by Leslie North
Mark stilled as Geneva tried to speak. He felt as though he’d been kicked all over again. Was she about to tell him she didn’t want to be with him? After everything? He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what she had to say. Not now. Not after, he’d opened up to her.
He grunted, as he levered up one arm, his ribs screaming at him to stop. “Look Geneva. You don’t want….”
“Stop.”
“No, let me say this, I get that….” He stopped talking as he watched Geneva scoot slowly down the bed, her body brushing enticingly against him, as she worked her way down. If this was some sort of tease on her part, he was not in the mood. Narrowing his eyes at her, he was about to say something when she lightly placed her finger over his lips before kissing him.
“What I was attempting to say is, “I love you, Mark Rogers. I don’t know when or how, but in such a short amount of time, I’ve fallen in love with you.” Geneva punctuated her words with kisses on his face before shifting to his neck. “And if you would stop being so obstinate and let me actually get the words out, I would happily say it again.”
A slow smiled spread across Mark’s face, as Geneva nibbled on his ear. When she didn’t say anything else, he cleared his throat making her look up at him.
“What?”
Shifting to his back, he dragged Geneva on top of him as he grinned at her. “This is me, not being obstinate. So, say it again. Please.”
Her chuckle made his balls tighten painfully while her hair tickled his chest. Shifting to her knees, she leaned over him, kissing him deeply. When they parted, they were both panting.
“I, Geneva Rios, love you, Mark Aleki Rogers. Flaws and all.”
Reaching for her, Mark pushed her over and rolled quickly so he was on top of her. He caught his breath while he forced the pain down. Looking down at her, he kissed her. “And I, Mark Aleki Rogers, love you, Geneva Rios. Flaws and all. But can we please save the acrobats for tomorrow. I’d really like not to have to go to the hospital again.”
Her answering chuckle was music to his ears.
End of SEAL Defender
Brothers In Arms Book One
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BLURB
With the clock ticking, Navy SEAL Gage Jackelsn must uncover the truth about his fallen teammate before he and his brothers-in-arms take the blame. When his intel leads him to a publishing company, he never dreamed he’d end up as a romance cover model. He’ll do whatever it takes to get closer to the information he needs, but when he meets Anna—the photographer with the striking eyes and sultry voice—it just may be worth it.
Photographer Anna Middleton has shot her share of male models, but none that are real-life SEALs. She’s not sure why the tall, muscular military man would want to pose as a romance hero, but she doesn’t have much time to wonder before her boss disappears under suspicious circumstances. Soon she’s thrust into the middle of a situation that could mean life or death.
When Gage realizes how much trouble Anna is in, he’ll do what he can to shield her from the danger that always follows him. But with the scars from her past that she keeps hidden, can Anna ever trust him if she learns their meeting was based on a lie?
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EXCERPT
Gage Jackelson decided he’d rather be in the middle of a fire fight on open water than standing in the front of a green screen in nothing more than his jeans, feeling like a hunk of meat on a slab.
What looked like a Gothic fairy—heavy on the black eye-liner and dyed hair and complete with what looked a pink tutu trimmed in more black—flitted about him, dusting powder on him and muttering about cheekbones.
This was ridiculous. He stood, arms folded, wondering how he could get out of this. But he couldn’t. He had to start thinking of this like a mission. So he let the fairy fuss.
The elevator pinged, and he hoped the photographer had finally arrived and he could wrap up this charade, get the intel they needed, and get his shirt back on. The things he’d do for a friend—even a dead one.
Hearing steps, he glanced over and watched a young woman walk into the studio—okay, warehouse was a better name for it. A loft with more ceiling space than floor space, white walls and photos hung on them. Dirt glazed the windows, but he had enough light on him that he kept breaking a light sweat.
The woman stepped in front of him, head cocked, and stared at him. He could feel his skin warm. He’d been on the other side of that kind of assessment—had been eyeing the girls just last week with Scotty making his usual crude remarks, and Spencer sipping his tequila. This woman would have rated a second look and one of Scotty’s terrible pick-up lines.
Eyes blue as the Mediterranean Sea fixed on him. Tight jeans encased long legs—he’d always been a leg man—and a white silk blouse said she had money enough to afford good clothes. Golden hair had been pulled back from a heart-shaped face. She didn’t wear much makeup that he could see, and he caught a flash of gold earrings. But those eyes kept pulling him back for another look. Who the hell was she? The photographer’s girlfriend?
Turning, she walked over to the camera—not a digital, but something big and old and also expensive-looking. She stared through the lens and then looked up at him. “Gage Jackelson,” she said the name as if she was thinking of something else. She propped a fist on one hip. “I keep wondering why’d a Navy SEAL agree to a cover shoot.” A guy could feel quite warm wrapped up in her sultry tone.
He lifted an eyebrow. “And you are?”
She stepped up and reached out to shake his hand. “Anna Middleton.”
Gage nodded. The photos on the walls all had Middleton signed to them. He was going to guess not the photographer’s wife—no ring on her finger. He fought the urge to hold her hand longer than he should, but he caught a flush of color in her cheeks. She tilted her head up to look at him and he could swear he caught a flash of surprise in those sea-blue eyes.
Pulling her hand back, he watched as she tucked it behind her back before turning to grab the camera off its stand.
“Did Linda explain how this works?”
Linda—the Gothic fairy—flashed a smile at him. She trailed a finger down his forearm. “You’ll do great. He’s set, Anna.” She ducked away.
Gage glanced at Anna and her camera. “How hard is it to smile for the camera?” Gage drawled. His fingers stopped tingling since he touched her, and he was itching to do so again. Or possibly run his fingers through that soft cloud of hair.
“You’d be surprised.” Her wide mouth twitched at the corners. “We’ll start without props, but Linda will bring a few in later.”
“Props?” Gage lifted both eyebrows.
Anna took a couple of shots, the camera clicking. “We use a green screen so we can drop in any background, but it’s easier to use anything that you will be touching in the actual photos.” Stepping back to the tripod, Anna set the camera on it. She looked through the camera lens, paused and looked back up at him. “Um, you’re looking a little stiff.”
Linda gave a snort of amusement, tried to hide it with a cough. Gage smiled, and Anna gave Linda a dirty look before turning back to Gage. “Any chance you can relax? Loosen up? Look less like you’re standing in front of a camera?”
&nbs
p; Gage forced a smile. He was going to kill Scotty and Spencer for talking him into being the one to come to Coran Williams Publishing. This is for Nick, he told himself again. And they had damn little to go on right now—an encrypted flash drive and one personal photo that had been of Nick and Natalie. They hadn’t even found Nick’s awards and honors for service. But the photo had led them here.
“Mr. Jackelson?”
Gage shook himself out of his mood—he’d been starting to frown. He had to watch that. They’d talked it over and all had agreed that busting in here with questions might not get them far. They needed intel, meaning they needed to get inside this place and poke around. Which was why he was here. With his shirt off.
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