Taken By Ezra Read online

  Chapter Three

  Sexy Man

  “Uh, boss?” the security guy asks with concern when I feel tears slipping down my cheeks.

  The Azriel lookalike turns to face me, and his icy glare is replaced with concern. He steps up to me, his fingers touching my face carefully, and I sigh into his warm caress. He looks up to his employee and shakes his head. “I’ve got it. Just go make sure Roxy left and hasn’t caused any more problems,” he says, his gaze landing on mine again.

  I feel tipsy from the alcohol as I look around his office. It is quite large with a desk facing a huge glass window overlooking the bar and dance floor. There is nothing in his office that isn’t black or leather, and it all screams masculinity. A couch with matching chairs sits off to the left of the desk, and an open door with a light on appears to be the bathroom.

  He takes my elbow gently and leads me there, his big hand sending goose bumps down my arms. He’s quiet as he lifts me up and sits me on the counter of the white porcelain sink, making sure I’m not going to fall over. He reaches for a washcloth on the towel rack and runs the water in the sink to dampen the cloth, and then he is wiping the blood from my face.

  I close my eyes at his gentle touch, my crazy mind imagining scenarios where he is lowering his hands to my neck and slowly cupping my breasts. I hear myself moan at his light touch, and my face heats up at the terrible thoughts I’m having right now.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Um, yeah…sorry. That feels good. My skin feels hot,” I say, opening my eyes and looking up to see his brows quirked up. I could just die right now with how my thoughts are going dirty. I may need to start reading documentaries so I don’t keep having fantasies about strange, good-looking men.

  “I’m Ezra Lanphear. I own the club here.”

  “Lanee Connors. I’m the drunk woman with a big mouth,” I blurt out.

  Ezra smirks. “I see. Do you do this often?”

  “Oh, sure, this is my hobby when I’m not cleaning up other people’s blood.”

  “I see…” His blue eyes are glued to mine now, and I can feel the heat in my face growing. There has never been a time when I have looked so intently into a man’s gaze, but something has me stuck.

  My heart is racing fast, and it feels like it might jump out of my chest any minute now. Most of the buzz is gone now that I’m alone with Ezra in his office. I fidget with my hands in my lap. I’m sitting on his sink with his body wedged between my legs, noticing for the first time now that my dress has slid farther up my legs. This is crazy, and I appreciate his help, but I need to go find my friends and leave.

  “I think Roxy just scratched you a bit,” he finally says, his minty breath warming my face. He lifts his hand and cups my chin, tilting my head to see if he has missed any of the blood.

  “I’m really sorry about insulting her dress, but I swear it was the alcohol talking. I don’t usually do that.” I know I’m a minute away from babbling like an idiot, and I need him to back away from me. I’m not usually one to worry about being in someone’s space, but his scent is intoxicating. I inhale deeply, his sandalwood scent invading my senses, and it’s all I can do not to lean forward to sniff him.

  Holy hotness, he smells so damn good. I lick my lips, looking up to meet his icy-blue eyes again. My breath catches in my chest at the desire I see there. I feel tingly everywhere with him staring at me so intensely, and I will my body to stop trembling. I’m not sure what is going on in his head, but every fiber of my being is screaming for him to kiss me. I don’t kiss strangers, but I want this one to kiss me. I want to feel his perfectly shaped lips touching mine.

  Ezra dips down, his knees bending so he can reach me, and his lips are an inch from mine. He doesn’t move, and I feel like commanding him to just get it over already. But he just looks at me with desire and a mix of confusion.

  “Ezra?” I ask softly, glancing to his lips quickly.

  He moves closer to me, but before our lips can touch, I hear a commotion in the other room. The spell is broken when he stands up to his full height, towering over me and shaking his head and then abandoning me in the bathroom. “What the hell is going on?”

  “This idiot said I needed to wait for you to be done with my friend Lanee.” The loud voice of my best friend Claudia comes from the other room, and it cools off the rest of the desire I felt a moment ago. “What the hell does that mean? Where is she? What is going on?” she asks the security guards.

