Fearless

by Marlie May

  Tumbling to my knees, I wrapped my arms around him and bit back my sob. “Yes. Yes. Yes!”

  While the guys cheered, we kissed. Couldn’t get enough of Cooper’s kisses. We pulled apart, and the happiness stretching my cheeks made them ache. I wiped my eyes, but my tears kept flowing.

  “I love you,” he said again as he slid a sparkling ring on my left finger. “Always have, always will.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “After we’re done here, I want to take you somewhere,” Cooper said.

  “In your dress whites?”

  “I’ll wear them 24/7 if it makes you happy.”

  I leaned close, speaking solely for him, “Actually, I wouldn’t mind helping you remove them, but where do you want to take me first?”

  “To the moon and back, actually.” He laughed. “But for right now, I’d like to go back in time to when we first met. I’ll take you to the prom. The movies. I’ll buy you flowers and candy and whatever your heart desires. Instead of taking off for boot camp, I’ll beg you to let me share your life.”

  “I don’t need all those things.” Choked up, it was all I could do to speak. “All I’ll ever want is you.”

  “I feel the same.” His voice dropped, low, deep, and husky. “There’s one last thing I need to ask you, though.” We stood, and he gave me a quick kiss.

  Forget holding back my tears. Every wish I’d ever had was finally coming true. All I could do was nod. Because, really, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for this man.

  In his eyes, I saw hints of the sweet, vulnerable boy I’d crushed on twelve years ago. That expression cracked my chest wide open. I wanted to stroke his face, hold him close, and tell him he was worth a thousand moons and all the stars combined.

  But he had something to ask me, and I wanted to hear it.

  His hands clasped mine tightly, and he swallowed again before saying softly, “Do you want to get an ice cream with me?”

  If you enjoyed Fearless, I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. And THANKS!

  To find out what I’m working on next, sign up for my newsletter.

  I’m deviating briefly to publish a time travel romance, Twist of Fate, but look for Mia & Eli’s story, Ruthless, after that. I’ve included their first chapter here. Just scroll through and jump back into the Viper Force world.

  ~Marlie

  Marlie write books with heart, humor, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after. When she's not writing romance, you can find her in Maine, where she works as a nurse. She lives with her own personal hero, her retired Navy Chief husband. They have three children, too many cats, and a cute Yorkie pup.

  You can find me via my website,

  Twitter, and on Facebook.

  Other Books by Marlie May

  Crescent Cove Contemporary Romances

  SOME LIKE IT SCOT

  SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE

  Sam’s story is next, then Paisley’s!

  Other, Independent Titles

  TWIST OF FATE, May, 2019

  (A time travel romance set in ancient Pompeii)

  Scroll through to read the first chapter…

  Crescent Cove Romantic Suspense

  FEARLESS

  RUTHLESS, Summer, 2019

  Followed by Flint, then Jax’s stories!

  If you’d like a sneak peek of RUTHLESS,

  scroll through to read the first chapter…

  Chapter One, RUTHLESS

  Mia

  Only Eli, a wounded ex-Navy man, is

  ruthless enough to stand between Mia and

  the villain determined to see her dead.

  Waves crashing on the Mexican beach masked all sounds—except for the footsteps coming up fast behind me.

  I held in my sigh. Damn Flint. My older brother sure did enjoy sneaking up on me. You’d think on my birthday, he’d give it a break, but no.

  Time to teach my prankster brother a well-deserved lesson.

  Pivoting, I swung out my beach bag, smacking his shoulder. He dropped to his knees on the sand, releasing a surprised curse. As quickly as he’d fallen, he burst to his feet, his feral gaze trained on me. His hand flew to his thigh. A weapon?

  “Crap!” I backed away. Even with the sun setting behind him, eclipsing his face, I could tell this was not Flint. My heart thundered in my chest, and I instinctively took the stance my brother had drilled into me. Fists raised. Feet squared and ready to kick.

  My snarl collapsed when I got a better look at my opponent.

  Double crap.

