Tripped Out: A Blacktop Cowboys® Novella Read online

  Tripped Out

  A Blacktop Cowboys® Novella

  By Lorelei James

  1001 Dark Nights

  Tripped Out

  A Blacktop Cowboys® Novella

  By Lorelei James

  1001 Dark Nights

  Copyright 2017 LJLA, LLC

  ISBN: 978-1-945920-38-7

  Foreword: Copyright 2014 M. J. Rose

  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

  Tripped Out

  A Blacktop Cowboys® Novella

  By Lorelei James

  Where there’s smoke…

  Stirling Gradsky abandoned the corporate rat race for a more laidback lifestyle. So it’s ironic she’s stuck working with a hard-bodied, know-it-all scientist who treats her like a stoner instead of a stone cold business woman capable of running a large scale cannabis operation. Dr. Hot and Tattooed with the big…brain needs to stop sampling their product; he’s under the half-baked idea that he’s the boss.

  Dr. Liam Argent’s doctorate isn’t in chemistry, but from the moment he meets his sexy new coworker, there’s enough heat between them to short out all the lights in the grow house. First item on his agenda? Clearing up the sassy, blunt blonde’s hazy notion that she’s in charge.

  Sparks fly as their attraction blazes. But can they weed out their differences without getting burned?

  About Lorelei James

  Lorelei James is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary erotic romances in the Rough Riders, Blacktop Cowboys, Mastered, Rough Riders Legacy and Need You series. She also writes dark, gritty mysteries under the name Lori Armstrong and her books have won the Shamus Award and the Willa Cather Literary Award. She lives in western South Dakota.

  Connect with Lorelei in the following places:

  Website

  Facebook

  Twitter

  Instagram

  Facebook Reader Discussion Group

  Newsletter

  Also From Lorelei James

  Click to purchase

  Rough Riders Series – Erotic Western Romance

  LONG HARD RIDE

  RODE HARD

  COWGIRL UP AND RIDE

  TIED UP, TIED DOWN

  ROUGH, RAW AND READY

  STRONG SILENT TYPE (novella)

  BRANDED AS TROUBLE

  SHOULDA BEEN A COWBOY

  ALL JACKED UP

  RAISING KANE

  SLOW RIDE (short story)

  COWGIRLS DON’T CRY

  CHASIN’ EIGHT

  COWBOY CASANOVA

  KISSIN’ TELL

  GONE COUNTRY

  SHORT RIDES (anthology)

  REDNECK ROMEO

  COWBOY TAKE ME AWAY

  LONG TIME GONE (novella)

  Rough Riders Legacy Series – Contemporary New Adult Romance

  UNBREAK MY HEART

  PIECE OF MY HEART (FALL 2017)

  Blacktop Cowboys® Series – Erotic Western Romance

  CORRALLED

  SADDLED AND SPURRED

  WRANGLED AND TANGLED

  ONE NIGHT RODEO

  TURN AND BURN

  HILLBILLY ROCKSTAR

  ROPED IN (novella)

  STRIPPED DOWN (novella)

  WRAPPED AND STRAPPED

  HANG TOUGH

  TRIPPED OUT (novella)

  Mastered Series – Erotic Romance

  BOUND

  UNWOUND

  SCHOOLED (digital only novella)

  UNRAVELED

  CAGED

  Need You Series – Contemporary Romance

  WHAT YOU NEED

  JUST WHAT I NEEDED

  ALL YOU NEED

  WHEN I NEED YOU

  Single Title Novels

  RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL – Erotic Suspense

  DIRTY DEEDS – Contemporary Romance

  Wild West Boys Series – Contemporary Romance

  MISTRESS CHRISTMAS (novella)

  MISS FIRECRACKER (novella)

  Single Title Novellas

  LOST IN YOU (short novella) – Contemporary Romance

  WICKED GARDEN – Erotic Romance

  BALLROOM BLITZ – Contemporary Romance

  Mystery Novels Written As Lori Armstrong

  Julie Collins Series – Private Eye Mystery

  BLOOD TIES

  HALLOWED GROUND

  SHALLOW GRAVE

  SNOW BLIND

  DEAD FLOWERS (novella)

  BAITED (novella)

  Mercy Gunderson Series – Army Sniper/Native American Mystery

  NO MERCY

  MERCY KILL

  MERCILESS

  DOUBLE SHOT OF MERCY – Short Stories coming fall 2017

  Acknowledgments from the Author

  Huge thanks to Goldie from City Sessions in Denver, for setting up a fantastic personalized cannabis tour, led by Matthew, her knowledgeable and (patient!) associate. More thanks go to the folks at The Herbal Cure, for allowing us to experience their amazing grow house (Josh, your plant knowledge blew me away) and for the expertise of their budtenders in the totally chill dispensary. Thanks also to the Pure Dispensary for showing us the industrial side of CO2 extraction and the wide variety of THC & CBD infused products on both the medical and recreational sides. You ALL are truly ambassadors for the positive aspects of the legalized cannabis industry in Colorado.

