The Bad Boys of Eden Read online

  THE BAD BOYS OF EDEN:

  Billionaires, Alphas, Bikers, and Doms

  New York Times Bestselling Authors

  Avery Aster

  Opal Carew

  Mari Carr

  Cathryn Fox

  Eliza Gayle

  Steena Holmes

  Adriana Hunter

  Roni Loren

  Sharon Page

  Daire St. Denis

  Tawny Stokes

  Featuring

  Elena Aitken

  CC MacKenzie

  MASTER OF THE ISLAND by Lauren Hawkeye

  When his life takes a dark turn, billionaire Theodosius Vardalos purchases a deserted island in the Bermuda triangle called Eden to hide his scars from the rest of the world. What Theo doesn’t know is that the island has an incredible secret, one that gives him hope… hope to be had in the arms of a mysterious blonde he hasn’t yet met…

  WILD RIDE by Opal Carew

  While running from her stalker ex-boyfriend, Marissa is rescued by a passing stranger on a motorcycle. Will her knight in supple leather be her saviour or has her dream vacation turned into a nightmare?

  BREAKING FREE by Cathryn Fox

  Spring Break at college is supposed to be a time of fun and parties, but Alaska Rossi, AKA Janey Smith, is on lockdown thanks to her father’s mafia dealings. She wants only to party down with the rest of her classmates. At least her hot, darkly mysterious bodyguard— deep undercover as her dorm’s resident assistant—gives her something to fantasize about during her boring nights in confinement.

  ROUGH DRAFT by Mari Carr

  Capture, bondage and fantasies fulfilled. It’s all fun and games until someone gets killed.

  ESCAPE FROM REALITY by Adriana Hunter

  When curvy single and struggling romance author Leila Connors receives a mysterious invitation to spend an all-expense paid week on a tropical island, it simply seems too good to be true. Before too long Leila finds herself caught up in a game of irresistible obsession, where truths are exposed, and the dangerously blurred line between fantasy and reality threaten to drive her to the point of no return.

  SECOND GLANCES by Elena Aitken

  An unexpected invitation to an island that knows what you need sends Kylie’s mind racing. But when she realizes things are not as they seem, can she open her body, mind, and more importantly—her heart to someone and something, she’s never considered?

  BLURRING THE LINES by Roni Loren

  Gretchen doesn’t know how to move on after losing her fiancé a year ago, but her best friend Burke has a lot of R-rated ideas when he sweeps her away to the Island of Eden for a much needed getaway. A sexy friends-to-lovers story with a paranormal twist and a six-foot tall dose of Cajun spice named Burke Brennan.

  IVY IN BLOOM by Tawny Stokes

  After getting out of a bad relationship and dropping out of university, Ivy Watts finagles an invitation to Eden. She expects to laze around and figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life, but what she doesn't expect is to learn a few life lessons from the tall, dark, older handsome man in the penthouse suite.

  DELICIOUS AND DEADLY by CC MacKenzie

  Falling in love can be lethal.

  YOURS TRULY, TADDY by Avery Aster

  A New Adult erotic adventure of self-discovery on an island where things aren't always what they seem..

  HOW TO TEMPT A TYCOON by Daire St. Denis

  Tessa Savage has traveled all over the world but she has never been to Eden. Will she accept the invitation from the mysterious tycoon that could change her life? Join Tessa in this sensually charged tale of domination and submission, Tantra and time travel.

  HOLD ME CLOSE by Eliza Gayle

  Sometimes you need to cut and run and sometimes the ties run too deep to abandon.

  SWEET RETURN by Steena Holmes

  All Lauren wants is a weekend to say goodbye to the love of her life, but what she gets is the chance to say hello again.

  FIGHT FOR ME by Sharon Page

  I had to separate from my husband MMA fighter Ryder King because he is so haunted by personal demons he wouldn’t let me into his heart. As I start to fall for his friend, billionaire ex-fighter Xavier Malone, I get a mysterious invitation to the luxury resort island of Eden where both men plan to fight for me--in the ring and in bed.

  THE BAD BOYS OF EDEN:

  Billionaires, Alphas, Bikers, and Doms

  Copyright 2015 Opal Carew

  All Rights Are Reserved.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this story are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  First edition: February 2015

  For more information contact Opal Carew at

  www.OpalCarew.com

  THE BAD BOYS OF EDEN:

  Billionaires, Alphas, Bikers, and Doms

  Table of Contents

  INTRODUCTION

  MASTER OF THE ISLAND by Lauren Hawkeve

  WILD RIDE by Opal Carew

  BREAKING FREE by Cathryn Fox

  ROUGH DRAFT by Mari Carr

  ESCAPE FROM REALITY by Adriana Hunter

  SECOND GLANCES by Elena Aitken

  BLURRING THE LINES by Roni Loren

  IVY IN BLOOM by Tawny Stokes

  DELICIOUS AND DEADLY by CC MacKenzie

  YOURS TRULY, TADDY by Avery Aster

  HOW TO TEMPT A TYCOON by Daire St. Denis

  HOLD ME CLOSE by Eliza Gayle

  SWEET RETURN by Steena Holmes

  FIGHT FOR ME by Sharon Page

  Introduction

  Dear Reader,

  After more than a year of nonstop Eden, it’s hard for me to believe that this adventure is over. While it was undoubtedly one of the more complicated projects I’ve worked on—actually, probably the most—it was also one of the most fun.

