Elizabeth leaned in close. “Damn. That chokes me up.”
“Me, too.”
* * *
She’d done it.
Relieved that her first public lecture at CU had gone well, Samantha looked around the auditorium for Thor. She’d spotted him in the audience, looking hot as hell in a suit, and she knew he had to be here somewhere.
“Samantha. Behind you.”
She turned and saw him standing about twenty feet away with three beautiful women—one with platinum blond hair and crazy curves, a tall, slender redhead, and one with long dark hair, a beautiful face, and big brown eyes. She’d noticed them sitting beside him, but she hadn’t realized they were together. Refusing to feel insecure or jealous, she put a smile on her face.
“Hey, hon. I see you brought friends.”
“I didn’t bring them.” A resigned look on his face, Thor stepped forward, kissed Samantha on the lips. “They invited themselves.”
“We’re not his friends, honey,” said the gorgeous blonde. “We’re family.”
The woman with long, dark hair laughed. “A dysfunctional family.”
Smiling, the redhead held out her hand. “I’m Elizabeth Shields.”
Samantha stared at her, taken aback. “Elizabeth, I’m so happy to meet you at last. Thank you for all you did for Patty—and for me.”
“I wish I’d done more.”
Samantha knew immediately who the other women must be. She shook each of their hands in turn. “You’re Holly Andris.”
“I’ve wanted to meet you for months, but Thor kept you to himself,” Holly said. “He told us you were brilliant. He wasn’t exaggerating.”
“Thank you. That’s sweet of you to say. And you’re Gabriela Marquez Cruz.”
Gabriela took her hand. “Thanks for the lecture. I learned so much.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you came. I’ve wanted to meet all of you, too. Thor has told me about the three of you.”
Holly gave Thor a playful jab with her elbow. “Really? What did he say?”
Samantha lowered her voice. “I don’t think we can talk about that here.”
They laughed as if she’d said something funny.
“It’s okay, Samantha,” Holly said. “Yes, we all worked for the Agency.”
Samantha had to say it. “He’s right. You don’t look like spies.”
That made them laugh again.
Holly leaned closer. “You don’t look like a badass astrophysicist who once stabbed a murdering bastard in the face.”
It shouldn’t have made Samantha laugh, but it did, something about the way Holly said it making her feel like part of their kick-butt sisterhood. “Thank you.”
Thor put his arm around Samantha’s shoulders. “Samantha needs to get to the reception. Are you three coming?”
“Is there food and alcohol?” Elizabeth asked.
Samantha nodded. “Appetizers and a cash bar.”
“We’re in,” Holly said.
Samantha led them up the stairs to a reception hall, where one of the campus kitchens had catered refreshments. “That looks so good.”
She’d been too nervous to eat before the lecture, so she was starving.
Hors d’oeuvres. Cheese. Pastries. A cake.
“Do you want a glass of wine?” Thor asked.
“That would be wonderful. Chardonnay, if they have it.”
Thor walked to the bar, Elizabeth, Holly, and Gabriela behind him.
Samantha made her way to the buffet, picked up a paper plate, tried to decide between the bruschetta with olive tapenade and mushrooms, the crab and avocado toast, or the smoked salmon crisps. Hungry, she took one of each.
“So, they gave you the job.”
Samantha turned, the voice somehow familiar. “Nathan.”
Her pulse skipped. She hadn’t known he worked here.
Damn.
He stood there, a sneer on his face, a beer in hand. “I’ve worked here as an instructor for a year, and they gave the job to you. Did you sleep with the entire hiring committee or just Professor Newton?”
Taken aback by the ugliness of his words, she stared. “Why are you so bitter?”
“Bitter?” Nathan snorted. “I’m not bitter. I’m pissed. I’ve worked hard, too, just as hard as you. But they hired you because you’re a woman. They’re all on a crusade to hire women in the sciences.”
Heat rushed into her face, his words like a blow. “My getting this job has nothing to do with my sex. I’ve worked hard to get here. Maybe if you’d quit blaming other people for your shortcomings, you’d get farther. The common denominator in all of your failures is you.”
An ugly grimace on his face, Nathan took an aggressive step toward her—then looked up and backed off.
Thor was there, a glass of wine in one hand, a beer in the other. “Er alt i orden, skat?” Is everything okay, sweetheart?
He’d been teaching her conversational Danish in preparation for their visit to his parents this Christmas.
“Ja, tak.” Yes, thanks. She took the wine, slid her fingers through Thor’s. “Thor, this is Nathan Collins. Nathan, this is my partner, Thor Isaksen. He’s a veteran of Danish special forces and works in security.”
