Several. Several too many. I was done being a doormat. Done!
Kent Payne was not going to trample over my heart anymore, only to come back later, beg me to “talk about it,” and then skirt the real issue.
There was something serious going on with this man. Something he didn’t want to face, or didn’t know how to face. It had nothing to do with the fact that I was now his stepsister. Or with how other people would treat me if they discovered we were in love. Or even the fact that he was still legally married to his wife. This went far deeper than those.
Was I helping him by letting him keep running from it, whatever the it was? Absolutely not.
If there was any hope for us at all, we had to face this.
Head on.
Together.
We could do it. Together. We had to.
Or else…
Please turn the page for a special sneak preview of SURRENDER.
For fans of Sylvia Day’s CROSSFIRE series, a story of dark lust and decadent pleasure.
SURRENDER by New York Times Bestselling author Tawny Taylor
Kensington
Coming May, 2014
I was his.
To touch.
Anywhere.
Any time he wanted.
Abby is ready to agree to anything to stop her brother from going to prison, but Kameron Maldondo, the owner of MalTech Corporation, is asking for the unexpected. Enthralled by his commanding brilliance, she agrees to be his assistant, at his beck and call for whatever he needs--whenever and however he wants. What that means is for him to decide and for her to submit to. Frightened yet fascinated by what he promises, Abby becomes a willing captive to his caress, undone by his peerless touch, a quivering submission to an aching need for complete carnal surrender. . .
SAMPLE (unedited)
Chapter 1
I closed my eyes. I pulled in a long, deep breath. I exhaled. My mind was racing, images flashing behind my eyelids.
Those eyes.
The sharp blade of a nose.
The chiseled jaw.
Those lips.
Those lips.
My heart was pounding. Hard. I felt a little dizzy.
I hadn’t even talked to him yet. How would I ever convince him not to throw my baby brother in jail?
Pull it together girl.
Twenty-three. Twenty. Three. That was how many times I’d heard Joss say, “Abby, I’m in trouble. Big trouble,” since our father died. Twenty-freaking-three times too many.
If it wasn’t for the fact that I knew Joss could pull through this crap and get himself together, I wouldn’t have bothered stepping in to drag him out of one scrape after another. But I did. Because, despite his long, difficult struggle with addiction, Joss was a good person. He didn’t go out of his way looking for trouble. Trouble seemed to always come looking for him.
And this time there might not be anything I could do about it.
Breathe.
If Kameron Maldonado, owner of MalTech Corporation, decided to report my brother’s alleged crime to the police, he could end up in jail. For years.
My brother. A felon.
Breathe.
My brother. In prison.
Breathe.
The only family I had left, gone.
Breathe.
My sweating palms were sticking to the leather couch. I dragged them down my thighs. My scratchy polyester skirt wasn’t going to dry them. But I did it anyway. When I heard the door to my right rattle a little, my heart skipped a beat. I jerked my head, glancing at it then at the young woman sitting behind the reception desk directly in front of me. She was staring at a computer screen.
I glanced at my watch. Twelve, twenty-five. I’d been sitting here for almost a half hour. My appointment had been at twelve.
God, this was torture.
The doorknob rattled again, and once more panic charged through my body. My head spun. The door swung open, and my breath caught in my throat.
Kameron Maldonado stepped out, moving out of the doorway. He was smiling over his shoulder, at the man behind him. “We’ll get together later this week to talk about the details. Thanks.” Kameron extended a hand, and the man shook it.
The visitor returned Kameron’s thank you and then, as he passed me, gave me a fleeting look before waving goodbye to the receptionist.
I turned my attention back to Kameron. He was standing next to the door, looking at me.
“Abigail Barnes?” he asked.
I nodded, stood on wobbly legs that felt boneless and heavy. Not expecting a handshake, but preparing for one anyway, I dragged my palms down my legs again as I shuffled toward his office.
After a quick, formal introduction and a brief handshake, Kameron closed his door behind me, circled his desk and stood, waiting for me to sit in the chair facing him.