  I slip off the counter and walk into the room where I find a very angry Claudia who isn’t even fazed that two hulking men are staring her down. God bless best friends like her. “I’m right here, Claudia. Ezra was just helping me with the blood,” I say, trying to defuse the tension.

  Claudia crosses her arms, causing her breasts to push up. Any other time she would look fierce in that stance, but this time she is more like an angry kitten that appears too gentle. “He didn’t have to bring you up here like you were his slave,” she snaps, her eyes narrowing at the Viking of a man next to me.

  I sigh. “Let’s go, Claudia. It was nothing dramatic, okay?”

  Sometimes it is great to have an overprotective friend, but this one is going overboard right now. She knows all my past mistakes and heartache, so I can’t fault her, but there is nothing going on that she has to be alarmed about. I don’t even know if he really was going to kiss me back there.

  Claudia’s eyes widen at me, and I’ve yet to look in the mirror to see the scratches I can feel. “My God, Lanee, that she-wolf ruined your dress,” she squeals, flying over to me and plucking at the thin strap dangling from the front.

  Huh? I didn’t even notice that. There is part of my breast hanging out, which causes my face to flame again because this sexy man has seen more flesh than I’ve let anyone see in a long time.

  “Claudia, I apologize if you think I was doing something sinister with your friend, but I own the club. I also needed to make sure…Lanee was okay,” Ezra says, moving away from me as my friend assesses my body.

  “Whatever, but you can’t just steal girls away like this,” Claudia huffs, linking her arm with mine. For the second time tonight I’m being led away.

  I don’t look back at Ezra, but I see the shock on his security guys’ faces at my friend’s outburst. I want to curl up in a ball when we get home and just pretend this night never happened. This has definitely been an interesting day, starting with meeting Azriel for Claudia’s tattoo and then being here with Ezra.

  I follow Claudia out of the room and down the hallway, keeping my eyes down when I see other security people standing in the hall and hoping they don’t get the wrong conclusion about me. This isn’t high school, I tell myself, and they aren’t judging me. I try to keep that thought in my head until we are safely out of the club and heading home.

  This is why I don’t go out anymore.

  I don’t like to feel like this.

  I don’t like old memories to slowly creep up on me when I least expect it.

  Chapter Four

  Moving Forward

  “I’m so glad I can expose my new tattoo now that it’s fully healed,” Claudia says as the two of us sit out on the beach, soaking up the warm June sun and relaxing on our first day off in two weeks.

  A couple weekends ago was Tonya’s wedding, and she is still in the Caribbean for the rest of the month with her new husband. Her family paid for the whole trip, and now that she quit her job at the hospital to start a new family she has the time. All that means for me is that I have to pick up extra hours to cover her shifts. The money is good to pay off my student loans, but I’ve been looking forward to a day off these past two weeks. The moon is full, and there has been an increase in crazy people running around the city, making our emergency room busy most nights.

  “Your tattoo looks pretty good still. Did you put sunscreen on it like that guy told you to?”

  “Yeah, I did. I don’t want anything to happen to this baby. I love it!” Claudia is lying on her stom
ach, and the two of us are watching the waves lap at the sandy beach. She is smiling about something, and I wonder if she is thinking about Azriel, because I know I’ve thought about Ezra a lot since that night at the club. She told me the other day she was considering getting another tattoo and that I should get one too.

  I told her there was no way I was going to do it, even if she wanted to get these little matching nurses that would go on our ankles, hiding from the world when we were at work. Apparently she heard about these tattoos and how some nurses did it, and the hair color was the defining part that would be our own. I’m not afraid of needles, but I don’t think I could do something as permanent as that.

  But…ever since she met Azriel, Claudia has been gushing about getting another tattoo. I’m not sure if it’s just to see him again, or maybe she has tattoo fever now that she has successfully gotten her first. I’ve already told her I would go if she just wanted to pop in and say hi to him.

  I don’t know why that would be, but for now I leave it alone. I just want to relax my tired muscles and enjoy the hot summer day, maybe even going in the lake for a dip if it gets any hotter out.

