Hard Target (16 page)

I eye him briefly, then let my gaze slide away to focus on a point above my shoulder. “I might have committed identity theft and fraud to get a work visa.”

“Might have or did?”

“
I did
, okay? I’m a criminal, Ben. My real name is Thelma Sue Barnes and I’m a dirty, rotten criminal.” She lets out a long-suffering sigh while I stand there in complete shock.

“
Thelma Sue
is your real name?”

She nods. “Except I’m going to avoid serving hard time because of your cousin, so I don’t even have that to fall back on when I go home. My life is over.”

I seize upon that very useful nugget of information. “So your life is ruined?”

“Yes.”

“This is the best bloody news I’ve heard.”

She gives me a withering look.

“You’re to be deported as well?” I ask, even more hopeful.

“Maxim said that he couldn’t help me but so much, so yes, I’m being deported as soon as I’m well enough to leave St. Mary’s. Don’t know why you’re so happy about it,” she mutters. “Oh wait, you get out of taking me any place I want or letting me drive your car to my heart’s content. Or buying me shoes either.”

“If you’re deported then you won’t be able live here in London.”

“Seriously, Ben, if this is your way of cheering me up—stop now.”

“You don’t understand, love. I thought that by leaving you, that you would have a chance at a normal life. A life with minivans and suburbs and the PTA.”

“When have I ever said I wanted that?”

She’s never said that actually. “If we were to stay together, there is no way we could stay in London.”

“If I wanted to be with you, I wouldn’t care.”

“Truly?”

“Past tense,” she all but growls at me.

“You mean to say that you don’t care for me anymore?” I move closer to the bed. Maybe there’s a chance for us after all.

“I care about you as much as you care about me,” she says, her voice dropping to a whisper.

I fall to my knees at the side of her bed. “Then you must love me as much I do you, Thelma Sue.”

Her gaze flies to mine. “Shut up.”

“Sorry, but that’s not happening.” I take one of her cold, small hands in mine. “You see, I thought I was doing the right thing by you, by allowing you to have a normal life. I thought I was being the hero. But I was wrong.”

She sniffs. “I’m listening.”

“I was so wrong that I’m down on my knees, begging you to take me back. To love me as much as I love you.”

“I already do, you jerk.” Finally, she looks at me. “I’ve loved you since we BASE jumped from the top of PharmGen.”

“Take me back,
mllaya moyna
.”

“Don’t you start sweet talking me in Russian, Ben.”

“As soon as the doctor discharges you, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go… as long as I’m by your side, Morgan.”

Her face softens. “I want to trust you, but—”

“Trust the word of a man who’s saved you time multiple times.”

“Maxim saved me one of those times,” she points out, just to be contrary and I love her even more for it.

“And I’m in his debt.” I kiss her hand. “I swear that I won’t leave you, not until my last breath.”

“I want to believe you.”

Grabbing the ring that had slipped off her finger from my pocket, I slip it on back on where it belongs. “This led me to you, when nothing else would.”

“You said you would always find me.”

“And now I’m vowing to never let you go.”

Her blue eyes search my face. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I don’t give a damn what your name is, or what you did to get here. You take me as I am and I feel the exact same way about you.”

“Why don’t you show me?”

“I would love to show you—once you’re fully recovered,” I assure her says, but I climb into bed and take her into my arms anyway.

*

One month later

Burmese Fire Balloon Festival, near Inle Lake, Myanmar

It’s the last
day of the Fire Balloon Festival. The streets are filled to capacity as everyone watches enormous hot air balloons being launched into the air in order to warn off the last of the evil spirits.

Suddenly, fireworks fill the skies and the crowd cheers.

Morgan whistles her approval, glancing back at me every so often.

“If you don’t stop staring at me, then you’ll miss the finale,” I remind her. Rather hypocritical since I can’t take my eyes off of her.

She’s wearing a white linen top with a matching skirt. There are vibrant flowers threaded in her hair and gold bangles at her wrists and ankles. Those bangles are my favorite present to her, mostly because I like the sound of them while I make love to her.

“If you think you’re buttering me up, it won’t work,” she says.

“Why would I need to butter you up?” I grab her playfully, pulling her into an alley. My gun is holstered should we need it. While I haven’t returned to the Bratva, I haven’t left it all behind. “Have I done something terribly wrong to displease you.”

She kisses me thoroughly, nearly making me forget my name. “Not yet, but I’m thinking on it.”

“Does the thought of marrying me scare you that badly?”

“No, but the thought of you asking me because of a potentially life altering, like almost dying, event does. Ask me when I’m so full of life, that you can’t help but want to be with me forever.”

I narrow my eyes at her. So much for the grand finale I arranged. “Are you ready to go back to the hotel room?”

She nods. “Ready when you are, Mr. Romanov.”

I smack her bum. “Incorrigible, this one.”

“Don’t worry, Benji, I’ll make an honest man out of you one day,” she promises, her gaze turning hot. “But tonight, I plan to do all sorts of dirty things instead.”

Sweeping Morgan off her feet, I carry her the entire way to the hotel while silently vowing to one day convince her to marry me.

Morgan

One year later

I
’m sitting on
the beach of a tropical island—one that Ben’s grandfather gave to us an engagement present—off the coast of India. My toes are in the sand and I have a tropical drink in my hand.

It’s a virgin, due to the news I’ve been dying to share to share with my fiancé. However, I’m nervous.

“Too bad this couldn’t be a real one,” I mutter into my drink.

