by Wild, Nikki
“It’s not that,” I said, even though it was a little bit. But people were watching us and the last thing I wanted to do was talk about him taking my ass in public.
“What is it, then?” he asked.
“It’s everything else, Bear. I don’t know how to do that job you want me to do. I’m clueless. And I just don’t understand what’s happening. Between us. With us. None of this makes sense.”
“Don’t you see?” he said, his voice gentle and soft. “This thing between us makes perfect sense.”
“How is that?” I asked. “Look, Bear, I’m not whatever you think I am. You can find someone else to fulfill those needs. You’d be better off with a woman like Zoe. Someone who fits your lifestyle.”
“Zoe?” he scoffed. “She’s a fragile fucking butterfly that I hate being around.”
“Well, whomever…” I said, my voice trailing off.
“Chloe, listen to me. Look at me!” he said. My eyes darted up, hypnotized by his piercing glare. “I thought I made myself clear the other day, but maybe not. I have never in my life met a woman like you. You’re special, don’t you see? I’ve tried being with other people, I’ve tried to make it work with other women, trust me. But it’s never been right. Not like this. Not till you, Chloe.”
“Bear, I don’t—,” I began.
“—let me finish, babe, please? When I met you that first time, I knew. I knew because something opened up in me, something about you ripped me wide open and crawled inside of me and never let go. It was like I’d been waiting for you my whole life. And then, when I saw you again, when we made love that first time —,”
“—that was not making love!” I protested.
“To me it was! To me, it was the beginning of everything that ever mattered. It was the confirmation that I was right all along. When I felt you around me, when I felt the perfection of our bodies fitting together like they were made from the same cloth, I knew, deep down, that you were the one.”
“The one for what, though, Bear? What do you want with me? What is all of this even about?” I cried.
“That’s a good question,” he whispered, reaching into his coat and pulling out two small white boxes with shiny red ribbons. “I want to show you what my intentions are, Chloe. These are for you.”
“What are they?” I asked. “The last time you gave me a present like this…”
“It’s nothing like that. One is dependent on the other,” he said, holding out one of the boxes to me. “Open this one first.”
I sighed, shaking my head.
“Bear,” I said. “I need to go.”
“Just open them! Please! If you decide to leave afterwards, I’ll kindly see you to the door of the plane myself.”
“Fine,” I said, my shaking hands taking the box from him. I pulled the end of the ribbon, untying the bow and letting it fall to the floor at my feet. Slowly, I opened the box and gasped when I saw the glittering diamond ring shining up at me.
“Bear!” I cried, my hand flying to my pounding heart. “Bear, this is too much—,” I said, shaking my head.
He held the other box out to me, his eyes shining with love.
“Now open this one.”
I opened the box quickly and pulled out a black velvet, diamond-studded choker.
“Chloe,” he said, taking my hand, “I love you. I love you like the moon loves the stars. I’d be lost in this world without you by my side. I know this is confusing, I know it’s all new and scary, but I promise you I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life, I’ll take you places you’ve never imagined. Yes, I have my issues, but I think our issues fit together perfectly. We’re like opposite sides of the same coin, can’t you see that? Being with you is like poetry, baby. We fit. Everything about us fits. Like the words strung together in a poem, as if they were made for each other. You’re my poem, Chloe. You were meant for me, don’t you see that? Opportunities like this, connections like ours, they only happen once in a lifetime, babe. We can’t pass this up, we owe it to ourselves to give in to this love, to this life together. We’d be fools not to try.”
I gasped, my head spinning, my heart racing as his eyes searched mine.
“But I need more from you, Chloe,” he reached up, caressing my face. “You have to accept both sides of me, just as I have to accept both sides of you. I need you to be mine. I want you to wear my ring, but I want you to wear this, too,” he said, brushing his fingers against the choker in my hand. “Do you understand, Chloe? I need you to be mine, in every way, forever and ever.”
He sank to his knees, the ring between his fingers as he held it up to me.
“I love you. Please be my wife, Beauty,” he pleaded.
I stared down at him, lost in his deep ocean eyes, lost in his enchanting words, lost in the simple fact that he’d told me he loved me.
My heart swelled with joy, with love, great waves of pleasure spilling out of my swollen heart. I couldn’t think, all I could do was feel.
Maybe none of this made sense, but whatever it was, it was definitely love.
“Yes,” I nodded slowly, tears falling down my face as he slipped the ring on my finger. He stood up, kissing me gently and then pulling away. He took the choker from my hands and placed it on my neck, fastening the buckle in the back, his fingers brushing against my skin and sending shivers down my spine.
