 
# Reckless

### Dangerous Desire Series Part 1

## Nicole R. Locker

### Contents

1. Three Months Ago

2. New Beginnings

3. Sticky Situation

4. Indecent Proposal

5. Eight Years Ago

6. Charity

7. First Name Basis

8. Foreshadow

Continue the story...

About the Author

Also by Nicole R. Locker
Thank you for reading. If you enjoy this book, please leave a review or connect with the author at https://nicolerlocker.com/subscribe.

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All rights are reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author's permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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First Edition (Tragedy and Desire) ©2016 by Nicole R. Locker

Second Edition (Dangerous Desire) ©2018 by Nicole R. Locker

## 1

# Three Months Ago

Just thinking about the steamy night ahead of me had my body humming with desire and heat pooling between my legs. Grayson wasn't expecting me, much less the bottle of _Asti_ or the box of chocolate-dipped strawberries I held as I carefully scaled the stairs to his third-floor apartment. He especially wasn't expecting the hot little negligee I wore beneath my knee-length bandage dress, though the sharp stilettos were an everyday accessory he never failed to appreciate.

I had been planning my surprise attack all day, knowing my night class had been cancelled for that evening, and the anticipation had my panties wet before I even arrived to his front door.

Pulling his key from my shoulder bag, I unlocked the door and slinked inside with all the stealth I could manage. The living room was dark, so I sashayed with growing excitement past the foyer and into the hallway toward his bedroom.

Maybe he was in the shower. Mmm, I could just picture the droplets of water trailing down his bare, chiseled, masterfully conditioned physique. Those strong arms, that thick chest, those delicious ridges of his carefully crafted abs... It didn't hurt my feelings one bit that I wouldn't have the pleasure of ridding his delicious body of clothing. It was easier access, as far as I was concerned.

As I approached his closed bedroom door, I could hear what sounded like a woman moaning in pleasure.

_Watching porn without me? Why, Grayson, you naughty, naughty boy_ , I thought as a mischievous smile spread involuntarily across my face. He would undoubtedly be primed and ready for me when I pounced. Even better.

I balanced the box of strawberries on the arm that held the champagne as I reached my free hand for the knob.

"Ah, yes." I heard Grayson moan in pleasure.

The thought of him lying on his bed with his hand on his thick, erect cock, eyes closed, head thrown back in ecstasy while pleasuring himself set my core on fire. He needed this just as much as I did, and I couldn't wait to step in quench his hunger, fulfill his needs. My timing was exquisite. I was fully prepared to step right in and take over, and the thought alone made my innermost muscles tighten with anticipation.

I pushed the door open and peeked my head in, knowing how pleased my man would be to see me.

And I froze.

I felt the blood drain from my fingers, from my extremities, as my legs went weak.

I had been prepared for a warm welcome into the arms of the man I loved. What I wasn't prepared for was what truly awaited me on the other side of that door.

The contents I previously held fell haphazardly to the floor, strawberries scattering across the rug as I backed out the way I had come. I shook my head in disbelief, as though the physical act of shaking it would somehow put me back into reality. _This could not be happening._

"Oh fuck. Perla!" I could hear him spit out in a panic.

I didn't care. I had to get out of there.

I rushed back to the front door, my hands trembling, as I reached to turn the knob, thankful for my escape as I wanted nothing but distance between me and the life-shattering scene I had just witnessed with my own two eyes. That's when two hands grabbed me from behind.

"Take your hands _off me_!" I screamed in maddening desperation as I turned to face him, violently yanking my arms away and out of his reach.

His hands went up to indicate his cooperation. "Perla, wait. It's not what you think," he tried to reason.

His pleas were futile.

_Not what I think? I just saw you fucking another woman!_

I said nothing as I stood facing him, fists clenched in a death grip at my side, waiting for an explanation I didn't want to hear. My chest heaved with my labored breathing, and I seethed, knowing if I said even one word I would explode with rage.

_Well?_

Grayson stood facing me without a shred of clothing, panic of being caught still clinging to his features, not knowing what to say next.

_That's what I thought._

I turned, daring him to stop me this time, and made my escape out the door, closing it behind me. I stopped two steps down the stairs, pulling his key out of my bag. I clumsily twisted it off the ring, vision blurred with tears that threatened to fall, and chunked it so hard at the door, I was sure it would have made Nolan Ryan jealous.

It wasn't until I had made it to the bus stop two blocks down the street, stilettos in hand from my impulsive escape, that the power of my anger subsided, leaving me with nothing but aching despair.

No one dared ask what was wrong, but the pitiful glances from the other passengers didn't escape my notice through my intermittent sobs as the bus pulled slowly away, leaving my life, as I knew, it behind me.

Again.

## 2

# New Beginnings

New apartment: check. New job: check. New friends: hopeful. New love interest... _sigh. O_ ne could only dream.

Stuffing my erotic romance novel in my shoulder-bag, I stepped off the DART bus and stared up at the impressive architecture of Maddox Tower. After the second-most-agonizing three months of my life, I could hardly believe this beautiful place would be my new _home away from home_. Yet, here I was starting my new job as a legal assistant in an established law firm housed on the seventeenth floor of the elegantly structured, fifty-two-floor building in Downtown Dallas.

Escaping the stifling, humid, July heat, the kind that made the clothing stick to my skin and the sweat to lightly moisten the hair at my nape, I walked into the entrance beneath an ornamental awning that welcomed the building's employees and patrons. I noticed as I strolled across the atrium floor toward the elevators that the inside of the building was no less impressive with its refined but understated décor.

Everything about this place – the polished, marble floors, the oversized but perfectly matched oil paintings, the strategically placed, high-end furniture, and the well-maintained flora... It all screamed of refined wealth, which admittedly put the old, familiar sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. I had grown accustomed to this feeling over the years, though, and managed to ignore it, instead focusing on my purpose and the good I knew I could do in a position like the one I was starting today.

Optimistic hope and something closely resembling cautious contentedness swelled within me as I thought to myself, I think I'm going to like it here. Certainly, the place was inviting, and I made a mental note to look up the building owner later. Maddox, whoever he or she was, seemed to run a well-oiled and well-manicured machine.

I stood with several others who awaited an elevator to take us to our higher destinations. I took the opportunity, staring at my own reflection, to smooth my chocolate, shoulder-length bob and straighten my cream-colored, silk blouse – courtesy of TJ Maxx – before the doors opened to allow us entrance.

My nerves finally kicked in as the elevator doors eased their way open on the seventeenth floor, and I creeped out slowly, cautiously, like a fawn treading dangerously into an open field during hunting season.

I approached the front desk, behind which sat a thin, young girl with a short, blonde, pixie cut. In her ears was a set of earbuds. At first, she didn't look up at me, so I stood patiently for several moments before clearing my throat to get her attention.

"Can I help you?" she asked, annoyed by the interruption. The girl was obviously not in a great mood that day.

"Hello, I'm Perla Fae. I'm the new legal assistant for Mr. Vandergild." I announced myself with an exaggerated smile.

Jonathan Vandergild was a senior partner of Fitzgerald, Vandergild, and Morrison, Attorneys at Law, and I'd been floored when he'd even called me in for an interview. Even more so when I got the news that I'd been selected for the position, so standing here now was almost like a dream come true, if not for the slightly less than pleasant welcoming committee.

At first, the young woman eyed me with a thoughtful, although antagonistic, expression. "I guess someone should have told you. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they decided to go in a different direction with that position. Sorry for your time." I got the impression she wasn't sorry and didn't mind being the bearer of the bad news.

A gripping panic began to well up in my chest. This could not be happening. It took me three months to land this job, three months that could have easily rated among my top-five list of longest, most terrible periods of time in my life. I had too much at stake to lose this job now, before I even had a chance to prove myself.

"But I... c-could you just check again? Please?" I stammered like a desperate fool.

The girl rolled her eyes and then glared at me, lip curled and nose crinkled up in disgust. She looked back down at her computer screen. "First desk on the left," she mumbled, dismissively.

Confused by the brusque display but mostly just so relieved I still had a job, I turned and made my way to the desk the girl had indicated to be mine. It was stationed just outside an office with a plaque on the door that read _Jonathan Vandergild_. I guessed this was it.

Feeling discouraged, I sat quietly for a while until I saw another girl come in and sit at a desk diagonally across the hall from mine. This girl hummed quietly to herself, which I took as a good sign, but I remained cautious. I half-expected another surly response, so I treaded lightly. The last thing I wanted was to get on everyone's bad side my first day on the job.

"Hi, I'm Perla. It's my first day... Mr. Vandergild's new legal assistant." I gave a sheepish smile.

The girl's smile was warm and inviting as she looked my way. "Hi Perla, I'm Amelie," she greeted as she stood and walked over to shake my hand. "I'm Taylor Morrison's assistant. Welcome to the firm."

Amelie looked a couple of years older than me, I guessed about twenty-six, but carried herself more maturely. She was pretty with long, jet-black hair that fell straight down to the middle of her back. Her light, amber eyes stood out against the olive tone of her skin, and I wondered what her family heritage might be, although she didn't seem to have any kind of unusual accent to her kind, melodic voice.

Above all, she was disarming and friendly, and she helped me get set up, teaching me where to access common forms, the file database, and case management software. Afterwards, she gave me a tour of the office.

The firm took up the entire seventeenth floor, with the offices being on one side, an in-house law library and the staff lounge area on the other. The hallway just outside the partners' offices, a wide, open area, contained the work stations for each of the legal assistants. There were several meeting and conference rooms, as well. The elevator opened up to the lobby in the center of the floor where the receptionist's desk sat to greet any clients as they entered.

Once I got back to my desk, I went in to meet with Mr. Vandergild, a middle-aged gentleman with salt-and-pepper hair, and took notes on some current cases he was working. By the time our meeting ended, I had a long list of tasks to get started on.

As I walked out of his office, Mr. Vandergild followed me. Once he got to the doorway, he poked his head out and called to someone outside the door in a stern voice.

"Lisette, I need you to work with Perla today. Show her where to access the files on the Berryman case, and help her get a request for discovery typed up to send over to opposing counsel this afternoon." Mr. Vandergild didn't wait for Lisette to reply before moving back inside his office and closing the door behind him.

I looked in the direction he had barked his order in to see who Lisette might be. As my luck would have it, Lisette was the receptionist I had encountered upon my arrival that morning. I stifled a groan, expecting this would not be a pleasant learning experience.

As our eyes met, Lisette gave me a poisonous glare before rolling her eyes once again. She made no attempt to hide a sigh of irritation. She stood and walked grudgingly to my desk.

"Didn't Amelie already show you where to find the forms?" she asked with impatience, her arms folded across her chest.

"Uh, y-yes," I stammered, looking over to Amelie's empty chair.

"Good. Then you shouldn't need my help." At that, Lisette turned abruptly and stalked back to her desk across the lobby. She sat and went to work filing her fingernails.

_Well, that was fun._

I wondered if Lisette was always so pleasant, or if I had just caught her on a bad day. I couldn't imagine what she could possibly have had against me at this point, but it was hard not to take it personally.

No matter, I decided. Failing at this job was not an option for me, circumstances being what they were, and I was determined to prove I could do it, with or without Lisette's help.

It took me a few minutes to remember where to locate the common forms, and from there I located a template for a discovery request. I had already been familiar with what they looked like, both from the couple of years I spent court-reporting in the Dallas County court system, and from the night classes I took for my paralegal certification.

Once I found the right form, I accessed the Berryman file in the database to locate the court and cause numbers and names of parties to the case, and set to work getting the order typed up.

I hit print just as Mr. Vandergild came out of his office. "Perla, do you have that discovery request ready for me?" he asked. He trailed off down the hall toward another partner's office before I had a chance to answer, so I hurried to get the form off of the printer.

Lisette came strolling over to me as I took the papers off the tray. She grabbed the form out of my hands to look it over, a cup of coffee in one hand, the smell of which made me cringe. I could tell she was hoping to find an error and was seething when she got to the end of the document having found none. She handed it back to me and then turned around to walk away.

Abruptly, she stopped and turned back toward me. "Oh, by the way," she began as the hand holding her coffee lifted and swung in my direction.

_Oh, no._

The hot liquid splashed out of the cup, covering the Berryman discovery request and most of my cream-colored blouse. I gasped in shocked horror, but there was not enough time to dodge the hot liquid. Covered in coffee, I stooped forward to allow gravity to pull my blouse away from my burning skin, trying not to drop the papers I held all over the floor, but they were ruined at that point anyway.