She probably hadn’t needed to add that last part, but she’d enjoyed it.
Nathan took another step backward, his gaze still on Thor. “Your partner? Isn’t that egalitarian? What’s it like being married to a computer?”
Thor smiled, but Samantha could sense his anger. “It’s great. I admire Samantha’s intelligence and her passion for science—and life.”
They weren’t married, of course, but neither Samantha nor Thor corrected him.
Prof. Newton hurried over, outrage on his face. “Dr. Collins, I need you to leave. You are out of line. What you said to Dr. Park is unacceptable. Report to my office—”
“I quit. I worked for you for a year, busted my ass, and didn’t even get benefits. And you hired her over me and gave her a full professorship. This is bullshit. I’m done.”
And for the second time, Nathan walked out of Samantha’s life.
Dr. Newton looked imploringly at Samantha. “I’m so sorry, Dr. Park. We don’t tolerate sexual harassment in this department. Please accept our apologies. I hope this won’t change your mind about joining the faculty.”
Samantha tried to reassure him. “I don’t blame you or the department. Thank you for addressing it so quickly. I know Nathan from grad school. He felt like I got ahead because of my sex.”
Dr. Newton shook his head. “Then he’s an idiot.”
But how had Prof. Newton known?
Samantha looked over her shoulder and saw Holly smiling, a martini in her hand.
Holly winked and bit the olive off the end of a toothpick, Gabriela and Elizabeth standing beside her, knowing smiles on their faces.
* * *
Thor sat back in the hot tub, lazily fondling Samantha’s breast, Samantha resting against his chest, nothing above them but the night sky. They’d made love the moment they’d stepped through the door, his desire for her as strong as it had been when they’d first become lovers in Antarctica. “I’ve been thinking.”
“Yeah?”
“We should buy a studio apartment near campus so you don’t have to drive up and down the canyon when I’m away on assignment.” He’d find a building with a security entrance, a place where she would be safe while he was away. “The canyon isn’t the easiest drive in snow. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“If you think it’s a good idea, I’m for it.” She took a sip of her wine. “I suppose you could stay there before or after missions. It’s a lot closer to Denver and the airport. When you have early flights, you’d be able to sleep longer.”
“Yeah, that, too.”
“I love it up here, Thor. I love this house. I love living with you.”
“Good.” He loved sharing his life with her, too.
From its perch in a nearby pin
e, a great horned owl hooted, and another answered.
Who-who-who. Whooo-whooo.
Thor kissed the top of her head. “You made a great impression on Elizabeth, Holly, and Gabriela tonight.”
“I like them a lot, but it’s hard to imagine them as spies.”
Thor chuckled in part because it was true. “I’m not sure they would have called themselves spies. Holly’s job was to date foreign visitors—people who posed a danger to national security—and set them up for surveillance.”
“You mean she bugged them or something?”
“Yes, or put a GPS tag on their vehicle.”
“Wow.”
“Gabriela worked undercover for eighteen months as a nun. She was taken hostage by a drug cartel, and we came to rescue her. That’s how she met Cruz.”
“You’re not the only Cobra guy to hook up with someone you rescued?”
That made Thor laugh. “Oh, hell, no.”
It was a hazard of the job.
“What about Elizabeth?”
“She was a counter-terrorism analyst and interrogator. She’s also a top-notch hacker and communications person—an all-around genius and good judge of people. I think the two of you would get along.”
“She still feels bad about not uncovering Delaney’s identity sooner.”
“That’s the thing about our jobs. When you screw up, you lose data or make an instrument malfunction. When we screw up, people die.”
“That’s a lot of pressure.”
“Yeah.” There was no denying that.
“I think Holly tipped off Dr. Newton about Nathan. When I looked back at her, she winked at me.”
“We all overheard him. When I came over to you, she went for Dr. Newton. In her own way, she’s more dangerous than any of us men.”
“I believe you.”
But Thor hadn’t been able to put what that bastard had said to Samantha out of his mind. “I’m sorry about tonight. I should have ripped his fucking head off or made him eat his own balls. What a son of a bitch.”
“You did exactly what I needed you to do.”
“Yeah? And what was that—stand there looking big and scary?”
Samantha turned to face him, wine glass in hand. “You made me feel safe.”
Okay, he liked that. “I’m glad I did something.”
From somewhere in the distance came a long, drawn-out cry.
Samantha’s eyes went wide. “What was that?”
“Probably a mountain lion. We have a lot of them up here. One jumped up on the deck once and looked through the window. I’ve seen bears on the property, too.”
