Exclusive Excerpt from Rhoades: Undeniable

by Felice Stevens

He mesmerized. Captivated and enthralled me. I’d watched Austin dance for months, his grace and poise outstanding in the crowd of dissolute men waiting by the stage to paw at him. A true master of his emotions, he’d matured from a skittish deer hiding in the shadows to a man taking his rightful place as the king of the club.

Everyone wanted him.

I couldn’t be angry with Austin for leaving me in this dingy back room when I’d broken every rule I’d set for myself by kissing him. The blame for Austin’s flight rested solely on my shoulders. All it took was one touch.… One simple, devastating kiss and the tight check on my emotions unraveled, sending everything I held together for years spilling out in wild abandon. I lost control. It both shattered and bewildered me, and I hated that. I was always in control.

At the sound of frantic knocking, I buttoned up my shirt and redid my tie with cool precision. A swift glance in the mirror to check and make sure all looked well on the outside and then I opened the door.

“Where is he?” James burst into the room. “Where’s Austin?”

“Hello to you too.” I smoothed my hair and gave him a lazy smile.

“Don’t give me your bullshit now. This is serious.”

I couldn’t recall the last time I’d seen James anything but coolly elegant. Now, his tie was askew and unknotted, and the blond hair he normally wore perfectly styled lay stuck to his forehead in sweat-darkened strands. Tension coiled through me, and I gripped his arm. Hard. “What’s wrong?” I squeezed, and James grunted in pain. “Tell me.”

Ignoring me as he’d always done since we were teenagers, James twisted out of my grasp. “I need to find Austin because wherever he is, hopefully Frankie’s with him.”

“Oh?” My rapidly banging heart settled back to normal, and I smirked. “Don’t tell me you’ve got a crush on little Frankie?”

With a wrinkle of his elegant nose, James looked every bit like a refined Englishman disdainfully peering down on one of his serfs. But my brother couldn’t pull his bullshit off on me.

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