Indulge Me
A Stark Ever After Novella
By J. Kenner
1001 Dark Nights
Indulge Me
A Stark International Novella
By J. Kenner
Copyright 2019 Julie Kenner
ISBN: 978-1-948050-78-4
Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.
Book Description
Indulge Me: A Stark Ever After Novella
By Julie Kenner
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J. Kenner comes a new story in her Stark Ever After series…
Despite everything I have suffered, I never truly understood darkness until my family was in danger. Those desperate hours came close to breaking both Damien and me, but together we found the strength to survive and hold our family together.
Even so, my wounds are deep and wispy shadows still linger. But Damien is my rock. My hero against the dark and violence.
When dark memories threaten to consume me, he whisks me away, knowing that in order to conquer my fears he must take control. Demand my submission. Claim me completely. Because if I am going to find my center again, I must hold tight to Damien and draw deep from the wellspring of our shared passion.
**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
About J. Kenner
J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and #1 International bestselling author of over one-hundred novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.
JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations” and by RT Bookclub for having “cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for them.” A six-time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Saga) and in 2018 for her novel Wicked Dirty.
In her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a lawyer in Southern California and Texas. She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and two rather spastic cats.
Visit JK online at www.jkenner.com
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Also from J. Kenner
Click here for an updated Printable Booklist
Stark Security:
Shattered With You
Broken With You
Ruined With You
The Stark Saga:
Release Me
Claim Me
Complete Me
Anchor Me
Lost With Me
Damien
Stark Ever After:
Take Me
Have Me
Play My Game
Seduce Me
Unwrap Me
Deepest Kiss
Entice Me
Hold Me
Please Me
Indulge Me
Stark International:
Steele Trilogy:
Say My Name
On My Knees
Under My Skin
Take My Dare (novella, includes bonus short story: Steal My Heart)
Stark World Standalone Stories:
Justify Me (part of the Lexi Blake Crossover Collection)
Jamie & Ryan Novellas:
Tame Me
Tempt Me
Dallas & Jane (S.I.N. Trilogy):
Dirtiest Secret
Hottest Mess
Sweetest Taboo
Most Wanted:
Wanted
Heated
Ignited
Wicked Nights:
Wicked Grind
Wicked Dirty
Wicked Torture
Man of the Month:
Down On Me
Hold On Tight
Need You Now
Start Me Up
Get It On
In Your Eyes
Turn Me On
Shake It Up
All Night Long
In Too Deep
Light My Fire
Walk The Line
Bar Bites: A Man of the Month Cookbook
Blackwell-Lyon:
Lovely Little Liar
Pretty Little Player
Sexy Little Sinner
Also by Julie Kenner
Click here for an updated Printable Booklist
Demon Hunting Soccer Mom Series:
Carpe Demon
California Demon
Demons Are Forever
Deja Demon
The Demon You Know
Demon Ex Machina
Pax Demonica
The Dark Pleasures Series:
Caress of Darkness
Find Me in Darkness
Find Me in Pleasure
Find Me in Passion
Caress of Pleasure
Rising Storm:
Tempest Rising
Quiet Storm
An Extraordinarily Yours Romance
So (Very!) Much More than the Girl Next Door
The Charmed Affair of an Invisible Bodyguard
The “Super” Secret Life of an Accidental Daddy
Never Trust a Rogue on a Magical Mission
The Seductive Charm of a Sexy Shifter
Mayhem, Matchmakers, and a Bit of Bewitching
How a Sexy Hero and a Marvelous Makeover (Sorta!) Saved the World
Redemption Chronicles
Born In Darkness
Lost In Shadows
Surrender to Dawn
Discover 1001 Dark Nights
Click here to explore