  “Are you picking up any shifts this weekend?” she asks me after a few minutes.

  “I’m not sure. I know Deb texted me that there were available hours, but this last week was crazy,” I say, turning my head to peer over at Claudia. I really should pick up the extra shifts, but I’m exhausted. This may not be an overly large city like most, but there are barely any quiet nights.

  “Well, I was thinking about you and me going to that club again. You know, minus the drama this time.” She peeks at me, and I want to groan at the sly look she is giving me now. I know my friend. She is up to something, and I’m not sure I want to hear the rest. “Dr. Morgan invited us to hang out with him and some friends.”

  I do groan now. I know that everyone has a crush on the blond, blue-eyed doctor that just transferred here from Chicago, but he is an arrogant ass. I would rather deal with that girl from the club than hang out with him.

  Dr. Scott Morgan is extremely handsome with perfect hair, straight white teeth, and womanizing skills. It is rumored that he likes to date frequently and not just anyone but mostly nurses from the hospital. There are bets on who will be his next victim, and by the looks of it he has his sights on Claudia. She should know better, but I know she isn’t thinking with her brain. Some of the nurses here say Dr. Morgan can render a woman speechless, but I haven’t witnessed that effect on Claudia yet.

  Actually, the only person to do that to her was that hot tattoo artist.

  Her voice rises an octave as she pleads with me. “Come on, Lanee. It will be fun, and it’s not a date. I told him we were planning on being at the club anyways, and he told me he would see us there.”

  “I might decide to work, then,” I tell her, sitting up on my beach towel. I stare out at the water, my mind wandering back to Ezra, and I begin to wonder if he will be there too. I don’t know why, but he’s stuck in my head. I know it was probably nothing, but I felt something come to life when he was so close to me that night. I hadn’t felt excitement or wanted to be kissed for so long I thought I was broken.

  Broken… No, I wasn’t broken anymore. I was living again. I didn’t have to be scared of anything now that I was older. Nobody could hurt me unless I let them. I didn’t put myself out there to get hurt.

  “Earth to Lanee,” Claudia says, snapping her fingers in my face. I flinch back, gasping, and I see her face fall. Conscious of my secrets, she knows not to jump at me when I’m zoned out, but it’s not her fault. It is part of my fear of being attacked again that makes me jumpy from time to time. “Shit! Sorry, Lanee.”

  “It’s all good. I’m fine, really.” I paste on a fake smile, slowing my rapid breathing and telling myself it’s okay. I’m okay. I’m moving on, and I refuse to be a victim or scared of things. I need to deal with this.

  Claudia’s eyes are glossy, and I don’t want to ruin this perfect day with my personal issues. A part of me wishes I could react like a normal person, but another part wishes I had never told her my secret. She doesn’t pity me, but I know she feels my pain too. It is part of the reason we live together in a two-bedroom apartment. She is there when I have a nightmare, holding me tight in her arms and rocking me back to sleep, probably wishing she could take it all away.

  “Stop, Claudia…” I shudder, pushing all the memories back where they belong. It has been a few years since I’ve had any nightmares, but the memories are still lurking in my head somewhere. I won’t let them come out. I know my mom says I’m deflecting my issues, but I don’t want to be in counseling anymore. I don’t want to tell a complete stranger what happened to me again. That is my mom’s solution to everything. It makes me ill when I have to say those things and see the pity on most people’s faces. I don’t want pity. I just want to forget.

  “I’m sorry. Um…” Claudia looks away while putting on her sunglasses, but not before she glances at the scar on my leg. It is the constant reminder I have that what I went through is real, but it is higher on my thigh, barely noticeable unless I’m in a bathing suit. “I think we should go to that club. I promise to make sure I don’t slosh beer on any she-wolves.”

  There is my happy friend. “Okay, we’ll go to the club, but I’m not going to hang around Dr. Perv and his minions to be groped.”

