Defying the General

by Maddie Taylor

  “Well, yes.”

  “And you thought to sweeten the pot by spreading your legs for me? To convince me to break my contract with your father.”

  She gasped. Appalled he could think her so conniving as to sacrifice herself. “How dare you! I wouldn’t do something so...so...mercenary.” Her chin snapped up sharply, and she watched his eyes narrow as her barb hit home.

  “You said a moment ago you’d do anything to get out of marrying Ivar.”

  “Well, I didn’t mean...that.”

  While he stared at her for a moment, his mouth settled into a hard line and the silver of his eyes changed to flat, dark gray. Before she could defend herself further, he spun back to the controls. He dismissed her coolly, doing so through Malik. “Take her below, and see she stays there. I don’t need the distraction right now.”

  Her throat tightened with tears. Before they broke free and she embarrassed herself in front of him by blubbering like a smitten fool, she stood up—or at least tried to. The harness, still latched in place, prevented her from moving.

  She ripped at it with her fingers. “I’d love to be out of your presence.” She tried for a harsh, biting undertone, except her breath hitching gave her jagged emotions away.

  Without looking at either of them to see if they noticed—how could they not?—she pulled at the clasp. It wouldn’t release. Frustrated and a second from collapsing in a torrent of self-pitying sobs, she grasped the straps and tugged hard.

  “You’re only making it tighter, Dani. Stop.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do!” she shrieked, losing control.

  Long fingers moved her hands aside.

  “Don’t touch me.” Her words came out in a hiss as she smacked Jaylin’s hands away.

  “Sweetheart, let me help you.”

  She stopped, realizing Malik leaned over her, and he was the one she had slapped. “I’m sorry I hit you.”

  “It’s okay.”

  He easily opened the latch and would have helped more, but she shrugged out of the harness and surged to her feet. With her eyes averted, she bolted to the lift, waving her hand over the sensor. When it didn’t come fast enough, she waved it again, and again. Knowing it wouldn’t make the unit arrive any sooner, it at least gave her something to do.

  Hands on her shoulders made her tense.

  “You don’t need to escort me down. I can find my own way.”

  “He gave me orders, same as you.”

  “And you’re his minion, so you always obey?” she shot back, lashing out at him angrily. “He won’t find me as subservient.”

  The door opened, and she scurried inside, Malik crowding into the small unit with her. She didn’t look at him or toward the bridge, averting her eyes as the half door closed and they started to move.

  “He didn’t mean what he said, like you, he was angry.”

  “I hate him.”

  “You don’t mean that, either.”

  “He makes me furious, and I definitely meant that.”

  “Things got heated back there but think on this. For Jaylin to become volatile, so quickly means he doesn’t hate you, either. Far from it.”

  “I want to go home in a week and a half and forget all of this happened.”

  “A girl doesn’t save herself for twenty-five years, find a man she trusts enough to gift her innocence to, then practically overnight, want to forget it. Jaylin will realize this when he calms down.”

  “He’s an asshole.”

  “He can be. He’s also very kind, caring, and extremely protective. I warned you he gets this way when threatened. All he can think of is eliminating the danger and keeping everyone safe, to the exclusion of courtesy, kindness, and pretty redheads whose feelings he otherwise wouldn’t hurt.”

  Blinking back frustrated tears, she glanced up at him and asked, “Why are you defending him?”

  “I know him. This is his nature. Later, when we’re safely away from whoever is pursuing us, he’ll regret being so harsh and come find you. Wait and see.”

  “I won’t hold my breath,” she grumbled. “If I do, I’ll be as blue as Ivar.”

  The door opened to the lower level, and she rushed out. She couldn’t outdistance Malik’s long strides, however, and he caught up with her at her bedroom door.

  “Dani, let me tell you a little story.”

  “I’m not in the mood for fairy tales. And I realized today, I’m much too old to believe in them, anyway.”

  “Don’t—”

  Emotionally wrecked, she cut him off. “I’m sorry I lashed out. Jaylin deserves my sharp words, not you. And, please, Malik, understand when I say I need to be left alone right now.”

  He stared at her a moment, and she thought she saw a flicker of something in his distant eyes, but, if she did, it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Or perhaps in her pique, she’d imagined it.

  He inclined his head. “I’ll leave to your thoughts.”

  The next moment the doors slid shut and she was alone. And, although she’d lived most of her life that way, she felt the loneliness more completely than ever before.

  MARSHAL’S LAW

  (Jackson Brothers, Book 1 of 3)

  When Janelle Prescott is thrown from her car as it careens off a slippery road, she expects to wake up in a hospital. Instead, to her utter disbelief, she wakes up in a jail cell which looks like something from an old western movie set. It is there, hurt and alone, with no idea what happened or how she will get back home, that Janelle first meets Aaron Jackson. As she regains her wits, however, Janelle realizes that something is terribly amiss, and her worst fears are confirmed when she learns that Aaron is the marshal of Cheyenne County, Wyoming... and the year is 1878.