  “Eli?” I gasped out, horror and embarrassment surged through me like a red tide. Eight months ago, I’d flown out to Port Hueneme, California to help my brother pack his things because he was discharging from the Navy. Eli had been stationed there. He’d asked me out but he was career military, getting ready to deploy overseas. It had been tough turning him down because he was gorgeous. Sweet. And hot. Very hot. “I’m sorry. I thought, well…”

  Eli brushed sand off his jeans, wincing when his hand encountered his right thigh. He huffed, but from the sparkle in his more-sinful-than-chocolate brown eyes, I could tell he also found the situation funny. He swiped his hand through his thick, dark blond hair and laughed. “Flint said you’d be down here, staring at the waves. I wanted to say hi before we met up for dinner. Gotta say it, Mia, you sure know how to greet a guy.”

  Figures. The first time I meet up with the man I’d thought about almost continuously since meeting him, I nailed him with a sack of books. I’d never live this down.

  “I’m really sorry,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

  My brother, Flint, and his employees, Jax and Cooper, were in Puerto Morelos on assignment for my brother’s business, and I’d opted to join them for my last night in Mexico before flying home to Maine tomorrow. Eli was the anomaly.

  “It’s your birthday, and I wanted to surprise you.”

  “Consider me surprised.” I grinned.

  “Thought about sending flowers.”

  My eyes widened. “Here? In Mexico?”

  “Well, back home.” Color rose in his face. Damn, it made him even more cute. “You might not know it yet, but I’m done with the military. Moved home to Crescent Cove six months ago. Just took a job with Flint.”

  He lived in Crescent Cove? My heartrate doubled. “What made you decide to get out?”

  His hand twitched on his thigh. “It was kind of a mutual decision.” He nudged his head, indicating we should walk, and we started down the beach with waves rushing up the shore beside us. A storm at sea last night meant the surf was still high.

  His gait…Did I detect a subtle limp? Mutual decision, he’d said. A medical discharge?

  Since I could tell the topic made him uncomfortable, I let it go. “So, you work for Flint now, you said. What are you going to do at Viper Force?” My curiosity about what went on inside my brother’s huge warehouse had been gnawing through my bones, but Flint had dodged my questions so far. Maybe I could tease a few details out of Eli. “Viper Force is an awfully lethal name for a company that builds and sells kiddie drones.” Flint’s lame explanation.

  “Kiddie drones. Yeah,” Eli said. “That’s what I’ll be working on.” Stopping, he bent over to pick up a pale pink shell and presented it to me.

  I smiled and pocketed it, and we continued strolling. The setting sun warmed my back and other than a few seagulls trying to outrace the waves on spindly feet, we were alone. “Flint said you guys will also do simple security jobs on the side, such as the one here in Mexico.”

  Like I believed my brother was involved in anything simple? The drone thing made sense. My brother once built a rocket and launched it into our neighbor’s backyard. A three-foot rocket, that is. Mrs. Johnson’s shriek made my mom jump. Mom’s shriek sent Flint running. “Last I knew, Navy men didn’t spend their time learning combat skills with the Marines only to provide guard duty for the local convenience store. I’m thinking that part of
Viper Force sounds more like James Bond.”

  His gaze flicked toward the houses lining the boardwalk on our left before returning to the ocean. “That’s all there is to it, I’m afraid. Convenience stores.” I could almost hear the groan in his words. “But, hey, Flint said you’d just finished a month-long medical mission here?”

  Decent subject change. It looked like my curiosity about Viper Force would not be satisfied today.

  “I’m a doctor. When Flint moved to Crescent Cove to be near the base for his Reserve duties, I visited and fell in love with the area. I followed him and took a job at Express Care on Main Street, though I won’t start until after Labor Day. I’d already set up this volunteer opportunity in Mérida, and I’m presenting my findings at a conference next week.”

  “What sort of findings?”

  “About women and cardiac risk.” A subject that tasted extra bitter to me after what happened with a poor woman I’d been unable to save.