"Oops," Lisette said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, as she held her empty hand in front of her mouth for emphasis. "You might want to clean that up." Then she turned and sauntered away back to her desk.

_Are you freaking kidding me?_

I rushed over to my desk to print another copy of the form. Once I got there, all of the screens I had opened that I had been working out of were gone. I knew I hadn't saved the file yet, and Mr. Vandergild was on his way out of the office he had previously walked into. He was heading toward me to pick up the form that was now dripping and stained brown.

As Mr. Vandergild approached my desk, he silently eyed my now coffee-stained blouse. "Uh, Perla? Can I get that discovery request? I'm on my way to the court house now, so I can have it filed while I'm there."

"I'm so sorry, sir. I had it ready for you, but I had a mishap, and somehow it didn't save to my computer to reprint another copy. It will just take me a couple of minutes to get this typed up again." I began a frantic attempt at clicking the forms and accessing the database information, wasting no time. I was absolutely mortified.

Mr. Vandergild gave me a raised eyebrow of consternation. "I'll go grab another cup of coffee. Try to have it ready once I return."

At that, he turned toward the lounge and left me to work in peace. It took me less time to get the form done the second time around, and I made sure to save the form in the case record this time before leaving my chair to retrieve the new copies.

It was printed and ready when Mr. Vandergild returned. He looked it over, and I felt a wave of relief as he nodded his head in approval. "Very good," he commended.

I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

Once Mr. Vandergild left, I went to the restroom to try to salvage my blouse. My attempts were unsuccessful, so I was resigned to walk around in a stained shirt for the rest of my first day on the job.

I also grew more and more furious at Lisette's blatant attempts at setting me up to fail. What in the world was her problem? I just couldn't figure out why she seemed to already have it out for me.

When I got back to my desk, I noticed Amelie had returned and was sitting at hers. I gave her a timid wave, and when she noticed, she walked over.

"What in the world happened to your shirt?" she asked, reaching to get a better look. Her brow was etched with genuine concern.

I contemplated whether I should tell the truth, in case she and Lisette were close. I decided the truth couldn't hurt, and even if they were friends, maybe she could give me some insight on how to handle the girl going forward. "Honestly, Lisette happened. I'm not sure if she's having a rough morning, or what, but I get the feeling she doesn't like me," I admitted.

Amelie gave me a knowing look. "Don't let her get to you. She's just mad because she was demoted last month from legal assistant to office receptionist, and they hired you to fill her position."

"Well, that certainly would explain it," I said, nodding in understanding.

"I'm sorry about your shirt," said Amelie. "I hope that stain will come out. I usually have some Shout wipes in my desk, but I gave Mr. Morrison my last one the other day when he spilled his jelly donut on his favorite tie."

I could see that Amelie was the _mama-bear_ type.

"It's okay. I'm sure there are worse things that could happen on someone's first day than walking around with a giant coffee stain on your shirt," I reasoned, trying to keep a positive attitude.

"You want to go grab some lunch?" she offered.

Smiling, I accepted, thankful for at least one friendly person in my new work setting. Certainly everything else had gone less-than-stellar so far. What else could possibly go wrong?

That afternoon, Amelie introduced me to the one other legal assistant on the floor, Jerry, and to the other attorneys as they arrived. Everyone, except for Lisette, was at least pleasant. I hoped she would come around, but I knew that I would have to watch my back in the meantime.

Once I returned after lunch, I had a chance to arrange my desk and get my things set up. I pulled out the framed picture I had tucked inside my bag alongside my romance novel. I sat the frame on the desk next to my computer, proudly displaying my younger sister, Jada, my Uncle Dante, and myself from a charity event we had attended last year.

The picture showed us standing closely together, smiling, Jada and I dressed in beautiful evening gowns and jewelry we had pulled out just for the occasion, and Uncle Dante in his black, Armani suit.

The rest of the afternoon passed with a few challenges of its own. I had called some clients for Mr. Vandergild to schedule meetings with them, but had to call them back to reschedule after realizing they had been double-booked.

Just about the time I started questioning my own competency, it was finally time for everyone to clock out and go home for the day. I stayed after, finishing up a few of the minor tasks that Mr. Vandergild had assigned to me. I wanted to get a head-start for the following day, since I knew it would take some time to build up the speed that would come with being familiar with the job.

At nearly six o'clock that evening, feeling tired and more than a little crestfallen, I grabbed my bag and headed for the elevator. I made it all the way down to the ground-floor before realizing I had left my phone in my desk.

_Could my day possibly get any worse?_

I grudgingly headed back up the elevator to get it. It was quiet on the way back up, making me think the building must have been full of nine-to-fivers. Only a few people remained, even in the lobby, and no one was on the seventeenth floor when I got back up there to retrieve my forgotten item.

After grabbing my phone, I headed back out to leave. I gave another quick, admiring glance at the impressive craftsmanship even from inside the elevator. I pressed the button to bring my phone to life and thought to click open a search for 'owner of Maddox Tower,' but first, I had to scroll through my missed messages from throughout the day.

Once the doors opened, I began my trek across the atrium toward the exit while I absentmindedly checked though the list of well-wishes and typical, random-thought texts from Jada and reminders and check-ups from Uncle Dante. Abruptly, I looked up just in time to be too late as I collided straight into a solid figure in what I immediately recognized as a very expensive suit.

"Excuse me, I'm so sorry, sir!" Flustered, I looked up at the face of a tall, powerhouse of a man, and suddenly it felt like the ground fell out from beneath me. My heart pounded, threatening to punch straight through my chest where my lungs refused to allow me a breath, and my head swam at the sight of him. This had to be the most painstakingly beautiful man I thought I had ever seen.

At first glance, he was gorgeous. The square of his jaw, the clean-cut but perfectly messy hair, the broad chest and shoulders, and flat stomach beneath a tailored, perfectly fitted suit... all came together to create a picture of perfection. More perfect than any many had any right to be.

He did not say a word, but smiled down at me with dark, mysterious, blue-green eyes, his mouth slightly open as if he were amused, or maybe assessing my thoughtlessness.

"I... I'm so sorry. I should have been looking where I was going. Please, accept my apologies," I stammered.

"Apology accepted, Miss..." He was asking for my name.

"Fae. Perla Fae," I answered, feeling the heat rise to my face, sure that I was blushing profusely. I didn't even reach out my hand to him for a handshake. My thoughts were so muddled, I was surprised I even remembered my own name.

"Well, Miss Fae, I hope you find where you were going," he said, his eyes intense as his stare burned through me. He stood there confidently with a smirk of amusement.

Mortified, I remembered the stain so conspicuously evident on my blouse, and realized what a complete and utter, clumsy fool I must have looked like. My flight response took over. I turned and dashed away in the direction of the exit without another word to the stunning Adonis of a man.

Once I got outside and down to the bus stop, I allowed myself to pause and take a deep breath. What _was_ that back there? Since when did I lose all common sense around a man?

I would blame the humiliation on my thoughtlessness of not looking where I was going and running right into someone, but the moment I had looked up into his masculine features, it was like I became a blithering idiot.

Sure, it had been months since I'd felt the touch of a man, and there was an undeniable physical attraction to the guy that I hadn't experienced in as much time or, to that extent, ever.

But it didn't matter. I could tell he had money... and a lot of it. For that reason alone, I knew my attraction to him was misguided at best, and at worst, impossible. I simply refused to be impressed with him and for good reason – namely the fiery resentment my sister and I held toward wealth and the elite. This man was the epitome of both.

Okay, yes... admittedly, Jada and I had a sizable trust fund from our parents' estate, but because of our vehemence of that money and what it represented to us, we both only used enough of it to get by on, opting instead for a modest lifestyle. It paid for our apartment in a safe, monitored building, and since Uncle Dante refused to let us donate the full amount, we got away with at least donating large sums each year to charities. Everything else, though, we earned for ourselves.

Needless to say, our lives could have been very different under better circumstances. However, with circumstances as they were, we made the choice to make it on our own. We made it work because we wanted nothing to do with the blood money collecting dust and interest in a bank downtown.

In a roundabout way, these choices, among other things, had led me to this job here with Fitzgerald, Vandergild, and Morrison. It was a modest position, but an honest one, and it would allow me to work with families who might be going through situations similar to what Jada and I had experienced.

My position, at least, was a far reach from the upper-class society my parents were a part of. Uncle Dante still rubbed elbows with that crowd, which meant that Jada and I were still subjected at times to the people who never failed to mention our parents at the few functions we still attended. Those reminders, I also resented with a fiery passion and could do without.

At any rate, I had no doubt that the man I had stumbled into was one who fell into that upper-class society. If the fine quality fabric or tailored fit of his suit didn't give it away, or the subtle accents of masculine jewelry he wore – cufflinks, Cartier watch, or the platinum ring on his right hand ring finger – wasn't an indication, it would still have been evident in the quiet confidence and powerful way he carried himself.

Sure, I would admit he was one fine specimen of a man, and it was no secret that I was long overdue for a little romance. Any other time, I'd have been a total sucker for that stunning face, those enthralling eyes, and his oh-so-kissable lips. If I had met him out at, say, a Ranger's game, wearing a faded pair of jeans and a baseball tee-shirt, I'd have been all over that.

As it was, the money sign on his forehead was like a red, flashing, warning signal. No matter how devastatingly beautiful the man was, or how he affected my heart-rate and befuddled my mind at just the sight and proximity of him, I wanted nothing to do with him. That's what I had to keep telling myself, no matter what my treacherous body might have had to say.

## 3

# Sticky Situation

Jada and I shared a two bedroom apartment in a high-rise apartment-building just a short bus ride away from Maddox Tower. When I got home that evening, I greeted Alex, the night clerk who manned the front desk on the ground-floor, before taking the elevator up to my twelfth-floor, real-life home-sweet-home.

"Perly-girly!" Jada greeted me with a smile, using her longstanding, childhood nickname for me, as soon as I entered. I observed her cooking a nice dinner for us.

"Jada-Lou," I replied morosely. Her middle name was really Marie, but it was my typical, age-old response to _Perly-girly_.

"So? How was the first day?" Jada inquired as she suspiciously eyed the huge coffee-stain covering my blouse.

I sighed as I kicked off my heels. "Well, not everyone was terrible," I told her as I grabbed a glass from the cabinet that I poured Riesling into before sitting down in a chair at our modestly sized kitchen table.

"That sounds promising." Jada was always so optimistic and polite. She wasn't going to bring up the reason I needed a new job to begin with.

"It's a fresh start. If nothing else, we both know I needed at least that much." I tried to stifle a sigh as the dull ache in my chest throbbed at the thought of what I was trying to leave behind.

New beginnings meant that something else had come to an end, and I'd certainly had my fair share of new beginnings over the past several years. We both had. This round stemmed from the disaster of a break-up with Grayson Mitchell.

Grayson was a sheriff's deputy who served once or twice a week as a bailiff in the same courtroom I court-reported in when I worked for Dallas County. Even on days he didn't bailiff, I would see him around the courthouse. Grayson had also played a key role in getting me to go after my dream of becoming a lawyer someday, and I had started out trying to get my foot in the door by taking night classes as a paralegal.

We had been together for the better part of a year, prior to our split. When I thought our relationship was moving in a more serious direction, he was moving in a whole other direction with some big-boobed coffee shop barista. It was a stain on my memory to go with the one presently on my shirt. God, I hated coffee.

We had been so happy up to that point. I didn't see it coming until I walked in on them.

Needless to say, I had been devastated. I could not take going to work and having to see him every day after that. It hurt so much seeing him at every turn, constantly reminded of his betrayal and our future that vanished in a cloud of smoke. It had been time for a change.

I had applied to just about every place in Dallas that would consider my experience, but whether it was the timing, the lagging economy, or just my poor luck, no job offers were coming in. Every month that passed before I had finally been hired on at Fitzgerald, Vandergild, and Morrison was killing off a part of my soul, every time I had to share a courtroom with him or pass him in a hallway. There was no way I could go back to my old job and have to keep facing Grayson. For that, I could put up with Lisette and whatever rigmarole she could throw at me.

Jada and I ate her delicious dinner while we talked about our day. She loved to cook, which worked out well for me, since I loved to eat. Afterward, we cleared our dishes and let our food settle. Then we both walked down to the ground-floor fitness center to do a workout.

When I turned in for the evening, I lay in my bed unable to sleep, recalling the events of the day. Between Lisette's lousy attitude and my own incompetence and clumsiness, I found myself dreading what tomorrow had in store.

