His Captive Lover (The Thorpe Brothers Series) (18 page)

“This is awesome,” Debbie called back to her, grinning from ear to ear, obviously excited to be in a new setting instead of their normal haunts.  The bar was darker, probably proud of the bare bricks and heavy, wooden beams overhead that might or might not date back to the colonial period.  If they weren’t, Kiera doubted the owner would ‘fess up to having new beams.  Many of the establishments promoted the “old time” feel of their buildings by refurbishing so that the décor was reminiscent of colonial times, but with all the bells and whistles of modern conveniences.  Of course, there was the one trendy bar she knew of that bragged about having bullet holes in the walls.  Not that they claimed the bullets were colonial, but every bar had to have its quirks, she supposed. 

She took the beer Debbie handed her and then turned around, trying to find a place to sit down.  The odds of finding a chair or stool in a place this crowded would be pretty slim, she thought while her eyes surveyed the room. 

Kiera noticed him the moment Debbie’s back was turned.  He was in a group of four or five other men, all of them laughing about something.  But not him.  He was staring right back at her.  His eyes seemed to capture hers but that look was so powerful, his gaze so strong that it jolted her all the way down to her toes.  More than just her eyes were captured.  Her whole body was frozen in place, the noise and crowds, the damp smell of beer and other drinks…all of it just disappeared from her consciousness as she stared right back at him.  She couldn’t breathe and she couldn’t pull her eyes away, she couldn’t even move. 

She hadn’t even realized that Debbie had turned around and was trying engage her in conversation until Debbie breathed, “Who is that?”

Kiera struggled, but she was finally able to pull her eyes away and glanced at her friend.  To her horror, Debbie was staring at the man!  Her man!  And there was a great deal of interest on Debbie’s lovely features.  Jealousy, hot and powerful stabbed through Kiera’s body.  She didn’t like her friend even looking at a man she already considered to be hers. 

Okay, so that was ridiculous.  She couldn’t claim a human being simply because they were looking at each other from across the room.  But there was no way to suppress the furious feelings that surged through Kiera as her friend surveyed the tall, handsome stranger.  Kiera tried to be rational about this.  She had no claim on the man.  But regardless, Kiera was suddenly incensed that Debbie had dared to look at the guy.  It was a sudden and all-consuming jealousy, something Kiera had never experienced before so she wasn’t sure how to handle that level of intensity.  Men had never affected her in the past.  To her, they were simply other human beings she could study with or joke with during non-study hours. 

It was completely different with this man.  And completely irrational. 

Instead of revealing her jealousy, Kiera took a sip of her beer and pulled Debbie through the crowd until they couldn’t see the man anymore, although Debbie’s blond head kept craning at different angles to try and take another gander at the man. 

Debbie wasn’t shy about letting a guy know she was interested.  But didn’t she need a bit of time to get over Brian?  Debbie had just broken up with her boyfriend earlier this week!  What was she doing ogling another man so quickly?  It was ridiculous and disrespectful of Brian’s feelings not to mention the three years they’d been together. 

Kiera tried hard to ignore her jealousy, pushing Debbie to talk about classes and their friends in an effort to distract her from the gorgeous man.  When a couple more friends showed up, Kiera was relieved to finally have support distracting Debbie from the man Kiera had already claimed, at least mentally.  Not that she would do anything about her gnawing desire to find out more about the tall, intensely handsome man with the piercing, ice blue eyes. 

Kiera wasn’t like Debbie.  Where Kiera was shy and introverted, Debbie was the party girl, the one that pushed Kiera to get out and have more fun.  Debbie also didn’t hide her interest in the opposite sex.  When Debbie wanted a man, she walked right up to him and started talking to him.  Kiera hadn’t ever felt this way, but she knew that she wouldn’t go up to that man tonight.  She wasn’t that brave.  Besides, she’d never felt that way about a man before.  And he hadn’t even touched her!  No, she couldn’t handle him so it was better to just stay away from that kind of…whatever it was. 

An hour later, Kiera desperately needed to use the ladies’ room.  Unfortunately, the man she’d spotted earlier had been positioned right next to the hallway where the bathrooms were located.  She wiggled in her chair, determined to ignore the need.  But when Debbie popped up with the same intention, Kiera wasn’t going to allow her to go alone.  “I’ll come with you,” she said, determined to keep Debbie and the stranger from seeing each other again.  Kiera knew she couldn’t have the man.  She wasn’t glamorous or rich or any of those adjectives that would apply to the woman on that kind of man’s arm.  She was passably pretty with curly brown hair that tended to get out of control.  She had a good enough figure but she wasn’t any lingerie model. 

In short, Kiera knew she was just an average kind of gal.

Debbie, on the other hand, was not only blond and beautiful, she had a way about her that seemed to draw men into her realm.  She was fun and nice not to mention extremely intelligent.  And over the past year, they’d been good friends and study partners.  But at this moment, Kiera could honestly say that she hated Debbie.  Because Kiera knew that Debbie was going to talk to the stranger.  Kiera could see it in Debbie’s eyes and was helpless to stop the action.  Kiera felt helpless, desperate to keep Debbie from acquiring yet another conquest, but unable to come up with any ideas on how to stop her from working her magic. 

Kiera had no doubt that Debbie was going to approach the man.  It was in her eyes and Kiera glanced over at the man, her eyes worried as she gauged the distance between Debbie and the man.

But as soon as she found him through the crowd, she realized that he was looking at her! 

Debbie was even primping, doing her best to get noticed.  Kiera looked from Debbie to the stranger, wondering when he would notice the blond beauty standing next to her. 

The stranger’s eyes never wavered and Kiera’s stomach did flip flops at the realization. 

