He lifts me again, bracing me against his chest and cutting me off from my last line of escape without remorse. “So we can…talk.”
The way he says it? I don’t think that’s all we’ll be doing.
WICKED AS LIES
Zyron and Tessa, Part One
Wicked & Devoted, Book 3
by Shayla Black
NOW AVAILABLE!
(will be available in eBook, print, and audio)
Click here to purchase!
He wants her…and he doesn’t care that she’s the enemy.
Chase “Zyron” Garrett left a bloody stint with Uncle Sam for the personal security business. His employment agreement forbids hookups with co-workers, which isn’t a problem—until Tessa Lawrence, the office secretary and single mom, is harassed by her vengeful ex-boyfriend. Zy is assigned to protect her, but the moment he meets the gorgeous blonde, those contractual restrictions tighten around him like a noose.
Tessa Lawrence is alone in the world…except for her newborn baby, and she’s determined to survive without anyone’s help. Then Zy walks through her door. Fiercely protective yet tender, he’s everything she wants in a man, lover, and father for her daughter. But he’s totally off-limits. If she falls for him, she’ll be fired.
When a teammate is captured and the enemy predicts their every move, it’s clear they’ve got a mole. The bosses task Zy with discovering their traitor, and all clues point to the woman he’s losing his heart to. With danger lurking, he’s caught in a tangle of unquenched need and searing betrayal. Will their love be the greatest casualty of all?
EXCERPT
January 26
Chase Garrett, known to most as Zyron, stepped off his bike and locked up his helmet. His hands fucking shook. On the long walk up the shadowy path to the familiar front door, he let out a slow breath. Calm wasn’t happening.
He’d waited forever for the right to touch Tessa Lawrence. He’d been her friend, her co-worker, and her protector. But most of all, he wanted to be her lover.
Today, everything had changed. So tonight, that might finally happen.
Night enveloped him, chilly, still, and clear. Stars winked in a vast midnight sky. The world seemed to have stopped, as if it held its breath in anticipation. Or maybe that was just him, working to keep his lungs functioning and his head screwed on straight. Thoughts of Tessa made him hungry and desperate. Always had. He’d never craved a woman the way he did her.
Would she finally say yes?
At the front door, he knocked and told himself he wasn’t making a mistake. He wanted to do this. Yeah, but he had to do this. His bosses hadn’t left him any choice.
It took a minute, but the porch light came on. He sensed Tessa on the other side, saw a shadow pass in front of the peephole. Finally, she eased the door open. Her face was bare, her blond hair in a messy bun on top of her head. Her bottom lip was rosy and puffy, as if she’d been chewing on it in worry. She wasn’t wearing anything fancy, just a plain set of long-sleeved cotton pajamas in a muted green with a simple satin trim, but they hugged every curve of that body he’d craved for ten seemingly endless months. They also told him she wore nothing underneath.
All his blood rushed south. He started to sweat.
“Zy.” She sounded surprised, but she looked as if she’d half been expecting him. “What are you doing here? It’s getting late. Are you okay?”
“Did you really think that, after today, I wouldn’t come?”
“No.”
“Is Hallie asleep?” he asked of her infant daughter.
“She fought some, but I got her down about thirty minutes ago.”
He enjoyed spending time with the little girl, but she was a distraction they didn’t need tonight. “Good. Can I come in?”
She hesitated. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Did you get a new contract today?”
Another hesitation before she nodded. “Joaquin emailed it to me.”
“Did you sign it?”
“Zy…” She bit her lip again, this time as if she tried to stop herself from answering.
He wasn’t letting this go. He’d waited for her. He’d wanted her. And he intended to take her. “Did you?”
She sighed. “Yes.”
“So did I, first thing this morning. The restrictions keeping us apart are gone.”
“They are, but—”
“There are no more ‘buts’, Tessa.”
Finally, she nodded. “How did you know?”
“The bosses told me.”
“Why?”
She wasn’t asking why they’d rewritten the employment contracts and rescinded the clause that had prevented them from having any non-work contact of a sexual nature. No doubt the trio of bastards they worked for had fed her some story. They were good at that. Probably why they were successful. No, Tessa wanted to know why they’d told him about her contract.
Because they want me to get close to you, to fuck you, and find out if you’ve been selling us out. Right now, I hate my goddamn job…but I want you more. “Because when they changed mine, I asked about yours. You know why.”
“I do.”
Good. “Can you think of a single reason I can’t come in, strip you down, and make love to you? Tell me right now.”
Even by the vague lights of the porch, he saw color flush her cheeks. “Did you mean what you said on Christmas Eve?”
“Every word.”
Tessa dragged in a shaky breath as she stared at him with big green eyes. Finally, she stepped back, her baby pink toe nails a soft splash of color against the white tile of her foyer. “Then there’s no reason at all. Come in.”
LET’S GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER!
Shayla Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than eighty novels. For over twenty years, she’s written contemporary, erotic, paranormal, and historical romances via traditional, independent, foreign, and audio publishers. Her books have sold millions of copies and been published in a dozen languages.
Raised an only child, Shayla occupied herself with lots of daydreaming, much to the chagrin of her teachers. In college, she found her love for reading and realized that she could have a career publishing the stories spinning in her imagination. Though she graduated with a degree in Marketing/Advertising and embarked on a stint in corporate America to pay the bills, her heart has always been with her characters. She’s thrilled that she’s been living her dream as a full-time author for the past eleven years.
Shayla currently lives in North Texas with her wonderfully supportive husband and daughter, as well as two spoiled tabbies. In her “free” time, she enjoys reality TV, reading, and listening to an eclectic blend of music.
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