Secret Keeper
Christopher Harlan
SECRET KEEPER releases on May 17th, and is a standalone novel written by Christopher Harlan and inspired by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward’s STUCK UP SUIT. It's published as part of the Cocky Hero Club world, a series of original works, written by various authors, and inspired by Keeland and Ward's New York Times bestselling series.
Reader Reviews:
—“This might be my favorite Christopher Harlan book!”
—“Hot as hell.”
—“Secret Keeper is one hell of a ride that follows what 2 people do to get their happy ending.”
BLURB:
“She was the fruit of a forbidden tree, but nothing in this world was going to stop me from tasting her.
My name is Dylan Murphy, and I work for the rich and powerful of an exclusive Manhattan building. Graham Morgan was my first boss, but soon after I was working with some of the most famous entrepreneurs, business moguls, and movie stars in the city. They trusted me because I always followed the cardinal rules:
Never betray secrets. And never, under any circumstance, get personally involved.
I’d never dreamed of violating my professional mantra.
Not until she walked past me.
The look we exchanged that night set my body on fire, and I knew right then and there that no matter the consequences, she was going to be mine. But she was one of them—off limits and out of my league, but she was the kind of woman who I was willing to risk everything for.
I keep other people’s secrets for a living, but the biggest secret of all might be my own.”
EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:
...I get a better look at him, and how he’s dressed, and he doesn’t seem like a person who would work in this building. On the hand that falls back to his side after touching my shoulder, I see a tattoo peeking out, though I can’t make out what the image is. I’ve been around rich people for long enough to know that they normally don’t have tattoos on their hands like this beautiful man does. And when I see that bright ink peek out from the cuffs of his suit jacket, I go from confused to intrigued.
I need to know who this hot tatted man is.
“Yeah, I’m just moving in. We’re on the fourth floor.” I’m having trouble forming coherent thoughts, so I’m just saying some random information.
“We?”
“My fiancé and I. You might know him, his name is. . .”
“Chandler Daniels. Yes, Miss Genaro, I know.”
My eyebrow goes up because I’m a little confused. “That’s a nifty trick,” I joke. “How did you know that?”
“Because my boss and your fiancé are business associates—and he told me that Chandler Daniels’ fiancé might be coming in today. I just put two and two together.”
“I see. Then why did you ask me what I meant by ‘we’ a minute ago?”
“Because once I saw you walk past me, I was really hoping that you weren’t the Miss Genaro Graham told me about. I was hoping you were a different, and much more single, woman who just happened to be visiting.”
My heart jumps in my chest. Did this man really just say that to me? I stare into his baby blues and smile.
“Oh, really? And why’s that?”
That’s when he steps close to me—like, really close—and says the words that are going to stick with me for the next few days. “I think it’s probably safer for both of us if I don’t answer that question.”
Wow. This guy is bold. He doesn’t know me, or how I’ll react to what he just said to me, but his confidence is intoxicating. I’m not used to how strongly I feel when he looks at me, and how my body is reacting in places no one can see.
I don’t know what to say next, so I just tell him my name. “I’m Penelope. But I’m guessing you already knew that, right?”
“I know a lot of things, Penelope. It’s my job to know things.”
He’s looking at me so intensely that I’m getting hot and tingly all over. The hairs on the back of my neck are starting to stand up with every word that he speaks to me.
“I feel like I’m at a disadvantage, then, because I don’t know your name.”
“My name is Dylan Murphy. And I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other, Penelope.”
Holy shit. “And why’s that?”
And the next thing he does sends the throbbing between my legs into the stratosphere.
He reaches down, takes my hand, and presses it gently into his chest. I stand there, frozen, with this strange and beautiful man’s hands on my own, not knowing what to do.
“Can you feel that?” he whispers. I nod my head as I get lost in his eyes. “It hasn’t beaten that fast in a very long time.”
I think I just died.
He turns and walks away like nothing even happened, with nothing but one last confident grin to make me melt before the whole encounter is over.
I didn’t just step into a new building, I stepped into an alternate reality.
The scary part is, I think I’m excited about that for the first time yet.
CREDITS:
Cover Model: Scott Benton
Photograph: Shauna Kruse of Kruse Photography
Cover Design: Cassy Roop of PinkInkDesigns
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