Mine to Protect

How to heal a broken heart? By drowning it with pink cocktails. Well, that was Natalie’s plan when she downed her third pink concoction ordered by her friend Makayla.The trendy club in Brooklyn Heights was packed to capacity and the three girls were lucky to get a booth near to the bar and further way from the DJ booth.“He was a dick, anyway. You are better off without him,” Aniyah said, twirling a yellow umbrella in her cocktail glass.Natalie sighed into her drink. “He really did have a nice dick and knew how to use it too.”The group of girls bursted out laughing.“You know what they say. To get over a guy, you get under another one and that tall drink of blond has been eyeing you all night Nat.” Makayla said, her honey-colored eyes twinkling with mischief.Natalie rolled her eyes. Aaden dumped two weeks ago. This night out was meant to get her mind out of the depressive state it has been in, not get entangled with another man.She couldn’t help but glimpse at the man Makayla was

Natalie treaded warily into her father’s office. She was ten minutes late and her father was a stickler to being on time. The wall of floor-to-ceiling windows let in the morning sun. The thick windows muted the traffic noise below. On one corner was a seating area with soft leather lounge sofas in pale brown, with a coffee table strewn with business magazines, newspapers, and books. Her father’s table sat in the far corner, lined by bookshelves packed to the seams with books. When she walked in, her father rose, his burly figure out of his chair, his hands firmly planted on the pale wooden desk. His Umber skin reddened by anger. Edson Lopes was a formidable opponent in the boardroom and this morning his intense stare focused on his daughter.“Natalie Luisa Lopes, where have you been these past weeks that I had to call you in for a meeting?” His brown eyes glowered at her. Sometimes her dad made her feel like she was five years again instead of 36 years.“Daddy, you know I was dumped b

Palmer breathed in the roasted aroma of the Colombian coffee that wafted from the coffee cup being filled by the sci-fi looking coffee maker. His mouth watered from the smell; in his entire existence, he had not tasted such excellent coffee.As he waited for the coffee in the small kitchenette, he saw Natalie standing in the hallway, talking to a colleague. Dressed in a skirt suit that showed her brown toned legs and perky ass, she looked captivating. His hand itched. He badly wanted to touch that ass, stroke it, and give it a good smack. A smack to show his displeasure at her doggedness at not acknowledging their night together. Sure, he knew nothing can happen between them now, but that night was something he didn’t want her to dismiss so quickly. For the past two weeks, there has been an awkward politeness between them that didn’t touch on anything remotely friendly. He picked her up at 8:30 each morning, with the same good-mannered greeting that she would return with a small smile

Natalie strode down the jet’s short stairs dressed in a dark navy skirt suit and black pointed toe Manolo Blahnik pumps that made clicking noises on the steel stairs. The professional getup made her feel more confident than she felt as she faced the three black SUVs that lined up on the private tarmac at Angola’s International Airport. Officials from the Luaestrela Diamond Company stood by the cars with blank facial expressions as they watched her descend.She swallowed hard as she tightly gripped the stairs railing. What would they think to see her here? Normally, they dealt with Nathan on the buyout. Nathan had even travelled to Angola two times for negotiations and now here she was for the final negotiations. Will they take her seriously? The look on their faces said they won’t too happy to see her.As her feet touched the tarmac, a short portly dark skinned man with a poor-fitting suit trotted toward her. His jacket shoulders sagged and his pants legs broke at the back of his shoe

Palmer stood in the shadows in the tropical style garden of Mauricio’s heavily guarded house. His eyes lingered on Natalie as she giggled at something the pompous Mauricio said. His jaw ticked when he saw Mauricio gaze lascivious at the exposed skin that Natalie showed from her outfit. Seeing her leave the hotel suite in the long sleeve crop top and mini skirt comprised only of thick leather side straps that showed thigh skin, with a waterfall of pastel fabric flowers jumping off the outfit but also connecting the two pieces together nearly stopped his heart. She was breathtakingly beautiful and extremely sexy, all the straight guys couldn’t keep their eyes off her and he wanted to scream “hands off, she’s mine.” But she wasn’t. He had been blessed with one night. One unforgettable night. That was all.“She’s stunning. Thinking about making a move?” A well-muscled white man with dark hair said with a thick Afrikaans accent.Palmer slightly turned his head to the side and looked at th