Enraptured
The ROGUES Series Book 2
Tracie Delaney
Contents
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Books by Tracie Delaney
Introduction
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
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
FROM ME TO YOU
Books by Tracie Delaney
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Acknowledgments
About Tracie Delaney
Copyright © 2020 Tracie Delaney
Edited by StudioEnp
Cover art by Tiffany @TEBlack Designs
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in uniform or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Books by Tracie Delaney
The Winning Ace Series
Ace - A Winning Ace Novella
Winning Ace
Losing Game
Grand Slam
Winning Ace Boxset
Mismatch
Break Point - A Winning Ace Novella
Stand-alone
My Gift To You
Draven
The Brook Brothers Series
The Blame Game
Against All Odds
His To Protect
Web of Lies
The Brook Brothers Complete Boxset
Irresistibly Mine Series
Tempting Christa
Avenging Christa
Full Velocity Series
Friction
Gridlock
Inside Track
Full Velocity Boxset (Books 1-3)
ROGUES Series
Entranced
Enraptured
Entrapped
Enchanted
Enthralled
Enticed
ENRAPTURED
Trust is a word I erased from my vocabulary six years ago. That’s what happens when your wife leaves you alone to raise your one-year-old daughter.
I have no interest in relationships or dating. That’s a figment from my past.
Until her. Harlow.
The woman that fate placed in my path during a chance meeting. She’s warm, kind-hearted, beautiful, and caring. Everything my ex-wife isn’t.
Suddenly, I find myself wanting to live again, to breathe, to indulge in the future. Yet, the moment I dare to take a step forward, I’m pulled back into my past.
Now I’m at risk of losing it all.
Including her, my Harlow.
1
Harlow
“Why are all men bastards?”
My best friend, Katie, arched her brows, her forehead wrinkling. “That’s a bit of a generalization. What’s happened?”
I tilted my phone toward me, the harsh lights overhead making it difficult to see her on the six-inch screen.
“What hasn’t happened.”
Tears pricked my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. “I got fired from my job, and when I arrived home, earlier than planned, obviously, I found Carter in bed with our neighbor.” I laughed bitterly. “If you can count bending her over and doing her from behind as ‘in bed’. And what’s worse, he always told me he hated that position. Said it was degrading to women. Fucker.”
Katie gasped and then gave me a sympathetic head tilt. “Oh, babes. I’m so sorry. Where are you?”
I sniffed, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. “McCory’s.”
“Hang tight. I’m on my way over.”
“You’re working tonight.”
“I’m not due in until eight. Give me ten minutes. And don’t empty the top shelf before I get there.”
The screen went blank. I sighed, tossed my phone on the bar, and held up a finger at the bartender, pointing my chin at the empty glass in front of me that only five minutes ago had contained a “double gin and hold the tonic”.
“Same again.”
His lips flattened, his disapproval of my choice of drink clear. “How about a Coke?”
Fed up with men who thought they knew best, as if I didn’t have a perfectly functioning mind of my own, I hit him with my fiercest glare. “I don’t want a Coke,” I said, crisply enunciating every syllable. “If I wanted a Coke, I’d have asked for one. Strangely enough, I’m a grown woman who knows what she wants. And I want a goddamn double gin. With ice.”
He muttered something unintelligible under his breath, probably calling me a bitch. Just as well I didn’t hear his undoubtedly barbed comment given my current black mood. A minute later, he returned and slammed down my gin, then snatched the check from the empty glass in front of me. He spun around and stabbed at the register, then shoved a new check in front of me.
“Thanks, dollface.” I hit him with my sweetest smile.
A chuckle to my right drew my attention. I turned my head. “Something funny?” I growled at the guy sitting next to me nursing a scotch. His sharp suit and expensive watch caught my eye. Great. One of those Wall Street types who thought women were commodities, just like the stocks and shares they traded every day.
Before he could answer, Katie arrived, out of breath and red-faced. She must have run most of the way. She sat on my left-hand side and pulled me into a tight hug.
“Babes, I’m so sorry. If I see Carter, I’ll stab him in the balls with a blunt needle. Water, please,” she added as the bartender walked past.
