TEMPTING ENEMY

  Beckham Dynasty: Book 1

  USA TODAY & WALLSTREET JOURNAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  M. ROBINSON

  TEMPTING ENEMY

  M. ROBINSON

  © 2023 Tempting Enemy by M. Robinson

  All rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. All characters are a figment of the author’s imagination, and all incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s mind's eye and are not to be interpreted as real. Though several people, places, and events portrayed in this book are correct, the story is fiction that the author has made up for entertainment purposes only.

  Author’s Note

  Please see my website for content warnings.

  Contents

  Prologue

  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

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Epilogue

  Coming Soon

  Second Chance Series

  Other Series to Check Out

  Meet M. Robinson

  Acknowledgments

  For readers who love their heroes with a dirty mouth

  and a big cock…

  Prologue

  Haven

  “Let go of me!” I shouted, trying to shake loose from his embrace.

  Ignoring the pain cycling through my entire being, I roughly tried to pry away, only making him hold me that much tighter.

  “Peach, I’m hanging on by a fucking thread here… Please…” he pleaded as I continued to struggle against him.

  “I never wanted to hurt you. You know that… I warned you, but you wouldn’t listen. You refused to listen to me and now look at what’s happened.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I sincerely expressed, feeling like I was going to break at any moment. “You had so many chances to tell me the truth? Why would you rather me find out like this?”

  He turned me to face him, still grabbing ahold of my arms.

  “I didn’t want to lose you. Not after I fell in love with you.”

  Hearing him say that for the first time was like acid on my skin.

  It burned.

  It scared.

  It seared into my heart.

  I lashed out, slamming my fist into his chest and he accepted every blow, knowing he deserved it.

  I wanted to hurt him.

  I needed to hurt him.

  But also, through it all…

  I wanted to continue loving him with every last part inside of me.

  When all of a sudden, he caught my wrists mid-strike, tugging me toward his body, holding me against his chest, against his heart. Against the agony and grief that would always live inside of him.

  I broke down, losing all my strength.

  To fight.

  To cry.

  To hate him.

  I fell to the ground…

  And he came with me.

  One

  Haven

  My best friend Cove confidently handed her fake ID to the bouncer at the hole in the wall biker bar, The Outlaw. The infamous bar was located in the bad side of town in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The place was packed to the brim with people and there was a line around the building. Despite the bar being in a sketchy location, it didn’t seem to bother the locals one bit.

  Cove was the reason we were even there. My eighteenth birthday was the following week, and she surprised me with an early gift a few days ago. It was my very own fake ID that read I was twenty-one years old, just like hers. She’d been using her fake ID for the last month without any problems. After constantly hearing about all the hot guys she was meeting, she decided it was my turn to experience what she was.

  I was a little nervous. If my dad and five older brothers knew where I was, let’s just say, I’d probably never be able to leave the house again. I’d be screwed. Being the baby in my family wasn’t something that was ever overlooked by any of them. In their eyes, I’d forever be the little girl following them around like their tiny shadow, wanting to do everything they were. Most of the time, they let me. Always indulging me in whatever I wanted.

  Whether it was their time or affection, or just wanting to learn all the stuff what there were for the ranch or school, they happily obliged. No questions asked. I was the apple of each of their eyes, but not a day went by where they didn’t remind me of how much I was looking more and more like our mother with pain in their loving eyes.

  Especially when they were staring at the scar on my left eyebrow. A daily reminder of the worst day of my life. As much as I wanted to hate it, the moments I craved to feel closer to her, I’d find myself rubbing over the tattered tissue, back and forth with my thumb, until the ache in my heart subsided and all that was left…

  Was darkness.

  The scar was only half an inch long, but it didn’t feel that way. If anything, it consumed my entire being.

  On a lighter note, since I was already spoiled by six men, I never found the need to have a boyfriend. Not that the men in my life already would ever allow it anyway. To say they were protective and overbearing would be an understatement. There were no boundaries when it came to me.

  The age gaps between them and I were comical. I was twenty years younger than my oldest brother Jace, who was thirty-eight. Then there was Reid, who was thirty-three. Ledger, who was twenty-nine. Alexander, who was twenty-five, and Troy, who was twenty-one.

  That left me.

  The baby.

