Too Sexy for his Stetson
Page 26
“Nothing’s changed. That’s the point. You’re still my co–worker. And I don’t want a fling.”
No, the point was everything had changed. Blade realized Brandy meant more to him than anything.
“We can be friends. We have to be friends. Nothing more.”
Had he heard wrong at the powerhouse? Imagined those three little words? Tears burned the back of his eyes. One escaped.
Her delicate fingertips dusted his cheek, but she lowered her chin and commenced talking to her feet. “There’s no way we can… we can’t keep sneaking around trying to hide our affair… relationship… whatever it is.”
“No, I don’t suppose we can, especially when we start filling the house with little Beringers.”
Her head shot up, and her expression froze in a wide–eyed gawk. “What did you say? “
“You know—kids, rug rats. Playmates for Rambo.”
“Are you serious?”
“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. It’s going to take more than you and me and Rambo to fill up this big old ranch house.”
He took a shaky step toward her. “Maybe we’ll hold off on the ruggies for a bit, but not for too long.”
“Seriously, you’re talking… about ma–marriage… and kids? With me? ” she squeaked.
The goofy grin on her face turned his insides to mush and freed the words trapped in his heart. Words he’d never allowed himself to say before.
“I love you, Brandy.”
She stood, unmoving, silent. And then she said, “But we can’t get married. The Department won’t allow—”
He caught her bottom lip playfully between his teeth, tasting her. Then he got down to the real deal—a kiss that staked his claim to the woman who had worked her way into his soul, the woman who had made him believe in himself.
Her responding kiss was so hot it would have brought him to his knees if his bandaged leg would have allowed.
Just short of totally annihilating him, she suddenly pulled away, shaking her head. “Does this mean I’ll have to resign from the sheriff’s department? I don’t—”
Blade shook his head. “I would never ask you to give up your career for me. It seems the Fort Shoshone Police Department is suddenly reallocating positions. I already checked into the openings, and it looks like I’ve got a job with them if I want it. I might even move up a rank. Hell, Brandy, Fort Shoshone’s so close we can meet for lunch.”
“Really?” Like violets brimmed with raindrops, her eyes sparkled. He pulled her against his chest and hugged her so close he could count each beat of her heart. Tears spilled down her face and mingled with his. A couple of tough cops reduced to bawling.
“So, Deputy—” He kissed the salty rivulets from her cheeks, her chin, her throat. “Did I hear right yesterday? What you said at the powerhouse?”
“You heard right.” She whispered, “I love you.”
“That’s a yes, then? You’ll marry me?”
For a long moment, she contemplated. When she looked up, her face was deadly somber.
Blade’s heart dropped to his ankles.
“Lieutenant, you are just too damn sexy for your Stetson.”
All the air in the universe evaporated.
“So,” she said, grinning, “I guess I’ll just have to keep you in my sights forever.”
Blade sighed into her hair and held her to his chest. “This is what home feels like.”
“Yes, you’re right,” Brandy said. “ This is what home feels like.”
Excerpt from
Shadow of Deceit
The gun Shannon came across at the bottom of a neatly folded stack of masculine attire on her bed shouldn’t have surprised her. She’d seen the agent’s Glock earlier.
Intrigued, she reached for the pistol, an object that seemed so out of place in her bedroom. As though she were familiar with handling firearms when she wasn’t, she wrapped her hand around the grip then jerked her head toward the bathroom door, conjuring up thriller fantasies.
But she didn’t have to conjure anything when she noticed a letter poking out of Crazaniak’s inside jacket pocket. Nor did she have to imagine the fact that the closet door stood slightly ajar. Her stomach clenched, a mix of anger and unease. Had the FBI agent been nosing through Tyler’s belongings?
Tit for tat—the urge to sneak a peek overwhelmed her. Her heartbeat ratcheted up as she shifted the gun to her left hand and reached for the letter.
At that instant, she sensed a presence behind her. Even as the sound of water pounded the walls of the tub enclosure, Shannon knew in her heart of hearts that six foot–plus of dripping wet, naked man stood not relaxing under the water jets, but hovering five heart–palpitating feet away.
“Want to toss me my clothes?” he asked.
Unwilling to face him, she remained quick–frozen like a pillar of ice.
“Tell me you weren’t snooping in my things,” he rumbled.
“Tell me you weren’t snooping in my closet.”
“ I wasn’t snooping.”
She eyed the edge of the letter. “I thought I’d treat your duds to some suds. You want to hang out in my robe for a few?”
“Not enough material there to cover my manly attributes. I’ll settle for day–old Jockeys, and what the hell were you doing with my pistol?”
“Nothing.” She almost turned around.
Her chest thumped. The thought of Crazaniak au natural not only spiked her pulse, it titillated her imagination. She waited for a chord of guilt to strum across her heart. It didn’t happen. Instead, discord fluttered low in her abdomen, and she sensed him moving closer.
Available through most online booksellers
Visit my website.
Click here to see the trailer for Shadow of Deceit
About The Author
Mal Olson writes adrenaline kicked romantic suspense. She enjoys skydiving, ski jumping, SCUBA, hang gliding, big wave surfing, car racing, mountain climbing—that is, vicariously through her characters, who are always kick–ass, and often boss her around rather than allowing her to spin her stories the way she intends. (She did, however, personally engage in zip lining this past summer.)
Her debut novel Shadow of Deceit, released by The Wild Rose Press in 2012, is an edge of the seat romantic suspense–thriller set in Milwaukee and parts of northern Wisconsin. A couple of her favorite reviews came from Beverly at The Wormhole, who said, “Wow! This one has it all! Non–stop action, hot and sexy characters, betrayal, smokin’ romance, and a thrilling plot––” and Gothic Mom’s Book Review, which stated, “In the 150+ books that I read per year, there are very few that receive a five star rating. Shadow of Deceit did just that. Non stop action, sexual tension, an adventure that had me on the edge of my seat…A fantastic book that had me from page one…”
When her characters aren’t bossing her around, she squeezes in time for reading, watching Packer football, flower gardening, jamming with friends on the mountain dulcimer, and hiking in a nearby state forest (or in the mountains somewhere). She has three grown children and one granddaughter and resides with her own special hero in southeast Wisconsin where she juggles writing time with her freelance landscape design business. Find out more at www.malolson.com
Table of Contents
Unnamed
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY–ONE
CHAPTER TWE
NTY–TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY–THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY–FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY–FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY–SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY–SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY–EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY–NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
Excerpt from Shadow of Deceit
About The Author