Mr. Dangerously Sexy Read online

  He’ll keep her safe...but can he keep his distance?

  When Addison Cobalt learns she has a potentially volatile stalker, she tries to hide it from her business partner, Logan Dane. The hyperprotective, supersexy cohead of their security company will only try to take control of the situation—and her.

  Which is exactly what Logan does when he finds out about the stalker. Addison craves the safety of Logan’s body, but that doesn’t mean she’s willing to give up her independence, or all of her secrets, for him. She has a few ways to shake Logan’s iron control, but it’s a wicked and risky game. Because the only thing more dangerous than her stalker is Mr. Dangerously Sexy himself!

  “You want to fight me, Addison?”

  “Very much so.” Addison’s eyes were wide, dark. Excitement lit her cheeks.

  Logan rubbed his thumb over her ankle, tracing the delicate bone in circles. “What’s the wager?”

  “Full control for the next three days. If I win, you’ll fix up my apartment and then leave me to my business unless I ask for your protection.” She folded her hands neatly on the table. “And you have to tell everyone at work that I’m a better boss than you are.”

  A smile twitched on his lips. “And if I win?”

  “You can boss me around as much as you like. I’ll do anything you want without complaint.”

  Her words rocketed through him, scorching him from the inside out. “Anything?”

  “Whatever your wicked heart desires.”

  Dear Reader,

  I’ve had my share of jobs over the years: ice cream server, sales assistant, makeup artist, human resources officer, training facilitator, communications consultant, author. One of my jobs involved working in a cybercrime and information-security environment. At the time I knew nothing about it.

  But over the years I learned so much—how people could steal your identity, how catfishing and social engineering worked, how people could hack into your phone or computer. As someone who was always better with words than technology, all this information fascinated me.

  When I had the chance to put some of it into a book, I was thrilled. And who better to go up against a cyberstalker hell-bent on revenge than Logan Dane? You might remember Logan from the previous Dangerous Bachelors Club books. He’s the head of Cobalt & Dane Security alongside the heroine, Addison Cobalt.

  Logan and Addi have an interesting relationship. They’ve always battled for attention and respect, then later for the “top dog” position at Cobalt & Dane. This has created a not-so-healthy competition between them. But when someone targets Addison, they must work together to track down the stalker’s identity before Logan loses Addison for good.

  I really hope you enjoy Logan and Addison’s story. You can find out what’s coming next by checking out my website, stefanie-london.com, or Facebook, Facebook.com/stefanielondonauthor. I love chatting to readers, so feel free to drop me a line anytime.

  With love,

  Stefanie

  Stefanie London

  Mr. Dangerously Sexy

  USA TODAY bestselling author Stefanie London is a voracious reader who has dreamed of being an author her whole life. After sneaking several English-lit subjects into her “very practical” business degree, she got a job in corporate communications. But it wasn’t long before she turned to romance fiction. She recently left her hometown of Melbourne to start a new adventure in Toronto and now spends her days writing contemporary romances with humor, heat and heart.

  For more information on Stefanie and her books, check out her website at stefanie-london.com or her Facebook page at Facebook.com/stefanielondonauthor.

  Books by Stefanie London

  Harlequin Blaze

  The Dangerous Bachelors Club

  A Dangerously Sexy Christmas

  A Dangerously Sexy Affair

  A Dangerously Sexy Secret

  Harlequin Kiss

  Breaking the Bro Code

  Only the Brave Try Ballet

  Harlequin Presents

  The Tycoon’s Stowaway

  To get the inside scoop on Harlequin Blaze and its talented writers, visit Facebook.com/BlazeAuthors.

  All backlist available in ebook format.

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  To my fellow Blaze Babes, it’s been a blast.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Under Pressure by Lori Foster

  1

  ADDISON COBALT’S FATHER had made a living out of taking down bad guys, so she knew the world had an ugly underbelly. But knowing it and experiencing it were two different things. She smoothed her hands over the printed email that sat on her desk. Hateful words stared up at her.

  “I don’t understand what’s going on here,” she said, furrowing her brow.

  Rhys Glover, the IT manager for Cobalt & Dane Security, pursed his lips. “He’s threatening you.”

  “Yes, I got that from the ‘I’m going to kill you’ section of this email. But I don’t know who could have sent it or why. I don’t have any enemies.”

  “Clearly, you do.”

  Raking a lacquered red nail down the neat rows of twelve-point print, she searched for a clue as to the identity of the anonymous email sender. “You’d think that if he was going to threaten my life, he could at least introduce himself first.”

  Rhys narrowed his dark eyes. “You don’t seem to be taking this very seriously, Addi.”