  “When Flint asked me to fly down here to provide extra cov—uh, support on this job, that is, I was hoping we’d run into each other.” His crooked smile sent butterflies fluttering through my belly. “Didn’t expect to find myself dusting the beach with my knees, though.”

  “I’m sneaky like that.” As we studied each other, I tried to ignore the warmth radiating off his skin, let alone his scent, a heady mix of fresh air and spice. This man was hot enough to make my head spin. “When you crept up behind me, I thought you were Flint. Hence the attack with my tote bag.”

  He tugged on the bag still dangling from my hand. “What do you keep in that thing, anyway? Cannon balls?”

  I held it up, smirking. “A girl can never have too many books when she’s hanging out at the beach.”

  “Can’t be just books,” he said, chuckling. “No way would a couple of paperbacks deliver that solid a punch. I’d say you’ve got…A twelve-pack of beer in there, too.”

  “Really.” I tucked my hand on my hip and lifted one brow. The humor in his gaze tickled through me. “You think I’m lugging a bunch of beers around at the beach?”

  He shrugged. “I would.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Figures.” Just like a guy. “No beer.”

  “What are you reading, now? Last I remember, you spent your evenings out at Port Hueneme curled up on Flint’s sofa with a romance.”

  “Or at the pool. Do not forget the pool incident.” Where he’d come up behind me as I sat on a folding chair with my feet the water, absorbed in a particularly steamy part of my book. He’d been going wide to catch a football thrown by Flint, only to stumble against my chair and send us both flying into the water. I’d been wearing a sundress, not a bathing suit. He’d rescued me—Flint’s words, not mine—but I’d been drenched through. After my dunking, I’d looked worse than a drowned muskrat.

  Eli’s soft gaze drifted down my front, and his voice deepened. “Not sure I’ll ever forget the pool.”

  Was he remembering how our clothing clung to our bodies as we stood in the shallow end, close enough I could hear him breathe? A white sundress became transparent when wet. He’d been wearing shorts and his bare chest, broad and rippling with muscles, had gleamed in the sunlight. I’d been unable to drag my gaze away.

  “I still love romances,” I said in a squeaky voice, pushing aside the memory. “But mystery is on today’s menu.”

  “You sure it’s not romances?” he asked. “With sexy covers?”

  “Not you, too,” I grumbled. Flint loved to tease me about my choice of reading material.

  “No way. I’d be the last to pick on you for that. Besides, I read romance novels, myself.”

  I stalled and stared up at him, my mouth gaping. “You read romance novels?”

  “Love the highlander ones the best. You read any by that author who lives in Crescent Cove? Dag Ross. Highlander’s Fury is the first in the series.”

  Who was this man, and why did I not know this about him?

  “All those swords and battles.” Eli wiggled his eyebrows. “And hot sex.”

  “Wait a minute.” I scowled. “You’re just teasing me, aren’t you? You don’t really read romance novels.” My voice grew hushed. As I gaped up at him, I pushed my windblown hair off my face. Damn curls kept getting in my eyes. “Do you?”

  He snagged a particularly unruly strand and tucked it behind my ear. “You should check out my bedside table.” Whistling, he started down the beach again.

  Bedside table? That took my brain in a steamy direction. I stared after him before rushing to keep up, shaking my head about his comment. “Hold on.” Grabbing his arm, I pulled him to a halt. It was impossible to ignore the nice play of muscles underneath my palm. Was the rest of him still as ripped as I remembered from eight months ago?

  A crazy thought occurred to me, and I frowned at the ocean. Aw, shit. Did I dare? After all, I did sort of owe him.

  “Hey, Eli,” I said slyly.

  He turned and walked backward. Yes, he did have a limp. So subtle, it would take someone who knew about injuries to notice. “Yeah?”

  “About that pool incident.”

  His brow narrowed as if he hoped to read my intentions in my face, but I was a better card player than that. The word came out again, slowly, “Yeah?”

  Giggling, I rushed him, my hands outstretched. But I tripped and tumbled forward, into his arms that wrapped around me.

  Momentum sucked.