  Our daddy was a rancher, who owned five thousand acres of property for our cattle. He was the best of the best which meant he worked around the clock. Our old man lived and breathed the ranch, and a part of me knew it was easier for him to live that way. Though it didn’t mean we weren’t just as big of a part of his life as the ranch had been. He was always there for each of us. No matter what. Filling the role of both parents.

  The ranch was also a huge part of our lives too. I loved it. We all did, helping in everything and anything we could. They were some of my favorite memories. People could only imagine what it was like growing up in a house full of boys. I was tough. They made sure of it. I probably grew up way too fast, but it didn’t matter. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

  My brothers taught me everything I knew, down to how to ride my bike. Technically, I was the only one who still lived at home with Daddy, but nobody would ever know or think that with how often the rest of them were there. Our house was a revolving door for all of them to come and go as they pleased.

  Except for me of course.

  I had a curfew and if I was late, they’d be hauling ass through town trying to find me. At one point, they had the tracker on my phone activated and I raised all hell to Daddy on that one. Thank God he took my side. Only if they knew where I was. Our group chat was mostly filled with them asking me where and what I was doing. Especially as I became older.

  Now the things I’d learned and seen because of them were a much different story. Including the number of girls sneaking in and out of the house when Dad was sleeping.

  They were as shameless as they were good looking.

  “There’s my girl,” another guy excitingly greeted, grabbing Cove around the waist to tug her into his side, and tearing me away from my thoughts as we stood in line.

  The guy nodded to the bouncer, and he handed Cove’s fake ID back to her.

  “This is my best friend, Haven,” she announced. “Isn’t she pretty?”

  I smiled flirtatiously, handing the bouncer my fake ID.

  I never had a problem getting attention from guys. Which was why my family kept me on a short leash. I was often told I looked like a porcelain doll with my bright green eyes and pouty lips. I had long brown hair I usually kept down, framing my oval shaped face and prominent cheekbones.

  From the pleased expression on the bouncer’s face, he was going to let me right in.

  “She’s something all right.” He smiled at me. “You must be new. I’d remember a beauty like you.”

  I bit my lower lip, peering up at him through my dark, long lashes.

  Cove grinned, mouthing to me, “I’ll see you inside.”

  Once her and the man who recognized her were gone, the bounc
er asked, “How about you let me buy you a drink?”

  I smirked. “I don’t take drinks from strangers.”

  “Haven.” He extended out his hand. “I’m Chris.”

  I shook it. He was cute.

  “There,” he added, pulling back the black velvet rope. “Now we’re not strangers anymore.”

  I beamed, playing my part. While walking toward the door, I looked behind me as I strode passed him. “I’ll see you inside,” I remarked.

  As soon as the last word left my mouth, a sharp tone filled the air. “The fuck you will,” I heard as I abruptly collided into a solid chest suddenly blocking my entrance.

  I fell back, stumbling over my own two feet in the cowboy boots I was wearing. The brick wall in front of me didn’t move until he wrapped his arm around the back of my waist, holding me against him for a few seconds to stand steady. Then in the blink of an eye, he let me go, leaving some distance in between us.

  My heart fluttered and my stomach dropped when we locked eyes for the first time. He loomed over my five-foot four frame, completely captivating all of my senses. From the black muscle shirt he was wearing which accentuated the dark tattoos on his left arm and chest, to his bright blue eyes I swore was telling me my future.

  His face was as chiseled as his body with a strong jawline and bone structure. There were a few strands of his dirty blonde hair that fell across his smoldering glare. Simply adding to his rough exterior that I was entirely captivated by.

  Never in my life had I experienced what I was feeling in that moment with a complete stranger. Almost instantly, this hot blaze sparked through my whole body, igniting this lava to form in the pit of my stomach.

  It was overpowering.

  Startling.

  All consuming.

  It wasn’t until he glared at Chris who was behind me and berated, “What the hell are you doing letting a little girl into my bar?”

  That I winced. Unable to help it.

  “I’m not a little girl.” Standing my ground, I held my head higher, trying to pretend like he wasn’t having an affect on me.

  His stare once again met mine as he cocked his head to the side, narrowing his gaze at me with an expression I couldn’t read. Without saying another word, he leaned back and folded his arms over his broad, muscular chest, eyeing me up and down. He was making me slightly uncomfortable. It was obviously easy for him to intimidate people, and I wasn’t any different.

