Release Blitz: Wicked Shadows by A.D. Justice
FROM USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR A.D. JUSTICE
The final book in the Steele Security
Series runs the full gamut of emotions.
Meet Devon "Shadow" Kane--the
elusive assassin, the covert spy, the man in love.
Dangerous. Deadly. Protective. Alpha.
And way past merely pissed off.
He's on a mission, facing the highest
stakes of his career.
Readers say this is hands down the best
book of the series.
"I want to forget I ever read it
just so I can read it all over again for the first time."
"The whole story is flawless and I
couldn't put it down until I was done!!"
"…fantastic dose of suspense
thrown in which will have your heart beating out of your chest &
also make your heart stop a few times…"
"…you have absolutely blown my
expectations out of water with this book…"
"Absolutely freaking amazing!!
This book pulled me in and wouldn't let me go!"
"Loved this book so hard. I cried
like a baby but had a smile throughout."
The final book in the Steele Security
Series runs the full gamut of emotions.
Meet Devon "Shadow" Kane--the
elusive assassin, the covert spy, the man in love.
Dangerous. Deadly. Protective. Alpha.
And way past merely pissed off.
He's on a mission, facing the highest
stakes of his career.
Readers say this is hands down the best
book of the series.
"I want to forget I ever read it
just so I can read it all over again for the first time."
"The whole story is flawless and I
couldn't put it down until I was done!!"
"…fantastic dose of suspense
thrown in which will have your heart beating out of your chest &
also make your heart stop a few times…"
"…you have absolutely blown my
expectations out of water with this book…"
"Absolutely freaking amazing!!
This book pulled me in and wouldn't let me go!"
"Loved this book so hard. I cried
like a baby but had a smile throughout."
Devon “Shadow” Kane chose a life of
anonymity the moment he entered the clandestine world of the CIA. His
training made him a killer, a skill he has no qualms using.
Elle Sinclair, the younger sister of
his childhood friend, is far from the girl next door. She’ll be the
next big star. She’s also the one he can’t have. The blinding
lights of flash bulbs in her celebrity world contradict the stealth
and invisibility required in his.
Then she’s gone.
Disappeared, without a word or a trace.
A desperate plea for help from her
brother tests Shadow’s undercover skills.
The stakes are high, and Shadow will
risk everything for her. The only two constants in the equation are
the threat of blowing his cover and the probability he won’t reach
her in time.
With peril at every turn, can Shadow
and Elle both survive? Or will the wicked shadows surrounding them
ultimately cause their demise?
Amazon: smarturl.it/wickedshadows
iBooks: smarturl.it/WickedShadowsiBooks
HAVEN'T STARTED THE SERIES?
No problem! This is the only book in
the series that can be read as a standalone.
BUT...if you're ready to dive into
Steele Security, book 1 is FREE for a limited time!
Download Links:
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/zcv4xyl
iBooks: http://tinyurl.com/zxmyot5
PART OF CHAPTER EIGHT
“You look like you’ve been up all
night. What did you do? I said to rest and hydrate.” Leslie glared
at Elle from around his camera.
“I tried to rest last night, Leslie.
The room above mine apparently pulled an all-nighter. They’d stop
the music and noise long enough for the manager to threaten to kick
them out, then they started up again.” She struck a pose and moved
slowly through the constantly clicking of the shutter.
“You should’ve called me. I’ll
take care of it right now, though.” He put the camera down and
snapped his fingers. On cue, his assistant appeared at his side.
“Meechelle, Miss Sinclair needs a new room, with silence and
tranquility on all sides. Not around loud revelers.”
A few minutes later, Meechelle
reappeared, apprehension covering her face. “Leslie, the hotel is
sold out. There are no rooms to move her into.”
“Must I handle everything?” he
sighed. “As soon as the shoot is over, you’ll have a new room,
Elle.”
She didn’t have the heart to tell him
she had no intentions of sleeping that night either. Devon promised
he’d stay with her all night. She had twenty days with him, and she
planned to make the most of every opportunity she was given. “Maybe
the partiers will check out today,” she offered.
“Meechelle, take her to the spa for a
couple of hours while I shoot the others. Come back to me when she
looks rested and photogenic again.”
Two hours later, Elle emerged from the
spa, refreshed and renewed. Leslie and Elle focused on the various
moods he needed for the project, directing her into poses and sexy
pouts to complete his overall vision.
