Rocking a SECRET Read online

  Rocking a Secret

  Book #3 of Corrigan & Co.

  By Crystal Perkins

  Copyright © 2015 by Crystal Perkins

  Cover Design by Helen Williams

  http://www.allbookedout.com/

  Ebook Formatting by Jesse Gordon

  http://adarnedgoodbook.com/

  All trademarks are owned by their respective companies and are denoted by the use of proper capitalization of the company and/or brand. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This contemporary erotic romance is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with, especially if you enjoy sexy, emotional, romance novels with alpha males. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  About Rocking a SECRET

  Other books by Crystal Perkins

  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

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  About Rocking a Secret

  A bombshell stylist who's more than she seems

  Stella’s a kick-ass stylist who takes no prisoners, in or out of bed. For her latest mission with the Corrigan & Co. Foundation, she agrees to investigate blackmail threats against a member of the boy band her mother works for. Blackmail she can handle, but falling for the sexy young boy bander will cause her to risk everything—and everyone—she cares about.

  A boy band singer who wants to make the bombshell his own

  Kace Reynolds may be young, but he knows what he wants. To sing without being singled out. To figure out who’s blackmailing him. And to convince Stella that he’s serious about wanting to be with her. But blackmail isn’t always what it seems, and he’s going to have to choose between being exposed and keeping the woman he loves.

  Bombshells are falling left and right, but will the biggest SECRET of all rock them both too hard?

  Other books by Crystal Perkins

  The Griffin Brothers series

  Gaming For Love (The Griffin Brothers #1)

  Building Our Love (The Griffin Brothers #2)

  Creating A Love (The Griffin Brothers #3)

  Learning To Love (The Griffin Brothers #4)

  Designing The Love (The Griffin Brothers #5)

  Working On Love (The Griffin Brothers #6)

  Keeping Their Love (The Griffin Brothers #7)

  Corrigan & Co. series

  Fielding Her SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #1)

  Devouring the SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #2)

  Publicly, The Corrigan & Co. Foundation has been supporting women for years. Secretly, five powerful women led by Jane Corrigan have recruited ten agents, sending them to rescue women and children in need, and take down those who exploit the weak. This secret society of women all have unique skills they’ve brought to the foundation. Additionally, they’ve all had training in weapons, etiquette, martial arts, technology, and languages. Helping out friends and family of their five mentors from time to time is something they were told to expect. What they didn’t plan for is falling in love.

  About the Corrigan & Co. Foundation and the Society:

  • Mitchell Corrigan created the Corrigan & Co. Foundation for his wife as part of his company ten years ago. He stipulated that the foundation would continue as long as there is a Corrigan woman to oversee it.

  • Jane Corrigan, Cyndi Evans, Maggie Griffin, Mallory Daniels, and Helen Wilson are the founders of the secret society within the foundation. They focus on helping women and children, but take on other missions from time to time.

  • While they assist government and private organizations on a regular basis, they only take referrals for private missions.

  • Each founder has recruited, and mentors, two agents.

  • The company was founded in Chicago, but has now moved to Las Vegas, where Mitchell was born. On his deathbed, he asked his grandson to move the company headquarters to help revive the economy in his hometown. There are satellite offices all over the world.

  • Jane’s grandson, Matt, who is President and CEO of Corrigan & Co., knows of the society. His friends Nathan and Aiden, who he brought in when they all left the military, know as well. This was a decision by the five women when they needed help on a mission that went bad. They do not know all mission details, but help when they are asked.

  This book is dedicated to my good friend,

  Samantha Boydman who loves boy bands

  more than anyone else I’ve ever met!

  Prologue

  Stella

  Gavin’s party is starting soon. He’s showing off the kitchen facility he had the Griffins build for his new culinary school. I was dressed and ready when Reina called to tell me that she and Jane needed me to come into the office. I know they wouldn’t call me unless it was important, so of course I came.

  I walk into Reina’s office and then drop my clutch on the floor with a squeal. “Mom,” I yell as I hug her. “What are you doing here?”

  “I need your help.”

  “Of course. Anything. What’s going on?”

  “Have a seat, Stell, and I’ll tell you.”

  I do as she asks, looking over at Reina. She shakes her head at me. They don’t know why she’s here either. We’ll help her, though. There’s no doubt in my mind.

  “As you know, I’ve been working for Storyside this past year.”

  “They’re that boy band all over the TV, right?”

  “Yes, Reina. When I started with them, they were just starting to get noticed. In the last few months, they’ve surpassed One Direction as the most popular boy band on the planet.”

  “Is something wrong with them?”

