A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance
Night of the Kings Series
By
Shayne Ford
Genre: New Adult Erotic Romance
LUST. POWER. BAD
BOYS. LOVE. BETRAYAL.
This is a story
about love, taming hearts, growing up and changing. It is about a good girl
corrupting a bad boy, who turns her into a bad girl. And then, it’s about a bad
girl, who brings the bad boy to his knees.
Rain meets James
for the first time, fresh out of high school. Fascinated by him, she wants him
to be her first man, someone she can never forget. At twenty-five, James is a
ruthless, powerful, wealthy man, who’s never had feelings for a woman and wants
to keep things that way.
He has two
handsome best friends who are also his business partners.
This is NOT a
conventional, linear romance. Expect a bit of a mess, dirty bits, other people,
cliffhangers and twists of situations.
Chapter One
RAIN
Nobody knows
where they come from.
Some people say
they travel from the other side of the hills, where the wealthiest estates of
the county share the beautiful scenery of Aspen and the well-guarded privacy of
big money, but they could drive from farther away.
They come with
the first whispers of the fall when the days are still warm, and the light
looks like golden honey pouring slowly in a jar of glass. When the nights grow
cold, and the leaves flutter in the wind under the vault of the cerulean sky. When
homes like mine and Eve’s smell like cinnamon and apple pies, and smoke drifts
from the piles of leaves burning outside.
They drive
through town like ghosts while we spend our evenings tucked under the blankets,
sipping tea and eating cookies, spinning stories like this.
But some people
swear they see them all year round. Mostly at night, and almost never during
the day, and that’s why it’s so hard to believe.
As they sweep
through town, the whispers become murmurs before they turn into gossip, the
stories, old and new, resurfacing, revived, spurring restlessness amongst the
youngsters and skepticism amongst the older.
Men brush the
idea off, huffing and puffing and grumping, turning a deaf ear to the women’s
ramblings.
People spot
their cars or bikes, but not that many get the chance to see them. Certainly
not us, who are barely out of high school.
Women are the
ones who spread the rumors, but their stories should be taken with a grain of
salt.
Regardless, the
tales and mysteries abound.
Eve and I love
the legend.
Unlike her, I’m
not willing to admit.
Some say they
head west–– right outside of town, where an old estate sprawls on a big piece
of land, guarded by the majestic forest in the background.
That’s where the
road comes to an end, and the Dark House rises on the shore of a large,
shimmering lake, the mansion shrouded in a lot of mystery just like them.
Surrounded by
old trees, alleys with wrought iron benches, flowering shrubs and a brick wall
covered with wild roses, the property–– if we are to believe the story, belongs
to them.
Footpaths
crisscross the land, an old tale saying there’s an abandoned tunnel hidden in
the thick woods stretching behind the house.
Other people
have spotted them downtown at Red’s–– the building with charcoal gray walls,
red painted stairs, and black tinted windows. The playground of the most
powerful and wealthiest men in town, perhaps the county. The favorite place for
wheeling and dealing and indulging in guilty pleasures away from their spouses’
eyes.
Throughout the
years the space we grew up in has become a portal between old and new, truth
and secret, pure and sin, stories like this making the town feel so alive.
“Wait for me,”
Eve shouts as I dart away from her, the wind blowing in my hair, the sun
kissing my cheeks.
“I’ll meet you
down there,” I say, pointing at the bottom of the slope.
Chapter One
Rain
One week till Christmas ~ New York
There’s no stronger force than love. It makes
you crawl and cry and curse. It tortures you and poisons you before it shows
you bliss to hook you even more, and then it makes you bleed. It brings the
toughest man to his knees and turns a woman’s heart into a pile of ashes.
“She doesn’t pay you to read… you know,” a
terse voice rings out behind me, scratching my ears.
I stifle a retort.
She who pays me is not the owner of the
store, and she who speaks is not my boss, but that’s useless to convey as well.
Clinging to my last ounce of dignity, I
slowly fold the piece of paper, place it in my pocket and start stacking books
on the shelf.
The more I sense her stare on my back, the
more nervous I become. Suddenly, my lips are dry, and my hands turn sweaty as
my dress begins to itch.
Pacing myself, I run trembling fingers over
my skirt. I wish she’d go away. No fucking chance.
I have no other choice but turn around and
face her.
Angel, my co-worker, a petite woman in her
mid-twenties, who looks more mature than her age, straightens her back and
creases her lips into a disdainful smile.
Her orange sweater makes the pearls around
her neck look yellow and her skin translucent. A tangerine ribbon holds her
curly hair in place as her beaded eyes follow me intently from behind
thick-rimmed glasses.
How many times have we been through this?
She harassing me while I pretend I’m an
idiot.
“I thought you’re leaving,” I say dryly.
“I am,” she says, throwing me a disgusted
look, her fingers flipping a freshly sharpened pencil.