“Look at you,” he whispered, staring at me with eyes full of pride and love. “Who are you?”
A slow smile spread across my face, the velvet clinging tightly around my neck, the ring heavy on my hand, as my heart swelled with pride and pure happiness.
“I’m yours, Bear. I’m yours,” I whispered through my tears.
His kiss was a thousand kisses, his love a thousand loves, and as we walked out of the airport arm in arm, I knew that our life together would be a thousand poems, worth a thousand heavens, in a thousand star-filled universes.
Chapter 31
Max drove us back to my apartment. We couldn’t keep our hands or lips off of one another the entire drive and by the time we made it into the elevator, we were ready to rip each other’s clothes off.
“I can’t believe we’re going to get married!” I said, laughing between kisses. “My mother is going to have a heart attack!”
“You let me deal with Matilda,” he said, his tongue sliding along the skin of my neck. I shuddered against him, my body on fire with desire for him.
“Good luck with that,” I muttered, my lips finding his again. He kissed me deeply, his tongue tangling with mine, searching for the magic we’d found together. The craziness of the entire situation was not lost on me, but at the moment, I didn’t give a damn.
Everything Bear had said in the airport was true. Somehow, we fit together like two pieces of a puzzle and that was what I wanted to embrace.
I made a silent vow to reject the fear and doubts that had plagued me. I had plenty of help with the design job, I had plenty of time to do it and I was smart. As for the fear surrounding my relationship with Bear, well—I had Bear. That’s all that mattered.
I made another vow to stay close to him, to communicate when I was feeling weird, to ask him questions if I needed to.
He loved me.
I’d never been so happy in my entire life.
Bear Dalton loved me and wanted to make me his wife. This beautiful, complex, masculine masterpiece of a human being wanted me by his side for the rest of his life.
I snaked my hands around his neck, pulling him closer while I kissed him, relishing the feel of his body against mine. The elevator dinged and we tumbled out into the hallway like a couple of horny teenagers.
He pushed me up against the wall of the hallway, his mouth searching mine, his hands running over my breasts as he pushed a thigh between my legs. I moaned against him, melting into the heat of his touch.
“Let’s go inside,” I said, pulling my mouth away and reaching down to grab a handful of his throbbing hardness. “I can’t wait any longer!�
�
We turned together, our fingers laced together, the ring heavy and shiny on my finger.
We’d taken five steps when I saw him.
Standing at my doorway at the end of the hall, his face full of jealous anger and rage.
“Harlan!” I screamed in shock, my heart pounding so hard in my chest I thought it would burst. I felt Bear tense beside me.
“What are you doing here, Harlan?”
“Hello, Chloe,” Harlan said, his voice seething. “I’ve come to take you back.”
Before I could say a word, Bear stepped between us.
“Chloe’s mine now,” he growled. “You need to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Harlan scowled, reaching into his coat.
He pulled out a gun and pointed it straight at us.
Thanks for reading Book 1 of the Taking Beauty Series. Turn the page because Book 2 is available right now! And keep turning pages because I’ve included some special surprises for my amazing readers! You are the reason I write!
-nikki
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Part I
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Chapter 1
It was thirty minutes after I stopped hearing movement from Daddy’s bedroom that I pocketed my phone, whipped off the covers, and crept back out of bed.
Project: Wayward Teen was a go.
This wasn’t my first rodeo in sneaking out of the house. I’d already picked the right clothes, favoring black jeans, a dark shirt, and an all-black pair of Converse sneakers.
Quietly, I slipped into the clothes in the darkness of my bedroom. I didn’t need anything but my little wallet, my phone, and my keys – and the keys were dangling downstairs anyway.
Thinking ahead, I’d already packed the wallet in the jeans. The phone had helped keep my boredom down while I’d waited for Daddy’s fatigue to set in. He’d had a busy evening on shift, and I knew he’d be sleeping hard tonight.
Which made tonight perfect for this.
With nimble reflexes, I slipped down the hallway, avoiding the creaky floorboards right outside the bathroom door. Further down, I slipped past the end table and the vase on top, unwilling to let a brief bump of the hip, or shattering clay, announce my little rendezvous beneath the stars.
My footsteps took me down the staircase, hooking around towards the front door. There were a few tricky floorboards here too, and the acoustics were painfully good in the open floor plan of the downstairs.
As silently as possible, I snagged my keyring from the hook by the door, listening for any evidence of Daddy near the top of the stairs.
