by Blake, Lexi
She gave Grace her best smile. Punch and cupcakes and baby showers. It was so normal. At first she’d hated everything about this place and the stupid assignment she’d been given to babysit these people, and slowly she’d come to care about them. And she’d come to like cupcakes and punch and baby showers. “I did. And the ice cream is in the freezer.”
Grace’s eyes went wide. “Are you sure? Charlotte’s here.”
Phoebe didn’t need to fake this grin. Charlotte Taggart was just starting to show and everyone knew she was adept at stealing ice cream. “I hid it behind the box of frozen broccoli that’s really ice cream sandwiches.”
“Smart girl. See you in half an hour.” The door closed again.
How long were they going to leave her here? How long would she keep fooling these people she’d grown to like? The baby shower was for Eve and Alex, who had just adopted a little boy they’d named Cooper. It wouldn’t be too long before there would be another shower for Charlotte, and if Chelsea Weston wasn’t pregnant in a year, Phoebe would eat her socks.
A buzzing sound caught her attention.
She picked up her phone and her blood pressure shot straight up.
Time to play. The Joule Hotel. Room 512.
Oh, shit. She stood up, straightened her skirt, picked up her purse and walked out the door.
Time to play. Code for do your job. The trouble was she didn’t know what the job was yet and she wouldn’t know until she got to the hotel.
She walked through the lobby and got on the elevator. Luckily, everyone else was busy setting up for the party. Everyone except Jesse, who hadn’t come back from lunch. She always knew when he was in a room because her temperature went up. She was dangerously close to falling for the man, and that would be a horrible mistake.
If she hurried, she might make it back without anyone noticing she was gone. There was a card in her purse. She could use it as an excuse.
Two blocks up and one over. She found a fast food place, jammed with people. The best kind for what she needed to do. She slipped into the restroom and locked herself in a stall, pulled the travel mirror out of her big bag. Everyone joked about it, but it suited her purposes. She stuck the mirror to the back of the stall door and brought out the makeup kit. Two shades darker and she looked a bit exotic. With the bob-cut black wig, she looked different enough that most people wouldn’t pick her out of a lineup. She exchanged her flats for five-inch Choos and worked her arms into a light Chanel cardigan.
All of this was performed within three minutes of entering the bathroom. A short pale brunette had entered, but a tall tan woman with chic black hair exited.
She quickly made her way to The Joule and asked for the keys left by her husband. She was given the card and made her way through the boutique hotel, adrenaline starting to pump through her system.
Room 512 was a suite, but Phoebe didn’t care about the clean lines or the lovely modern styles. She cared about the suitcase on the bed.
Sniper rifle. M4 carbine with a red dot scope.
She let her blood go cold. It wasn’t the first time she’d been given this duty and it wouldn’t be the last.
With steady hands, she put the rifle together and picked up the phone that had been left beside the case on the bed. She opened the door to the balcony. It was easy to see why the big boss had chosen this spot. It had a great view of the street below and she could stay inside the room. She pulled the table from its place and set up. The light of day would work to shield her from anyone trying to look in. She was cocooned in an elegant nest, waiting to sign her name on the target’s chest.
She typed the words in and hit send. In position.
Through the window, she could see the street below and the giant weird eyeball someone had decided to place in a green space. Who put an eyeball in the middle of downtown?
Who was her target? In the end it didn’t matter, but she was always curious. Her boss ran a tight ship. If he told her to kill someone, she did it because it was the right thing to do.
The phone pinged.
Kill order. Coming up the street in front of you. Picture attached.
She flipped her finger over the screen and her heart dropped.
Right there was a picture of a man. Blond and smiling, though his smile often didn’t reach his eyes.
Jesse.
Oh, god, she had a kill order on Jesse Murdoch.
Her hands no longer steady, she lined up her shot…
Jesse and Phoebe and the entire McKay-Taggart team will return February 17, 2015 in You Only Love Twice.
Author’s Note
I’m often asked by generous readers how they can help get the word out about a book they enjoyed. There are so many ways to help an author you like. Leave a review. If your e-reader allows you to lend a book to a friend, please share it. Go to Goodreads and connect with others. Recommend the books you love because stories are meant to be shared. Thank you so much for reading this book and for supporting all the authors you love!
Cherished: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Masters and Mercenaries 7.5
By Lexi Blake
Coming October 28, 2014
Click here to pre-order!
A doctor living a double life
By day, Dr. Will Daley is one of Dallas’s most eligible bachelors, but every night he dons his leathers as one of Sanctum’s most desired Doms. He’s sworn off looking for a long-term relationship but is captivated by the club’s newest member, Bridget Slaten, even though they couldn’t be more different. She comes from a world of privilege and he was raised in poverty. When he discovers she needs a date to her sister’s wedding, he makes certain he’s literally the only man for the job.