  “Not all of them. Just Kace Reynolds. He’s the most popular of the boys, and has always been the sweetest, until the last month. He’s started acting out. He causes trouble on photo shoots and appearances, and has even bad mouthed some of the more vocal fans who’ve criticized him. His mother is distraught, and the management team is beside themselves.”

  “Can’t they just kick his sorry ass out of the band? There has to be some clause.”

  “There is a clause. Many in fact. But despite his bad behavior—or maybe because of it—he’s still the most popular. The cash cow, so to speak.”

  “How do you think we can help?” Jane asks.

  “As I said, his mother is distraught. She r
aised him as a single parent, and his one goal when he made it big was to take care of her. She goes everywhere with us, even though Kace is twenty one now. She told me yesterday that she saw him crumple up a piece of paper and throw it out. Because he didn’t know she was there, she was able to grab it out of the trash can. Here it is.”

  My mom hands us the paper.

  Tomorrow you will make a scene at the culinary school opening the band is attending. Remember that if you try to tell anyone, or don’t do what I say, I’ll have the pictures to the media within the hour.

  There’s no signature and nothing distinguishing on the plain white copy paper. “So it looks like he has no choice in his behavior. Someone else is calling the shots.”

  “Yes, Stella. It all makes sense because like I said, Kace was always respectful and sweet in the past. He’s turned into a horrible young man, but it seems he has no choice.”

  “Whatever they have on him has to be pretty bad. We’ll of course help, but what did you have in mind?”

  “I need Stella to come work with me—the band is so big now that no one will think it’s unusual for us to have another stylist. And they’re about to start a special two month residency here in Vegas.”

  “I can do that.”

  “It’s not as easy as me hiring you, though. The boys all agreed to be in charge one facet of their careers early on. So it’s in their contracts to have the final say for hiring in whatever area they chose.”

  “Okay. I can charm someone. Who’s over style?”

  “Kace.”

  “And he’ll be at the party tonight.” An idea starts to form. “I can be part of the scene he causes.”

  “He’s going to hit on you, Stella.”

  “And I’m going to put him in his place.”

  “Or fall in love with him.”

  “What? Are you insane, Mom? I’m not planning on settling down anytime soon, and even if I was, it wouldn’t be with some jailbait boy bander.”

  “He’s gorgeous, kind-hearted when he’s not being blackmailed, and worships his mother.”

  “So are half the guys I fu—I mean, sleep with.”

  “Don’t tone down your personality or language, even with me around. I’ve heard it all, and I need you to be yourself. It’s going to pull him in. When you’re as close as you feel comfortable with, you can work on earning his trust,” my mom tells me.

  “Are you sure you don’t want a job here because I think you just did mine.”

  “No, Reina. I’m not cut out for intrigue on a daily basis. That’s for you and my amazing daughter and her friends.”

  “We should head to the party. I don’t want to be too late. Not just because of Kace, but also because Faith and Gavin have worked hard for this.”

  Everyone agrees, and we all take off for the party. I was hoping to have fun tonight. Now I’m going to be babysitting a little boy. So the opposite of fun.

  * * *

  Kace

  Whoever’s pulling my strings is one fucked up bastard. This school is going to be helping underprivileged kids. The focus should be on that, not something I have to cook up in order to make a scene. The media already thinks I’m an asshole. How much further do I have to go?

  I see Sheila, our stylist, walk in. I start to look away, but do a double take when I see the bombshell standing next to her. There is no other way to describe her. Bomb-fucking-shell. She has platinum blonde hair pulled into a side bun with some curly strands hanging down. Her lips are the reddest of reds, and her black leather dress and strappy heels make me want to do very, very bad things to her. Things that we’d both like, and would make her scream my name all night.

  I’m still contemplating how to make my move when Sheila spots me and starts heading my way. With the blonde. And here I thought this night was going to suck. Well, maybe she will.

  “Kace, I wanted you to meet my daughter, Stella.”

  “Hi Stella.”

  “Hello, Kace.”

  “Oh, I just remembered, I actually need to go talk to the mayor. You two will be fine without me, won’t you?”

  “Yes, Mom. Go have fun.”

  She walks away and I put my best smile on for sexy Stella. It’s the one that makes panties drop around the world. She starts laughing, actually laughing. What the fuck?

  “Does that smile actually work for you, little boy?”

  “Yes. It does. You know you want a piece of this. Of me. I could have you screaming all night.”

  “You couldn’t handle me.”

  “My cock’s never had a complaint, and it has a surprise.”

  “Let me guess, you pierced your cock, didn’t you? I’ve been there, done that. So that’s not enticing me, either.”

