Dangerous Surrender (21 page)

Excerpt from

Bound to Danger

Deadly Ops Series

by Katie Reus

Copyright © 2014 Katie Reus

Forcing her body to obey her when all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and cry until she passed out, she got up. Cool air rushed over her exposed back and backside as her feet hit the chilly linoleum floor. She wasn’t wearing any panties and the hospital gown wasn’t covering much of her. She didn’t care.

Right now she didn’t care about much at all.

Sometime when she’d been asleep her dirty, rumpled gown had been removed from the room. And someone had left a small bag of clothes on the bench by the window. No doubt Nash had brought her something to wear. He’d been in to see her a few times, but she’d asked him to leave each time. She felt like a complete bitch because she knew he just wanted to help, but she didn’t care. Nothing could help, and being alone with her pain was the only way she could cope right now.

Feeling as if she were a hundred years old, she’d started unzipping the small brown leather bag when the door opened. As she turned to look over her shoulder, she found Nash, a uniformed police officer, and another really tall, thuggish-looking man entering.

Her eyes widened in recognition. The tattoos were new, but the
thug
was Cade O’Reilly. He’d served in the Marines with her brother. They’d been best friends and her brother, Riel, named after her father, had even brought him home a few times. But that was years ago. Eight to be exact. It was hard to forget the man who’d completely cut her out of his life after her brother died, as if she meant nothing to him.

Cade towered over Nash—who was pretty tall himself—and had a sleeve of tattoos on one arm and a couple on the other. His jet-black hair was almost shaved, the skull trim close to his head, just like the last time she’d seen him. He was…intimidating. Always had been. And startlingly handsome in that bad-boy way she was sure had made plenty of women… Yeah, she wasn’t even going there.

She swiveled quickly, putting her back to the window so she wasn’t flashing them. Reaching around to her back, she clasped the hospital gown together. “You can’t knock?” she practically shouted, her voice raspy from crying, not sure whom she was directing the question to.

“I told them you weren’t to be bothered, but—”

The police officer cut Nash off, his gaze kind but direct. “Ms. Cervantes, this man is from the NSA and needs to ask you some questions. As soon as you’re done, the doctors will release you.”

“I know who he is.” She bit the words out angrily, earning a surprised look from Nash and a controlled look from Cade.

She might know Cade, or she had at one time, but she hadn’t known he worked for the NSA. After her brother’s death he’d stopped communicating with her. Her brother had brought him home during one of their short leaves, and she and Cade had become friends.
Good friends.
They’d e-mailed all the time, for almost a year straight. Right near the end of their long correspondence, things had shifted between them, had been heading into more than friendly territory. Then after Riel died, it was as if Cade had too. It had cut her so deep to lose him on top of her brother. And now he showed up in the hospital room after her mom’s death and wanted to talk to her? Hell no.

She’d been harassing the nurses to find a doctor who would discharge her, and now she knew why they’d been putting her off. They’d done a dozen tests and she didn’t have a brain injury. She wasn’t exhibiting any signs of having a concussion except for the memory loss, but the doctors were convinced that this was because of shock and trauma at what she’d apparently witnessed.

Nash started to argue, but the cop hauled him away, talking in low undertones, shutting the door behind them. Leaving her alone with this giant of a man.

Feeling raw and vulnerable, Maria wrapped her arms around herself. The sun had almost set, so even standing by the window didn’t warm her up. She just felt so damn cold. Because of the room and probably grief. And now to be faced with a dark reminder of her past was too much.

Excerpt from

Under His Protection

Red Stone Security Series

by Katie Reus

Copyright © 2014 Katie Reus

Julieta Mederos looked up from her computer screen as the bell above her shop door jingled. She inwardly cringed. She thought she’d locked the door. It was ten minutes until closing but as the owner of Julieta’s Silk and Lace she could make executive decisions. And it was Friday night, she was starving, and the employee she’d had scheduled to close this evening had called in sick. Again.

Since no one else had been able to come in, she’d been stuck covering.
Again.
She hated to let anyone go, but tomorrow morning she was making the call.

Shoving those thoughts away she smiled at the beautiful couple entering. “Hi, please feel free to shop around and let me know if you have any questions about anything.”

The woman was tall, slender and wearing a long, bright print Bohemian-style dress with simple gold sandals. She was truly stunning, the kind of woman Julieta wouldn’t be surprised to see gracing the cover of a magazine. She smiled back, her expression tentative. “I saw the hours on your door, are you sure you’re still open?” When she fingered the strap of her purse, the giant diamond on her left hand, ring finger glinted under the colorful track lighting.

Julieta nodded, already liking the woman from that one thoughtful question. “I’m Julieta so I can stay open as late as you’d like.” She flicked a glance to the tall, blond man standing next to her. He looked like a sexy Viking god. Well, a sexy, angry one. He was practically glaring at her.
Okay then
.

Maybe Julieta’s discomfort showed on her face because the woman nudged the male in the sharp black suit next to her. “I’m going to shop and my friend here is going to sit right over there.” There was an edge to her voice as the woman pointed to a plush couch next to a glass-cased display of discreet sex toys.

Practically growling, the man went to stand next to the couch, turning his body so that he had a view of the front door and the rest of the shop. As Julieta watched him she realized just how huge he was. Most people were taller than her anyway, but with broad shoulders and a muscular body even a suit couldn’t hide, a sliver of anxiety threaded through her veins. She’d never been robbed before, but she wasn’t stupid enough to think it couldn’t happen to her.

