Risking it All (42 page)

for it all.”

She let her head fall back against his

shoulder, incredible relief making her

movements languid. “Make room. I’m

not going anywhere.”

He pointed a shaking finger at the

doorknob. “That’s the last time you make

me watch you walk away. Never again.

I’m
keeping
you, dammit.”

“I’ll never walk away again. I’m

keeping you, too.”

“Thank God for that.” Bowen turned

her around. She looked up at his

beautiful face, running her thumb over a

cut under his right eye. He leaned into

the contact with a quick release of breath

and laid a fist over his heart. “Sera, I’ll

be dead in the ground before an ounce of

this goes away. There’s nothing you can

do to make it lighter and if you could, I

wouldn’t let you. I want to be heavy with

loving you, baby. Don’t question it

again, okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded vigorously,

sending tears falling down her cheeks.

“Okay.”

He used his lips to brush away her

tears. “Are you sure you don’t want to

work as a nurse in Chicago? Something

safer? I’m not above begging.”

“And miss out on all the action?”

He pinned her against the wall with a

low growl. “You’ll be getting enough

action at home.”

“Home,” she repeated breathlessly. “I

like you saying that.”

Their lips met for a lingering kiss.

“You’re my home, Sera. The only one

I’ve ever had. I want to be yours, too.

Let me.”

Love expanded in her chest. “You’re

the only home I’ll ever need, Bowen.”

EPILOGUE

With a muttered curse, Bowen dragged

Sera off the sidewalk and into a

shadowed doorway to kiss her. At first,

she laughed at his spontaneous gesture,

but as soon as his tongue stroked over

hers, her amusement disappeared along

with his sanity. Cool fingers slid into his

hair, tugging a little the way he liked. He

pressed his palms high against the door,

knowing if he touched her, they would

need to find somewhere to finish each

other off. Too bad they were already late

for their first meeting with the Chicago

PD. The meeting to which his wickedly

hot girlfriend had decided to wear a tight

skirt, probably to drive him crazy until

they could get back to the brand new

king-size bed he’d insisted needed to be

rechristened several times a day. The

bed they’d bought together, in a furniture

store, holding hands and making

decisions like a couple. Bowen had

decided
that
day was the best one he’d

ever lived through. Until the next day

with Sera had started. And the next.

Now every new day with her became his

new favorite.

Sera looped her fingers around his

belt and tugged his body closer. Her

curves meshed with his harder form, her

sexy little moan blanketing his brain in a

sensual fog. Against his better judgment,

one hand dropped from the door and

smoothed over her ass. He’d seen her

tug on a red thong while they were

dressing to leave and now all he could

think of was massaging her pussy

through the material. Would be thinking

about it straight through this meeting and

the entire way home until he got her

alone.

Since they’d moved to Chicago last

week, he’d been doing this kind of thing

with growing frequency. Reminding

himself that the one-bedroom apartment

he shared with Sera was real by painting

her on every wall. Reminding himself

that she was real by kissing her sweet

mouth every chance he got. These

reminders always ended with her legs

wrapped around his head, neck, or hips,

screaming for mercy. Part of him hoped

the need for confirmation of his dreams

coming

true

never

went

away

completely. If they did, he might forget

what a lucky bastard he was for a

second. That wouldn’t work for him. He

never wanted to take a single second for

granted with his girl. His Sera.

Her hips started to move, which gave

him no choice but to push his hardening

cock against all that hot friction. She

broke the kiss with a whimper, and then

the brown eyes that ruled his dreams

were locked on his. Bright, excited,

lusty. Trusting. Fuck, what had he

started? Recognizing the point of no

return, Bowen forced himself to rein in

the urge to reach a hand under her skirt

and give her relief. Instead, he stepped

back and adjusted himself.

“Unfair,” she breathed.

He brushed her hair back over her

shoulder. “I’m sorry, Ladybug. I needed

a reminder and got carried away.”

Her eyes went soft. “You still need

them?”

She really had no idea. Not even a

clue how thoroughly she owned his

thoughts. At first, he counted it as a

blessing. If she knew the depth of his

obsession with her, she might freak out a

little. The more time went on, though, he

felt hope bloom that she wouldn’t even

flinch if she knew. That she might be a

little obsessed with him as well. God, he

fucking well hoped so.

He twined their fingers together and

reluctantly pulled her from the doorway.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like my

reminders?”

“I love them.” She tucked into his

side. “You take them as often as you

want. No complaints from this corner.”

“I’ve created a monster.”

She growled playfully, but he could

still see the need in her eyes. He’d make

it up to her later. Several times. His

blood went hot just thinking about it.

“Is Connor meeting us there?”

“Yeah.” They stopped at the corner

and waited for traffic to pass. “He’s

helping his mother get settled in. Said

he’d head to the station afterward.”