Nothing. The coast was clear.
I carefully turned the lock, slipping outside and locking the door behind me. I hesitated near the door, listening against the panel for any movement from inside.
When nothing happened, I exhaled a thick breath of relief.
Turning and strolling down the driveway, I found myself wondering what Mom would have thought if she’d still been around to see me now.
I had been really young when she passed, too young to particularly remember her. Outside of her smiling face, gazing down upon me from portraits in the house, I had very little in the way of memories when it came to Mom.
Naturally, that made Daddy cling to me harder, since I was now all that he had left. He was a stern but strong father, but very, very strict.
Of course, as I glanced over at the weather-beaten Crown Victoria car in the front driveway, I knew that this wasn’t the only reason why he was so careful about keeping me on a tight leash.
My father was the local sheriff, working his way up through the force for the last twenty years.
And there was no way he was going to be okay with his little girl sneaking out in the middle of the night… Especially if he knew where I was going.
You might say that I have a problem… and his name is Hunter.
My particular problem comes roughly six feet tall and built with powerful muscles. He had the short and thick wavy hair I loved, a seductive little chuckle, and handsome blue eyes.
The kind that could never lie to you…
Slipping into my little beaten-up Hyundai coupe, I pressed my keys into the ignition and turned. The engine cranked to life, and I quickly pulled back through the driveway and onto the streets of our neat, suburban subdivision.
I always loved how our community looked at night. Passing under the streetlights, I glanced over clay-colored landscaping with its bits of desert shrubbery.
This place was pretty nice, all things considered. We lived in a good part of Phoenix, although it certainly helped to keep the local neighborhood safe when you had the local precinct’s Sheriff living across the street.
I wasn’t sticking to the nice parts of town. Not tonight… My little moonlight excursion was taking me about thirty minutes away. I was heading towards the seedy center of the city, the kind of place no self respecting good girl would find herself so late at night.
My phone remained quiet the entire time I drove, which was a pretty good sign to me.
The last thing I needed was Daddy waking up in the middle of the night and realizing I’d gone…
I saw the sign for the strip club perched a couple of blocks over. Despite all the work the city had done to improve its downtown image, the club had survived, neon pink sign and all. The parking lot was usually full of motorcycles which intimidated the locals and kept them out… People were probably waiting for the day the whole building would be knocked flat and replaced with yet another Starbucks.
But I knew that was never going to happen.
For public appearances, an investor who spent most of his time out of town owned and technically operated the strip club. He kept a couple of managers on the premises, and the girls were well taken care of for their efforts. He was keeping the whole thing afloat with an old inheritance.
The truth was a little different.
There was no investor. No mysterious and wealthy benefactor. Look beyond the parking lot and the big pink sign and you’d see the huge roll-up garage that butted up to the back of the building.
The strip club nothing more than a front for the local biker gang, a dangerous group of criminals known as the Devil’s Dragons MC. They were the guys who ruled the local roost, and most of the city’s illegal activities gave a quick nod to them.
It helped that their leader, a ruthless criminal known only as Eduardo, had made plenty of his rivals disappear. The lowlifes that remained g
ave the Devil’s Dragons the respect they demanded.
Just the thought of Hunter involving himself in that world made me grimace. He hadn’t told me much of why he’d done it…
I knew it had something to do with his sister. She disappeared a few months back and the police had done nothing but file a report and tell him they were very sorry. Hunter turned to the biker club for help and, and whatever terms he’d offered in return, they agreed.
His sister was brought home four days later. She looked like she’d been put through hell…
She probably was, if the rumors about where she was taken were true.
I feared that he’d joined them in payment.
Maybe I can talk some sense into him, I thought to myself. Surely, Hunter will see things my way.
Daddy opposed the Devil’s Dragons for all of the obvious reasons. He wasn’t exactly a big fan of Hunter either, and the second he caught wind that he was joining the ranks of those infamous criminals…
Yeah, lets just say a swift ban on Sarah-Hunter contact was very quickly enacted. I had to promise daddy that I’d never, ever see Hunter again.
But true love doesn’t have to resort to such stupid promises, does it? I was going to go see my man and save him from whatever trouble he was squeezing himself into.
And that was the end of that.
I pulled into the parking lot, ominously passing an entire fleet of motorcycles. The entire goddamn club must be here, I thought to myself.
Parking my car, I crept out and walked past the line of bikes. My first impression had been wrong. There were way too many motorcycles here… I stopped counting around thirty.