Anchored: Book Three, The Reign Series Read online

  Anchored

  Book Three: The Reign Series

  Piper Malone

  Novels in The Reign Series by Piper Malone

  Tied

  Bound

  All Rights Reserved

  © Piper Malone 2019

  Kindle Edition

  Print IBSN: 978-1-7341871-06

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-7341871-1-3

  Edited by Erin Servais/StandoutBooks Ltd

  Copy edited by Kelsey Down/StandoutBooks Ltd.

  Formatted by BB eBooks

  Cover Art by Minuteman Press, Bethlehem, PA

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, their story, and the events that unfold are the creative work of this author. Any resemblance to individuals deceased or living is coincidental.

  Thank you for purchasing a copy of this ebook. Your purchase allows you one legal copy for your own personal reading enjoyment on your personal computer or device. Please do not share your copy of this book. You do not have the right to resell, distribute, print, or transfer this book, in whole or in part, to anyone in any format at any point in time, via any file sharing program. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and it was not purchased by you or for you, please purchase your own copy. If you no longer want this book, you may not give your copy to someone else. Delete this work from your computer. Thank for respecting the author’s hard work.

  Dedication

  For the survivors, thrivers, and champions.

  For those embroiled in the fight.

  For the caregivers, friends, companions, and spouses.

  For the nurses, doctors, and social workers.

  And for those we have lost, but who will always live on in our hearts.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to my friends, family, and fans for the endless enthusiasm surrounding Nick and Skyler’s story. Your positive energy was my guiding light.

  Personal thanks to Michele, Ashlee, Shannon, and Kristin.

  I am forever grateful for your undying support of this wild dream.

  Thanks to Rabbit for allowing me to move The Warren to Rockland, Maine.

  Author’s Note

  This book is a work of fiction. Skyler’s story is a combination of medical best practices and creative liberty. Skyler’s diagnosis, medical interventions, and recovery are not intended to serve as a factual representation of all individuals who receive a breast cancer diagnosis. While current medical treatments and clinical trials are serving to develop stronger, more effective treatment, no system is perfect.

  Skyler’s story is not perfect, but it belongs to her. Just as our personal stories belong to us.

  I was inspired to create Skyler’s story after meeting with women who were receiving treatment following a diagnosis of breast cancer. Speaking with these women, hearing their stories, and witnessing their path to wellness was truly humbling. They shaped the ways in which I view strength, resilience, love, and compassion.

  I will always be grateful for the opportunity to be in their presence.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  An Excerpt from Fabulously Tanked

  An Excerpt from Diesel

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Nick

  Blake Roman is a dead man.

  It would be easy. One draw on my compound bow, and the tip of the arrow would slide between his ribs, piercing, then splaying the muscle with ease before gouging his lung.

  I imagine myself standing over him, watching him gasp for his final blood-soaked breaths. It would be beautiful, just.

  He’s needed to die since he found me in Skyler’s room a few weeks ago. He pushed his luck that day. If I hadn’t been so hungover, Blake would have suffered. What he missed then, he will get now.

  “Again.” The words fall from her mouth, demanding yet pained as she moves through the scene, playing submissive to his dominance. But she’s not in her place, the space where she floats between feeling everything and letting go. It’s the place where she goes when Skyler is with me.

  “Tell me.” Blake’s command is weak, unseasoned.

  “Green.” Skyler’s reply is a blatant lie. If that were me, the whole scene would stop. He doesn’t realize her tone is wrong. She’s uncomfortable.

  “More.” Her request is sad, mournful. I can hear her hesitation.

  “Please.” Skyler’s voice bounces against the memories of our demos. She’s pleading, edgy. Skyler is begging him to dominate her, like she did with me. But it’s rote.

  When he nods, moving far enough away to throw the whip with deft precision, Skyler’s body bows against the sensation, stilted moans falling from her mouth.

  The depth of her cry singes the edges of my resolve. No one makes her sound like that except me. They’ve gone beyond crossing a line. It’s obliterated.

  Skyler stands naked in the center of the open playroom, wrists bound and secured overhead, and receives everything Blake offers. With every throw of the whip, the pressure builds in my head, throbbing with the hammering in my chest. My limbs tingle with the urge to move, to decimate.

  Ax moves next to me, trying to block the view of Blake pushing his fingers through her crimson hair, whispering commands in her ear. I don’t know how Ax got here, but he needs to leave. With every whispered word between Blake and Skyler, I flex the muscles of my hands, allowing the feeling of rabid insanity to curl around each finger.

  Her perfect peach rear end reddens with every kiss of the whip, but she’s not comfortable. I can see it in the pinched line of her shoulders. When he moves toward her, wrapping his arm around her naked body to hold her close, I see the muscles in her back ripple. A tearful cry pours from her, and Blake absorbs it all.

