUGH

  RIDE WILD (Coming October 2017)

  The Hard Ink Series:

  HARD AS IT GETS

  HARD AS YOU CAN

  HARD TO HOLD ON TO

  HARD TO COME BY

  HARD TO BE GOOD

  HARD TO LET GO

  HARD EVER AFTER

  HARD AS STEEL

  HARD EVER AFTER

  HARD TO SERVE

  The Hearts in Darkness Duet

  HEARTS IN DARKNESS

  LOVE IN THE LIGHT

  The Heroes Series

  HER FORBIDDEN HERO

  ONE NIGHT WITH A HERO

  Acknowledgments from the Author

  Some books take you by surprise, and Eyes on You was definitely one. Of necessity, it came out in a rush of words, but I couldn’t have slowed it down if I tried. Wolf and Liv just leapt onto the page, surprising and exciting me and making me laugh (and sometimes blush). And I have Liz Berry to thank for the opportunity to make that happen. 1001 Dark Nights is such an amazing and special project to be a part of, and I’m honored that I get to share stories I love through it. Thanks Liz and Jillian Stein for all you do to support and encourage and be there for me – it means the world.

  Thanks also to KP Simmon who was there every step of the way, taking the heat off so I could focus on those fast and furious words. And thanks to my amazing critique partner, Christi Barth, for reading right behind me and making me shine as you always do. I appreciate having such amazingly supportive women in my life.

  Thanks also to my Heroes and my Reader Girls, who give me motivation and encouragement even when they don’t know they’re doing it. And thanks, as always, to my readers, who take my characters in to their hearts and allow me to tell their stories again and again. ~LK

  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

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subscribers will receive a free

  1001 Dark Nights story

  The First Night

  by Lexi Blake & M.J. Rose

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Laura Kaye

  Also by Laura Kaye

  Acknowledgments from the Author

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Four

  Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights

  Discover More Laura Kaye

  About the Blasphemy Series

  Theirs to Take, Coming Soon

  An excerpt from Mastering Her Senses by Laura Kaye

  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.

  To everyone searching for that feeling of being deeply and intensely alive, listen closely to yourself, for no one knows you better.

  “There is a voice inside which speaks and says, ‘This is the real me!’”

  ~ William James, American psychologist and philosopher

  Chapter 1

  Things that would be better than being on this date, Liv Foster thought as she stared across the high-boy bar table at her so-called perfect match, Jerry. A popcorn kernel stuck between my teeth…finding a snake in my car…a pelvic exam... She took a sip of her Prosecco, hoping the bubbles would make her feel better as the guy continued to complain about the hour-long wait for a table.

  “…This really is unacceptable. I mean, it’s not even that busy in here,” he said, running his hand over his short black hair. He was attractive enough, although it was clear that the picture on his online dating profile was at least ten years old. Maybe more. She’d thought they were a few years apart in age, but she suspected it was more like ten or fifteen. “I just hate incompetence, don’t you?”

  Liv eyeballed the guy. You know, the one who hadn’t bothered to make a reservation at a swanky new restaurant located in a hotel just two blocks from the baseball stadium on a Friday night before a Baltimore Orioles game. It took everything she had not to roll her eyes. “Yeah, I really do.”

  He huffed out a breath and shook his head, then started stretching and turning in his seat like he was looking for their waitress. In the thirty minutes they’d already waited, the two of them had apparently exhausted every small talk conversation of which he was capable. Jobs—she was a florist and he was an architect. The weather—sure had been a hot summer! Siblings—neither had any, so that was a short topic. Prior relationships—Liv hadn’t offered any gory details—though she had them in spades, whereas she almost felt like she knew Jerry’s ex, Angela, personally.

  “So, what are you going to order?” Jerry asked.

  Liv tilted her head. “Uh, well, I don’t know yet. I haven’t seen their menu.”

  He pulled a face. “I don’t use menus.”

