Whimsical angel, p.1
Whimsical Angel, page 1
Whimsical Dreams, Book Three
Whimsical Angel
Tiffany E. Taylor
Whimsical Angel
Copyright © 2022 Tiffany E. Taylor
Published by Painted Hearts Publishing
Smashwords Edition
About the Book You Have Purchased
All rights reserved. Without reserving 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 any other means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, is forbidden. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law.
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Whimsical Angel
Copyright © 2022 Tiffany E. Taylor
Publication Date: August 19, 2022
Author: Tiffany E. Taylor
Editor: Kira Plotts
All cover art and logo copyright © 2022 by Painted Hearts Publishing
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
Publisher's Content Guidance:
This work of fiction contains a scene of disciplinary spanking and other instances of light BDSM that some readers may find triggering.
Acknowledgments
To Pia Goff, owner of the legendary Pia’s Trattoria in Gulfport, Florida and the organizer of the annual Gulfport Chef’s table event, which served as the inspiration for Appétit in Whimsy. And to my incredible beta team: Sam DeFiglio, Kim Gosselin, Maria Lau, Juliet Pishinsky, Tricia Potter, Ashley Ribeiro, Mysty Ross, and Hazel Tan. Whimsy wouldn't be the same without you.
ARMSTRONG PROTECTION SERVICES (APS)
The APS Management Team
MAP OF WHIMSY
Author's Note
As a white woman, I feel extremely blessed to have friends in the African-American community who have educated me on the challenges of living as a person of color in an often-racist world.
When my daughter was in elementary school, at a Title I (economically disadvantaged) STEM magnet school, her first-grade teacher was an African-American educator by the name of Rafael Robinson—who's won more teaching awards than you can shake a stick at, and who is a very large part of the reason young, disadvantaged African-American students are so incredibly successful there. He is a beautiful role model for children who don't often have a role model in their lives, a man who gives these children a chance to succeed when the disadvantages of their lives would often prevent them.
As I rapidly learned in my six years of volunteering at Jamerson Elementary, it does indeed take a village. Mr. Robinson determinedly led the charge there, accompanied by some damn incredible teachers, staff, and parents who were going to give these children a chance if it was the last thing they did. My Darius in Whimsical Angel evolved from my experiences at Jamerson; Darius is a tenacious young 19-year-old African-American male who could have easily become someone who slipped through the cracks, but who was given a helping hand by a group of people who were determined to make sure he didn't become another statistic.
I wrote Darius in honor of all the people I've seen over the years—like Rafael Robinson—who have thrown disadvantaged children like him a life raft and have subsequently made this world a little better place to be.
To every Darius Wilson in this world: I believe in you.
Prologue
Delaney Sedgwick paused in the middle of icing some petit fours she was experimenting with for Kelly Holland’s wedding to Riley Armstrong in less than a month, and let her mind wander again.
It had been two weeks since she and Kelly had been taken by Grigor Reizan and his crew of thugs. The bruise on her cheek where Reizan had struck her had faded until it was little more than a few yellow and green streaks now, and the tenderness had almost disappeared completely.
Delaney thought about that day.
She was still surprised that she hadn’t been that afraid in the face of Reizan’s threats, but she supposed that had been because Kelly had kept her that way. Kelly Holland, Del acknowledged, totally defined the word badass.
Although, she thought, she’d been amazed to discover she herself had more guts than she’d ever realized she did. It was like her mind had gone still and clear, she’d been able to focus and plan—even if she hadn’t known what the hell she was actually doing—and she and Kelly had formed an effective, efficient team, almost without thinking.
When she’d finally gotten home after her meeting with the Coast Guard and the FBI after their rescue, her mom had insisted Delaney be seen by a local psychologist recommended to them by Rosi Armstrong. Marsha Sedgwick was adamant that sometimes trauma could lay buried and creep up on you when you least expected it.
Which was true, Delaney had admitted, even as the psychologist had reassured her mother after a few sessions that Del was fine, and there was no evidence of permanent mental damage—much to Marsha’s relief.
However, no one knew Delaney had often had more trauma in one day with that asshole, Tina, than she’d ever had with the entire Percutio mess.
If anything had affected her in the last several weeks, it was the shock of seeing Teagan Malloy again last month after all her years away. Her first glimpse of Teagan at the Whimsy Arts Center grand opening had sent Delaney’s senses into a tailspin, from which they hadn’t yet recovered.
Teagan hadn’t changed much in the over ten years since Delaney had last seen her. That tall, strong, heavily muscled body. That thick, light red hair. Those brilliant green eyes, and the killer smile that still soaked every pair of panties in sight.
Del had learned that Teagan, the Armstrong twins, and the rest of Teag’s posse—whom everyone now referred to as the Seven—were closer than ever. Bryn, Riley, Teagan, Trillian, Jaime, Blake, Drew, Kennedy, Casey—all former Marines now, all University of Florida graduates.