  She laughs, and just like that the tension we were feeling has been lifted. Her face is happy again. She begins to tease me about Ezra, and I fire back about her tattoo obsession. It is funny how a moment ago we were going down a sad path, but now that seems to have passed.

  I hate the thought of going to the club, but I am looking forward to seeing Ezra again. I don’t know if he will be there, but a girl can wish, right?

  Chapter Five

  Night Moves

  I warn Claudia that I was not going to be wearing some skimpy dress this time. She whined and pouted for most of the day until I kindly explained that I didn’t want to give Dr. Morgan the wrong idea about us, but when I put on a simple light summer dress she was all smiles again. I decided to leave most of my hair down, letting it cascade in waves over my shoulders and back, showing off my curls.

  Claudia went with an emerald green halter top and black booty shorts with high heels, and she pinned her red hair up into a French twist. She looked beautiful, and if she wasn’t careful Dr. Morgan might need a cardiac surgeon after seeing her breasts that practically popped out.

  The two of us take a taxi to the club, getting there shortly after ten o’clock because God forbid Claudia is ever on time when prettying herself up. We wait in line for a few minutes, and then finally we get inside to find the club is just as popular as it was weeks ago.

  The lights are flashing colors while people bump and grind to the loud thumping music that the DJ is playing above them on a large ledge. People are laughing and having fun all around us, and for some reason it makes me giddy with anticipation. It may not be my scene anymore, but it feels normal here. The air is thick with excitement about dancing, drinking, and socializing.

  I can do this, I tell myself, smiling broadly at Claudia when she nudges my arm. I see her nod toward the side of the bar where there are black leather couches, and notice her precious Dr. Morgan is here. I roll my eyes at her and laugh. I follow her to the bar, and we order margaritas, my favorite, and then head over to her new love interest for the evening.

  Dr. Morgan smiles widely when he sees the two of us approach, waving to his friend to scoot over so we can join them. He definitely appears handsome in black slacks and a navy-blue dress shirt, but his blond hair is still greasy-looking from all the gel he uses. We are used to seeing him in plain scrubs at the hospital. “Hello, ladies, I’m glad you could make it. This is my friend James Willis, and these lovelies are Claudia Thorton and Lanee Connors,” he says, introducing us over the music.

  James is sitting next to me wearing distressed jeans and a yellow polo shirt, his collar tur
ned up for some reason. His dark brown eyes drink me in, and I cringe knowing that he is probably undressing me with his eyes. “It’s a pleasure, ladies,” he tells us smugly.

  Oh, yuck!

  I take a sip of my margarita quickly, hoping Claudia and I can slip away in a few minutes because this guy has beady little eyes. I listen as Dr. Morgan—or Scott tonight, as he just informed us—tells us that James is a lawyer here in Crestview. I nod appropriately, not really listening to the man who now has his hand on Claudia’s thigh while he talks. I want to gag when he makes a joke and Claudia fake laughs. We’ve been friends for a long time, and I know she is just humoring good ol’ Scott to stroke his fat ego.

  I tune out Scott and Claudia, watching people as they pass by laughing and having fun. I wish I could just relax and have fun like that. I want to go out there and dance, without worrying about someone touching me too much. I wonder if I wasn’t broken if I would be like so many of these girls, dancing and grinding against strangers. They all seem to be enjoying their time at the club, and I want that too.

  “You’re a nurse too,” James says next to me, his leg pressing against mine.

  My heart jumps a little, and it’s not from excitement at his touch. He is getting too close to my space, and I need to calm my breathing without looking like a freak. “I am a nurse. We work with Scott at the hospital,” I say quickly, my voice wavering a bit.

  “My sister is in school to be a nurse, but she wants to work in a pediatrician’s office.” He gives me a sly smile, and I just about jump when his hand touches my thigh.

  “Uh…I need another drink,” I blurt out quickly as Claudia’s eyes bug out at me.

  “Oh.” James is looking at me strangely, probably wondering why I’m not letting him touch me like Claudia is allowing Scott, but I’m not like them. He doesn’t have the right to just make moves on a girl he just met. “I can go get you another,” he offers.