She stepped outside feeling lighter than she had in forever.
Derek looked over at her and smiled.
Damn, but she felt young again. Two weeks of being engaged to Derek and she seemed to have lost twenty years’ worth of guilt. The minute that man looked at her, she felt young and clean and free.
“Are you ready, baby?” He held his hand out.
She took it. “Yes.”
She was ready. Ready for her third life because sometimes, if a girl was really lucky, sometimes, she got a third chance.
Karina was ready to take it.
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by Shayla Black, Lexi Blake & M.J. Rose
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1001 Dark Nights fabulous novellas...
1001 Dark Nights
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FOREVER WICKED
A Wicked Lovers Novella
by Shayla Black
CRIMSON TWILIGHT
A Krewe of Hunters Novella
by Heather Graham
CAPTURED IN SURRENDER
A MacKenzie Family Novella
by Liliana Hart
SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING
A Scanguards Vampire Novella
by Tina Folsom
DUNGEON GAMES
A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
by Lexi Blake
AZAGOTH
A Demonica Novella
by Larissa Ione
NEED YOU NOW
by Lisa Renee Jones
SHOW ME, BABY
A Masters of the Shadowlands Novella
by Cherise Sinclair
ROPED IN
by Lorelei James
TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT
A Midnight Breed Novella
by Lara Adrian
THE FLAME
by Christopher Rice
CARESS OF DARKNESS
A Phoenix Brotherhood Novella
by Julie Kenner
Also from Evil Eye Concepts:
TAME ME
A Stark International Novella
by J. Kenner
Acknowledgments from the Author
I want to send out a huge thank you to Liz Berry and MJ Rose and the entire crew at Evil Eye Concepts. I think you’re changing the world of publishing and I’m so happy you chose to take me along for the ride.
Lots of love to the October Girls – you know who you are. May we have many years of shots and pool time and crazy men who throw towels and jello shots at us from the balcony!
As always thanks to my crew – Rich, Chloe, Riane, and Stormy. I couldn’t do it without you!
About Lexi Blake
Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places. Lexi believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome or foursome may seem. She also writes contemporary Western ménage as Sophie Oak.
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Facebook: Lexi Blake
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorlexiblake
Website: www.LexiBlake.net
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A View to a Thrill
Master and Mercenaries, Book 7
By Lexi Blake
Coming August 19, 2014
A Spy without a Country
Simon Weston grew up royal in a place where aristocracy still mattered. Serving Queen and country meant everything to him, until MI6 marked him as damaged goods and he left his home in disgrace. Ian Taggart showed him a better way to serve his fellow man and introduced him to Sanctum, a place to pursue his passion for Dominance and submission. Topping beautiful subs was a lovely distraction until he met Chelsea, and becoming her Master turned into Simon’s most important mission.
A Woman without Hope
Chelsea Dennis grew up a pawn to the Russian mob. Her father’s violent lessons taught her that monsters lurked inside every man and they should never be trusted. Hiding in the shadows, she became something that even the monsters would fear—an information broker who exposed their dirty secrets and toppled their empires. Everything changed when Simon Weston crossed her path. Valiant and faithful, he was everything she needed—and a risk she couldn’t afford to take.
A Force too Strong to Resist
When dark forces from her past threaten her newfound family at Sanctum, Chelsea must turn to Simon, the one man she can trust with her darkest secrets. Their only chance to survive lies in a mystery even Chelsea has been unable to solve. As they race to uncover the truth and stay one step ahead of the assassins on their heels, they will discover a love too powerful to deny. But to stop a killer, Simon just might have to sacrifice himself…
* * * *
Chelsea looked at the bed that dominated the room. The only bed. Somehow she’d managed to find the shitty motel that didn’t have two queens. No. It was way worse. It was a single queen and there was no couch. And she was pretty sure the floor was covered in disease. “I think I should sleep somewhere else. We need to find another room.”
Blue eyes stared a hole through her. Somehow his eyes managed to be cold and hot given his mood. The color shifted, lighter, icier when he was angry. As warm as the Caribbean when he was happy.
They often seemed so cold when he looked at her. “Your contact said to meet here. We’re staying here.”
“He told me to meet him here. I’m sure they have another room, Weston. You don’t have to sit up all night.” Because there was no way they could share that bed. It was too small. He would take up all the space.
He locked the door and set down his duffel bag on the table. He shrugged out of his jacket because the man wore a three-piece suit on the run. She couldn’t help but stare at his broad shoulders and the way his dress shirt tapered down to perfectly pressed slacks. He tugged at the silver tie he was wearing, pulling it free and working the buttons at his throat until she could see the start of his truly impressive chest.
God, she hoped she wasn’t drooling.
The shoulder holster was the next to go in his inadvertent striptease. “You should get settled in. We have to be up early in the morning. I’ll take the side closest to the door.”
He threw that gorgeous body down, making the springs squeak. “Of course there is, love. You Americans just like to take up an enormous amount of space. When I was a child, my brother and I slept in beds much smaller than this.”
“I’m not your brother, Simon.”
“I understand that fully. Believe me.”
She needed to take charge or she would make a complete fool of herself. “Look, Weston, you turned down my offer.”
