Partners (Fire & Lies - One)

  PARTNERS

  Fire & Lies – ONE

  by Lilliana Anderson

  Smashwords Edition

  Copyright 2014, Lilliana Anderson

  All rights reserved

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means without the prior written permission of the author of this book.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead is purely coincidental. Any actual places, products or events mentioned are used in a purely fictitious manner. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various places/products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission and is by no way sponsored by the trademark owners.

  CONTENTS

  SYNOPSIS

  FOREWARD

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY–THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY–SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  PLAYED SNEAK PEEK

  BOOKS BY LILLIANA

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CONNECT WITH ME

  SYNOPSIS

  Chloe

  Rules are made to be broken…

  That’s what they say but I used to follow the rules. I used to have pride, honour, and obedience. I was raised to believe that in the world in which I lived, money and power ruled, and everyone made sacrifices. I knew my priorities. Family first. The company second. And what I wanted a very distant third.

  I followed the rules, but couldn’t have known that obedience would ultimately cause betrayal. On many fronts.

  My father was framed, and I’ll do whatever it takes to put the right man behind bars.

  My name is Chloe Donovan, and I’m going to make things right. But to do that, I need to break the law, and I can’t do it on my own. I need help. The problem is, the only person capable of helping, hates me. I don’t blame him. I promised him the world and then I ran away…

  Aiden

  I used to follow the rules. Until Chloe Donovan. She was my boss’s daughter. I shouldn’t have touched her. But I did. Three years ago, she came into my life, consuming it. Consuming me. I needed her. She betrayed me, as did her father. Lies and deception. Never again.

  Chloe was the worst mistake I ever made. She’s temptation and destruction wrapped in a beautiful package. But, my blood doesn’t really fill my brain when I’m around her…

  Now, she’s back, declaring her innocence and once again, ensnaring me with her magnetism, her beauty, her allure. I should say no.

  But Chloe Donovan owns me. I still want her. Her draw may be the death of me.

  Foreward

  ORIGINALLY, PARTNERS was being written as a novella that was to be a part of an anthology. It was supposed to be Chloe POV only and was to provide the back-story of her and Aiden’s relationship before PLAYED was released in December.

  But, as I was writing, the story grew and grew. I realised that Aiden needed a voice in his relationship as well, and then the past needed to be dealt with. That was so much to set up and their story very quickly headed toward novel length.

  So, I decided to write another story for the anthology (it will link to the end of the Fire & Lies series. So keep an eye on my Facebook page or blog for details) and let this story grow to the size it needed to be to adequately set the scene for Played, and finally, Paid.

  This series has been on my mind ever since I bought an album and heard a particular song. The moment, I heard the lyrics, I felt the pull of a story in my mind. The seed was planted and from there, the characters emerged and the twisted tail that you will follow within the Fire & Lies series grew and grew until I couldn’t contain it anymore.

  I know you’re dying to find out what that song was, but it will be something I reveal at the very end. (I know, I’m mean. But I don’t want to spoil anything for you).

  I really hope you enjoy reading Partners. So far, the most common reaction I’ve had to it is –Wow!. So I really hope you feel the same way too and decide to tell all of your friends about, what I hope will be, a wild ride.

  Acknowledgements

  AS ALWAYS, there are people to be thanked! Many sets of eyes go in to the creation of each of my books and I am very grateful to every person who takes time out of their lives to help me.

  Thank you to my beta readers for working so hard for me. Marion of Making Manuscripts, I thank you for the initial bouncing of ideas and your detailed guidance after the first draft. Tammie (I hope you’re feeling better soon!), Mary, Billie, Lindsey, Kristine, and Kassandra. Thank you all so much. I know I say this a lot, but your input reall was invaluable to me and has made this book so much better than if I had have done it all alone. Thank you! Thank you! I love you all!

  Thank you to my editor, Maria Johnson, for trawling through my manuscript for errors and always working me into her schedule. I believe she was working on the road while travelling half-way around Australia this time!

  Thank you to my proofreader, Carol Cooper, you do a fantastic job and I’m so blessed that you decided to contact me and offer your help.

  Thank you to my special ladies who are my constant support, Cj Duggan, Frankie Rose, Jessica Roscoe/Lili Saint Germain, and Callie Hart. You have been listening to my constant doubt and pushing me forward throughout the whole writing process. I don’t know what I’d do without you all in my life!