He gave me a pointed look as if to say, “That’s what you should have ordered.”
I treated him to a cold glare, then picked up my drink and knocked the entire thing back, wincing as the alcohol burned its way down my throat. “And another double gin for me.�
�
He jabbed a finger in my direction. “Last one.”
“Fine,” I spat. “Plenty of other bars in Manhattan.”
“Take it easy, babes.” Katie stroked a hand down my arm, a soothing gesture that usually worked.
Not today.
“I hope you kicked him out.”
I nodded, my earlier tears threatening to return when I thought about how I would make rent this month. No job, no Carter. No hope.
“I suppose he had a pitiful excuse?”
“Yep.” I pressed my hands together in prayer, imitating Carter’s pathetic pleading. “I didn’t mean to do it, baby. It was a mistake, baby. You’re the one I love, baby. I told him to pack his things and leave before I get home, and then I came here.” A tear clung to my lashes, then fell. I dashed a hand over my cheek, sweeping it away. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Katie. With no job and minus the safety net of Carter’s salary propping me up, I can’t make rent.”
Her arms came around me again, and she put my head on her shoulder. “You can stay at my apartment until you get things situated.”
I sat up straight. “You’re an angel for offering, but your place isn’t big enough for one, never mind two. I’ll work something out. I’m paid up until the end of next week, so I won’t worry just yet. Tomorrow, I’ll call my recruitment consultant and see what she has on her books.” I grimaced. “Although at such short notice, I’m unlikely to find anything close to ideal. I guess I can always flip burgers, right?”
Katie swept her hand down my arm once more, then squeezed my fingers. “You could temporarily move back in with your parents until you get back on your feet.”
I shook my head violently, imagining the judgmental expression on my dad’s face if I turned up jobless and broke. And Mom with her disappointed head tilt. You wouldn’t be in this mess if you’d worked harder at school, Harlow. If only I had been gifted academically. Unfortunately for me, math and science were alien, beyond my comprehension, unlike my three brothers who excelled at school and then college, each one of them graduating medical school with honors and joining the long line of doctors in my family.
It didn’t mean I was stupid, it just meant I had other skills like compassion and understanding, and patience. Those attributes had led me to a career in childcare, and I was good at it. Kids took to me. Sadly, looking after other people’s children didn’t pay very well.
“I’d rather sleep on the streets.”
Katie studied my face, her eyes filled with sadness. She, of all people, understood the difficult relationship I had with my parents, having witnessed it since kindergarten.
“They love you, Harlow.”
I threw my hands in the air. “I know. I know. But I can’t, Katie. I just can’t. I’m an adult, and I’m determined to stand on my own two feet. I won’t go running back to Mommy and Daddy every time life dumps a pile of shit on me.”
“I understand, babes. I do. You’ve always been stubborn and independent. But just think about it. Or at least call one of your brothers. They’d hate to think of you struggling.”
I nodded, but both she and I knew I’d only call them as a very last resort. I was stubborn, and proud. Besides, my brothers would tell Dad, and that would be that. I couldn’t stand another round of heavy sighing and miffed expressions. I’d find a way through this. I had to.
Katie sipped her water. “What’s the skinny with the job, anyway? How come they fired you.”
I bit my lip, regret swarming through me. If I’d kept my mouth shut, I’d still be in gainful employment. And still dealing with that creep of a husband.
“I finally told her. The wife. She didn’t take it well.”
Katie’s jaw dropped to the floor. “Oh crap.”
“That’s one way of putting it. Goddamn!” I slammed a fist into my thigh. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Katie shook her head vehemently. “No, babes. That scumbag needed stopping, and the wife deserved to know. It’s about time men realized that we’re not their property, for them to paw at whenever they feel like it. Just because he paid your salary doesn’t mean he can cop a feel.” She shuddered. “You’d put up with that shit for long enough.”
“Some good honesty did me,” I said. “I bet she refuses to give me a reference, too.”
“It’s the rack,” Katie said, giving me a playful nudge, her eyes twinkling in an effort to cheer me up. “Seriously, men lose their minds and only think with their dicks when presented with your girls.”
