[If you like sexy, spine-tingling romantic suspense, I've got a triple header for you today—three luscious excerpts from Linday Cross's Men of Mercy series. Enjoy! ~ Lisabet]
Blurb
Hunter
James didn’t want or need redemption.
Until
one mission turns his world upside down.
He
left Mercy to fight for his country and escape a broken heart. Years
later, he is hard. Cold. A man without mercy. Part of an elite Task
Force, he tracks a brutal terrorist to his home town. And runs into
the woman who betrayed him…
Evangeline
Videl was destroyed when Hunter left. Determined to move on, she
finds another man, but discovers too late the monster hidden beneath
his smooth smile. Struggling to find the conviction to live, Evie
finds her life spinning out of control.
Then
Hunter returns…
Forced
to band together to find the terrorist before its too late, Hunter
and Evie must learn to forgive or risk losing the promise of
redemption and their lives…
Excerpt
"Hey."
His Southern drawl put Matthew McConaughey to shame. Slow. Sexy. And
familiar.
Her gaze traveled
up the muscled torso to a pair of dark chocolate-brown eyes.
Holy crap.
"Hunter
James." His name breathed past her lips on a whisper.
For the second time
that night her heart stuttered and her stomach clenched tight.
Hunter blocked her
path, his towering six-foot-four frame packaged in a tight-fitting
black T-shirt and jeans that showcased his muscles. His arms had to
be twice the size they were the last time he’d been here. His gaze
twice as intense. Her reaction twenty times that.
According to the
town gossips, he’d been back in Mercy for a couple of weeks, but so
far he’d avoided her. And she’d prayed daily he would stay away.
Every time he came home on leave, he seemed to make it a point to
show up here. At her bar. With another woman on his arm. Making sure
she saw he’d moved on. And each time her heart broke a little more.
"Need some
help?" he asked.
Her brain took a
full minute to kick into gear, then another minute to reconnect to
her mouth. "What?"
"You look like
you could use some help. Can I do anything?" His serious voice
passed through lips that were way too tempting.
She couldn't think.
The man standing before her had gone AWOL with her heart over five
years ago, like the tail end of a twister after a storm. Part of her
had been happy he'd left. The other part had been devastated. Their
love had been wild and crazy, but ultimately destructive.
She noticed the
knotted wood cane leaning against the table beside him. "What's
with the cane?"
Hunter grinned and
shifted his weight to the side. "What's with the wet clothes?"
He extinguished his cigarette and stepped away from the doorway
leading to the upstairs apartment, his limp noticeable.
Evie crossed her
arms over her chest, the action squeezing more beer out of her bra.
Her lips pressed into a tight line and she forced herself to answer,
"Wet T-shirt contest. It's a new thing we’re trying."
Evie straightened
her arms, clenching and unclenching her fists at her sides in time
with the ticking in his jaw. A couple day’s stubble graced the hard
planes of his face, only a little shorter than the black hair buzzed
close to his scalp. He looked as if he’d been chiseled from steel.
Hunter leaned in
close and Evie's stomach knotted. Lust built inside her, pushing
against her dam of resistance. "I bet you won."
He wasn't staring
at her chest, she had to give him that. No, his target appeared to be
her mouth. His head lowered to hers and her mind went blank. If she
had been thinking like a full-grown woman, she would have jerked back
before his lips made contact. But tonight her brain had pointed and
aimed but failed to fire.
Blurb
Ranger
James accepted his best friend’s death like a good soldier. With
guilt. Regret. Vengeance. But a forbidden desire keeps pulling him
from his mission…
Desire
for his best friend’s widow.
Killed
in Action. That’s why Rachel Carter’s husband wasn’t coming
home.
A
war widow, alone and broke, Rachel struggles to revive her family’s
crop dusting service to survive. Now she takes to the skies to find
escape. Escape from the pain. From the guilt. From the
earth-shattering desire for her husband’s best friend.
Rachel
and Ranger can’t fight the attraction between them any longer. But
one fateful night cleaves their new found love in two...
Can
they find the will to fight for true love? Or will an evil so
shocking destroy their lives for good?
