by E. M. Gayle
What Alex Wants The Complete Duet
E.M. Gayle
Contents
What Alex Wants
Don’t Miss Out
Also by E.M. Gayle
About This Book
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Alex Takes
About The Book
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Also by E.M. Gayle
Books Writing As Eliza Gayle
What Alex Wants
What Alex Wants Duet Part 1
WHAT ALEX WANTS
What Alex Wants Duet
Copyright © 2018 E.M. GAYLE
A small portion of this book was previously published in Sweet Submission Copyright 2011 Eliza Gayle
This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or business establishments, events, or locales is coincidental.
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Don’t Miss Out
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Also by E.M. Gayle
Contemporary Romance
Purgatory Masters Series:
TUCKER'S FALL (also available in paperback & audio)
LEVI'S ULTIMATUM (also available in paperback & audio)
MASON'S RULE (Also available in paperback & audio)
GABE’S OBSESSION (Also available in paperback)
GABE’S RECKONING (also available in paperback)
Purgatory Club:
ROPED (also available in audio)
WATCH ME (also available in audio)
TEASED
BURN
BOTTOMS UP
HOLD ME CLOSE (also available in paperback)
What Alex Wants Duet:
WHAT ALEX WANTS
ALEX TAKES
Pleasure Playground Series:
PLAY WITH ME (also available in paperback & audio)
POWER PLAY (also available in paperback)
Outlaw Justice Series:
SAVAGE PROTECTOR
RECKLESS PAWN
RUTHLESS REDEMPTION
Single Title:
TAMING BEAUTY (also available in paperback & audio)
WICKED CHRISTMAS EVE
About This Book
Book One of the What Alex Wants Duet
I thought one night would be enough, but I was wrong.
Harper
An anonymous invitation, sex with strangers... What was I thinking? Hell yeah. I need to get a life. That's what I was thinking.
But I didn't plan on getting addicted.
Alex
I knew she wouldn’t say no. No one ever does.
I have more in my life than any one man should. Money that can literally buy anything I want, enough power to control a city of millions, and a long line of willing women to fulfill every twisted deviant desire I can dream up.
My life is exactly how I want it.
Until she stumbles into my perfect world.
An innocent that I have no business corrupting. Except that’s all I want. And what I want, I always get.
I just have to figure out what her heart’s desire is and turn it into something she can’t resist.
I want, no NEED, to own her—body and soul.
Chapter One
Harper
“I really hate fake holidays,” I grumbled as I piped the final petal on the thirty-third frosting rose.
“You say that every year, Harper.” My best friend Zia sat on a stool on the opposite side of the workbench watching me put the finishing touches on the cupcakes for what would be one of the dessert bar’s busiest days of the year.
“And every year I mean it.” I lined up the latest rose on the counter and flexed out my aching fingers. Only sixty-seven more to go before I could call this order complete. “I’ve been here since midnight, baking and frosting hundreds of pink and red cupcakes.”
“Speaking of… Why the hell are you doing this alone? It’s seven a.m. and we open in just a couple of hours. Shouldn’t someone be here helping you?”
“I told everyone else to be here at eight. Just because I don’t have a personal life, doesn’t mean I have to inflict my holiday pain on my coworkers. Besides, I’m not alone. You’re here.”
“Your lack of a life outside this shop is all your own fault, missy. Your divorce has been final for over a year now. It’s way past time to get back on the horse. Don’t you think?”
I winced at Zia’s mention of my divorce. The circumstances of my marriage and subsequent ‘divorce’ were convoluted at best. Horrific if I had to be honest. I’d run away from that scandal as fast as my bus ticket would take me and as far as I was concerned I wasn’t that girl anymore.
Hell, I barely recognized the memory of her.
Zia dipped a finger in the frosting bowl and sucked the sugary confection into her mouth. “Mmm,” she hummed in obvious delight. “God, I love this stuff. Are you ever going to give up your recipe for it?”
“Nope. The whole point of a secret recipe is keeping it a complete secret.”
Zia frowned in my direction. “Fine. That just means I need to stay focused on your love life instead.”
