Rocked by an Angel (3 page)

Melody took a good look at the man standing before her. He looked gorgeous as always, tousled and tan. He was wearing a fitted black tee with a Harley emblem on it and jeans that were worn and hugged his muscled thighs. He flipped his hair with a look of annoyance, and she had to hide a smile. Typical Jackson Kent.

"Jacks-" she started, stepping closer to him.

"Don't come any closer. If you come closer, then I'm going to take you upstairs and not let you back down for twenty-four hours. Then, it's going to be all about sex and you'll stay until it's about something more, and then you'll leave." He took a breath.

She waited until she was certain he was done, and then she spoke, "I love you, Kent."

He opened and shut his mouth, not sure if this was a trick. "You do?"

"Obviously. Why else would I put up with your dirty laundry on the floor and the annoying way you try to kiss me when I'm angry at you? Those are serious offenses!" She tried to keep a stern face, but the love that she had felt for more than a decade started to shine through.

"Then," he started, hesitantly, "does that mean..."

"Yes, you idiot. I want to be with you. Permanently." She threaded her fingers through his, and he cupped her face in his hand.

"We can live on your tour bus. I'll leave the club behind." This surprised her, causing her to rumple his t-shirt in her clenched fingers.

"Y-you would do that for me?" she asked, tripping over her syllables.

"Of course I would! I did just say I loved you, Mel. That's what love is, right? Giving. Receiving. Taking..." He squeezed her butt, and she couldn't stop the giggle from escaping.

"Stop that. You're not giving up the club." That stopped him dead in his tracks, mid squeeze.

"What?" he asked, hoarsely.

"Why do you think I left? I had to get my affairs in order. I rented out this condo, and I took the job being the music teacher at Grovesfield High School, the next town over."

He stood there looking at her, stunned. She continued, "Oh, I'm sure I'll still do shows and tracks occasionally in my off time, but I'm over the rock star lifestyle. I have been for quite some time, I guess. It was fun when I was younger, but not now. Not when I have something real and lasting at my fingertips." She touched his face gently, rubbing her thumb over his mouth and chin. "Now...are you going to make an honest women out of me or not?"

He laughed, crushing her to him tightly. "Melody Renee Turner...will you marry me?"

"Yes, Jackson Dean Kent. I believe I will." He lifted her up into his arms and swung her around, not caring that they were drawing a crowd in from the street, a bus passing by full of tourists. They whistled and cheered, as he planted a firm kiss on her lips. He placed a large square diamond on her finger, and she brushed away an errant tear.

Apparently love DOES wait
, she thought happily.

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***

They stopped looking for Shane Perry fifteen years ago.
They did all they could do; filed reports, dragged the lake, and finally presumed him dead. The high school football field lit up with candlelight at his memorial, and mourners gathered to gaze at his glossy image: youthful and tall with a heart melting grin.
Bikes and bikers are all Maggie Rice has ever known.
She was riding before she could walk and switching out clutch plates by junior high. She was a quirky, fiery haired tomboy and it was her dream to ride with the 417s. Formerly her father’s crew, they all had a hand in raising her after his passing. Now that she ran her own garage, it seemed her chance had arrived at last.
When the ghost of Shane Perry rides into town, he threatens to spoil it all.
The day of her initiation into the 417s, Shane waltzed back into town as if he’d only been gone the weekend, and his first order of business was to crush her chance at happiness. No woman was going to ride in Shane Perry’s gang, not ever, and certainly not his closest childhood friend.
Maggie doesn’t believe for one second his arrival is coincidental.
Was it possible to hate and love a man at the same time? Where had Shane been all those years and why was he back? And when the Hell did he get so damned gorgeous?

***

Allison Russell has a special knack for getting into trouble.
An intoxicating mix of beauty and bravado, she made her living unearthing things certain people would rather remain buried: stolen goods, dirty secrets, and more than a little trouble. She lived for the thrill of the hunt, and a fat stack of cash after a job well done sure didn’t hurt.
Jake Brighton has two talents, riding and thieving.
He loved them in just that order, too. There was no better feeling than making a clean getaway with his partners in crime and fellow bikers, the Dixon Crew. He’d been riding with the Dixons since before he was shaving. They were his friends and his brothers and he’d proudly take a bullet for any one of them.
And that’s why he ain’t buying what Allison Russell is selling.
A case of mistaken identity on the job leads Allison to a startling discovery, but before she can inform her client she must escape the Dixon Crew with her life. She must persuade the handsome but distrustful Jake Brighton to come to her aid, but his loyalty to his friends may just be the only thing more powerful than the aching tension growing between them.
Jake believes in his crew, but Allison intoxicates him.
If what she says is true, he’s been living a lie. But trusting a beautiful woman is never easy, particularly one who stirs a lust in him he’s never known. Is Allison the real deal, or is she using him to satisfy her client?

***

Grace is the very best at what she does.
Working for the Public Defender’s Office is thankless and the pay is meager, but she’s a true believer in the justice system. The beautiful, underpaid attorney has made it her life’s mission to see to it that ‘innocent until proven guilty’ still means something.
Tobey is a self-confessed career criminal.
Enforcer, thief, con-man ... He’s done it all and proudly. Tobey never cared for authority and a life of crime agrees with him.The handsome thug carved out a comfortable life for himself pulling odd jobs for a motorcycle gang, but only when he feels like it.
There are some things Tobey won’t do for any price.
Namely murder, so it’s a shock when he’s arrested for the death of a local businessman. Tobey knows he’s been framed, but the evidence is overwhelming and the outlook is grim.
That is until the lovely public defender comes to his rescue.
But when Grace uncovers evidence to exonerate Tobey both their lives are in danger and Tobey is quickly coming to the conclusion that he can’t let any harm come to his beautiful champion, not now or ever.

***

Casey Stone has always known her family was a little different.
She doesn’t know the details, but she’s heard enough whispers through cracked doors to know they’re criminals of some variety, and she’s happy not to know which.
Brian was just playing around when he sidled up to the Stone boys’ sister and offered her a drink.
He isn’t a cruel man, but the boys were watching and their sister is objectively beautiful - long legs, modest curves, and a face that begs to be kissed. He just couldn’t resist riling them up a bit. Then she spoke and he was lost.
The Stone boys were not about to let this one slide.
They couldn’t send her running to him any faster than by forbidding her to see him. If they’d told her she’d destroy the subtle truce between two rival gangs and cause a cycle of violence and death, she might have been more willing to listen.
Now there’s a line drawn in the sand, and Brian and Casey are standing on opposite sides.
Can Brian put an end to the feuding before he loses Casey forever? Or is it too late already to repair the fragile trust between them?

***