  Eli lost his balance. As we fell, he pivoted and I landed on top of him, my dress hiked up, my legs straddling his waist.

  Now, wasn’t this a delicate position?

  A wave flew up the shore and crashed over us before receding.

  Sputtering, I pushed my sodden hair off my face and wiped the salty sting from my eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “You okay?”

  “More than okay.” He rose up onto his elbows, grinning at me. “Damn, girl, you do know how to greet a guy.” His heated gaze traveled down my front.

  Of course.

  There was nothing like a wet white sundress.

  A short time later, after stopping in my hotel room to shower and change into a dry—and not white—sundress, I met up with Flint, Eli, Cooper, and Jax outside the restaurant where we’d arranged to celebrate my birthday.

  “Mia,” Cooper said with a nod. “Happy Birthday.”

  “Congratulations to you and Ginny getting engaged!” I said.

  His grin grew wider. “Thanks.”

  “What’s this I hear about you and Eli going in for a swim, Red?” Flint asked me with a big grin. He ruffled my hair.

  Big brothers could be a major pain in the butt. “My hair is strawberry blonde, not red,” I insisted for what had to be the thousandth time since I’d learned how speak. “And you know I hate that nickname.”

  “Dude,” Jax came up behind Eli sporting a smirk wider than the sea. He nudged Eli’s shoulder. “When you say you’re gonna surprise a woman, you sure don’t hold back.” Chuckling, he came around to lay his arm on my shoulders and smoosh me into his side. “Heard about the tote bag incident, Mia, but I must’ve missed the swim. Where did you learn that move, huh? Not from my boy, Flint, here, because he’s too much of a softie to encourage a sweet-as-honey girl like you to dance in the ocean with a man like Eli.”

  Sweet-as-honey. The nickname Jax gave me after I brought a batch of cookies into Flint’s office. But despite the endearment and hug, Jax and I were only friends. Actually, I had a feeling he was sweet on my cousin, Haylee, who worked in Flint’s office. Not that he’d acted on it as far as I could tell.

  “Glad the book incident wasn’t directed my way,” Flint said, rubbing his shoulder.

  I grunted and tapped my sandal on the pavement. “Was supposed to be as you well know.”

  “Come on. I’d be the last one to creep up on you on your birthday.”

  “Yeah, sure.” If Christmas hadn’t stopped him from tossing water balloons off the loft while I sat on the sofa underneath, why would my
twenty-ninth birthday be any different? And from the slick look Flint sent Eli’s way, I had a feeling I’d been pranked after all, even if Eli was unaware of the role he’d played in my brother’s latest trick.

  “Let’s go inside, shall we?” I said, waving at the door. “Time to get away from all this teasing. Surely you can offer me a cease fire on my birthday.”

  Flint held the door open for me to enter first. “Don’t see no white flag.”

  As if. I’d never surrender.

  “How about until midnight?” he asked as he escorted me across the lobby, the other guys following.

  “How about for the rest of my life?”

  “No way I’m agreeing to a deal like that.”

  We were soon parked out on the restaurant’s deck overlooking the ocean. Eli and I sat on one side of the wooden table, opposite Jax and Flint. Cooper took a seat on the end. We chowed through numerous plates of burritos and nachos, washing the crispy-cheesy goodness down with tall glasses of cerveza.

  “What happened to your leg?” I asked Eli.

  His hand flew to his right thigh and he rubbed. “Just a little encounter with an IED.”

  “Femur?”

  He nodded. “Put me out of commission for a while.”

  A painful injury. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. Not much I can do about it now.”

  I could tell the topic made him uncomfortable, the last thing I wanted to do. A quick subject change was needed, stat. “So, tell me about those romance novels you love. Are the Highlander ones really your favorites?”

  “Shit, bro. Romances?” Flint reeled backward with pretend horror on his face. “Don’t tell me you’re into that stuff, too?”

  Color land squarely in Eli’s chiseled cheeks. Blushing only made him look hotter because it hinted at his vulnerable side. He straightened and yanked on the neck of his t-shirt. “I’ve read a few.”