Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Blurb

  Also by Ella Sheridan

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  DESIRE ME

  Southern Nights: Enigma 5

  Ella Sheridan

  Blurb

  She has no memory of her life before him—or of the danger that threatens her now.

  Her name is Rae. At least, that’s what the security specialist with the searing hazel eyes and the magnificent body tells her. Saint Solorio, the man she was living with before a car ran her down and she lost all memory of who she is—and who is trying to kill her.

  Now she needs his help. His protection. But she won’t let him get through her guard again. That’s a mistake she doesn’t dare repeat when anyone around her could be the enemy.

  Rae knocked Saint off his barstool the first time he spotted her across a crowded room. When she asked him to take her home, he’d growled his acceptance despite knowing a one-night stand wasn’t all he wanted. Not with this woman. Too bad the name she’d given him wasn’t hers. And even worse, he is forced to lie to keep her with him.

  Now Saint is racing to discover the past of the woman he wants for his own, and uncover the threat that could take her away from him—and also take her life.

  Praise for Southern Nights: Enigma

  “Ella Sheridan’s Southern Nights: Enigma series will take you on a roller coaster ride of suspense, action, and romance that will pull you in and keep you turning the pages. All of the books feature strong, intelligent women, and capable, experienced alpha males who keep being surprised by the women in their lives. A highly recommended series.”

  ~ Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

  “There's action, romance, lumpy throat emotion, sexy times, and laughs. The camaraderie between the team mates makes this series feel like a family saga. And they are family, not by blood, but by choice and circumstance.”

  ~ Blogging by Liza

  “Lots of action, an emotional roller coaster, and oh-so-sexy. The whole Enigma series will keep you on the edge of your seats, and fanning yourself from the heat! I highly recommend this emotional and exciting read.”

  ~ TBQ's Book Palace

  Also by Ella Sheridan

  Assassins

  Assassin’s Mark

  Assassin’s Prey

  Assassin’s Heart

  Assassin’s Game

  Southern Nights

  Teach Me

  Trust Me

  Take Me

  Southern Nights: Enigma

  Come for Me

  Deceive Me

  Destroy Me

  Deny Me

  Desire Me

  If Only

  Only for the Weekend

  Only for the Night

  Only for the Moment

  Only If You Stay

  Secrets

  Unavailable

  Undisclosed

  Unshakable

  ∞

  For news on Ella’s new releases, free book opportunities, and more, sign up for her monthly newsletter.

  Join Ella’s Escape Room on Facebook for daily fun, games, and first dibs on all the news!

  Copyright

  Southern Nights: Enigma: Desire Me

  Copyright © 2021 Ella Sheridan

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Cover Art Design by Brynna Curry

  Published in the United States.

  Dedication

  At a time when, for me, love seems like a never-ending nightmare, your gentle heart showed me that there was hope. You think you are one very lucky man (and you’re right), but Rae is also one very lucky woman.

  Acknowledgments

  There have been so many people who have walked with me through the past two years, one of the most difficult times in my life. A separation and divorce. Two major health crises that have left permanent scars on my body and psyche. Depression. Anxiety. Moving. Grieving. Crying.

  I thought I’d never finish a book again. But I was determined to try, and so many people helped me through it. Too many people to thank.

  But there are three special people that cannot go unnamed:

  To Erika—your friendship is a joy. The way you love my characters is a delight. Having you in my life means more than I can say. Thank you.

  To Gina—when I need a kick in the pants or an encouraging word, you’re always there. Through thick and thin, you’ve been my friend. I couldn’t have kept walking forward without you. My life is blessed with you in it.

  And to Dani—there are no words. I can’t even begin to express what you mean to me or what you’ve meant to my life. From womb to now, you’ve been by my side. You’ve sheltered me when I was literally falling apart. You’ve given me a place to live. A lifeline to hold on to. And most of all, you’ve loved me through it all. You are far more than my sister or my friend.

  I love you so much.

  Chapter One

  It was her smile that caught Saint’s attention first. Small. Wary. Nervous. Every sense he had went on alert at that smile. Made him take a second look.

  And holy hell, what that second look did to his libido.

  She sat directly across the bar from him at Big Daddy’s, her focus on the waiter who’d just arrived bearing a platter of barbecue and fries. His mouth watered at the sight, but not because of the food. Because of the thick chocolate hair curling around her face. Brown eyes that zeroed in on her meal and darkened with greed. Full lips that went from tight and tense to genuine pleasure when she glanced back at the waiter. That pleasure made his gut go rock-hard.