  She has only ever scened with me. Because she belongs to me. Her emotion is mine. She left me—us—and she returns to him?

  The violent pulse thumping in my ears gives everything a tinny buzz, including Ax.

  “Nick, c’mon, man. Calm down. This has an explanation.” His cool plea is bullshit.

  She’s been gone for a year and shows up in our place, in our space, with Blake. Blake, who has been stupid over Kat for months. Blake, who has been a royal pain in my ass since Caleb left on his honeymoon. Blake, the pissant pussy who can’t mind his own fucking business.

  There is no way to explain this. Ax needs to
shut the fuck up. I can’t make out the words anymore. Every inch of my skin feels too tight, hot, and roiling. I just need to kill Blake. There are no special words that will wash away the scene before me, but murder is an excellent start.

  If there is any reason for this scene, I’ll hear it after the piss is beat from everyone. At this point, Ax is next in line. He keeps pleading with me, the muscles of my back twitching with every attempt to placate my rage. My head snaps to the side, wrenched by a heavy spasm.

  He just needs to falter for a moment, and he’s mine. Prey might try to protect themselves, but they always have a weak point. A bum leg. Old age. They drop their head too close to a predator with very sharp teeth. Good hunters wait and watch.

  Deep within the room, the sound of metal clanging against the floor jerks Blake’s attention from Skyler.

  Ax peels away from me. “What the fuck?” Ax mutters as Blake turns away from Skyler and takes two steps toward the doorway on the opposite side of the room.

  Weak point. With his back to me, I let the opportunistic asshole deep within myself surge. The world blurs as I enter the room, seeking to destroy.

  The attack comes in flashes. My fist sinks into Blake’s kidney, then his side. He’s on his back, my teeth rattling in my mouth as he clips my jaw. A flow of copper surges across my tongue.

  My hands slip against his skin, slick with blood. I gather enough purchase to make every inch of his nose crunch with one punch. It’s not a gasping breath, but it’s a wonderful sound.

  My vision skews deep red, anger and hate cresting the walls built to keep my brain in check. There is no use in holding back; I can’t control myself. It feels too good to let go. Life has been black since she left. Now I have a place to vomit the pain.

  “Nick.”

  Her voice cuts through my hazy need to make Blake suffer. My siren, the reason everything is right in the world, is calling me. Nothing else matters.

  Move.

  With aching limbs, I drag myself away from Blake, the fight. “My angel,” I mumble, unsure of how I came to stand before her. Her once-naked body is now covered with a terry-cloth wrap. The world around her seems blurry. “Where have you been?” I have to know.

  My precious girl blinks, and heavy tears fall from her face. “Nick . . .” She bows her body to lean into me, her arms still held by the rope tether. Her tiny, trembling form, thin and cold, is cocooned in my arms.

  “Nick . . . please.”

  Her anguish recalibrates the kill setting. She needs me.

  Not Ax. Not fucking-slick-dick Blake Roman.

  Me.

  My grandfather’s pocketknife is always tucked in my pocket, more as a reminder of home than as a functional tool, but it frees her in three quick swipes of the blade.

  Skyler’s full weight presses against me, the pressure releasing the heaviness of the past year.

  I can breathe.

  Skyler is here. With me.

  My angel is home.

  Her body curls against me as it did for years when I scoop her up. Her legs drape across my arm; her head nestles into my neck. She’s lighter, but the curve of her form fits against me like always. The scent of her skin envelops me, so familiar it soothes the painful pulse beating against the backs of my eyes. Our time apart evaporates. We still connect. We belong. I can finally breathe.

  Until Skyler disappears into the night again without a word. Not even a simple goodbye. I need answers that I can’t get here. All of them—Caleb, Blake, Ax—have been useless when it comes to Skyler. If they are protecting her from me, I need to know why. I’ve been privileged to know the dark secrets, unless they have been about Skyler. The longer she was gone, the more they covered for her. I’m done waiting. Years have been discarded because of the choice I made to keep her at arm’s length. That decision ruined me the moment she disappeared. I need to know if our time apart destroyed what I thought we had.

  Three strides toward the door is all I get before I hear Ax yell, “Where are you taking her, man?”

  “Away.”

  I love my brothers, but fuck them. They’ll get what they’ve given for the past year. One word. No comment. They can stew on the questions.

  The bright sunlight stuns my eyes when I exit the building. It’s a beautiful day, cold and bright. The world seems sharper.

  Icy air touches her skin, and a ripple runs through her body as she pulls closer to me. I pull her closer, covering her bare skin against the chilled air. The skin she exposed to another man, my friend. She sought out my friend for a session. Blake agreed. None of them talked to me.