Bowen hadn’t found out until the day

they left New York what the NYPD had

offered Connor to turn informant on his

cousin. His mother’s declining health

had been the driving force behind his

decision. The driving force behind
every

one of the guy’s decisions, really.

Bowen still didn’t know how the man he

now considered a friend got himself

booted from the navy, but he wouldn’t

press for more information. He was glad

his instincts had been on point where

Connor was concerned, though. Like

him, Connor had been in a bad situation

with no easy way out. If it weren’t for

Sera, and okay, Troy, he’d still be

treading water, just waiting for the day

when he would finally sink.

Not anymore. He looked over to find

Sera smiling up at him, the Chicago

wind lifting the hair from her shoulders

to brush across her still-swollen mouth.

If he lived to be a hundred years old, he

couldn’t repay what he owed her. She’d

given him a life worth living, helped him

begin to bury the past. Before they left

New York, she’d gone with him to see

Pamela, his mother. He’d listened to her

explanation for leaving, thanks to her

fear of Lenny. She claimed she’d thought

of him every single day. There wouldn’t

be any family vacations or Thanksgiving

dinners in the near future, but he couldn’t

deny feeling a sense of peace that night.

News about Newsom’s corruption had

leaked and the NYPD had been given no

choice but to come clean about what had

taken place behind the scenes. Newsom

had been indicted on several charges

including conspiracy, misappropriation

of funds, and bribery. It seemed as if

each day brought a new confession, a

new crime he’d committed within the

department.

The

NYPD

hadn’t

succeeded

in

keeping

the

media

uninformed

completely,

and

he

suspected Sera didn’t like seeing her

family name dragged through the mud on

the evening news. He sure as hell didn’t

like it either, but as long as her identity

stayed protected, he could sleep at night.

She’d had a harder time coming to

terms with her brother’s dishonesty, but

in the end, she’d seemed to realize that

shades of gray existed everywhere, just

as they did with him. That her happy

memories of Colin didn’t need to go

away. They could stay along with the

bad ones. Bowen had done his part to

help her heal by scouring the Chicago

pawnshops looking for a Nintendo

console. Wouldn’t you know it? The

owner had unearthed an ancient Tetris

cartridge from the back room. If having

Sera in his life hadn’t already proved his

luck had changed, that would have done

it. Their tournament had started the same

night.

When they reached the precinct,

Bowen felt a prickle of unease at the

officers staring at them curiously; some

even eyed him with open hostility.

Wisely, none of them turned it on Sera or

they would have been much later for the

meeting.

Bowen held open the door for Sera,

following her into the bustling front

office. Phones rang loudly; men in navy

blue uniforms shouted to one another

across the space. He might never get

used to this, working with cops, going to

work at a fucking
police station
every

day. Especially knowing these people

planned on putting his girl in danger. It

pissed him off royally, even though he

knew how capable she was. As if

sensing his discomfort, Sera squeezed

his hand. It was the only reminder that he

needed. He’d go to work on an oil rig in

the middle of the Atlantic if it meant

sleeping beside her at night.

And come hell or high water, he’s

protect her through it all.

A tired-looking receptionist whistled

at them. “You here for the meeting with

Captain Tyler?” Bowen nodded once

and the woman pointed to a closed door.

“In there. You’re late.”

He traded an amused glance with Sera

and led her toward the door. When he

pushed it open, they both came up short.

Around a giant conference room table

sat five people, all staring back at them.

Well, almost all of them. Connor was

busy glaring across the table at a gum-

chewing half-blond, half-pink-haired

girl who wore a T-shirt that said
Bitch

Don’t Kill My Vibe
. Beside Connor, an

ancient man in a newsboy cap looked

absolutely

delighted

with

himself.

Closest to the door, a black-haired girl

twirled her hair with nervous fingers,

back ramrod straight, obviously agitated

by her surroundings.

Who the hell were these misfits?

Bowen didn’t have much time to think

about it, because the fifth person at the

table stood and blocked his line of

vision. In a suit and tie, badge clipped to

his belt, the guy had such an air of

command, Bowen immediately stepped

into his space to let him know he

wouldn’t be following orders from just

anyone. To his surprise, the guy nodded

as if he approved. After the stories Troy

had told him, he knew this had to be

Captain Derek Tyler.

“Nice of you to show up. Now sit

down. We’ve got work to do.”

KEEP READING FOR A SNEAK

PEEK OF

UP IN SMOKE

BOOK TWO IN THE

CROSSING THE LINE

SERIES

UP IN SMOKE

You can take the man out of the

SEALs…

Connor Bannon stared across the

empty conference room at the clock,

watching the second hand tick past 3:00

p.m. Impatience prickled the back of his

neck. He hated being late. Hated
other

people’s being late. If the Navy had

taught him one thing, it was how to show

up on time. Even now, when his military

career wasn’t even visible in the

rearview mirror and the consequences