Slow & Steady (Alphas Undone #2)
Kendall Ryan
About the Book
When Greyson Archer tosses a twenty on the stage of a strip club, the last thing he expects to see is familiar haunted green eyes staring at him. Finley should be home raising her infant daughter and baking cookies, not tucking singles into her G-string and giving lap dances.
Greyson can’t deny that he’d like his own private show, but there’s not a chance in hell of that happening. The last time the former Navy SEAL saw her she was dressed in black, holding a folded flag and sobbing that it was all his fault—and he agreed with every single word. He couldn’t do anything to help her then, but he can now.
Finley deserves better than this dingy club, and when an obsessed customer crosses the line, Greyson leads the rescue and will do whatever it takes to make amends for their broken past.
He never expected to want to settle down, but with Finley, everything is different. For the first time ever, he can breathe. But Greyson will have to fight for what he wants in order to keep the woman with the green eyes he’s dreamed about so often.
Praise for Slow & Steady "This was a nonstop read for me. I didn’t put it down until I finished. I loved it from the first page and I wouldn’t change anything about it." - Jacqueline's Reads
"This amazing story was so addictive that I read it basically in one sitting on a lazy Sunday afternoon." - Winchester Book Reviews
"Kendall Ryan, you blew this book out of the water for me!" - My Girlfriend's Couch Blog
"This is an easy 5-star book for me (one of my favorites of the year so far) and I highly recommend it!" - Pretty Little Books
"Grey was sexy, demanding and had such a sweet soft side. Fin was sassy, vulnerable, and head strong." - Michell, GoodReads Reviewer
"I fell in love with this beautiful and brilliant book. Slow and Steady grabbed me from the very first page, bleeding into my head and heart and never letting go." - Bookalicious Babes Blog
"Sexual tension runs rampant along with feelings of anger, resentment and fear. They challenge one another while the push and pull between become undeniable." - Books and Boys Book Blog
Chapter One
Greyson
“Hi, handsome. Can I interest you in some company?” a feminine voice cooed, just barely audible over the loud thumping music.
I looked up from my glass into the heavily made-up eyes of a redhead wearing nothing but a silver G-string leaving nothing to the imagination.
A half-naked woman asking for my attention should be good thing. But she didn’t stir the least bit of desire in me. “Not tonight, sweetheart, thanks.”
She tipped her chin and sauntered away looking for her next conquest.
Maybe it had been a mistake coming here. None of the girls did a thing for me, and despite knocking back two whiskeys, I was still sitting there bitter and sulking.
After a horrendous day at work, rather than going home, I’d driven here – a strip club that I’d been to once or twice in the past for bachelor parties or birthdays, but that had been years ago.
Still licking my wounds over today’s assignment, this had seemed like a better option than going home. The private security firm I worked for had a contract with a state prison, and today I drew the short straw – taking one of the rookies out there for a special seminar I was leading. It was supposed to be simple – instructing the guards on advanced and humane takedown strategies. But the rookie I brought with me was an ex-Marine and ended up being a hot-head with a temper. Rather than the easy day I was expecting, it turned into a damn fiasco. First he insulted the warden, then he ignored security protocols and antagonized the guards. He topped it off by almost inciting a prison riot.
And worse than all that was that it reflected on me. I’d had to talk my boss, and my former Navy Commander Jerry Barton, down off the ledge. He was ready to castrate us both this afternoon.
Good times.
Fucking-A.
Knocking back the remainder of my drink, I was just about to get up and leave, throw the towel in on this clusterfuck of a day, when the song changed and my eyes swung over to the stage. Amidst deep thumping beats of slow bass, wisps of smoke silhouetted a dancer in the center of the stage. I settled back in to my seat, intrigued, at least for the moment.
Starting at her feet, which were encased in a pair of sky-high red heels, my gaze wandered slowly up her body as the fog began to clear. Savoring the sight before me, I took my time, my eyes caressing shapely thighs and rounded hips with just a whisper of white lace between her legs. A flat stomach, and trim waist. My heart started to accelerate as my gaze traveled north.