She felt the change in the air and
heard the low murmurs of whispers around the outdoor set. Without
visual verification, she knew what had everyone buzzing—or
rather, who had everyone’s attention. Devon stepped into
her direct line of sight, and their eyes met in an instant.
“That! Yes! That look!” Leslie
yelped and moved in for a closeup shot.
Devon watched Elle, ignoring the
obvious stares and questioning eyes all around him. In truth, he’d
been watching her since she walked out of the spa. His training made
him stealthy. Deadly. Invisible, when he wanted to be. He’d been
invisible long enough at that point—he wanted her to see him. He
wanted to see her reaction, to gauge her response, to read her body
language when she was surprised by his presence.
What he got wasn’t at all what he
expected.
The look she gave him was more lethal
than any he’d encountered. It was deadly to his way of life. The
way it struck his core was detrimental to the plans he’d made. The
fact that he liked it more than he should warned him to run while he
still could.
But he knew it was already too late for
that plan to work in his favor. Three weeks. He could handle three
short weeks of being exclusive with a beautiful cover model.
Even if she was the younger sister of
his friend.
Even if she’d celebrate her
twenty-first birthday during their time together, further
accentuating the age difference between them.
Even if it meant he had to give up the
cover of shadows temporarily and live in her limelight.
“The spa must’ve been exactly what
you needed. I’ve never seen you look more beautiful, my dear.”
Leslie stepped to the side, the camera all but glued to his face,
while another man held Elle’s singular focus. “Oh, honey, I love
the fierce look, too. You’re giving me so much to work with today,
it’ll be hard to choose just one.”
The smirk covering Devon’s face
confirmed he’d heard Leslie, and he knew exactly what prompted the
change in her expression. It was bad enough when the buxom
sable-haired beauty in the string bikini approached him, but when the
overtly flirtatious intruder put her hand on his arm, Elle became
irrationally jealous and possessive.
Relief flooded her senses instantly
when his response included a gesture toward Elle. The bikini-girl
looked over her shoulder, immediately recognized Elle, and scurried
away from Devon. Pride over witnessing the small victory swept over
her, and Devon’s smirk transformed into a beaming smile.
Smooth, Moore. Real smooth, she
thought.
“And that’s a wrap for you, my
love. Rest. Hydrate. Come back to me even more gorgeous tomorrow.”
Leslie kissed the air on either side of her face and dismissed her
when he called the next model into range of his viewfinder.
“I didn’t expect to see you here
today.” Elle approached Devon, delighting in the sensation of his
eyes heavy on her barely clad skin.
“Where the fuck was that bathing suit
when we were on the boat yesterday? It’s probably a good thing you
weren’t wearing it. You’d still be held in a secure, remote
location where no one except me could find you.”
“Promises, promises.”
He wrapped his arm around her bare
waist and pulled her to him. “I’ve warned you about that.” He
leaned down and captured her mouth with his, not caring that dozens
of cell phone cameras captured their every move. “Let’s go. I
have more plans for you today. Do you get to keep the bikini?”
With a chuckle, she shook her head.
“Not this time. Are we going back to the boat?”
“That’s not what I had planned, but
I’m game if that’s what you want to do.”
“Honestly, I don’t care if we go
play Skee-Ball for six straight hours. Just take me with you.”
“Who told you my plans?”
“I’ll never tell. Let me change,
and I’ll be ready to get out of here.”
“Shorts. T-shirt. Bikini. Then dress
for dinner and dancing tonight.”
She stopped walking, waiting for him to
give the punch line of his joke, but none came. “You’re serious?”
“Of course. You’re mine today.
Remember? Move that fine ass. You’re wasting daylight.” He
playfully smacked her on the ass, making her jump and squeal with
laughter at the same time.
“Come on up. I’ll have to pack a
bag with all my makeup, hair stuff, shoes, clothes, jewelry—”
“Fine. Start with a bikini, T-shirt,
and shorts. We’ll come back here for the rest later. I’m still
coming up to your room with you right now, though.”
Devon roamed around her room, making
himself at home and checking every nook and cranny of the space while
she changed clothes. When she emerged from the bathroom, she found
him standing on a chair, checking the smoke detector.
“Everything okay?”
“Absolutely. Just can’t be too
careful.” He stepped down from the chair and raked his eyes up and
down her. “You could wear a black plastic garbage bag and make it
look sexy as hell.”
