Black Tie: HOT Heroes for Hire: Mercenaries: A Black’s Bandits Novel Page 24
“Why not? I’ll never open my own place in Williamsburg. I can’t compete with my mother. I don’t want to, either. Besides, I like it here. I love the view and I can envision so many projects to make this house really shine. The bones are here—it just needs the vision.”
God, he wanted her here with him so badly. But he didn’t want to take her from her life in Williamsburg. Her mother. Sharon, who’d bounced back from the experience with Broussard and been a rock for Tallie. Even Bill, who Brett liked a lot. Bill was a no nonsense kind of guy who loved to hunt and fish and wanted to make Mary Claire Grant his wife. That she wouldn’t say yes hadn’t phased him yet. He wasn’t giving up, and Brett thought he’d wear her down one of these days.
“Tallie, if you want to tear it down and rebuild it, I’m on your side. Whatever you want.”
She laughed. “We don’t need to go that far.”
“What about your mom? What will she say?”
Tallie shrugged. “I already told her I was thinking about it. She was a little shocked at first. But she came around. She likes you a lot. And I think maybe she’s realized that I need to do my own thing and not try to emulate her. I won’t ever be her, or Josie.”
“Baby, we’ve talked about that. You know that you’re perfect the way you are.”
“Not perfect, but yes, I know now that Josie basically did whatever Mom wanted so she was easier for Mom to deal with. I was always a little too independent, I guess.” She pushed herself upright to meet his gaze evenly. “Do you know that she told me just yesterday that she loved every stick of furniture I bought in France? Even the pieces I didn’t tell her about before I did it? She said I had a great eye. The shipment’s been in the warehouse for two weeks, so I wasn’t expecting her to say anything now. But she did.”
Brett was happy for her. “You do have a great eye. I wandered around Bavaria with you, remember? Hey, think we can get one of those painted pieces you liked?”
“We are definitely getting one of those painted pieces. In fact, I was hoping maybe we could go back there, sometime next spring or summer, and find it together.”
“You know I’m a guy with zero taste in furnishings, right?”
“I do know that. But I also know I want to see those mountains again. With you. I want to yodel.”
“You do not want to yodel.”
She giggled and snuggled back into his side. “Okay, maybe I won’t yodel. But I want to spend more than two nights there this time, and I want to hike the mountains.”
“We’ll go then.” It was an easy thing to give her.
“I want to go to Venice, too.” She frowned fiercely. “I want to replace all the bad memories with good ones. You said those people weren’t a threat anymore, though Natasha said it first.”
“She did say it first. But Ian confirmed it.”
In reality, Lane Jordan had finally managed to break the encryption and trace the money to the source. The Gemini Syndicate wasn’t responsible for the auctions, but they had definitely taken a cut. The organizers were Chinese mafia, and Paloma Bruni was the connection between them and the Syndicate. The whole thing had gotten too hot to handle and the mafia was shutting it down. For now.
Paloma had gone to ground after Roberto Broussard was killed, but she’d been sighted in Brazil recently. Brett had a hunch that Natasha Orlova would soon take care of her. He didn’t feel a shred of disgust over it either.
Natasha remained a mystery, but he was beginning to think there was method to her madness. She’d shot her own brother, and she’d shot Colt—but Brett couldn’t hate her the way he might once have done. Maybe she’d had ulterior motives, but she’d helped Tallie—and he would always be grateful for that.
“Did you find the other women who were on the stage that night?” Tallie asked, her pretty eyes filled with concern.
“We did. They’ve all been freed. Except those who didn’t want to be.”
Tallie blinked. “There were women who didn’t want to be freed?”
“Believe it or not, there are some lonely billionaires in this world with shitty dating skills. And they attend bachelorette auctions to find a woman. At least one of the ladies is engaged to her man, and a couple of others are living in the lap of luxury.”
Tallie’s mouth had dropped open. “Wow.”
He pressed a quick kiss to those cherry lips. “Hey, don’t be so skeptical. You’re in love with the man who bought you, aren’t you?”
She laughed and set her wine down to wrap her arms around his neck. “Well, yes, I am, Mr. Big Bucks.”
“Best money I ever spent,” he said. “The most, too.”
“I’m worth it. You’ll see.”
