The Castle
by Skye Warren
Genre : contemporary romance
Safe in the ivory tower…
Gabriel Miller swears he’ll keep me safe. Enemies lurk outside, waiting to strike. An army held back by these walls.
Except some animal instinct warns me the danger is much closer. It’s already here. Is Gabriel my protector or my enemy? Is this house a castle or a cage?
There’s nowhere for me to go, no one left for me to trust.
No escape from a past determined to capture its prize.
Excerpt
A sleek black limo idles in the center of the parking lot, the gleaming black stark against the backdrop of cracked concrete and cigarette-littered gravel. It’s not for me, I tell myself. It can’t be.
It’s probably one of Chastity’s customers.
At eight o’clock in the morning. In the cheapest motel in
Tanglewood.
The driver steps out and nods to me in that deferent,
discreet way that drivers have. My stomach sinks. He opens the back door and
stands beside it, a silent invitation. A tacit command from the man inside.
My feet move me across the pavement, breath trapped. It’s
that moment when you’ve slammed your finger in a door, before the pain has
registered, when your mind is all too aware of what comes next.
The shadowed interior hides his face, but I know who it is
before he speaks.
“Good morning,” comes the low voice of the man who made me
come on his desk. The door shuts behind me, enclosing me in the warm darkness.
“What are you doing here?”
A shuffle of papers. The scratch of a pen. As the darkness
solidifies, I see him reclined in the back of the limo, focused on a stack of
papers in front of him. Working, like I’m a distraction. “I’m your ride.”
He doesn’t even look up. “Excuse me?”
“To Landon Moore’s office. That is where you’re going, I
assume.”
My eyes narrow. “How do you know that?”
Finally he looks up, his golden gaze searing me. “Because
you’ll do anything to get your house back. It’s the only place you feel safe,
isn’t it? The only place you felt loved?”
My stomach clenches. “How did you know where to find me?”
“I don’t think you need me to answer that.”
Because he knows everything that happens in the city. He
could have had me followed after I left his office yesterday, but odds are he
knew where I was before. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’d rather walk on nails than
ride with you.”
I pull the latch to discover that the door is locked. From
the inside.
My gaze flies to him. “You’re kidnapping me?”
“Unfortunately,” he says with fake sympathy. “You’ll have to
explain to the cops how I abducted you and transported you in comfort to your
previously planned destination.”
The car glides forward, as if connected to his very will.
Asshole.
I glare at him, settling into the warm leather. Are these
seats heated? Of course they are. I have to admit this is way more comfortable
than the city bus, but everything has a cost. And when it comes to Gabriel
Miller, the cost is always too high. “Why are you doing this?”
“Does it matter?” he asks, his voice faintly mocking. “As a
gentleman your comfort is my highest priority. It’s enough to be of service to
you.”
“You’re not a gentleman.”
“Probably right. In that case I’m coming with you to see
sweet old Uncle Landon give you the horrible news, to see your face fall as he
assures you there’s nothing you can do.”
My throat constricts. “Can’t you find someone else to
torture?”
“No one nearly as pretty. Besides, my presence has some
advantages.”
“My very own supply of fire and brimstone?”
“People are more inclined to tell the truth when I’m in the
room. My reputation for dealing with liars and cheats is somewhat brutal.” He
leans forward, his eyes reflecting sunlight. “All of it true, I’m afraid.”
I’m living proof of that, the fallout from my father’s
decision to steal. “Be careful or I might think you’re actually being nice to
me.”
A short laugh. “Not a chance. It will be my pleasure to see
Landon Moore break. And even sweeter to watch you break, too. A show I can’t
pass up.”
About Author
Skye Warren
is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance such as the
Chicago Underground series. Her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed,
USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. She makes her home in
Texas with her loving family, two sweet dogs, and one evil cat.
Website -
http://skyewarren.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/skye_warren
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/skyewarren
Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/skyewarren/
Amazon:
http://amazon.com/author/skyewarren
Giveaway
Regards,
Angela
Thanks for hosting!
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