Secure Target (Elite Operators) (25 page)

“Will you marry me?”

Lacey rested her palm against the side of Bronnik’s face, her heart so full of love she thought it might burst. She knew then that no matter what happened—whether they lived in America or South Africa, whether they were rich or poor, whether they were running from a serial killer or simply sitting out here in the garden, looking at the moon—as long as they were together, nothing else mattered.

She smiled down at the man who’d seen her for all that she was and all that she could be, who’d shown her that she possessed strength and power beyond her own imagining. The man who saved her, protected her and loved her.

“Yes,” she whispered, tightening her hand around his. “Yes.”

About the Author

Rebecca Crowley inherited her love of romance from her mom, who taught her to at least partially judge a book by the steaminess of its cover. She writes romantic suspense and contemporary romance with smart heroines and swoon-worthy heroes, and never tires of the happily ever after. Having pulled up her Kansas roots to live in New York City and London, Rebecca now resides in Johannesburg, South Africa. Find her at
www.rebeccacrowley.net
and on Twitter at
@rachelmaybe
.

He’s returned from the dead…and he wants her back.

Gone

© 2014 Annabel Wolfe

Jack Templeton was dead. Or so everyone thought. Red-carpet welcome aside, he knows returning from a highly secret year-long mission won’t be easy. He’s even prepared for the possibility that his girlfriend, whose face carried him through the hellish months alone, has moved on. But he never expected she’d move into the arms of his best friend.

Nicole is beside herself with joy to learn that Jack is alive, but there’s a small complication. Actually a huge one, and his name is Eric Janssen. Now her tangled feelings are stretching her heart to the breaking point.

Eric has always been sure of what he wants, but now he’s off balance on shaky emotional ground. He’s relieved his best friend is home…but he loves Nicole. And he’s not about to just hand her over.

There’s only one way to hash this out. And the battleground is about to move from the boardroom to the bedroom…

Warning: Multiple sexy heroes, a heroine who seems demure but really isn’t, light bondage and mild violence.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Gone:

Stepping out of the shower, Nicole reached for a towel, slowly drying off, seeing the slight redness on her breasts and remembering the erotic feel of Jack’s beard on her skin as he made love to her.

He’d come home.

It was still difficult to process, to accept that he’d stepped back into her life, to remember all those lonely, miserable evenings when she thought he was gone forever. But he was there in her bed, so sound asleep he hadn’t moved so much as a muscle when she woke and eased out from beneath his encircling arm. In the morning light, his face and body in repose, she had stood there and just looked at him, absorbing the changes. His face, all-too handsome, was more angular, his ebony hair unruly against the white sheets, his torso tanned a dark bronze, the vivid scars on his leg and chest indicative the injuries were healed but fairly recent.

Her exact state of mind was difficult to define. Happy…God yes, ecstatic, overjoyed, but it felt surreal, and she had no illusions. This wasn’t going to be easy. She looked into the bathroom mirror, staring at her reflection, wondering who that woman was, so different from the one who had looked back at her just yesterday morning.

At least it was Saturday, which meant she didn’t have to go to work. She wrapped the towel around her hair, brushed her teeth and went back into the bedroom for some clean clothes. Picking out a pair of white linen shorts and a light blue sleeveless blouse because the forecast said it was going to be in the mid eighties, she dressed in the bathroom, dried her hair and put on a minimum of make-up—kiss of light foundation, gloss on her lips and a touch of mascara.

She went into the kitchen and made a cup of coffee, leaning a hip on the counter and idly stirring in a dash of milk and a spoonful of sugar, her distracted thoughts whirling and gaining momentum.

He wasn’t going to tell her where he’d been. She already knew that; she’d known it when they’d first become involved. Falling madly in love with a man who loosely defined his occupation as military was a leap of faith, she’d discovered. It didn’t take more than a few dates before she realized he was evasive about just exactly what he did for the government.

Yet she’d fallen anyway.

“Damn you, Jack,” she muttered out loud, taking her coffee to the sliding doors that opened to the back deck. It was already hot, the sun warming the boards under her bare feet, the neighborhood quiet with green lawns and mature trees and neat, straight sidewalks. She sat in a chair by the wrought-iron table her parents had given her as a housewarming gift and set down her cup of coffee. “Damn your job,” she added for good measure.

Her life was up-ended.

In a good/bad way.

As if to illustrate it, her phone beeped, indicating a text. She pulled it from the pocket of her shorts and read the message.
Good morning, beautiful
.

She swiftly pushed a few buttons.
Good morning
.

Doing?

Coffee.

Hot here.

Hot here too.

What a coincidence.

“I’d love to join you but I shouldn’t. Care to come back inside?”

Nicole jumped a mile and set down her phone, seeing Jack lounging with one hand braced against the doorjamb but behind the screen where he couldn’t be seen, his hair wet and gorgeously curly from the shower, still shirtless but wearing a pair of jeans that hugged his long legs. He still hadn’t shaved but the dark stubble suited his model-boy look.

Only, of course, if you took away the bullet hole scars that were like twin dark red spots on his upper chest.

“I didn’t want to wake you,” she said with an embarrassing wobble in her voice. “You were sleeping like the…”

“Dead,” he supplied ironically. “Probably. I think I’d been awake for over forty hours when I stepped off the plane last night.” He pointed at her coffee. “Give me a cup of that and I’ll be your love slave for life. Of course, that was part of the plan anyway.”