There’s something to be said for getting into bed with the mob.

Or at least with a former mobster who’s really a hero in disguise.

As if sensing my thoughts, Ben shoots through the water, shaking his dark head and sending water everywhere. When he spots me, he smiles, holding up he spear he used to fish.

“That’s my man!” Setting my drink down, I clap for him.

He walks to me, emerging from the ocean like my own Neptune and planting his spear into the sand. The fish flip-flops on the end of the spear, and I have to focus on him instead, hoping that my face is isn’t green.

It isn’t a bad view at all. His navy blue shorts are the kind that men in Europe wear to the beach—a shorter pair of boxer briefs that do great things for his muscular ass.

“Nice swimsuit.”

His gaze drops to my chest. “Nice tits. Not sure if the world is prepared for a pair as pretty as yours, though.”

“You said that no one would see me.” I’m wearing nothing but a pair of hot pink bikini bottoms and my engagement ring.

He nods at the yacht anchored in the cove. “They can see you.”

I shrug. “You’re topless.”

His gaze travels lower, to my belly, and then back up again, a cocky smile on his sexy lips. “Anything to share?”

A gasp leaves me. “You
know
.”

He laughs, sitting down in front of me and taking my hands. “Yeah, I know. You’re not exactly secretive.”

“You found the pregnancy test.” I narrow my eyes. “Were you spying on me?”

“It was on the counter. Hard to miss.”

I pout a little. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“Trust me. I was incredibly surprised when I realized what those two pink lines represented.”

“And happy?” I bite my lip, nervous butterflies zooming around in my stomach.

He kisses my nose, drops of water hitting my chest and making me gasp a little. “Incredibly happy.”

“Guess I’ll have to make an honest man of you.”

“If I’d known that all it would take to get you to finally marry me is a baby, I would have knocked you up a lot sooner so you could be so full of life that I’d have to marry you.”

“How romantic,” I say dryly.

He takes my hand and stands, pulling me to my feet. “I think you need to get out of the sun.”

“But my drink,” I protest as he leads me to a cabana near the beach house.

“I’ll make another one for you.” Once we’re inside, he gathers me in his arms. “You have no idea how very sexy I find you.” One of his hands glides to my stomach. “How very primal I feel about you carrying my child.”

Desire surges, extra hard due to my hormones. I think I’m going to love this part of pregnancy. “You can show me.”

Laughing, he lowers his mouth to mine, then at the last second, he lifts his head. “As soon as you marry me.”

“Blackmailing me, are you?”

“How far along are
you
?” he asks.

I wince a little. “Four months.”

“Are you bloody serious?” His gaze drops to my stomach then comes back to rest on my face.

“I was planning on tell you.
Eventually
.”

He shakes his head. “It’s settled. The captain will marry us tonight.”

“Are you sure about this? I don’t want you to marry me just because I’m pregnant.”

He gazes into my eyes, love evident in his. “From the very start, I knew you were the woman for me. Baby or no baby, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

What can I say to that, except, “Ask me again.”

“Will you marry me, Morgan?”

“Yes. A million times yes.”

Moving Target

Releases May 17, 2016

Some rules are meant to be broken…

Mercenary Dmitry Romanov makes a living transporting packages for wealthy clients. He lives by only two rules. One, don’t ask what’s in the package. Two, don’t open the package. Those rules have made him rich and kept him alive. Now Dmitry is ready to retire, but when a former colleague asks for a favor and won’t take no for an answer, he agrees to one last transport.

Everything is going to plan until this package starts moving…. and he breaks Rule number two.

Widow Chloe Riggs is finally ready to move on and follow the bucket list her husband made her while in the last stages of bone cancer. First up on the list, a European vacation she and her husband had always dreamed of taking. But while conquering number three on her list—dance with a stranger beneath the Eifel Tower—Chloe gets more than she bargains for and ends up in the trunk of a car, gagged and bound.

Unfortunately, Chloe’s only means of escape is with the man who’s driving her straight into danger.

Dmitry has his hands full with the feisty American, not only is she testing his resolve to stay professional, she’s making him crave her hot body. Soon, the two give into their desires and blaze a hot path all over Europe while Dmitry tries to figure a way out of his predicament.

Can Chloe convince Dmitry to break
all
the rules and not only save her, but their future together? Or will his loyalty to the Bratva doom them both?

Marquita Valentine is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense.

Since first taking the plunge in July of 2012 to self-publish, Marquita has appeared on the Top 100 Bestselling Ebooks Lists on iBooks, Amazon Kindle, and Barnes&Noble. She’s been called “one of the best new voices in romance” (Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews) and her books have been accused of being “a sexy, fun, and slightly addicting contemporary read” (The Book Queen).

When she’s not writing sexy heroes who adore their sassy heroines, she enjoys shopping, reading, and spending time with her family and friends. Married to her high school sweetheart, Marquita lives in a seriously small town in the south with her husband, two kids, and a dog.

www.marquitavalentine.com

Facebook

Twitter

If you enjoyed reading Prime Target, I would appreciate it if you would help others enjoy this book, too.

Lend it.
This e-book is lending-enabled, so please, share it with a friend.

Recommend it.
Please help other readers find this book by recommending it to friends, readers’ groups and discussion boards.

Review it.
Please tell other readers why you liked this book by reviewing it. Or visit me at
[email protected]

Join Marquita Valentine’s Newsletter!

Sign up and receive a free book!