Tortured Duchess (Adair Legacy Book 2) Read online

  Tortured Duchess

  ADAIR LEGACY BOOK 2

  KL DONN

  Copyright © 2022 by KL Donn

  TORTURED DUCHESS

  ADAIR LEGACY BOOK 2

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Photographer: Lindee Robinson Photography

  Models: Travis & Sabree

  Cover Design & Formatting: Alluring Write Productions

  Editor: KA Matthews

  Contents

  Blurb

  1. Hadley

  2. Hadley

  3. Ashton

  4. Hadley

  5. Hadley

  6. Hadley

  7. Hadley

  8. Ashton

  9. Castiel

  10. Hadley

  Epilogue

  Next in the Adair Legacy

  About the Author

  Also by KL Donn

  Blurb

  From USA Today Bestselling Author KL Donn comes an all-new age gap, darkish contemporary romance.

  One look and I’m hooked, completely obsessed.

  Hadley Adair is a breath of fresh air.

  A sassy, hot-headed, confident woman I could never let go.

  From the first touch I want to occupy her entire life.

  Despite the secrets she hides.

  After a nasty divorce I never imagined loving a woman again.

  Let alone one who comes from the most feared family in the state.

  They won’t sway me though.

  Neither will a betrayal neither of us see coming.

  Hadley is mine and I won’t let her go.

  Reader beware, some themes may be triggering.

  I adored writing this book and I sure hope you love it as much as I do!

  CHAPTER 1

  Hadley

  Music pounds. My hips sway. The scent of sweat and desperation permeates the air as I move across the dance floor. Hands above my head, feet agilely gliding left to right. I can feel all eyes on me as I swing seductively around the new club in town.

  Peaches & Cream is one of the few places you can enter without having to be twenty-one. I'm wearing a special stamp so I’m not served alcohol, but I don’t mind. I’m not here to deaden my senses; I’m here to celebrate my eighteenth birthday a little late.

  My best friends, Aria and Lake, are here too. Aria is sandwiched between her men, Seven and Severo, as they struggle to keep their hands off her while Lake sits at the bar sipping a club soda. Saint Rivers is hovering, scaring off any man from five feet away.

  Opening my eyes as I drop my head back, rolling it on my shoulders, I meet the stare of a mysterious man on the private balcony. Turning to face him a little more, I notice he looks pissed—more like filled with rage—as I feel his intense stare scorch me. I watch as he reaches down to adjust his manhood, and when he makes no further move to catch my attention, I turn away.

  Feeling steady, unfamiliar hands on my hips, I force myself not to push them off. I'll allow it to get the mystery man to come to me. Also, Bishop Kincaid is keeping an eye on me. He’s been like a brother my entire life, and just as with the rest of the boys, I know he won’t let anything happen to me. My father, Castiel Adair, would slaughter anyone who dares take from me what I won't give freely either.

  “Hands off, asshole,” I hear Bishop growl as he stands in front of me, arms crossed, a deadly stare focused on the man behind me.

  As the guy removes his hands, I decide he's not worthy of my time if he retreats. It’s how I rate all men who show interest, which happens a lot. I have my mother’s gorgeous blonde hair, soft curves, and model-like looks. I’m not vain; I don’t necessarily like the attention, but when I get it, it’s sometimes nice.

  “Thanks, Bish.” I smile up at my friend as he glowers at all the other males around us.

  “Stop tempting them, and I might not have to commit murder tonight.” I laugh at his threat. I know he means it, but it’s funny all the same.

  “I can take care of myself, you know? Spent a lifetime training how to kick a man in the nuts and run,” I joke as I spin, the mystery man from earlier now gone. I try not to think too hard about the disappointment that settles in my belly.

  “Doesn’t mean you should have to break one of those pretty nails,” he retorts. “Fuck.” He curses, and I stop moving, glancing back at him to find his eyes fixated on Saint with his hand around a man’s neck, holding him two feet off the ground. Lake is cowering under the bar, and I see red too.

  Lake has been fragile as glass for a while now. Nobody knows why, and she won’t talk about it. But Saint’s obsession with her has grown exponentially over the years, and he’s the only reason anyone can get her to leave the house. However, it doesn’t mean she’s ready for his volatile and vicious ways.

  We know that.

  She knows that.

  Even he knows that.

  He’s worse than Uncle Carver from what I’ve overheard my dad and uncles saying before. And yet, there isn’t any better man than him. He’s terrifying to a stranger, but to us? He’s the uncle who chased us around the yard, bought us puppies for Christmas, and drove us to Junior prom.

  “I got this.” I place a hand on Bishop’s chest as he’s about to head towards the scuffle. Skipping over, I check on Lake and see she’s holding her wrist to her chest, tears flowing freely down her face. “No,” I snap as I storm at the man in Saint’s hold, “the fuck you did not touch her without permission.”

  I don’t let him answer. I don’t let Saint squeeze his throat a second longer as I reach between his legs and dig my sharp nails into his tiny balls, making him howl like a dying coyote.

