The second book in my
Titanium Security Series is out now! The hero of
Singed is a 42 year old former SF master sergeant and he's hands down my favorite hero of the series. I'm also a sucker for second chance at love stories so I loved every moment of writing this story, even when parts of it dealt with the very difficult and sobering problem of PTSD and suicide among our returning veterans.
She walked away from him once…
Struggling to live with her decision to walk away from the only man
she ever loved and watching helplessly while her brother succumbs to his
battle with severe PTSD, NSA analyst Claire Tierney’s life is at an all
time low. The final hit comes when she accesses classified information
at work that might get her fired. Instead, she’s assigned to a joint
taskforce charged with hunting down a Taliban assassin planning an
attack on American soil, and finally has something productive to focus
on. Until she meets the rest of the team and learns she’ll be working
with the last person on earth she wants further contact with; her ex.
She knows letting him go was the biggest mistake of her life, but just
when she thinks things can’t get any worse, new intel points to the
assassin’s intended target. Her.
This time he’s not letting her go…
As a former Special Forces Master Sergeant and second-in-command of
his Titanium Security team, Gage Wallace can handle anything, except
being forced to go through life without Claire. When she abruptly walked
out on him six months ago, his whole world caved in. It’s clear she’s
still determined to keep her distance, but when she’s named a possible
target of the very cell they’re trying to dismantle, Gage will stop at
nothing to ensure she’s safe. When tragedy destroys Claire’s defenses
and the explosive desire between them ignites once more, this time he’s
not letting her go. Too late they discover that the danger confronting
them is far greater than anyone ever realized, and it’s a race against
time to stop a terrorist from unleashing hell on them all.
Excerpt:
He leaned even closer, placed his hands on the counter on either side
of her to cage her in, all the while holding her gaze. “No,” he said
again, softer this time.
A spurt of panic flickered in her eyes. She tried to duck out from
under his arm but he blocked her easily, pinning her hips with his own.
Her head snapped up, those wide gray eyes filled with shock as she felt
his erection pressing into her belly. She jerked her eyes away,
swallowed again. “Let me go. Right now, Gage, I mean it.”
She was strung so tight she was on the verge of shattering. A volcano
about to erupt. And God, he’d love nothing more than to incinerate in
the ensuing explosion with her. He wasn’t worried about her hurting him.
Whatever she could dish out, he could take it and more. “No.”
His calm tone acted like a trigger. With an inarticulate sound of
rage, she twisted and shoved at his shoulders. Gage caught her wrists
and quickly shifted her away from the counter, backed her up against the
kitchen wall and pinned her there with his weight. He had only a moment
for his brain to register the feel of her soft curves molded to him
before she began struggling, trying to shove him away. Not happening.
He held her there, refusing to back down. Her teeth were bared, eyes
narrowed, breath coming in short gasps. Low, animal sounds came from her
throat as she fought and got nowhere. He could tell it infuriated her
more that he’d subdued her so easily, overpowered her with his greater
strength. Recognizing she couldn’t win, after a minute or two she
stilled, quivering with fury, every line of her luscious body rigid with
anger and outrage. With him so close she was forced to tilt her head
back to look into his face. The warm puffs of her uneven breaths bathed
his skin.
“F*ck you, let me go,” she snapped, her voice ragged, tight with emotion.
Hands holding her wrists on either side of her head, he waited for
her to calm down and meet his gaze. At last she did and he could see the
turmoil written there. All the anger and pain, the physical need she
was trying to hide from him. Her sweet citrus scent, intensified by her
increased body heat, swirled around him. He could get drunk on her so
easily. Just lean down and put his mouth to the rapidly thrumming pulse
in her neck, taste that soft, fragrant skin.
Holding her gaze, he let one heartbeat of charged silence spread
between them. Another. Letting her know without words that he was fully
capable of keeping her like this for as long as he wanted. His body was
primed, begging him to grab her, tear that tight black skirt and top off
her and force her to vent everything that was eating at her from the
inside, replace it with white-hot sexual release.
The throb between his legs bordered on painful. He shifted his hips
against her and bit back a moan at the feel of her against his erection,
noting the way her pupils expanded and her nostrils flared. The
evidence of her arousal kicked his lust into high gear. Gage forced
himself to take a single, calming breath, waited until the roar in his
ears subsided. If this was the last time he got to have her, he was
going to make it one hell of a goodbye.
Staring straight into her eyes, he released her wrists and murmured, “Turn it loose.”
*end excerpt*
Hope you enjoy Gage and Claire's story!
Kaylea Cross
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
family. You can find Kaylea through her website, Twitter, Facebook, and her blog.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)