Then my thoughts turned to Amelie and her friendly helpfulness. Mr. Vandergild wasn't so bad, either.

I could do this, I thought. Starting over was hard, and doing it alone with just Jada and me was even harder. Yes, we were kind of broke, but this was a choice we had made. And yes, I was more than a little bit lonely, but God only knew it wasn't the first time in my life I had felt alone in the world.

I was determined to make it, come hell or high water... and since today had been hell, I prayed tomorrow would stay nice and dry. Especially my shirt, with any luck.

The next morning, I arrived to work about a half-hour early in an attempt to avoid Lisette. I went to making the coffee in our adequately stocked lounge area. I refused to drink the stuff, but it was a nice gesture for my coworkers. I grabbed a bagel and some hot tea with honey, instead, and took it back to my desk.

Of course, Lisette was the next in the office to arrive, so my avoidance was futile. I thought I would try to start things off right with her that morning, so I decided to make an effort and greet her.

"Good morning," I called to her from my desk.

She looked up and made eye contact with me, then gave me a scowl before looking back down at her phone.

_All right, then._

Soon, the others came trickling in one by one, grabbing their coffee and pastries before heading to their offices and workstations. It appeared that Amelie hadn't made it in that day, and Jerry confirmed that she had called in sick that morning. At that news, I felt my mood fall, knowing she was the only buffer I had between Lisette and her snide looks and comments. I'd just have to suck it up and put my big-girl panties on.

As I sat waiting for the workday to begin, my thoughts once again drifted errantly to the man I had stumbled into the day before. What floor did he work on? What kind of work did he do? Who was he? Realizing the direction of my thoughts, I scolded myself for letting myself even wonder, and remained insistent he was not someone I wanted to think about, putting the thoughts decidedly to rest.

I went in to greet Mr. Vandergild and get a list of the tasks he wanted me to work on for that day. I was chugging along when about midway through the morning, he came rushing out of his office in a panic.

"Perla, I need you to call a meeting for the O'Malley-Gallagher case for this afternoon. Get a proposal typed up. Here are my notes," he slammed a piece of paper down on my desk. "I need this by one o'clock today to review it before the meeting." At that, he was off and headed toward the elevator.

I looked down at his notes, barely being able to read his writing. I wracked my brain trying to remember how to draft a proposal. I called Mr. O'Malley and the attorney representing Ms. Gallagher, scheduling them as Mr. Vandergild had requested. Then I set to work on drafting the document as best I could.

By lunchtime, I was starving, but I still had a significant amount left to finish on the form I had prepared. I knew I wouldn't have time to take a full lunch today, so I decided instead to take a short break to run down to the first floor and grab some food. I could bring it back to my desk and eat while I continued to work.

Once on the first floor, I went to a little sandwich shop set near an exit leading out to a courtyard area. I ordered a cup of soup and a half sandwich, to go.

Heading back to the elevator, I pressed the call button and waited. Once it opened, I began to inch forward to enter when a man came barreling out, running into me. I gasped as the hot, red soup splattered across the front of my dress, and the remainder of my food went sprawling to the floor.

_Great. Just... great._

Pulling my dress away from my skin as best I could, I looked up to see who had bowled into to me. There, in all his glory, stood the handsome stranger I had run into just the evening before.

"My God, I'm terribly sorry. Please, let me help you with that." His voice was deep and masculine. He pulled the colored cloth from his suit pocket and handed it to me.

Seriously? I needed a little more than a flimsy little handkerchief to clean this mess off of me, and I was livid that I had yet another huge stain across the front of my clothes for the second day in a row. It was only my second day on the job, for goodness' sake!

"Thanks," I grumbled as I walked past him to escape. I moved forward just in time for the elevator doors to close in my face and take off without me.

Heaving a sigh, I pressed the elevator button again before turning back around.

"I'm really sorry, but..." He paused. "I really have somewhere I need to be," he explained.

I lifted my hand in the direction of the exit, giving him my permission to take his leave. Could this be any more humiliating?

At that moment, the second elevator door opened, and Lisette came walking out. She looked me up and down, noticing the soup stain that discolored my clothes, and gave a malevolent laugh before continuing on her way.

I looked from Lisette to the stranger who still stood frozen in place with a confused expression. It was like he was watching a train-wreck. Humiliation once again colored my cheeks, and before the elevator could get away from me a second time, I quickly walked inside, holding the _Door Close_ button and praying for a quick escape.

I wasn't alone in the elevator, but I didn't turn around to see if the other passengers were staring at me. I could feel their eyes boring into the back of my head. It had to be the longest elevator ride in the history of elevators as it stopped on twelve of the sixteen floors between my humiliation and the consolation of my desk.

It wasn't until I got to the seventeenth floor restroom to clean myself up that I noticed I still held the handkerchief the handsome stranger had handed me. I hoped he wasn't too attached to that.

Fuming, I wiped my clothes off with a damp paper towel before rushing back to my desk to finish the documents Mr. Vandergild would soon request from me. Trying to focus was nearly impossible at that point, and it took every ounce of willpower I had to center my attention.

After about thirty minutes, I heard the elevator _ding_ that indicated someone was arriving onto the floor. I still had about fifteen minutes before Mr. Vandergild was expected to return, and I silently prayed it wasn't him yet.

I looked up to see a young woman walking in my direction carrying a garment bag and a food tray. My eyes grew wide as she approached my desk.

"Are you Miss Fae?" she asked politely.

"Y-yes. Can I help you?" I stuttered, confused.

"These are for you, compliments of Maddox Industries." She sat the tray on the desk in front of me and handed me the garment bag.

Confused, I took the hangers from her, but began to protest. "I don't understand." I shook my head and tried to hand it back to her. "Thank you, but I can't accept this."

She began backing away, her hands up defensively, and nodded. "I'm just the messenger. Have a nice day, Miss." At that, the girl turned and left the way she had come.

_What in the world_ , I thought, as I eyed the garment bag and the tray of food. It was the same meal I had ordered for myself, a cup of soup and a half sandwich. It had to be from the stranger I had run into... again.

Apparently he was associated with Maddox Industries somehow, since the girl had said these were compliments of them.

I took another glance at the garment bag in my hands, then down at my stained clothing. I didn't feel comfortable accepting this, but I couldn't very well walk around for the second day in a row at my brand new job wearing clothing with huge stains all over them.

I went back into the restroom and slowly unzipped the garment bag. I was horrified to see the designer outfit with a hefty price tag inside. Wow! How was I going to repay this? I would never be able to work enough hours to afford these clothes.

Conflicted, I weighed the options I had at that moment. Wear the clothes, if they even fit me, or continue wearing my dirty, stained clothing and spend another day at my new job looking like a fool. The memory of Lisette's malicious laugh as she passed by me from the elevator made the decision easier, and I begrudgingly pulled the outfit from the bag to put them on.

They fit perfectly.

I would have to dip into the trust fund money to be able to afford to pay back whoever had so generously footed the bill. It made me uncomfortable, but at the same time I was grateful to have a fresh, clean set of clothing to wear for the rest of the day. I'd have to put my feelings aside this once, I reasoned, as much as I didn't like it.

I rushed back to my desk to try to finish the documents for Mr. Vandergild, and had to explain when he returned that, once again, they weren't quite ready yet. To my shame and mortification, I could tell he wasn't happy with the delay. It didn't escape Lisette's notice, either, who happened to be back at her desk by then. She snorted a laugh, glaring in my direction after Vandergild walked into his office.

I was able to keep my head down and stayed busy for the rest of the day, effectively avoiding any gibes from Lisette. I sat in on the O'Malley-Gallagher meeting and took notes.

Once I got home that evening, Jada met me at the apartment building entrance and we rode the elevator up together.

"Nice outfit, Perly-Girly," she commented as she pulled at the back of my collar to get a look at the designer tag. "When did you get it?"

I swatted her away. "It's a long story," I answered.

"I've got time," she said. The elevator arrived at our floor and we strolled out and into our apartment.

"I had another mishap today and my lunch ended up all over me," I told her as we went through turning lights on and heading into the kitchen to start on dinner.

I gave Jada a play-by-play of the events as they occurred, from the handsome stranger, to Lisette's evil laugh, to the courier who delivered the goods.

Jada seemed intrigued, honing in on the part about the handsome stranger. "Tell me more about this guy. What's he like? Maybe you could go out with him sometime," Jada suggested from the stove where she browned some ground turkey meat with chopped onions for tacos.

I gave a silent, internal groan as I shredded the lettuce, standing beside her at the counter. "He's not really my type." I shrugged.

"Maybe, but he could be fun while you wait on your type to come around," she suggested, elbowing me in the side.

"You're just a hopeless romantic, Jada-Lou" I teased.

"When are you going to get back out there? It's been months since Gr-, since you've dated anyone." Jada caught herself before she said Grayson's name. "Don't you want to be swept off your feet by somebody who sets your panties on fire?"

We both laughed.

"I do," I admitted. "And I will, soon, just not this guy. Maybe with someone a little more down-to-earth."

Jada drained the taco meat and added the seasoning while I grabbed the shredded cheese out of the refrigerator.

"How do you know this guy isn't down-to-earth?" she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm judging the book by its cover. But I do know he's probably filthy rich. I just don't want to get wrapped up in that world."

She nodded in understanding and finally changed the subject as we sat down to eat our dinner. I asked her about the various guys she was seeing at the moment, none of them being serious. Jada was still in the college-dating mindset, being in her final year of school.

Before we finished eating, she asked me about Lisette. "What's that girl's problem, anyway? Do I need to come dole out some playground justice and defend you, Sis?" she joked as she pounded one fist into her other hand in a mock threat.

I laughed. "No, I think I can handle her. Right now I'm the newbie. I need to establish myself as a credible and trustworthy employee before I start making waves. For now, I'll just have to tough it out."

"I say you get some dirt on her. Find out why she was demoted or something. Then you can use it as leverage to put her in her place," Jada suggested.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," I teased as we began clearing the table and cleaning up the kitchen.

It wasn't a bad idea, I thought. Maybe I would try to find out why Lisette was demoted. If she was set on establishing herself as my enemy, it was only appropriate that I know my opponent.

After dinner, we sat on the sofa in our pajamas watching comedy sitcoms on local television, and Jada told me about her day during the commercial breaks.

At around a quarter past eight o'clock, my cell phone rang and I answered with a smile.

"Hi, Uncle Dante. To what do we owe the pleasure?" I put him on speakerphone so that Jada and I could both hear the conversation after muting the television.

"I was calling to check in on my beautiful nieces. How do you like your new job so far, Perla?" he asked.

"So far, it's great," I told him. "The people there have been very nice and welcoming so far." _Some more than others,_ I thought. "I think it'll be a great job overall. Definitely worth the change," I added, thinking of the drama and grief I had left behind.

"Jada, did the new software come in today I've been waiting on?" asked Uncle Dante. Jada was working a paid internship at his Information Technology Company, Orion Technologies, since she was nearing the end of her business degree in the coming year.

"Not yet. I expect it to be here before the week is out, but maybe not until Thursday or Friday," Jada answered.

"Girls, while I have you both on the phone, I wanted to let you know that I'll be attending a charity dinner this Friday evening and I'd like for you both to attend with me," he told us. "I'm sorry for the late notice, but I expected to be out of town for it and ended up having to postpone my trip."

Jada and I looked at each other, neither of us seeming to have any conflict in scheduling for that night, so we agreed to be ready by seven. He would pick us up in his town car.

We said our goodbyes and let Uncle Dante go. At that, we set off to bed where I began plotting how I would get dirt on Lisette without drawing any unwanted attention to myself. The last thing I needed was for my plan to backfire and get me canned.

## 4

# Indecent Proposal

I arrived to work with a renewed excitement Wednesday morning. I was getting better at learning the duties of my job, feeling more confident in my new role, and I had a plan to hopefully disarm Lisette and her bully tactics.

When I got to my work desk, my attention was drawn to a single red rose lying across the keyboard of my computer. It was wrapped in brown paper with a red ribbon tied around it to hold the wrapping in place.

Lifting the beautiful, yet simple flower to my nose, I inhaled the sweet scent and looked for a card. Pleased, I assumed it was a welcome gift from my new coworkers here in the law firm office.

The card read:

* * *

> _Miss Fae,_
> 
> _Pleasure to keep running into you. I hope to do it again soon._
> 
> * * *
> 
> _J.M._

* * *

There was a Maddox Industries logo on the card, and I wondered if there was a floral shop somewhere in the vast building. I wouldn't be surprised, although I couldn't imagine there being some random floral shop on any floor but the ground level, and I didn't recall seeing anything of the sort in my limited explorations of the building so far.