  Because Saint wanted her. And because the man serving her stood too close, seemed too interested. He had the sudden urge to stalk around the bar and chuck the guy across the room, then take his place, close enough to touch her. Take that fork from her hand and feed her himself.

  Holy hell, indeed. What was wrong with him?

  “What’s he staring at?”

  “You mean who, right?” a wry voice answered. “Who’s he staring at?”

  A hard slap across Saint’s shoulder blades snapped his attention back to his companions. With a casualness that was a total lie, he reached for the frothy mug of local IPA in front of him before glancing toward his best friend, King. The man’s movie-star smile mocked Saint’s performance.

  “What are you three going on about?” Saint asked.

  It was his team lead, Dain, sitting on the other side of King, who answered. “Just remarking on your good taste.”

  The bite of the alcohol in his mouth sharpened his tone after another swallow. “Good taste?”

  King jerked his chin toward the opposite side of the room. “In scenery.”

  “They’re not wrong,” Elliot said from her seat next to him, adding feminine input to the male-dominated conversation.

  Saint graced her with a smile. “Usually I’d argue with that conclusion, but not tonight.” His gaze shifted back to the dark-haired beauty across the room. She was digging into her food with a gusto that made his cock stand at attention. The need to get closer, to discover what her voice sounded like, if her body held soft curves or lean angles, if her personality matched the one he was already building in his head based on no more than a look and a few avaricious bites of food, ramped up hard.

  But he couldn’t abandon his team, no matter how interested his dick was. Or how long it had been since he’d experienced this kind of sudden interest. He dated plenty, maybe too much in some people’s opinions—his family, for one. They made no secret of their disapproval for his…what did his mom call it? “Footloose and fancy-free ways”? His sisters just called him a man whore. But keeping things casu
al worked for his lifestyle. Being a security specialist meant a lot of time on assignment, often living in with their clients until whatever danger had sparked their hiring passed. The job kept him busy, kept him happy, but it didn’t necessarily lend itself toward a focus on relationships.

  Your teammates would beg to differ.

  Of course they would. They’d peg him as being stubborn, needing to play the field. The truth was, he had no desire for a permanent relationship at the moment. Someday, definitely, when the time was right. That time wasn’t now, not for him.

  Dain, Elliot, and King—all with respective significant others—worried about him “being alone,” feeling left out when they were all involved in relationships. That’s why they’d dragged him out for drinks. Not that he’d had to be dragged to spend time with them, but neither did they need to be concerned. He was content as he was, single and carefree.

  Free to see anyone he wanted. And right now he wanted to see the woman he couldn’t stop staring at from across the bar.

  “Shouldn’t you be getting back to your very pregnant wife instead of commenting on my choice of ‘scenery’?” he asked Dain. Their team lead’s wife was due to deliver their first child in only a few weeks. A Christmas baby.

  “What does ‘very pregnant’ mean?” Elliot asked, tipping her beer toward Dain down the bar. “I mean, Olivia is either pregnant or not.”

  “She’s about to pop; that’s what it means,” King said.

  “Don’t let her hear you say that,” Saint advised. “Women do not want to hear words like ‘pop,’ ‘balloon,’ ‘basketball,’ or anything having to do with size when they’re…well…about to pop.” He knew that from vast experience, having four older sisters intent on single-handedly repopulating the world.

  His teammates laughed. When the laughter settled, Dain leaned his forearms on the bar and shook his head. “I can’t believe he’s almost here.”

  “He?” King raised a sharp blond eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

  “No,” Elliot answered for him. “Olivia has him by the balls. She hasn’t even hinted to me or Sydney about the baby’s sex, and Sydney can drag intel out of anyone. She’s going into military intelligence as an interrogator when she gets older, I swear.”

  Elliot’s soon-to-be stepdaughter didn’t have to interrogate—she turned on the cuteness factor, asked a question, and everyone around her simply spilled their guts. Saint had a couple of nieces who were just as effective.

  Dain ignored Elliot’s input. “No, Olivia hasn’t said anything. But I just know.”

  “What he means,” King said, “is that the idea of having a daughter makes him feel like the guy in Alien with the monster tearing its way through his chest. So yeah, it has to be a boy.”

  Laughter made the rounds again, but in the midst, Saint found his gaze wandering back across the bar. It wasn’t until Dain stood from his barstool that his attention came back to his friends.

  “So, Monday?” Dain said.