  One of Rhys’s staff members had come across the email that morning when she’d been combing through the spam filter on an unrelated assignment. She’d brought it directly to Rhys. The message had never made it to Addison’s email address because of its excessive profanity.

  “I’m not sure how anyone could take an email seriously from someone who calls themselves ‘your worst nightmare.’ I mean, how clichéd is that?” She rolled her eyes. “Thanks for bringing this to me, but it’s probably a hoax. Just some guy who hates women and wants to get his jollies by sending a nasty email. I’m not too worried—”

  “I think we should involve Logan.”

  Addison bristled. “He has bigger things to worry about than some misogynistic idiot.”

  Truth was, she didn’t want Logan getting involved. She tried to keep anything remotely personal as far away from him as possible. Their relationship was strictly business, and it had to stay that way. It was bad enough that she had to accept that everyone viewed him as the boss despite their being equal partners, and she’d rather stab herself in the eye with her own stiletto before admitting she needed his help.

  Besides, there w
as the issue of her top secret plans to start her own business separate from Cobalt & Dane. Having Logan stick his nose into her personal life wasn’t something that she could allow at the moment.

  “The safety and well-being of everyone in this company is his responsibility.” Rhys ran a hand over his cropped dark hair.

  “Our responsibility,” she corrected. “Since my name is on the wall here, his responsibilities are also mine.”

  “You know what I mean. This is Logan’s bread and butter, not yours.”

  Like she needed the reminder. “That might be true, but I’m still your boss.”

  “Are you telling me not to say anything to him?” Rhys shook his head. “I’m not comfortable—”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.” She scanned the email again. “Whoever this person is, they haven’t made a move. This email was sent two days ago and I haven’t had any strange phone calls or anyone stopping me in the street. It’s a load of crap.”

  “The things he says are pretty specific.”

  “Precisely my point. If he were planning to execute any of this, why wouldn’t he keep his mouth shut instead of leaving a happy little trail of evidence like some kind of deranged version of Hansel and Gretel?” She shrugged. “Now, security might not be my ‘bread and butter,’ but that seems a little odd to me.”

  Rhys made a noncommittal noise. “Better safe than sorry.”

  “I am safe. My apartment is totally secure, as are the offices here. I appreciate the concern, Rhys, but I’m fine.”

  Addison drummed her nails against the surface of the desk. She wouldn’t admit it to Rhys—or anyone—but the email had shaken her a little. It was so angry. So vitriolic.

  But if there was one thing she knew for certain, it was that people were much braver in front of a computer screen than they were in real life. Addison was an active participant in several women-in-business groups. She’d seen firsthand the kind of crap people posted online, but she’d bet her last dollar bill that none of them would have the guts to say those things to her face. So she didn’t put much stock in this email.

  And she certainly wouldn’t subject herself to asking Logan freaking Dane for help.

  “You’re not worried?”

  She shook her head. “This is just some weak little person sitting high and mighty behind his keyboard trying to get his thrills by scaring a woman who dares to be in a position of power. I’m not falling for it.”

  “I still think we should tell Logan.”

  “Rhys, I promise if anything else seems out of the ordinary I’ll bring it up with him.” She folded the email in two and tucked it into her organizer. “But we’ve got the leadership retreat starting on Monday and I have a ton of stuff to do in preparation. And I want Logan’s eye on the prize with this strategy stuff. He’ll do anything to get out of it. Don’t give him the distraction.”

  “I really don’t feel comfortable sitting on this,” Rhys said.

  “I don’t care.” Addison stood and made a shooing motion with her hands. “Now, get out of here and don’t stay late. You should be spending the weekend with that lovely woman of yours. If she stops sending brownies into the office, the staff will have my hide.”

  “Fine.” Rhys pushed up from the chair on the other side of her desk and went to leave. “But promise me you’ll let one of us know the second you see anything odd. Okay?”

  “Cross my heart and hope to die,” she replied, making a cross over her chest with her finger. “Now get out of here.”

  She smiled to herself as Rhys left. Her IT manager was a great guy, if a little too uptight in her opinion. But once he was gone, a feeling of unease developed in her chest. Surveying her office, she tried to shake it off.

  It’s nerves about the retreat, that’s all.

  The Cobalt & Dane management team would be spending three days in Addison’s cottage in upstate New York assessing their progress against the business strategy they’d developed six months ago. It was also an excuse to get the team together to socialize, which they were often too busy to do. But despite their crazy workload, the team was small and tight-knit. Addison’s father had always cultivated a close bond with his team back when he first started the company. She’d made it her mission to keep that legacy alive.

  Except now she wanted to leave her father’s company and strike out on her own. Completely on her own...well, except for taking a few key staff members with her.

