Charmed Bride: The Bride Series, #4

By Linzi Basset

"Threats obviously won't work, so be ready, love. I'm going to charm your cute little ass right down the aisle."

Drake Foster had always enjoyed life to its fullest, feeding his insatiable hunger for the opposite sex as the primary of the Dallas Rogues. When the beautiful former actress, Shea Johnson, returned to Lewisville, he couldn't forget their one encounter, shady as it was, and now that he'd set his sights on her, he intended to pursue her like he did everything else in life—with undisputable passion.

 

"Charm all you want. I'm not marrying you."

Shay Jameson, also known as the actress, Shea Johnson, wasn't about to be intimidated by the annoying billionaire entrepreneur, Drake Foster. Who the devil did he think he was to accuse her of being the reason his fiancée left him at the church door? And he had the audacity to demand that she owed him a bride, and he was there to collect on her debt.

 

Try as she might, she couldn't resist his magnetism, not to mention his gorgeous muscled physique … especially once she was reintroduced to … SERGEANT MAJOR.

 

"Do you always make a habit of arriving uninvited, Miss Kent?"

When the unexpected appearance of a reporter from Drake's past awakened feelings he'd never expected, he found himself smack in the middle of a love triangle … or was he confusing sexual attraction with something more? No matter how hard he tried to keep his distance from her, he kept spiraling deeper into a well of doubt.

 

To add fuel to the fire, a ghost from Shay's past arrived to further the destruction of their future.

 

Would Shay ever be able to trust Drake again, and as she pushed him away, would Drake be able to keep her safe from the skeletons in her closet?

Above all … would SERGEANT MAJOR―the randy bastard―be satisfied with the monogamy of marriage?

 

Editor's Note:

Charmed Bride delivers an authentic, heartfelt, funny, and sexy adventure. Adversaries to lovers to more with betrayal and danger sprinkled into the mix and a healthy dose of "Sergeant Major" makes for a very satisfying read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Linzi Basset
• Release date: Aug 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393985358

Linzi Basset

“Isn’t it a universal truth that it’s our singular experiences and passion, for whatever thing or things, which molds us all into the individuals we become? Whether it's hidden in the depths of our soul or exposed for all to see?” Linzi Basset is a South African born animal rights supporter with a poet’s heart, and she is also a bestselling fiction writer of suspense filled romance erotica books; who as the latter, refuses to be bound to any one sub-genre. She prefers instead to stretch herself as a storyteller which has resulted in her researching and writing historical and even paranormal themed works. Her initial offering: Club Alpha Cove, a BDSM club suspense series released back in 2015, reached Amazon’s Bestseller list, and she has been on those lists ever since. Labelling her as prolific is a gross understatement as just a few short years later she has now been published forty-one times; a total which fails to take into account the three other published works of her alter ego: Isabel James who co-authors—nor does it include the five additional new works marked for imminent release. “I write from the inside out. My stories are both inside me and a part of me so it can be either pleasurable to release them or painful to carve them out. I live every moment of every story I write. So, if you're looking for spicy and suspenseful, I'm your girl... woman... writer... you know what I mean!" Linzi believes that by telling stories in her own voice, she can better share with her readers the essence of her being: her passionate nature; her motivations; and her wildest fantasies. She feels every touch as she writes, every kiss, every harsh word uttered, and this to her is the key to a never-ending love of writing. Ultimately, all books by Linzi Basset are about passion. To her, passion is the driving force of all emotion; whether it be lust, desire, hate, trust, or love. This is the underlying message contained in her books. Her advice: “Believe in the passions driving your desires; live them; enjoy them; and allow them to bring you happiness.” Follow Linzi everywhere: https://linktr.ee/LinziBasset

Book preview

Charmed Bride

The Bride Series

Book 4

Contemporary Billionaire Romance

By

Linzi Basset

A picture containing animal, invertebrate, object Description generated with very high confidence

Copyright © 2019 Linzi Basset - All rights reserved

Charmed Bride

Copyright © 2019 Linzi Basset

Edited by: Kristen Breanne

Proofreaders: Marie Vayer, Melanie Marnell, Kemberlee Snelling

Published & Cover Design by: Linzi Basset

ISBN: 9781099243523

Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Linzi Basset has asserted her rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this eBook/paperback only. No part of this eBook/paperback may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, business establishments, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Warning: This book is for sale to adults only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase.

Disclaimer: Neither the publisher nor the author will be responsible for any loss, harm, injury, or death resulting from use of the information contained in this book.