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Excerpt
Rachel spun around,
the yellow airplane a perfect backdrop to her beautiful face. “What
are you doing here?”
Ranger let his gaze travel from her scruffy boots, torn jeans and gloriously figure hugging tank, to the top of her dark red head. Her pink cheeks flushed.
“Like what you
see?”
Ranger approached,
her green gaze turned wary. Good. She should be worried. She’d
doused him in chemicals. His skin still itched. He reached forward,
plucked an oil stick from her ponytail and sent her hair spilling to
her shoulders. He caught the brief scent of flowers and oil.
Rachel grabbed her
hair, lips parted. Angry. Stubborn. Sexy.
He held up the
stick right in front of her face. “Oil stick.”
Rachel snatched it
from his fingers and tossed it across the room. “I told you to stay
away from me.”
Ranger shrugged,
his brain still caught on the image of her jean-clad ass hanging out
of that airplane. Forget Sports Illustrated. He had farm fucking
fantastic right here.
"Don't you
think dropping that all-natural excuse for chemicals on me is a bit
dramatic? If you want to get me naked all you had to do is ask."
Ranger gestured to himself, sweeping his hand from his head down to
his torso, Rachel's eyes followed.
That definitely
wasn't desperation or anger in her gaze.
The desire he’d
been trying to hold in check for months reared up inside him.
"You think I
want to see you naked?” Rachel snorted, lifted her chin. “Besides,
I figured anything would be an improvement to your normal smell.”
So much for her vulnerability.
The wind picked up,
blew into the hangar. Ranger shifted, praying the wind wouldn’t
open the fly on his boxers, and almost covered himself. Almost. Until
he remembered she was the reason for his stench. Instead, he stood
tall. “You’ve never had a problem with the way I smelled before.”
“My manners were
just too good to say anything.” She strode past him, punishing him
with the sexy sway of her hips.
Dammit, he was so
hard up for her, even her walk had his mind blanking. He stood there,
nearly naked, and drenched in herbicide, and she walked past him like
a stranger on a sidewalk.
Running from him.
Again.
“Rachel Ann.”
He didn’t yell, but she stopped mid-stride. Turned. Lips parted.
“You did that on
purpose,” Ranger said. She’d been hard headed even in
high-school, when he tried to break up with her, explaining that he
needed a little space to see if life in Mercy was what he really
wanted. Jumping on the marriage and kids bandwagon at eighteen years
old had scared the shit out of him. But he’d obliterated any chance
for reconnecting with Rachel when she’d seen him making out with
Tonya at the football game senior year.
He hadn’t thought
that leaving her to sow the wild oats of his youth would be a
self-fulfilling prophecy of regret. Or that his best friend would
move in on Rachel so fast and fill the void that Ranger had left in
her heart.
“You bet your ass
I did.”
“What the hell
for?” He couldn’t get her smell, her taste, her touch out of his
head. But she’d dumped shit on him for the last time.
Her eyes narrowed
and her lips flattened. “I warned you.”
Yeah, she’d
warned him to stay away from her. He’d stayed with her for weeks,
helping her after the funeral. She’d healed physically, but
remained an emotional tomb.
“I promised
Shane, if anything ever happened to him, I’d look out for you.”
He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss that angry expression
right off her face. He’d wanted her since high-school, but when
she’d married Shane, he’d vowed to put those feelings away.
Forever. But the attraction hadn’t disappeared. And he knew it
never would. “I know the chemistry between us is weird. Scary. But
dammit it’s real and it’s here and now. You’re just flying
through the clouds because you don’t want to see what’s on the
ground right in front of you.”
If he hadn’t been
studying every minute expression on her face he would have missed the
brief flash of vulnerability in her gaze. Then her anger slid back in
place. “The only thing I feel is annoyance. Are you so desperate
that you have to chase after what you can’t have? You dumped me
first, remember?”
Him? Desperate? No.
He’d never had a problem getting women. Until Rachel.
If he hadn’t been
so young and stupid he would have been the one she’d married. Not
Shane.
Now all he could
think, all he could see, was the small sprinkle of freckles across
her pert nose. He could be on a mission in a third world country or
down the road. It didn’t matter. She affected him.
He had an
all-consuming need for his best friend’s wife. He hadn’t counted
on lust eating him alive.
But he had honor.
He had loyalty. Ranger had vowed over Shane’s grave to take care of
Rachel.
Blurb
They say you can’t
go home again. Jared Crowe never wanted to.
Home meant facing
memories of abuse and neglect. Of dark closets and evil nightmares.
Of his own relatives intent on killing him. But now his brother’s
kidnapping forces him to face those demons. Only this time, Jared
isn’t a scared little boy. He’s a full-grown Special Forces
operative bent on revenge.
As a little girl,
Sparrow Pickney risked her life to free two abused boys. As a grown
woman Sparrow needs to earn a place in her adopted family’s
business or be forced into a life of degradation. The chance to prove
her family loyalty comes when she catches Jared spying on the
compound and captures him.
When Jared sees his
captor, he realizes she’s the girl of his dreams and vows to rescue
her from a life of poverty. What Jared doesn’t know is Sparrow may
not be the savior he remembers…but the one responsible for
abducting and torturing his brother.
Jared is determined
to find the truth. But that truth may be more than his heart can
take.
Buy Links:
Excerpt
It
had been nearly twenty years since he’d seen her, but Jared could
never forget those golden eyes. Eyes that had haunted his dreams ever
since. Had she joined up with Kay? Or was she simply one of those
poor souls struggling to survive?
The
thought of Sparrow slowly starving filled him with a sense of guilt.
He should have made her leave with them. Even though they’d been
children when she’d freed them, Jared had been big enough to drag
her out, whether she’d wanted to go or not.
She
leaned over him, reaching for his hands. Her floppy hat fell down,
blinding her, and she ripped it off and tossed it across the room.
Long caramel-colored hair, full of sun-kissed highlights, waterfalled
down the sides of her face and tickled his nose. Her scent surrounded
him now, flooding his senses. Honeysuckle and wildflowers. His cock
swelled in an instant. Jared gnashed his teeth together, trying to
quell his intense reaction to her nearness.
Sparrow
leaned down further and her loose tank top gaped open, treating him
to a glorious view of surprisingly plump breasts cupped in a plain
sports bra. His gaze locked onto her beaded nipples through the
cotton. Fuck he wanted to rip that bra down and reveal what was
hidden beneath. The loose manly clothes she wore made her look stick
thin, but womanly curves were concealed beneath them.
Sparrow
sighed and sat up straight, leaving rope dangling uselessly on his
wrists. Jared gripped the metal headboard with his hands, waiting for
her next move. She stood there for a moment and studied him, trying
to decide what to do. Well, he wasn't going to help her out one
little bit.
"Keep
your hands right there, got it?" Her voice was stern.
"Yes
ma'am.” He had no intention of acting up. Yet.
She
placed a knee on the mattress, and in one swift movement straddled
him, settling on his belly. Jared groaned and closed his eyes
thankful she hadn’t sat down lower on his body; otherwise, she
would have gotten her own surprise. She leaned over him spreading her
knees wider up his chest. His eyes popped open, unable to resist
another view of her bare skin.
"You
can stop with the theatrics right now, I know I’m not big enough to
crush you."
If
only that were his problem. Her shirt dipped down even more and he
fixated on the pale mounds of her breasts straining against the
material of her sports bra. It was a crime to lock those beauties up
in serviceable cotton.
She
should wear nothing but pure silk and lace, perfect for him to rip
off her body.
Her
hair curtained around him again, and her soft lips parted in
concentration as she worked. He was aware of every inch of exposed
skin—from the graceful hollow of her neck to her supple forearms
peeking out from the rolled up sleeves of her checkered work shirt.
Even more aware of the intense heat radiating from her core, pressed
so intimately to his chest.
"There.
All done." She sat back, a satisfied smile on her lips.
Jared
tugged on the rope. He’d completely zoned out on anything other
than her straddling him. It didn't give an inch—the knot she’d
tied was worthy of a professional. A small ounce of foreboding seeped
into him. “Where did you learn to tie knots?"
"Trapping.
Working snares. Been doing it since I was a kid." Her words were
so matter-of-fact, he had no doubt she spoke the truth. Holy shit. He
yanked on the ropes, but they didn’t move.
“Impressive.”
Jared wriggled his fingers and wrists, testing for any weakness. He
found none.
“Might
as well stop struggling. Nobody’s ever been able to get out of one
of my knots. And I used my new rope too, so it wouldn’t snap easy.”
She made a snapping motion with her fingers, the emphasis driving in
just how stupid his plan had been. He should have used that easy
opening she’d given him with the gun.
His
foreboding turned to real worry. He had to get out of here to rescue
his brother. Hoyt’s life depended on him. If he couldn’t get
free… “Nice, now what?”
“Now
you tell me who you are and why you’re here.” Sparrow sat back on
her heels, the curve of her ass grazing the tip of his cock. He
clenched his muscles, fighting to free himself from the pull of lust.
Remember,
you’re the soldier trained in interrogation techniques. Now
he just had to stop thinking with his dick for long enough to find
out where Hoyt was being held. "My name is Jake."
She
tapped her chin, staring down at him. Once again he was enthralled
by the intense color of her eyes. They were golden, almost like a
cat’s, with a darker brown ring around the edges. “Jake. You
don't look like a Jake."
He
enjoyed hearing the name on her lips. Would enjoy hearing his real
name even better. Her soft accent and long vowels stretched it out
slow. Sensual. "And what do I look like?"
"I
don't know. Killer? Tiger?"
"That's
what people name their cats.”
"True.
Why are you here?"
"Why
did you take me hostage?" he countered.
“You
were spying on my family. Only our enemies do that.” She shifted,
brushing against his tip again. Fuck he wanted to rip free of these
bonds and throw her down beneath him. Where was his detached logic
now? Something about her was making him lose control.
“I
have no interest in you. I was looking for a family member who went
missing, know anything about that?” He studied her reaction
intently, watching for any flash of awareness, but she didn’t give
away anything.
“Haven’t
seen anybody new around here in a long time, and I would know. Sorry,
but you plopped down on the wrong piece of land.”
“He
told me he was coming here.” Not really, but Jared knew without the
slightest shred of doubt that Hoyt had been taken by the Crowes. Miss
Kay wanted to finish what she had started all those years ago, even
if Jared didn’t know why. It was bad enough his parents had died
when Jared was only nine, Hoyt six, but to have his aunt try to
murder them....
Jared
yanked on the bonds again, testing the bed frame. It screeched but
held firm. Shit.
“What
does he look like?” Every time Sparrow moved or shifted he felt
her. Desire was holding him hostage as much as the damn ropes. Got
to get free. Got to find Hoyt.
“What
do I get if I tell you?”
“What
do you get? You get to live.” Her brows shot down as if confused.
“You
won’t kill me.”
“Try
me.”
“How
about we make a little trade—you give me something, I give you
something.”
"Give?
What do you want?" She laid her palms on her thighs, kneeling
over his body, the position incredibly erotic.
Blushing
aside, maybe she wasn’t so innocent after all. He had a plan and
she was part of it. He knew he could get more information out of
Sparrow than her giant ass brother. And he’d find it a hell of a
lot more enjoyable too. "Kiss me."
She
stopped moving all together and her eyes narrowed in on his mouth.
"Give
me a kiss and I'll sing like a bird."
Author
Bio
Lindsay
Cross is the award-winning author of the Men of Mercy series. She is
the fun loving mom of two beautiful daughters and one precocious
Great Dane. Lindsay is happily married to the man of her dreams – a
soldier and veteran. During one of her husband’s deployments from
home, writing became her escape and motivation.
An
avid reader since childhood, reading and writing is in her blood.
After years of reading, she discovered her true passion – writing.
Her alpha military men are damaged, drop-dead gorgeous and determined
to win the heart of the woman of their dreams.
Author
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