Romans de Majestique

HunterThe woman pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before disappearing through the curtain, leaving me alone with Travis.For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.Travis stood near the door, shoulders rigid, staring at anything but me. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else in the world.“This meant nothing,” he finally said.I raised an eyebrow.There was no point responding to that.I adjusted my clothes and sauntered toward him, stopping a few feet away. His eyes finally lifted to mine.“What meant nothing?” I asked. “It’s not like you touched me or anything. Guys get off with each other all the time.”His jaw tightened. “So you’ve done this before?”I grinned. “Maybe.”“With who?” The question came out sharper than I expected, and it gave me pause. I tilted my head. “Why?”His eyes narrowed. “That guy from the other day?” he demanded. “The one who got you high and was pawing at you? You've done this with him?"I blinked. “You mean Ivan?”The reaction was immediate. Something

Travis Hunter was seated on the long couch, legs spread out before him like an emperor on his throne. His eyes slid over to me as soon as I stepped into the room, and instead of asking me what the fuck I was doing there or tossing me out, his mouth curved into a half smile. I finally glanced over at the woman between us. There was a pole in the center of the room and she was curled around it, rolling her hips in a seductive motion. Soft music sounded from speakers mounted somewhere in the room, and the dim lights created a lulling atmosphere. The stripper paused as soon as I walked in, then glanced over her shoulder at me, a question in her eyes. I made my way over to the bed at the corner and dropped down onto the edge of it."Ignore him." Hunter's mocking voice cut through the sudden quiet. "Big bro's just trying to watch out for me." My jaw ground together, but I knew he was just trying to rile me up. It was strange to realize how much I could now read him. But not half as st

TravisHe was acting reckless. What the hell was wrong with him?That question had been circling my head since we’d walked through the doors of the strip club.Hunter had always been reckless, cocky, impulsive, stubborn as hell. But tonight felt different.He hadn’t touched a single drink, which was probably the only reason he was still standing while the rest of us slowly lost our dignity. But somehow, being sober made his decision to stay even more irritating. If he was drunk, I'd have blamed it on the alcohol.He was watching everything. Taking everything in.And every time one of the dancers came by, he’d toss a ten-dollar bill into the air with that stupid smirk on his face. Where the hell had he even gotten that much money to burn?“Come on!” Sammy yelled as another dancer spun around the pole.Law whooped beside him.I shook my head, keeping my smile fixed on my face while I continued staring at my step brother as covertly as possible, which wasn't all that difficult, judging b

HunterThe first round of drinks arrived before the captain did.Which, frankly, was impressive.Sammy had barely finished announcing that Neal was buying when the bartender appeared with a tray loaded with bottles and glasses. Everyone cheered like we’d just won the Stanley Cup.“Now we’re talking!” Law grabbed two bottles.I laughed, taking one for myself even though I knew I wasn't going to take a drop of it. I didn't want to be the party pooper or have to start explaining that I didn't drink.The bar was already loud enough to make conversation difficult. Music thumped through the floor, colored lights swept over the crowd, and our table had somehow become the center of attention.Neal leaned back in his chair, looking entirely too pleased with himself."What do you think? Having fun?" Neal asked.“So this is what you call celebrating?” I scoffed, swirling the drink in my glass.“Wait until round three,” Sammy piped up.“I’m not making it to round three.” I told him.“Coward.”“I

Travis“Welcome back to the team, Matthews.” Coach Warren’s voice carried across the locker room.For half a second, there was silence. Then the place exploded. Cheers erupted from every corner, guys shouting, whistling and pounding their palms against the benches. Someone threw a towel at Neal’s head. Sammy practically launched himself across the room and pulled him into a bear hug.“Fuck yeah!”Neal laughed, stumbling backward. “Miss me?”“Like a hole in the head!”“That’s not very welcoming.”Sammy shoved him affectionately.I smiled despite myself. It was good to see him here. Really good.For the past few weeks, there had been an uncomfortable emptiness around the team. Neal’s locker had remained untouched, his name still hanging above it while everyone pretended not to stare at the empty space.Now he was back. And everything felt right again. Almost.My gaze drifted across the room to where Hunter stood near the far end of the benches, arms crossed over his chest.He wasn’t che

TravisBy the time I got home, I was exhausted enough to barely register the front door closing behind me.The alcohol I’d had earlier wasn’t enough to make me drunk, exactly. Just enough to soften the edges of everything. The drive home had been a blur of streetlights and thoughts I didn’t want to have.Thomas Graves.Neal.Hunter.Always Hunter.I pushed a hand through my hair and headed into the living room, already planning to go straight upstairs.Then I stopped. My entire body went rigid.Hunter was curled up on the couch. And Zahara was curled up against him. Her head rested against his chest, one arm tucked between them. Hunter’s arm was draped around her shoulders.And she was wearing his old team's jersey.Something hot and vicious tore through me.“What the fuck?”Both of them jerked awake.Hunter blinked blearily, looking disoriented. Zahara lifted her head, rubbing her eyes.“Travis?”I barely heard her. My gaze was fixed on Hunter. “What are you doing?”Hunter frowned. “

