Take This Man by Kelli Maine Page A

Familiarity strikes, but I don’t think I’d ever forget meeting you.
    “Hi.” I fall into your dark eyes and can’t get out. They’re serious and focused on mine. Looking away would be a crime.
    You run a hand through your wavy black-brown hair. Are you nervous? I can’t tell. “What were you drinking?” You tap my glass, empty except for melting ice.
    “Vodka and cranberry.” I take in a thick, damp breath. Dancing bodies fog up the air, make it heavy to breathe.
    You shake your beer bottle, indicating its emptiness. “I’m headed to the bar. Would you like another?”
    I have to drive Shannon’s car home, but I don’t want to stop talking to you. I nod. “Please.” I’ll drink slowly. I’ll drive even slower.
    I follow behind you, taking in the view of your incredible backside in jeans. A black long-sleeved shirt shifts with your strong, wide shoulders and hugs your narrow waist. You work out.
A lot.
The body I’m staring at didn’t come from luck and a good gene pool.
    You glance back to make sure I’m following. When a group of people push between us, you reach out and take my hand. My fingers curl around yours like they’re possessed.
    We reach the bar. You squeeze between two men. I stand back to wait while you order. I watch you reach into your pocket. A second later, you turn to me and hand me a glass.
    “Thanks.” I take a deep drink, ignoring my self-promise to sip and make it last. Looking at you, I need all the courage this vodka is offering.
    You sip your beer, watching me. An intense magnetism pulls between us. I’m sweating. I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand. The vodka is kicking in fast. I stumble sideways. You grip my arm.
    “Feeling okay?” you ask.
    The room spins and tilts. Black spots swim through my vision. “No. I need to sit.” My drink slips through my fingers and splatters on my bare leg.
    “I’ve got you.” You put an arm around me and lead me toward the door. “You need some air.”
    I’m blacking out and coming to, over and over again. This has never happened from three-and-a-half vodka and cranberries before. “I need to get home.”
    “I’ll take you,” you say.
    “No. I…” The words won’t come. They buzz around in the darkness inside my mind, searching for the light. I watch them break apart and fade.
    You usher me through the parking lot. Open the door of a black car. Put me inside. “We’ll be home soon,” you say, buckling a seat belt around my waist.
    I try to grip the door handle to get out. My arm won’t move. My head lulls on my shoulder. The blackness narrows, leaving a small tunnel focused on the dashboard. Then it closes completely.
    No more words.
    No more light.
    No more sound.
    Just like that—I’m taken.

Also by Kelli Maine
    The Give & Take series
    Taken
    No Takebacks
    Taken by Storm
    Take Me Back
    Given

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Don’t miss Kelli Maine’s critically acclaimed Give & Take series.

ABDUCTION
    He steals her away to a deserted island, to the one place she’s dreamed of being—the one place she can’t go. He’s used to buying whatever he wants, but he can’t buy her.
SEDUCTION
    How can she resist the magnetism of his body, the longing ache deep inside her? She wants him to take her—on her terms.
DESPERATION
    Every attempt he makes to love her only hurts her. How can they go on like this? This is the story of how she was…
TAKEN
    *     *     *

A Give & Take Novella
HIS PAST MAY DESTROY THEIR FUTURE
    The man Rachael DeSalvo loves more than anything is suffering in silence. The grand opening of Turtle Tear Resort should be a time of celebration for Merrick Rocha. But he’s suddenly intent on selling off the business he built from the ground up—and Rachael’s hell-bent on finding out why. Only one man can give her the answers she seeks, but meeting with him would be the ultimate betrayal to Merrick. Merrick once asked Rachael to trust him against all odds… can he do the