Love So Dark: Billionaire Romance Duet

by Stasia Black

“Now who needs to put a dollar in the swear jar?”

  “Callie,” he warns.

  “You’re going to be a daddy.” I grin so hard tears leak out of my eyes.

  Jackson shakes his head and blinks, like he’s trying to shake something loose from his ears. “No way. No fucking way.”

  “Way,” I laugh. “A bunch of pregnancy tests with pink lines, some plus signs and one happy face,” I scrunch my eyebrows, because that was a weird one, “confirm that you and I have created an A+, gold star fetus right in here,” I point to my stomach.

  Jackson drops to his knees and presses his ear to my tummy. “In here?” He laughs through tears as he looks up at me.

  I can barely see him from between my breasts, but holy shit, I’ve never seen another human being look so happy in all my life. I can’t manage any more words so I just nod. Neither can he because he only stays there for a long, long moment, head bowed against my stomach and the new life we’ve created there.

  When he finally looks up, there’s nothing but worship in his eyes. “How may I please you, Mistress?”

  Callie isn’t the only woman Bryce Gentry tried to break, she was just the most recent…

  Keep reading for a sneak peek of Hurt So Good!

  Preview of Hurt So Good

  CHAPTER ONE

  DYLAN

  I stare over the rim of my glass of bourbon, watching the bombshell in the red dress work the room.

  She’s good, I’ll give her that.

  She flirts just enough with the men—only the important ones, I note—a touch of her hand on their shoulder, the brush of her hip, the flash of her smile. She’s making them feel like they’ve gotten something from her but then she moves on before they can really get a taste.

  And the more I watch her, a taste is exactly what I want of the woman.

  I don’t even know her name but my cock has been stiff for the last half hour as I’ve nursed my bourbon and watched her.

  This is a bullshit mixer the Silicon Valley Robotics Symposium puts on every year, and it’s made exactly for this kind of shit. To encourage the greasing of wheels that actually gets deals done. An open bar. A tight red dress. A word or two in the right ear.

  The hotel ballroom is dimly lit while a band plays soft, unremarkable jazz on a small stage up front. Meanwhile, middle-aged men with flushed faces laugh too loudly at jokes and are a little too obvious about their hopes for getting laid. Because it’s a tech conference though, there are about two guys to every woman, so their chances aren’t good.

  And then there’s her. The woman in red.

  I wonder what company the woman represents.

  It doesn’t matter. You aren’t going to find out and you sure as fuck aren’t getting a taste of her.

  I frown and tip my glass back, draining the last of the bourbon. Don’t know why the fuck I even stopped by here after my presentation. My brother, Darren, kept saying I needed to at least show my face or it would look rude after I gave the keynote speech. Considering he’s also my business partner, I thought, fine, I’ll drop in for a few minutes and then get the hell out of here.

  Until I saw her.

  Trouble is what she is. Trouble I don’t need.

  Which is why you’re leaving. Right now.

  I stand up and put the glass down on the bartop, then turn and—

  Almost run straight into her. Her.

  “Where you off to in such a hurry?” She flashes the same mega-watt smile she gave every other guy in the room and my eyes narrow. She thinks she’s gonna run her game on me? It’s insulting. Do I look like all the other desperate fucks in here?

  I ignore her and reach for my coat and umbrella, then I move again to leave. I don’t step around her, though. I step into her and our bodies do more than brush. We collide and I hear her quick intake of air as she rocks back on her heels.

  I expect her to get pissed at the dick move. Which is for the best because I just need to get the hell out of here. Discipline has been my watchword for the last six years and I’m not about to blow it now.

  But when I glance her way, her posture is completely different.

  Her eyes have dropped to the floor and her head is bowed. Submissively. Her brunette hair shines in the dim light of the wall sconces and now that she’s here up close I can see that she’s younger than I first thought. Maybe only twenty-five? Twenty-six?

