Entangled

Entangled - Prologue

It was the celery. The whole blasted fiasco can be traced right back to that one ridiculous vegetable.

The Super bowl party simply could not proceed unless I managed to procure the utterly necessary wing-man for Aiden's favorite hot wings... celery. I had fifteen minutes before he would completely stroke out. Never mind that I'm the one who slaved over those dang wings all morning... or the fact that Aiden was supposed to pick up anything else he needed for the party on his way home from golf with the guys. He couldn't just leave; he'd insisted it must be me. I wasn't the one with friends coming to watch the game, after all and he had to be home to greet his guests. I had no doubt that he was on the verge of a total melt-down over the missing side. Aiden can be quite a little bitch sometimes.

"Frank, you can't!" He squawked at me, "You just can't have hot wings without celery and blue cheese!"

"Gross! Blue cheese?" I cringed.

He plopped down on the sofa with a frown planted firmly upon his face. I knew without a doubt that I would be listening to his endless moaning and crying about this all day – possibly all weekend – if I didn't give in and just go fetch the damn celery.

"Fine." I snapped, "I'll go get your stupid celery."

Immediately, his face brightened and he shot up off the couch, flinging his arms out wide and charging me. I braced for impact as he collided with me, wrapping me up and squeezing for everything he was worth.

"Thanks, sis! You're the best!" He chirped.

"Mm-hmm." I mumbled, "Let me go. I can't breathe."

He stepped back, chucking me on the chin – making me bite my dern tongue – for good measure.

"Ass!" I screeched, swatting his arm, "That hurt!"

"Buck up." He commanded, "And, hurry up! They'll be getting here any minute. Time's a wastin'!"

Sliding my debit card and license into my back pocket, I snatched up my keys and headed out the door. After a momentary pause to admire the beauty of my new ride, I strutted my stuff right on over the lawn to where my beloved jeep was parked in the driveway. Her immaculate, smooth surface gleamed brilliantly in the bright afternoon sun, nearly blinding me with her awesomeness. It may have taken twenty-six years, but I had finally gotten my dream car and by-golly, I was going to enjoy it. Just the sight of that liberating soft-top, stretching the length of her roll cage, along with those tiny silver speckles glittering throughout her black metallic finish made me want to dance the jig across the front yard... however embarrassing that may have been. I somehow resisted the impulse to humiliate myself and climbed in easily, having had removed the doors and fitted the raised beast with step-sides. I knew people thought I was an idiot for having my doors off, considering how cold South Carolina February's are, but I didn't care. It was exhilarating and I loved it.

After cranking the ignition, I connected my Bluetooth and turned my speakers and sub-woofers up to ear-splitting, ass-jiggling loud. I scrolled through my library for a moment before landing on the Goldstein Remix of I Like It Like That and pressed play. Perfect. Seat belt on. Tunes up. Ready to roll.

"You're not gone yet?" Aiden's barked words were actually loud enough to be heard over the intro.

I quickly backed out of the drive and threw it in gear before flipping him the bird and high-tailing it to the Piggly-wiggly. Lucky for him the pig wasn't more than two miles away. Which meant that by the time I got there my song hadn't even finished yet. Doing what any self-respecting, red-blooded American girl would do, I remained seated until the music was finished with me. I didn't miss the eyes trained on me, I just ignored them. People tend to stare when I listen at the levels I prefer. Or when I dance along while sitting behind the wheel. Personally, I never could understand what the big deal is.

In retrospect, I probably should have been paying better attention to my surroundings. I was in my happy place. Hopping down out of my beautirific ride, I nearly skipped through the parking lot and on through the sliding doors, welcoming me into the frosty embrace of the Piggly Wiggly. Cool air rushed over my face as I crossed the threshold, causing goosebumps to prickle all over my arms. Of course, in my haste, I'd forgotten to put on a bra. Hello, headlights! Crossing my arms over my chest, I made a beeline for the produce department. That's where I saw him.

He was fucking scrumptious. I mean, like, salivating all over yourself, scrambled brain function, change my panties kind of delicious. Holy shit, he was fine. Having lived in a beach town my whole life, my peepers had frequently been graced with the kind of eye-candy that would make you want to slap your grandma, but this guy was waaaay beyond that. He was... he was like... like... oh, shit! He caught me staring!

His perfectly lickable lips curved up into a sly grin just as his unnecessarily long lashes revealed a pair of iridescent cool blue irises. Fucking gorgeous. Did I sigh? It looked as though his overly enticing, squared jaw and wonderfully proportionate nose were sculpted by Michelangelo himself. That dark, sun-kissed skin could very well have been painted on by Da Vinci. The unusual combination of shimmering blonde and flat brown messed in a strategic way atop his head made me want to do dirty things while running my fingers through its length. Did I moan out loud? The closer he got to me, the more immense his presence was. He consumed the entire space around him. His snug black t-shirt hugged muscles that were not even slightly hidden by the material and made me want to sink my teeth into him. Whaaaat?

Loose, relaxed-fit jeans hung dreamily off his hips as he sauntered up to me and I couldn't help but wish they'd slide down just a little bit further. I bit my lip at the image that presented itself at that thought. Mmmm. Just a hint of ink was visible, peeping out from his shirt sleeve and I was itching to get a better look at it when my view was blocked by a broad slab of hunky man-chest. I licked my lips, again.

"Ma'am?" Fucking adorable. His deep southern drawl boomed across my nerve endings, teasing my senses and wiping out all manner of intelligent thought.

He glanced up, over my head, "Is she okay?" He asked someone behind me, dropping his voice to a whisper that seemed to breeze right over my clit, "I mean, in the head?"

He drew little circles around his ear with his index finger to illustrate his meaning.

And, then it hit me. Shit. He thinks I'm a mental case.

Even still, I stuttered before managing, "I'm fine."

The smile he graced me with was contagious and I found myself instantly mirroring it. Was I leaning into him?

"You from 'round here?" He asked, with a twang that made my girly-parts tingle.

"Uh-huh." I muttered, unintelligibly.

"Where's your ol' man?" He inquired, looking past me.

"Single." I'd been reduced to one word communication.

"Beautiful." He replied in a soft, low timbre that made me shiver.

He reached out, threading his fingers through mine and lead me out of the grocery store. It occurred to me that I had gone there for a reason, but at the time, I just couldn't remember what... and I knew there was a reason that this might not be the smartest decision... but I was beyond giving a shit. This hunka-hunka-burnin' man was holding my hand and he was going to lead me to the promise land.

And that is the last memory I have from that life.

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****Don't forget to check out my other books, 'Forged' and 'Follow Me' ****