  The muscles in my neck twitch, but I push against the unnerving pull on my bones. My truck seems miles away until we are next to it. Skyler’s arms pull closer, tighter, around my neck, anchoring her body against mine so I could let go of her with one hand and open the truck door. She knew what needed to happen and accounted for my needs. Just like it’s always been. The satisfying rush of adrenaline and comfort that our connection still exists slips away as quickly as it came when it laps against the hole she left a year ago.

  Caleb’s nagging rings in my mind as I pull the double doors open wide. You two don’t have a contract, Nick. That choice is going to bite you in the ass someday.

  I step up, hoisting both of us into the second row of seats. It’s tight, but there is enough space to lay her down. Her pale skin looks ghostly in the daylight, tight against the bones of her shoulder. As soon as she releases the hold on my neck, her arms cross over her chest, her hands gripping her shoulders. Her brilliant blue eyes scan the floor of my truck, blinking through a thin line of tears.

  I’ve never witnessed her tears, but I know I’ve caused them. To my face, Skyler is always together. She snaps. I’ve never seen her waver. In the enclosed cab, the desire to fire question after question presses against me. Her watery gaze catches mine, silencing every demand. I push a hand through my hair, moving too quickly for our close proximity. She tried to stifle her reaction, but I know she flinched. Fuck.

  Even with her tears, she’s not getting away without hearing my mind, but I know I can’t be calm with her now. I’ll only rip the wound deeper.

  “You have some serious questions to answer. And you will answer them.”

  She disregarded what we have . . . or what we had.

  From behind the seat, I pull out a blanket and an extra work shirt. She holds one arm across the top of the wrap as she pulls her head through the neck of the shirt. I mutter that she’ll freeze to death if she just stays still in the cold. Sky’s tiny arms push through the huge sleeves, then cross over her body again. She watches me, sitting lamely while I secure her seatbelt. Skyler looks too tired to fight; her face lacks the full cheeks that redden when she laughs or when I piss her off.

  “Don’t be angry with him.” Her hand comes up to my face, gentle fingers touching the abrasions on my chin. “This is my fault.”

  “To be clear, I’m pissed at everyone right now. You included.”

  She recoils ever so slightly. Her gaze shifts to the window, and I know I’ve wounded her.

  “Why are you taking the blame for him?”

  “Because this is my fault.” Skyler’s face crumples like when she watches a sappy romance movie. “I did this.” The words gasp for air under a heavy flow of tears.

  “No.” Her emotion guts me. I’ve heard her cry through the thin wall that separated our rooms, but I know I’ve made her look like this time and time again, exhausted and dripping in sadness.

  I’m the issue. I’m the asshole. It’s been my job.

  The back door slams open, and I hear Ax yelling again. Does that fucker ever shut up?

  “Stay put,” I say before jumping out of the truck and closing her inside.

  Blake and Ax stand in the parking lot. Just the sight of him, even bloody from my fists, ignites the urge to murder. “What happened to her?” I ask, hearing the bite of my own voice.

  “You saw us, Nick!” Blake responds, irritated and a li
ttle off-kilter. “I didn’t do anything!”

  I’m in no mood to hear his pussy excuses. He should have known better. “How did she get here?”

  “I met her here,” he says with a tone that clearly conveys I’m an idiot. The three of us look around the lot. Her car isn’t here.

  “Did you bring her here?” I ask Ax, who looks like he’s enjoying this way too much.

  “No, man. I had the pleasure of meeting his girlfriend here today. I can’t juggle more than one at a time.”

  Blake looks ready to kill Ax, but this scene was all his doing. Ax would have told him to talk to me.

  I can’t believe Skyler would reach out to him. Blake is a ladies’ man. He’s perfect.

  Maybe that’s what she wants.

  Someone who doesn’t fuck everything up.

  White-hot fury burns into the muscles of my back and infects every inch of my body.

  I want to annihilate everything: Blake. Skyler’s disregard. The past.

  I feel my fists sink into Blake’s abdomen. His head snaps to the side after a swift left hook.

  He falls to the ground like a perfectly shot pheasant.

  “Never again.” The words are ground down to nothing as I hover over him.

  Logic is gone. I want to burn everything to the ground.

  A few strides back to the truck, and I’m jamming the gears.

  The engine revs, but I hear her take a deep breath.

  “Don’t run him over, okay?” she says quietly from the back seat. With the windows tinted deep black, we couldn’t see her, but she witnessed everything.

  “Fine,” I reply.

  “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” she asks. “We both live here.”

  The answer to her question seems odd because she’s exactly right. One concrete wall separates Skyler’s living quarters from my own within Reign.

  Less than a foot of space kept us apart for years until she disappeared. I always wanted to tear down the wall and make our spaces open and flowing.

  Then she left, and the place where I slept felt like a tomb.