  That said, any errors (or artistic license I took) in this fictional story are solely on me…

  As always, to THE Liz Berry…you inspire me with your generosity and I thank the universe every day that I get to call you a friend J

  To Evil Eye—Liz and MJ Rose—so thrilled I got to be here another year!

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One

  Click here to explore

  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

  Also from 1001 Dark Nights

  TAME ME by J. Kenner

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two

  Click here to explore

  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 Heather Graham

  KISS THE FLAME by Christopher Rice

  DARING HER LOVE by Melissa Foster

  TEASED by Rebecca Zanetti

  THE PROMISE OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  Also from 1001 Dark Nights

  THE SURRENDER GATE By Christopher Rice

  SERVICING THE TARGET By Cherise Sinclair

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three

  Click here to explore

  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

  Sign up for the 1001 Dark Nights Newsletter

  and be entered to win a Tiffany Key necklace.

  There's a contest every month!

  Click here to subscribe.

  As a bonus, all subscribers will receive a free

  1001 Dark Nights story

  The First Night

  by Lexi Blake & M.J. Rose

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Lorelei James

  Also From Lorelei James

  Acknowledgments from the Author

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three

  Foreword

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Four

  Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights

  Discover More Lorelei James

  An excerpt from Unbreak My Heart by Lorelei James

  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.

  Prologue

  Liam Argent, age sixteen…

  Lurking in the shadows of buildings, wearing a black hoodie, jumping every time a siren sounded in the distance…yeah, he was some cool customer, all right.

  Ain’t like this is your first drug buy, Argent.

  As if his conscience needed to remind him of that fun factoid.

  Liam checked his calculator watch for the tenth time. Pointless, really. Dealers ran on their own schedule. When they said “Be there at ten,” it meant be there between nine and eleven o’clock. A few times, his source “Junior”—likely not even his real name—hadn’t shown up at all. His excuse was “family obligations.”

  He swung his arms a couple of times to keep warm, which caused his coat to ride up his forearms, exposing his skin to the frigid night air. He’d grown four inches since last winter and now his coat didn’t fit. He hadn’t mentioned it to Gramma because she’d feel guilty that a new coat wasn’t in the budget for this month. He’d have to make do. Like he always did.

  A Gran Torino pulled up to the curb. Liam waited, not sure if it was Junior since he never drove the same car twice.

  The passenger window rolled down. Junior motioned for Liam to get in—all while the car kept inching along.

  Liam didn’t hesitate, not even when his common sense screamed at him not to get into a drug dealer’s vehicle.

  Ain’t my first drug buy, remember? he said snarkily to his conscience to shut it up.

  The interior of the car reeked of clove cigarettes and bleach. Liam held his hands in front of the vents blasting out hot air, grateful for the warmth as he waited for Junior to speak first.

  “Kid,” Junior said as he picked up speed and turned onto Hawthorne, “where are your gloves?”

  “I…ah…left them at school.”

  Junior harrumphed as if he didn’t believe him.

  They kept driving until Junior found a spot he saw as safe to make the exchange. He threw the car in PARK and left the motor running.

  Liam dug in the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out a crumpled wad of cash. Even the damp paper smelled of stale grease, courtesy of the restaurant where he worked. He cleared his throat. “Look, I’m ten bucks short. So, can I owe you ten next time? I promise I’m good for it. Or do you want to cut ten bucks’ worth out of the bag?”

  Junior took the money and smoothed each bill out before shuffling them from the highest denomination to the lowest. Without looking up from his ritual, he said, “I ain’t the bank, letting you run a line of credit, kid.”

  Liam said nothing.

  “Nor am I in the bidness of dividing bags I already parceled out.” Then Junior looked him in the eye. “What’s your deal, boy? I get a message from you every two w
eeks. Always the same amount of product. No more, no less.” He gave Liam a head-to-toe once-over and frowned. “You ain’t got the desperate look of a full-time user, although that coat has seen better days.”

  Liam remained mum.

  “The dope ain’t for you, is it?”

  “You warned me from the start that you didn’t want to know details about my life and shit,” Liam reminded him.

  Junior shrugged. “Humor me.”

  He said humor like yumor—not bothering to mask his Jersey accent.

  “My gramma suffers from chronic arthritic pain. She can’t afford the pain pills or any other type of treatment. This stuff works.”

  “Has she asked for that synthetic kind, what’s it called—Marinol?—that’s legal?”

  He shook his head. “It’s still too much money. Your product is way cheaper.” Wait. Had he just insulted a drug dealer? “And way better,” he added.

  “She gives you money for this?” Junior demanded.

  “Some. I kick in the rest from my restaurant job. That’s why I’m short on funds this time because my hours got cut.”

  “But Granny knows you’re buying her meds on the street?”

  “It’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ with us.” He glanced away, hoping Junior wouldn’t see the lie. “She’s taken care of me since I was five. So when I do this, I feel like I’m taking care of her.”

  “Jesus. You really are the wholesome kid you appear to be. Honesty is a rarity in my bidness. You wouldn’t believe the lies people will tell to get their next fix.”

  Liam bristled. “I’m not scamming you. This is for my gramma. I don’t—”