The Armstrong twins and the Seven had each pursued their goals with a single-minded purpose. When they were done with their service and with school, they had banded together to create the most successful security and protection company for women in the Tampa Bay area.
They were amazing, just like she’d always known they would be. It was ironic, she thought with a bitter twist of her lips, that their accomplishments had come too late for her.
Delaney sighed and threw her spatula into a sink full of hot soapy water. If she was being honest with herself, she’d admit she couldn’t ignore the reaction of her body from just the thought of Teagan’s body.
Teag had always been able to affect her like that, even when they were in high school and Delaney was dating Tina.
When Teagan had pulled Delaney against her to rest when they were on the Arusiak, Del knew she hadn’t felt that safe and protected since high school either. She’d felt as though there was nothing in this world that could ever touch her, just as long as she was in Teagan Malloy’s arms.
A sharp knock came at the front door, interrupting her wistful musings. Delaney frowned, dried her hands on a towel, then went to see who it was. Her mother was at the grocery store, her father was at work, and none of them were expecting anyone.
To Delaney’s complete and utter shock when she opened the front door, Teagan Malloy stood unsmiling on the doorstep—her tall, muscled body clad in jeans, a black APS polo shirt, boots, and a leather jacket. Mirrored sunglasses hid her brilliant eyes.
Teagan slowly pulled off her shades so that her intense, vibrant green orbs were visible. Delaney caught her breath as those hypnotic eyes focused on her face, with a laser precision and a heat Delaney couldn’t ignore.
“Hi, Delaney. May I come in?”
Chapter 1
Teagan Malloy, the Chief Communications Engineer for Armstrong Protection Services and one of the APS Seven—the seven team leads who made up APS management along with twins Bryn and Riley Armstrong—stood in front of the open front door of the Sedgwick home in Whimsy, Florida, and watched the shock that played over the face of the black-haired, blue-eyed femme who’d opened it.
Delaney Sedgwick, Teagan thought to herself, scanning the startled beauty closely. The girl Teagan had loved as far back as Teag’s senior year of high school, almost eighteen years ago, and whom she hadn’t physically laid eyes on in almost fourteen years, until approximately five weeks ago.
Delaney had been a freshman at Whimsy High—a shy girl barely fifteen years old who was universally adored by her classmates for her sweet and caring ways—when seventeen-year-old Teagan had fallen hard. Because both Teagan and Delaney were small-town Whimsy natives, they’d known each other casually all their lives. Delaney had always seemed so much younger, however, that Teagan had never thought about her in anything but a little sister kind of way.
Until Del had started high school. Teagan had taken one look at the more grown-up Delaney—Teag’s memories of Del and her kindness, her compassion, her open heart flooding back—and she’d known right then a nd there that Delaney Sedgwick was meant to be hers.
However, Teagan had been devastated when she’d asked Delaney out and Del had turned her down, telling Teagan with sorrow in her voice that she was dating Tina Schaffner. Teagan could not stand the arrogant, smarmy sophomore who manipulated everyone around her and who always seemed to be out for what she could scam from people.
Teagan had heard, though, that Tina’s mom was pretty sick. Dr. Kathleen Malloy, Teagan’s physician mother, had told Teag when she’d asked that Mary Schaffner was a good woman who had recently been diagnosed with a type of muscular dystrophy called myotonic. Myotonic muscular dystrophy, Kathleen had explained to her youngest child, didn’t usually hit until an individual was around thirty or forty. The subsequently slow, degenerative progression could span fifty years.
Teagan had felt sorry for Mary Schaffner after Kathleen had explained the situation, but Tina was another story altogether. She was evidently using her mother’s illness to play Delaney and her soft heart like a fiddle. Tina’s self-serving exploitations had totally pissed Teagan off, but she had known there was unfortunately nothing she could do about it.
Now, the APS team lead looked at the beautiful woman she’d recently helped to retrieve from the yacht where Delaney and Kelly Holland had been held hostage by a foreign mafioso-type cartel head, and waited for Delaney’s permission to come in.
When Teagan had burst into the stateroom of the Arusiak after Kelly had told her where Delaney could be found during their rescue, she had taken in the scene at a glance: Grigor Reizan, the head of Percutio, dead on the floor; a second Percutio associate, also dead; and Delaney standing shakily next to the bed, behind which another Percutio associate was lying bound and unconscious. Teagan had calmly held out her hand, waiting patiently for Delaney to feel comfortable enough to take it, before the two of them had ascended to the upper deck. Today, standing on Delaney’s doorstep, Teagan acutely remembered the fear and the anger she’d felt when Delaney’s life had been in danger.
“Teag. Umm…sure, okay. Mom is out shopping and Dad is at work. I’m home alone figuring out what I’m going to do for Kelly and Riley’s wedding.” Delaney, a pastry chef, blushed as she looked down at her flour- and sugar-smeared shorts and T-shirt. “As you can see, I wasn’t expecting anyone.”