Furthermore, who was J.M.? I hadn't the slightest clue. Maybe it was Jerry, the legal assistant for Mr. Fitzgerald, though I didn't recall ever getting his last name.

A faint memory teased the edges of my mind, but was quickly chased away by the sound of the elevator doors opening. Amelie came breezing out, a big, cheerful smile on her face as she greeted me hello.

I sat the rose off to the side and quickly forgot about it as I joined Amelie, happy she was back today and feeling better. We walked into the lounge area where she poured herself some coffee and I some Earl Grey tea.

Amelie mentioned a stage play production that she was planning to attend next Tuesday evening and asked if I wanted to go with her. Excited, I agreed to go, since I loved the theatre and was always down for a stage play.

It was another busy morning as Vandergild had another long list of tasks he needed from me today. I set to work, feeling confident in my output as well as my pace I was able to get it done at.

About mid-morning, a note was delivered to my desk through an inter-office mail courier, folded in a small, sealed envelope. Curious, I opened it to see what it said.

It was a typed note on plain, white paper.

> _Ms. Fae, Your presence is requested in the office of Maddox Industries on the 52 nd floor during your lunch hour today. Respectfully, Norma Johnson._

I had no idea who Norma was or what business I would have with anyone at Maddox Industries. I thought back to the handsome stranger who I had guessed worked there in some capacity, since he had bumped into me and subsequently, a clean set of clothing and tray of food showed up for me, courtesy of Maddox Industries. Maybe they needed to arrange for repayment.

"Only one way to find out," I answered aloud to myself as I tucked the note in my desk drawer.

When lunch time rolled around, I checked the clock before standing to leave my desk. I grabbed a notepad and pen, just in case, and headed up to the top floor.

Once I arrived, my nerves hit me as I walked out of the elevator and up to the reception desk, the front of which held a large, ornate plaque that read _Maddox Industries_.

"Hello. Perla Fae reporting as requested." I wasn't sure how formal I needed to be, so I erred on the side of caution as I announced myself.

The receptionist, a middle-aged woman with a pristine appearance, looked up at me and a sort of recognition lit her face. "Yes, Miss Fae. Let me notify Mr. Maddox you've arrived."

Norma, as the name on her desk plate read, pressed a button on her phone, and indicated to the person who picked up the other end that I was there to see him. _So this was Norma Johnson_ , I thought.

"Have her sign the form, and send her in," I heard a deep, masculine voice reply.

Norma nodded in understanding as she released the phone line. She turned in her chair to open the drawer of a filing cabinet beside her before pulling out a piece of paper that she sat on the desk between us.

"I'll ask that you sign this form prior to your meeting with Mr. Maddox."

I scanned the form to see what it was. _A Non-Disclosure Agreement?_

"What is this about?" I asked.

"It's standard procedure in Mr. Maddox's dealings. I'm sure you understand," she explained with a nonchalant shrug.

Unsure of what business I could possibly have with Mr. Maddox other than repayment for the clothes, I knew that I had no intention of leaking any trade secrets I might learn from him at this juncture. I willingly signed the form and pushed it back across the desk to Norma.

Once she filed it away, she stood and raised her hand out to indicate the direction she wanted me to walk. "Right this way, Dear."

I followed all the way to a closed office door, and hoped that Norma would walk inside with me, but instead, she ushered me to go inside alone. I reached for the knob and reluctantly pushed my way into the room, peeking my head in first before entering the large office. My eyes widened at the first thing I noticed, which was the amazing view of the Dallas skyline, from where I stood in the doorway. There was no chance of missing that view with the floor to ceiling windows that stretched the entirety of two sides of the room.

"I see you enjoy my view, Miss Fae. I must admit, I'm enjoying mine now, as well." The deep, masculine voice suddenly materialized, and I couldn't believe who I saw.

My heart began racing as the adrenaline sprinted through my veins at lightning speed. Recognition filled me and rendered me speechless as my mouth gaped open in disbelief. It was him! The handsome stranger I had literally kept running into.

"I haven't had the opportunity to properly introduce myself. I'm Jax Maddox. May I offer you a drink, Miss Fae?" Jax began closing the distance between us, a mischievous grin gracing his perfect features. Leave it to me to be the one to run head-first into the owner of the building, not to mention half of the real estate in Dallas. Not just once but _twice_ , I thought. _Just my luck._

"N-No, thank you," I stammered, unable to hide my uncertainty of the situation. Jax Maddox, ruler of the Maddox Empire. Just as I had suspected, he was, in fact, filthy-freaking-rich, and I was kicking myself for not looking him up before like I had thought to do or I'd have realized this sooner. He had to be kidding me.

"Did you receive my gift?" he asked, now close enough to reach out and touch me, although his hands stayed, for the moment, comfortably at his sides.

He appeared so relaxed in contrast to the tension paralyzing my entire body. I thought I might break into pieces if I tried to move.

"Yes, I did, sir. Thank you. I fully intend to pay you back for the outfit," I replied with gratitude.

He nodded. "Ah, yes, the clothes. I do hope my assistant picked out something that agreed with you, though the notion of paying me back is not something I'm willing to entertain. I was actually referring to the rose."

The realization hit me right at that moment, my face likely turning ten shades of red. The rose! J.M. was Jax Maddox.

"Please, sit." Jax gestured to a decorative, upholstered sofa that sat in the middle of the room. Just behind it stood a long, slender table that held a decanter of amber liquid next to a row of clear tumbler glasses.

I did as I was told, still unsure of what this was about and still clutching the pad of paper and pen in my hand. Jax sat beside me several inches away, facing me and draping his left arm across the back of the sofa. It looked to be a sort of posturing to assert his dominance by taking up as much space as possible.

"Is there something I can be of service to you with, sir?" I asked, trying to keep the tone as professional as I could muster, hoping to get to the point and solve the mystery of why I was here, if not to repay him for the clothing. I still intended to do so, regardless of his willingness to entertain the idea or not.

"Of service..." The corner of one side of his mouth upturned in a suggestive half-smile as he continued to watch me. "That has a nice ring to it, I must say."

Was this man coming on to me? His proximity was causing an involuntary spike in my heart rate once again, and anger with myself began to build for allowing him to have such a compelling effect on me.

He moved closer and continued. "I find you to be a most appealing woman, Miss Fae. I'd like to make a proposition to you."

"A proposition, sir?" He was definitely coming on to me, I realized.

"Yes. A proposition. You see, I would very much like to fuck you, Miss Fae." The abrupt words sent a jolt through me and my traitorous body reacted involuntarily. I began to feel a pressure growing between my legs, despite my brain telling me how utterly inappropriate this was.

_Damn me and my dry spell._

"Excuse me?" I blinked in disbelief. Surely I misheard.

"I'm a man of certain tastes," he began. "You got my attention when you bumped into me Monday evening. From that moment, I knew I had to have you. You're a very beautiful woman." He stared me down without even a hint of humor.

I sat speechless and dumbfounded, still unable to believe I had just heard him say what I thought he said. The seconds ticked by until he spoke again.

"I assure you, it will be a pleasurable exchange, should you choose to accept." He lifted his hand and placed it on my knee where the bottom of my skirt met the bare skin of my leg. The warmth of his touch sent shocks through me and straight to my loins.

His hand began to wander seductively up my thigh, bringing my dark gray pencil skirt up with it, and I could feel my core tighten in anticipation. Angry with myself that a part of me was enjoying all of this entirely too much, and wanting him to keep going at the same time I wanted him to take his perverse hands off me, I mustered up the will to protest, albeit somewhat unconvincingly.

"While I, um, appreciate the offer, Mr. Maddox, I'm afraid I must decline. Now if you would please excuse me, I really need to get back to work." I stood straightening my skirt and turned toward the door to leave. _Most_ of me was repulsed by such crass behavior.

What a stupid move for a man who had the brains to effectively run an empire. Was he looking for a sexual harassment lawsuit? What kind of man did or said things like that to a woman he didn't even know? Especially a woman who worked for an attorney's office; granted, they only practiced family-law, but still.

_A man who always gets what he wants and has never experienced rejection a day in his life._ My brain answered its own question. Not to mention, I signed a NDA on my way in.

Just before I reached the door, Jax caught my left hand with his right. Just my hand, but it sent a shiver through my entire body. I should have pulled away, but for whatever reason, I didn't.

"Perla..." he said as he looked down into my eyes, standing only inches away from me now. The sound of my name on his lips had yet another undesired effect on my nervous system. Before I could respond, he moved in and planted two pliant, sinfully soft lips to mine.

It wasn't a hard or rushed kiss, but the slow, sensuous kind that left me weak in the knees. The kind a woman would dream about or read about in really good love-making scenes of romance novels. His hand still held mine, but he made no attempt to move his body closer. For a moment, I lost all sense of time and place, and my pad of paper and pen in the other hand dropped unnoticed to the floor.

Before I knew what I was doing, I heard a _SMACK_ and realized I had slapped him full force across the face.

This effectively broke the kiss, and then I was off. I bolted out of the door, past Norma who looked up at me with a curious glance but said not a word. Unwilling to stand there waiting for the elevator, I found the door to the stairwell. From there, I hurried down several flights of stairs in my stiletto heels before exiting to a floor to catch the elevator back down the rest of the way.

Was this man serious? The gorgeous bastard had me tied up in knots, completely frazzled as I tried to pull myself together before the elevator dropped me off on the seventeenth floor, just as my lunch break ended. Nobody was the wiser, and I intended to keep it that way.

For now.

* * *

Jax

That was unexpected.

I had somehow pictured things going much differently, I thought to myself as I rubbed the side of my face. I definitely hadn't seen the slap coming, especially when I had felt how her body responded when my lips pressed to hers.

I couldn't contain a chuckle as I closed my office door and went to pour myself a splash of cognac. I didn't normally drink during the day unless I had meetings with big investors, but the day's most recent events called for a drink, I reasoned.

This woman was maddening.

She was proving to be much more challenging than I had anticipated, but if there was one thing I could take on, it was a challenge.

The moment I had laid eyes on her angelic face, the threads of gold in her soft, light-green eyes, and the luscious curves of her decadent body, I knew I wanted her in my bed and those full, pouty lips wrapped around my cock.

All I had was her name, but that was all I needed to find her again. I had Holden, my Head of Security and most trusted confidante, run it through the building personnel files to discover where she worked.

Sure, she was a risk. There was always the possibility of women developing feelings and making things complicated. If there were two things I didn't deal with, they were feelings and complicated.

Correction, I was exceptionally skilled at handling complicated. In business, I hadn't gotten where I was today, taking my father's multi-million dollar company and tripling profits within the five years since I had taken over when the old man retired, without being able to dominate through complications. In business, I was master of complicated.

Even in my personal life, I could handle complicated. Growing up with Walter Maddox as a father should have been listed in the dictionary as the very definition of complicated. Walter was 55 years old when he married my mother, a 19-year-old trophy wife who had become pregnant with me shortly after they began their courtship. Now, he was living out his days in one of his retirement homes, sipping mai-tais on a beach, living it up Hugh Hefner style while my mother continued to run a philanthropic branch of the company here in Dallas.

When Walter had handed his company over to me five years ago, he was eighty years old. I was only twenty-five at the time, and it went without saying that he didn't agree with some of the directions I'd taken the company in the past five years since. It was a good thing I was as stubborn as my old man and did what I wanted anyway.

Yes, I had enough complicated to deal with between my work and family life. Adding to that in my sex life was not something I cared to do. Sex was what I did to escape my complicated life, and I planned to keep it that way.

What I avoided at all cost was feelings. Feelings were for the weak, and I had no room for weakness in my life. I built the Maddox Empire into what it was today by making sound decisions. Feelings had no place in good business decisions.

I enjoyed my work, and likewise, I thoroughly enjoyed my play. Keeping emotions out of both was how I kept them running smoothly.

Perla certainly was presenting me with a complication now. I had felt the chills rise on her skin, seen her cheeks blush when I pressed my hands up her leg. I could only imagine what her face would look like in the throes of ecstasy at my doing, and I fully intended to make that happen.

It was surprising how thrilling it had been when she slapped me. I hadn't seen that coming. I had to hand it to her, I liked her zeal.

I would have to step up my game.

* * *

Perla

Once I returned to my desk, breathless, I sat in my chair. My attention was immediately drawn to the rose I had absentmindedly tossed to the side earlier that morning.