  “And I have this.”

  I lift the hem of my dress shirt to show her a hint of the shark below my belly button.

  “You need to pull your pants up. It’s really not attractive when you babies show off most of your underwear. A hint peeking out of your jeans—that’s hot. Saggy pants and jeans are not.”

  “You’re a bitch.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I wasn’t complimenting you.”

  “Yes, you were. You just didn’t know it.”

  “I don’t even know what to say to you.”

  “Good. I’m tired of your ‘lines.’ If you want to talk to me, talk to me. Don’t try to be sexy. I don’t fuck babies, so that’s not going to happen between us. We could be friends, though, if you can just try to speak to me like a person with a brain. And stop staring at my tits.”

  How am I supposed to ignore them? Her dress is an off the shoulder style that’s tight with a zipper down the front. She has the zipper pulled down a little, and her presents are practically begging for my tongue.

  “You should zip your dress up if you don’t want me looking.”

  “I didn’t say you couldn’t look. Just not all the time.”

  “I don’t get you.”

  “Do you want to?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “Then hire me as your second stylist. I’ll dress you sexy enough to draw the chicks in. And then I’ll impart my wisdom with you so you can keep them for longer than a few hours.”

  “Maybe I don’t want them for more than a few hours.”

  “You’re young. You should have the stamina for all night.”

  “With you, I bet I could go for days.”

  “We’ll never find out.”

  “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll hire you as long as you promise to give me a fair chance to get you into my bed. I’ll even let you impart all your wisdom.”

  “Deal.”

  “And I have to tell you, I’m really sorry about this.”

  Before she can react, I drop my drink and grab her zipper, pulling it down to her waist. Her tits are barely encased in a red lace bra, and her nipples are already hard before I grab a handful of each one. I kiss her hard and she fights me. It doesn’t last long.

  I’m tackled from the side and go down hard. When I look up, Zack Taylor from the Legions is standing above me. He looks like he wants to kill me.

  “You just put your hands on the wrong woman, asshole.”

  “She’s with you? I thought you had that little nerdy chick in your bed.”

  He pulls back his hand, but his fiancé grabs his arm. “You have a game tomorrow, Zack. He’s not worth it.”

  “No he isn’t,” Stella adds, as she finishes zipping up her dress to glare down at me. “He’s just a little boy who can’t control himself.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Stella. Make sure to wear something sexy for your first day of work,” I yell to her as security drags me out.

  I keep the cocky grin on my face until I get inside the limo. Then I hold my head in my hands. I had to do that. I had to. But now I’ve ruined any chance I may have had with Stella. And that’s just about as fucked-up as it can get.

  * * *

  Stella

  Well that was fun. I knew he ha
d to cause a scene, and damn if he didn’t. Everyone’s clustered around me making sure I’m okay. I’m not, but they’d take it wrong if I said that. I’m not bothered by being exposed. Hell, I’ve shown off the girls on more than one occasion. I’m freaked out because I liked it.

  That boy turned me on, even before he kissed and groped me. He held his own with me, and that was hotter than anything. Most guys cave when I taunt them, but not Kace. He gave as good as he got. And when he kissed me…well, let’s just say that there was a flood in my nether regions.

  Tegan catches my eye, and hers widen. She knows me better than anyone else and has seen me turned on before. Hell, we’ve played together before when we were both attracted to the same guys. Since sex is just something fun for us, we never minded sharing. She can’t have Kace, though. The thought enters my brain, and I cover my mouth in horror.

  “Oh my God, Stella. Are you going to be sick?” Reina asks me.

  I shake my head, and Tegan comes over to rescue me. “I think she just needs to get out of here. I’ll go home with you since I got a ride with Isa. Everyone else should just keep enjoying the party. It’s for such a good cause.”

  “Yeah. I’m fine. Really. Please enjoy the party.”

  “You’re sure, Stell?” my mom asks, putting her arm around me.

  “Yes, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “After this? I mean…”

  “It’s really okay. They’re just my tits.”

  She shakes her head, but smiles. “I shouldn’t have had you around all those rock stars growing up.”

  “You’re the best mom ever. Stop worrying.” I kiss her cheek and head out the door.

  Tegan keeps quiet until we’re in my car. “Spill.”

  “Spill what, Teeg?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me. You liked that. You want him.”

  “He’s a mission. My mom asked us for help. That’s why I was late.”

  “Let me know what I can do. After you tell me why you were so hot and bothered.”

  Shit. She’s not going to give up. I know how she is. “Fine. I was a little turned on by him.”