Table of Contents
Part I
Epilogue - Lucas
Part II
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Part III
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Part IV
Epilogue – Skye
Dare Me
A Billionaire And a Virgin Romance
Tara Wylde
Holly Hart
Red Cape Romance
Contents
Foreword
Stay in touch!
Dare Me
1. Lucas
2. Lucas
3. Alexis
4. Lucas
5. Alexis
6. Lucas
7. Alexis
8. Lucas
9. Lucas
10. Alexis
11. Lucas
12. Lucas
13. Alexis
14. Alexis
15. Alexis
16. Alexis
17. Alexis
18. Lucas
19. Lucas
20. Alexis
21. Lucas
22. Alexis
23. Alexis
24. Alexis
25. Alexis
26. Lucas
27. Alexis
28. Alexis
29. Alexis
30. Lucas
31. Alexis
32. Alexis
33. Alexis
34. Alexis
35. Lucas
36. Lucas
37. Alexis
38. Alexis
39. Alexis
40. Lucas
41. Alexis
42. Alexis
43. Alexis
44. Alexis
Epilogue - Lucas
His Sword
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
104. EPILOGUE: AMANDA
The Chase
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 1
50
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
164. EPILOGUE: CASSIE
Climax
165. Skye
166. Skye
167. Harlan
168. Skye
169. Skye
170. Harlan
171. Skye
172. Skye
173. Skye
174. Harlan
175. Skye
176. Harlan
177. Skye
178. Skye
179. Skye
180. Harlan
181. Skye
182. Harlan
183. Skye
184. Harlan
185. Skye
186. Harlan
187. Skye
188. Harlan
189. Skye
190. Harlan
191. Harlan
192. Skye
193. Harlan
194. Skye
195. Skye
Epilogue – Skye
Stay in touch!
Foreword
Hey - it’s Tara and Holly!
Thanks so much for reading our second novel together. Well, technically Her Seal was just a novella, so this is our first actual full length novel! We’re so grateful that you’re taking some of your busy, hard won time and spending it with us. Truly.
We hope you enjoy it!
xoxo
Holly Hart
&
Tara Wylde.
Copyright © 2017 by Holly Hart, Tara Wylde and Red Cape Romance
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Stay in touch!
We hope you love this book nearly as much as we loved writing it.
Sign up here for exclusive reader content, free books and huge giveaways, or click the link below.
redcaperomance
www.subscribepage.com/holly1
info@redcaperomance.com
Part I
Dare Me
Lucas
Light bounces off the polished steel of the rapier, nearly blinding me, before the scrape of steel against steel rattles in my ear.
Shock waves of pain vibrate up my arm. Behind his mask, my opponent’s teeth flash bright white as he senses my discomfort. In a blindingly quick movement, he slashes with his wrist, the movement slamming the flat side of his weapon into my right wrist. A slightly different angle and my hand and my arm would have parted company forever.
As it is, dumb luck and years of training are the only things that keep my fingers closed around the hilt of my weapon.
My opponent doesn’t back down, not even for a split second. He presses his advantage, moving with cat-like grace as his thrusts and parries his weapon, the tip of it dancing closer to my heart. My arm feels heavy, my fingers too stiff to effectively block him. If I don’t do something, and fast, his next thrust will strike its target.
I grit my teeth.
I should retreat, put some distance between my body and his, dance out of the way of his weapon until sensation returns to my arm and I’m able to use it properly, but I don’t.
I can’t.
I’ve never been the kind of guy to back down, not even when it’s in my best interest – and I’m not going to start now.
So, instead of backing up and giving myself some space, I lunge forward, getting right up into my opponent’s face. We’re too close for either of us to use our weapons effectively, which is bad for him, but gives my arm a couple of seconds to recover.
It won’t take long. I’ve always recovered fast.
The sloppy grin fades from my opponent’s face. I practically hear him gritting his teeth as, too late, he attempts to brace for my charge.
I flex my fingers. They still feel clumsy and numb, so using my weapon isn’t a viable option. So, I turn to the next best thing, my body.
I keep pressing forward, invading my opponent's personal space, forcing him to scramble back, and pushing him off balance until…
He loses his footing and crashes to the floor, spittle. Without missing a beat, I flourish my own weapon and press it to the middle of his chest.
Now it's my turn. I can't help the grin stretches across my face.
My vanquished opponent – who also happens to be my cousin and one of my best friends – looks up at me through his fencing mask and rolls his eyes.
I throw him a smirk.
“I guess I win.”
The words still hang in the air when a flurry of activity at the side of the room catches my eye.
“Damn-it, Lucas.” Carlos Mandolay, my fencing coach yells, storming across the room. I can practically see the storm billowing out of his ears as his face turns an unattractive shade of red.
“How many times do we have to go over the rules before you get them through your skull?”