The heat in Teagan’s eyes deepened as she ran her eyes up and down the petite woman. “From what I can see, angel, you look sugar-sweet and just fine.”
* * * * *
Standing aside so that Teagan could come into the house, Delaney couldn’t breathe as her memories hit her hard.
She still remembered when Teagan had first approached her at Whimsy High to ask her out. Delaney had known Teag for years, of course, since they’d both grown up in the tiny, close-knit hamlet of Whimsy, but they’d never talked to each other on more than the most superficial level. Del had never had the first clue that Teagan might actually be interested in dating her.
Delaney had been crushed, but she’d regretfully informed the handsome Teagan that she was dating Tina Schaffner. I hope we can still be friends, Delaney had told her shyly, feeling her heart squeeze with unexpected disappointment. Del could still remember the look Teagan had given her: regret, doubt, protectiveness.
Coming back to herself, Delaney turned and faced Teagan, feigning a calm she didn’t feel. “Can I get you anything to drink, Teag? Water? Iced tea?”
“No, thanks, Del. This is going to have to be a quick visit since Trill and I are starting a new investigation later this morning and I need to meet up with her shortly. I just wanted to come by and see how you were doing.” Teagan’s keen eyes probed her face.
Delaney was taken aback. “I’m fine, actually,” she said, a bit guardedly. “Things were a little scary and pretty overwhelming there for a while, but Mama Armstrong sent me to a great guy who helped me to process everything.” Rosi Armstrong, Bryn and Riley’s mother, had insisted Delaney call her Mama Armstrong just like the Seven did.
“I’ve also decided I want to be Kelly when I grow up.” Delaney’s eyes turned soft as she thought about her new friend. She knew the bond they’d forged through their shared ordeal would be a lasting one.
Teagan laughed. “She is fantastic, isn’t she? I, however, don’t know if the world could handle two Kelly Hollands.” She grinned at Delaney, who giggled despite herself.
“Thanks for checking on me, Teagan. I really appreciate it.” Delaney started to relax in Teagan’s powerful presence. “But between doing the wedding cake for Kelly and Riley’s wedding and talking to Ember about my new bakery design, I have lots of good stuff to focus on now.” Ember was the architect who’d designed the Whimsy Creative Arts Center and the Dream Creamery for Kelly’s sister, Rowan.
Teagan’s hypnotic eyes never left Delaney’s face. “Have dinner with me tonight, Del. Trill and I should be back by six o’clock. I can run home to take a quick shower and pick you up about seven o’clock.” Delaney felt electric shock run down her spine.
“Teag,” Delaney said helplessly, not knowing what to say and wondering if she should refuse. “I… I… You…” She stopped, flustered.
Teagan approached Delaney cautiously before lifting her hand and running her fingers down Del’s cheek. Her eyes darkened as she softly touched a bit of the faint discoloration that still marred Delaney’s pale cheek.
“Even though Kelly beat me to it…if I could personally kill Grigor Reizan for what he did to you, Delaney Sedgwick, I would do so joyfully. The thought of that piece of shit touching you in any way, let alone causing you any type of harm, has had me on the point of violence.” Teagan’s voice was mild and calm as she continued to caress Delaney’s cheek. “Say you’ll come to dinner with me tonight, angel.”
“I’ll come to dinner with you tonight, Teag,” Delaney heard herself tell Teagan as she stared up into those mesmerizing eyes.
Teagan smiled down at Delaney from her impressive 5’10” height, then bent over to lightly kiss her lips before releasing her and stepping back. “Is the Pier House Grill okay with you? Have you been there since you’ve been back in Whimsy? Wade Jimenez is still there, still doing a bang-up job.”
Delaney shook off the trance Teagan had put her under. “No, I haven’t been yet, but I would love to go. Wade was always such a great guy. Rowan says the only thing you badasses will eat is protein and rabbit food, though, so long as I can get some pasta, we’ll be good.” Teagan threw back her head and laughed.
She flashed her devastating smile at Delaney before heading for the door. “That sounds just like something Ro would say and yes, you can get some pasta. I have to get to work, Del, but I’ll be back at seven o’clock to pick you up.” Teagan slid on her mirrored sunglasses before heading out the door. “Have a good day, angel. I’m looking forward to catching up tonight.” Then she was gone.
After Delaney had cleaned up the kitchen and changed out of her stained clothes, she took a glass of iced tea out to the backyard and sat by the sparkling pool—her mind on a certain red-haired, green-eyed, badass butch.
* * * * *
Delaney remembered how Teagan’s eyes used to follow her down the hallway at school, even after she’d told Teag she was dating Tina Schaffner. Del’s heart would flutter when she caught one of Teagan’s looks, but she was always careful to hide her reaction from a very jealous Tina.
The girls in her high school—gay and straight—had always sighed whenever Teagan Malloy had paid them even the slightest bit of attention. It had been a bit disconcerting to be the sole recipient of Teagan’s laser focus, however, especially when Del had been dating someone else.
