Page 4 of Doubly Tied

Maybe she was crazy.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?

“Are you okay?” Brody asked, his face full of concern.

“My sisters are gonna kill me,” Ani whispered with a panicked sigh. Mayne moved to stand, conscious of his still bleeding wound, but she shook her head, stopping him before he took one step.

“Ani?”

“No, just, let me...” she whispered.

Her head was spinning, but mostly it was out of concern, she realized. Concern for both of the big, sexy men she’d just slept with and apparently mated.

Mated?

What the hell does that mean?

It means you are ours and we are yours, sweetheart.Brody’s voice spoke directly into her mind, and Ani gasped.

Forever, love. You are ours forever.Mayne’s voice added.

“Um, guys? I think I might be going crazy,” she said, right before she passed out.

Chapter 1

Two days ago…before Ani arrived at Moongate Island (and everything that came after).

“Ani, the proofsyou sent for the new ad campaign came through this morning,” her boss whistled through his teeth. A habit that both horrified and disgusted Anise Freeman. But she was a professional, and he was her boss. So, she held her tongue and nodded her thanks.

“Great job, Ani.EarthOilis incredibly pleased with your performance.” Mr. Guerrero leered at her through dark eyes that were too close together in his overly round head. He really gave her the creeps. Especially when that stare of his lingered too long on her assets.

She should have been expecting him. The rotund man was her team manager. He loved to deliver good news in person. Particularly when said good news meant he could lean against her doorjamb and suck air through his teeth.

Ew.

She shivered in response to the noise but refused to pay him any further attention. She was usually better at this, but Ani was already running late and couldn’t do more than politely nod at the creep.

She felt like a ticking time bomb. When she’d been hired by the global conglomerate that wasEarthOilright out of college, she thought it was a boon to her career. A testament to all her hard work paying off. She’d busted her butt getting topgradesand honors throughout her school years.

But she’d been having doubts about her chosen profession. Despite the challenges of being an ad exec, she was no longer certain this was the career path for her.EarthOilwas not the company she thought they were.

After their latest environmental disaster went viral over a month ago, it was a miracle the company was not canceled as so many were in this technological age. She was good at her job but helpingEarthOilrecover had taken its toll on her very soul. Even oneaccident, like this last oil spill, was one too many in her opinion. It would have ruined lesser corporations.

EarthOilwas still sound, but Ani had enough of big business and the almighty dollar. Environmentally conscientious in her personal life, she was tired of working for a company that skirted the guidelines set forth by theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission.

She’d already typed out her resignation letter and had planned to send it as soon as her weekend with her sisters was over. No sense in ruining her vacation before it even started.

“Thank you, Mr. Guerrero,” she said, grabbing her laptop and stuffing it into her carry-on case.

“Are you really going to spend the weekend on some island? I mean, you should be watching this launch with me, Ani. We could celebrate by ordering in some food and wine. Together, we can watchEarthOilrise back to its former glory. What do you say?”

The older man wagged his eyebrows up and down in a way that was reminiscent of two furry caterpillars climbing up a fencepost on a warm spring day. She tried not to cringe at his attempts to be sexy and his gross unprofessionalism, but it was difficult not to. He was always making remarks like that.

Suggestive and unwarranted, she added to herself. Like she would ever go with her boss.

Gross.

Like, super gross.

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