  And then I see her tongue swipe out to lick her lips at the same time her chest heaves, ample cleavage rising and falling dramatically.

  I’m captured by the sight and when a moment later she glances back up at me, the lust is clear in her eyes.

  Who the fuck is this woman?

  “Who are you?” I’m not a man who beats around the bush.

  “Miranda Rose. With ProDynamics. And you’re Dylan Lennox of The Lennox Brothers Corporation.”

  My eyebrow lifts. ProDynamics, huh? Rod Serrano, the CEO, has already put in his bid to have their Pro processors in our newest robotics motherboards we’re pushing out. He keeps calling to get updates about his bid but I’ve been ignoring his inquiries.

  Is putting this siren in my path his latest attempt to sway me into taking a meeting with him?

  “Wow. Rod really does go all out,” I sneer. Rod will find out along with everyone else when we make the announcement of which processing chip we’re going with. But I already know I’m not interested in his processor. Processors like Intel has capitalized on—and like ProDynamics keeps producing—are the past. I’m more interested in the future.

  The woman’s eyes flare but she doesn’t say anything. Fuck. She doesn’t look pissed by my asshole attitude. She looks turned on. And her lust seems genuine.

  Or she’s just one hell of an actress.

  Either way, no fucking way I’m letting my dick have any say in my business dealings. Jesus but I learned that the hard way, didn’t I? I barely survived the scandal last time and only because I had the money to pay to make it go away quickly.

  Never again.

  So no matter how luscious Miranda Rose looks in that red dress and those fuck me heels, I continue pushing past her. My eyes shut briefly as I inhale her seductive scent but then I’m finally away from her.

  I stride for the door and almost make it.

  A red-faced Ken Kobayashi stops me feet from the door, clapping me on the back. “Dylan! Good to see you! Loved your talk. Come, have a drink with us.” He gestures toward his table of big wigs from the Japanese tech sector who flew in for the conference.

  I force a smile and shake him off. “Sorry, I’m heading out.”

  “No, man, you gotta come hang.” Ken grew up in the states and we briefly knew each other in college. He’s the opposite of every Asian stereotype—he always loved partying instead of studying, barely got by in his classes and only managed to get the position he has now because his daddy pulled strings for him in the family company.

  Over his shoulder, I see Miranda heading out of the hotel ballroom, ass swaying sinfully in the red dress.

  My cock stiffens again. Fuck, I need to get out of here and get home where I can take myself in hand and give in to all the fantasies crowding my brain before I embarrass myself in public.

  “Great seeing you, Ken,” I cut him off mid-sentence. I clap him on the back and then head out the same door she just left through. She’s only about twenty feet ahead of me, strolling with those hips still swaying through the lobby and out a side exit to the garage.

  I’m not intentionally following her.

  … I don’t think.

  I’m just making sure she gets to her car safely. She’ll never even know I’m here. It’s the gentlemanly thing to do.

  As if I could ever be accused of being gentlemanly. I know what this really is.

  Just more fuel for tonight’s fantasies.

  For once, I’m giving in to the rush of what it feels like to stalk my prey.

  Jackson’s and Bryce’s mutual ex, Miranda, has demons from her time with Bryce that
go deep. His sadistic tendencies left her forever changed.

  Can she find love again?

  Find out in Hurt So Good, a story of dark desire, darker fantasies, and hope.

  One-click Hurt So Good so you don’t miss a thing!

  Want to read an EXCLUSIVE, FREE novella, Indecent: a Taboo Proposal, that is available ONLY to my newsletter subscribers, along with news about upcoming releases, sales, exclusive giveaways, and more?

  Get Indecent: a Taboo Proposal

  When Mia’s boyfriend takes her out to her favorite restaurant on their six-year anniversary, she’s expecting one kind of proposal. What she didn’t expect was her boyfriend’s longtime rival, Vaughn McBride, to show up and make a completely different sort of offer: all her boyfriend’s debts will be wiped clear. The price?

  One night with her.