COLLECTION ONE
FOREVER WICKED by Shayla Black
CRIMSON TWILIGHT by Heather Graham
CAPTURED IN SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING by Tina Folsom
DUNGEON GAMES by Lexi Blake
AZAGOTH by Larissa Ione
NEED YOU NOW by Lisa Renee Jones
SHOW ME, BABY by Cherise Sinclair
ROPED IN by Lorelei James
TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian
THE FLAME by Christopher Rice
CARESS OF DARKNESS by Julie Kenner
COLLECTION TWO
WICKED WOLF by Carrie Ann Ryan
WHEN IRISH EYES ARE HAUNTING by Heather Graham
EASY WITH YOU by Kristen Proby
MASTER OF FREEDOM by Cherise Sinclair
CARESS OF PLEASURE by Julie Kenner
ADORED by Lexi Blake
HADES by Larissa Ione
RAVAGED by Elisabeth Naughton
DREAM OF YOU by Jennifer L. Armentrout
STRIPPED DOWN by Lorelei James
RAGE/KILLIAN by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
DRAGON KING by Donna Grant
PURE WICKED by Shayla Black
HARD AS STEEL by Laura Kaye
STROKE OF MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian
ALL HALLOWS EVE by Heathe
r Graham
DARING HER LOVE by Melissa Foster
TEASED by Rebecca Zanetti
THE PROMISE OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
COLLECTION THREE
HIDDEN INK by Carrie Ann Ryan
BLOOD ON THE BAYOU by Heather Graham
SEARCHING FOR MINE by Jennifer Probst
DANCE OF DESIRE by Christopher Rice
ROUGH RHYTHM by Tessa Bailey
DEVOTED by Lexi Blake
Z by Larissa Ione
FALLING UNDER YOU by Laurelin Paige
EASY FOR KEEPS by Kristen Proby
UNCHAINED by Elisabeth Naughton
HARD TO SERVE by Laura Kaye
DRAGON FEVER by Donna Grant
KAYDEN/SIMON by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
STRUNG UP by Lorelei James
MIDNIGHT UNTAMED by Lara Adrian
TRICKED by Rebecca Zanetti
DIRTY WICKED by Shayla Black
THE ONLY ONE by Lauren Blakely
SWEET SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
COLLECTION FOUR
ROCK CHICK REAWAKENING by Kristen Ashley
ADORING INK by Carrie Ann Ryan
SWEET RIVALRY by K. Bromberg
SHADE'S LADY by Joanna Wylde
RAZR by Larissa Ione
ARRANGED by Lexi Blake
TANGLED by Rebecca Zanetti
HOLD ME by J. Kenner
SOMEHOW, SOME WAY by Jennifer Probst
TOO CLOSE TO CALL by Tessa Bailey
HUNTED by Elisabeth Naughton
EYES ON YOU by Laura Kaye
BLADE by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
DRAGON BURN by Donna Grant
TRIPPED OUT by Lorelei James
STUD FINDER by Lauren Blakely
MIDNIGHT UNLEASHED by Lara Adrian
HALLOW BE THE HAUNT by Heather Graham
PRINCE ROMAN by CD Reiss
THE BED MATE by Kendall Ryan
DIRTY FILTHY FIX by Laurelin Paige
NO RESERVATIONS by Kristen Proby
DAWN OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
COLLECTION FIVE
BLAZE ERUPTING by Rebecca Zanetti
ROUGH RIDE by Kristen Ashley
HAWKYN by Larissa Ione
RIDE DIRTY by Laura Kaye
ROME’S CHANCE by Joanna Wylde
THE MARRIAGE ARRANGEMENT by Jennifer Probst
SURRENDER by Elisabeth Naughton
INKED NIGHTS by Carrie Ann Ryan
ENVY by Rachel Van Dyken
PROTECTED by Lexi Blake
THE PRINCE by Jennifer L. Armentrout
PLEASE ME by J. Kenner
WOUND TIGHT by Lorelei James
STRONG by Kylie Scott
DRAGON NIGHT by Donna Grant
TEMPTING BROOKE by Kristen Proby
HAUNTED BE THE HOLIDAYS by Heather Graham
CONTROL by K. Bromberg
HUNKY HEARTBREAKER by Kendall Ryan
THE DARKEST CAPTIVE by Gena Showalter
Also from 1001 Dark Nights:
TAME ME by J. Kenner
THE SURRENDER GATE By Christopher Rice
SERVICING THE TARGET By Cherise Sinclair
TEMPT ME by J. Kenner
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Table of Contents
About J. Kenner
Also from J. Kenner
Discover 1001 Dark Nights
Foreword
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Six
Discover More J. Kenner
Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights
Special Thanks
One Thousand and One Dark Nights
Once upon a time, in the future…
I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.