What I had initially perceived as a symbol of camaraderie, a token of welcoming and acceptance, now represented something dark and illicit. My heart began pounding at the mere sight of the dark-red, tightly bound bud.

I could still feel the heat his kiss had left on my lips, and my fingers reached up to trace them in an effort to discreetly douse the fire.

What a self-entitled bastard. Who did he think he was, coming on to me like that? He knew nothing of me or who I was, and it occurred to me that he didn't care. It did not matter to him who I was; just the shell of me in his bed would do.

Well, Perla Fae was not just some man's toy to play with, and I sure as hell was no fool. His money and status did not impress me in the slightest, _thank you very much_. I was sure he was used to women falling at his feet, begging for any little morsel of attention he might deign to throw their way, but not me.

I wasn't sure what angered me more, the man's unwelcome advances, or the way my body responded, even still, long after the moment had gone and his hands had taken leave from my flesh.

That night as I stood at the kitchen counter helping Jada with dinner, my thoughts wandered unwillingly to Jax Maddox. I absentmindedly chopped carrots, red onions, and radishes to go in the side salad as I replayed the memory of his hands caressing up my thigh.

Jada steamed some seasoned tilapia fillets and had brown rice boiling on the stove. "You're awfully quiet this evening, Perly-girl. Anything on your mind?" she asked.

"Just work stuff. Nothing crazy." I considered it a white lie. I wasn't sure why I wasn't ready to tell anyone, even Jada, about what had happened with Jax that day, but NDA aside, I decided it was best to keep it to myself for the moment.

I just needed time to sort the whole thing out. Mostly, why it kept encroaching on my thoughts if all I wanted to do was just forget the whole thing happened and move on.

Working out that night after dinner didn't do much to help clear my thoughts, but it did help me feel less tense and stressed. Afterwards, I showered and climbed in bed.

Lying in the quiet darkness, my thoughts involuntarily turned to Jax once again. Undeniably, he was a powerhouse. Not to mention, he was one gorgeous son-of-a-bitch. I knew nearly nothing about him, other than the fact that he owned the building I now worked in, among some other business ventures.

I did know one other thing at that point. The man knew how to touch a woman in a way that set every nerve-ending in her body on fire. I recalled the sensations I had felt as his hand had pressed firmly on the bare skin of my leg, making its expedition north to more secluded regions.

Not to mention that kiss. _My God._ Again, I pressed my fingers to my lips, remembering the feel of his lips as they pressed softly, yet boldly, to mine. I felt that familiar tightening sensation in my core as I relived those moments and the conflicting emotions I felt when I had initially experienced them.

The fantasy of entertaining his request was hot, sure. Even I could admit that. After all, I was a hot-blooded woman who enjoyed sex as much as the next girl. Who was I trying to kid? I _really_ enjoyed sex.

But in reality, after all I had been through, I had a responsibility to protect my heart. How vulnerable was I really willing to allow myself to be? There was too much in my past, too much pain I'd endured to leave myself open.

The deep longing inside me threatened to make a grab for my thoughts, so I steered them in another direction, determined to stand my ground. Instead, I tried to map out how I would repay Jax Maddox for the outfit so I would no longer owe him anything he could hold over me. Then I could be done with him once and for all, and he could go about his way and find someone else to proposition. By the time I dozed off, I knew what I had to do.

## 5

# Eight Years Ago

"Jada-Lou, should we go horseback riding or play tennis during our recreation time this afternoon?"

Jada nodded, sitting on the edge of the bottom bunk as she slipped on her tennis shoes. "Horseback riding sounds fun. Have you seen my sunscreen?"

I rummaged through the suitcase lying beside me on the top bunk. I found the tube of sunscreen and hung over the edge to hand it to her. "Here you go."

"Thanks," she said. "Are you ready? I'm _starving_."

I jumped down, and Jada and I left the cabin, heading over to the mess hall to eat lunch. Once there, we went through the line to get our food trays and sat at a table with some other campers we had met the day before.

As Jada made small talk, I pulled out my camp guide that contained a list of daily activities to see what all I wanted us to sign up for. It was our third summer at Camp Redwinds, and since I was sixteen this year, I knew it would probably be my last. I wanted to make the most of it.

Jada still had a couple of years to go, since she was only fourteen, so she wasn't as concerned about packing every moment of the day with some type of activity like I was.

Since my head was down scouring the guide, Jada saw the camp director, Mrs. Frasier, approaching before I did.

"Perla, Jada, can I see you girls in the front office for a minute, please?" She was a heavy-set woman who usually had an annoying grin plastered to her face. It was unusual that she looked so serious.

I looked at Jada, then back to Mrs. Frasier before nodding in agreement. We stood, unsure of whether we had inadvertently done something to be in trouble for, and followed her out.

Jada looked to me questioningly as we followed Mrs. Frasier to an office. I shrugged, indicating my own uncertainty at what was going on as well.

When we entered the office, Jada and I were both surprised to see Uncle Dante sitting in a chair and a police officer standing stiffly nearby. Uncle Dante stood as we entered the door, eyes red, and a grim expression on his face.

"Uncle Dante? What are _you_ doing here? What's wrong?" I could feel the dread pooling in the pit of my stomach.

"Girls..." His head bowed as his eyes squeezed tightly shut, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. He shook his head, unable to speak. Now we were really worried. This was bad, whatever it was.

The police officer stepped forward and spoke next. "What your uncle is trying to say is, and there's no easy way to say this... I'm afraid your parents are dead."

The world began to spin around me.

_No!_

This couldn't be real. This had to be a nightmare.

Jada began screaming and fell to her knees. Uncle Dante bent down to hug her, and he rocked her, stroking the back of her hair in an effort to calm her down. Her deafening sobs were muffled by his shoulder.

I continued to stand silently in place. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. This just couldn't be real.

"I'll have Jenny go grab their things from the cabin," I heard Mrs. Frasier say as she left the room to give us privacy.

The tears began to flow, and I somehow gathered the strength to speak. I could only manage one word. "How?"

Uncle Dante was unable to answer, so the officer bared the burden once again. "It was a home invasion. We aren't sure about a lot of the details yet, but it's being investigated as a homicide."

My face crumbled as a violent scream escaped my lungs before I could stop it. I collapsed to the floor.

_Not my mom! My daddy! Oh God, no!_

I sat at the edge of my bed, trying to muster the strength to walk downstairs and face the people who were here to mourn the death of my parents.

I knew it was expected of me, but being here was the last place I wanted to be. Though, if I had been asked where I _had_ wanted to be, I would not have known the answer.

My room was nearly bare now, a reflection of how I felt on the inside. In the past few days since we were given the news, most of our personal belongings had been moved to Uncle Dante's where Jada and I would be living from then on. It was just as well, since being in this house, what used to be our home, had turned into a cruel, painful reminder of our parents' demise.

Heaving a heavy, grief-stricken sigh, I stood and walked across the hallway to get Jada, and together we begrudgingly descended the stairs to the first floor. My heart was heavy, and I knew I didn't have it in me to listen to strangers giving Jada and me their condolences, but apparently we weren't given the choice. We would just have to put all of those years of etiquette training to use and get through the evening.

As we approached the den, I could hear muted voices that quietly carried into the hallway we stood in. It seemed as though whoever was speaking tried not to be overheard by anyone other than who they spoke directly to.

"I can't believe how well they've cleaned this place up. I heard there was blood everywhere," said a woman.

"Yes, well, I heard that Martin really must have put up a fight, judging from the condition things were found in. Such a shame. Can you imagine?" This time it was a man's voice.

"What do you suppose the intruder was looking for?" asked the woman.

"Isn't that the million-dollar question? It was no secret that the Faes were filthy rich, as you can see. Just look around. Who knows, though? It could have been random, but word among friends is, it seemed like the intruder had something specific in mind that he was after. All that went missing was some jewelry," the man stated.

"He?" the woman asked.

"Or she, I suppose, but I don't see a woman being capable of the gore that happened here that night. Poor Martin and Esther."

Hearing the conversation tore me apart. It felt like being punched in the rib-cage where my ribs had already been broken, reopening and pouring salt into my wounds, kicking me while I was down. It still didn't feel real that it was my parents these people were talking about.

Judging by the pained look on Jada's face, I knew it was ripping her apart as well. Unable to take hearing another word, I took Jada by the hand, and we climbed the stairs back up to the solace of our empty bedrooms.

The world would just have to wait for us a while longer. I thought it at least owed us that.

## 6

# Charity

"Hi, I need a cashier's check in the amount of five hundred dollars, please," I told the teller as I approached and handed her my identification. I looked around as though I was afraid of being caught doing something underhanded. It was the right thing to do, paying Jax back, but I never felt good about having to use this money. It was just how things were.

The teller eyed my identification card, and then pulled up my account information as she began entering the numbers to print the check for me.

"Yes, ma'am, and how would you like to pay for this today? Will that be coming directly from your account?" she asked.

"Yes, please," I mumbled.

Once she passed the finished product across the counter to me, I took a pen and filled in Jax Maddox's name in the recipient line before stuffing it in an envelope and into my purse. I hurried out the door to get back and deliver it while I still had time on my lunch break.

Speed-walking back into Maddox Tower, I headed straight up to the fifty-second floor. Norma Johnson greeted me with polite indifference when I exited the elevator and approached her desk.

"Would you mind giving this to Mr. Maddox at his earliest convenience?" I asked as I handed her the sealed envelope.

Norma looked puzzled as she eyed the paper, but I didn't intend to wait around for her to ask any questions. I turned to head back the way I had come, but just as I spun around, I found myself face to face with Jax himself, nearly running straight into the wall of his chest.

"Oh!" I cried out in surprise.

"We really _must_ find a better way to meet, Ms. Fae. We can't keep running into each other like this." He gave a most charming and mischievous smile, one side of his mouth turning up at the corner in a way I had noticed him do before.

"Sorry, I was just leaving." I tried to move around him, but he held out an arm to usher me inside his office. Before he followed, he took the envelope from Norma, eyeing it curiously.

"I really have to get back to work. My lunch hour is nearly over," I said in a further attempt at escape.

"I won't keep you long, just a moment of your time." He didn't appear willing to accept no for an answer.

I couldn't contain a sigh of defeat as I reluctantly turned to lead the way through his door that he closed behind us. Once inside, Jax moved to stand behind his desk as he opened the envelope he held and saw the check inside. I stood a good distance in front of the desk, unwilling to sit, as I didn't plan to stay long. I was thankful for the barrier and distance between us. I held my hands in front of me, fidgeting from my discomfort.

"Ms. Fae, would you mind explaining why my name is on the top of a cashier's check in the amount of five hundred dollars?" He held up the piece of paper in front of him. His irritation was evident in his voice, in addition to his wide-eyed disbelief.

I quietly answered as I looked down at the points of the toes on my stiletto heels, unable to make eye contact with him. "That should cover the expenses for the clothing and food you so generously supplied for me the other day," I explained.

"I thought I had made it clear that I was not open to accepting repayment for those," he replied.

I looked back up at him, irritated at his condescending tone, empowered by the spike of anger it incited in me. "It's already done. Now, if you please, _sir_ , I really need to get back to work," I said, hoping that would be the end of it. No such luck.

"The cashier's check will be delivered to your bank, and the money deposited back into your account by the end of the day." He laid the check on the side of his desk.

I turned to take my leave and was almost to the door when he spoke again. "If you really want to repay me, the _only_ form of payment I'd be willing to accept from you, Ms. Fae, would be to have dinner with me."

Dinner? _I don't think so_ , I thought, shaking my head. "I'm afraid I must decline, but thank you, anyway," I answered politely, still facing the door with my hand on the knob. "Goodbye."

I pulled the door open and began walking through.

"I do hope to change your mind soon," he said, and I could hear the grin on his face. Then he added, "Goodbye, Perla."

It wasn't hard to deduce what he wanted from having dinner with me, and it wasn't going to happen. I did what I could and tried to pay him back. I knew that any further attempts would have just added fuel to the fire, so I decided to drop it, as much as I felt responsible for making good on a debt. It wasn't worth it.

* * *

Jax

I hadn't expected to see Perla as I approached my office that afternoon, so when I caught sight of her exquisite derriere in a form-fitting pencil skirt, standing at Norma's desk, a jolt of excitement shot through me, not to mention my cock.

To what did I owe the pleasure of her gracing me with her presence, I had wondered, and I wasn't about to let her leave without a conversation, at least.

When I had taken the envelope from Norma, I had hoped to find a personal note, perhaps letting me know she had changed her mind and wanted to take me up on my offer after all.

