Avenged (Hostage Rescue Team Series) (Volume 5) (35 page)

Nate groaned and backed her up against the nearest wall, right beside the stall. Taya tightened her legs around his waist and rubbed her pelvis against him. He held her up with his body and kissed her hard and deep, wanting to be inside her. Something ruffled his hair. It took a moment for it to register that both Taya’s hands were locked around his shoulders. Which meant someone else was stroking his hair.

He jerked away from the alien touch in time to see the horse throw its head back, eyes wide as it stared back at him in astonishment from over the top of the stall door.

Taya laughed. “Was she putting the moves on you?”

“I think so, yeah.” He reached up one hand, touched his hair. None of it seemed to be missing.

“As a female I can’t say I blame her. You’re pretty irresistible.” Her legs slid from around his waist, her expression becoming curious. “What’s this?” She reached around to the small of his back, tapped the hard bulge tucked into his waistband.

“Oh. Brought you something.” He withdrew the wrapped package and handed it to her.

Taya glanced up at him, a little smile on her lips. “Can I open it now?”

“Sure.”

She tore off the paper to reveal the camo print notebook, shot him a questioning glance before opening it. “What is…” She flipped through a few pages, looked up into his eyes. “Is this…?”

“My journal,” he said, reaching out to glide a knuckle down her cheek. Her skin was so damn soft. She was a contradiction in terms to him, and one that he found endlessly fascinating: a woman with the inner strength to rival any Spec Ops member he’d ever known, yet she had such a kind, soft heart beneath that hard-won armor. Resilient. Independent yet willing to compromise. Formidable in her confidence and strength of will, yet gentle and loving.

He loved her so hard it hurt.

“I bought it the night after you stayed at my place,” he continued. “I knew if I was going to have a real shot with you going forward then I needed to get my shit together once and for all. You said the writing thing really helped you so I called my counselor and talked to her about it. She thought it would be good for me too. So I wrote in it every day since. I’ve been working hard at it.”

Taya leafed through the pages until she came to the end and looked back up into his eyes. “It’s full.”

“Yeah. Guess I had a lot to say.”

The tenderness in her eyes slayed him. “Nathan, I’m so proud of you.”

Her pride in him made him feel twenty feet tall. He let out a relieved breath. “I want to read it to you. That’s my next step, if you’re okay with it.”

“Of course it’s okay. I’d love for you to read it to me, as long as you feel comfortable doing it.”

“That’s the thing, I am. And I wouldn’t be with anyone else except you. You make me feel…whole.” He didn’t know how else to say it, how else to explain himself, except he needed her to know he was trying like hell to deal with his issues. “I know I’ve got a long way to go before I get to the same place you’re at, but I’m willing to put in the work to get there. I feel safe with you and I’m ready to move forward, let go of all the stuff that happened before. Like you said, I’m doing it for me. I’m sick of my past having any kind of hold over me. So I’m going to do whatever it takes to make peace with it.”

Her answering smile lit up her whole face, made her gray eyes sparkle like gems. “Then I’ll gladly listen to whatever you want to say.”

Warmth kindled in his chest. She did that; warmed him from the inside out, just by being her. “Good, because I love you.”

She froze, her eyes widening slightly.

He nodded, laughed at her shocked expression. “Yep, I love you. That’s what I came here to say. I love you and I’m a better man because of it, but not as good a man as I’ll be down the road if you stand by me.”

Her eyes filled with tears and she flung her arms around him. “I love you too,” she blurted out against his neck. “So, so much. And of course I’ll stand by you.”

Nate felt like his heart might burst. He hugged her hard. “Would you move to Virginia with me? When your dad’s strong enough. I know you need to be here for a while longer, but after that, I want you in my bed every night so I can wake up beside you each morning.”

She gave a soggy laugh, her face still buried in his neck. “There you go again with the romance.”

“Oh, baby, have I got plans for you.” He stroked a hand over her back, fascinated by the combination of softness and strength that was uniquely her. Then his stomach rumbled, making her smile. He was starving, hadn’t eaten since lunchtime. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have any bacon in the house, would you? Because I’d kill for a BLT right now.”

Laughing, Taya pulled back to wipe at her eyes. “Yeah, I think we’ve got some bacon. But I’m not serving it to you in just an apron and heels. My father’s had enough heart attacks for this lifetime, thanks.”

Nate grinned and wiped away the last traces of tears drying on her cheeks. “But I’d be putty in your hands.”

Taya flashed him a knowing smile full of such feminine power that it made his heart thud. “Oh, I think you’re already there,” she said, shooting a sultry look at him over her shoulder as she walked toward the door.

Yeah, she was right. But it went both ways. And by night’s end he’d make sure she was putty in his hands as well.

—The End—

Thank you for reading AVENGED. I really hope you enjoyed it and that you’ll consider leaving a review at one of your favorite online retailers. It’s a great way to help other readers discover new books.

If you liked AVENGED and would like to read more, turn the page for a list of my other books. And if you don’t want to miss any future releases, please feel free to join
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Romantic Suspense

Hostage Rescue Team Series

Marked

Targeted

Hunted

Disavowed

Avenged

Titanium Security Series

Ignited

Singed

Burned

Extinguished

Rekindled

Bagram Special Ops Series

Deadly Descent

Tactical Strike

Lethal Pursuit

Danger Close

Collateral Damage

Suspense Series

Out of Her League

Cover of Darkness

No Turning Back

Relentless

Absolution

Paranormal Romance

Empowered Series

Darkest Caress

Historical Romance

The Vacant Chair

Erotic Romance
(writing as
Callie Croix
)

Deacon’s Touch

Dillon’s Claim

No Holds Barred

Touch Me

Let Me In

Covert Seduction

Once again a shout out to my A-Team: Katie, Kim, Joan and Todd. Couldn’t do this without you.

And to my incredible, unbelievably supportive readers, THANK YOU! If not for you I wouldn’t be able to follow my dream and make the characters in my head come to life on the page.

NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards and has been nominated for both the Daphne du Maurier and the National Readers’ Choice Awards. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and family.

You can visit Kaylea at
www.kayleacross.com
. If you would like to be notified of future releases, please join
her newsletter
. Direct link:
http://kayleacross.com/v2/contact/