  “You…what? How does that work?” she asked with a little laugh. Was he joking? She honestly couldn’t tell.

  He shrugged. “I don’t use menus.”

  In her mind’s eye, she pictured her childhood golden retriever, Howie, tilting his head. Then tilting it even more. She was seriously channeling some Howie just then. “But…how do you know what you want to order?”

  He waved a hand around at the restaurant as if it were self-evident. “It’s a steakhouse. They have steak.”

  “Oh. Uh. Right.” The waitress’s appearance saved Liv from trying to come up with a better response. Right in that moment, she thought she almost would’ve given anything to turn back time to when she and Caleb were still happy. When they were looking forward to their wedding, their honeymoon, and their life together beyond all the celebrations. But she was beyond wishing for something that could never be—especially when she deserved so much better. Besides, too much of what she’d thought she’d had with Caleb hadn’t been real, had it? And she never wanted to go back to that. Not ever again.

  But, man. Jerry. Jerry was too freaking real. And Liv was still deserving better. But she was stuck on this ride at least until she’d choked down the last bite of her steak.

  “Can I get you another round of drinks?” their waitress asked.

  “Can we just eat here in the bar?” Jerry asked. “This wait is ridiculous.”

  “Oh, sure. Of course,” the young woman said, pasting on a smile. Working in customer service, Liv knew what it took to deal with assholes like Jerry. And being three years single and back on the dating market, she was starting to know what it was like to date them, too. “I’ll grab you menus.”

  He put a hand on the woman’s arm. “That won’t be necessary. We don’t need menus. I’ll just order for us.”

  Liv wondered if her expression appeared as stunned as the waitress’s, especially when the woman stepped out of Jerry’s grasp and looked at Liv as if to ask if this was okay.

  No. Definitely, totally not okay. “Actually,” Liv said, trying to keep her irritation in check. Because dang if breaking that be nice habit wasn’t hard as heck. “I—”

  “I’ll have the ten-ounce Kobe filet mignon and she’ll have the six-ounce Kobe filet. Both medium well with loaded baked potatoes and asparagus.” He stared at the wa
itress.

  The waitress shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir, we don’t have Kobe beef. We have an excellent local provider of American beef, and we have Wagyu.”

  “That’s okay,” Liv said. “I prefer ribeye anyway. Medium rare.”

  “Ribeye is too fatty,” Jerry said, looking at her like she was a child who’d disappointed him before his gaze returned to the hapless woman standing beside their table. “And I’d like to speak to your manager. Because what kind of steakhouse doesn’t have Kobe beef?”

  “I’ll get her for you right away,” the woman said, nearly running from them. Liv couldn’t blame her.

  The silence that followed was thick with tension, and Liv almost couldn’t decide if she’d hallucinated what’d happened or if this first date was truly just that bad. Jerry wouldn’t make eye contact and, instead, peered down at his cell phone beneath the table. So she took the opportunity to survey the diners sitting at the horseshoe-shaped bar near them in the hopes she’d see someone, anyone, she knew. God, please give me a way to escape Mr. I Don’t Use Menus. But God had clearly forsaken her, because the party of three women having a girls’ night out were strangers. As were the various groupings of men, some of whom wore Orioles gear and watched the pre-game commentary on the captioned television screens above the bar. An elderly man she didn’t know sat alone nearest to their high-boy table nursing a glass of bourbon, and two seats down from him…sat the hottest man Liv had ever seen.

  And that was her impression just from seeing him in profile.

  He had dark blond hair and a chiseled jaw, and even sitting, it was clear that he was tall. Seriously broad shoulders filled out a dark green button-down shirt, and big hands gripped a glass of water. Now God was just being mean. Because someone was going to get to be with that man tonight while she was stuck here with Jerry of the I Don’t Use Menus clan. As she watched, not-Jerry pressed his cell phone to his ear and began talking in tones too low for her to hear.