Contents

Author’s Note

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Excerpt: Their Sub Series

More Books by Linzi Basset

About the Author

Stalk Linzi Basset

Author’s Note

Dear Reader,

The Bride series are the stories of gorgeous, successful Alpha Males and the sassy women they choose as brides. Although some characters will appear in other books in the series, all of them are standalone novels.

In Chosen Bride, Book 3, we meet billionaire Drake Foster who demanded a debt to be paid by the enticing Shay Jameson. To receive the full background of the two main characters in this book, Book 2, Captured Bride and Book 1, Chosen Bride should be read first.

Threats obviously won’t work, so be ready, love. I’m going to charm your cute little ass right down the aisle.

Drake Foster had always enjoyed life to its fullest, feeding his insatiable hunger for the opposite sex as the primary of the Dallas Rogues. When Shay Jameson returned to Lewisville, he couldn’t forget their one encounter, shady as it was, and now that he’d set his sights on her, he intended to pursue her like he did everything else in life—with undisputable passion.

Charm all you want. I’m not marrying you.

Shay Jameson, known as the actress, Shea Johnson, wasn’t about to be intimidated by the annoying billionaire entrepreneur, Drake Foster. Who the devil did he think he was to accuse her of being the reason his fiancée left him at the church door? And he had the audacity to demand that she owed him a bride, and he was there to collect on her debt. Try as she might, she couldn’t resist his magnetism, not to mention his gorgeous muscled physique ... especially once she was reintroduced to ... SERGEANT MAJOR.

Do you always make a habit of arriving uninvited, Miss Kent?

When the unexpected appearance of a reporter from Drake's past awakened feelings he’d never expected, he found himself smack in the middle of a love triangle ... or was he confusing sexual attraction with something more? No matter how hard he tried to keep his distance from her, he kept spiraling deeper into a well of doubt.

To add fuel to the fire, a ghost from Shay’s past arrived to further the destruction of their future.

Would Shay ever be able to trust Drake again, and as she pushed him away, would Drake be able to keep her safe from the skeletons in her closet?

Above all ... would SERGEANT MAJOR―the randy bastard―be satisfied with the monogamy of marriage??

Editor’s Note:

Charmed Bride delivers an authentic, heartfelt, funny, and sexy adventure. Adversaries to lovers to more with betrayal and danger sprinkled into the mix and a healthy dose of Sergeant Major makes for a very satisfying read.

I trust you will enjoy this love story.

Warm regards,

Linzi Basset

Chapter One

––––––––

It’s been six months since Shea Johnson, Golden Globe and Oscar winner three times over, disappeared from Hollywood, leaving behind a very lucrative career as a sought-after actress. Rumor has it that she’s recovering from a broken heart in her hometown, a location her agent is keeping mum over.

Broken heart my ass. Fury and embarrassment is more like it.

Shay Jameson folded the tabloid newspaper in half and pushed it to the side of the table. She glanced around, sighing with appreciation at the artistic flair of the decor. Whoever Drake Foster had hired as the interior designer when he’d opened the most popular restaurant, The Spice of Texas, in Dallas, had done an outstanding job. Well known for its farm-to-table regional fare in a stylish setting with repurposed woods and skyline views, their dinner settings were booked months in advance. Situated on the banks of the Lewisville Lake at Oak Point on a private farm, The Triple D Ranch, it made for a sought-after venue for a relaxing outing with superb wining and dining guaranteed.

She tapped her fingers on the table. Since the shocking incarceration of Gustav Lochner, a well-known businessman and bank manager of City Bank in Manhattan, New York, her life had taken a completely new direction. Finding out her future husband was the leader of a crime organization called The City Boyz—the dominant syndicate in the U.S. heroin and cocaine underworlds—had come as a shock. Gustav had always been the perfect gentleman, caring, and seemingly adored her. After seven years of being propositioned and chased by every actor and producer in the business, being pursued by a revered businessman had been a refreshing change. The fact that he was fifteen years older than her hadn’t bothered Shay; it actually made her feel more secure in the relationship. She’d seen too many celebrity marriages fail. The fact that he was from the corporate world and so different from the men she’d encountered on a daily basis, had been what had drawn her to him. She frowned at a thought that flashed through her mind. During their engagement, she’d never felt the time was ripe to tell him her real name or any personal information that wasn’t already known to the public about her as an actress.

Yeah, fat lot that helped me, she mumbled sotto voce. All he was after was a trophy wife to ensure he had the appearance of a normal life. Bitterness welled up in her like a swelling tsunami. She visually shook it off. I should thank him. It was the excuse I needed to get out of Hollywood.

My apologies, Miss Jameson. Mr. Foster is running late, but he’s on his way. He told me to serve you lunch in the meantime.

