![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000039_00005]](http://authorharpersloan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/UnexpectedFate_FrontCover_Rev-Medium.jpg)
Are you ready for Cohen and Dani? You feel in love with Cohen Cage first in Cage then again in each book after. He was that adorable kid that saw the beauty in an imperfect world. With his cape, love for his sisters, and hilarious little mouth…it’s hard not to love him. But, Cohen’s all grown up now. He grew into a man that is just as strong and fearless as both of his parents. He puts family first and isn’t afraid to admit that right or wrong, his future is wrapped up in one irresistible five-foot-two package of Danielle Reid.
To pre-order Unexpected Fate –>http://amzn.to/1zLgzUj (Releasing Feb 17)
This is an unedited sample from Unexpected Fate and might change before publication. Copyright Harper Sloan 2015.
Prologue
“Axel Reid, don’t you dare!” My mom exclaims and then yelps when my daddy charges through the front door.
“Don’t I dare what, Princess? No way that boy is going near my girl. Look at him! He looks like he can’t wait to creep on my daughter!”
“Well, there is no need to scare him to death!” she mocks.
My cheeks heat instantly when I see Dane start backing away from the porch. My hopes of being able to actually GO to my senior prom are starting to go up in flames.
Poof.
Just like that.
Not that I should be surprised about it. Mom did her best to calm daddy down, but we should have known better. He took one look at me and stormed over, only to return ten minutes later looking like he does now.
So embarrassing.
“You need to stop this nonsense right now, you big lug, or you’ll be sleeping on the couch,” Mom fumes.
“Like hell I will, woman!” Daddy roars at my mom and I watch her face get sharp. He stops long enough to sling one of—that’s right ONE of—the rifles he’s carrying over his shoulder where it lands next to the other one he already has over his other shoulder.
Only my mom would be brave enough to deal with him when he’s in ‘Protect Dani from everything with a penis’ mode. He looks absolutely ridiculous. He has two hunting rifles now hanging by their leather straps over each of shoulder. He has two handguns strapped to each thick thigh, two on each side of his belt, and various knives along the way. His shirt, one that he thinks is hilarious to wear when I attempt to go out on a date, says I kill things…and eat them. I know it’s a hunting shirt…for animals, not teenage boys, but Dane doesn’t.
Mom moves in front of him, standing in the front doorway and blocking his path out where Dane is still slowly retreating. She’s been dealing with this way before they even had me. He’s…protective. I guess that’s the nicest way to put it. Well, she calls him protective. However, I call it possessive, overbearing, controlling, demanding, jerky.
“This is her senior prom, Ax. You wouldn’t let her go last year,” she pauses when he grunts deeply in his throat, “and I’m sorry but you won’t be stopping her this year. She has a right to experience this. And Dane is a nice boy. Right Dane,” she yells over her shoulder.
“Uhh…” he stammers, causing my daddy to grunt some more.
“The boy doesn’t even know how to talk, Izzy. I bet he will be nothing but handsy and think with his little pecker. Nope. No way. Not near my baby girl.”
Oh. My. God. I wish I could just fall into a hole right now. I try to see over my parents and see if Dane heard that, but with daddy basically being a giant, that’s not happening.
“You did not just say that!” I yell at his back.
Daddy turns around, his movements awkward with how many weapons he has strapped to his body. His green eyes, so like my own, slant and harden. He looks down at my dress for the thousandth time since I came downstairs and doesn’t even bother hiding his displeasure that it is showing too much of my body. Even if it is about as tasteful as it gets.
My strapless red dress has a sweetheart neckline and everything he calls my girly bits is covered. There isn’t really any cleavage, well, okay there is some but surely with my lack of being busty you couldn’t even call what IS showing cleavage. His first problem was with how much of my legs were showing. Then I made the mistake of turning around without my wrap on. That’s when he saw that the back was completely backless to what would be my bra line. Well, if I had been wearing one. Which is clearly when he lost his mind.
“You look just like your mother did that night twenty years ago when we finally came back to each other. Right down to those strappy shoe things and I guarantee you, Danielle Reid, any teenage boy that doesn’t bat for the other team will be thinking thoughts I’ll cut his dick off for. No. You aren’t going with that boy, and that’s final.
I harden my eyes and his narrow even further.
I put my hands on my hips and he squares his shoulders, his riffles clinking together.
I raise one brow and he mirrors the action.
“Daddy.”
“Dani.”
“I’ll cry.”
“No you won’t. You have more balls than that.”
“Want to bet?” I start to attempt to muster up some tears, knowing that he won’t be able to handle them, but before I can force the first one out my brother jumps into my line of sight and blocks our standoff.
“Yo, Dane! You just run along now. Dani is unfortunately feeling a little under the weather. Ebola, or the flu, I don’t know. It’s really ugly and you probably don’t want to be around this. The boils, they could pop at any moment.”
“You did not just do that,” I heatedly whisper, fuming at his nerve.
Nate turns and smirks at me, “Oh I just did.”
“I can’t believe you two!” I spin to look at the one person that could help me. “Mom, seriously?”
Her expression softens and she just shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Dani. I tried.”
“You two,” I start, pointing between my older brother and father. “You just can’t leave it alone? I’ll be eighteen in a few months. What are you jerks going to do then?”
“You’re not dating, Danielle. Not ever.”
“Oh yeah, Daddy? And how realistic is that crap?”
“Watch your mouth, little princess.”
“Mom?”