A woman no longer willing to live in the shadows
For most of her life, Bridget hid herself behind her laptop. She can write romantic, sensuous lives for her characters but not herself. Having Master Will as her date to the wedding is a thrilling prospect but he has a special request. He wants her to accept two weeks of his services as a Dom, a lover, and expert in BDSM, and that is an offer she can’t refuse. Their sexual chemistry is undeniable, but it’s in the tender moments that Bridget realizes she’s falling for a man who might never trust her with his heart.
A love strong enough to cherish
Together in paradise for a week, Will realizes he can’t imagine his life without Bridget. As the wedding approaches, ghosts from their past come back to haunt them and threaten to ruin the peace they’ve found. With everything exposed, they will have to risk it all to claim the love that can set them both free.
You Only Love Twice
Masters and Mercenaries 8
By Lexi Blake
Coming February 17, 2015
Click here to pre-order!
A woman on a mission
Phoebe Graham is a specialist in deep cover espionage, infiltrating the enemy, observing their practices, and when necessary eliminating the threat. Her latest assignment is McKay-Taggart Security Services, staffed with former military and intelligence operatives. They routinely perform clandestine operations all over the world but it isn’t until Jesse Murdoch joins the team that her radar starts spinning. Unfortunately so does her head. He’s gorgeous and sweet and her instincts tell her to trust him but she’s been burned before, so he’ll stay where he belongs—squarely in her sights.
A man on the run
Since the moment his Army unit was captured by jihadists, Jesse’s life has been a nightmare. Forced to watch as those monsters tortured and killed his friends and the woman he loved, something inside him snapped. When he’s finally rescued, everyone has the same question—why did he alone survive? Clouded in accusations and haunted by the faces of those he failed, Jesse struggles in civilian life until McKay-Taggart takes him in. Spending time with Phoebe, the shy and beautiful accountant, makes him feel human for the first time in forever. If someone so innocent and sweet could accept him, maybe he could truly be redeemed.
; A love they never expected
When Phoebe receives the order to eliminate Jesse, she must choose between the job she’s dedicated her life to and the man who’s stolen her heart. Choosing Jesse would mean abandoning everything she believes in, and it might mean sharing his fate because a shadowy killer is dedicated to finishing the job started in Iraq.
Their Virgin Mistress
Masters of Ménage 7
By Shayla Black and Lexi Blake
Coming April 14, 2015
Click here to pre-order!
One wild night leads to heartache…
Tori Glen loves her new job as an image consultant for Thurston-Hughes Inc. The trouble is, she’s also in love with the three brothers who own it, Oliver, Rory, and Callum. They’re handsome, successful, aristocratic, and way out of this small-town Texas girl’s league. So she remains a loyal professional—until the night she finds a heartbroken Oliver desperate for someone to love. Tori knows she should resist…but it’s so tempting to give in.
And a desperate plan…
Callum and Rory have denied their desire for Tori, hoping she’ll heal their older brother, who was so brutalized by his late wife’s betrayal. But when Oliver cruelly turns Tori away in the harsh light of day, she tenders her resignation. Rory and Callum realize that to save their brother, they must embrace the unconventional sort of family they’ve always wanted—with Tori at its center. And it all starts with seducing her…
That could lead to happily ever after—or murder.
Isolated with the brothers at an elegant English country manor, they begin awakening Tori to the most sensual of pleasures. But consumed with regret, Oliver won’t be denied the chance to embrace the only woman worth the risk of loving again. What begins as a rivalry veers toward the future they’ve only dared to dream of. But a stranger is watching and waiting for a chance at revenge. Can the brothers come together to embrace the woman they love and defeat a killer?
Dear Readers,
I was asked earlier this year to beta read a novella by Christopher Rice. I was familiar with his earlier work in thrillers and horror, but this was his first foray into my world—erotic romance. Better than that, I was told this story was a ménage. I kind of love ménage. So I agreed because we’re in the same project and I love his other work.
What I discovered was quite frankly my favorite work of erotic fiction I’ve read in a long time. The Flame is unique and beautiful and stunningly sensual. I hope you’ll all give this new series a chance. I’m honored to give you your first glimpse at Christopher Rice’s The Flame.
Much love,
Lexi
* * * *
The Flame
By Christopher Rice
Coming November 11, 2014
Click here to pre-order!
New York Times bestselling author Christopher Rice presents his first work of erotic romance.
It only takes a moment…
Cassidy Burke has the best of both worlds, a driven and successful husband and a wild, impulsive best friend. But after a decadent Mardi Gras party, Cassidy finds both men pulling away from her. Did the three of them awaken secret desires during a split-second of alcohol-fueled passion? Or is Mardi Gras a time when rules are meant to be broken without consequence?
Only one thing is for certain—the chill that’s descended over her marriage, and her most important friendship, will soon turn into a deep freeze if she doesn’t do something. And soon.
Light this flame at the scene of your greatest passion and all your desires will be yours.
The invitation stares out at her from the window of a French Quarter boutique. The store’s owner claims to have no knowledge of the strange candle. But Cassidy can’t resist its intoxicating scent or the challenge written across its label in elegant cursive. With the strike of a match and one tiny flame, she will call forth a supernatural being with the ultimate power—the power to unchain the heart, the power to remove the fear that stands between a person and their truest desires.