  To my sprinting partners – Simone Nicole, Stephanie Smith, Jennifer Ryder, Aleya Michelle, Amity Cross, and Rachel Brookes, thank you all for sitting up late at night and sprinting your arses off with me while we were all hopped up on sugar and doing our best not to get distracted as per the sprinting pledge! I really appreciate my time with you all.

  To every blogger who has an ARC or has signed up to post my cover reveal or release day blitz – I thank you too. You are the first step to announcing our work to the world. Love your work xoxox

  Also, a big thank you to my husband for putting up with my bitching and moaning and his unending support, his plot help, and his encouragement.

  Thank you to my street team . We are tiny. But we make a difference.

  I’d also like to thank the wonderful team at Apple and Smashwords, who set up all of my preorders and trust me to upload my books on time – I truly appreciate your support!

  Thank you to my kids for being so patient while I stare at a computer screen and finish typing out a thought. I love that you all come and sit in my office quietly, just to spend a bit of extra time with mummy!

  And of course – thank you to all of my readers. Without you, I would be writing to the crickets.<
br />
  Mwah! xoxox

  Prologue

  MAY, three years ago

  “THIS IS a very bad idea,” he murmured, their eyes locked, his mouth only millimetres away from hers.

  “I know.” She leaned forward, brushing her full, soft lips against his. She couldn’t seem to help herself. It was as if a magnetic force was pulling her toward him.

  Her hands landed on his chest and a shudder ran through his body, muffling the protests in his mind. Gripping the back of her hair, he held her steady, keeping her just out of reach.

  “You’re the boss’ daughter,” he stated.

  “Pretend I’m not,” she whispered, pressing herself against his hard body.

  Looking down at her beautiful blue eyes, he fought with his primal urges to maintain his control. “I don’t want to pretend with you.”

  “We’ve been pretending this whole time.”

  Chapter One

  PRESENT, 14 days before the job

  Aiden

  “FUCKING HELL, man. I wish I was you,” Jared says, as he walks into my office and drops a thin file on my oversized dark wood desk. It isn’t even heavy enough to make much of a sound and practically floats to a stop in front of me.

  I look at it, then at him and knit my brow. “What’s so lucky about this?”

  Ignoring my disinterest, he leans forward and splays his fingers over the top of the file like there’s gold inside.

  “That contains the details of the hottest fucking chick that has ever walked through these doors, and she’s only interested in you man. She must be here for a recovery of some sort - says she only wants the best.”

  “Is that so?” I ask, trying to keep my face straight as my second in command talks himself into a hard-on over some chick, who, I’m assuming, is in the waiting area. “Have you looked into her?”

  “Not yet. She’s a walk in. I was kind of distracted trying to offer her my individual services, if you know what I mean.”

  “Knocked you back?” I ask, but it’s more of a statement. I already know the answer.

  He tilts his head, giving his shoulders a light bounce, his short brown hair unmoving under his styling products. “Yeah, dude. She wasn’t interested. Poor girl, doesn’t know what she’s missing.”

  At this point, I can’t help but laugh. At twenty-five, Jared seems to think he’s somewhat of a lady-killer. I’ve seen him in action on more than one occasion and he pulls in chicks very successfully. But those boyish good looks of his don’t get him everything he wants in life. Especially where business is concerned.

  “What’s her deal then?” I ask, opening the file and seeing nothing more than an appointment slip with very little information on it.

  “I don’t know. Blonde hair, almost brown. Caucasian. Around thirty–that could be it. Maybe she thinks she’s too old for me–”

  “No, you dumbass. What does she want from us–as in Price Security, the company you work for?”

  “Oh, sure–she didn’t tell me. Like I said, she’s only interested in you.”

  Chewing my lip in thought, I nod and tell him to let her in as I look at the folder in my hands. It says that her name is Ms Chloe Saunders. The surname doesn’t mean anything to me on sight, but the last time I came across a woman named Chloe, my life fell apart.

  “Here she is,” Jared announces, as he opens my door again and ushers the woman in. He’s so fucking big that he blocks the doorway, and all I can see is a peek of dark blonde hair over his shoulder, and a whisper of a slender leg in those lethal looking pointy shoes that I love watching chicks teeter around in.

  Closing the folder, I place it on the desk in front of me and look up as the woman comes into view. My eyes travel from her shoes and up the length of her curvaceous body. The higher I get, the smaller the room becomes as my mind wages war with my cock. The familiarity sets in. I know those legs. I know that body. The moment my eyes meet hers, all expression leaves my face and a pit forms in my gut as every memory I have of her slams me in the face, full force. I thought she was gone. I thought she had taken off and was living a life of luxury on some island paradise that didn’t have an extradition treaty. But here she is, large as life and still sexy as hell.