  When an injured, apparently addle-headed woman falls into his lap, Aaron takes it upon himself to keep her safe and nurse her back to health. Truth be told, he is instantly attracted to her despite her sharp tongue and her bizarre story—a story which the evidence quickly forces him to accept as genuine. After Aaron takes her under his wing and into his family’s home, the two clash frequently, but Aaron is more than ready to lay down the law...even if that means a good, hard, bare-bottom spanking for this feisty brat from another era.

  Having little choice, Janelle must learn how to live as a woman in the Old West, including submitting to the firm-handed marshal who, in spite of everything, seems to have laid claim to her heart.

  CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN

  (Club Decadence Series, Book 1 of 7)

  Special Forces Captain Tony Rossi is back from Afghanistan and ready to settle into civilian life. He has his business affairs in order and is now ready get on with the personal business of Megan Sinclair. Kept apart for 15 years by distance and circumstance, those barriers no longer exist and Tony is ready to claim his woman. Will she be willing to accept his belief in a traditional relationship where the man is the head of the household? What about his part-ownership in the local bondage club? He is determined to win her, no matter the obstacles that get in his way.

  Megan, for her part, has loved him since high school but believes he just thinks of her as a cute kid sister. When she realizes that Tony is interested, it’s a double-edged sword. As an independent businesswoman, can she conform to Tony’s old-fashioned beliefs and demands and be spanked? Can she bring all her secret fantasies to life and submit?

  Finally, when they are both available to work on a relationship, life interferes. Megan accidentally becomes embroiled in the conspiracies of a local drug dealer with ties to a Mexican drug cartel. Tony must keep her safe at all costs, something that now she is not at all sure she wants. When fantasy meets reality, bottoms get sore, and suddenly that’s not quite so much fun. Or is it?

  More Titles by Maddie Taylor

  Published by Breathless Romance

  Primarian Mates Series

  The Barbarian’s Captive

  His by Command

  His Rebellious Mate

  The Renegades’ Reward

  Carly�
�s Crush

  Sweetly Sinful

  (A Collection of Sexy Stories and Naughty Tales)

  With Meredith O’Reilly and Morganna Williams

  Published by Blushing Books

  Everything Christmas

  (Also, included in The Naughty List Boxed Set)

  The Gift

  Hero to Obey

  (USA Today Bestselling Anthology with Sierra Cartwright, Desiree Holt, Sue Lyndon, and more)

  The Juniper Bride

  (Also, included in the Sons of Johnny Hastings Boxed Set)

  Surrender My Love

  Club Decadence Series

  Faithfully (Prequel)

  Captain My Captain

  You Said Forever

  Little Light of Mine

  Unbind My Heart

  Second Time Lucky

  What About Love

  Decadence LA Series

  Master My Love

  Decadence Nights Series

  Hooked

  French Kiss

  The Red Petticoat Saloon Series

  Claiming Coral

  Published by Stormy Night Publications

  A Very Naughty Christmas

  (with Dinah Mcleod, Meredith O’Reilly, Morganna Williams, and Sara Fields)

  Gideon’s Redemption

  Innocence Enslaved

  (with Melody Parks)

  Lanie’s Lessons

  The Trail Master’s Bride

  Heating Up the Holiday (with Alexis Alvarez, Morganna Williams, Meredith O’Reilly, and Dinah McLeod)

  The Jackson Brothers Series

  Marshal’s Law

  Jackson’s Justice

  Wild Wisteria

  Pleasure Bay Series

  Dimitri’s Desire

  (with Melody Parks)

  Mastering Mariah

  (with Morganna Williams)

  Sweet Trilogy

  Sweet Salvation

  Sweet Surrender

  Sweet Submission

  Other Independent Publishers

  His Naughty Christmas Angel

  (Also, part of the Put Your Ho Ho’s On Anthology)

  About the Author

  A USA Today and #1 international bestselling author, Maddie is a lifelong reader who became a romance junkie as a teen with her first romance novel, The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen Woodiwiss. From then on, she was hooked, and gobbled up everything she could get her hands on, whether contemporary, historical, paranormal, or sci-fi. If there was romance to be found between a strong alpha male, and a sassy, adventurous and oft-times defiant yet loving woman, Maddie was all over it. As an author, she stays true to those themes writing steamy erotic romance, with a side of kink, and adding elements of intrigue, danger, and suspense to her plots.

  Maddie started writing as a hobby. Her stories stayed private while she raised a family and worked full time as a registered nurse. It wasn’t until 2012 that she decided to take the plunge and submit her first book for publication: Captain My Captain. She went on to publish eleven novels the first year.

  She’s still juggling writing with her day job. You’ll find her working at her laptop into the wee hours of the morning, or scribbling plot ideas into the notebook she always keeps handy, and working out the details of a scene while floating around in her pool with a lemon drop in hand. Don’t be surprised if you see her pulling over on the side of the road searching frantically for pen and paper to capture an idea for a scene that popped into her mind, because as Maddie says, her best ideas always come when her hands are full or if there isn’t a pen in a five-mile radius.

  Keep up with Maddie at the following links:

  Maddie’s Blog

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  Maddie’s Website

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