My stomach twisted.
Of all the situations Joss had put himself in, this was by far the worst. Not only had he put his job in jeopardy, but mine too. Somehow I had to convince this man not to fire us both.
I sat, back straight, body stiff, heart thumping so hard I could hear it.
“How can I help you, Mrs. Barnes?”
“Miss,” I corrected. My mouth was dry. I licked my lips, but that did nothing to help. My tongue was as dry as the Sahara.
He nodded, “Miss Barnes.”
“I’m here on the behalf of Joss Barnes. My brother.” A huge lump of something coagulated in my throat. I tried to swallow it. It didn’t budge. I tried again.
Kameron’s brows lifted. “Are you all right, Miss Barnes?”
Swallowing a third time, I nodded.
He stood, strolled to the cabinet recessed into the wall behind me and opened a door. Within a second, he was standing over me, a cold bottle of water in his hand.
I accepted with a weak “Thank you,” unscrewed the cap and sipped.
“Better?” he asked as he leaned back against his desk.
I nodded.
Looming over me, he crossed his thick arms. God, he was big. Intimidating. Extremely intimidating.
“Your brother is in serious trouble, Miss Barnes. If what I heard is true, he not only violated more than one clause of his employment contract, but also broke the law. I was told he stole company property and sold it. I can’t let that go with a warning.”
We were so screwed.
Feeling utterly defeated, I nodded. “I understand.” My nose was starting to burn. Dammit. This was just too much. It was all too much. Our father’s death. Mom’s disappearance. And my brother’s rebellion and addiction. I was a fighter. I was a survivor. If I hadn’t been, my brother and I wouldn’t be where we were today. But I was too young to deal with this much crap. Every time things started to turn around, something new would come up and drag me right back down into the gutter.
When would life stop kicking me around? When?
My hands were shaking as I lifted them to drag my thumbs under my eyelashes. My eyes were burning now too. A sob was sitting in the pit of my stomach, but I was holding it in. Holding my breath.
I needed to get out of there. I couldn’t cry in front of this man. No. Nonono. I stood too fast and felt myself stumble. He caught me, fists clamped around my upper arms. Our gazes locked.
Something really strange happened. A crazy, unexpected bolt of electricity charged through my body. I heard myself gasp.
His eyes widened slightly. “Don’t go.” He gently forced me back into the chair. “I haven’t finished yet.”
What was there left to say? Was there any chance he was going to help me?
Afraid to hope anything decent could come out of this mess, I nodded and waited.
He released me, stared down, arms crossed over his chest once again. “Your brother has put me in a hell of a position.”
“Is there anything I can do?” I asked, my voice cracking.
His eyes narrowed slightly. He tipped his head to the right. “Why? Why are you so willing to put your neck
on the line for him?”
What kind of silly question was that? “He’s my brother.”
“But he just about got you thrown out of here. You understand that, don’t you?”
Just about?
Just about!
I wasn’t fired yet.
“Yes, sir. I do,” I said, screwing and unscrewing the cap on the water bottle I clasped in my hand. “If my brother was a complete lost cause, I wouldn’t have bothered trying to help him. I would’ve let you fire him. Hell, I would have stood by and watched him be arrested, too. But I can’t. Because I know there’s more to this situation than you and I know. He’s not a bad guy. Sure, he’s hit a bump or two lately. He’ll get it figured out.”
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe there is more to this situation than we know. But, say he is guilty, what do I do with him until I figure out what really happened?”
“Good question.”
“If he did do it, how could I risk keeping him on, knowing he might steal something else?”
“Another good question.”
Leaning closer, he placed one hand on each arm of my chair, trapping me. I felt myself pushing back into the chair. I could smell his cologne, could see the flecks of silver-blue in dark, dark gray-brown eyes the color of my favorite chocolates. I could feel the warm caress of his breath on my face.
