Claimed: The Complete Short Romance Series Read online

  Claimed

  The Complete Series

  Nichole Rose

  Kindle Edition

  Copyright © 2021 by Nichole Rose

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cover By: FNG Designs

  Dedication

  This one is for the BBs. Talking with all of you makes me so ridiculously happy. Thank you.

  Table of Contents

  POSSESSING LIBERTY

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Epilogue

  Bonus Scene

  TEACHING ROWAN

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Epilogue

  Bonus Scene

  CLAIMING CAROLINE

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Epilogue

  Bonus Scene

  KISSING KENNEDY

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Epilogue

  Bonus Scene

  Also Available

  About the Author

  Possessing Liberty

  Book One

  About the Book

  Falling in love never hurt so good.

  Killian

  I'm a military man…rough, demanding, and used to being obeyed.

  I don't do love. I don't date. I don't have time for either.

  But Liberty Connor has me rethinking everything.

  One kiss from those sweet lips, and I'm hers.

  How do you convince an angel to fall for the devil?

  You possess her.

  Liberty

  Killian Thorne is my worst nightmare.

  Bossy, scarred…and hot as Hades.

  He offered me a fortune to help him save vulnerable soldiers.

  There's just one problem.

  Who's going to save me from him when I fall hard for him and his rough ways?

  Warning

  This gruff older man isn't afraid to play dirty when it comes to his younger curvy woman. To convince her to fall, he'll teach her every wicked trick in the book. If instalove, heat, and over-the-top men make you sweat, get ready to fall for Killian and Liberty in this sweet, steamy romance from Nichole Rose. As always, a sticky sweet and guaranteed HEA are coming your way.

  Chapter One

  Liberty

  "What are you working on?" Summer Alessi asks, plopping down in a chair across from my desk. She kicks her shoes off and curls her legs up underneath her, tugging on the hem of her floral Midi-dress to keep it from riding too far up her thighs. As usual, she looks gorgeous with minimal makeup and her red hair hanging in loose waves.

  "The networking app," I mutter, blowing my hair out of my face and sitting back to peer at her through bleary eyes. I've been looking at my computer screen for so long I feel like my eyes are starting to cross. "It's driving me crazy. The algorithm is all wrong."

  The stupid thing is supposed to match potential donors and volunteers with like-minded charities in their immediate area, but there's a glitch that keeps matching people with charities that don't align with their interests. We can't put it through a hard beta test until we get the algorithm issue fixed.

  "Maybe Dominic can take a look at it for you," Summer suggests, referring to her new husband and my boss, Dominic Alessi. "He needs something productive to do. He's driving me crazy."

  "Whatever," I say with a smile, not missing the sparkle in her eyes or the way she glows. Ever since Dom finally married her three months ago, she's been walking on cloud nine. "You love it when he's following you around."

  Which he does all the time since they found out two weeks ago that she's pregnant. Watching our giant boss chasing her all around the building is hilarious. He's so adorably in love with her and their baby. Seeing them so blissed out makes me so happy for them.

  Summer is a sweetheart, and Dom is an incredible boss. I've never had anyone look at me the way Dom looks at her and vice versa. I grew up in foster care and then spent my high school years in an all-girl's boarding school. At twenty-two, I know next to nothing about men or dating. But I know enough to know that Dom is head-over-heels for my best friend. He's been in love with her since the day she started working here. The only one who didn't know it was her, but they're past all that and gloriously happy now. They deserve it.

  Summer grins at me, her entire expression lighting up. "I do love it," she admits with a little laugh. "I love everything about him."

  "He feels the same about you. Where is he anyway?" I ask, rubbing my temples like that's going to stop the dull ache already prodding at me. I probably need to get my eyes checked but haven't had time to do it.

  "In his office. He's meeting with a potential client."

  "A nonprofit?"

  "I don't think so," Summer says, her brows furrowed. "The client was kind of short on the phone and didn't say much. Just that he needs an app developed and someone recommended us. I tried to explain that we don't really do development for individuals, but he was insistent."

  "Weird."

  Summer shrugs. "Dominic agreed to see him. I guess he knows him or his brother or something. I don't know. He'll fill me in later. Do you want to get lunch while he's busy? I'm hungry."

  "Is it already lunch time?" I glance at the clock on my computer and then curse beneath my breath. It's almost one. I've been at my desk for the last four hours straight. No wonder my head hurts and my eyes are tired.

  "If I could hyper-focus like you do, I'd get so much done," Summer says, laughing at me. "You get busy and tune out the entire world."

  "It's easy when you've done it as long as I have." I save my work on the program and then grab my wallet and keys out of my desk drawer. Growing up the way I did, I had to learn to tune out the world. It was the only way I ever got anything done over the sounds of the television blaring, the other kids playing, and the foster parents yelling. Once I was accepted into the boarding school, I worked hard to keep my scholarship so I didn't end up bouncing from home to home and school to school through high school. But I don't tell Summer that. I don't want her feeling sorry for me.