  The woman before me isn’t Chloe Saunders at all. This is Chloe Donovan, the beginning of my end. The one woman I let close enough to feel more than a passing affection for. She’s all temptation and destruction wrapped in a beautiful package. She’s a road no man should travel down twice.

  “Impressive set up,” she states, looking around my office and taking in every detail, from the suede look blue-grey walls, across the large floor to ceiling window behind me, and over the coordinated dark stained office furniture that makes up my very modern, but sterile office.

  “Get the fuck out of here,” I growl, the contained anger in my voice stopping her before she moves any closer. She smiles sweetly, like I’m a child having a tantrum, and all she has to do is remain in control.

  “Aiden,” she says, ignoring my request to leave and stepping further inside my office. “I know you don’t want to see me, but I really need your help.”

  Glaring at her, my mind revisits the short time we spent together, the way she smelled, how soft her skin was under my fingers, how she tasted… Blinking away the images, I pick up the folder and tear it in half as a show of my disdain.

  “Why don’t you go and get some help from your husband. He’s a powerful guy with connections.” That stops her in her tracks, and I note the hesitation cross her face.

  “He isn’t in the picture anymore, Aiden,” she replies, heat creeping up her neck and brightening her cheeks. It tells me she’s uncomfortable, but it just makes her look more beautiful.

  And it makes me want to touch her.

  Just being in her presence makes me want to touch her.

  It’s why she needs to go.

  “Leave, Chloe. I don’t have any help to give you.” I snap my gaze away from hers, keeping my features still and cold as I focus my attention on the computer screen in front of me.

  “Can we just talk?”

  “Leave,” I repeat, my voice more commanding this time.

  Refusing to look back at her, I don’t catch her expression before she turns around and leaves. But my eyes do stray enough to watch the way that arse of hers sways as she walks away with her head held high, as if getting thrown out of my office doesn’t faze her at all.

  I watch until I can’t see her anymore then listen as her footsteps fade and the front door closes from her departure from the building. Slowly, I release my breath and move my eyes to Jared who is still standing in my door way.

  He says nothing, knowing me well enough to understand that now is not the time for questions. Instead, he gives me a nod of respect and closes his hand around the handle of the door, retreating quietly from my office to leave me in peace.

  “Wait,” I call out before the door is fully shut. He pushes it open, just enough for his head to lean in with his brow raised in question. “Have her followed.”

  He nods, and pulls his head back, clicking the door shut behind him.

  The moment I’m alone, I sit back in my chair and run my hands through my hair, blowing out yet another slow and steady breath. I would have thought that seeing Chloe again after almost three years wouldn’t affect me the way it did. After everything that went down, I would have thought she’d stay far away from the likes of me. But there she was, large as life and even more beautiful than she is in my dreams. Fuck. Seeing her has rattled me, way more than I even want to admit to myself, and my rigid dick doesn’t know well enough not to react to that body of hers.

  Traitorous appendage.

  Chapter Two

  FEBRUARY, three years ago

  THE ACT of walking into his boss’ office was something that Aiden Price did on a daily basis in his job as head of corporate and personal security at the Donovan Corporation–a position he had held for the last six years after leaving the armed forces. />
  Originally, he was hired because of his specialist military background. His position had him working closely with the founder and CEO of the company, Terry Donovan, as a bodyguard of sorts–a lot of money changed hands at Terry’s behest, which therefore made him a very powerful man. And powerful men tended to make enemies–especially ones who were so willing to skirt the edge of the law as closely as Terry did.

  On this particular day, things were a little different. When Aiden opened the door, he was talking about some paperwork he had in his hands and didn’t immediately notice that Terry wasn’t inside.

  Instead, when he glanced up, he was treated to the sight of a perfectly curvaceous arse as a young woman leaned over Terry’s desk, reaching for something on the other side. He stopped walking and frowned a touch, wondering who she was. A new personal assistant? A client? But that didn’t make any sense – all new additions to the firm were run through him for a security check, and he didn’t know anything about this woman. She had to be someone Terry trusted, or she wouldn’t be allowed in his office…

  Realising that she was no longer alone, the young woman quickly righted herself and turned around, her hands fluttering nervously as she smoothed down her dark blonde hair, then ran her hands over her crisp white shirt and fitted red skirt. The action was meant to iron out any creases in her already perfect outfit, but all it really did was call Aiden’s attention to her body even more.