Samantha gaped at him. “An apartment in Boulder is a great idea. I’m not sure I’d want to come home in the dark if you’re not here.”
Thor couldn’t help but smile. “Does the city girl find the wild animals scary?”
She leaned in, kissed him. “Not when you’re with me.”
Thor drew in a breath and decided to come right out with it. “There is something that bastard said that I can’t let go.”
“What’s that?”
“Remember when he asked me what it’s like being married to a computer?”
“You said, ‘It’s great.’ You didn’t correct him and tell him we aren’t married.”
“Why would I do that?” Thor lifted a strand of wet hair off her cheek. “It’s none of his shitting business, and, to be honest, I like the idea.”
“You liked the idea of being married to a computer?”
He laughed. “Of being married to you.”
Samantha stared at him through wide eyes. “You want to … to marry me?”
Thor was as surprised as she was. “I do.”
“I didn’t think you believed in marriage.”
“Neither did I—but then I’ve never been in love before either.” He sat up, caught her face between his palms, needing her to understand. “The day before I left for Antarctica, I sat on that bench over there, thinking how the one thing missing from my life was a woman who loved me despite my lack of appreciation for expensive shoes and my ridiculous job. Then I met you.”
He chuckled. “You had a pencil in your hair, and I don’t think you wanted us there. But you blew me away with your intelligence, your courage, your sweet face—and that was before we ended up in bed. I don’t have an engagement ring—yet—but I can’t imagine a future without you. I love you, Samantha.”
Then because only Danish expressed what he wanted to say, he switched. “Du er ikke bare min kæreste, Samantha. Du er blodet i mine årer. Du er mit hjertes slag. Du er åndedrag i lungerne. Du er alt for mig.”
Tears filled her eyes as she tried to work through his words, her face lighting up with a wobbly smile. “I didn’t understand that—something about a heart?”
Thor did his best to translate, though it didn’t sound as good in English. “You aren’t just my girlfriend. You’re the blood in my veins. You’re the beating of my heart. You’re the breath in my lungs. You’re everything to me.”
“Oh, Thor. I don’t need a ring. I just want you. Jeg elsker dig.”
I love you.
“Is that a yes?”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “Ja. Jeg siger ja.”
Yes. I say yes.
Heart full, Thor kissed her, the stars glittering overhead.
Thank You
Thanks for reading Hard Line. I hope you enjoyed this Cobra Elite story. Follow me on Facebook or on Twitter @Pamela_Clare. Join my romantic suspense reader’s group on Facebook to be a part of a never-ending conversation with other Cobra fans and get inside information on the series and on life in Colorado’s mountains. You can also sign up to my mailing list at my website to keep current with all my releases and to be a part of special newsletter giveaways.
Also by Pamela Clare
Romantic Suspense:
Cobra Elite Series
Hard Target (Book 1)
Hard Asset (Book 2)
Hard Justice (Book 3)
Hard Edge (Book 4)
Hard Line (Book 5)
I-Team Series
Extreme Exposure (Book 1)
Heaven Can’t Wait (Book 1.5)
Hard Evidence (Book 2)
Unlawful Contact (Book 3)
Naked Edge (Book 4)
Breaking Point (Book 5)
Skin Deep: An I-Team After Hours Novella (Book 5.5)
First Strike: The Prequel to Striking Distance (Book 5.9)
Striking Distance (Book 6)
Soul Deep: An I-Team After Hours Novella (Book 6.5)
Seduction Game (Book 7)
Dead by Midnight: An I-Team Christmas (Book 7.5)
Deadly Intent (Book 8)
Contemporary Romance:
Colorado High Country Series
Barely Breathing (Book 1)
Slow Burn (Book 2)
Falling Hard (Book 3)
Tempting Fate (Book 4)
Close to Heaven (Book 5)
Holding On (Book 6)
Chasing Fire (Book 7)
Historical Romance:
Kenleigh-Blakewell Family Saga
Sweet Release (Book 1)
Carnal Gift (Book 2)
Ride the Fire (Book 3)
MacKinnon’s Rangers series
Surrender (Book I)
Untamed (Book 2)
Defiant (Book 3)
Upon A Winter’s Night: A MacKinnon’s Rangers Christmas (Book 3.5)
About the Author
USA Today best-selling author Pamela Clare began her writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor-in-chief of two different newspapers. Along the way, she and her team won numerous state and national honors, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service. In 2011, Clare was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work. A single mother with two sons, she writes historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense at the foot of the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
Visit her website and join her mailing list to never miss a new release!
Pamela Clare’s Romantic Suspense Fan Group
Goodreads
www.pamelaclare.com
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