Flame True’s release is in 5 days! Eeek. And book four? It’s so exciting. Thank you for hanging with me. The excerpt I am sharing today is actually chapter seven. And I know, I usually share the first chapter but it’s a slow burn.
So it takes a while for the meet to happen. It takes a while for Nick and Mulberry to work out their feelings. And it takes them a while to bang.
But their chemistry builds up and readers have loved the banter between them.
Slight spoilers. You can purchase Flame True at the special pre-order price of $2.99 click here
CHAPTER SEVEN – NICK
Nick ignored her outstretched hand. “This way.”
He gritted his back teeth, watching Mulberry swing her hips, her long strawberry–blonde hair hitting the curve of her ass as she strode in front of him.
Nick lost count of how many languages he silently cursed inside his head throughout that meeting.
Ambush is the better word.
Like Xander couldn’t give him a heads-up? Nick’s throat closed as he jabbed the elevator button. Team Stealth’s mandate was to go where you were sent, but he was pissed about the lack of notice.
Okay, and he was also pissed that his two worlds would collide with this gig.
“Other than being spoiled and rich, is there a reason you don’t like me?”
Her soft voice reached into his stoned-off heart, and he shook his head.
He caught a flash of fear on her features as her face slid back into a mask of calm.
“Do I need a reason?” The words came out harsher than he meant.
He was about to walk them back when she glared at him, straightening her shoulders, her lips pursed.
The kind thing would be to reassure her that it’s not because of what happened to her, that his attitude towards her has nothing to do with the fact that he lost one of the best people he had ever known while rescuing her.
But he couldn’t because part of him wanted to pin her to the wall and kiss those glossy pink lips as if possessing her would drive out his grief over Jordan.
“So you’re just a dick, got it.”
The elevator dinged, and Mulberry strode out as if she owned the place.
Nick bit the inside of his cheek, cursing because all he could think about was how those full lips would look around his cock.
He wanted to feel the strands of that shiny hair wrapped around his fist.
His cock twitched as he brushed Mulberry’s arm, walking her down the hallway.
Desire pulsed in his veins.
Pushing it down, he strode to door number four and opened it with this thumbprint.
Going to door number four, he opened it with his thumbprint.
“Cool,” Mulberry mumbled.
“After you,” Nick held the door for her.
All the suites on this floor served as crash pads for whatever staff needed them, usually members of Team Stealth, and sometimes they used them as safe houses.
They were outfitted like luxurious hotel suites.
This suite opened to an open-concept living room with deep blue couches, a complete tv system and a small but functional kitchen.
Down the hall was one bedroom with one big bed.
“This isn’t awful,” Mulberry murmured, running her hand along the kitchen counter.
“A little more utilitarian than what you’re used to?”
“I meant, it’s surprising, that’s all.”
Her expression slipped into something softer again, and he wondered what she was thinking.
Mulberry opened the fridge and closed it again.
“Did you eat?”
“No.”
Nick sighed, marched to the fridge and pulled out a fruit tray.
“Eat.”
“I don’t want to,” she jutted out her chin.
“I wasn’t asking,” Nick said.
Her grey-blue eyes widened, and she lowered her gaze.
It was a way too submissive gesture, and Nick kicked himself, taking a step back from her.
Don’t even go there.
“It’s my job to keep you safe. You’ve been through an ordeal, and I won’t have you fainting on me.”
With slender fingers, she plucked a grape off the tray and popped it into her mouth, raising her eyebrows. “Satisfied?”
“Hardly. Now give me your plans for the day.”
“I told you. Do you have memory problems?” She hopped up on a stool, crossing one leg over another.
All Nick wanted was to touch her smooth skin, to see if it was as soft as it looked.
“Tell me again,” he leaned against the end of the counter, inches away from her.
“Like I said, hair with Emma, then dinner with her.”
“Okay, and I will join you at dinner. You’re going to have to tell Emma about me.”
Mulberry flushed, small pink spots appearing on her pale cheeks. “She’s going to be so mad at me, thinking I was keeping you a secret.”
“Do you normally keep secrets?” He watched her swallow hard, her fingers curl.
Nick wanted to shake her and make her talk to him, but he knew she was hurting, even if she pretended she wasn’t.
“Sometimes, when I have to.”
