SEALed by a Kiss

SEALED BY A KISS AVA GRAY Copyright © 2023 by Ava Gray All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Created with Vellum ALSO BY AVA GRAY CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE Alpha Billionaire Series Secret Baby with Brother’s Best Friend Just Pretending Loving The One I Should Hate Billionaire and the Barista Coming Home Doctor Daddy Baby Surprise A Fake Fiancée for Christmas Hot Mess Love to Hate You - The Beckett Billionaires Just Another Chance - The Beckett Billionaires Valentine’s Day Proposal The Wrong Choice - Difficult Choices The Right Choice - Difficult Choices Playing with Trouble Series: Chasing What’s Mine Claiming What’s Mine Protecting What’s Mine Saving What’s Mine The Beckett Billionaires Series: Love to Hate You Just Another Chance Standalone’s: Ruthless Love The Best Friend Affair PARANORMAL ROMANCE Maple Lake Shifters Series: Omega Vanished Omega Exiled Omega Coveted Omega Bonded Everton Falls Mated Love Series: The Alpha’s Mate The Wolf’s Wild Mate Saving His Mate Fighting For His Mate Dragons of Las Vegas Series: Thin Ice Silver Lining A Spark in the Dark Fire & Ice Dragons of Las Vegas Boxed Set (The Complete Series) Standalone’s: Fiery Kiss Wild Fate CONTENTS Also by Ava Gray Blurb 1. Kendall 2. Sawyer 3. Kendall 4. Sawyer 5. Kendall 6. Sawyer 7. Kendall 8. Sawyer 9. Kendall 10. Sawyer 11. Kendall 12. Sawyer 13. Kendall 14. Sawyer 15. Kendall 16. Sawyer 17. Kendall 18. Sawyer 19. Kendall 20. Sawyer 21. Kendall 22. Sawyer 23. Kendall 24. Sawyer 25. Epilogue 26. Excerpt: The Wrong Choice Subscribe to my Mailing List BLURB My hot ex-Navy SEAL neighbor thinks I’m harmless and beautiful. Little does he know that a Vegas mafia kingpin is after me. My mother’s husband handed me to the bad guys. Fortunately, I got lucky and escaped. It’s true that my safety is short-lived. But Sawyer’s intense kisses make me feel alive. And his arms make me forget that I’d come so close to death. He didn’t know about my dark past when he took my innocence. But he does know that I want him in my future. Those dangerous men will come after me. And the future I want with Sawyer will disappear if he doesn’t save me and the baby growing inside me… 1 KENDALL Brushing back a stray strand of flaming, golden-red hair, I grit back a nasty comment and use every ounce of my willpower to ignore the fact that the same drunken man sitting at the slots just pinched my ass. For the second time. You need this job, Kendall. Bite your tongue. He’s so not worth it. Working at a Las Vegas casino has its ups and downs. To be honest, there aren’t a whole lot of highs when you work off the Strip in a dingy, lower-end place that attracts a certain kind of clientele. The word scum comes to mind. It also doesn’t help that the uniform I have to wear consists of a low-cut top and a skirt so short I have a legit concern that I could possibly be flashing the entire room at any given moment. But the hard fact remains that I only have one person to rely on—me. My parents passed away years ago and other than my mom’s worthless ex-husband who I rarely see, I don’t have any other family. Sometimes it feels like me against the world. The ping and ding of electronic games pierce the air and lights flash as someone hits a small win. The clink of coins dropping into the metal cup below is exciting for people, especially the tourists, even if it’s even just a couple of bucks they win. Because that’s what this city is all about and who it favors. The lucky. Unfortunately, I’ve never considered myself to be very lucky. Not when it comes to life, in general. I may have made a game blink and enjoyed the drop of coins once or twice, but when it comes to family, love and relationships… Well, that ship sailed. Skirting through the crowd, blinking against the heavy cloud of smoke that permanently hangs in the air, I slide the drink tray under my arm and make my way to the bar. As I deposit the tray, Mark, the bartender looks up from the drink he’s mixing. “You all done?” he asks, a smile on his lips. I nod and lean against the edge of the bar. “Yes, thank God. It’s been a rough shift.” “Need me to kick anyone’s ass?” “I’m good,” I assure him. Mark is sweet and looks out for us girls. Sometimes the crowd in here can get a little pushy, so it’s nice knowing that someone has your back. He’s one of the few people in this world who looks out for me and I appreciate it. “Have a good rest of the night,” he says. “You work tomorrow?” “My day off,” I tell him with a grin. “Enjoy it!” “I definitely will.” Mark tosses me a wink and heads over to deliver the frothy pink drink to a customer while I skirt around the bar and slip into the backroom. There’s a long hallway laden with security cameras, and I head down to the employee room where my purse and street clothes are stashed in my locker. There’s no way I’m wandering around out in public in this skimpy uniform, so I quickly change into jeans and a t-shirt in the bathroom and stuff my uniform into my oversized purse. It’s really more of a tote and it serves me well. I swear, I must carry half of my life in my trusty purse and have pretty much anything I could ever need. The issue is finding it. After changing, I slip a lightweight jacket on and step out the back