I flip my mask back and hold up a hand, silencing his tirade. “I know, Carlos,” I say, grinning. “I’m undisciplined, hard-headed, and arrogant. And all of the above are making it impossible for you to do your job.”
I know my flippant tone pisses him off even more, but I can’t help myself. When the adrenaline courses through my veins like it’s doing now,
Carlos upper lip curls, exposing his teeth in a grin that would be perfectly at home in the middle of a horror movie. “And yet, nothing ever changes.”
He points at my fallen cousin, who is slowly pushing himself to his feet. “I’ve never seen anything so atrocious and underhanded. I’m embarrassed to be your coach.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong.” I protest, wiping a bead of sweat from my eyes. “Roderick’s the fool who can’t stay on his feet.”
My words trigger the desired effect. Carlos spins away from me and lights into Roderick.
“You’re just as foolish as he is. When he advanced, why didn’t you retreat? And why the hell didn’t you press your advantage when you had the opportunity instead of playing with him?” Carlos flails his arms, the elaborate gestures driving home his point with a flourish.
Roderick’s lips twitch. Carlos spots the movement and stomps forward until his and Roderick’s faces are just inches apart. Carlos looks more like a sports coach yelling at a referee than an elegant fencing master running one of the best Olympic-level fencing training programs in the world.
“What, exactly, is so funny?” Carlos spits, fury emanating from his body. His arms continue to wave and point.
Now Roderick’s shoulders shake. “It’s hard to take anyone who looks like a drunken swan trying to take flight seriously. Just sayin’.”
If Carlos was mad before, it’s nothing compared to now. His mouth opens and closes several times before he finally manages to force his words out.
“I don’t need to take this kind of bullshit from two cocky, spoiled, royal brats,” he screams, his words bouncing off the training strip. Everyone who had been practicing or running through exercises stops, pretending they aren’t listening. Everyone’s attention is on us.
Then again, that’s hardly unusual…
“There’s not a country in the world that wouldn’t hire me in an instant,” Carlos continues. His wild gaze bounces from Roderick to me and back again. Drops of spittle fly from his mouth, prompting us to step back.
“Countries where I would have youngsters who appreciate me, who listen to me and follow my instructions. Students who don’t just say they want to win Olympic medals, but who are actually willing to put in the work it requires.”
Carlos spins on his heel and storms
towards his office. His arms continue to jerk as though he’s conducting an imaginary orchestra and we can hear him sputtering as his protestations die in the distance.
Tim Mandalay, the assistant coach and Carlos’s son, stops in front of us and takes our sabers.
“You know,” he says in his ever soft voice, “one of these days, the pair of you will push too far and he’ll do exactly as he says. Then where will you be?”
“Even if he does quit,” I say as I pull my mask off my head and run a hand through my damp hair to smooth it back into place, “we’ll just find another coach.”
Even as I say the words, a tiny concern bites at the back of my mind. And it’s not just guilt for being such an ass.
If Carlos does quit, finding another coach of his caliber won’t be easy. The whole reason my parents, the King and Queen of Moravia, brought him into the country to coach me and the rest of my fencing team was because he was the best coach in the sport, and I refused to settle for anything less than the best.
All of the other top-rated coaches were working with their own national teams and it would have taken more than just coaxing to convince them to leave and come to Moravia.
Besides, for all that I struggle to resist getting under his skin, the truth is I like Carlos.
And more importantly, the odds of me capturing a gold medal at the upcoming Summer Games - and redeeming myself for the tiny – but fatal - mistake that had ended in my crashing out of the last Olympics with the bronze while Roderick wore the silver and Moravia, which had been the favored fencing team going into the Games, yielded the top spot on the podium to Monaco.
Freaking Monaco!
Even now, the taste on the back of my tongue is bitter. I made a vow to myself back then, and I haven’t forgotten. I refuse to let anything mess up my plans for redeeming myself at the next Olympics.
I’ll win the gold this time, no matter what it takes.
“I’ll apologize. Smooth his feathers.”
I hand Tim my mask and walk towards Carlos’ office. My mind searches for the right combination of words that will prove I’m genuinely sorry for being such a difficult student to teach, which I am-both difficult and genuinely sorry. Sometimes my arrogance gets the best of me. Someday, I’ll curb it, I hope
But I don’t make it two steps before Roderick’s hand clamps onto my shoulder.
“Not so fast.” My cousin says, shaking his head. “You don’t want to walk into Carlos’ office and pull your ‘I’m royalty but have decided to lower myself to acquiescing to your wishes bullshit right now’.”
I glance at Tim.
“Roddie’s right,” Tim agrees.
“Dad’s about as mad as he can get right now and I don’t think there’s anything you can say that will make things better at the moment. You might even push him over the edge and he really will decide to quit. You know, he thinks of you guys practically as family. You shouldn’t push him so hard…”