* * * *
From THE FLAME by Christopher Rice …
The house is dark, save for the sparkling footprints dotting the foyer's hardwood floor. Gold flecks swim in each one, waterborne siblings of the luminescent particles that swirled through the candle's halo as soon as she lit the wick. They have to be Andrew's footprints, but she's shouted his name several times and he hasn't answered.
For the second time that day, Cassidy is soaked from head to toe and questioning the nature of reality. The rain roused her after she lost consciousness. By then, the candle's glass container was completely empty, as if someone had wiped it clean of every last drop of wax while she'd drifted between sleep and waking, utterly drained by the most powerful orgasm she'd ever experienced.
LSD. Acid. Or maybe that Datura stuff Native Americans use for vision quests. Whatever it is, I'm still feeling it.
"Cassidy!"
She cries out. The front door is still open. Shane stands on the porch, soaked from head to toe. When she sees the tiny gold flakes dripping from his earlobes and the tip of his nose, pooling slightly in the hollows of his eyes, her breath leaves her.
Wide-eyed, his jaw tense, he closes the distance between them. He runs an index finger along her forearm and turns up a fingertip glistening with the same gold particles that highlight his face, that swim in the footprints all around them.
"What's going on?" Shane whispers.
"I don't know…" she says. It feels like a lie.
It is a lie. She accepted the invitation written on that note; that's what's happening. She lit Bastian Drake's candle at the scene of her greatest desire and now…and now…
Shane's lips are inches from hers. Rain swirls through the open door behind him. Flashes of lightning turn the branches outside into giant claws. But they don't frighten her. They do, however, seem to send a word of warning: Stay inside. It's not safe to run. The answer, if there is one, is inside this house.
"Andrew…." she whispers. "We have to find Andrew."
Shane follows her upstairs with bounding strides.
The master bedroom is empty. When she sees the alarm clock's blank screen, she realizes the power's out. She's about to scream her husband's name again when she sees him in the doorway. He is naked and dripping wet. Streaks of gold outline his nipples. They travel the hard ridges of his obliques and fringe the heft of his cock, which jerks from his sudden arousal. The sight of Cassidy and Shane standing together in the shadowed bedroom makes her husband instantly and powerfully hard. While it's too dark to see his face, she can see his muscular chest rising and falling with deep, sustained breaths. He always breathes like that when he's getting ready to pounce. To lick. To taste. To ravish.
"Get on the bed, Cassidy," he says, his voice low and deep.
Yes. Please. Now. If it's a mistake, I'll blame the candle. I'll blame Bastian Drake. But I want it now. Both of them. Here. Now.
In a flash of lightning, she sees Shane's expression. It's a portrait of astonishment and desire as he looks back and forth between the two of them. An expression just like the one he wore when he kissed her for the first time. Not fear, but a kind of dazed wonder over the fact that life could suddenly deliver something so unexpected and all consuming.
When Andrew grips the back of Shane's neck, this visual reminder of their moment at The Roquelaure House enflames her desire. Then her husband says, "Take your panties off, Cassidy," and it feels as if her skin has become a thin layer of radiant heat can no longer contain the desire coursing through her veins.
Hands shaking, Cassidy unbuttons her skirt, kicks her way out of it. It turns into a brief struggle because she can't look away from what's happening in front of her. Bent at the waist, Shane runs his tongue up the side of Andrew's body, following a slender thread of gold all the way up to her husband's pecs. When he reaches Andrew's nipple, Shane sucks it briefly, loud enough to make a pop.
Her husband's low throaty laugh is gentle. Shane's desire for Andrew is a feeli
ng on Cassidy's skin, a tingly blanket, as if invisible hands have just lightly slapped her thighs, squeezed her breasts. As if she is being tweaked and teased and tested by the newness of what they're about to do, by the delicious danger of it. And while everything about Shane's posture says he wants to suck her husband's tongue from in between his lips, Andrew teases him, gripping the back of his neck, holding their mouths inches apart.
"You're afraid, aren't you?" Andrew asks. "Both of you. You've always been afraid of how much you want each other. Afraid of how it doesn't fit into a neat little box." Their lips inches apart now, the two men she loves the most seem connected by a current of fearless desire, a current fueled by her exposed sex, by her wild passion for them both. "Well… enough! Both of you. Enough already. I've had enough of watching the two of you together – "
His voice is a low growl and his wording makes her tense. If Andrew is about to punish them, why is he still stroking the back of Shane's neck? Why is he unbuckling Shane's belt with his other hand?
" – All that hunger between you two, and it's got nowhere to go. Well, not anymore. I'm going to give it somewhere to go. I'm going to fuck both of you into loving each other the way you need to. And I don't give a damn if there isn't a name for what I'm about to do. We have our names. And that's good enough. Now get on your knees, Shane. It's time for you to taste my wife."
Forbidden Legacy