I certainly hadn't been prepared for the cashier's check. Five hundred dollars, really? What could she possibly think I wanted with her money?

It got me thinking, though, that perhaps I had been on her mind a little more than she'd wanted to let on. Smiling as I picked up the phone to have Norma make sure the money found its way back to Ms. Fae's account, I thought I might just need to come up with another way of getting her attention. That could certainly be arranged.

* * *

Perla

The rest of the week at Fitzgerald, Vandergild, and Morrison was blessedly uneventful, save for a few more run-ins with Lisette. I had learned the basics of my new duties and was able to focus on doing them well, now that I had the foundation to build on.

Amelie and I had lunch together on Friday in the employee lounge. She and I were quickly becoming fast friends the more we found out we had in common. We both loved the local arts, including the theater, and we planned to go see a stage play production of Neil Simon's _Lost In Yonkers_ together when it opened at Wyly Theater next week.

"So what's the story with Lisette?" I finally got the nerve to ask as we bonded over chicken wraps and diet soda.

"Lisette is a character, isn't she?" Amelie admitted. "I'm not sure why she was demoted, but there are rumors that went around for a while when it first happened."

"What kind of rumors?" I asked quietly with piqued curiosity, hoping to get the dirt I needed on my office foe.

Amelie looked around, making sure no one was nearby to hear her next words. "Well, I can't confirm this is true or not, but I heard that she tried to come on to Vandergild one night while they were here working late on a case."

"Vandergild? Seriously? I mean, I guess he's a fairly attractive man as far as... older men go. He's no Sean Connery." We laughed.

"I would've went with George Clooney, but Sean Connery is pretty sexy for an older guy, too," Amelie snickered.

"It's the accent. Clooney has nothing on that Scottish tongue," I said as I fanned myself, raising my eyebrows suggestively.

We had a good laugh before Amelie continued. "After that, I guess he told her it was inappropriate, and that he couldn't work with her anymore. So, instead of firing her, she begged the partners to let her take over the vacant receptionist position."

"Wow. I wonder if they know what kind of first impression their clients are getting with her sitting right in the door as they come in." I shook my head in disbelief. I went into detail about my first experience with Lisette and how she had told me they had gone in another direction with my position.

Amelie didn't seem surprised.

I tucked the information I had learned about Lisette away, since I wasn't sure how accurate the story was at that point. I would need more than that before I could do anything with it.

We wrapped up our gossip session and got back to work. There was a lot to do, and I stayed busy right up until five when it came time to leave. I did a silent celebration once I got out of the building that day having gone the rest of the week without any more food or beverages being spilled on me.

There was no time to waste when I got home that evening to get ready for the _Prosperity for Kids_ Charity Event. Uncle Dante would be there to pick up Jada and me at seven o'clock, which gave me only an hour and fifteen minutes to look fabulous for all the rich people I'd have to impress all evening that I couldn't even stand being around.

I quickly showered and blow-dried my hair. Thankfully, Jada helped me style it while I applied my make-up. I had just zipped my evening gown up the side and stepped into a pair of sparkly heels when Uncle Dante called announcing he was there.

Once Jada and I got down to the ground-floor and waved goodbye to Alex as we passed the lobby desk, we made our way outside. A chauffeur stood ready to greet us and allowed us entry into the town car where Uncle Dante waited, already holding a tumbler of amber liquid on ice.

"Girls," he nodded in greeting. "Looking stunning, as always."

"You look handsome as ever, too, Uncle Dante," said Jada. I agreed.

Uncle Dante was a catch. He was tall, dark, and handsome. He was clean-cut and always dressed to impress. Of course, he was a hit with the ladies, but only those who knew him well knew that he pitched for the other team. He didn't hide this fact, but he didn't flaunt it, either. He wasn't the flamboyant type. He maintained a masculine demeanor, although he had an impeccable taste in clothing.

We chatted casually about our day on the drive through Dallas traffic. When we finally arrived at our destination, a luxe hotel sponsoring tonight's event, we exited the town car and casually strolled inside.

While I loathed being around the people who would undoubtedly attend this event, I reasoned that I wasn't here for them. I was here for a cause I believed in, and for Uncle Dante. For those reasons, I could put a smile on my face and endure a few hours.

As we entered, we signed up for a raffle for a pricey, mountain-lodge getaway for four in New Zealand. Inside was a beautiful ballroom set-up. There were exotic flower arrangements on every surface. Modern art paintings in a vibrant array of colors graced the walls in ornately carved frames. Various sculptures were scattered about the room, some free-standing and some adorning fancy tables.

Frames that sat on easels here and there gave various statistics about the number of abused, neglected, and homeless children in our community. There were stations set up throughout the room where a silent-auction was taking place that Jada and I perused as Uncle Dante went separately to greet friends and acquaintances.

Jada and I made our way to a bar area where we purchased cocktails before finding our table to sit and wait for dinner to be served. Thank goodness because I hadn't eaten since lunch that day, and I was starving!

An elderly couple, the Weatherlies, stopped by our table to extend their greetings to us. I cringed as they approached, recalling how notorious they were for spewing out inappropriate comments. I guessed when you got to a certain age, you could get away with saying just about anything, and these two milked it for what it was worth any chance they got, it seemed.

"Girls, so good to see you tonight," Mrs. Weatherly said as she held her delicate hand out to me. I extended mine to her in return and couldn't help but notice the weak grip of her feminine handshake, like she didn't like the idea of touching me but had to abide by the expectations of social nicety.

"Mrs. Weatherly, Mr. Weatherly." I nodded my head as they had moved on to shake hands with Jada.

"We're surprised to see you girls here tonight. I assumed you girls wouldn't feel comfortable, since it's for the orphans, you know." And round one of inappropriate comments went to Mrs. Weatherly.

"It's a cause near and dear to our hearts, Mrs. Weatherly," Jada explained politely as I gritted my teeth behind an insincere smile. Jada was always so polite and positive.

Round two went to Mr. Weatherly. "Well, you girls always were tenacious. Just like your father. You know, he put up a hell of a fight the night they were killed. Got that spark in ya, I can tell." He held up a closed fist for emphasis.

"It was good seeing you both. Do take a look at the flying lessons on the silent auction over there by the table in the front. That seems right up your alley, Mr. Weatherly. In fact, I thought of you when I saw it. You two enjoy your evening!" I said as I waved, effectively moving the old couple along in another direction.

I nodded in disbelief as I looked over at Jada once they were gone. She had a smirk of disgust spread across her own face, and once our eyes met, we couldn't hold back a giggle.

"That was lovely," I told her, dripping with sarcasm.

We continued with some casual banter as we waited for Uncle Dante to make his way back around.

"Wouldn't it be great to win that getaway?" Jada asked, dreamily.

"I think it would. Who would you take on a romantic New Zealand vacation?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe that guy," she said as she pointed discreetly behind me. "He looks dreamy."

I waited a few seconds before turning to look, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that we were talking about anyone, but excited at the prospect of scoping out some attractive guys.

I followed where Jada pointed and immediately realized who she was talking about as my eyes caught on a tall, devilishly handsome figure in a tailored suit.

_Jax Maddox!_

I turned back around quickly, hoping he hadn't seen me.

"Perly-girl, are you okay? You look pale all of a sudden." Jada's hand went to my forehead to check my temperature.

"I'm fine. I just... saw someone I recognized." I slowly regained my composure, thankful that my back was turned to him.

"Oh... you saw Grayson?" Jada asked, a knowing tone in her voice. "I was hoping you didn't. I know this must be really awkward, but please don't let him ruin your night."

"What? Grayson? No, I didn't see him. Ugh, this is not what I need right now," I said, shaking my head in disgust.

I was already _enduring_ the night as it was. Now I had the potential of running into my cheating, scumbag ex? This was _so_ not what I signed up for, I thought.

And to top it all off, Jax Maddox stood just twenty feet behind me in all his glory, commanding the room. I could see Jada ogling him still, despite the crowd of women hovering around him and nearby, all eyes on his tall, handsome physique.

"Just ignore him. He's in uniform, so he must be working security detail for the event. Maybe you won't even notice he's here." Jada tried to smooth the situation over.

I sighed internally. Grayson had always looked so good in his uniform. A ghost pain from the heart-break I felt over losing him flared inside me.

"I need another drink. Would you like anything?" I offered as I stood to head back to the bar.

"No, I still have over half of my drink left. I should be good for a while. Unless you want me to come with you?" Jada offered.

"It's okay. I'll just be right back."

I walked to the bar and requested another cocktail. I made it half way back to the table before he approached me. I didn't even see him coming.

"Nice dress. You look great," Grayson said as he blocked my way, putting a hand on my bare shoulder. There was a time his touch would have sent a thrill through me, but now it just made me cringe.

"Uh, thanks. If you'll excuse me, I was just getting back to my table," I said, trying to maneuver my way around him.

"Perla, wait. You haven't answered my calls. I wanted to talk to you," he said as he grabbed my free wrist, preventing my escape.

I tensed, feeling the urge to toss my drink in his face that I still held in the other hand. "We have nothing to talk about. Now, would you please be so kind as to take your hands off of me?"

I tried to pull away but was unsuccessful. I really didn't want to make a scene right here in the middle of this crowd. Giving the people in this room any more fuel to gossip about my family was something I hoped to avoid at all costs. This could not be happening.

"Perla, I just need you to listen to me," he said quietly but insistent through clenched teeth. His irritation was evident.

"Grayson, _please_. Don't do this here. I heard everything I needed to hear when I walked in on you and... _her_." I became more and more uncomfortable by the second, but it seemed he was not about to let this, or my wrist, go.

_Where the hell was Jada or Uncle Dante when I needed them?_

"Perla, Baby, there you are." A strong, masculine arm snaked around me as the tall, commanding force of Jax Maddox moved in to my side. I knew it was him by the sound of his voice, and especially by the way my body unwillingly responded to his nearness.

I never thought I'd say this, but God, was I glad to see him right then. Though, I wasn't too naïve to not be concerned that I may come to regret that later.

I did not look up at him, but continued to stare straight ahead at Grayson, imploring him to let me go. I saw him look up at Jax, and I could see the challenge pass between them in a long, awkward silence.

At last, my wrist was free, and in the same second, Jax escorted me away from the ghost of my past. He left his arm wrapped around me in a display of ownership and affection.

* * *

Jax

I had seen her the moment I walked in, like I was subconsciously attuned to her presence. The backless dress was a nice touch, I thought, admiring the seductive lines of her back and shoulders she tastefully displayed.

It was an event my mother had helped organize for one of our local charities, _Prosperity for Kids_. Since Victoria's early challenges in life had made such as impact on her, she felt strongly about helping abused, neglected, and homeless children within the community. She also had such a heart for children, though she was never able to have any more after me.

I was here to show support for my mother, as well as make a sizable, anonymous donation to the charity. Imagine my surprise when I had received the added bonus of seeing the angelic face of Perla Fae sitting at a table not too far from mine.

I hadn't quite made it to my table yet, having been caught up in conversation by an eager group of aristocratic women of varying ages as soon as I walked in the door.

My attention was drawn away from the crowd when I noticed Perla getting up from her table to get another drink from the bar. It also did not escape my notice that an officer in uniform had been watching her from a secluded area near the back of the room, which had immediately set off the warning bells in my head.

When I saw the officer approaching Perla as she made her way back from the bar, something else went off inside me, a sort of protective instinct I didn't recall ever having experienced before. It was certainly a novel feeling and not something I was sure I was comfortable feeling at all, but there it was.

I observed him grab hold of her wrist. The moment I saw her attempt to pull away, I excused myself from the crowd.

This was bordering on becoming complicated, but the instinct to protect her was somehow greater than my aversion to complications – an issue I didn't have the luxury of sorting out at the moment.

The man in uniform didn't notice me approaching until I made myself known. "Perla, Baby, there you are," I purred confidently, seductively in her ear as I snaked my arm around her waist and pulled her in close against my body. I observed the name listed on his nametag, Sherriff's Deputy Grayson Mitchell.

_Your move, Deputy Mitchell._

I stared the man straight in the eyes. If he didn't release her wrist in a matter of seconds, he would have me to answer to, uniform or no uniform. I had a sizable panel of the finest attorneys in Texas on retainer, and I didn't back down from a challenge.

Deputy Mitchell finally came to his senses and released his hold on her. As he let go of her, I immediately steered her away from the danger zone. I could have dealt with this cocksucker, but my main concern at the moment was getting Perla away.