“If I could afford the surgery, I’d get the damn things cut off,” I grumbled. “She called me Harlot. Not Harlow. Harlot. On purpose.”
Katie clasped a hand to her mouth in what I thought was empathy. Then I noticed the violent shake to her shoulders. “Oh dear,” she managed to say through her emerging giggles.
For the first time all day, I found myself laughing. I held up my glass of gin. “Cheers, friend.”
“You’re welcome.” She clinked her glass against mine. “Look, babes, you’re terrific at what you do. Kids love you. And except for this latest family, your references are solid. You’ll find yourself snapped up in no time. And for the record, I think you’re better off without Carter.”
“You’re absolutely right on the latter, and I hope you’re right on the former. Otherwise I’m fucked.” I let out a heavy sigh. “That’s it. From now on, no more guys. I’m done with men. And I’m going to insist my next role is for a single mother. I should be fine…” I waggled my eyebrows. “Unless she’s a lesbian.”
Katie laughed. “See, you’re already looking on the bright side. And maybe a short break from relationships will do you some good.”
“Yep,” I said, setting my jaw. “I’ve definitely had enough. Men are all jerkoff useless bastards, and I’m done.” I drew a finger across my throat to stress my point. “Done.”
Katie rolled her eyes. “You’re twenty-five, not seventy-five. Let’s just say you’re on a relationship sabbatical.” She inclined her head. “Hmm, I might trademark that term.”
I laughed. “Do it, before someone else does.”
She glanced at her watch and jumped off the stool. “Damn, I’m late.” She kissed my cheek. “Call me tomorrow and try not to worry.”
“I will.”
I finished my second—no, third—double gin. One look at the bartender told me I wouldn’t get another. Screw him. I’d call into a liquor store on the way home.
“Not all men are bastards.”
I turned my head which made the room spin. Yeah, I really had had too much to drink. I waited for everything to stop moving, then squinted at Mr. Wall Street. “Huh?”
“All men aren’t bad. And all women aren’t good.”
“Well, aren’t you a treat,” I said, irritation heating my blood. Who did this guy think he was? “If this is a come-on, I’m not your girl.”
“It isn’t.”
I suppressed a twinge of hurt. No woman liked to be told a guy wasn’t interested. I’m such a dichotomy. “Good. Because I’m done with men.”
His lips curved up on one side in a faint smile. He had nice lips. And a nice smile. And gorgeous navy-blue come-to-bed eyes, and—
FFS, Harlow.
“Yes, I heard. I think the entire bar is aware of your newfound celibate status.”
I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips. “Are you for real?”
He patted himself down, then grinned. “It appears so.”
I chuckled, my reaction surprising considering five seconds ago, I’d been on the verge of taking my anger and frustration out on him. “You’re crazy.”
He stuck out his hand. “Also known as Oliver.”
I shook it. “Harlow.”
“Did you say Harlot?” he asked with an arched brow.
I threw back my head and laughed—and it felt so good after the day I’d had. “You’re as sharp as the suit you’re wearing.”
He gestured to the bartender, pushing his empty glass across th
e bar. “Another scotch. Single malt. And a glass of water for my friend.”
Unlike my reaction to the bartender when he’d attempted to curtail my drinking, I meekly accepted Oliver’s take-charge attitude, much to the surprise of the man serving the drinks if the flare in his eyes was any indication.
My gaze fell to Oliver’s left hand. No wedding ring. How was that possible? He clearly had money. His watch alone probably cost more than my entire salary last year. He was funny, sexy, kind, had drown-in-me baby blues, and owned a body that filled his tailored suit in all the right places. Oh, and did I mention he was sexy? Yeah, I said that already.
I’m so wasted.
“Here, drink this,” Oliver said, sliding the glass of iced water over to me. “It’ll make you feel better—or at least minimize tomorrow’s hangover.”
I downed the whole glass in one, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. The room spun again. I tried to focus on Oliver. There were two of him.
Enraptured: A Billionaire Romance (The ROGUES Series Book 2) Page 1