by Cynthia Eden
“He tried to take you away.” Her voice softened. “If I get close to him right now, it won’t be good.” Her gaze lowered as she stared at their joined hands. “I shouldn’t admit that, should I? Makes me sound like a bad person. Like—”
“It makes you sound like the woman I love.” Did she think there was any part of her that he didn’t adore? “If you do slip up and kill him, don’t worry. I’ll either get rid of the body or I’ll help you get out of the country.”
“Just like that?” Her stare returned to meet his.
He brushed back a lock of her hair. “Just like that.” When it came to Blair, his thinking was pretty basic. Anything for her. Was that dangerous?
Only to those who wanted to come between them.
He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. She was back to wearing the rings he’d given her when they pretended to be married. With some extreme string pulling, he’d managed to get those taken out of the evidence hold. “There’s something I, um, need to tell you.”
She waited.
He lowered onto one knee.
“Linc?”
“Before we bury bodies or rush out of the country, I want you to know…” He looked up at her. “I love you. There is no one I will ever put before you. You’re it for me, and I want…” A stupid lump was in his throat. What the hell? He choked it down. “I would like to ask you to marry me.”
Her gaze darted from his face to the rings. Then back again. “These rings you just happened to have…”
“You mentioned once that you liked a princess cut.” Something else from his Blair vault. “When I saw the engagement ring, I thought…this looks like Blair. Classic. Elegant. Beautiful. But when you look close, you can see the fire inside.” The diamond glittered with a brilliance that was pure Blair.
She licked her lower lip. “Out of curiosity, just when did you buy the diamond?”
“After Christmas.” A low exhale. “After I thought I’d screwed everything to hell by not telling you about my step-sister and her murder.”
“You mean when you went rogue and went after her killer by yourself?”
Okay, if she wanted to put it that way…yes. He tightened his hold on her hand. “You didn’t request a new partner.”
“Why would I want someone new?”
His heart slammed into his chest. “You stuck with me.”
“I’d just broken you in.”
God, she was so gorgeous to him. “You stuck with me because you loved me. Even then.”
She nodded. “That, too.”
“And I loved you, even then.” Yeah, try always. “And I knew that I didn’t want to screw up ever again with you. So I was going to be ready, and one day, the moment would be perfect, and…” Another exhale. “I’d be here for you. Waiting and hoping you were ready for me.”
She pulled him to his feet. “Guess what, Linc?”
“What, B?”
“I’m ready for you.” Her eyes sparkled.
“Is that a yes?” He wanted to be absolutely clear on this. For when he retold the story to everyone he knew.
She nodded.
It’s a yes. His heart slammed into his ribs as he hauled her in for a long, hot kiss. The kind of kiss that a man felt all the way to his soul. Because…it was the kiss.
The kiss that was gonna change your life.
Blair was his life.
Not just his partner. Not just his best friend. She was going to be his wife. His wife.
He was the luckiest SOB in the world.
He lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.
***
Linc was sexy when he was all rumpled and naked and sleeping. Blair paused a moment to study him, then to take a quick glance at her rings. Yes, she was going to keep right on wearing the engagement ring and the wedding ring. Soon enough, it would be a done deal. She’d be married to Linc.
Talk about a new adventure. One she couldn’t wait to start. But first…
There was one little matter that she had to attend to.
She climbed onto the bed. Straddled him. He was naked. She was naked. When her skin slid against his, a shiver skated over her.
Blair leaned forward. Her mouth feathered over his chest. Then up, moving to his neck.
“Blair,” he groaned her name. His arms reached for her.
She pushed them back down. “Just relax. Enjoy.”
“Oh, God, I love you.”
She smiled. Kissed his neck again. Reached under the pillow.
And curled her hand around the handcuffs hidden there. Oh, yes, she’d arrived at his place and let herself in before he’d returned home…and she’d carefully planned her revenge.
Now her lips moved to his. She feathered her mouth over his. Licked his lower lip. Bit it and heard him growl.
Then she snapped one cuff around his wrist and locked the other around one of the wooden slats that lined his headboard.
It seemed to take Linc a moment to process what was happening.
“You stopped kissing me,” he complained grumpily.
She eased back. His very full and heavy manhood slid over her clit, and she might have paused a moment to rub and glide again. Then she hopped off the bed.
“You…wait!” Linc shot up. And stared at the cuff on his wrist. The cuff that prevented him from jumping off the bed and following her.
She grinned at him.
“Bondage.” He winked. “I like it.”
“You would.” She turned away. Headed for the bedroom door and maybe let her hips roll a bit.
“Blair!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll call the Wilde agents. I’ll let Chase know what’s happening. He’ll come in to get you and—”
“Oh, right.” A rough laugh. “I get it. This is payback.”
She pulled on his robe. A nice, comfy robe that swallowed her. “Is it?” Blair turned to face him.
His gaze tracked down her body. The robe did swallow her, but she’d left it open. Just because.
Because I like the way he looks at me.
“This is to get me back because I left you cuffed in the bathroom.”
She lifted her brows. “Did you do that?”
“I was trying to keep you safe.”
“Seems to me like you were trying to bench me.” A pause. “I’m not the benching type.”
He yanked on the cuff.
She offered him another smile.
“God, you are so insanely gorgeous.” He yanked harder. “I didn’t want you hurt. I knew I could be the bait.”
“I didn’t want you to be the bait.”
“I…” Another yank. “Blair.”
“Do you know what it was like for me to be cuffed and to know that you were rushing out—alone—to risk yourself? That you could be hurt, maybe even killed, before I got to you?”
“I wasn’t going to be killed. I’m a good agent. I’m—”
“They drugged you, Linc. They tossed you into the back of a van.”
His sexy lips pursed. “True.” Stubble lined his jaw. “But you were tailing me.”
“Linc—”
“I knew you’d be there. You’re great at picking locks. I figured I just needed a five-minute head start on you and everything would be good.”
Blair considered that. “You’re saying you knew I’d be behind you the whole time? What about that whole bit about Chase—”
“Do you really think I would ever risk letting him see you naked?” Linc shook his head. “No way. Dude has been lusting after you forever.”
She opened the robe a bit more.
“Oh, God, baby. You want me to suffer? I am suffering.” Another yank on the cuffs.
Her gaze sharpened. That wood should have broken by now. “I’m starting to think you’re playing with me.”
A dramatic gasp escaped him. “I would never, ever play with you.”
“You’re not using your full strength when you pull on the cuffs.”
“Me?” His eyes widened.
He was both adorable and sexy, but she was still mad. “We both know how strong you are.”
He gave her a slow, panty-melting smile. “That turn you on?”
Yes. But first…“Swear you will never, ever do something like that again. Swear you will not try to leave me behind when there is danger. Because I’m your partner. That means I belong at your side. It doesn’t mean you get to step between me and danger.”
The teasing glint left his eyes. “But wouldn’t you step between me and danger?”
“I—” Crap. Yes, she would. Any day.
“Back when I was in the warehouse, B, you wouldn’t leave me when I was tied up in that chair and bombs were going off.”
“No.”
“Because you love me.”
“Yes.” So much that it still scared her.
“Blair…” He yanked. The wooden slat broke.
She’d known he wasn’t using his full strength. She backed up. Her shoulders hit the door.
He pulled the wooden slat from the circle of the cuff. Dropped it to the floor. Then, with the cuff dangling from his wrist, he stalked toward her. “You didn’t leave me.”
“Of course, I didn’t leave you.”
He put one hand on the side of her head, pushing it against the door. The cuff kept dangling. “I promise,” Linc vowed as he pressed a kiss to her mouth. “I won’t ever leave you cuffed in a shower again.”
Her nipples tightened.
“Now your turn.” With his left hand, he eased open the robe a little more. His fingers trailed down her body. Between her legs. Into her.
She shot up onto her tip-toes. “My turn…for what?”
“To promise you won’t ever leave me. That we are in it together for the long haul, no matter what.”
“I’m not leaving—ah, yes! I’m not leaving you!”
He withdrew his fingers. Strummed her clit. “Good.” His breath came faster. His face turned more savage. “Swear to it. Give me forever. Swear that you won’t get shot or die or do anything that scares the hell out of me. Swear that you’ll stay safe and that—”
She grabbed his head and yanked him down toward her. Blair’s lips met his in a fury. His tongue thrust into her mouth. She moaned and got even wetter. He hoisted her up. Her legs locked around his waist. His cock was right at the entrance to her body.
He tore his mouth from hers. “Swear—”
“I swear I will love you forever.” Her breath choked out. “And if I’m in danger, you’re the only one I want at my side. I swear I love you, and I swear, if you don’t make love to me right now—”
He sank into her.
I swear I’ll go crazy.
He pounded into her. In and out. In and out. His fingers stroked over her clit. There was no slow build up for Blair. There was just pretty much an instant inferno. Their bodies slapped together. She heaved and twisted, and he thrust over and over again.
She came on a scream.
He climaxed with a bellow of her name.
When it was over…when she could breathe again…
“I swear,” he told her tenderly, “I will be yours until the day I die.”
“That day had better not happen anytime soon.”
He kissed her. “It won’t, baby. Because I’ve got you watching my back.”
Yes, he did. Just as she had him watching her back. He was her lover, her partner, and her best friend. Alone, they were fierce. But when they were together, they were unstoppable.
A perfect team.
Epilogue
“Yo, boss, where’s the fire?” Cole shut the door behind him as he hurried into Eric’s office. “I thought things had calmed down now, and I was, ahem, supposed to be starting a real vacation, but then I got your text and…”
His words trailed away when he got a look at Eric’s face.
Someone’s pissed.
Sighing, Cole flopped in the chair across from Eric’s desk. “Are there like, no days off here? Ever? Does danger have to happen every single moment? Is that a Wilde requirement that someone forgot to tell me about when I signed up for the job?”
“You don’t have to take this case.”
Cole’s eyebrows flew up. “What case?”
Eric pushed a file toward him. “You can say no. You’re due a vacation. You can walk away. There are other agents who are available.”
Curious, Cole reached for the file.
“But her brother specifically requested you.”
Cole froze. Her brother.
“The last time I had someone specifically request an agent, well, we saw how that shit ended.”
With a bang.
“There’s still time to walk away,” Eric added. “I don’t like it when people try to force my agents to take jobs, and when this guy started using his government contacts, trying to dictate to me how my agents would be working…”
Cole flipped open the file. Her face stared back at him. “Her brother is a real dick most days.”
“There are other agents—”
Forget other agents. “What’s happening? Why is she in danger?”
“It would appear that the people who kidnapped her before…they’re back.”
She’s in trouble. He couldn’t pull in a deep breath. “It’s my case.”
“You don’t have to—”
He tore his gaze off her picture. Stared hard at his boss. His friend. “It’s my case.”
“Because she’s yours?”
Hell. Eric always saw so very much. But this time, he was wrong. “No, not mine. I let her go.” Cole had carved out his own heart when he did it. “She probably hates me, but that won’t matter. I will keep her safe.”
Eric just gazed back at him.
“I’m taking the case.” He sounded too grim, too raw, but Cole couldn’t help that. “Now you just tell me, how fast can you get my ass on a plane to New York?”
The End
Get ready…Cole’s story is up next…COUNTING ON COLE.
She was the one who got away. The one who ripped out his heart and took it with her when she left.
Cole Vincent never expected to see Evangeline Lake again. Back in the dark and bloody day, he’d been hired by her brother to save her on a mission that went straight to hell. Evangeline had been kidnapped and held for ransom, but he’d been sent in with a covert team to get her out. Thrown together in the dark, a stunning attraction burned through them. But she wasn’t meant to be with an ex-soldier who had a past that was littered with secrets and death. She went back to her fancy world. He went back to hunting. Tried to forget her. Case closed.
There are some people you can never forget.
Evangeline “Evie” Lake fell hard and fast for her tall, dark, and dangerous rescuer. Then he flew her back to her home, kissed her good-bye on the doorstep, and walked his sexy self away without looking back. He broke her heart into a million little pieces, and she swore off the “bad boys”—they were just trouble she didn’t want. Case closed.
She needs help. The kind that only someone like Cole can give to her.
The past is coming back to attack. Evie’s kidnapper was never caught, and when she’s nearly abducted in New York, her brother calls in the one man that he knows he can count on…the one man who has proven he can protect Evie from the worst threats out there. The one man that Evie absolutely, positively does not want to see again…
The only man she’s ever loved.
Cole takes the case. Becomes her bodyguard. Gets far too close to her and stirs memories that should have been dead and buried in a six foot hole. The white-hot attraction burns ever brighter between them, but Evie will not fall for him again. Will not. Except…
She is. He is. They are…falling.
Cole wants Evie more than anything, and this time, he won’t walk away. This time, there is nothing that can keep them apart. He’ll fight like hell for the woman he’s always loved. He finally has a second chance with Evie. He won’t scr
ew this up. And he will not let her go again…he will prove to Evie that she can always count on him to keep her safe.
She is the only one he wants. The one who owns his heart. Anyone who wants to hurt her? They have to go through him. Case closed.
Learn more about Counting On Cole.
A Note From the Author
Thank you so much for taking the time to read CROSSING THE LINE. I love a friends-to-lovers story, or in the case of CROSSING THE LINE, a partners-to-lovers story. There is just something about the build-up and tension between the characters…bring on that slow burn fun!
Next up, Cole will have his story. Cole has been a bad boy since he first appeared in the Wilde books. I’ve had lots of readers write to me about him, and I am very excited to be bringing you his story. Like all of the Wilde books, COUNTING ON COLE will be a complete, stand-alone story. No cliff-hangers. Just sexy fun, lots of action, and, of course, a guaranteed happy ending. Cole’s story is a reunited lovers tale, and I so hope that you enjoy it!
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Best,
Cynthia Eden
cynthiaeden.com
About The Author
Cynthia Eden is a New York Times, USA Today, Digital Book World, and IndieReader best-seller. Cynthia writes sexy tales of contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and paranormal romance. Since she began writing full-time in 2005, Cynthia has written over one hundred novels and novellas.
More Information
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Her Other Works
Wilde Ways
Protecting Piper (Wilde Ways, Book 1)
Guarding Gwen (Wilde Ways, Book 2)
Before Ben (Wilde Ways, Book 3)
The Heart You Break (Wilde Ways, Book 4)
Fighting For Her (Wilde Ways, Book 5)