I left my arm wrapped around her, enjoying the feel of her body against mine while it lasted, even through the layers of clothing we each wore.

I hoped that soon enough, I'd feel her naked flesh pressed against me without the barrier of clothing getting in the way.

* * *

PERLA

Once we got outside of Grayson's hearing range, I turned to Jax. "Thank you. I-" was at a loss for words. "Thank you."

"You looked like you needed a knight in shining armor. I just so happened to be in the neighborhood." He certainly wasn't lacking in the confidence department.

I couldn't hold back an involuntary eye-roll. "Yes, well, I guess I'm in your debt twice now, Mr. Maddox."

"You can call me Jax, Perla. You already know that I'd like to be on a first-name basis with you." He winked, and that mischievous smile made another appearance, sending another jolt through me.

"Yes, you have made that _very_ clear, Mr. Maddox," I said disapprovingly, thinking back to his indecent proposal. He wasn't getting off that easy.

Jax paused for a moment, nodding in understanding. "I'm not such a bad guy, you know." The mischievous, suggestive smile spread further across his face. Then, he added, "I think you would find it to be a mutually beneficial arrangement. If you gave it a chance, that is."

I could feel the muscles tighten inside me. Yes, _there_. Ugh, I really needed to get laid. All this pent-up sexual frustration was really starting to be a nuisance, and this was _so_ not the time.

"I think I'd better get back to my table. It looks like they're serving dinner now," I said. I considered the subject changed, and I turned to leave before he could protest.

As I sat at the table, rejoining Jada and now Uncle Dante, I took a large gulp of my drink. Please tell me I had gotten all the craziness out of the way that could possibly happen tonight.

"Perla, remind me to introduce you to Mrs. Sullivan later," Uncle Dante spoke between bites of his food. "She's the senior director of _Prosperity for Kids_. I mentioned to her earlier that you were working for a law firm now, and she was hoping to connect with you about possible representation."

"Sure, I'd love to speak with her," I said.

"What took you so long at the bar?" Jada asked. "Did you get sidetracked?"

"You could say that," I answered under my breath.

I looked up at Jada, startled that her eyes were wide in surprise.

_What?_

It took me a moment to realize that someone had pulled out the empty chair beside me and sat down at our table.

"Hi! I'm Jada," she greeted. "And you are?"

_Oh God._

"Jax Maddox. Pleasure to meet you," he returned with a nod. He stood to shake hands with Uncle Dante from across the table.

"Dante Orion," Uncle Dante said with a ridiculously huge smile, also standing, and then holding his tie close to him as he sat back in his chair.

We had already been given our plates, and a waiter came around to place a plate of food in front of Jax. The waiter offered us all champagne. Jax thanked the waiter before turning his attention back to our table.

Jada poked me in the ribs. I swatted her hand away, not sure of what she wanted. Not to mention, I felt incredibly awkward now that Jax was sitting beside me, right here in front of my family.

Jada spoke. "And this is Perla. You'll have to excuse her manners." Sweet Jada, always so polite.

I looked over at him sheepishly, and he waved off the notion. "Ah, yes. I'm afraid I have already had first-hand experience with Perla's impeccable manners," he stated as he nonchalantly rubbed his cheek.

_He was talking about me slapping him!_

I wanted to crawl under a rock and die. In all fairness, he shouldn't have kissed me without my permission. Even if it was a rather nice kiss.

Uncle Dante's eyebrows raised in interest. "Oh? You two know each other?" He looked at Jax, then back to me.

I looked down at my plate of food, my appetite having somehow vanished all of a sudden.

"Yes. As it turns out, Perla and I work in the same building," Jax explained. He made the whole thing sound so innocent when I knew his intentions were far from it.

We carried on polite conversation for the remainder of dinner. Once the wait staff cleared our tables, the emcee gave a speech about the charity, how the proceeds went toward helping children-in-need right here in our community, and then began announcing the winners of the items being auctioned.

While Uncle Dante and Jada's attention were fixed on the front of the room, I took the opportunity to speak to Jax.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered.

"I came to support a good cause, Miss Fae," he retorted sardonically as he gave me a reproachful glare.

"No, I mean, why are you _here_ , at my table?" I qualified.

He looked intensely into my eyes, and suddenly, I felt about six inches tall. He hadn't said a word, and yet I felt like a scorned child. A blush heated my face.

"Trust me, Miss Fae. I do not typically go out of my way to befriend women I am attracted to." My pulse quickened at his mention of being attracted to me, sending an involuntary thrill through me. "But it seems that your friend, Deputy Mitchell, continues to lurk behind the curtains and greenery, keeping an eye on you. I was trying to dissuade any further advances he might have been planning to make on you tonight, as it seems you were none too happy to be speaking with him earlier."

_Oh._

"I see. Well, thank you." I tried not to let on that I was completely creeped out. I hadn't felt like I was being watched until he mentioned that. I began to feel uneasy as I looked around the room. A shiver creeped down my spine as I turned my attention back to the emcee at the front.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, for the final announcement of the evening. We will be drawing a winner for tonight's raffle, the Mountain Lodge Getaway for four to the beautiful Queenstown, New Zealand." An assistant came up with a clear fishbowl full of names of those who entered the raffle. The emcee shoved a hand in, tossed them about, and finally grabbed a singular strip of paper.

"The winner is..." Pause for dramatic effect. "Miss Jada Fae!"

Jada looked over at me, both hands covering her gaping mouth in disbelief. "Oh my God, Perly-girl, I won! We're going to New Zealand!" She stood, jumping up and down in excitement.

I stood beside her clapping, excited for my little sister. If anyone deserved that trip, it was Jada. With all she had been through, she always kept such as positive, optimistic, and caring outlook. She had been the only thing that had gotten me through the death of our parents, and more recently, my breakup with Grayson.

Jax offered to walk me out while Uncle Dante escorted Jada to collect the information for her winnings. Still feeling shaky from the thought that Grayson might still be watching me, I reluctantly allowed it.

In true gentlemanly fashion, he held out an arm bent at the elbow and I put a hand through as he escorted me out the doors. He was certainly full of surprises this evening. Once outside, we stood in the humid, July evening, waiting for Uncle Dante's town car.

I was confused by Jax's heroic display that night, which I wasn't convinced had been solely for my benefit. At this juncture, I didn't know what to think about him anymore. He was still ridiculously wealthy, and that was not about to change. I knew that was a deal-breaker for me, because it would always make me uncomfortable in the grand scheme of things.

But in the smaller scheme of things, seeing him tonight go head-to-head with Grayson without batting an eye, all to save me from an uncomfortable and unwanted situation, shifted something inside me, ever so slightly. It allowed me to see him in a different light, and if I was being completely honest, I wasn't entirely averse to what I saw now.

He stood close beside me, and I could feel the heat radiating from his firm, muscular body.

"You look remarkable tonight," he commented. "This dress really does something for the green in your eyes."

He stood facing me. Then he ran a sensuous hand down from my side to midway down my hip where his palm lingered. I thought it must be a show that we were putting on for Grayson's benefit, but there he went again, setting all my nerve-endings on fire. A dull ache began building between my legs.

I wanted to protest, but I was suddenly under some kind of trance as I continued looking into his eyes. His left hand still at my hip, his right hand cupped the side of my face, and he leaned in mere centimeters away from my lips.

My tongue darted out to moisten the dryness I now became acutely aware of, and I could feel the sexual tension building exponentially in the remaining space between us. My eyes closed, and I felt myself leaning into him, needing to feel the divine connection.

Then I felt him. His kiss was even better than I had remembered. It was the kind of kiss I could feel through my entire body, like an overpowering emotion was growing inside me and taking over. It was possible this time was different for me because he had offered it to me and waited for me to accept. Last time, it had caught me off guard, and I hadn't known what to think.

He broke the kiss just as the town car pulled up to the curb beside us.

"Let me help you in," he said as he led me to the door of the car. I went to reach for the door handle, but he grabbed it before I could and held the car door open for me.

I climbed in and turned to look back out at him. Still dazed by the kiss, I managed to choke out, "Thank you... You really pulled me out of a jam tonight."

"So it would seem," he replied with a slight grin that made his eyes crinkle at the corners. "Good evening, Perla." He nodded and closed the door before turning to go back inside the hotel.

Shit, was I in trouble.

## 7

# First Name Basis

Once we arrived home, it was late. I was ready for bed, but Jada wasn't about to let me off that easy.

"All right, Perly-Girl. Dish," she demanded with a mischievous, knowing smile.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about." I feigned ignorance.

"Oh yes, you do! Jax Maddox?" She followed me into my bedroom, sitting on the edge of my bed as I began stripping out of my heels and evening gown.

I gave an exaggerated sigh. "All right, all right. So, you know the handsome stranger from the other day, who I ran into, that spilled my soup all over me?"

"Uh-huh. The one who gave you that gorgeous new outfit you came home wearing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, that one." I began pillaging through my dresser for pajamas.

"I remember. Proceed," she urged impatiently.

"Well, he happens to own the building I work in, and that wasn't exactly the first time we had run into each other," I admitted.

"Wait a minute. He _owns_ the building you work in? I thought you just worked in the same building!"

"Yes, he owns the building that he and I both work in." I went on to explain what had happened as I was leaving on my first day, and mentioned the rose he had someone leave on my desk the day after the soup incident.

I wasn't about to tell her about his proposition. I knew my sister, and if there was one thing Jada wanted, it was for me to find someone to be happy with because she knew how much I wanted it. Knowing her, she would have gone along with the crazy scheme and told me to take him up on it.

"Perla, he likes you. It was obvious seeing him with you tonight." Her demeanor turned serious as she called me Perla and not my cutesy nickname. Thank goodness she hadn't seen him kiss me when he walked me out to the car. That would have really had her fooled.

"It was just a show, Jada. I ran into Grayson when I went back to the bar for another drink, and he wasn't letting me go. Jax happened to see it and stepped in to help me. Any decent guy would have done that." I sat on my bed beside her and she turned to face me.

She didn't look convinced. "Any decent guy? He spent the entire evening at our table. You weren't in any danger sitting there with Uncle Dante and me. There's no way Grayson would have bothered you with us around."

I was losing my side of the argument.

"Jax isn't the kind of guy who has serious relationships," I reasoned. "And besides, he's just really not my type."

"Oh, you mean tall, dark, and deliciously handsome isn't your type? Or were you talking about his saint-like manners not being your preference?"

It was all I could do to stifle a laugh. Saint-like? She had no idea, and I wasn't about to offer up the truth at that moment.

The sarcasm was evident in her tone as she continued. "No, wait. Let me guess. It was that pesky generosity he showed as he wrote out a fat check to _Prosperity for Kids_."

"That's exactly what it is. You already know this about me, Jada. I shouldn't have to spell it out for you, of all people. The guy has more money than ten people would ever know what to do with."

There was no quick comeback for that one. Jada sat there wide-eyed and speechless. Finally, she spoke. "Okay, I get it. Jax Maddox is off limits."

I looked down at my hands. After a few moments had passed, I looked back up at her. "I can't believe you won a trip to New Zealand." A huge smile spread across my face.

Jada smiled back. "I know."

"What are the chances? You're taking me with you, right?" I nudged her in the arm.

She beamed before replying, "Uh, yeah! You don't actually think I'd go without you, do you?"

"I'm tired. Let's get some sleep," I said, and at that, Jada hugged me and left to her own room.

"Goodnight, Jada-Lou," I called to her from across the hall.

"Goodnight, Perly-Girly," she answered before I closed my bedroom door.

Crawling into bed, my mind raced with replays of that night's events. I pulled out my romance book to try to keep my mind off of everything so that I could fall asleep. It worked for a while, until a sexy love scene had me turned on all over again.

I closed the book and put it away. I laid there in the dark, listening to the soft rhythm of my breathing. The dull ache between my legs would not subside, and soon I was fantasizing about Jax's sultry, blue-green eyes staring into mine as his lips hovered dangerously close to my mouth and his fingers pressed into my hip.

My thoughts wandered to earlier that night, and I could still feel his hands trailing down my body, cupping my face, and his lips pressed to mine. It felt good. Too good, I thought, but I still had no intentions of just being a sex toy, not even for a gorgeous, sexy man like him.

God, that man was infuriating. The sexual frustration was compounding by the day, and he was not helping matters at all.

Recalling the feel of his hand caressing up my thigh that day in his office, and his lips as they pressed so softly to mine, I let my right hand wander down the skin of my stomach beneath my silky shirt and beneath the delicate fabric of my panties, imagining Jax's hands pressing down on the sensitive peak of flesh at my apex. It felt so good, I didn't want to stop, and my pussy throbbed, aching to be stroked and filled.