I groaned. What had I gotten myself into opening the door to my meddling friend on Valentine’s Day? She may have also been my boss as the owner of this place, but if Zia ever got out of bed before nine in the morning, you could count on her having an agenda. And apparently today that meant my missing sex life. “Let’s not and say we did, okay?”
“No way, no how. You’re not getting off that easy. I have an idea.”
Before I could start down my list of arguments against whatever Zia might have planned, the chime at the front door buzzed.
“Saved by the bell.” I set down the icing bag and wiped my hands clean on my apron as I swept past Zia. I hurried out of the kitchen and into the restaurant area before my friend got in another word.
I didn’t think twice about getting a delivery this early. I often did. What with all the fresh ingredients I needed on a daily basis to keep
up with demand. Zia’s idea to open a dessert bar not far from Central Park has been a solid idea. But when she’d gotten plucked out of thousands of applicants for a new cooking show on the food network, her personal pet project exploded.
I spied the uniformed deliveryman as expected standing on the other side of the glass front door with a long white box in his hands. I frowned, furrowing my brow. What kind of delivery was this?
With quick precision and anxious curiosity, I turned the multiple locks and yanked open the door. “Can I help you?” I was certain he’d come to the wrong business and would now need directions to his real destination.
“I have a delivery for Harper Allison. Is that you?”
I nodded. “Yes, it is. But--”
He thrust an electronic clipboard in my face before I could finish. “I’ll need you to sign in the box on the screen please.”
I scribbled my name and handed it back to the delivery guy, who exchanged the long white box tied in red silk ribbon for his clipboard.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he murmured as he wandered off in the direction of his truck, which was nothing more than a standard delivery service that provided no clues to the origin of the strange package.
I stared at the box, dumbfounded. Who in the world would send me a package on a day like today? Since my ex there had been no one at all in my life and my former husband wasn’t about to give me a gift. That bastard hated me and the feeling was mutual. If he ever found out where I’d run to—I shuddered just thinking about the consequences of that. His mean streak had no limits no matter how well he hid it behind a façade for the public. I knew the truth and it was far uglier than I could have ever imagined.
My only hope was that with me far away from his world he would eventually forget about me. At least that’s what I hoped. Besides, I’d moved on. I’d survived culinary school and made one hell of a friend. The past was behind me and I had to keep looking forward no matter what.
I walked back into the kitchen and caught Zia red-handed in my frosting bowl again. “Hey!”
“I can’t help it this stuff is addicting. It’s no wonder our business is booming, I bet you’ve addicted half the city on your baking.”
“Ha ha, very funny.”
“I’m serious. What’s that?” Zia pointed to the box still clutched in my hands.
“No idea. Delivery guy just dropped it off for me and wished me a Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Oh my God, someone sent you flowers? Today? Who is he? You’ve been holding out on me.” Zia jumped from her stool.
I set the box down on the counter and stared at it. “No, I haven’t. I’m still thinking this must be some sort of mistake. Or…” I glared at my friend. “Did you have something to do with this? Is that why you’re in my kitchen practically in the middle of your night?”
“Jeez, Harper, paranoid much?” When I didn’t rise to the bait, Zia continued, “To answer your question, no, I have no idea what this is about. I did come here to see about a potential date for tonight, but the flowers were not part of my plan. I was just going to go with the old standby of setting you up with someone I know.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh no. Don’t even think you can go there. I am not going on a blind date with you and your latest guy.”
She pouted. “You are seriously no fun.”
I fingered the envelope tucked into the ribbon. “The last thing I need is a setup from my best friend. Don’t pity me just because I don’t have a date on a trumped up
holiday.”
Zia shook her head. “I’m worried about you, not pitying you. For a woman who works in an industry that relies on these so called holidays, your cynicism is spreading like wildfire.”
I glanced at my friend, saw the pure look of concern marring her beautiful face and softened. “I’m not that bad. I’m just not in a hurry to jump onto the dating circuit again. The thought of going somewhere in the hopes of picking up a man curls my stomach.”