He set his wine down and tugged her across his lap. “I already see, baby. Every minute with you is worth a million bucks. Every second.”
“You are so romantic, Brett Stone Wheeler. And handsome as hell in that black-tie get up. Now kiss me.”
He didn’t stop at kissing her. After they’d stripped and made love in front of the fireplace, with the Christmas lights twinkling and soft carols playing in the background, he dragged a blanket over them as they lay together and stared at the fire.
“I love you, Tallie.”
“I love you, too.”
“What do you think about getting a puppy together?” He’d save the marriage and kids for another day, but he wanted those with her too.
“I think I’d love that. Can we get a kitten as well?”
“We can get anything you want, baby.”
“Even a pony?” she teased.
He dropped his mouth to her neck, licked her skin. “If a pony makes you happy, we’ll get one of those too.”
She turned in his arms, caressed his cheek. “You make me happiest of all.”
“That’s the plan. For the rest of my life.”
New Year’s Eve…
* * *
Colt thought about skipping Jace and Maddy’s New Year’s Eve party, but in the end he decided to go. Angelica Turner would probably be there, but he could deal with it. The girl turned him on, no doubt about it, but that didn’t mean a thing. Not since she wouldn’t let him get close to her.
She hadn’t texted him since that day on the plane. He hadn’t texted her either.
He walked into Jace and Maddy’s house, which was packed with BDI operatives as well as other friends of theirs, and accepted the beer someone handed him.
He circulated, talking to people as he went, scanning the crowd for Angie. When he spotted her, his heart did a flip and his balls started to ache. She had her long red hair pulled back in a pony tail and she was wearing a black dress that hugged her curves. Strappy heels helped to showed off miles of leg. Not that she was very tall, probably five-six or so, but the heels made her seem taller and leggier.
She looked up then and her gaze met his. Her lips were painted red and her blue eyes sparked with emotion. He decided to make his way toward her, but before he got there someone else started to talk to her and she turned away.
As the night wore on, he talked to a lot of different people, but he never approached Angie. And she didn’t approach him.
“Hey, it’s time,” Jace announced.
Everyone began to shout the countdown along with Ryan Seacrest on the television. “Three, two, one—Happy New Year!”
Colt shouted it out with everyone else. Horns blew and people kissed. Colt watched his friends kissing their women. He lifted his beer, prepared to kiss that instead, when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned around. Angie stood there, looking up at him with soft eyes. Then she went up on tiptoe and pressed her mouth to his. It was a quick kiss, yet it rocked him to his toes.
She pulled away, frowning at him. “Happy New Year, Colt.”
“Happy New Year. Angie, I—”
She put her hand over his mouth, stopping him from saying another word. Then she turned and slipped into the press of bodies in Jace and Maddy’s living room.
He didn’t follow her. He knew she didn’t want him to.
One day, she’d be ready. He hoped it was soon.
Thank you so much for reading BLACK TIE, the second book in the brand new Black’s Bandits series! If you’d like to find out what happens to Colt and Angie, then reserve your copy of BLACK OUT today!
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* * *
He ripped her heart out once before.
She vowed she’d never fall again.
Until she has to pretend she still loves him…
"As for Navy SEAL Dane "Viking" Erikson? Well if the man doesn't melt the panties off of you, I just don't know if we're reading the same book." ~ Dirty Girl Romance
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Books by Lynn Raye Harris
HOT Heroes for Hire: Mercenaries
Black’s Bandits
* * *
Book 1: BLACK LIST - Jace & Maddy
* * *
Book 2: BLACK TIE - Brett & Tallie
* * *
Book 3: BLACK OUT - Colt & Angie - Coming Soon!
The Hostile Operations Team Ⓡ Books
Book 0: RECKLESS HEAT
* * *
Book 1: HOT PURSUIT - Matt & Evie
* * *
Book 2: HOT MESS - Sam & Georgie
* * *
Book 3: HOT PACKAGE - Billy & Olivia
* * *
Book 4: DANGEROUSLY HOT - Kev & Lucky
* * *
Book 5: HOT SHOT - Jack & Gina
* * *
Book 6: HOT REBEL - Nick & Victoria
* * *
Book 7: HOT ICE - Garrett & Grace
* * *
Book 8: HOT & BOTHERED - Ryan & Emily
* * *
Book 9: HOT PROTECTOR - Chase & Sophie
* * *
Book 10: HOT ADDICTION - Dex & Annabelle
* * *
Book 11: HOT VALOR - Mendez & Kat
* * *
Book 12: HOT ANGEL - Cade & Brooke
* * *
Book 13: HOT SECRETS - Sky & Bliss
* * *
Book 14: HOT JUSTICE - Wolf & Haylee
* * *
Book 15: HOT STORM - Mal ~ Coming Soon!
The HOT SEAL Team Books
Book 1: HOT SEAL - Dane & Ivy
* * *
Book 2: HOT SEAL Lover - Remy & Christina
* * *
Book 3: HOT SEAL Rescue - Cody & Miranda
* * *
Book 4: HOT SEAL BRIDE - Cash & Ella
* * *
Book 5: HOT SEAL REDEMPTION - Alex & Bailey
* * *
Book 6: HOT SEAL TARGET - Blade & Quinn
* * *
Book 7: HOT SEAL HERO - Ryan & Chloe
* * *
Book 8: HOT SEAL DEVOTION - Zach & Kayla
The HOT Novella in Liliana Hart’s MacKenzie Family Series
HOT WITNESS - Jake & Eva
7 Brides for 7 Brothers
MAX (Book 5) - Max & Ellie
7 Brides for 7 Soldiers
WYATT (Book 4) - Max & Ellie
7 Brides for 7 Blackthornes
* * *
ROSS (Book 3) - Ross & Holly
Who’s HOT?
Alpha Squad
Matt “Richie Rich” Girard (Book 0 & 1)
Sam “Knight Rider” McKnight (Book 2)
Kev “Big Mac” MacDonald (Book 3)
Billy “the Kid” Blake (Book 4)
Jack “Hawk” Hunter (Book 5)
Nick “Brandy” Brandon (Book 6)
Garrett “Iceman” Spencer (Book 7)
Ryan “Flash” Gordon (Book 8)
Chase “Fiddler” Daniels (Book 9)
Dex “Double Dee” Davidson (Book 10)
* * *
Commander
John “Viper” Mendez (Book 11)
* * *
Deputy Commander
Alex “Ghost” Bishop
* * *
Echo Squad
Cade “Saint” Rodgers (Book 12)
Sky “Hacker” Kelley (Book 13)
Dean “Wolf” Garner (Book 14)
Malcom “Mal” McCoy (Book 15)
Jake “Harley” Ryan (HOT WITNESS)
Jax “Gem” Stone
Noah “Easy” Cross
Ryder “Muffin” Hanson
* * *
SEAL Team
Dane “Viking” Erikson (Book 1)
Remy “Cage” Marchand (Book 2)
Cody “Cowboy” McCormick (Book 3)
Cash “Money” McQuaid (Book 4)
Alexei “Camel” Kamarov (Book 5)
Adam “Blade” Garrison (Book 6)
Ryan “Dirty Harry” Callahan (Book 7)
Zach “Neo” Anderson (Book 8)
Corey “Shade” Vance
* * *
Black’s Bandits
Jace Kaiser (Book 1)
Brett Wheeler (Book 2)
Colton Duchaine (Book 3)
Tyler Scott
Ian Black
Jared
Rascal
? Unnamed Team Members
* * *
Freelance Contractors
Lucinda “Lucky” San Ramos, now MacDonald (Book 3)
Victoria “Vee” Royal, now Brandon (Book 6)
Emily Royal, now Gordon (Book 8)
Miranda Lockwood, now McCormick (SEAL Team Book 3)
Bliss Bennett, (Book 13)
About the Author
Lynn Raye Harris is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the HOSTILE OPERATIONS TEAM ® SERIES of military romances as well as twenty books for Harlequin Presents. A former finalist for the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award and the National Readers Choice Award, Lynn lives in Alabama with her handsome former-military husband, two crazy cats, and one spoiled American Saddlebred horse. Lynn's books have been called “exceptional and emotional,” “intense,” and “sizzling.” Lynn's books have sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide.
To connect with Lynn online:
www.LynnRayeHarris.com
Lynn@LynnRayeHarris.com
Black Tie
Copyright © 2019 by Lynn Raye Harris
Cover Design Copyright © 2019 Croco Designs
All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ISBN: 978-1-941002-47-6
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