Tempting the Crown (The Crown 1)

She was up on her knees. “I can’t help but think about the defense contracts you stole. Who did they go to?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“How could you not ask?”

I sat up. “I’m a soldier. I was trained to take orders. That’s part of my DNA.”

“And I’m an attorney. I was trained to be curious. To pursue the truth. To ask questions.”

“And I’d like to add you’re excellent at it.”

Her lips were pouty. “Vaughn. This is serious.”

“I can’t be more serious. You and Blackwing have nothing to do with each other. Nothing. You aren’t going to get involved with my assignments. No questions. No moral compass shit. Do you understand?”

“But Blackwing knows about me?”

I nodded. “They do.” I wished like hell they didn’t. “And that’s where things end. Stay out of this, Em. If it helps go back to pretending I’m in investments. I’ll have a new identity in France anyway. A new career you can bug me about. But not this one. Not Blackwing.”

“Have you thought about leaving?”

“Emily.” My voice was stern.

“You have millions, right? Why can’t we just disappear? Maybe here on the island? I like it here.” She curled her hands around my torso. I felt the fire from her touch.

The danger we were in was mine to bear. The deal I had made.

“Babe, we need to get some sleep. We have to fly to France tomorrow.” I leaned up to kiss her. “You’ll see how things work. I’m going to take care of all it.”

She lowered herself to my chest. “Your heart is beating so fast,” she whispered.

I stroked her hair. “Moonlight sex,” I lied.

I swore I wouldn’t keep secrets from her. I promised I would answer her questions whenever she asked. But there was a limit. A limit that Blackwing had given me.

I never wanted to lose her again. It would break us both.

The only thing that could tear us apart was keeping her safe. Because there was nothing I wouldn’t do to make sure Emily always had tomorrow. Nothing.

###

Enjoyed Resist? Read on for a bonus novel, Turn Over.

TURN OVER

1

Luke

Sometimes people are wrong. They’re wrong about what the score will be at the end of the game. They’re wrong about what route to run. They’re wrong about who they can trust. And fuck it, they’re wrong about people. Wrong about love. I used to be one of those people. Cynical. Egotistical. Selfish. But all it takes is one second. One split second of your life when you think you’ll lose everything. And suddenly it comes into focus. Faster than I take a snap. Faster than I read the defense. I can see all of it. I can see it being ripped away. In a split second all of it can be ruined. There could be a life where she doesn’t exist. Where the mistakes push her away.

They are wrong about me. And the thing about me is I love to prove people wrong.

***

It was hot as shit on the practice field. The September sun beat down on everyone. It didn’t discriminate between million dollar players or the trainers who took home fifty thousand a year. It was brutal and unrelenting, reminding all of us what it meant to play football in Texas.

Ownership promised we would have an indoor facility soon with air conditioning, but that didn’t do a damn bit of good when my linemen were cramping up on the field and I could barely see from the sting of sweat rolling in my eyes.