Shay glanced at the friendly male server who stood waiting expectantly. It hadn’t been a strange request to schedule a business meeting on a Saturday, but being late on a day with little traffic, caused her neck hair to bristle. She forced back the irritation. It wasn’t the young man’s fault. A brief smile touched her lips.

Actually, I’m not hungry.

Then the chef’s splendid gourmet seafood salad is just for you. It’s prepared with the finest local cuisine, herbs, and organic vegetables grown right here on The Triple D. Tossed with Chef Drake’s delicious homemade marinade ... He rolled his eyes dramatically. It’s to die for. 

Shay realized he wouldn’t give up. She appreciated his eagerness to please. So much like her at his age. Fresh out of college with a degree in interior decorating in hand, she was ready to take the world by storm and she had ... for four years she’d basked in the success of her ability to transform spaces with her natural flair for style and grace. She’d started at Dallas Interiors as a junior but worked herself up to the Design Manager by the time she was twenty-four.

God, how I wish I had never ... shut it, Shay. It’s too late to cry over spilled milk.

All had changed when she and her friends had gone to California to celebrate one of their besties, Stacey Young’s birthday in L.A., where she had been struggling to become an actress. Stacey had convinced her with her usual flair to join them as extras on a movie set where she had played a small part. Unlucky, or lucky as most people believed, the producer had noticed Shay and immediately offered her a leading role in another movie he had in the pipeline. She’d been caught up in the excitement, and the money they’d offered for the part, completely blew her away. She promised herself it would only be one movie, so she could use the money to set up her own interior designing firm. It never happened. Now, eight and a half years later, she finally managed to escape what had become the Sodom and Gomorrah of hell to her.

Miss? The enquiring young voice yanked her back to the present.

Shay glanced at the blonde haired young man. The name tag caught her attention. She dimpled. Very well, Vernon. How could I say no to such an eloquently described dish?

His smile threatened to split his face in half. You won’t regret it.

She watched him walk away. How she missed the exuberance of the youth. She’d never had that. With an above average IQ, she’d been advanced two years ahead of her friends in school which meant she started college at the young age of sixteen. Her mother was ruthless in how she pushed her to succeed and was highly upset when she chose interior design, shattering her dreams of her daughter becoming a sought-after surgeon.

Shay had the strength of mind to hold fast to her dream and refused to be swayed by her mother, who was the one who had always dreamed of becoming a plastic surgeon. Unfortunately, her parents couldn’t afford the tuition fees and she had to be satisfied with a career as a nurse.

To this day, Kiera Jameson hadn’t forgiven Shay for leaving home to pursue the limelight. Her mind drifted back.

You wasted all my hard-earned money to go to college. And for what? To go and whore yourself in front of cameras and become a slut to everyone who watches your movies.

Mom, it’s not that kind of movie. It’s—

I don’t care. Mark my words, missy, you’re going to regret this. Actresses are well known for their low morals.

That’s not true. You can’t rake all actresses over the same comb.

You’re naive and stupid if you believe otherwise! You won’t be any different.

Mom, please, it’s only one movie. Once it’s over, I’ll return and pay back every cent of my tuition.

And what about all the years of blood, sweat, and tears to get you to study so that your brain could develop, to give you every dream I’ve ever had for you.

"Listen to yourself, Mom. Your dreams ... it’s always been your dreams, what you wanted. I’m twenty-four years old and you’re still trying to force them onto me. What about my dreams and goals? Don’t they count for anything?"

I’m not stopping you, Shay. Pack your bags and go but once you step outside my door, don’t bother coming back. From the moment you leave, you cease to exist to me.

She had been shocked at her mother’s ultimatum, but it had been the one thing that had made up her mind. It was time to get out from under her mother’s stifling palm. She’d grudgingly accepted Shay’s career choice as an interior designer, but not a day had gone by that she hadn’t tried to make her feel guilty about it. Her belief that Kiera would calm down and realize how wrong she was had been shattered when she’d returned six months later.

Here you go, Miss. Enjoy. She started out of her trip down memory lane at the sudden appearance of the server with her meal.

Thank you, Vernon.

And its flavor pairs perfectly with this crisp and chilled Pinot Gris, he said as he poured a glass.

Shay shook her head but smiled indulgently at the vibrant server. It was evident that no amount of protest from her would stay him from the offering. She speared a piece of shrimp into her mouth as he walked away. A moan of delight escaped her lips as the scrumptiously marinated seafood burst her taste buds to life. Her mind slithered through the hallways of captured memories to the day she went back home.