  The seeds for Invitation to Eden were sown on New Year’s Eve, 2013. While chatting via e-mail with several other authors, we decided that a multi-author continuity project would be fun (there may have been some wine involved). Venturing forward, we sent out a few questioning e-mails… would anyone else be interested in something like this? Were they any other authors as crazy as we were?

  It seemed that there were. We thought we’d have trouble filling twelve spots. Instead we wound up with nearly thirty authors, plus a wait list. And we didn’t even have a concept yet!

  After that it’s all a bit of a blur. But before I knew it, our three launch books were being released. And it’s been a whirlwind of fun ever since!

  I’ve had some people ask why we participating authors would undertake such a gigantic project on our own. Well… we were hoping for promotion and great sales, of course. But more than that? It was just fun. And it was even more fun for me to see how so many different authors made the concept of a magical fantasy island where anything is possible work for their own stories.

  So here for your reading delight are fourteen of the irresistible stories set in Eden. I hope you’ll enjoy your stay on the island… because the island always knows just what you need.

  Thanks for reading!

  Lauren Hawkeye

  Master of the Island

&n
bsp; Lauren Hawkeye

  When his life takes a dark turn, billionaire Theodosius Vardalos purchases a deserted island in the Bermuda triangle called Eden to hide his scars from the rest of the world. What Theo doesn’t know is that the island has an incredible secret, one that gives him hope… hope to be had in the arms of a mysterious blonde he hasn’t yet met…

  This story is meant as an introduction to the Invitation to Eden series.

  It is not meant to be read as a standalone.

  Copyright 2015 Lauren Hawkeye

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  About The Author

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  Prologue

  “I’ll take it.”

  I study the castle standing alone at the top of a lush green hill. An Irish castle. It is built of dove grey stone and rocks that have crumbled with age, but it caught my attention—my imagination—as soon as I saw the photographs. In truth it’s not much to look at right now…but then, neither am I.

  Originally home to the wealthy and privileged, the once proud structure shows nothing but decay and disrepair on the surface. But the tallest tower still stands, spearing the dull, misty sky proudly, as if to say I may not be much to look at anymore, but I’m still here.

  It’s a sentiment that resonates with every fiber of my being. In my gut I know that this is the place I’ve been searching for.

  The one that I saw in my dreams.

  “I’ll take it,” I repeat firmly, nodding at the realtor and giving one last look at the seven hundred year old ruins, fixing them in my mind before turning on my heel and striding back to the hired car. I hear an exclamation of surprise from the man behind me, but it doesn’t slow my steps.

  “Mr.Vardalos.” He is panting when he catches up to me, though the distance between the car and where we were standing just moments before is miniscule. “Don’t you want to look inside, at least?”

  I turn to face him, and though I know I appear outwardly calm, inside I still feel the burn of pain when I see him flinch. It isn’t a reaction I’ve been able to get used to. In fact, each time I get that look, the ache inside me intensifies. But he doesn’t need to know that.

  He won’t meet my eyes as I regard him calmly. “I’ve seen all I need to see. Draw up the paperwork. You’ll be contacted next week regarding transport of the structure.”

  My fingers, clutching the car door, tighten when the man dares to look at me, and can’t quite hide his wince. “Mr. Vardalos. You understand that I can’t be held responsible for the condition of the interior if you don’t care for it after you’ve seen it.”

  I focus on him for a moment. He is overweight, and his bald head shines both with sweat and the drizzle of moisture in the air. A man whose opinion would mean nothing to me…before.

  His gaze flicks to mine briefly and clings to the only feature he saw before we arrived at the castle, before I’d removed the silk hood that I normally wear over my face. I wonder, briefly, if I should reach into my pocket and put it back on.

  As if he can’t bear to look at me, he pulls off his glasses for something to do, polishes them with the hem of his shirt. He’s a bit like a cartoon character to me, out of place in the mystical beauty of Ireland.

  But that’s not his fault. I know that to his eyes—to anyone’s—I look like nothing so much as the beast from one of the many fairy tales that haunt this land.

  “What do you mean, transport, sir?” He frowns as my words catch up to him. “To where?”

  I sigh a bit, inwardly. The billions that pad my bank accounts let me get away with a lot—like wearing a balaclava with my designer suit—but I suppose I was hoping for too much, thinking that I could make a request like this and not be asked any questions. I slip my hand inside my pocket and retrieve the hood, casually concealing myself once again.

  The realtor’s shoulders instantly relax and he takes a relieved breath.

  “This castle will be reconstructed, stone by stone, on an island off the coast of Florida.” I don’t elaborate, don’t tell him of my plans for it, though the curiosity—and sheer disbelief—is plain on his face.

