Read Secure Target (Elite Operators) Online
Authors: Rebecca Crowley
Secure Target (Elite Operators) (26 page)
She turned to pierce him with a displeased look.
Well, it wasn’t.
“That was different. We were carried away. This time, we’re just walking in. It’s…it’s…”
“Lacking romance?”
She snorted on her laughter. She actually snorted. Then kept right on laughing.
“What? I can be romantic.” That night in the cabin was
damn
romantic. Fire burning, a soft bed, beers and pretzels… He frowned. Maybe that last bit hadn’t been the stuff women dream about, but sitting across from her on the cabin’s rug while she clutched the sheet over her chest, watching her throat move as she swallowed from the long-neck? It was damn romantic to him.
Susie’s hand fell on his chest, soothing over his heart. He liked it, until she used the other to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Don’t hurt yourself thinking about it. Just trust me, romance isn’t something I think you’re able to do on purpose.”
Interesting. “So you think I’ve done it on accident all this time?”
“No, I think you’ve tried it with a
sledgehammer
all this time.” But she was smiling while she said it. Relaxed. Which meant she must not mind sledgehammers too much…
He saw the exact instant she realized what he meant to do. Her eyes widened, the tension in her shoulders coming back in a heartbeat. “Locke…”
“I’m not going to break my word.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers, stroking down and under to tip her chin up. Then he ran his lips over hers, a taste of a kiss. She moaned, just a little one, but it was almost enough to push him past his limit. He’d waited so long to feel her again. To touch her. Hunger threatened to steal his intentions, feeding the urge to sink his hands into her hair and hold her in place so he could kiss her the way he’d been aching to for months. Drowning himself in her feel and warmth and flavor… He almost gave in, but he couldn’t rush this. Couldn’t overwhelm her. She had to come to him on her own or she wouldn’t come at all… “I’m just setting the mood.”
“There wasn’t supposed to be a mood,” she reminded, but her hands slid up his arms and she leaned into him.
It was all he could do not to shout in relief. Instead, he kissed her again, firmer this time, and damn she felt good. Warm and strong, her body sinking into his and her needy little touches at the back of his neck and shoulders telling him he was doing this right. He wanted to squeeze her closer, run his hands down her back and mold her to the heavy rise of his cock, but more than ever, he needed to behave. But it was incrementally easier to keep his hands loose, let her guide the moment, the intensity. Next time, he promised himself, next time he wouldn’t need to hold back.
“Sure there was,” he responded softly, straining to keep his tone reassuring.
She tilted her head back, and he followed her unspoken request, kissing and caressing his way down her throat.
“Restfulness, remember? Let me help you rest.”
Her moan this time was full of caution. “This is asking for trouble.”
“No.” His palms settled on her hips, his thumbs finding their way under the hem of her shirt. Silken skin trembled beneath his calluses. “I’m asking you to trust me. For one night, let me prove that you can trust me.”
Her eyes gleamed, shadows of pain he couldn’t miss in their depths. Pain and secrets he hoped to God he was wrong about. “Maybe you’re not the one who can’t be trusted.”
“Then trust me enough for both of us.”
He brought his mouth down on hers and they both gave in.
Secure Target
Rebecca Crowley
She’s just an ordinary small-town girl…until a killer makes her his next target.
Elite Operators, Book 1
South African hostage rescue operative Bronnik Mason has been chasing a serial killer around the globe for over a year. Four women have already died, and he’s sworn there won’t be a fifth. Even if, this time, he has to offer up more than a few pints of his own blood.
But when it comes to safeguarding the killer’s next target, Bronnik realizes this case could put his professional boundaries to the test.
Having grown up in the shadow of two delinquent brothers, dental receptionist Lacey Cross is impeccably well-behaved, dutiful, hard working—and bored. Until Bronnik storms into the office to sweep her into protective custody. Suddenly, her nondescript life just got a lot more interesting.
Racing against a blizzard, dodging uncannily accurate bullets, Bronnik finds his concentration getting blown all to hell. Before he realizes Lacey’s slipped under his skin, she becomes more than just a body he’s sworn to protect. She is the woman he will risk his own life to save—whether she likes it or not.
Warning: Contains a sexy South African cop with the heart of a lion and by-the-book determination, and a mild-mannered receptionist with a reckless streak a mile wide. Throw in love on the run, and it’s full “steam” ahead!
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Secure Target
Copyright © 2014 by Rebecca Crowley
ISBN: 978-1-61921-923-6
Edited by Jennifer Miller
Cover by Kanaxa
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: March 2014
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