My heart jerked again. But this time it wasn’t because I was afraid. No, I was...warm. I was breathless. I was staring at his lips and wondering what they might taste like.
What was going on?
“How long have you been working for us, Miss Barnes?”
“T-two years,” I stuttered, my gaze locked on his mouth. What was he getting at? What was he thinking?
“Hmmm.”
My gaze inched up, following the line of his aristocratic nose to those dark eyes again. I saw something there, the flicker of something obscure, something wicked. My heart rate tripled, quadrupled, maybe. “Sir? Please don’t fire me. My job is our primary source of income. Our father died. It’s been really hard on us both, but especially Joss. He was only thirteen and a boy with no father--”
He leaned closer. “I’m sorry about your father.” I was trapped, his body like a big wall hovering over me. Why was he standing so close? Why was he looking at me like that?
“Sir?” I murmured when he inched even closer. I’d never had a boss act this way with me before. If I didn’t know better, I would swear he was…he was…
His head dipped down. Now, his mouth was hovering over mine. Not inches. No. It was a tiny fraction of an inch from mine. His breath softly caressed my lips. Warm. Sweet.
Was he going to kiss me?
Was he expecting some kind of bribe? A payment in return for my job?
I was frozen. Shocked. Unable to move. Unwilling to move. It was wrong for him to use his position to try something like this. Wrong. Illegal. Unethical. Immoral.
But wow, was he a beautiful man. Sexy. Intelligent. Mysterious. I wanted him to kiss me. My lips were tingling already, and he hadn’t even touched them yet. My blood was pounding hard through my body, too. My heart was slamming against my breastbone. I let my eyelids fall shut, enclosing myself in darkness and swirls of red.
“Miss Barnes?”
“Sir?” Something soft brushed against my lips. And again. Little sparks of electricity sizzled and zapped under my skin. Heat whooshed through my body, up to my face, down between my legs.
The intensity of my body’s reaction took my breath away. And still I couldn’t move. A crazy impulse popped into my head. I wanted to throw my arms around his neck, tangle my fingers in his silky hair and pull him to me.
I can’t do that. I can’t.
***
Please turn the page for a special sneak preview of RAW by Tawny Taylor.
For fans of dark, gripping romance,
RAW by New York Times Best Selling author, Tawny Taylor
Kendall Tremaine is content with her life. Sure, she is still haunted by the ghosts of a dark past, still searching for redemption from selfish actions. But she wakes each morning, hoping it is just around the corner. Until a trip to Spain turns her life upside down. She is sold as a sex slave. To a devastatingly handsome–and dangerous—billionaire. A billionaire who is more monster than man.
But it is the man’s tenderness that threatens to destroy her…not the monster’s cruelty.
Kace Ramos loves the sight of women knotted in his ropes. He enjoys their whimpers of pain. He craves their screams of terror. He never has a shortage of beautiful women in his dungeon. Some quietly submissive, some openly defiant, he strips them raw and then sends them home, broken and bruised. But the unbreakable Kendall does something no slave has ever done. Her cries of pleasure shatter his barriers, making him feel things he’s never felt before…things he thought he could never feel. Even before their time is up, he knows he’ll never get her out of his mind…or his heart.
The man will do whatever it takes to make her his. But the monster won’t be satisfied until he has torn her to pieces.
SAMPLE
I backed away from him, one step, two. “Please. I’m a virgin. And I need to stay that way. I have no money. I’m not educated. My parents are dead. My purity is the one thing, the only thing, I have to offer a husband. Please don’t take that away from me.”
Staring at me with obsidian eyes, cold and hard, he shook his head. “Your pleas land on deaf ears, esclavo. I could care less what you have to offer a husband. I only care that I’ve paid good money for you and I intend to get what I paid for.”
My head spun. I staggered back another step. “You paid money? To…to fuck me?”
“I paid money to do whatever I like to you. For one week.”
I wrapped my arms around myself. My head spun. Thoughts whipped through it, jumbled. “How much money? Maybe I can return your money?”