  It wasn’t just that Logan was viewed as the boss over her, but in a company that dealt with security she was out of her element with the subject matter. The thing was, Addison took care of everything that wasn’t security. That included finances, human resources, payroll, training, business development, internal communications, etc. The list went on and on. At times her lack of security knowledge worked to her advantage because she was unbiased and could offer a fresh perspective that hadn’t been colored by bad assignments.

  But despite her valuable input and the fact that she was the one who kept the lights on by ensuring the company paid its bills and its employees, she was still seen as the number two. That wasn’t going to change; she’d never be top dog here.

  Worse still, she’d never command the respect her father did. And for a girl who was competitive to the bone...that hurt.

  Shaking off the negative thoughts, she brought her attention back to the task at hand—preparing for the retreat. It had become her tradition to head up to the cottage the weekend before so that everything was ready to go for the Monday morning welcome session.

  Her body relaxed in anticipation. A weekend alone at the cottage sounded like absolute bliss. She had a new book, a few bottles of her favorite wine and a swimsuit already packed. All she had to do was finish up at the office and then she could start the slow trudge out of Manhattan.

  Scanning her list of things to bring from the office, she found the last item unchecked: the binder with all the notes from the last retreat, which sat neatly on the top shelf of her bookcase.

  There were few things as precarious as trying to navigate a step stool in Louboutins, but Addison wasn’t about to let OH&S get in the way of her love for a good pair of high heels. She climbed to the top of the stool, her fingers reaching for the thick binder. Of course, the one thing she needed was on the highest shelf. Wasn’t that always the way?

  “You know, I’m not sure I ever believed in heaven,” a deep voice said. “But my dad always told me I’d find the answer to my questions if I looked up to God.”

  * * *

  LOGAN DANE LEANED against the door frame to his partner’s office, a smirk tugging at his lips. Any chance to throw Addison off guard was not to be missed. Although truth be told, a chance to torture himself with the vision of her amazing legs was not to be missed, either.

  “I’ve got good aim, Logan. Don’t make me throw something at you.”

  Instead of coming down, she leaned farther forward, causing her fitted pencil skirt to ride higher up the backs of her legs. His breath caught in his throat when a sliver of lace revealed that her stockings stopped midthigh. Sweet mother of all things holy.

  Between the tight skirt, the black lace and the candy-red soles on her shoes, it was a picture fit for a dirty dream.

  Yeah, ’cause the thing you need right now is another image of Addison to avoid fantasizing over. Don’t you have enough guilt on your shoulders already?

  “I’d like to see you try,” he said.

  She retrieved a binder and climbed down, making a show of smoothing out the wrinkles on her skirt. Her red nails matched the underside of her heels.

  “Did you want something, Logan? Or are you just here to ogle my legs?”

  He cleared his throat. “I wasn’t—”

  “Sure you weren’t.”

  Busted. “I can’t help it. You’ve got some damn fine
pins.”

  Shaking her head, she bent down and picked up her bag from the floor. This time he kept his eyes away from her ass. Willpower, when he had it, was a wonderful thing.

  “You all ready for the retreat on Monday?” she asked, ignoring his comment. “We’ve got an early start.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be on time.”

  “No, be early.” She gathered up her organizer and slid it into her bag. “I’ll need help setting up for the first session.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Anything else you want me to do, Miss Bossy Boots?” He walked into her office and placed his palms on her desk. “As if it isn’t bad enough you’ll be talking numbers at me all through the retreat.”

  “Just arrive in one piece.” Her eyes flickered over him, sending a trail of heat straight from his chest to his groin. “I’m not sure what your weekend plans are, but I don’t want you rolling up hungover and with lipstick on your collar.”

  He’d done that once, and she’d never let him live it down, though he absolutely deserved the censure. He hadn’t been subtle when he’d started dating his ex. But he’d put a stop to that soon after—no more women, no more fooling around. Still, Addison had kept her distance ever since.

  “I wouldn’t let the staff see me in that state.” He pressed his hand to his chest. “You know that.”

  “Oh right, to them you’ve got to be the Big Bad Wolf.” She continued packing her bag without looking up, her long golden hair slipping over her shoulder to conceal her expression. “Lucky me, getting to see the real you.”

  He detected the slightest waver in her voice, undercutting the otherwise frosty tone. The show with his ex had been partly for Addison’s benefit, though it was hard to keep reminding himself he’d done the right thing by them both. Knowing that he’d hurt her so badly made him feel like a bastard.

  “You’re one of the lucky few, Addi.”

  “I count my blessings,” she said drily. “Anyway, I’m heading off early. Got to make a head start down to the cottage before this traffic gets insane.”