  Acknowledgments

  As always, I thank my gorgeous husband, lover of my heart, body, mind, and soul. I love you more. Haha, it’s here in writing, so it must be true ;)

  Thanks to some fabulous beta readers and their stellar feedback: Karina L., as always, you rock! Belinda D., thanks SO much again for your quick read of the series and your encouragement. Lindsay Johnston (sorry for being so evil and taking forever to get this book to you, won’t happen again! Aimee, zomg, what would I have done without your detailed edits? I will never understand why some words are hyphenated and others not, lol, and you are a genius and a God-send (or is it Godsend?)! And Kristin L. J. thank you so much for your edits—your eyes right at the end gave me just what I needed to nudge this to the next level so I knew it was absolutely perfect.

  And thank you again, you gorgeous reader, you! Without you literally none of this would be possible. Thanks for taking a chance on a new author :) If you want to continue discovering sexy romantic stories that ride the motherf#@ing edge, I’ve got several more books coming out in the coming year.

  Also by Stasia Black

  Dark Contemporary Romances

  Breaking Belles Series

  Elegant Sins

  Beautiful Lies

  Opulent Obsession

  Inherited Malice

  Delicate Revenge

  Lavish Corruption

  Dark Mafia Series

  Innocence

  Awakening

  Queen of the Underworld

  Innocence Boxset (Boxset)

  Beauty and the Rose Series

  Beauty’s Beast

  Beauty and the Thorns

  Beauty and the Rose

  Billionaire’s Captive (Boxset)

  Love So Dark Duology

  Cut So Deep

  Break So Soft

  Love So Dark (Boxset)

  Stud Ranch Series

  The Virgin and the Beast

  Hunter

  The Virgin Next Door

  Taboo Series

  Daddy’s Sweet Girl

  Hurt So Good

  Taboo: a Dark Romance Boxset Collection (Boxset)

  Freebie

  Indecent: A Taboo Proposal

  Sci-fi Romances

  Marriage Raffle Series

  Theirs To Protect

  Theirs To Pleasure

  Theirs To Wed

  Theirs To Defy

  Theirs To Ransom

  Marriage Raffle Boxset (Boxset)

  Draci Alien Series

  My Alien’s Obsession

  My Alien’s Baby

  My Alien's Beast

  Freebie

  Their Honeymoon

  About Stasia Black

  STASIA BLACK grew up in Texas, recently spent a freezing five-year stint in Minnesota, and now is happily planted in sunny California, which she will never, ever leave.

  She loves writing, reading, listening to podcasts, and has recently taken up biking after a twenty-year sabbatical (and has the bumps and bruises to prove it). She lives with her own personal cheerleader, aka, her handsome husband, and their teenage son. Wow. Typing that makes her feel old. And writing about herself in the third person makes her feel a little like a nutjob, but ahem! Where were we?

  Stasia’s drawn to romantic stories that don’t take the easy way out. She wants to see beneath people’s veneer and poke into their dark places, their twisted motives, and their deepest desires. Basically, she wants to create characters that make readers alternately laugh, cry ugly tears, want to toss their kindles across the room, and then declare they have a new FBB (forever book boyfriend).

  Join Stasia’s Facebook Group for Readers for access to deleted scenes, to chat with me and other fans and also get access to exclusive giveaways:

  Stasia’s Facebook Reader Group

  Want to read an EXCLUSIVE, FREE novella, Indecent: a Taboo Proposal, that is available ONLY to my newsletter subscribers, along with news about upcoming releases, sales, exclusive giveaways, and more?

  Get Indecent: a Taboo Proposal

  When Mia’s boyfriend takes her out to her favorite restaurant on their six-year anniversary, she’s expecting one kind of proposal. What she didn’t expect was her boyfriend’s longtime rival, Vaughn McBride, to show up and make a completely different sort of offer: all her boyfriend’s debts will be wiped clear. The price?

  One night with her.

  Website: stasiablack.com

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