  “You touched her,” I grit between clenched teeth. Saint slowly lowers the prick, and I twist my hand. Tears streak the stranger's face as he bites his lip. “I should let him kill you.” His eyes dart to the beast beside me as he shakes his head. “He’d rip your throat out right here, and nobody would stop him,” I threaten. It’s the truth too. “Do you have any idea who she is?” Just because Saint is here to scare him doesn’t mean Lake’s father, Luther Sutton, doesn’t have a very deadly reputation.

  “No,” he whines.

  I lean down to whisper in his ear, “That’s little Lake Sutton.” I pull back and see he’s struggling to understand. I help him along; I’m nice like that. “Her daddy is Luther Sutton.” His eyes bulge. My gaze slides up at Saint. “That there is Lake’s man.” One day that statement will be true. “He’s Carver Rivers' son. Worse than his own daddy.” Wetness coats my hand, and as disgusted as I am that he pissed on me, I laugh. “I suggest you leave, and please, don’t ever come back.”

  I let the man go, turn my back, and run smack dab into my unknown admirer. “I have half a mind to toss you and your friends out,” he growls.

  Holding my hand away from my body, I shrug. “Can I wash my hands first? He peed on me.”

  The man blinks a few times before his head falls back, and he howls with laughter. The sound makes my girly bits tingle, and I force myself not to rub my thighs together.

  Hello, sex on a stick.

  “You’re funny,” he replies. “That guy was scared of little bitty you?” He shakes his head like that could never happen.

  He’s not necessarily wrong. I just don’t like the implication.

  “More so of what I threatened him with, I suppose.” I watch Saint help Lake to her feet. “Excuse me,” I say. No sexual attraction will keep me from her. She’s more than family. Lake is
life, and knowing she’s terrified of her own shadow kills me inside.

  “Are you okay?” I wrap my non-urinated on hand around her shoulders as I lean into her.

  “Yes.” I feel more than hear the word. “Can I go home now?” Her body is vibrating, so I reach back and grip Saint’s hand, wrapping it around her shoulder. I then kiss Lake on the cheek.

  “Go home with Saint.” I stare deeply into her eyes, praying she knows what I mean. She looks down. “To your house, Saint,” I demand, knowing full well that I can’t make this man do a damn thing, but, for once, he nods, and I breathe a little easier.

  I watch as they leave together, Aria and the twins following behind. When I spin back around, intent on finding a bathroom, I’m almost knocked on my ass by Mr. Hottie again.

  “Jesus, you’re like a rabbit; you just pop up anywhere. Someone should put a bell on you.” I give a sheepish laugh when I see the look in his eyes. I’m unsure how to read it.

  With his arm around my waist, he pulls me closer, making my breasts pop up, almost right in our faces. To his credit, he doesn’t look down but maintains eye contact. “I’m Ashton DeMarco, and you, sweet lamb, I need to know much more about you.”

  Before I can say anything, his lips descend on mine and lick across the seam of my mouth. When I gasp, he takes advantage, swooping in with his tongue and tasting me. I can’t help the moan that rises from my chest or what my foolish hands do.

  Run through his soft, thick hair.

  “Fuck,” I hiss, and he pulls back.

  “Such filthy words shouldn’t pass these lips.” Oh, he’s smooth.

  “Well, what if I told you I just touched your hair with my pissy hand?” I cringe as his eyes roll up, as though he can see the damage I’ve caused. “I really need to wash my hand, and you need to wash your hair…and maybe this fancy suit, and we should probably find housekeeping to mop that-”

  Placing a hand across my mouth to silence my rambling, I shake my head when I see Bishop approaching, a scowl on his face.

  “Are you this talkative in bed?” Ashton asks, and it’s my turn to be stunned.

  Ashton

  Good. I’ve silenced her sexy little mouth. This girl in the tiny maroon dress, swaying around my club, begging to be fucked hard and loved sweetly, has kept me on my toes more in the last ten minutes than my ex-wife did in all the years we were together.

  “I wouldn’t know,” she finally answers, and it only takes a second to understand her meaning. She’s a virgin.

  “What’s your name, sweetness?”

  “Oh, uh, Hadley.” The soft cadence of her tone is something I look forward to hearing in my bed.

  “Hadley what?” I’m not letting her omit anything.

  She nibbles the corner of her lip and my dick twitches. “Adair. Hadley Adair.” Her eyes drop, and I sense this is where I’m supposed to run away.

  Where other men have run away.

  What she doesn’t know is that I’m not other men, and I’m not going anywhere. The DeMarco family is nothing to scoff at.

  I know the Adairs, their reputation. I also know the big guy behind me is likely waiting for her to signal him over or for me to be a dick to her. It’s not going to happen.

  “You King or Castiel’s girl?” Her gaze shoots up, shocked.

  “Castiel’s.” She’s the rebel then. I don’t know all the kids by name, mostly because I’ve only had dealings with King, and from what I understand, they protect the daughters in that family better than royalty.

  Cas’s daughter pushes the limits, though.

  I look forward to taming her.

  “Think I could offer you and the big guy a drink up on my private balcony before he carts you off?” I know she’s smart enough not to go without him.

  “I’m not legal,” she blurts out. I think she’s trying to scare me off now.