One brow quirked. “Do you have two million dollars, esclavo? You said you had nothing.”
I gasped. Then, because for some reason the oxygen I’d gulped didn’t make it to my lungs, I gasped a second time. “Two million? Two million U.S. dollars?” My legs wobbled. “Two million?”
“Two million.” Once again, he closed the distance between us. “So you see, esclavo, I will get whatever I want. I’ve paid a great price for the right.”
“But…but…I’m not for sale!”
“You were.” He prowled closer, evil smile in place, eyes glittering. “And I was the highest bidder.”
This couldn’t be happening. Had Sid’s boss sold me like a common whore? My stomach convulsed, and I fell to my knees. I heaved but nothing came up.
Something hard and tight clamped around my arm and within a split second I was pulled across the room. With every inch I was dragged my terror swelled. And so did my fury. I fought. I kicked. I writhed and screamed until I was breathless and heaving and trembling all over. Stopping in front of the big wooden X bolted to the back wall, he hauled me to my feet then jerked one of my arms up.
Oh God. If he tied me up I wouldn’t be able to fight. He would be able to do anything he wanted to me. Anything at all.
He could kill me.
I fought even harder. I fought with everything I had. My rage pummeled my system, and I used it to drive me to keep fighting, even when he had one wrist bound. I swung with the other one and kicked with both feet until he’d secured both wrists and ankles in cuffs.
I’d fought. I’d lost.
But I wasn’t giving up.
I was chained to a big x, my back facing my captor. But I was still a virgin. For now.
But for how much longer?
My muscles were so tense they cramped. My nerves were jangling so badly I was shaking from head to toe. My senses were hyper-alert. I heard him moving behind me. I felt the slightest gust of air when he came closer. I smelled his cologne.
I felt his heat burning my back, even though I was still wearing my clothes.
The hairs on my nape stood on end.
“I enjoy your fire, esclavo. Now, let me see if you enjoy mine.”
What did that mean?
My insides twisted.
Heat gushed to my core.
Shocked by my body’s reaction to the menace in his voice, I let my head fall forward until my forehead rested on the structure to which I was bound. “Go to hell.” Since when did the threat of rape turn me on? Since when did a bastard who didn’t give a fuck about me make me cream my panties?
I was sick. Sick!
I deserved to go to hell too.
Confused and disgusted with myself, I smacked my head against the wood and curled my fingers so tightly my fingernails dug into my palms. A sob ripped up my throat.
Behind me, he said, “Now, it is time to see what I have paid for.”
I felt a tug at the back of my shirt and then the sound of rending fabric echoed through the tense silence. My spine arched and I jerked in a desperate (but pointless) attempt at escape. A breeze chilled my back as the torn pieces of my tank top fell aside and my skin prickled with goose bumps. My bathing suit strap snapped and my breasts fell out of the cups. My nipples hardened almost instantly. And another blast of heat pulsed to my center.
I was fucked up.
“Stop it,” I yelled. “Stop it now.”
“Ah, esclavo, keep screaming. Keep shouting. Your pretty little voice makes my cock hard.”
My skirt was next, cut, torn, I couldn’t tell which. The material slid down my right leg, catching on a cuff at my ankle. My bathing suit bottoms would be next. Oh God.
My pussy clenched. Hot, sticky cream coated my folds, dampening the lining.
He audibly inhaled. “I can smell your cream. Intoxicating.”
“Fuck you.”
“As you wish.”
I felt the tug at the waistband and panic gripped me. I writhed, fighting the chains holding my ankles and wrists in place. But there was no hope, no use. I was bound tight, unable to resist. Fingers slid down my lycra-covered crack. I trembled. Tears coursed down my cheeks, even as more heat pounded to my pussy. I was shocked and ashamed by my body’s response. I despised this man. I didn’t want him to touch me. Not my back. Not my ass. And…oh God…not down there.
Stepbrother Romance 2 - Consumed: A New Adult Alpha Billionaire Romance Page 8