I writhed beneath my own right hand as my left came up to my breast and squeezed salaciously, sending a spike of pleasure through to my core.

I began to rock my hips in a quickening rhythm, imagining it was Jax circling my clit with the faintest of pressure, his tongue lavishing my hard nipples, and my left hand trailed back down to cover my right hand over my now soaking wet pussy. I rocked my hands back and forth there for a while, building up the pleasure as high as I could get it without coming, then slowing to prolong the sensation of ecstasy, only to build it back up again even faster the next time.

I then pressed my index and middle fingers tightly on either side of my clit with my left hand as I dipped the same fingers of my right hand into my slick folds and vibrated both sets of fingers furiously until my climax overtook me, rolling through me as I rode out the wave of pleasure. I stifled a drawn out moan as I came.

I could feel my pussy throbbing from the inside as my own fingers could feel it pulsing and constricting around them, and I milked my climax for all it was worth with Jax Maddox's face playing on repeat behind my eyelids.

I thought about getting up to wash my hands, but decided against it now that I was nice and relaxed. So instead, I hugged my pillow tightly to my body and drifted to sleep with a smile on my face.

Jada and I spent the weekend cleaning, doing our laundry, and grocery shopping for the week. We binge-watched some new shows on Netflix, and Jada met up with some friends from school on Saturday evening, leaving me home to my own devices.

I took the opportunity to work out in the apartment gym on the first floor and follow along to some Blogilates workouts that had come out in the past couple of weeks.

By Monday, I was refreshed and ready to start my second week at Fitzgerald, Vandergild, and Morrison. I made an exerted effort to lay low on Monday, avoiding Lisette as best I could, and especially avoiding any locations I might run into Jax Maddox.

At around two o'clock in the afternoon, I heard a woman come in to the office asking for me. Lisette sent her my direction. I looked up, curious to see who the woman was, but didn't recognize her.

"Perla? I'm Aurora Sullivan. I'm a friend of Dante Orion. It's a pleasure to meet you, Dear." She extended an arm heavily decorated with expensive-looking bracelets to match the other jewelry she wore. I stood to greet her.

"Mrs. Sullivan, hi. You know, I don't believe we've ever met, but your name sounds familiar." I tried to recall where I had heard of her before, but it wasn't coming to me.

"I'm the senior director of _Prosperity for Kids_. I believe you were at our charity event this past Friday evening? Perhaps that might be it."

"Yes! Now I remember. I think Uncle Dante had wanted to introduce us before we left, but I somehow got away before we could meet. I'm sorry about that," I explained. I remembered Uncle Dante mentioning that she had wanted to talk to me about possible representation. "How can we help you, Mrs. Sullivan?"

"I'm looking for a new attorney to file for divorce," she said, matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," I said.

"Don't be sorry, Dear. The man is incorrigible. It's long overdue. It was a marriage of convenience that hasn't been convenient in quite some time now. I should have filed years ago, but as they say, there's no time like the present." She smiled and flourished her hands about as she spoke, causing the bracelets to jingle. "My soon-to-be ex-husband and I have always used the same attorneys, but circumstances being what they are, I'll need my own representation from here on out. This firm came highly recommended."

"Please have a seat while I see if Mr. Vandergild is available to meet with you right now, since you're already here. He's in his office. Can I get you something to drink while you wait?"

"Not unless you've got a malt whiskey," she said, straight-faced.

"Um, I'd have to check on that," I lied, knowing we didn't have liquor stocked in the lounge. At least, not that I had ever noticed.

Mrs. Sullivan declined the drink, and I poked my head in Vandergild's door to see if he had a moment to meet with a new client. He cleared some papers off his desk and asked me to send her in.

Once I ushered Mrs. Sullivan into Vandergild's office and closed the door behind them, I moved back to my desk and began opening a new file for her case. When they finished their impromptu meeting, Mrs. Sullivan waved and thanked me on her way out, saying she would see me again soon. I scheduled a tentative meeting for Friday for both she and her husband, along with his attorney, to come in and begin preliminary negotiations.

After I drew up the paperwork to have Mr. Sullivan's divorce papers served, I spent the remainder of the afternoon reviewing a trial transcript of a previous case that Vandergild had a returning client for, and taking notes for what I thought would be relevant to the current trial.

Amelie walked over at five o'clock and offered to walk out with me once I had a chance to shut things down for the day. The following evening was the play we had planned on attending, and as we stood waiting for the elevator, we began working out the details.

As soon as the doors opened, my attention was immediately drawn to the man standing inside. _Good God, not now_ , I thought, as Jax made eye contact with me. I hesitated before entering after Amelie and stood quietly, feeling the tension mount as the car slowly made its descent.

It didn't seem like Amelie noticed, because she continued talking to me, asking if I wanted to have lunch with her tomorrow to work out the details of how we would get to the play that night.

"That sounds great," I told her, without expounding.

"Great! How about the coffee shop around the corner? I hear they serve the best paninis during lunch time," she suggested.

"No!" I blurted without thinking.

Amelie looked at me, confused.

"Sorry. I, uh... don't care for coffee. Maybe we can try something else. What about the sub shop across the street, instead?" I offered. I swore I could feel Jax's eyes on me, and it was making me squirm.

The doors opened on floor seven, and another gentleman entered the elevator, causing me to have to move closer to Jax to make room. As the doors closed again, a phone began to ring. Jax brought his cell phone up to his ear and answered.

"Yes?... _Does_ she, now?... No, that won't be necessary. I'll call her... No, we're having dinner this Thursday... You just worry about getting me that report I need... Okay."

He ended the call and put his phone in a pocket inside his jacket, then gave me a sideways glance. I wondered who he was taking to dinner on Thursday, but it didn't matter. He was certainly free to dine with whomever he wanted.

The elevator finally came to a stop on the ground floor. Amelie and I exited the elevator car following the gentleman who had gotten on at the seventh floor. Just as we began making our way across the atrium, I heard Jax call my name.

"Perla?"

I stopped in my tracks, as did Amelie, and turned back toward him, curious as to what he might want and embarrassed at what Amelie might think.

Jax gave a simple smile. "Have a good evening." He nodded before strutting away in another direction.

"You, too," I mumbled under my breath. I turned back toward Amelie who was gawking at me with her mouth gaping open. We continued toward the exit.

"You know him?" she asked, wide-eyed in disbelief.

"Not really. He's just an acquaintance I've run into once or twice," I minimized. There was no sense in making a big deal out of nothing.

"So, then, you know who he is." It wasn't a question. I walked through the exit and held the door for Amelie. Then, we continued out from beneath the awning, into the stifling heat.

I knew she hoped for a juicy story, but really, there was nothing to tell. I shrugged. "That's Mr. Maddox of Maddox Industries."

Amelie laughed. " _Mr. Maddox_? He seemed to be on a first-name basis with you." She searched my face, and whatever she found there, she decided to change the subject. "Well, anyway, should I pick you up at your place around six-thirty? I need to run and check on my mom, then go home and change. After that I can be on my way."

"Sure, that sounds perfect." I gave her my address before we parted ways and I caught the DART bus back to my apartment.

* * *

Jax

So Perla and I were back to being strangers, it seemed. Sure, I appreciated her discretion, but after saying hello, I at least thought she would have stopped to talk for a moment. As it was, she barely acknowledged me.

I found it almost comical, the extent that she was going to keep me at arms' length. No matter, I thought. I had seen her eyes shift in my direction when Ezra had called, and I had mentioned meeting my mother for dinner on Thursday. At the very least, she was somewhat affected by me. I figured it was just a matter of time before I had her where I wanted her, coming apart beneath me in my bed with my dick buried balls-deep inside her.

As I approached the curb outside the side entrance to Maddox Tower, Holden pulled the black Escalade around, and I got in the back seat. Pulling my phone out of my inner coat pocket, I called my mother, following up on Ezra's tip that she had an issue at work that day.

"Hello, Dear. What a surprise." Victoria answered in a cheerful tone.

"Mother, Ezra called. He said you were having problems with a vendor?" My mother was a strong, independent, assertive woman. She could handle her own, but she lacked one quality I had inherited from the old man, a trait I had mastered over the years, mostly out of necessity, which was being an asshole.

"It's really nothing, Honey. I just had a little trouble today with the venue we were trying to book for the _Heart for Children_ back-to-school fundraiser. I'll get it figured out." I could hear the uncertainty in her voice, and it pained me that someone had been giving her grief.

_Heart for Children_ was one of the charitable organizations Victoria had a hand in through her role with my company's philanthropic branch. Young was my mother's maiden name, and the _Young Foundation_ was a means to turn her troubled past into something positive by helping others. She oversaw the Foundation and its day-to-day business, including grant writing, advertisement, and event planning.

Few people knew the association between Maddox Industries and the Young Foundation, but it created some nice tax breaks, and gave my mother an outlet for helping children and others less fortunate within our community. If there was one thing Victoria had a heart for, it was children. She had a soft-spot for those who were impoverished and parentless, in no small part because she had been both for part of her own childhood.

"All you need to do is say the word. I don't mind calling in favors." Or putting some prick in his place for being rude to my mother, I thought but didn't say aloud.

"I have it under control. If I need anything, you'll be the first to know," she said, appeasing me.

"So you say, and yet, I had to hear from Ezra that there was an issue to begin with," I said, unable to mask my irritation.

Ezra and I were close, having known each other since high school, and through our hell-raising days as roommates in college. Sometimes I thought Ezra spoke to my mother more than I did. He had spent a lot of time at our place in his teen years, so Victoria was like a second mother to him, though that didn't stop him from making the occasional "hot mom" or "MILF" comments. It was one of his many ways to push my buttons, and it usually worked.

"He just happened to have good timing. I ran into him having lunch today at the Zodiac Room. He said you two are working on a new project together," she said.

It was beginning to sound like Ezra and I needed a night out soon. Apparently I needed to introduce him to some more age-appropriate women.

"Yes, I'm looking into acquiring a manufacturing business that's about to go under. I have some ideas to turn it around and make it profitable," I told her, staring out the window as the car made the transition from inner city to the more residential areas of Dallas.

"My son, the business mogul," she said, approvingly.

"All right, Mother. I have to go. Are we still good for dinner this Thursday evening?" I said as Holden pulled into the gated entrance to my suburban estate.

"Yes, talk to you soon, dear. Kisses."

I hung up the phone and immediately dialed Ezra.

"Jax, what's up?" he answered.

"Ezra, you horny bastard. You failed to mention you had lunch with my mother." I feigned disapproval. The Escalade came to a stop inside the connected four-car garage, and I got out, heading inside.

"Yes, it was delicious. And the food wasn't bad either," he teased.

I shook my head, entering the kitchen as I pulled a beer out of the stainless steel, French-door refrigerator. "Very funny," I grumbled. "We're going out Friday night, so clear your calendar."

"What's the occasion?" he asked.

"Do you need an occasion?" I challenged.

"Friday it is," he accepted.

## 8

# Foreshadow

Heavy breathing penetrated the silence behind the closed door of a dark office. In the shadows, wide eyes and a frantic heart beat gave way to silent desperation. This news, this revelation definitely changed things. He'd been backed into a corner, and he didn't like his hand being forced. Nobody would take what was his and get away with it.

He needed a new plan of attack.

Yes ... that was it. It had worked before, and he'd gotten away with it all this time. This time, he would be more prepared. This time, he would plan for the unexpected. He would have what was his, or someone would pay.

# Continue the story...

### Relentless: Dangerous Desire Series Book 2

**Continue Reading:**Relentless (Part 2)

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# About the Author

Nicole R. Locker is an author of slow-burn, contemporary romance with strong, intelligent women and the Alpha Heroes brave enough to chase them. She's a resident of Lubbock, Texas, with a Master of Science in Psychology and a love for pit bulls, Pilates, and romance novels. (And men with Irish accents!)

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# Also by Nicole R. Locker

**The Dangerous Desire Series**

Reckless (Book 1) (FREE!)

Relentless (Book 2)

Ruthless (Book 3)

Dangerous Desire (Complete Set)

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**The Boss Series**

Boss Unyielding

Boss Unavowed

Boss Unwavering

The Boss Series 1-3

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**Big Man Blue Series**

Big Man Blue

Two Man Red

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**Holiday Romance Reads:**

Mistletoe and Fire Glow (FREE!)

Holiday Fling

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