He turned lazily, one hand coming up to balance his head. He looked like a pinup in a women’s magazine—all lean and predatory lines. She could see the write-up in her head. Simon likes tea, Scotch and eating subs for breakfast. His turn-offs include everything that comes out of Chelsea Dennis’s mouth. “Are you talking about your very charming offer to use my body to lose your virginity?”
She hadn’t put it like that. “You don’t want me. I get it. So let’s keep things simple. I hired you. I’m the boss. I’m going to see if I can rent the room next to this one and that can be yours.”
He didn’t move. He didn’t have to. She saw the way his eyes narrowed and then his voice came out, low and in that perfect upper-crust British accent that made her nipples hard. Her n
ipples were really stupid and she wished they didn’t like him so damn much. “You’re under a grave misapprehension, Chelsea. You are not my boss and you did not hire me. You came to me with a problem and I told you I would solve it. I believe I also mentioned that I was in charge and that was the only way I do this for you. So you will take off your clothes and you will get into this bed and you will sleep beside me tonight. I explained this to you when you signed the bloody contract. Do I need to explain what the word submissive means?”
Tears pricked her eyes. He was so damn unfair. She had to wonder if she would ever find a man who didn’t want to punish her. “You forced me to sign that contract.”
Now he moved, rolling to the side of the bed and getting to his feet with pure predatory grace. “I did nothing of the kind.”
He seemed very willing to revise history. She wasn’t about to let him forget. “If I hadn’t signed your contract, you would have let me die.”
He sighed, a long-suffering sound. “I certainly would not and if you think that’s true then you don’t know me at all. Perhaps I should do exactly what I should have done in the first place, what I would have done if you hadn’t signed the contract.”
That was worse than letting her die. “Please don’t call Ian.”
His shoulders weren’t so straight as he turned and stared at her. “You’re reckless, Chelsea. If I give up even a moment’s control, I’ll lose you and I can’t stand the thought of that. The only way to save you is to be your Master and the only Master you’ll accept is not the kind I want to be.”
“And what kind do you want to be?”
“Indulgent. Loving. Kind. I want a sub who obeys me in the field because she understands I would never let anyone hurt her. I want the play to just be play. I want a sub who trusts me with her body, who wants me and not just some faceless Dom who’ll work her over and then walk away. And I certainly don’t want to be a curiosity.”
She felt embarrassment flash through her system. If she could take back that first night’s utter idiocy she would. She should have known he wouldn’t want her. Not like that. “I get it. I got it when you turned me down the first time. I can get into bed with you because you won’t touch me.”
He was suddenly in her space. He’d moved so quickly she wasn’t sure how he’d gotten there. One minute there was a bed between them and the next she was backing up until she hit the wall because he was stalking her. She’d gone as far as she could go, but he kept coming. He loomed over her, using every one of his six feet two inches. “I’ve tried to be polite about this, but you don’t want that, do you? You don’t want me to be a gentleman about this. You want me to take you because then you’ll bloody well get it over with and you can put me in the same box with all the other men who hurt you and used you and cast you aside. I would be just one more villain who did something to you.”
“I never said that.”
“You don’t have to. I understand you, Chelsea. You can’t comprehend that, but I do. I understand you like no other man will. So I understand that I have to explain certain things to you.” He moved closer until his mouth hovered above hers, his heat sinking into her skin. “I’m going to tell you how this is going to go. We’ll get into that bed and I’m going to put my hands on you and I’m going to put my mouth on you. I’m going to taste you. I swear by the time you get out of that bed in the morning, you’re going to know what it feels like to come against my tongue. That screaming you heard as we walked in, you’re going to make that girl’s orgasm sound like the squeaking of a mouse. But the one thing you won’t get is my cock. You won’t get that because I’m not going to take your virginity because you’re curious. I’ll take it when you can’t think about anything but me. I’ll take it when you cry out my name and tell me there’s no other man you’ll ever love the way you love me. Then and only then will I take what belongs to me. Am I understood?”
She managed to nod.
He took a step back and she immediately missed his heat. His hands went to the buttons on his shirt. “Then take off those bloody clothes and get in bed.”
With shaking hands, she started to undress.
Also from Lexi Blake
Click to purchase
Masters And Mercenaries
The Dom Who Loved Me
The Men With The Golden Cuffs
A Dom Is Forever
On Her Master’s Secret Service
Sanctum: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Love and Let Die
Unconditional: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Dungeon Royale
Dungeon Games: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
A View to a Thrill, Coming August 19, 2014
Masters Of Ménage (by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake)
Their Virgin Captive
Their Virgin’s Secret
Their Virgin Concubine
Their Virgin Princess
Their Virgin Hostage
Their Virgin Secretary
CONTEMPORARY WESTERN ROMANCE
Wild Western Nights
Leaving Camelot, Coming Soon
URBAN FANTASY
Thieves
Steal the Light
Steal the Day
Steal the Moon
Steal the Sun
Steal the Night, Coming June 3, 2014
On behalf of 1001 Dark Nights,
Liz Berry and M.J. Rose would like to thank ~
Doug Scofield
Steve Berry
Richard Blake
Dan Slater
Asha Hossain
Chris Graham
Kim Guidroz
BookTrib After Dark
Jillian Stein
and Simon Lipskar
Table of Contents
Book Description
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue