Authors: Suzanne Halliday,Jenny Sims
Tags: #Romance, #Contemporary, #Military, #Literature & Fiction, #Contemporary Fiction
Unchained
Copyright © 2016 by Suzanne Halliday
UNCHAINED A Family Justice Novel
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by an means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.
ISBN-10: 1-945399-00-7
ISBN-13: 978-1-945399-00-8
This book is meant for mature readers who are 18+.
It contains explicit language, and graphic sexual content.
Edited by
www.editing4indies.com
Book Cover Design by
www.ashleybaumann.com
Formatting by
Champagne Formats
Table of Contents
This book is for #FamilyJustice
You know who you are
A
DISTINCTIVE CLANG
danced on the wind as a swift breeze moved the metal tubes of a wind chime hanging from the corner of the patio. Tori loved the deep, soothing sound.
Laying her head on the high back of a wicker rocker, she swayed forward and back and enjoyed the quiet early morning—her favorite time of the day. The natural rhythm of life at the Villa started daily at the crack of dawn and went full bore until late afternoon when everyone scattered, and the siesta took over.
But here in the soft morning air of another beautiful summer day in Arizona, she found the Zen her heart and soul craved.
Snuggled with his head on her shoulder and his chubby body curled on her chest was her beautiful, beautiful child. The occasional sound of binky sucking was all she heard, as she bent her head and breathed him in. Could anything compare to the smell of a baby? She doubted it.
Kissing Daniel’s forehead, Tori sighed. Her son was a gift, an enchantment she never saw coming. Until he was born and lying safely in her arms, she wasn’t aware of the fierce, protective instinct lurking inside her.
“I’m so blessed,” she whispered into her son’s curls.
The rocker slowly swayed. Daniel snoozed; his adorable baby hands folded together in front of him as though he prayed. The corners of her mouth lifted in a smile. Holy crap balls, she was a mom! A year and a half ago, she was a freefalling, emotional mess. Her life was in the shitter, and until a geeky veteran with an impressive and exclusive security agency rescued her by way of a personal favor to her mother, Tori hadn’t a clue what to do with herself.
Alex Marquez, nerd kind extraordinaire, became not just her boss, but in every way it mattered, he was also something of a surrogate for the father she’d lost as a young girl. She’d walk through a hail of gunfire for the man and not only because he saved her in so many ways it was impossible to count. The man was, simply put, one of the most honorable, decent, and loyal human beings she’d ever known. He was a lot like her dad.
And if it hadn’t been for Big Daddy—she snickered at the reminder of one of Alex’s many nicknames—she would never have met a certain notorious playboy with the romance novel name and fallen ass over stilettos for the guy.
Draegyn St. John. Jeez. Just thinking about him and saying his name made a tingling thrill shoot up her spine.
And then the thrill vanished—poof—in the blink of an eye like a bubble floating in the heat of the sun. Tori became instantly agitated when a knot of anxiety invaded her calm.
Draegyn.
She didn’t know what was going on with him, and her persistent apprehension about their confusing situation was taking a toll.
Daniel was six months old, and according to the new Hollywood post-pregnancy scale, she had not only lost all the baby weight, but she’d also kept going and had become dangerously thin.
It wasn’t by design, though. She hadn’t set out to prove anything to anybody. She’d been through a wretched pregnancy and a scary birth. Honestly, she was just grateful to be in one piece.
Shifting the baby’s weight, she settled more comfortably in her rocker. Pretending it didn’t bother her that she’d lost her appetite and barely ate enough to sustain a bird was stupid. But acknowledging something and doing anything about it was not the same thing.
The crazy mood swings and strange status of her relationship with her husband were at the center of her issues, and she hardly knew what to do.
Loving Draegyn as she did, it confused and scared her that throughout the difficult days of her pregnancy and after Daniel’s birth, things had changed between them. Oh, he still loved her. She didn’t doubt that. Not really. In public, he was as he’d always been with her. Attentive. Loving. Respectful. Not only that, but he was also fully engaged as a father and bent over backward to see to her comfort.
All great. Not a complaint in the bunch. But loving, attentive, and respectful wasn’t who she married. At least, not when they were behind closed doors. The man she fell for was arrogant, impetuous, and double-oh-badass. That man swept into the room, picked her up, and slammed her against the wall so he could take her with the savage ferocity she craved.
Nowadays, their sexy times were fine, she guessed. After a bumpy start post-pregnancy, they fell into a kind of ho-hum intimacy. Oh sure, he still loved her into a coma and saw to her every need, but she also knew he was holding back. The loving was great, so where the hell was her complaint?
Simple. She wanted her double-oh-badass back. Wanted to be hunted and consumed by his voracious sexual appetite, not loved attentively with an extra helping of respect. Was she crazy for wanting him to smack her ass, yank her hair, and fuck the sense from her? Damn. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d thrown her on the floor where she stood, pushed her head down, and pulled her ass up for a delicious pounding that ended in grunts and screams. Not the controlled growls and mewling whimpers of late.
Talk about confused and confusing. Tori simply didn’t get it. What changed? Sure, they had a kid now but what the hell. Didn’t matter what she did either. They used to shower together. Call it whatever you want—saving water, shower time fun—but even that changed. The last time she surprised her sexy hubs in the shower, he’d been more than eager to get frisky. Right up until the second he freaked the fuck out because taking a shower and having a condom at the ready weren’t compatible.
Tori’s heart did a little fluttery thing, and her stomach knotted painfully. Draegyn’s dogged insistence they practice painstaking birth control was a sign of something troubling. She was sure of it. But a sign of what?
Damn. It sure would help if Irish were around. Meghan had a way about her that cut through the extraneous bullshit like a hot knife slicing butter. Tori missed her friend. The newlyweds had been gone way too fucking long—a bitchy thought she instantly regretted. The happy groom and his radiant bride had more than earned an extended stay in Spain at the rustic finca Alex’s parents gave them for a wedding present. After all, being Big Daddy and Lady Mama to the motley crew making up Family Justice was a full-time job and then some. Getting away from Arizona for a time wasn’t a bad thing. Not at all.