My eyes drop to the wedding band gracing her
ring finger.
Who can love a woman like this?
Pure hatred runs in her blood.
“I just want to remind you that until you
close the store, you have to make sure the customers' calls don’t end up in the
voicemail. She doesn’t like that,” Angel says, acting as a surrogate for Candy,
our new boss.
I clench my teeth to push back another
retort.
I’d gladly give her a piece of my mind, but
more than anything else I need this job and the meager paycheck that helps me
to survive or rather doesn’t let me die.
“Okay,” I say, looking at her blankly.
For the life of me, I can’t figure out what
possesses her to pick on me, day in and day out?
It was like that from the very beginning.
Before I even had the chance to open my mouth
and introduce myself or say a thing or two about my life, her mind was already
made up.
She’s not much older than me, and she’s not
my boss, but somehow she thinks she is. She started working a couple of weeks
before me, and yet she behaves as if she owns the store.
RAIN
The ocean breeze sweeps my feet.
Soft as a feather, the wind rolls onto my
legs and my back before it trails my backside. It takes me only a mere second
to realize I’m naked.
Caught between sleep and awareness, I stretch
my arm and tap the mattress behind me, looking for the sheet.
I slide it over my body and let myself fall
back to sleep, hoping to steal another hour. The seagulls have a different plan
and start a riot on the beach.
I give up on the idea and just lie on the bed
with my eyes closed, and my nostrils filled with the ocean scent.
A smell of coffee drifts from nearby. More
awareness settles in, a nagging thought coming along with it.
He didn’t sleep in bed with me.
In fact, he hasn’t touched me since that
night.
None of them have.
That must be him, and his instructions.
There’s no other explanation. The Night of
the Kings, and my brief encounter with Lex wouldn’t have happened either, had
he not given them the green light.
Another thought surfaces in my head.
Today is our last day on the island.
My stomach shrinks and my chest tightens with
tension. Forget about sleeping. I crack my eyes open.
The wide stretch of glimmering blue water and
the silver sand come into view. It’s a windy morning with the sky mostly clear,
only a few fluffy clouds chased away by the wind here and there.
I could live and write in a place like this.
I wouldn’t need a big house. Nothing like this for sure. A room or two will do.
As long as I’d have the beach, the ocean and the crying seagulls my life would
be like a dream.
I can envision myself sitting in a wicker
chair, sipping margaritas, and plotting away. Knitting stories.
Hmm. That’s a nice thought. I smile for a few
moments before I I shake off the fantasy and look around.
The house is eerily quiet. I crawl across the
bed, snatch my phone from the nightstand and flip it over.
It’s almost ten.
Propped on my elbows, I scan the beach,
looking for them. The shore is empty.
I slide off the bed, wrap the sheet around my
body, take a few stairs down and glance around. The water ripples in the pool
while the palmetto leaves sway in the wind.
I take a few more steps, the warm sand
brushing my feet. Shielding my eyes from the sun, I look up and down the beach.
There’s no sign of them.
Intrigued, I spin around and make the trip
back, entering the house.
Chamber after chamber, I get the same
feeling. There’s no one else in here but me. In perfect order, the rooms bear
no signs of them. The bedroom doors are wide open, the beds untouched as if no
one slept in them last night.
I check the closets. They’re empty as well. I
dash back to my bedroom, toss the sheet on the bed, pick up my underwear, a
pair of shorts and a T-shirt, and get dressed in a hurry.
SECRETS. LIES.
DECEIT. A GAME OF LUST AND BURNING PASSION.
Dahlia is a girl
who just started building her own path in life. Lex is the man who has it all,
except for one thing.
His heart is
full of secrets, and his blood is filled with lust, yet no one can tame his
fire.
Fate brings them
together in more ways than one. He has a taste for mysteries. She has a heart
made for love.
Falling for him
is the hardest thing she’s ever done.
Satisfying her
is the most pleasurable thing he’s ever done.
Will this be the
everlasting love?
This is NOT a
conventional, linear romance. Expect a bit of a mess, dirty bits, cliffhangers
and twists of situations.
This is a New
Adult Erotic Romance. 18+ Only.
PLEASE NOTE:
Although a standalone, Lex’s story includes spoilers of James’ story since it
unfolds in the same world at a later date. If you wish to know the backstory of
the Kings, reading James’ story (book 1-3) is highly recommended.
Shayne Ford writes
NEW ADULT, Erotic Romance, the love stories involving hot-blooded men and
adventurous, soulful women. The male cast includes Rock Stars, Billionaires,
Bad Boys, Alphas with a heart, and the sweet, strong man you may find next
door. The stories are emotional and deliciously hot. Sometimes they're
unconventional, and sometimes they're a bit dark. Her Series are epic, layered,
character-driven, and have a lot of depth. They are not the typical romance,
nor are they formulaic or follow a mold.