“I’m so sorry, Dani.” She walks over and wraps me in her small arms. I could probably really cry, a lot easier than when I was trying to fake, but I’ve never been one of those girls that weep constantly. It would be easier to just go upstairs, take off the dress that mom and I spent hours looking for, scrub the light makeup that she helped me apply and pretend this night didn’t happen.
***
An hour later, I’m sitting in my bedroom, still in perfect dress. My makeup is still done and my hair is still flowing in long waves. And I’m no less mad at the men in my life than I was earlier. I’ve considered climbing out my window. I’ve considered asking my best friends Lyn and Lila to come help me escape. But what would be the point? Rambo-Dad already scared away my date, the only boy left in school that was willing to ask me even though his friends had warned him about my father.
I lie down on my bed and stare up at the ceiling. Maybe I should go away from college. I had planned on living at home while I attended Georgia Tech, but there is no way I can deal with this stuff any longer. If my father had things his way I would be shipped off to become a nun. Or he would buy an island and make it an all girls cult.
“Uhggggg!” I yell to the empty room.
“Seriously, Dani-girl, things can’t be that bad.”
I jump up when I hear the deep, gravely, insanely sexy voice coming from my bedroom door. That voice. My lord. The things it alone does to me should be classified as illegal.
My hair slaps me in the face, a good handful landing in my open mouth and I hastily pull it out before turn to where he is standing.
My lord he’s beautiful. He’s always been. My heart speeds up when I take in his smirking face and the mischief dancing in his brown eyes.
“Cat got your tongue?”
I shake my head.
“Speechless?”
I shake it again.
“Do you really have some flesh eating boil-slash-ebola like sickness?” he laughs.
I narrow my eyes at him and his rich laughter booms through the room.
“I’m just kidding, Dani-girl. Come on, get yourself ready and let’s go rock this prom.”
My jaw drops, again. “What?” For the first time I notice that he’s dressed in a perfectly tailored tux. My eyes travel down his tall form to his shining black dress shoes. On the way back up, my eyes hit the corsage spinning around his finger before I look back up into those gorgeous eyes.
“Let’s go, beautiful.”
“Does Daddy know you’re here?” I ask, not moving from my spot.
He sighs, steps into my room and walks over. His cologne, Gucci Black, wraps around me. He’s worn the same scent for years. I perversely sniff it every time I hit the mall with Lyn and Lila. That scent…it’s my undoing.
He grabs one of my hands, gives my knuckles a kiss before placing the corsage around my wrist. He gives my hand a squeeze before letting go. Placing his strong hands on my shoulders he presses down until I’m seated on my bed. Kneeling before me he takes my feet one by one and fastens the strap of my black heels back on before standing and grabbing my hands, again, to pull me to my feet.
The whole time I act like freak and just gape at him.
What in the hell is going on?
“Ready?” he asks.
“Uhhh…”
“Right, you’re ready,” he laughs, grabs my hand and pulls me through the house, down the stairs and into the entryway of the house where my parents are waiting. Mom has her camera ready, forcing us to take some pictures, all of which I’m sure I just stand there in a daze. I think I smiled in them, but I’m too busy trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Daddy smiles big and triumphantly the whole time, like he’s won some battle here.
“Oh, good. You got here,” Nate mumbles through a sandwich he’s stuffing down his throat.
I shake out of my stunned stupor and look over at him. “You did this?” I ask with disbelief.
“Well, duh. Can’t have my little sister miss her prom because of some boils. Plus, I knew this guy” he says pointing at our father, “wouldn’t mind him.” He takes another bite before he looks over my shoulder. “And I know he isn’t going to try to pet the cat.”
“Nathaniel Gregory!” Mom gasps.
“What? Why do you think dad act like he does? Just because I’m willing to say the words you don’t have to freak out.”
I look over at my mom who has turned bright red. Daddy laughs at her embarrassment and pulls her into his arms. “Are you sure we didn’t drop that one a few times as a baby?” She slaps his hard stomach and shakes her head.
“You look beautiful, honey. Have fun, okay?”
I smile at her and move my eyes to daddy to judge his mood. He just smiles at me.
“I trust him. He won’t let any of those pimple face, prepubescent boy touch a beautiful hair on your head. Have fun, sweetheart.”
I walk over and give them both a hug. Standing up on my toes as far as a can to whisper my gratitude in his ears. He’s annoying. Overprotective and possessive of his girls, but I love him and I know he comes from a good place.
“Uh, excuse me? Do I not get any little sister love here? I’m the one running this show, you know?”
“You’re such a dork, Nate,” I laugh and give him a hug before turning back to my date.
He’s standing by the door talking in low towns to my daddy. I can’t hear him, but he’s still smiling so I’m guessing there isn’t any talk about dismemberment going on. He looks over, his smile deepening and the lines around his eyes crinkling. Something moves behind his eyes, darkening them slightly, but he looks back over at daddy, finishing up their conversation for a few minutes.
“Ready, Dani-girl?” he asks a few minutes later, making my heart speed up again.
Holy. Crap.
“Yeah, I’m ready.” Or at least as ready as I’ll ever be.
**
That night, while dancing to Brett Young’s Kiss by Kiss, I knew that I would never be the same. I could feel the jealous waves coming off every female in the room as he held me in his arms. Of course, I had a man and not a boy as my date. Five years older than me and very obviously not a teenager.
Being held in his arms was a dream come true. His scent invading my lungs with every inhale. His eyes twinkling and his smile holding me hostage. I knew I would never love a man as much as I love him.
Yeah. That was the night that I confirmed what I had always known. What I had always felt.
Cohen Cage owned my heart and I never wanted it back.