His crooked smile, slightly devilish and all male, would bring any woman to her knees. “Sounds like quite a bargain. A cup of coffee for sexual servitude?” Nicole kept her tone light and rose. He slid back the screen, but when she went to walk past, he put an arm around her waist while deftly removing the cup of coffee from her hand. His mouth nuzzled her neck. “Good morning, beautiful.”

Oh God
.

His hair was like damp ebony silk under her fingers. She said softly, “Don’t you want coffee?”

“Hmm.” He kissed the hollow of her throat. “Among other things.”

Her laugh was breathless, because, quite frankly, he had that effect on her at just about any time. “Even after last night?”

“Especially after last night.” He let go of her and handed back her cup. “But, yeah, I’d love a decent cup of coffee first.”

“French roast or Italian?”

“If it isn’t made from a muddy puddle in a road in the middle of no-man’s land, it doesn’t matter.” He grinned and leaned back against the sink, crossing his arms over his muscular chest. “You choose.”

“Still drink it black?” She fished a cup out of the cupboard, self-conscious over how he was looking at her, his gaze both predatory and maybe holding a hint of curiosity.

Of course. Jack’s instincts were spot-on, and whatever he did do for the armed forces of the United States, that was probably why he was good at it.

He said softly, “Yes, still black. I haven’t changed, Nikki. I know I’ve been gone for over a year, but it’s just me. I know the circumstances aren’t exactly run of the mill, but we can adjust and go back to the way it was.”

There he was wrong. It wasn’t ever going to be the same, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about it. She carefully placed the mug in the coffeemaker, put in the pre-measured cup and pressed a button, taking a moment to collect her thoughts.

He sensed it too, just as she guessed he would, and let her take the time, wordlessly accepting the cup when she handed it to him.

“Maybe you can’t tell me much, but I guess I don’t have the same restrictions. I’ve got something to tell you.”

Jack lifted the cup to his mouth, not taking his eyes from hers. “Okay. Tell me.”

Not okay. I don’t know how to do this
.

Her hands were trembling and she clenched them into fists, glad she’d set aside her own cup so he couldn’t see she how shaken she was. Helplessly, she said, “Last night it seemed so simple. I love you, but it isn’t quite so simple in the light of day.”

“How so?” His voice held a guarded edge. “Shit, from your expression I’m not going to like what you’re about to say, am I?”

Even as she opened her mouth to say God only knew what, she heard the click of the front door, and the soft swoosh as someone pushed it open. A male voice said, “Nikki?”

Sometimes falling in love is the easy part…

Trust in Me

© 2013 Dee Tenorio

A
Rancho del Cielo
Romance

Locke Jackman is single, childless…and he has a bad case of empty-nest syndrome. For years, as he fought tooth and nail to keep his brothers and sisters together after his parents died, his entire life was focused on his responsibilities.

Now his siblings have all moved on with their lives, and there’s no one around to distract him from his overpowering attraction to his sister’s best friend. Their mutual desire is stunning…but then again, so are the secrets keeping them apart.

Susie Packard’s nightmarish marriage taught her what happens when she gives in to her weakness for powerful men. Too bad the big, stoic frowner across the street—the one who sets her bells jangling just by breathing—has her in his sights.

Try as she might to keep her emotional distance, Locke is determinedly knocking down all her walls. But as much as she wants to be the woman he needs, she knows better than most—passion may have its rewards, but every secret has its price.

Warning: This book contains a hot, modern-day Viking seducing his way to the heart of his woman, a stubborn lingerie designer with a world of secrets and a very deep bathtub… Enjoy!

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Trust in Me:

“Fine.” He set his forearms on the table, leaning toward her, hoping like hell he didn’t screw this up. The thought of walking out the door and never being let back in scared the shit out of him, leaving his gut in knots.
Be gentle…
“I want to hold you, all night long. I want to feel you stretched out next to me, breathing against my neck. I want to smell your hair and whatever that flowery shit is you put in it and
dream
about holding you all night long. I need some goddamn peace, Susie, and I want it with you.”

She blinked, swallowing so hard he heard it. Practically felt it. Maybe he would have if his heart wasn’t beating so rough his temples ached.

“I-I don’t think there was a question in there.”

“If I ask, you’ll say no just to prove you can.”

Her lids fluttered closed.

“It’s just us, baby. We can be honest when it’s just us. I need you tonight. And I think you need me. It doesn’t have to be more than that.”

A lick to her lips. Her brows came together again while she seemed to argue with herself. “People will talk.”

“When has that ever stopped me from anything?”

She seemed to weigh that, finally opening her eyes. “We can’t have sex, I mean it.”

“I can live with that.” For now.

She studied him, her lips twitching at the corners. “I’m gonna regret this, aren’t I?”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“I know,” she muttered, shaking her head. “That’s what worries me.” She stood, reaching her slim hand out and slipping her fingers over his. She tugged and just like that, he could breathe again. “One night, Jackman. Just sleep.”

“Just sleep.”

She didn’t miss his lack of agreement to the other stipulation, but thankfully, she didn’t make a fuss about it. Just sighed and pulled him toward her bedroom.

The short trip wasn’t easy on his nerves. A million questions ran through his mind. Would she allow him under the blankets with her? Would they sleep skin to skin? Could he keep his hands off her all night long, as he’d promised? Would she forget herself and let her own hands wander over him? If she did, did that mean all bets were off?

He wasn’t the only one second-guessing himself, he decided, when Susie stared at her wrought-iron girl bed like it was a dragon come to eat her. She let go of him and brought her hand up to worry her fingers over the charm on her necklace. “I’m insane to be doing this.”

“It’s not like we haven’t done it before.”