Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
The Bodyguard…
Nate Carter left Australia’s elite SASR unit after a tragic accident. Shattered by the experience, he thought taking a job in the States might be a good way to start over. His father’s former employer, McKay-Taggart, has a position for him in the bodyguard unit. He never imagined himself risking his life for celebrities and the wealthy, but it will do for now. It will also give him a chance to reconnect with old friends, including the girl who’d been like a little sis to him ten years before.
These days, however, his feelings for Daisy O’Donnell are anything but brotherly.
The Bombshell…
Daisy O’Donnell is a girl on a mission, and it does not include falling for one of her brother’s best friends. She has plans, and while chaos always seems to follow her, she’s determined to see this through. Daisy finds herself in need of a bodyguard when a job goes terribly wrong. She’s sure her dad will find someone suitable, but she didn’t expect a big, gloriously masculine Aussie to show up ready to take a bullet for her. Maybe spending some time with Nate Carter won’t be so bad after all.
An explosive match…
Thrown together by danger, Nate and Daisy can’t resist the insane chemistry between them. But when his past and her present collide, they must decide if they can hold it together or go their separate ways forever.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
One Thousand and One Dark Nights
Once upon a time, in the future…
I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.
I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and
the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast
library at my father’s home and collected thousands
of volumes of fantastic tales.
I learned all about ancient races and bygone
times. About myths and legends and dreams of all
people through the millennium. And the more I read
the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered
that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually
become part of them.
I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher
and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I
would not be telling you this tale now.
But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off
with bravery.
One afternoon, curious about the myth of the
Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to
see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar
(Persian: شهريار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then
sent yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It was written
and I had read that by the time he met Scheherazade,
the vizier's daughter, he’d killed one thousand
women.
Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived
in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged
places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had
never occurred before and that still to this day, I
cannot explain.
Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have
taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can
protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to
protect herself and stay alive.
Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.
And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a
point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.
And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that
he might hear the rest of my dark tale.
As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new
one... like the one that you, dear reader, have before
you now.
Family Trees
Chapter One
Australia
Nate Carter stood on the big lawn of the house he’d spent his teenaged years in and wondered why it no longer felt like home. It wasn’t like he didn’t love the big ranch house, didn’t have fond memories of riding horses across the rambling station with his sister, Elodie, or spending evenings with his parents watching movies.
His parents weren’t the problem. His sister was still the same obnoxious, loving woman she’d always been.
He was the problem.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” a deep voice asked.
He turned and saw his father standing on the big wraparound porch where he would sit with his sister, swinging and talking about what was going on in their lives.
He’d been home for six months and he made excuse after excuse why he wouldn’t sit there with Elodie. He was busy. There was work to be done.
He never once told her the real reason. He was scared he would sit there and have absolutely nothing to say.
Elodie had known what she wanted to do with her life since she was five years old. He was twenty-six and had no idea where his place was in the world.
Which was why he was changing things up. “Moving to the States or working for Big Tag?”
His father wore his normal uniform of jeans and a T-shirt and looked more like a cowboy than the soldier he’d been in his younger years. Brody Carter was a legend in the security business. He’d gone from Aussie Special Forces to working for an international security company. He’d married a woman he’d met on what he would call an “op” but what Nate kind of thought was really fate. All of his life he’d looked up to this man, and Nate was so worried he was letting him down. “Both, I suppose. You know Damon would love to have you.”
Before they’d moved back to Australia, his family had been based in London. Elodie barely remembered living in the place called The Garden, but Nate did. Nate remembered growing up with Damon Knight’s kids and all the others.
“I need something new.” It was nothing less than the truth. Since he’d left the military, he’d been drifting. Nothing had been able to shake this sense of… He hesitated to use the word ennui. Ennui sounded like something that happened to way smarter people than him.
“Are you sure you’re not following one of the Taggart girls?” His father’s brows had risen. “Because I worry you would be making a mistake, son. Tasha’s getting married and the twins… Well, I don’t know how any man handles those twins of Tag’s.”
Nate laughed. It felt good to laugh. He’d been kind of numb for the last couple of months. “Absolutely not. And I’m not trailing after Lou, either. There is no woman involved in this decision of mine. I’m doing this for me.”
He wasn’t going to mention he’d been thinking a lot about Daisy O’Donnell lately. He wouldn’t pursue her or anything. When they’d been kids, she’d followed him around and he’d known about her crush. He hadn’t minded, though he also hadn’t touched her. It made him wonder what she was up to these days.