Acceptable Risks (32 page)

Assuming she loved him back. He finally managed, “Did I misinterpret what you said the other night?”

“No. Oh, no, honey.” She stroked his arm, and the pain eased. “No, I meant—well, I got fired. I never reported for work.”

Jason cursed, but Lark shook her head. “I think I want to do something else.” She was quiet for a moment, her thoughts turned inward. Jason watched her, unable to keep the fear from growing. Every muscle tensed, doubling his pain, but he didn’t push her, didn’t want to rush the letdown that seemed more inevitable with every throbbing second that passed.

Lark visibly pulled herself back to the present and straightened. Her soft gaze landed on his face, and her lips curved. “I’ve already got some résumés in around town. You wouldn’t be happy working for someone else, and I’d feel much better if my father had your back. And vice versa.”

Everything clicked into place, and Jason could breathe again. He let go of her hand and reached for her. “Come here.”

“I’ll hurt you,” she protested, but didn’t move away.

He caught the back of her neck and tugged her toward him. “Just don’t support yourself on my chest.”

“I love you,” Lark whispered, grabbing the rail to hold herself up as he drew her in for a kiss.

“I love you, too.” He kissed her for a long time, trying to convey his gratitude and appreciation and happiness when he couldn’t move anything but his mouth without his body screaming at him. But she got it. Oh, yeah, she got it. He could see it mirrored in her eyes when she finally pulled away.

“How does a double wedding sound?” he asked.

Lark shook her head, but kissed him again, reassuringly. “We don’t have to rush this,” she told him, staying close. “Let’s just live together and find our own time, okay?”

Jason nodded and lay back, sighing. A week ago he had thought he was starting a new life, reborn from the broken remains of the old one.

Now, he finally was.

* * * * *

Feeling adventurous? Don’t miss these suspenseful titles, also by Natalie J. Damschroder. Available now.

Behind the Scenes

Kennedy Smyth’s firm provides security in dangerous countries. She doesn’t usually take on “frivolous” jobs, but when an old friend asks her to protect his son’s movie shoot, she finds it hard to refuse. Also hard to resist is the film’s charismatic star, Rogan St. James. But Kennedy finds herself in a vulnerable position when she discovers that the terrorist isn’t actually out to derail the film—she’s the real target.

Fight or Flight

Eighteen years ago, a group of men killed Regan Miller’s boyfriend and tried to kidnap her daughter, Kelsey. When Kelsey goes away to college, Regan finally begins to relax. She even starts to think she can have a real relationship, perhaps with her flirtatious neighbor, Tyler Sloane. Then Regan is attacked again. Desperate to get to her daughter, Regan accepts Tyler’s help—despite her suspicions about him. She knows nothing about Tyler but he knows a shocking amount about her past…

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About the Author

Natalie J. Damschroder became a writer the hard way—by avoiding it. Though she wrote her first book at age six
(My Very Own Reading Book)
and received accolades for her academic writing, she hated doing it. Colonial food and the habits of the European starling just weren’t her thing. Shortly after graduating from college, however, she found her niche—romantic fiction. So instead of using her Ohio Wesleyan University degree in geography and environmental studies, she became a novelist. She has had ten novels and nearly two dozen short stories and novellas published in ebook and print since 2000, to almost universally positive reviews.
Fight or Flight,
her first romantic adventure for Carina Press, is a 2012 EPIC Award finalist in the Romantic Suspense category.

When not writing, Natalie works as a chiropractic assistant and freelance editor, as well as mother of two awesome daughters (dubbed “the anti-teenagers”) and wife of the most patient husband in the world. Her three cats remind her when it’s time to stop working and feed them—otherwise, she might never leave the computer (until
Supernatural
comes on TV). You can find her online at
www.nataliedamschroder.com
, on Twitter as @NJDamschroder, or on Facebook under /nataliedamschroder.

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ISBN: 9781426893636

Copyright © 2012 by Natalie J. Damschroder

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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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