“Such a sweet talker.” She patted
him on the cheek with her palm, accepting any excuse to touch him.
“We need to go now. Or we won’t
leave this room at all for a very long time. Then we’ll miss our
reservations.”
“By all means, lead the way. I’m
curious to see what you have planned for me today.”
“A day you’ll never forget.” He
laced their fingers together, picked up her bag, and pulled her into
his side after they were through the hotel doorway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It’ll be extremely hard for
you to top today. That was so amazing! If we do that every day for
the next three weeks, it’d never get old.”
“Hmph.” Devon had sulked since they
left the research center.
“Are you still pouting?”
“Yes. Yes, I am.” He crossed his
arms over his chest.
“You’re not even going to hold my
hand now?” She managed not to laugh, but hiding her smile was
impossible.
“Nope.”
“He was just so amazing, Devon. I
couldn’t help but fall in love with him.”
He cut his eyes sideways at her, his
mouth gaped open in shock, and his eyes narrowed in disbelief.
“You’re still defending your actions? Unbelievable.”
“But I’ll probably never see him
again,” she argued.
The elevator doors opened, and they
stepped in together. Devon punched the button for the seventeenth
floor and waited for the doors to slide shut. As soon as they were
alone, he pinned her to the wall with his body and kept his eyes
trained on hers. “For the record, you’re not allowed to have any
other boyfriends. Ever. Not when I’m not around. And especially not
when I’m there to witness it.”
“But I’ve always loved dolphins…and
you’re the one who took me to see him.”
“He got more kisses than I did.
That’s not acceptable by any stretch of the imagination. He knew
it, too. Did you see how he smirked at me?”
“I saw the smile all dolphins appear
to have on their faces. But I don’t think that was a malicious
smirk toward you.”
“It’s an alpha-male thing. You
wouldn’t understand,” Devon countered.
“Ah, I see. Well, I’ll make it up
to you. Just tell me, in alpha-male code, how to do that.”
“I’d much rather show you.” He
covered her mouth with his and gently licked across the part in her
lips. “After dinner. You’re making us late again, distracting me,
and wreaking havoc on my plans. Go shower and get ready, woman. I’ll
be back in an hour to pick you up. You’d better be ready, or you’ll
be in even more trouble.”
“Yes, sir.” She saluted him in a
joking fashion and slid out of his embrace. “Whatever you say.”
Elle rushed to dress for a night of
dinner, dancing, and more with the man she’d never been able to get
out of her mind. Giddy with excitement, she hurried through her hotel
room, threw on a dress and heels, and perfected her hair and makeup.
She was putting the last earring in when the knock on her door came.
One hour, on the dot. After peeking through the peephole, she flung
the door open and grabbed her clutch from the table.
“I’m ready. On time, even.”
Devon quirked one eyebrow upward.
“Damn. I was looking forward to your punishment for making me
wait.”
Their date night would forever be
etched in her memory. Beth was correct when she said Elle’s
professional life didn’t leave her much time for a personal life.
After their dinner over candlelight, Devon took her to a loud, packed
club to dance. Approaching the bouncer, she was seized by fear at the
thought of being turned away for being underage. Devon shook hands
with the enormous man guarding the roped entrance, leaned in to his
ear to whisper something, and stepped back to give the bouncer room
to unhook the velvet barrier.
“Come on in, Shadow. It’s been a
long time, brother.”
“Thanks, man. Good to see you.”
“Your private room on the third floor
is ready when you are. Enjoy.”
Devon tipped his head at the bouncer,
put his hand on the small of Elle’s back, and led her through the
crowded nightclub with ease. Whether it was his size or his dark
expression, she wasn’t sure, but the sea of people seemed to part
willingly to move out of his path. The curved staircase leading to
the private rooms gave the hopping club an air of glamour and class.
They made their way to the third floor, and he led her to their
exclusive corner room.
“Shadow?” she asked when he’d
closed the door behind them.
“It was my nickname when I was in the
service. The bouncer is an old Army buddy of mine.”
A rapid knock on the door was
immediately followed by several waitresses entering with trays of
drinks and hors d'oeuvres. They placed them on the private bar and
left as quickly as they appeared.
“You’ve thought of everything. I
was worried they wouldn’t let me in and I’d be mortified after
being turned away in front of the crowd outside,” Elle confessed.