  She reaches across the desk and squeezes my hand, sympathy welling in her baby blue eyes. She sees through me so easily. Most people don't. To them, I'm the smart, overweight girl who doesn't say much. I prefer it that way. But Summer had me pegged about three minutes after she walked in the door for the first time.

  She's my best friend…my only friend, really. I don't get close to many people. But trying not to love Summer is impossible. She's genuine and has a heart the size of Texas.

  "You have family now," she says, her voice
soft. And then she squeezes my hand and drops the subject. "Can we have burgers? I'm craving fries soaked in ketchup."

  "Sounds good to… Maybe not," I mutter when my desk phone lights up. I shoot Summer an apologetic grimace and then grab it. "Liberty Connor."

  "Hey, it's Dom. Can you come to my office, please?"

  "Now?"

  "Yeah. I've got a project for you."

  "Um, yeah, sure."

  "Thanks."

  He hangs up on me.

  I frown, replacing the receiver. "Your man needs me in his office," I tell Summer. "Rain check on lunch?"

  "Fine, but tell him he owes me French fries," she says, pouting. We both know he'll get them for her. He'd do anything to make her happy. She hops up from her seat, slipping her feet back into her ballet flats. "I'll order us takeout. You want your usual from Andy's?"

  "Yeah." I slide my chair back and stand up, adjusting my black Peplum top. It's creased where I've been sitting so long, but there's nothing I can do about that now. There's nothing I can do about the fact that I'm wearing minimal makeup and faded jeans with strategically placed holes either. I wasn't expecting to meet with anyone today, so I dressed down. Hopefully, the potential client won't hold it against us.

  Summer ducks out of my office and goes right. I take a left, headed toward Dom's office in the back corner. Most of the developers and engineers are on the second floor, but he moved me down to the first floor when Summer started. At first, I thought it was because I'm the youngest developer here and the only female of the bunch, but now I think he did it so she'd have a friend close. I think it's cute how he's always looked for little ways to make her happy, even before he found out that she loved him too.

  He's so good to her.

  "You needed to see me?" I say, poking my head inside Dom's office to find him ensconced behind his antique desk, his sleeves rolled up his forearms and his dark head bent while he jots notes on his tablet.

  Whoa. I blink when I catch sight of the man sitting across the desk from him. The sun shining in through the windows hits him like a halo, making him look like an avenging angel come down to earth to mete out justice in the name of God. He's…massive. And entirely too handsome. His dark hair is crewcut, his eyes crystalline blue. His features are sharp, masculine. Not even the little lines around his eyes and mouth, the scruff on his jaw, or the wicked scar that bisects his right cheek detract from how gorgeous he is. If anything, they add to the appeal, giving him a dangerous, warrior vibe.

  He flicks his gaze in my direction almost dismissively, and then he freezes. His brows climb, something dark flaring in those crystalline depths. I feel his gaze like a touch as it climbs up my body. I grip onto the doorjamb like that's going to keep me from fidgeting as desire shoots through me.

  His gaze comes to rest on my breasts, his expression turning almost ravenous. Part of me wants to cross my arms and hide them like I have so many times in the past. He's not the first man to stare blatantly at my boobs. I wear an H cup, making them impossible to miss. But he is the first man to make me wonder what it would feel like for him to play with them or sink his teeth into them.

  I've been a big girl my entire life. There aren't a lot of men out there who have shown an interest in me, and none of them ever caught my eye. I've been on two dates in my life, and neither was great. This man seems interested though.

  He slowly lifts his gaze to mine, command crackling in his expression. There's something hard in his eyes, some small glint that tells me he's hiding entire volumes behind them. Even from across the room, I can tell he's used to being in charge, to being obeyed. He's king alpha and he knows it.

  He practically commands me to look away first, to lower my gaze and accept his rule…but I don't. Seeing that look on his face sends some undiscovered urge soaring through me hot and fast. Challenge. I want to rattle that authority, rattle him. I don't even know why, but something in me demands it.

  So I hold his gaze, not backing down.

  The man's upper lip twitches into the tiniest of smiles, pulling the scar on his cheek taut. He lifts his chin the slightest bit, silently telling me he knows what I'm doing and why. That he likes it. That little hint of a smile completely changes his carved-from-granite features, eradicating what composure I have. He's gorgeous in the same way a wolf is, fearsome and powerful.

  Dom clears his throat and I jump, losing eye contact.

  Dammit.

  My gaze flies back to the mystery man, but it's too late. He's already won. The dark glint in his eyes tells me that he knows it too.