“And why do you have to?” He leaned forward, stopping himself from taking her slender fingers in his hand.
She laughed, her features changing to something soft and beautiful. Nick shook his hand and smiled ruefully.
“Okay, dumb question. But I do think we need to work on our back story.”
Mulberry nodded. “I came to Vancouver to see my mom film this show, but I do charity work with Growing Threads. They are a sustainable clothing line giving half their profits to charity.”
“How generous of them,” he said dryly.
“You’re against charity?” Mulberry to ok the plate, brushing by him, striding into the living room. Her floral scent teased his nostrils.
She leaned back against the couch, stretching out those gorgeous legs.
Feeling like some kind of forlorn puppy dog, he followed her.
“No,” Nick perched on the end of the couch. “I’m cynical of how much they actually help.”
“Because you know everything?” Incredulousness rang clear in her tone.
“No, because I watched people grandstand my whole life.” He wanted to be done with this conversation. “Fashion is not my thing. So I couldn’t meet you there. Where else?”
Mulberry shrugged. “When I was in Vancouver for the launch of the bag, that’s the last time I saw you. I went to the Ina Grott concert, but I guess girly hip hop isn’t your thing. I went with Emma and a group of friends. That guy with the shaved head and other bodyguards were on my details then. You stomped off during the day after I left the Growing Threads offices.”
Nick rubbed the stubble on his face and glared at her. “You didn’t listen. I told you to get in the car, and I’d drive you to the hotel as arranged, and you told me—“
“To go away,” Mulberry hugged her knees, and man did she ever look young.
Too damn young for the thoughts he had racing through his head.
Dirty thoughts, like how he wanted her legs around his neck. How he wanted to feel the weight of her breasts in his hands. “I ended up going with that woman and another guy.”
Nick curled his lip, remembering.
He felt slightly embarrassed that he couldn’t get her in the car. If it was a high-risk situation, anything other than basically babysitting, he would have done whatever was necessary to get her in that vehicle.
But Jeanette and Finn were the backups because it wasn’t long after the kidnapping and Jordan’s death, and Axis Management was on edge.
“Why did you tell me to go away?” His tongue felt thick in getting the words out.
Mulberry looked away. “I just needed space.”
It had been an unseasonably hot day in September, and he’d stood waiting outside the charity’s building. When she came out, she looked upset, tears streaking down her cheeks.
He grabbed her arm and asked if she was okay.
He glanced at her now, huddled into herself on the couch, her face between her knees.
She looked up as he moved, sitting on the table across from her.
“Mulberry, you have chosen the course here. It’s my job to keep you safe, and I promise I will do that. But I need to know if something could be a threat.”
The silence stretched between them for a couple of moments.
Nick knew how to wait. Though he wasn’t great at it, it was a learned skill he employed. |
He watched as the thoughts flickered across her expression.
She glanced at him and shook her head. “It’s been quiet. I haven’t noticed anything unusual lately. I haven’t had fan mail like I did right after it happened, men who wanted me to re-enact what happened to me in some warped fantasy.”
His blood heated. “Seriously?”
“Uh yeah, people suck.”
Staring at her grey-blue eyes, he leaned forward. “What happened that day at Growing Threads?”
She glanced away from him. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I know. But remember that thing about keeping you safe? Giving me info helps” he stared at her, urging her to talk.
“We had just finished filming the video for the commercial. The designer of the bag, who wasn’t informed of the agreement I had made, started asking me questions about the kidnapping, saying that I looked well, but it was the tone they said it in. As if I couldn’t be in one piece because of what happened.” She pushed the heel of her hands into her eyes, and he wanted to reach out and touch her, wrap her in his arms and hold her tight.
“The organization’s director stepped in and redirected the conversation, but I was too raw then. You were the first person I saw, and I just… freaked out.”
“Okay, I get that.”
“So when Emma asked me if I wanted to go to the concert, I said yes, even though I was supposed to fly home to L.A. that night.”
He couldn’t help but smile.
“What’s so funny?” Mulberry crossed her arms over her chest.
“My younger sister, Colette, was in town to help our father set up the satellite offices of Laurent Industries. She’s a huge Ina Grott fan. I went with her to the concert.”
Nick tried to stop the idiotic smile from spreading across his face but couldn’t.
