by Em Petrova
“Mm?”
“I’m going to ask you something, and I ask that you don’t lie to me—or yourself.”
Shocked by his words, she lifted her head to look at him. The stubble of his bearded jaw sprouted dark along the angles of his face. And his eyes held a weight that made her suddenly afraid to hear what he would ask.
Her fingers curled against his chest, and she waited.
“Promise me, Jules. Say you won’t lie to me to spare my feelings.”
Panic fluttered in her chest. She searched his eyes. “I swear, Titus. What is it?”
“When I asked you to marry me just a bit ago…you weren’t in your right mind. You were burning with need. I want to make sure you understand what you agreed to.”
Her jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”
He nodded.
“You think I was so horny that I’d agree to marry you just to get off?”
He grunted. “Not in those words, but yeah. I guess so.”
“I can’t believe you’d think I didn’t feel the weight of your question right down to my bones. I love you, Titus! And it’s you I should be questioning right now.”
His brows tipped together.
“Did you only ask me to marry you to get into my pants?” she teased.
A growl escaped him, and he flipped her into the covers despite his arm and how painful it might be. Looming over her with a dangerous look in his eyes, he shook his head. “Abso-fucking-lutely not.”
She raised her chin. “Neither did I. I’m marrying you.”
His chest seemed to vibrate, and she realized he was stirring with emotion at her declaration. When he closed his eyes and dropped his forehead against hers, she closed hers too and drank in the moment between them.
Marriage. A union. The bond fulfilled and unbreakable, in her eyes.
A life together.
She tipped her mouth up to his, and even with their eyes closed, they found what they sought. Their lips fused in a long, sweet kiss of promise.
“I’ll protect you with my life, baby doll,” he grated out.
She nuzzled him. “I know you will. And I’ll protect you right back.”
His mouth spread in a smile over hers, and then he ducked and sucked her nipple into his scorching mouth, taking her to the pinnacle of need all over again.
Epilogue
Rock music blasted out of the speakers set along one wall of the Dark Falcons clubhouse. And the two grooms from the double wedding that took place were the center of attention in the middle of the dance floor.
Rio had loosened his bowtie and pushed it upward to rest in the center of his forehead, and he rocked his hips in time to the beat. Blade stood next to him in a similar groom’s dance, gyrating in a white button-down shirt and his leather vest. His tie and jacket had been long ago abandoned and exchanged for his comfortable leather.
At Juliette’s side, Courtney folded in half with laughter at watching her husband steal the night with his antics. Blade got up behind him and slapped his ass, which sent everyone into hysterical laughter.
Tears leaked from Juliette’s eyes. Seeing her stiff, solemn man let loose this way proved that people could change. Life had shifted for Blade the minute she entered his life, and day by day she saw the pain that once filled his life flow away.
The song keyed down to a romantic slow one that couples all over the world had danced to for decades. Titus appeared in front of her, and she put her hand in his. As he whirled her onto the floor, she lost herself in the depths of his eyes.
“I never knew I could be so happy,” she said.
Smiling, he leaned in to tease her earlobe with the tip of his tongue. “I want to see you this happy every day.”
She shivered at the tickle of his tongue against her ear. “When can we get out of here and on the road?”
The small trailer attached behind his bike was tricked out with all the gear they’d need for a week away in the mountains.
“Soon,” he promised.
He spun her around the dance floor. At one point, they came within distance of Rio and Courtney. They were dancing with baby Harley between them. She laughed and flapped her arms. In her pink flower girl dress and with a bow in her hair, she couldn’t be cuter.
She grinned at her brother, who returned it. “When all this started between you and me, I didn’t know how Rio’d react to me being with his best friend. For so long, I felt you were off-limits,” she said to her handsome husband.
“I was off-limits. You just didn’t listen.”
She tossed her head on a laugh, and he kissed her open mouth. The heat sent a pressure shooting downward, between her thighs. Suddenly, her strapless fitted gown felt two sizes too small. She had no doubt that the honeymoon would begin once they reached her house and both of them shucked off their wedding attire to don clothes for riding.
When the music changed again, every member of the Dark Falcons was on that dance floor. Dixon and Fiona were wrapped in each other’s arms. Tank and Catarina were locked in each other’s gazes, and next to them, Aarica had Patriot wrapped around her little finger, the big biker’s eyes like two candles when he looked at the woman in his arms. Diesel had Selena laughing at something he did, but as soon as her eyes met his, both sobered and love shot between them.
The party rocked on for hours, until Juliette felt the need to have her husband all to herself bearing down on her.
She led him across the room to a private table littered with the crumbs of wedding cake, some of which she still wore in her hair when Titus smashed it into her mouth.
Glancing over her shoulder at him, she caught his eyes.
“Don’t do that,” he groaned, spinning her into his arms.
She slid her arms around his neck. “Do what?”
“Give me bedroom eyes when we’re hours from getting away from the party.”
“Well.” She ruffled the short hairs on the back of his head. “Maybe we can find a place to be alone?” She arched a brow.
He groaned. “You’re killing me, baby doll. And yes—I know just the place.” He took her by the hand and dragged her into the conference room.
“We can’t do it in here!” She eyed the table with the logo in the center, lit up by the fading evening light.
“Not on the table. That’s sacred. But maybe against the wall.” He caught her against him, and she sucked in sharply at the feel of his erection bulging through his tux pants. When he trapped her lips under his, she gave herself up to her husband—and somehow, it felt like her first time with him all over again.
THE END
***SNEAK PEEK OF HITTING XTREMES—XTREME OPS BOOK 1***
Penn’s lungs seared from lack of oxygen.
His pulse slowed. He focused on each painful throb of his heart responding to deprivation. His limbs started to grow heavy as his body reserved its stores for primary functions like keeping his heart beating. Still, he pushed on.
He was approaching minute two under water and shooting for three. He’d make it easy—he’d done it countless times.
Moving past the two-minute mark, he continued to swim the passage used by the underwater rescue units for training excursions. He wasn’t part of any rescue unit, but he liked to keep in shape. Over the past year and a half spent in Europe, he’d gotten a bit lax in his training, so he figured it was about time to make a stop off the coast of Thailand and give himself a good challenge.
Ahead he spotted the light at the end of the underwater cave. By the time he reached it and pushed upward to the surface to gulp a mouthful of air, he’d hit the 3:02 mark on his diving watch his brother Nash had given him.
With a final burst of energy, Penn tunneled through the final stretch toward the surface. One more hard paddle and he emerged from the water, lips tipped to the sky as he sucked precious air into his lungs.
After the Texas Rangers kicked him out for not following protocol, he didn’t have a home with any law enforcement, armed forces or special ops teams…but h
e still had what it took.
He climbed the bank to the pile of belongings he dropped there. As oxygen flooded his system again, he felt warmed all over and tingly too. Stripping off his wetsuit reminded him that he might have never surfaced. He could have drowned down there. People did. The Thailand government reported dozens of dead adventurers who perished in this cave every year.
Penn was never worried—he wouldn’t have attempted the challenge if he wasn’t confident in his skills.
With his wetsuit hanging around his hips, he drew on his heavy pullover and sat on the ground, soaking up the warmth of the sun, and took a minute to recover. His phone buzzed, and he reached for his jeans cast off nearby.
As soon as he spotted the name on the screen, a big grin stole over his face. He brought the device to his ear. “Hey, bro.”
“Where the hell have you been? I called you twelve times.” Nash’s irritated tone projected through the speaker.
He studied his surroundings of water and the rock entrance he’d just emerged from. “I’m hangin’ out at the beach,” he responded.
“The beach. Jesus. Well, if you’d picked up your phone you’d know I’ve been trying to get in touch with you because something big’s happening.”
“Did you get your wife pregnant again? Because that’s not really news at this point, bro.”
“No, Nevaeh isn’t pregnant again. It’s hardly been two months since Opal was born. Which reminds me you haven’t paid us a visit to meet her. If you take this offer on hand, who knows when that will happen.”
Penn sat up straighter. “Offer?” He’d performed a few tasks to help the Ranger Ops down in Texas and expected his brother to ask for assistance again now.
“Homeland Security is forming another special forces unit. Your name was bandied around more than once, Penn.”
He started shaking his head before any words formed on his lips. “Not interested in anything long-term.”
“Not even heading your own team in PNW?”
For a moment, Penn felt he was in the depths of the murky darkness again, navigating through tight spaces while trying not to get caught on the jagged protrusions of the cave walls. The Pacific Northwest region Nash mentioned was one of the few places Penn was passionate about. He loved the challenges that came with the terrain, and how he could get lost in the wilds to escape people.
“You listenin’ now?” Nash drawled out.
“Are we talking Operation Freedom Flag?”
“You got it. They’re seeing a lot of issues on the borders between the US and Canada. Also, the 180th meridian.” The 180th meridian passed through the Aleutian Islands, making Alaska’s westernmost portion actually situated in the Eastern Hemisphere. And that meant Russia claimed an easy point of entry for trafficking of drugs, humans or weapons, all rousing the attention of the division of Homeland Security known as Operation Freedom Flag.
“It’s called OFFAT—Operation Freedom Flag Alaska Tundra.”
Penn’s ears perked up, and a blast of energy brought him to his feet. Looking at the Thailand shore, he only saw the raw beauty of their forty-ninth state which they spoke of. He’d spent a brief time in Alaska with a couple friends right out of high school, hiking and camping in the mountains, but he always hoped his work would take him that direction again.
“Xtreme Ops,” Nash concluded. “And you’re number one on the list for team captain, Penn. Now get your ass to Home-Sec HQ today and claim that spot. You’re getting one more chance not to fuck up the family name.”
Penn huffed a laugh at his brother’s harsh statement. “Whatever I’ve fucked up, you made up for.”
“Penn.” His voice sounded with warning.
“It’s gonna take me a while to get a flight out of Thailand, big brother.”
“What the fuck are you doing in Thailand? No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to hear that you just risked your life in that fucking cave. I’ll let the head of OFFAT know that you’re coming. No stop-offs to get laid, either. Got it?”
“And here I had a little honey-skinned Thai beauty and her friend ready to wrap themselves around me.” He didn’t, but his lie made Nash groan, and anytime a little brother could get a rise out of his big brother, it was a good day.
“Don’t make me look like an incompetent ass, Penn.”
“On my way now.”
“Damn, you’re really going to take this opportunity?”
Now that Penn had the idea locked in his brain, he couldn’t think of letting it slip by. He grabbed his things off the ground, jammed his boots on his feet and started walking toward the small parking area where he’d left his rental.
Fighting traffickers, drug lords, Russian mafia, arms traders and any number of border patrol problems, all in the setting of a land that both awed and thrilled him, seemed like the most exciting opportunity he’d ever be handed.
“I’ll call you when I land in Virginia, Nash.”
“I’ll be waiting. And I’m fucking thrilled that you won’t be working solo anymore. That shit’s been scaring all of us since the day the Rangers gave you your walking papers. At least now you’ll have a team of men watching your back. I gotta run. Call me.”
“Will do. And Nash?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks.”
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Em Petrova
Em Petrova was raised by hippies in the wilds of Pennsylvania but told her parents at the age of four she wanted to be a gypsy when she grew up. She has a soft spot for babies, puppies and 90s Grunge music and believes in Bigfoot and aliens. She started writing at the age of twelve and prides herself on making her characters larger than life and her sex scenes hotter than hot.
She burst into the world of publishing in 2010 after having five beautiful bambinos and figuring they were old enough to get their own snacks while she pounds away at the keys. In her not-so-spare time, she is fur-mommy to a Labradoodle named Daisy Hasselhoff.
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Other Titles by Em Petrova
Xtreme Ops
HITTING XTREMES
TO THE XTREME
XTREME BEHAVIOR
XTREME AFFAIRS
XTREME MEASURES
West Protection
RESCUED BY THE COWBOY
GUARDED BY THE COWBOY
COWBOY CONSPIRACY THEORY
COWBOY IN THE CROSSHAIRS
PROTECTED BY THE COWBOY
The Guard
HIS TO SHELTER
HIS TO DEFEND
HIS TO PROTECT
Crossroads
BAD IN BOOTS
CONFIDENT IN CHAPS
COCKY IN A COWBOY HAT
SAVAGE IN A STETSON
SHOW-OFF IN SPURS
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PATRIOT
DIESEL
BLADE
Moon Ranch
TOUGH AND TAMED
SCREWED AND SATISFIED
CHISELED AND CHERISHED
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WITHIN RANGE
POINT BLANK RANGE
RANGE OF MOTION
TARGET IN RANGE
OUT OF RANGE
Knight Ops Series
ALL KNIGHTER
HEAT OF THE KNIGHT
HOT LOUISIANA KNIGHT
AFTER MIDKNIGHT
KNIGHT SHIFT
O’ CHRISTMAS KNIGHT
ANGEL OF THE KNIGHT
6-Pack Cowboys Series
6-PACK RANCHER
6-PACK WRANGLER
Wild West Series
SOMETHING ABOUT A LAWMAN
SOMETHING
ABOUT A SHERIFF
SOMETHING ABOUT A BOUNTY HUNTER
SOMETHING ABOUT A MOUNTAIN MAN
Operation Cowboy Series
KICKIN’ UP DUST
SPURS & SURRENDER
The Boot Knockers Ranch Series
PUSHIN’ BUTTONS
BODY LANGUAGE
REINING MEN
ROPIN’ HEARTS
ROPE BURN
COWBOY NOT INCLUDED
CUPID COWBOYS
COWBOY BY CANDLELIGHT
THE BOOT KNOCKER’S BABY
ROPIN’ A ROMEO
Ménage à Trouble Series
WRANGLED UP
UP FOR GRABS
HOOKING UP
ALL WOUND UP
DOUBLED UP novella duet
STIRRED UP
GETTING WARMED UP
Another Shot at Love Series
GRIFFIN
BRANT
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Rope ‘n Ride Series
BUCK
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RIDGE
WEST
LANE
WYNONNA
The Dalton Boys
COWBOY CRAZY Hank’s story
COWBOY BARGAIN Cash’s story
COWBOY CRUSHIN’ Witt’s story
COWBOY SECRET Beck’s story
COWBOY RUSH Kade’s Story
COWBOY MISTLETOE a Christmas novella
COWBOY FLIRTATION Ford’s Story
COWBOY TEMPTATION Easton’s Story
COWBOY SURPRISE Justus’s Story
COWGIRL DREAMER Gracie’s Story
COWGIRL MIRACLE Jessamine’s Story
COWGIRL HEART Kezziah’s Story
Single Titles and Boxes
THE DALTON BOYS BOX SET BOOKS 1-5
BOOT KNOCKERS RANCH SERIES BOOKS 1-6 PLUS BONUS
SINFUL HEARTS
JINGLE BOOTS
A COWBOY FOR CHRISTMAS
FULL RIDE