Intrusion (31 page)
Authors: Cynthia Justlin
Tags: #science, #Romance, #Suspense, #adventure, #action, #Military, #security, #technology, #special forces, #thriller
Cam tensed, curling his fingers into his palms. “Okay.”
She continued to stare at him, silent. And then, finally, just when he was about to streak naked and beg her to stay, she took a deep breath and delivered the crushing blow. “I…love you.”
He blinked, his head snapped back. “Wait. What?”
“You heard me.”
His heart pounded in his chest. Could she really have said—?
“I think I need to hear it again.”
Her teeth grazed her lips as she fought a grin. “I love you, Cameron Scott.”
The words found his heart and made it beat faster. “I could’ve gotten you killed. I was so damn selfish, I almost lost you.”
No, idiot. Don’t talk her out of it.
But, his mouth just kept on running. “I failed you. Not at taking down Peterson and his psychotic brother, but at what mattered most to you. I wasn’t there when you needed me.”
She tipped her head. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that it’s not whether you win or lose,” she reached up and touched his cheek, “it’s how you love. Nobody’s flawless, Cam. We both have scars, we’ve both made mistakes, but love shouldn’t be dependent on perfection.”
His throat closed, his eyes stung. Not dependent on perfection? He’d never believed such a thing was possible. Until Audra.
He sucked in a ragged breath. “You’ve just given me the greatest damn gift I could ever ask for.” He swallowed hard and looked into her beautiful eyes. “Audra, I love you. So damn much.”
A shaky smile lifted her mouth. “I should have trusted you when you said it the first time. But I was so afraid you’d use those words to hurt me.”
“Never. I may pull some dumb ass stunts in the future, but I’ll never abuse your love.”
“I know.”
He couldn’t tell who moved first, but suddenly his lips were on hers, tasting her—loving her. He reached for her and she curled her hands behind his head, her fingers sliding into his hair.
He lifted his mouth from hers. She started to pull back, but he tightened his arms, imprisoning her in his embrace.
“I don’t think I can let you go.”
Her brows furrowed, but her eyes shone with love. “For how long?”
Emotion lodged in his throat. “Forever?”
She pressed against him, planting her hands on his chest. “Well, we do make one hell of a team.”
He slid his palms along her skin. “It’s bound to get messy.”
“You know, I’m kind of starting to appreciate messy.” Her fingers twined in his shirt. She arched into his touch.
“Yeah?” He grinned. “Are you up for a little messy right now?”
She shrugged one shoulder, pressing her body against his. “I suppose I could handle it.”
“Mmm. That’s an interesting invitation. Sounds like a win for me.”
“Cam!”
He laughed as a blush tinted her cheeks. “Don’t worry, I’m not afraid to lose every once in awhile so you can have a turn, too. In fact, I think I’ll enjoy it quite a bit.”
He shoved his fingers into her hair and crushed his lips to hers, smothering her protest. Yep, failure was quickly becoming one of his new favorite words. Success was no longer defined by coming out on top. Sometimes the bottom was fun too. Because in the end, it was love that made him worthy, not the number of wins and losses.
Although, as he got in Audra’s car and skimmed a hand beneath her shirt, finding her smooth skin, and taking her soft mouth for another heated kiss, he was pretty sure this one was going to end in a draw.
More from Cynthia Justlin
Her Own Best Enemy (The Remnants, Book 1)
Separation Anxiety (a Remnants Novella)
Edge of Light
Acknowledgments
I am so grateful that fate made Intrusion a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® finalist and brought me all of my fabulously awesome sisters in the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood. Love you all!
A HUGE thank you to both Naomi and Farrah Rochon, who were my first (and biggest) supporters back when I first decided to take my writing seriously. Words cannot express how much I value your encouragement and friendship. And to all the Dreadnaughts from the Judith McNaught Bulletin Board, thanks for cheering me on and giving me a wonderful place to share my love of JM.
Thanks to Jeannie Lin, Amanda Brice, Debbie Mumford and Debbie Wiley for reading early and/or later versions of this book and providing excellent feedback.
For Kat Cantrell, best friend extraordinaire, most excellent critique partner, and the other half of my brain, you know how I feel about you, but I never like to miss an opportunity to tell you again how much I love you!
Lewis, for your support, your patience, and most of all for always making me laugh when I need it most—I love you forever and ever.
About the Author
Cynthia is a former Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Finalist in Romantic Suspense. She started out writing contemporary romance, but when all her plots began to turn dastardly, she decided to stop fighting the urge to throw explosions, dead bodies, and evil villains into her books. With her B.S. in the chemical sciences and her love of the periodic table (yes, she’s a geek and proud of it!) she finally found the perfect mix of love and danger to put into her stories. She now spends her days penning fast paced action adventure romantic suspense.
Cynthia lives in the Southwest with her husband, two sons, and a cat with an attitude. Find out more about her by visiting her website at
http://www.cynthiajustlin.com
, following her on twitter at
http://twitter.com/cynthiajustlin
, or liking her Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/CynthiaJustlinAuthor
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