CASSIE "The Tight what?" I asked, looking over my shoulder in confusion. My father pushed me out of the way and stepped closer to Liam, eyes shining with delight, "Liam Copeland in the flesh?" What the hell was going on? "I've been following your career since your college days and I always knew you'd be something. Your last game against the Texas Bears was a thing of beauty and_" my father trailed off, "Wait a damn minute, what are you doing at my front door?" Liam turned his brown, unreadable eyes at me, threw his arm over my shoulder and hurled me into his side, "You're going to have to ask my lovely wife." I narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion, but before I could ask him what he was playing at, my father let out a gasp. "Cassie? Tell me this is a dream and you're not actually married to the best hockey player of the twenty first century." Dad said, looking like he was going to pass out any moment from now. Everything suddenly began to make sense. From the

CASSIE "I can't believe you're doing this," Jeanne said over the phone as I paced at the airport to keep myself warm, "I know I've dragged you into a number of crazy things, but this has to be the craziest." I let out a breath, "Tell me about it. I don't even know anything about him except from his name. What if he doesn't show up?" "Then you'll tell everyone the plane crashed and your husband was lost in the accident." I giggled, "And what will I say when they asked how I survived?" "Surprise surprise, you had a parachute in your bag!" She gasped, causing me to laugh even louder. Just then a voice announcing that the flight to Louisiana was now boarding sounded across the airport. That was supposed to be our flight and there was still no sign of Liam. I didn't have his number or anyway to reach him, I was doomed. "It seems I'm going to have to use the excuse that my husband died in a plane crash after all." I sighed. "Not even married up to five months and yo

CASSIE "What?!" I barked when I finally managed to raise my jaw from the floor, "I'm sorry, but I think I heard you wrong. Did you just say I'm your wife?" The man's brown eyes hardened, and he pulled out a document from the inside pocket of his leather jacket, "Here." I hesitated, "What's that?" "It's a marriage document signed by Cassandra Love and I. If I'm not mistaken, you're Cassandra." There was something vaguely familiar about the man, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Which was weird as hell though. How could I ever forget such a gorgeous man? I racked through my memories and came up empty. Slowly, I reached for the document and unfolded it. My bestfriend hurried forward to read through it with me. "What in the name of craziness is this?" She whispered to me. My gaze jumped down to where my signature was scrawled boldly on a dotted line and then the date. Cold washed all over me and I went statue still as memories of that night suddenly assaulted me.

CASSIE THREE MONTHS LATER "Cas, your mum's calling again," Jeanne called out to me. "Damn it," I hurried into our shared office and grabbed my phone, "Hey mum." "I've been calling you all day," my mother grumbled, "The reason you have a phone is for communication darling. If you aren't going to pick your calls, we may as well start sending you post letters." "Did you need something or is dad not around for you to nag?" I teased. "I don't nag." She snapped, "Anyway, I was calling to ask you what day we are expecting you. Gabriel and Mia have already confirmed that they'll be arriving on the eighteenth." My heart skipped a beat and I swallowed, "Uh, expecting me where?" "Home for Christmas." She emphasized slowly. I licked my lips, while my stomach clenched uncomfortably, "Actually, I'm too cramped with work to celebrate Christmas this year." "I called Jeannie yesterday and she was kind enough to inform me that you're closing for the holidays soon," she hu

ASSIE "If anyone has a reason why these two shouldn't be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace," the priest said. "I do!" The large double doors of the church suddenly burst open, revealing my sister. "Mia?" I asked in confusion, wondering what was going on. My younger sister was supposed to be my chief bridesmaid, but at the last moment, she had informed me about an emergency that would keep her out of town on my wedding day. Her sudden presence at the church made no sense at all. Or maybe it was a surprise for me. My mouth began to curve into a pleased smile. "Gabe, I love you!" She declared, and my smile froze on my face. "W-what?" I stammered, but she ignored me, her blue eyed gaze locked on my groom. As she began to march down the hall, camera flashes started going off. "I love you, Gabe and I know you love me too. I'm tired of keeping this thing between us hidden like a dirty little secret," she began to walk toward the altar, "And