“Well, you aren’t going to catch one hiding out back here. Unless that envelope happens to contain the ticket you’re waiting for.”
I snorted. “It’s way too early in the morning for this. We need some more caffeine. Why don’t we go grab some coffee before I finish those roses? I could use the break.”
Zia walked in front of me and placed her hands on my shoulders. “Stop stalling and open the goddamn envelope, shorty.”
Holding back a smile at my friend’s sassy words proved impossible. I should be annoyed by her continued insistence on calling me shorty. I may only stand five feet four but next to her near six feet anyone would look short. Besides, my stomach had begun flipping with a wicked combination of excitement and nerves ever since the delivery guy spoke my name. I grasped the edges of the envelope and tore through the seal. “We’re probably both getting worked up over nothing. It’s probably a grateful customer who feels sorry for the chick stuck in a hot kitchen today.”
I pulled out the simple red card with a single rose embossed on the front and studied it. A very elegant start. Impressed, I flipped it open and read the handwritten note to myself. I literally felt the blood drain from my face as I read through what I now knew was an invitation. And not just any invitation. This one came with a side of crazy.
Thank goodness I’d delayed getting more coffee. If I’d had a drink in my mouth I’d have spewed it across the counter.
“C’mon, tell me. What does it say?” My friend was practically vibrating where she stood.
Trapped between disbelief and shock, I cleared my throat and then reluctantly began to read the note aloud.
Dear Harper,
Please accept this gift as a token of unspoken desire and intention for a very special Valentine’s Day. Your previous visit to the Glass Kat did not go unnoticed, nor did your obvious reactions. Your presence is requested at the private dining room of the Glass Kat Supper Club at precisely eight o’clock p.m. for a night of desires and needs fulfilled—one of which includes this gift. Rest assured your safety is of utmost importance so you will need to check in with the Concierge when you arrive. Give him your name and he will follow up with further instructions. On this night of lovers uniting, your every fantasy can and will come true if you so choose. I think you will. Don’t be late and be sure to bring your gift with you.
There was no signature or even a hint of who the note had come from. I took a deep breath and raised my head to Zia’s gaze. The shocked look on my friend’s face quickly gave way to an enormous grin. “Holy shit, did you forget to tell me something about your trip to the Glass Kat last week? Like meeting a man?”
I shook my head. “No. I told you everything. I didn’t talk to anyone other than the dining manager who asked me to stay and help out with the dessert service.”
“Maybe this is him then.”
I shook my head again. “No way. Sooo gay.”
“There had to have been someone.”
“I don’t know. The party was packed wall to wall with all kinds of guests. There were any number of people who I’m sure could have seen me, but I didn’t talk to any of them. I kept my head down and got my job done.”
Zia looked at me, her disbelief written all over her face. I almost laughed, but curiosity got the best of me instead.
I reached for the fabric of the bow and tugged it loose. I then lifted the lid and set it aside. The flowers were hidden among layers and layers of tissue paper, all of which I peeled away. When the gift I searched for was finally exposed I gasped.
What the hell?
Zia looked over my shoulder. “Oh. My. God.”
Chapter Two
Harper
I stood there transfixed for several minutes just staring into the box. Zia chattered on, but I wasn’t listening. I needed a minute to let this sink in. Eventually I lifted the single rose from the box, although this wasn’t any ordinary flower like I’d ever seen before. This rose had been handcrafted in supple red leather and was attached to the end of a black rid
ing crop.
Blood drained from my head straight to my feet. My head swam at the sight of a wicked toy eerily similar to the one used in the ceremony I’d witnessed while working at the Kat. The very scene that had brought old memories and needs rushing back to the surface and left me in a fog for two days.
It had been so long. Funny how something so brief could become so memorable. One night of experimentation while on spring break should not have had any kind of lasting effect. Especially after so much time.
Yet, there it was, in my memory like it was yesterday.
I had managed to score an invitation to Ronin Kavanagh’s, one of New York’s current “it” bachelors at the time, twenty-fifth birthday party. Well, I hadn’t exactly been invited. But when my college roommate broke up with her boyfriend two days before the party, I had suddenly become her plus one.