  “Monday,” the rest of the team groaned.

  “Hey, at least we’re not on assignment this weekend,” Elliot pointed out. They’d been working more often than not lately, but the holidays were shaping up to be quiet, thank goodness. His mom would pitch a fit if he missed another Christmas dinner with his family.

  Elliot stood as well, and then King. Time to go.

  Saint glanced across the bar one more time.

  Elliot and Dain headed for the door. King’s heavy hand landed on Saint’s shoulder. “Coming, bro?”

  Saint hesitated.

  King’s chuckle was knowing. “I thought so.”

  He shot around on the stool. “You thought what?”

  “I thought you might be staying behind.” King squeezed his shoulder, then gave him a hard pat that almost threw Saint into the bar. “We’ll see you on Monday, okay?”

  Saint snickered. “Sure. Give Charlotte my love.”

  King and Charlotte had been childhood sweethearts, but they’d only recently come back together when Charlotte’s life was threatened. Another reason Saint was happy to play the field. It seemed like anyone his team got involved with was already in danger. The thought of a woman of his being in danger… A red haze shifted across his eyesight.

  “Will do.” King’s gaze shifted to the dark-haired beauty across the bar; then he gave Saint a wink. “Later.”

  Saint grabbed his beer and downed the last swallow, enjoying the bite as it slid down his throat. The bottle landed on the bar with a faint rattle, and then he was off his seat and headed around to the other side of the room.

  He’d made it no more than five feet when a heavyset man moved in on his target.

  That red haze? It made a reappearance so swift the room spun.

  His casual stroll turned into a charge worthy of a bull. Whatever the asshole was saying, it was clear the woman was increasingly uncomfortable. Saint could read the protests as they left her lips, practically hear the demand in the man’s voice despite the crowd separating them. But it was the meaty paw landing on the woman’s arm and clamping down that brought a roar to Saint’s lips, a roar he barely held back.

  He had rounded the final edge of the bar, still several feet away, when the asshole reared back, his hands coming up to cover his nose. It was the man who roared, not Saint. No, as he watched the woman’s elbow lower back to her side, it was a laugh that escaped him. She hadn’t needed him after all. Why did that fill him with pride?

  “Jesus fucking Christ, woman! What’s wrong with you?”

  “I don’t like being manhandled,” she said clearly. The words hit Saint like a one-two punch—appropriate, considering. The woman’s voice had a northern accent, not New York but something flatter, less pronounced, wrapped up in a husky tone that sent tingles down his spine straight to his balls, and a self-assurance that turned him on more than either of the first two. The intense need to meet her, to know her, skyrocketed the second her voice registered in his ears.

  Mr. Asshole stumbled back toward a group of what had to be his buddies in the far corner—they were laughing too much to be anyone else but an interested party. Saint continued forward without even a consideration of stopping, and before he knew it, he was standing behind the empty barstool next to the woman. “Nice move.”

  Beneath the fall of her dark, curly hair, the woman’s shoulders tensed, readying herself for another attack. The knowledge pierced his gut in a way sexual attraction didn’t.

  “Hey.” He made no move to touch her, though his fingers itched with the need. “No worries. Just an observation.”

  She snorted as her head jerked in his direction. Mouth open, no doubt to tell him to get lost. But the words died on her lips the minute their eyes met.

  She felt it too. If the lack of words didn’t tell him that, the stunned look in her eyes did. And that made him one lucky son of a bitch.

  Across the bar the sight of her dark eyes had drilled deep into him, but here, this close, mere inches away, they worked a magic that totally threw him. A magic he couldn’t resist. It wound around his body, tightened, holding him captive, and damn if he didn’t feel that look gripping his cock right through his clothes. His breath choked off in his throat.

  She cleared her throat. “Uh, hi.” Her words were accompanied by a smile that was a one-eighty pivot from a moment ago. Softer. Sweet. Definitely interested, thank fuck.

  “Hi.” He indicated the empty stool. “Mind if I sit?”

  He wouldn’t barge in without permission, no matter how interested she seemed. He wasn’t Mr. Asshole.

  She stared at him for a long moment before nodding. His sigh of relief escaped silently as his ass hit the cushion.

  “I have to admit”—he grinned, more at his own arrogance than her—“I was totally riding to the rescue over here.”

  A husky laugh left her lips. “Totally?”

  “Yeah.” His chuckle mingled with hers. “Not that you needed it, or me. Or anyone, for that matter. Like I said, nice work.”