Twist My Heart Brooke Taylor (classic books to read .TXT) 📖

will tandem with Thea and I’ll have Titan, so you’re on your own. You’ve jumped before, right?”

“Alone once and it sure as hell wasn’t onto a boat.”

Coop chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine. You can swim.”

“Not with sharks!”

“Little-known fact,” Nik interjected. “Sharks don’t like to eat skydivers…the chutes get stuck between their teeth.”

“Why does everything with you guys involve jumping out of planes or blowing shit up? Why can’t we take a speedboat out like normal people?”

“We were supposed to go out with the boat, but Nik here had to go and fall in love. Besides, the faster we get the job done, the more time you’ll have in paradise. Trust me, it will be worth it.”

I’d only heard a little bit about the island from Leo, whose knowledge stemmed mostly from speculative reports on celebrity entertainment sites. Nondisclosure agreements had to be signed by anyone who’d ever set foot on Marakata Cay. Even Coop remained tight-lipped, only confirming the rumors of it being ‘beyond spectacular’ and a ‘paradise of epic proportions’.

Coop angled his head at Nik and me. “I’ll see if I can set up a private bungalow for you lovebirds.”

“Best incentive I’ve ever had to get a job done quickly.” Nik gave me a gentle but flirty squeeze as his teeth raked my earlobe. Despite Nik handling me with kid gloves, I wasn’t sure either of us planned on following the doctor’s orders to wait a few days.

At a buzzing noise, Coop pulled his phone out, frowning. “Looks like you have a trespasser, Steele.”

He grabbed up a remote and used it to reveal a giant flat-screen, which he navigated quickly, accessing the internet and the live feed from Nik’s home security system in seconds. There among the stands of pine was a woman. With her tall, heeled boots and stylish black overcoat, she didn’t look like an Estes Park local and she wasn’t some wayward tourist, either.

“What did you do with the tracking device on Titan’s collar?” Coop turned to Nik, who failed to stifle his laugh.

“You have your security system and I have mine.”

As Coop zoomed in, I recognized her sleek, cropped black hair. “That’s the woman from the ID in my purse… Seraphina Westin.”

The four of us watched as the woman slinked around to the back of the cabin. Coop flipped to the next camera’s feed, following as she rounded the garage. She pulled up quick, jerking to a stop at the sight of two chubby black bear cubs rummaging through Nik’s neighbor’s dumpsters. Wheeling away, the lady came face to face with their momma. The large, dark beast did not look pleased with the intrusion. She opened her mouth wide, but without sound we couldn’t hear her warning roar.

Nik rested his hip on the arm of one of the chairs. “I bet the bear is asking her if she shits in the woods. It’s what the tourists always ask them.”

Leo laughed. “Well, right now it looks like she’s crapping her pants.”

“Bears. Real practical, Steele,” Coop grunted.

Coop flipped back to the first camera as the woman sprinted for her life. She covered the rocky ground to her black SUV in record time. “Dang, she can really fly in those heels!”

“She’s looking for me, isn’t she?” I asked.

Nik pulled me in against him as we watched the woman peel out of his drive. “Don’t worry, Tiggs. She can’t follow you to the island.”

Before I could give it more thought, the pilot ordered us to take our seats. We all settled in with Titan sitting on the floor between Coop’s knees. Nik stroked my arm as I nervously gripped the armrest.

“I think Thea’s first plane ride calls for a little takeoff toast, boys.” Coop reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.

As we taxied to the runway, the shots got passed around. Nik blocked me from taking one. “Sorry, Tigger. No alcohol with a concussion and painkillers.”

Leo raised his shot glass first to the guys, then to me, and lastly to the flat-screen still showing Nik’s security footage. “To lions, and tigers, and bears.”

The plane surged, gaining speed as the guys downed their shots. “To love,” Nik said, drawing me to him for a kiss as the plane thrust forcefully into the air.

“Oh, my.”

 

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Anywhere and Always:

Falling for the Tycoon

Aurora Russell

Excerpt

 

The sky was a perfect unending blue, clear and brilliant, its beauty rivaled only by the magnificent expanse of bright aqua ocean and baby-powder-fine sand. It had always been Annelise’s dream to see the Caribbean, and she knew she should have been happy. Ecstatic. Wasn’t she still here, even if she was alone? But, instead, she just felt empty. Detached.

She’d cried her tears. So many tears. For weeks. Wondering what had gone wrong to make Kyle decide to walk out on their life together, ending their wedding and honeymoon plans abruptly. Wondering what would come next. Looking at the space where his toothbrush used to sit next to the bathroom sink, looking at the empty space in the fridge where the special espresso he loved had always been kept, she’d felt a gnawing, painful ache in her chest, raw like a sucking wound. She’d sobbed into her pillow, worried she’d alarm the neighbors in the condo above. Her hot tears signaled the end of not just a seven-year-long relationship, but also of her dreams for the future. She’d cried so much she’d gone numb.

She’d managed the chores of daily living—making food, getting dressed, going to work and to the store—but she’d felt like an imposter, like some zombie trapped inside the body of the vivacious, happy, hopeful woman she’d always been. She’d looked in the mirror and it had scared her. But still, nothing moved her anymore—not sadness, not anger, not understanding or judgment. Nothing. When the reminder from the travel agency had come through as an alert on her smartphone, the hot swell