I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and
the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast
library at my father’s home and collected thousands
of volumes of fantastic tales.
I learned all about ancient races and bygone
times. About myths and legends and dreams of all
people through the millennium. And the more I read
the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered
that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually
become part of them.
I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher
and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I
would not be telling you this tale now.
But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off
with bravery.
One afternoon, curious about the myth of the
Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to
see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar
(Persian: شهريار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then
sent yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It was written
and I had read, that by the time he met Scheherazade,
the vizier's daughter, he’d killed one thousand
women.
Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived
in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged
places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had
never occurred before and that still to this day, I
cannot explain.
Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have
taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can
protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to
protect herself and stay alive.
Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.
And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a
point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.
And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that
he might hear the rest of my dark tale.
As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new
one... like the one that you, dear reader, have before
you now.
Chapter One
Damien watched from the bungalow’s back porch as his daughters chased the surf. The waves rolled in relentlessly, and the girls—giggling and happy—scampered forward and back with the joyful determination of children.
A few feet away, Nikki sat on a blanket sipping from a bottle of water, her eyes fixed on their kids. Her blond hair gleamed in the island sun, and her skin had turned a golden brown in the five days they’d been at the resort. She hugged her knees, and though he could only see her in profile, there was no missing the beatific smile on her lovely face.
The sight warmed him, and he felt his entire body relax. It had been almost three months since his family had been freed of the nightmare surrounding Anne’s kidnapping. Though, of course, they’d never be truly free. He saw that reality reflected back at him every day when he looked in Nikki’s eyes and glimpsed the shadows there. The remnants of pain, the residue of defeat. And, most of all, the lingering fear that clouded her face and poisoned her happiness.
In the days immediately following the ordeal, it had been Nikki who’d brought him back from his own grim descent into guilt and pain, and once he’d pulled himself together, he’d been so damn cocksure that the bond between them had once again beat back the horror that the world had thrust upon them.
And for a time, maybe it had.
But in
the last week, he’d watched as dark shadows returned to his wife’s eyes. He’d felt helpless, and that wasn’t a sensation he endured easily. He’d needed to act. To do. To help. And so he’d brought her here as an escape against a world that had turned dark and dangerous. An isolated island world that he had built.
Conceived by Damien’s sister-in-law, Sylvia, and designed by his brother, Jackson Steele, The Resort at Cortez was a high-end vacation property that had finally come to fruition via a route of scandal, vandalism, and even murder. It had shed that horrific past, though, and now it was a place of healing. A second home where, Damien hoped, Nikki could find both peace and escape.
Now he stood on the patio of their bungalow in the private owners’ section of the island. Other than his wife and daughters, the beach was empty as far as he could see in both directions, and on this side of the island, there was no view of the California coastline. They were alone, just the four of them in this sun-swept world.
And that, he thought, was what Nikki had needed.
But it wasn’t enough.
He closed his eyes, not wanting to hear the small voice in his head. The voice that knew that the calm and beauty of this island was only a Band-Aid against a much larger wound. A wound that, so far, Damien had been helpless to staunch.
Frustrated, he clutched the patio rail, wishing he had the strength to shatter the wood beneath his hands, because then maybe he could find the strength to help his wife. He wouldn’t—couldn’t—fail her. But, dammit, he still hadn’t found the key that could lock away her pain.
Frustration warred with need, and he took a step toward the stairs, intending to go to her, but the sharp chirp of his phone stopped him.
That ringtone was the one assigned to Ryan Hunter, his closest friend and the Chief of Security for Stark International. Technically, Ryan still held that title, but he’d recently delegated the day-to-day management of all Stark-related corporate security, thus freeing him up for his role as the head of the newly formed Stark Security Agency.