  “Mr. Vardalos. May I call you Theo?”

  “No.”

  He is clearly startled by my refusal, but I don’t much care. A man who would be sick at the sight of my face isn’t my friend. And if he were, he would know that I much prefer the full form of my name—Theodosius—to the abbreviated version that Americans always want to use.

  After a moment’s pause, he presses on, undeterred. “Mr. Vardalos. I would be remiss if I did not tell you…”

  He lowers his voice, as though we are sharing a secret. “…I am shooting myself in the foot here. But to buy this castle and move it overseas… it’s worth nothing away from Ireland. Why not just build something new?”

  I refrain from rolling my eyes. He won’t actually be losing much if he fails to earn a commission on this building. Though this castle has been such an obsession that I knew I would pay any sum once I found it, in actuality it is not listed for very much at all—likely due to the state of decay.

  No one else sees what I do. The beauty underneath.

  “If we’re quite finished?” The expression on his face amuses me as he sputters and I close the car door. Once sealed inside the cool, dim interior, I sigh and turn to take one final look at the castle, adjusting the hood as I do.

  I run my fingers beneath the silk and over my scars as I study the tower of crumbling stone. How does one explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it that it has to be this castle and none other? That the island demands it?

  The island—a small, deserted outcropping of rock in the middle of the soothing waters of the Bermuda Triangle…

  It showed me this place. And there isn’t a single cell in my body, not even the ones that have been horribly altered and maimed, that does not believe that the course of action I have set out upon is not meant to be.

  This calms me as I lean back against the smooth leather of the seat, as I order the driver to take me to the airport and leave the sweating, flinching realtor behind. Ireland is beautiful, to be sure, and I now understand why I felt pulled to come here.

  But I’ve had enough of travelling. I’m dreaming of palm trees, of the smell of salt on the breeze, and air so thick with heat and magic that its touch feels like a lover’s hand upon my skin.

  I’m tired.

  I want to go home.

  Chapter One

  Six Months Earlier

  There are too many people. They are everywhere, crowding the sidewalks, the streets, adding to the already unbearable heat of Miami.

  Millions of eyes, all staring at me with disgust.

  The rage boils up inside me, but what am I to do? And how can I blame them? No matter the injury done to me, no matter how much I rail at the injustice that people can no longer see past my hideous face… it doesn’t change my circumstances.

  I am the same person inside that I always was, for the most part. Though I admit, storms of anger now taint my every thought, every feeling with red, because of what I’ve become on the outside. A monster.

  It doesn’t matter. Soon I will be alone. Finally, blessedly and completely alone.

  As I stalk down the crowded sidewalk to the office of the seaplane charter company, I try to push away the memory of how I came to be like this—once a rich, successful man on top of the world, now a mangled beast. Though I know I can’t focus on it if I want to survive, still the darkness dogs my every step.

  Celeste. A beautiful icy blonde who loved the same things that I did: money, celebrity, and games of dominance and submission. But she loved one thing that I did not—her childhood sweetheart, a grifter more ruthless than I had ever been. I’d been so in love—at least, I’d thought I was—that I’d never seen the trap they’
d set coming, the trap that left me bloody, scarred and very nearly broken. It also left me without a considerable chunk of my bank account, though not nearly as much as they’d imagined. I wish I could find more satisfaction in the fact that I’d withheld the enormity of my fortune from her.

  The money? I can let it go.

  The scars, both inside and out? They changed my life irrevocably. The prodigal son made a fool by love.

  Never again. Where I’m going, it won’t get the chance.

  A year ago I purchased the small island in the warm waters of the Bermuda triangle sight unseen, with thoughts of opening an exclusive resort of some sort. A fanciful dream made more tempting by my accountant’s promise of lower taxes.

  Maybe the fingers of fate prodded me towards that particular purchase, because though the accident has halted those plans abruptly, I have plenty of use for the island.

  I need to heal. And a tiny, deserted chunk of land that doesn’t even have a name sounds like heaven at the moment. A place where there will be no one to see me. No one to stare.

  No one to make me feel like less of a man.

  The plane charter office is much as I expected it to be—a rundown interior housed inside a tiny bungalow by the edge of the water. The door is propped open, to let the sunlight in and, I imagine, the stuffy interior out. Only a handful of people are inside.

  The woman behind the counter is young, perhaps mid-twenties—close to my own age. She’s attractive, with skin the color of copper, and long spirals of dark curling hair.

  Once, I could have charmed her with nothing more than a slow smile.

  Now? She looks up as I enter, and though she quickly recovers from it, she winces once, quickly, when her eyes find the scarred half of my face.

  Though it makes my stomach do a slow roll, I ignore it, push it down. Approach the counter that she stands behind.

  “Theodosius Vardalos.” Pulling a sheath of papers from the pocket of my jeans, I slide them across the chipped laminate. “I have a reservation for a private charter.”

  Her smile is bright, overly so as she scans the papers detailing my reservation. Her smile falters as she reads to the bottom of the paper.