  “Club soda then,” I say instead. She wouldn’t be in my club if she weren’t eighteen.

  “Do you happen to have a bathroom up there?” She winces again, and I inwardly cringe, thinking about my hair.

  “I do.” Stepping back, I place a hand on the small of her back and guide her forwards. “Care to join us?” I ask her shadow.

  “Bishop,” she whispers up to me as we reach the stairs.

  “Who’s he belong to?” I have a feeling I’m going to need to know all these things, especially given that I plan to keep Hadley as my own.

  “Atticus and Catalina.” Explains the man’s height and size. Atticus Kincaid is an enormous son of a bitch.

  “Anyone else here?” I ask her. I doubt it, or they’d be with us or would have left with the others.

  “Nope. Saint is the one who nearly killed the dick that peed on me. Pussy. Lake was the girl under the bar. You see her here again, just take care of her, okay?” Hadley gazes up at me with weariness and pain in her eyes, so I nod. “Aria was with the twins, Seven and Severo.” I’ve heard of them. Troublemakers. They nearly burned down Florida in search of Aria some months back.

  “Quite the family you’ve got,” I comment as we reach my private room on the balcony. “Bathroom’s through there.” I point towards my private quarters.

  As soon as she’s out of earshot, Bishop barks, “What do you want with her?”

  Removing my jacket, I lay it on the small table next to me and roll up my sleeves. Once Hadley’s done in there, I’ll be washing my hair in the damn sink.

  “You want the PG answer where you think you’ll be able to scare me off, or do you want the honest one that you’ll tell her in the hope that it’ll scare her off?” I raise my chin, challenging him to dispute either of those options.

  Sitting in a chair, he nods his head before answering. “Hads won’t let anyone frighten her off anything. She’s pretty, brilliant, not much common sense sometimes, though. She’s a live-and-learn kind of girl.” I file his explanation away for future use. “I would just like the truth.” He leans forward, placing his arms on his knees as he waits for me to speak.

  “I plan to keep her. Hadley has an air about her. She’s refreshing, and I can tell that life with her will never be dull.” And I look forward to every damn moment.

  “No, it won’t.” He laughs. “But you’re going to have the fight of your life with her. She has secrets. She’s headstrong, and she won’t take kindly to you keeping her.”

  “Anything I need to know?”

  Bishop leans back, extending his hands across the back of his chair. “Probably.”

  “Gonna share?”

  “Probably not.” Asshole.

  “Well, I don’t think I’ve ever scrubbed my hands so hard in my life,” Hadley’s vibrant voice says as she returns.

  “Order whatever you like; I’ll be right back.” She appears disappointed, so I place my hand under her chin and lay a light kiss on her lips. Her immediate sigh gives me blue balls as I head back to my office to wash my hair.

  I came to the club tonight to check on Peaches & Cream. See how it was running. It’s only been open a few months, and I wasn’t so sure this was the route I wanted to go, but now that I have, I know it was the right choice.

  If only for the fact that I’ve met Hadley.

  A fucking firecracker, that one.

  How I’m going to let her go home tonight, I have no fucking clue. The idea of her out of my line of sight for more than a few minutes is daunting.

  Running the water cold, I quickly wash my hair and towel dry it. I don’t give a shit about what it looks like because, if I have my way, Hadley’s fingers will be back in it again.

  After checking the messages on my phone because it seems like I can never get away from the managers of my other clubs, I turn the device on silent and pocket it before leaving my office. As I enter the club again, I see Hadley and her escort are in a heated argument.

  “Everything alright?” I ask over the pounding of the music. The girl spins, a scowl on her face, before throwing her body onto the couch. Not liking her upset state, I gla
re at her companion. “What’s the problem?”

  He huffs as he stands. “She’s got a curfew.”

  “Isn’t she eighteen?” I ask. He nods reluctantly. “Doesn’t that tend to mean she’s an adult then.” I don’t pose it as a question as I stroll over to her. Sitting down beside Hadley, I lift her into my lap so she’s straddling my hips. “How about you go call her folks, let them know she’s safe, but she’ll be late.”

  Dismissing Bishop, my eyes roam Hadley’s frame. At the way she worries her lip between her teeth, pulls at the hem of her dress. I make her uncomfortable.

  “You nervous, Hadley?” She won’t meet my stare. A minute ago, she was a seductive little siren, and now she’s an innocent lamb. “You want to leave me?” I won’t force her to stay, but I’m not exactly letting her out of my life either.

  She leans forward. “This isn’t me.”

  “What isn’t?” I turn my head slightly to look at her.

  “I’m not a seductress. I don’t kiss guys that I just met. And frankly, I don’t trust men outside of my family very well.” I nod.

  “Good. I don’t want you to be any of those things. But you need to know, little lamb….” Cupping her cheek in my hand, her breath hitches.

  “Need to know what?”

  “That you are mine, and no matter how fast or how far you run, I will give chase.” Her gasp creates the opening I need to kiss her again before allowing her to leave me for the night.

  My biggest regret is that I didn’t get her number before she was swept away.

  CHAPTER 2

  Hadley

  “Hads?” Why can’t I stop thinking about him?