one knee, but that wasn’t his style. Marco and I were more private with our intimacy, whereas Joseph loved grand public gestures. I loved them both.
“You sure know how to make a man nervous.” Joseph laughed, and I whirled to face him.
“Oh my gosh! Yes!” I burst out, eager to soothe him with my answer. He’d been down on one knee for several seconds, and we were attracting an audience.
Marco chuckled. “You haven’t even seen the ring yet.”
“The ring doesn’t matter,” I declared, staring into Joseph’s aquamarine eyes. “My answer is yes.” I turned to Marco, meeting his obsidian gaze. “My answer is yes.”
Marco opened the red velvet box to reveal a brilliant round cut diamond in a simple, elegant platinum setting. Joseph stood and crowded closer, showing me his offering: two stackable infinity bands of princess cut diamonds, shaped to surround Marco’s ring.
“It’s perfect,” I declared, holding out my hand to accept their claim. “You’re perfect. I love you both so much.”
“I love you, angel.”
“I love you, babygirl.”
The three rings slid into place on my finger, marking our eternal love. All three of us. Together forever.
Thank you for reading THEIRS TO PROTECT!
I hope you enjoyed Joseph, Ashlyn, and Marco’s story.
Get more steamy dark romance from Julia Sykes in SWEET CAPTIVITY! Scarred drug lord Andrés captures nerdy FBI analyst Samantha, and he’s determined to make her his sweet pet.
One-click SWEET CAPTIVITY now >
I don't like to be touched. I'm the hacker-geek-goddess of the FBI. When I'm hiding behind my screen, I'm a safe distance from everyone; isolated, powerful. No man has ever touched me, but when I'm captured by Colombian drug lord Andrés Moreno, I no longer have the right to refuse. He's scarred and scary, and his cruel brother Cristian has tasked him with breaking me. I try to fight, but I can't escape his strong arms and harsh discipline. He demands that I accept his touch, and my virgin body can't help but respond to his masterful manipulations.
The longer I remain trapped with him, the more I come to suspect that I'm not the only captive in his brother's home. Andrés' scars go deeper than the wicked furrows carved into his flesh, his pain reflected in the dark demands he imposes upon me. His obsession is twisted and wrong, but maybe I'm twisted, too.
Do I want to be rescued from him? Or is he the one who truly needs saving?
Turn the page for an extended excerpt…
Sweet Captivity Excerpt
“You don’t want to do this,” I choked out past the lump of terror that clogged my throat. I kept a wary eye on the wicked hunting knife Cristian Moreno held naturally at his side, as though it were an innocuous extension of his arm rather than a threat to my life. “Let me go.”
He threw back his head and laughed, his perfect white teeth flashing as the booming sound assaulted my eardrums. My hands shook violently, causing the ropes that bound my arms behind me to chafe against my wrists. The burn of the rough fibers against my skin and cold bite of the metal chair beneath me were peripheral; my entire focus was centered on Moreno and the way the gleam of the spare overhead light bulb made his dark eyes glint as sharply as the knife in his hand.
“No, Samantha,” he corrected me calmly, his light Colombian accent making his deep voice almost lyrical when he spoke my name. “You’re never leaving this place. Not alive, at least. If you answer my questions, I might be inclined to mercy. Otherwise…” He left the unspoken threat hanging in the air, the implication clear. I would experience agony before he finally disposed of me.
No. Don’t think like that.
I gasped in several deep breaths so I could manage to speak again.
“My friends will find me,” I asserted, knowing Dex wouldn’t leave me to die here. My best friend would do whatever it took to rescue me.
“If they do, they won’t find more than what’s left of your body.”
Ice crystallized in my veins. He took a step toward me, raising the knife. I tried to shrink away, but the unyielding metal chair behind my back kept me immobile.
“You can’t hurt me,” I said desperately, twisting against my restraints. “If you kill me, my friends will hunt you down.”
His dazzling smile illuminated his darkly handsome features with cruel amusement.
“I want them to know what I’ve done. Your death will be a warning. We’re going to send a little message to your friends.” He