When Jenna Olsen took a waitressing job at The Brotherhood of Thieves, she was looking for a fresh start, not a hot commando. But there he is at table twenty, being all gentlemanly and distracting.
Gage Reader doesn’t need a woman in his life. Work is his focus, not the jumpy server from his favourite bar, and he’s good at his job. But when a shadow from Jenna’s past shows up, he just can’t help getting involved…
Out of Their Elements is a standalone romantic suspense novella set in the Blackwood world.
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Excerpt: Jenna…
I updated the order as one of the table twenty dreamboats waved a hand. I didn’t always get assigned to this section, but when I did, it made the long shift go by just a tiny bit faster. But my smile quickly slipped as I walked past table eighteen.
“Hey, no touching!” I snapped as a marketing douche squeezed my ass, and I smacked his hand away with the empty tray. His buddies were sniggering, and he’d probably done it for a dare, but the unwanted touch still made my skin crawl.
“Lighten up, babe. Take it as a compliment.”
No, it wasn’t a compliment. It was meant as a show of power in front of his friends. I took a calming breath. Don’t dick-punch the jackass, Jenna.
“Keep your hands to yourself.”
He reached out again, but I took a hasty step backward, a move I’d practised a thousand times in the sports bar I used to waitress at in Beckley. Different state, same shit. Well, almost. This time, I tripped over someone’s foot and found myself falling butt-first toward the wooden floor. Dammit! I braced for impact followed by laughter, but instead of landing among the discarded peanut shells, I was grabbed by a pair of strong arms.
“Relax, I’ve got you.”
I lost the tray but magically ended up on my feet again, and then the guy who groped me was sprawled on the floor, flattened like roadkill as one of the dreamboats twisted his arm behind his back.
“Get off me!” the douche yelled, but some of the volume was lost because his face was squashed against a pile of peanut shells.
“Lighten up, bro. Take it as a lesson.”
“This is assault.”
“Then you should do as the lady says and learn to keep your hands to yourself. Now you’re going to apologise, and then you’re going to tip her and leave.”
“The hell I am.”
The dreamboat added a knee to the douche’s back, and when he shifted his weight, the guy yelped.
“Sorry! I’m sorry, okay?”
As soon as he was released, he scrambled to his feet with bits of peanut shell stuck to his face, and he might have taken a swing at my white knight if a half-dozen more dreamboats hadn’t formed a wall alongside their friend. Instead, the douche threw a twenty on the table and ran for the door, shoving people out of the way as he went. His asshole buddies quickly followed.
“You okay?” the guy steadying me asked. I’d overheard several names during the past few months, and I recognised him as Malachi. He’d brought his girlfriend in for dinner two weeks ago, a pretty blonde who’d had the most amazing nails, super long and painted to look like peacock feathers on a shimmering gold background.
“Uh…uh…” Was I okay? I mean, I was shaking, and also shocked that someone had stood up for me, but at least the douche was gone now. “I think so.”
“Do you need to take a break?”
“I…I…”
He stuck two fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle. When Christian looked in our direction, the dreamboat held up five fingers, and Christian nodded.
“No, no, we’re too busy. Janie’s eating dinner, and my section’s full, and—”
Ryder, the dreamboat who usually lost at pool, picked up my dropped tray and held it aloft. “Before I joined the Navy, I used to wait tables. I’ve got this.”
Slater—who was quite possibly a Ralph Lauren model when he wasn’t gracing us with his presence—pulled out a seat, and Malachi gave me a gentle nudge in that direction. The white knight who’d flattened the douche was Gage, and my pulse ratcheted up a notch when I found myself sitting next to him. Those soft brown eyes made my heart race. He was one of the more frequent visitors to the bar, and also one of the quietest. Enigmatic, that was a good description. But although he rarely said a word, he always tipped well.
He pulled down his left sleeve, almost unconsciously it seemed, and not for the first time, I wondered how he’d gotten the scars he tried to hide. After what I’d seen tonight, I bet he’d been doing something heroic at the time. A wounded warrior.
Excerpt: Gage…
“I think I’d prefer a real beach picnic,” Jenna said, and Gage nearly suggested taking her to Virginia Beach that weekend, but he stopped himself just in time. Firstly, it was January, and secondly, the disappointment of another rejection was something he didn’t need right now.
“I know a quiet little beach that’s good for picnics.”
After a momentary hesitation, the corners of her mouth flickered. Good. That was the first time she’d smiled since the asshole groped her.
“You do?”
“Yeah, I can mark it on a map for you.”
“Oh, uh, thanks.” The smile faltered. “I should get back to work.”
“Ryder can cope.”
That prick was behind the bar now, making cocktails like Tom motherfucking Cruise. Show-off. Eight girls from a bachelorette party were watching his every move.
“I really don’t want to take advantage of his kindness.” Jenna pushed back her chair. “Thank you again for what you did. I really appreciate you sticking up for me.”
“Any time.”
As she sashayed back to the kitchen, Mal punched Gage in the arm. “You jackass.”
“What did I do?”
“I know a great spot for a picnic,” he mimicked, an octave too high. “I’ll draw you a map.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“You were meant to invite her on a damn picnic. Take a bottle of wine and a plate of…whatever women like to eat. Cookies or something.”
“Cookies or something? How does Imogen put up with you?”
Mal shrugged. “Stop changing the subject.”
“The temperatures are barely reaching double figures at the moment. Yesterday, it snowed.”
“So take a blanket. Or sit in your truck with the heater on and impress her with the view.”
“Sit in the truck? I’m not in high school anymore.” Plus Jenna was worth more than a blanket and cookies. “And I’m not looking to date, anyway.”
“Suit yourself. But she would have said yes.”
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