Nina"Where do you think the laptop is?""Nina_""I mean, If it wasn't in the car and wasn't at Miriam webster's house, then maybe she secured it somewhere else cause she knew she wasn't safe." My brain raced with thought after thought. "A storage compartment under a fake name or a bank.""Nina_""There has to be something that points us to the location of the_""Nina, enough." Paul sighed.My head snapped to the side, surprised at his exasperated tone. He shook his head with a small smile."I understand that you want to find that laptop_""I need to find it, there's a difference." I corrected. "It could be the key to everything. If it has a full evidence of all the Intel she's gathered over the years, then we can finally have the smoke syndicate and Santiago in the bag. All of this will be over?""Then what?"I blinked at him. "Excuse me."He shrugged. "Have you ever thought of what will be next? After you take Santiago down and find your sister. What next?"The truth was that I hadn

Raffaele Her taste lingered on my mouth, and it was all I could do not to walk right into that station and reacquaint myself with the taste of her. What the hell had I allowed to happen?Why had I kissed her? I had gone after her to warn her. To threaten her. To make sure she never went near The Sprawl again.Instead, I’d hunted her through the dark and kissed her like a man with nothing left to lose.The moment I had her trapped in my hold, all civility went out the door, replaced by something that was pure animal, pure instinct. Something that made me want to break her down to the bone and rebuild her where she belonged, under my hand.It was... I didn't have a word for it. I had never been the sort of person to lose control. Years of always following a clear plot and that fucking cop had come and blew everything to smithereens. What was so special about her? She wasn't my usual type, she was too abrasive, too sharp, too short. Too everything. "Mr. Santiago." I blinked back

Nina An explosion rocked through me, blowing my senses into dust. The realization that Santiago was kissing me was pushed into a distant part of my brain by the heat of his mouth. I made a sound of protest in my throat, but his fingers only tightened on my jaw, tongue teasing against the seams of my mouth till I had no choice but to open for him. Why was he doing this? Why did it feel so good? Was this some sort of punishment? Instead of trying to fight him off, my traitorous body gave in. A moan rumbled in my chest and his hand around my wrist tightened, sending pain shooting through my shoulders at the angle they were held in. But still, nothing mattered but the feel of his mouth on mine. Santiago's tongue swept into my mouth, dragging over mine and coaxing it into action. My knees had turned to jelly, and the only thing holding me upright was his hold on me. It had been over a year since I had had a man's mouth on me, but every other encounter I had ever had pal

NinaI knew I was toast the moment I ran, but the only other option was staying right there and everything inside of me protested at the thought of obeying Santiago. And so I ran. My breath came out short and fast as I pushed through overgrown grass, muscles pumping as I pushed my body as hard as I could. I didn't have any clear destination, and there was probably nothing for miles, and yet I kept on running. Panic gripped me like a vice, squeezing my chest tight as I heard grasses ruffling a distance away. He was coming for me. "Run, Nina." His dark voice drawled behind me, faint enough that I knew he wasn't close, but still, chills still raced up my spine. He can't harm you, a voice in my head pointed out. I ignored it. This wasn't about Santiago hurting me. It was about power, defiance, that dangerous thing that I'd been dancing around since the moment I ran into him at the warehouse. It was about the glint in his eyes when he looked at me, the way his fingers had curled te

Rafael"And then she fell off the fire escape." Tony concluded his report. By then, my jaw was already clenched so tight that it was a miracle my teeth hadn't cracked and shattered. Trading guns and drugs while trying to keep up the facade of the perfect, philanthropic business man was nothing compared to trying to keep that foolhardy cop out of harm's way. For the millionth time, I asked myself why I even cared. It would be far easier to sit back and watch her dig her own grave. By the look of things, she was already half way done with the digging anyway. So why had I hired someone to babysit her? Tony's skills were costing me a pretty penny and he was probably confused as to why he was being made to watch over an FBI agent. He was a top rated and sought after mercenary, not a bodyguard. "Is that all?" I asked. He shrugged, looking bored. "The police spoke to her, combed through her building and my location on the rooftop across from hers." "Good. Continue trailing her." I sai

Nina "I can't believe Paul let you go there!" My best friend hissed over the phone as I trudged home from work the night after our near death experience at The Sprawl. "Let me?" I scoffed. "I don't need Paul's permission. I'm a full grown_" "Don't you dare say adult, because no self preservating adult in their right senses would go anywhere within a ten mile radius of that place." Katy spat out the last word like calling it a place was an affront on it's own. I cursed myself silently for even letting it slip that I had gone to The Sprawl. In my defense, Katy was as persuasive as they came. She was a living lie detector. I had tried to steer the conversation in a million different directions but she had kept on pressing till the truth had come tumbling out. "Katy_""I don't even want to talk to you right now." She cut me off with a growl."I needed to get answers." I sighed. "You could have died there. And I wouldn't have had any idea where to even recover your body from." She ma