  "Liberty, this is Killian Thorne," Dom says, motioning for me to come in. "Killian, this is Liberty Connor, the software engineer I was telling you about."

  "She's hired," Killian says, his gravelly voice a sharp crack of sound. "But she'll be working out of my office for the duration of the project."

  Hired? Working out of his office?

  Yeah, no.

  I don't care how hot he is, no one but me decides where I work.

  "She is standing right here," I tell him, standing up straight and squaring my shoulders. "And she will decide whether or not she wants to work with you and where she'll do that work."

  A flash of…something crosses Killian's face, there and gone so quickly I almost miss it. It's dark and wicked, making him look more like a predator staring at his prey than a man offering me a job. Before I can even process that or what it means, the moment is gone.

  "My apologies, Ms. Connor," he grits out. "Of course the choice is yours."

  "Now that we're all on the same page," Dom says, his tone wry and slightly amused, "why don't you have a seat, Liberty? I think you'll be interested in the project Killian has for you."

  I hesitate a split second before curiosity wins out. Dom knows me almost as well as Summer does. He knows the kind of projects I jump at and why. If he thinks hearing Killian out is worth my time, I should probably listen.

  Killian watches me like a hawk as I cross Dom's office and take the only remaining seat, which is right beside Dom's desk. Killian grunts, a hint of irritation flitting through his expression before he schools it. That little flicker confuses me. Is he annoyed that I'm sitting beside Dom?

  He keeps his eyes glued to me, assessing and considering, the entire time I get comfortable. Jeez, he's intense. And even hotter up close. There are flecks of gray in his eyes and the lines around his eyes are deeper than I first thought. He's maybe thirty-five or forty. The scar on his cheek looks old, but I can't help but wonder what happened to him.

  I'm guessing he's military or law enforcement, someone used to barking orders and being obeyed without question. It would explain his curt demeanor, that scar, and the way he watches me like he sees more than everyone else.

  I've never been a rule breaker, but a little part of me thrills at the thought of breaking his rules just to see how he reacts. Just to see him discomposed, that iron will of his eradicated. I can almost imagine those big hands clamped around my hips while he drives into me…almost feel the weight of them coming down across my ass as he punishes me with pleasure for some misdeed.

  I clear my throat, trying to dislodge that image and the breathlessness it leaves behind. What am I even thinking? I'm a virgin. I wouldn't even know what to do with a man like him. He's gruff, rude…way too hot. I don't know what to do with any of that.

  Part of me wishes I did.

  "Um, tell me about this project," I murmur, my cheeks heating when I see the little hint of humor in his eyes like he knows exactly what I was thinking about, what I was imagining. It takes every ounce of willpower I have to keep from fidgeting beneath the weight of his stare.

  He watches me for another moment, not speaking. "Need your help coding an application that'll match vets with services," he says then. The gravel-like quality of his voice should be a turn-off, but something about that deep, dark timbre sends a ripple of desire through me. "Lots of good men out there need help transitioning back to being a civilian."

&nbs
p; He's not wrong about that. Men and women returning from overseas often find it hard to reacclimate to life as a civilian. My father was one of them. Eventually, he turned to alcohol and then to drugs. He lost custody of me, and then died not long later. I was seven when he passed away. I can't quite remember what it was like to have a parent, but I miss him in the way you miss an arm or a leg. It's a phantom pain, one that never really heals.

  "It shouldn't be hard to adapt one of our existing apps to your needs," I murmur, already considering a few viable options. I wouldn't have to make many changes to the interface to get it up and running. "I'm assuming you've established partnerships with the agencies willing to take the referrals for service?"

  "Not exactly," Dom says when Killian doesn't speak.

  I turn toward my boss. "So the app would need to be easily updated when partnerships are established? That shouldn't be too hard. I've done it before, and I can provide training materials he can use to train his staff on how to add services to the database."

  "You misunderstand, Ms. Connor," Killian interjects.

  I shift my focus back to him.

  "My program provides all services in-house."

  "You provide everything?" I blink at him. "Housing? Vocational training? Therapists? Job referrals?"

  He jerks his chin in a nod.

  "I'm not sure I understand," I admit. Despite the fact that we're situated close to Camp Pendleton, I've never heard of an organization in the area that provides all essential services to vets in need, not including the VA, which is overburdened and underfunded. If his company plans to help fill the gap, he has my full support, but an endeavor like that would be a massive undertaking and take serious funding.

  "Killian works with the military," Dom explains when Killian makes no attempt to do so. "He runs a…program"—he hesitates on the word like it's not quite the right one—"that provides reacclimation services to vets returning from overseas. They have on-site housing for up to two-hundred vets, as well as classrooms and medical facilities. They have a team of therapists, doctors, and teachers, as well as support staff in place. The app will simply help them determine what services vets require so they're prepared to meet their needs."