“I’d never let anyone do that to
you.” He brushed a strand of hair away from her face, his fingers
grazing across her skin and heating her from the inside out.
She stepped into him, held his face in
her hands, then raised up on her tiptoes to initiate a kiss. When
their lips connected, his reaction was tentative at first, but she
was undeterred. Swiping the part of his lips with her tongue, she
moved in when his mouth opened to her.
At first, she thought she was in
control of their encounter. But he quickly proved her wrong. His
fingers weaved through her hair, gripping at the roots, and he angled
her head where he wanted it. The urgency and demanding nature of his
tongue’s caress overwhelmed her senses with a feeling of sheer
perfection. When he broke the kiss, she was afraid he would pull away
from her altogether, tell her he thought it was a bad idea, and then
disappear from her life.
“Let’s have a drink,” he
suggested then moved to the trays. He returned with two glasses—a
beer mug for him and a glass of Moscato d’Asti for her. “We need
a poignant toast.”
They held up their glasses, and she
waited for him to continue.
“To old friends reuniting, creating
new memories, and never regretting a single moment.”
“To us,” she added.
“Ready to go dance?” he asked after
they’d finished their drinks.
“Absolutely. You don’t have two
left feet, do you?”
“You just want to insult me again,
don’t you? After repeatedly kissing Sammy right in front of me.”
“Sammy. The dolphin,” she
clarified.
“Come on.” He chuckled under his
breath as he took her hand. “Let’s go dance so I can pretend to
accidentally grope you on purpose while we’re on the dance floor.”
“Mr. Kane, if you keep talking like
that, you will absolutely sweep me off my feet. You are such a
romantic.”
On the dance floor, in the middle of
the throngs of bodies writhing to the music, Devon and Elle moved to
their own beat. He held her close to him, bumping and grinding,
rubbing and caressing, blocking out every other person in the room. A
few hours later, the alcohol had been consumed, the food was eaten,
and neither could deny where their course would take them next.
“I heard Leslie say you’re supposed
to rest and hydrate tonight. I seemed to have single-handedly screwed
that up for you. Maybe we should head back to the hotel now.”
“Absolutely,” she agreed. But sleep
was the last thing she wanted.
The ride back to the hotel was quiet,
each lost in their own thoughts of how the night would end. Or
wouldn’t end. When he turned into the hotel drive, the lines
separating the valet parking from self-parking loomed before them.
“Valet.” Her single-word
instruction was enough to convince him.
They exited the car, and he escorted
her into the lobby. With the bank of elevators in sight, she sensed
his second thoughts were getting the better of him. She took his hand
in hers and faked confidence she in no way felt.
“Come upstairs with me, Devon. Stay
with me tonight.”
Without waiting for a reply, she pulled
him toward the bank of elevators and pushed the call button. His
hesitation had lasted a split second before they stepped onto the
elevator. But once he relented after the doors closed, he gave her
hope and reinforced her confidence. He wanted her as much as she
wanted him, and there was no way in hell she’d let him back out on
her after they stepped out of the elevator.
Holding his hand, she opened the door
to her room and mentally noted how he hadn’t even attempted to
release hers. With the door closed and locked behind them, she turned
to face him, meeting his heated stare.
“You’re sure about this?” he
asked, though she knew he still unsure.
"I've never been more positive of
anything else in my life, Devon."
With a slight shake of his head, he
stepped into her and took complete control of her body. “Then I
should warn you first. This is my domain, and when we're in the
bedroom, I'm in complete command."
Her lips parted with her sudden inhale,
her cheeks flushed, and her eyes grew wider at his declaration. Waves
of shock and excitement rolled through her. “Okay.” Her reply
came out as a raspy whisper.
WICKED SHADOWS. Copyright © 2017
A.D. Justice. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced, resold, or transmitted in any form without written
permission from the copyright holder, except by a reviewer who may
quote brief passages for review purposes.
A.D. Justice is the USA Today
Bestselling Author of the Steele Security Series, #1 bestselling
erotic suspense Dominic Powers duet, the Crazy Series, Immortal Envy,
and Intent. She enjoys reading, writing, the great outdoors, the
mountains, the beach, and most anything related to water.
When she's not writing, she's spending
time with her own alpha male character in their north Georgia
mountain home. She is also an avid reader of romance novels, a master
at procrastination, a chocolate sommelier, a twister of words, and
speaks fluent sarcasm.
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