  I shook off the sentiment, clearing my throat.

  “If you have a problem with me,” I expressed, wanting to break the effect he was having on me. “Then say it to my face and not your bouncer. I’m standing right in front of you.”

  Again, no expression whatsoever crept on his bad boy face. He didn’t show me anything.

  “Isn’t it past your curfew?” he mocked, making my blood boil and my skin flush.

  I was never any good at hiding my anger, growing up with five guys would do that to a girl.

  Without missing a beat, he maliciously added, “Go home and play with your Barbie dolls, and let the men handle business.”

  “My curfew is none of your business.”

  “You became my business as soon as you tried to sneak into my bar.”

  “What part of sneaking in was I doing? I’m standing right in front of you, aren’t I?”

  “I don’t have to look at your ID to know that it’s fake. You can’t be older than what? Fifteen?”

  My eyes widened, offended.

  What he did next completely caught me by surprise. He reached over and gripped onto my chin like I was a child.

  “This is a biker bar, Peach. You want to come back? Do it when you’re an adult. Until then—” he rudely let go “—get the fuck off my property. You’re nothing but jailbait around these men.”

  With that, he snapped back around and left, rendering me speechless.

  I couldn’t believe what just happened. I was shocked. I’d never been treated or spoken to that way. I didn’t know how to react other than stand there in pure disbelief how this asshole just embarrassed me in front everyone.

  Yet still, my attraction to him was coming off in waves. My mind reeled with mixed emotions.

  I watched him leave with the swagger of a man with a chip on his shoulder, but before he entered the side door I didn’t notice while we were standing in line, he spun and locked eyes with the bouncer.

  He spewed, “You’re fucking fired.”

  Chris reluctantly held his arms out to his sides. “Hayes, come on, man!”

  He didn’t pay him any mind, shifting his gaze to the guy walking out of his bar instead.

  “Mark! Handle the door. If Chris isn’t gone in five minutes, make sure security escorts him out.”

  “Hayes!” he exclaimed again, trying to get his attention.

  For a brief second, something deep inside of me craved for Hayes to meet my eyes. Even if it was just for an instant, I wanted that last moment with him.

  When he ordered, “And get that little girl off my property before the cops show up and find a minor who has no business being here.”

  I knew I wasn’t going to get what I wanted. All I was met with was him slamming the door behind him.

  Never once…

  Looking back at me.

  Two

  Haven

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to leave with you?” Cove questioned on the other end of the phone. “I just have to finish peeing and I can come right out.”

  I chuckled despite being pissed. “Yeah, I’m sure. Enjoy your night. I’m just going to get an Uber.”

  “Text me when you get home, okay?”

  “Promise.” I hung up and heard a familiar voice from behind me.

  “I can take you home,” he offered.

  I turned to find Chris standing there with a bottle of Jack in his hand.

  “Steal that from the bar?”

  “I call it my severance pay.”

  I chuckled again.

  “Let me take you home.”

  “You shouldn’t drink and drive.”

  He held the liquor up in the air. “It’s a brand-new bottle.”

  I never went home with men I didn’t know, I knew better, but I’d just been rejected by the first guy I’d ever been attracted to. My self-esteem took an unexpected hit in a way I never saw coming.

  “I’ll let you take me home as long as you’re not drinking.”

  He held three fingers up in the air. “Scout’s honor.”

  I half smiled.

  Walking toward me, he held out his arm for me to wrap mine around his.

  “Anyone ever tell you how pretty you are, darlin’?”

  I smiled. I couldn’t help it. He was making me feel better. Entwining my arm with his, he led me toward his car.

  “Where’s Mark?”

  “Being a fucking lackey to Hayes.”

  Curious and unable to help myself, I asked, “How long have you worked here?”

  “Couple months.”

  “How long have you known Hayes?”

  “Everyone knows Hayes.” He shrugged. “Well, at least in this part of town they do. His old man made sure of it.”

  What does that mean?

  He opened the passenger side door for me, and I stepped inside. Once he was sitting in the driver’s seat, he turned on his car.

  “What’s a girl like you doing here anyway? A biker bar doesn’t really seem like your scene.”

  I glanced over at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”