Xander couldn’t have planned this better if he had tried.
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah.” From his pocket, he pulled out his phone and spoke into it. “Grott concert, photos.”
And passed the phone to Mulberry.
“Wow, you had better seats than I did.”
“Yeah. For our background story, we can say we met there, and we’ve dated on and off ever since. Now we’re on.” This time he did reach out and take her hand in his, her small delicate hand.
He remembered how cold her hand was when he and the other members of Team Stealth rescued her from that tent, how scared she was, and how she couldn’t speak for hours.
“Okay, we have an origin story, great.” Mulberry snatched her hand away. “I need a nap before I meet Emma.”
“Be my guest,” Nick spread his arms out wide, indicating the space.
“You can go,” she made a shooing gesture with her hands. It made him grind his molars.
“That’s not how this works, Mulberry. But because this building is so secure, I can take care of a couple things, but outside of here, we’ll be together. For future reference, I don’t like being told what to do.”
He put some steel in his tone, trying to figure her out. Her quick mood swings threw him. One moment she was haughty and snobby, the next open and vulnerable.
She bit her lip. “But you work for me. We hired you.”
“Correct. But your safety will come before anything, and I don’t take my orders from you.”
“Can I text you when I’m ready?”
“Text me as soon as you get up.” He stood, ending the conversation. There was no reason for her to text him immediately other than he wanted her to do it, to see how she followed orders.
“I wish I had something to change into. I can’t believe how tired this whole thing’s made me feel.”
“In the bedroom closet, there is probably loungewear of some kind. I’ll see what I can do about your things. Give me your phone.”
Without hesitation, she held it out to Nick. Using a Laurent Industries scanner app, he had all her phone’s info and contact in seconds.
Mulberry stood and shook her head as if stopping herself from waving bye at him or walking him to the door.
“Get some rest. The panels for the lights are here.” Nick pointed to the sleek bank of switches on the wall. “And you are completely safe.”
“That’s why I think I can sleep. Alone, finally,” her brows furrowed. She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Mulberry, is there anything else I need to know right now?”
“No. Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” Nick slid his hands into his pockets, trying to be casual.
“Do you have a girlfriend or a wife…when we’re photographed, am I going to cause trouble for you?” Her big eyes looked at him under her long wispy bangs, and something tugged at his heart at how insecure and empathetic she was at this moment.
He strode over to her. Reaching out, he trailed his fingers through her silky hair.
He lightly draped an arm around her when she didn’t pull away. She felt soft under his touch.
His thumb brushed her exposed collarbone for a moment.
An electric current sparked to life between them.
“No, Mulberry, I have no attachments. If we’re photographed together, my Mamie, my grandmother, will shout for joy.”
She smiled. “Really?”
“Yes, the Heir of Laurent Industries not setting down has been an issue.”
“I can imagine,” Mulberry mumbled.
“Oh, it’s worse than anything you can imagine. My mother tried to set me up just the other morning.”
She giggled. “Did you agree?”
“Nobody is going to tell me who to love or when. Also, I’m not the settling down type.”
“Lucky for me, you’re the bodyguard type.”
“Yeah.”
She smiled at him, and it wasn’t a fake expression. He was happy to see the worry leave her face. When she dropped her guards, being in her company was kind of easy.
“Ah, I should introduce you to the parents before the gala, sorry. Breakfast tomorrow?”
“Why are you saying sorry?”
“They’re kind of a lot.”
“I got myself into this. Should I be nervous?”
Nick shrugged. “No. They’ll love you, don’t worry.”
“They won’t be able to tell you don’t like me?”
“I will hide it well. I am good at my job.”
She smiled. “Breakfast is fine.”
“Yes. Do I need to tuck you into bed?”
She flushed and shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, Mulberry.”
“Bye, Nick Laurent,” Mulberry smiled.
“Don’t forget to call your dad,” he said, turning back.
“Do you always listen to your mama?”
Nick laughed. “Not as often as she’d like.”
“Okay, I’ll call dad. See you later.”
He closed the door behind him, his dick hard in his pants.
This was a horrible idea in so many ways because there was no way Mulberry could be anything other than an assignment, no matter how much her lips made his dick twitch.
***
Excerpt taken from Flame True by Raleigh Damson. All rights reserved.