Julieta sold high-end lingerie, but she also sold affordable, quality fashion jewelry and sex toys. Some days it amazed her how many toys she sold. Remaining where she was, she placed her hand on the silent alarm button under the display case. “Just let me know if you need help.” She made it a point not to crowd her customers unless it was clear they needed assistance and she wanted to keep some distance between herself and the big man in case he tried anything.

“I actually do need help. My friend Elizabeth Porter recommended this place to me,” the woman said as she strode farther into the shop, her gold bangles jangling around her wrist noisily.

“Lizzy?”

Smiling widely, the woman nodded. “Yes. We’re new friends actually. I just moved to Miami a month ago and my fiancé works for the same company Lizzy and her husband do.”

Julieta let her hand drop from hovering over the silent alarm. That explained the man’s military-style stance as if he was guarding or casing the place. She tilted her head to the man standing stiffly in the front of her store. “He’s with Red Stone too?”

She nodded. “Yes, but he’s not my fiancé. That’s Ivan Mitchell. He’s my personal guard.”

Julieta started to raise her eyebrows then caught herself. “Well I’m more than happy to help a friend of Lizzy’s. Our mothers go way back and I’ve known Lizzy since we were kids.”

The woman smiled. “That’s what she said. She said she’s a couple years younger than you and used to follow you around like a puppy dog whenever your parents got together.”

At that, Julieta let out a sharp bark of laughter and rounded the counter, all anxiety about the sexy Ivan dissipating. “I don’t know about that, but she was quite attentive.”

The woman’s shoulders relaxed slightly, her sun-kissed arms a nice bronze. “I’m Mina.”

“Nice to meet you. You can call me Jules. Why don’t you tell me what I can help you with?”

The woman flicked a glance to the front of the store. Julieta followed her line of sight to see the sexy Viking watching them intently again. She squirmed under his glare. It was like he expected her to pull out a weapon at any moment.

Not liking the way he watched her, she turned back to Mina. The tall woman bent slightly, as if wanting to tell her a secret. “I didn’t want to bring him but he insisted on coming inside.” She let out an annoyed sigh before continuing. “Lizzy said you sold the best lingerie in town and that you sold fun…toys,” she said in a whisper. Her cheeks tinged crimson and Julieta bit back a smile.

It was always fun to introduce women to their first sex toys. Sadly for her, toys had been her only form of companionship the last three years. Gah, she couldn’t even think about that. Nodding, she said, “Are you looking for solo toys or something you can use with your fiancé? Maybe as a surprise for him?” She was just guessing but she’d gotten good at reading her customers the past couple years.

“Definitely with him. And yes, it’s a surprise.”

“If we can move your scary bodyguard away from the case up front, I think I’ve got a few things that might interest you. If you decide you like something, I can have it delivered or you can take it with you today—discreetly packaged. And if you don’t find anything you like, I have a catalogue you can check out too.”

Relief bled into Mina’s dark green eyes. “My fiancé, Alex, is coming back tonight from an out of town trip so I’m sure I’ll find something.”

Julieta nodded and forced herself to ignore the intent stare from the blond-haired, blue-eyed god standing up front as she led Mina to the display case. She’d met enough judgmental men to last a lifetime, thank you very much. Maybe he didn’t like the fact that she sold sex toys. Heaven forbid women please themselves on their own. Whatever his problem was, she didn’t give a crap. He wasn’t her customer and she didn’t have time to worry about it.

Acknowledgments

A great big thank you to my family for putting up with my hectic schedule. Your patience is so appreciated! I’m often saying thanks to the usual crowd and this time is no different. Thank you to Kari Walker for her help getting this book just right, Joan Turner for copy editing, Jaycee with Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs for her wonderful cover, and Amy with Author E.M.S. for always fitting me into her schedule. To my readers, thank you for reading this series. I hope you enjoyed Roman’s story! As always, I’m so thankful to God for being a continuing presence in my life.

Complete Booklist

Red Stone Security Series

No One to Trust

Danger Next Door

Fatal Deception

Miami, Mistletoe & Murder

His to Protect

Breaking Her Rules

Protecting His Witness

Sinful Seduction

Under His Protection

The Serafina: Sin City Series

First Surrender

Sensual Surrender

Sweetest Surrender

Dangerous Surrender

Deadly Ops Series

Targeted

Bound to Danger

Non-series Romantic Suspense

Running From the Past

Everything to Lose

Dangerous Deception

Dangerous Secrets

Killer Secrets

Deadly Obsession

Danger in Paradise

His Secret Past

Paranormal Romance

Destined Mate

Protector’s Mate

A Jaguar’s Kiss

Tempting the Jaguar

Enemy Mine

Heart of the Jaguar

Moon Shifter Series (paranormal romance)

Alpha Instinct

Lover’s Instinct (novella)

Primal Possession

Mating Instinct

His Untamed Desire (novella)

Avenger’s Heat

Hunter Reborn (2015)

Darkness Series

Darkness Awakened

Taste of Darkness

About the Author

Katie Reus is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of the Red Stone Security series, the Moon Shifter series and the Deadly Ops series. She fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom’s stash. Years later she loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it.

However, she didn’t always know she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times, she finally graduated summa cum laude with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she discovered a new love. Writing. She now spends her days writing dark paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense. For more information on Katie please visit her website:
www.katiereus.com
. Also find her on
twitter @katiereus
or visit her on facebook at:
www.facebook.com/katiereusauthor
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