She would never forget the smirk of disgust on her mother’s face when she’d opened the door and saw her daughter standing there. She hadn’t given Shay an opportunity to say anything. She’d slammed the door shut in her face. She’d tried again months later when she’d received an Oscar for her performance in A Forgotten Dream, the drama that had catapulted her to the top paying actress in Hollywood. Again, she’d chased her away and from that point refused to even take her phone calls. Shay had transferred a million dollars into her account and wiped clean the slate of any guilt she might have felt up till then. It was also why she’d decided to return to Hollywood and accepted a second part in another blockbuster movie. She hadn’t seen or heard a word from her mother since.

With a sigh that floated like a heavy mist through the atmosphere, she took a long sip of the chilled wine.

So, the long-lost daughter finally decided to traipse back home.

Shay got such a fright from the sudden deep drawl next to her that she erupted in a coughing cacophony; the wine choosing that moment to slither in the wrong direction.

Ugh ... stop! she sputtered as she scuttled out of reach of the large palm dutifully patting ... or rather ... thumping her on the back with such force that her upper body rocked back and forth. She felt like a proverbial punching bag! She twisted in the booth and glowered―at least that was the intention―until her eyes encountered a broad chest. She looked up, and up, and up. Her breath faltered as her gaze clashed with a gunmetal, broodish one, as lethal as the magnetism of the man himself.

She should know. In front of her stood the one mistake she’d ever made ... and her only ever one-night-stand with a man whose name she never knew—still didn’t. A mistake because to this day, eighteen months later, she continued to dream and fantasize over that night of unbound lust and debauchery. Not to mention him, the man. Her ex-fiancé, Gustav Lochner, had paled in comparison to him, and sexually ... well, she’d learned to continue acting with him. He just couldn’t arouse her, let alone get her to climax.

Then his words registered. Hostility etched its way into the look that was designed to peel his hide. She might not have known who he was back then but he sure as hell knew her.

And you are? she clipped in a voice as cold as an Arctic breeze.

Come now, I may have certain views about your character, but I never thought pretense was one of them. His shoulders rolled in a negligent shrug. On the other hand, with your illustrious career, that’s who and what you are, isn’t it?

You misunderstood. You clearly know who I am and who I was back then, which makes me wonder if our meeting was by chance as you had claimed at the time. Her blue eyes shone with glacial intensity. "You want to talk about pretense? You, who claimed you didn’t know I was a celebrity and insisted on anonymity ... no names, if I recall. Her chin tilted back defiantly. Now why is that I wonder?"

Touché.

Shay flayed him with a bilious look as he folded his tall, muscular frame into the booth opposite her, seemingly unperturbed at her annoyance.

Well? She made no effort to hide the belligerence that spat from her lips, which she felt obligated to coat in a shiny film of saliva as she ran her tongue over their pulpy fullness. His hawkish gaze sharpened on the movement.

Drat the man. How the devil does he still have such an effect on me?

If I told you who I was you would’ve run for the hills. His gaze cruised leisurely over her features before it did a slow foray over her chest, where she could feel the tingle in the tips of her breasts, warning her just how arousing his mere presence was. A satisfied smile curved his lips as he noticed her budding nipples before he captured her gaze once more. And I wanted you too much for that to happen.

So, you weren’t drunk or—

I don’t get drunk. Tipsy maybe, but drunk? Never.

Good for you. Should I award you a medal? Shay straightened her back and glanced around. The dining room was gradually emptying as diners finished their meals and left. The large subway-like clock on the far wall caught her attention. Drake Foster was over an hour late. Because of his tardiness, she had to suffer the presence of this chauvinistic Neanderthal.

Well, tough. If he truly wants me for the job, he can come to me. I’m gone!

She gathered her legs and swung them gracefully out of the booth. Maybe that was why Stacey’s attention had strayed to another two weeks before their intended marriage. She immediately shrugged off the thought. Stacey and Drake had gotten engaged the year Shay was shooting a movie in Italy. She had never met him but from what everyone had said about him, he wasn’t the kind of man Stacey usually dated. He had more class and style for one, according to her other friends. She’d always wondered why Stacey never showed her any photos of them together. That Stacey cuckolded him so close to their wedding day had been wrong and heartless. When Shay had berated her for the callous way she’d treated her fiancé, it had been the beginning of the end of their fifteen-year friendship. She frowned in thought. She still didn’t know what had caused the final tear that estranged them two months later.

"Running away ... again?" His acerbic voice clipped through the atmosphere as she pushed to her feet.

I didn’t run away. We agreed beforehand it was only one night with no strings attached. Her nose tipped up an inch. She’d be damned if she’d allow her true feelings to show. "I don’t know how you found me, but let me assure