They made their way down the hallway to the ladies’ room and Kiera breathed a sigh of relief.  One gauntlet down, one more to go.  Maybe she could get Debbie out of the bar.  Maybe if they just left, Debbie wouldn’t have time to set her sights on…

“Did you see him again?” Debbie gushed as they both washed their hands. 

Kiera’s throat constricted when she noticed the light of intent in Debbie’s eyes.  “I’m going to talk to him,” she declared.  Kiera sighed with resignation.  When Debbie went on the prowl, men tended to fall to their knees and worship her. 

She fluffed her blond hair one more time and Kiera wished she had done something more interesting with her out-of-control curls.  They floated around her like some sort of bohemian gypsy instead of being smooth and glossy-straight like Debbie’s blond hair.  Debbie even had those pretty blue eyes that she could bat at any man and have him fall at her feet, desperate to do her bidding.  Kiera stared at her boring brown eyes, wishing for the first time that her face could be more interesting, more devastatingly beautiful.  Her lashes might be long, but her mouth was too wide and too full, her nose too small to be anything other than cute instead of sophisticated and interesting.  Her cheeks weren’t gaunt and she even had a sprinkling of freckles over the bridge of her nose and her cheeks that she normally covered up with makeup but hadn’t bothered tonight, much to her irritation now. 

With a sigh, Kiera looked behind her at Debbie’s luscious figure, wondering how long it would be before Debbie had the stranger wrapped around her pinky finger. 

They stepped out of the hallway, Kiera holding her head down, not wanting to watch Debbie snag yet another man.  Why couldn’t her friend leave this one alone?  Why couldn’t she just let one, this special one, go about his business and not make him fall under her spell? 

Suddenly, her path was blocked and someone was holding a beer towards her.  She looked up, but all she saw was a denim clad chest.  It was an extraordinarily muscular chest, she noticed.  Her heartbeat picked up rapidly because she knew exactly who this man was.  Her eyes continued to climb and she couldn’t believe it when her light brown eyes captured the ice blue ones of her stranger. 

The man was smiling down at her, not even noticing her blond friend beside her.  Of course, Kiera had no idea if Debbie was still there or if she’d moved on.  It was just this man and herself and her racing heart. 

“I wish I could come up with some witty line to get your attention, but I’ll admit, I’m stumped,” he said. 

Kiera tried to smile.  She tried to catch her breath.  But with this man standing so close to her, his body heat and that incredible male scent wafting towards her, she just couldn’t think.  “I believe I’m in the same situation,” she replied nervously. 

He looked down at her hands and smiled.  “I noticed you were drinking beers.  I got you another one,” he said, referring to the second beer he still had in his hands.  “I know that was forward of me, but…”

Kiera straightened quickly, not wanting him to think she was rejecting the offer.  “No, that’s very kind of you,” she said, taking the beer.  But her hand accidentally touched his and she felt some sort of…spark?  She pulled back quickly, unsure of what was going on.  Unfortunately, at the same time, he was releasing the beer.  The result was both of them grabbing for the beer again, fumbling and beer spilled out, landing on her hand. 

“I’m so sorry!” she gasped, horrified at how clumsy she was acting. 

“My fault,” his deep, sexy voice replied. 

“No, really, I was the clumsy one,” she countered, looking up into those blue eyes once again.  And she couldn’t move.  Not even to take a breath.  They looked into each other’s eyes and it was as if the noise of the bar once again faded away leaving only the noise of her heartbeat.  There was only this large man standing in front of her and the cold beer in her hand. 

“I’m Axel Thorpe,” he said softly, that deep baritone soothing over her skin like a balm. 

“I’m Kiera Ward,” she replied.  As his large, strong hand took hers, she prayed hard that her knees wouldn’t give out on her and she wouldn’t throw up because she was suddenly feeling like something had just exploded inside of her stomach. 

Comments from the Author

(For some fun visuals on Ash and Mia, go to http://www.pinterest.com/elennoxromances/his-captive-lover-mia-and-ash/)

If you have time, please take a moment to write a review on whichever platform you purchased this book.  It not only helps guide others who might purchase this book, but I also love hearing from my readers – the good, the bad and the ugly.  Some readers tell me there’s too much sex, some tell me I should add more, others criticize my grammar and others tell me they love my books.  Everything you write, I use to improve my next story.  If you love what I write, let me know because I’ll continue writing in the same way.  If you think I should improve in some way, please let me know.  I have a very tough skin and can take it – although I absolutely LOVE the positive reviews/comments. 

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List of Elizabeth Lennox Books

The Texas Tycoon’s Temptation

The Royal Cordova Trilogy

Escaping a Royal Wedding

The Man’s Outrageous Demands

Mistress To The Prince

The Attracelli Family Series

Never Dare A Tycoon

Falling For The Boss

Risky Negotiations

Proposal To Love

Love's Not Terrifying

Romantic Acquisition

The Billionaire's Terms: Prison Or Passion

The Sheik's Love Child

The Sheik's Unfinished Business

The Greek Tycoon's Lover

The Sheik's Sensuous Trap

The Greek's Baby Bargain

The Italian's Bedroom Deal

The Billionaire's Gamble

The Tycoon's Seduction Plan

The Sheik's Rebellious Mistress

The Sheik's Missing Bride

Blackmailed By The Billionaire

The Billionaire's Runaway Bride

The Billionaire's Elusive Lover

The Intimate, Intricate Rescue

The Sisterhood Trilogy

The Sheik's Virgin Lover

The Billionaire's Impulsive Lover

The Russian's Tender Lover

The Billionaire's Gentle Rescue

The Tycoon's Toddler Surprise

The Tycoon's Tender Triumph

The Sheik's Mysterious Mistress