by Mary Wine
Could they airbrush out that much hair? And exactly how many tattoos were the tan T-shirt and camouflage pants hiding? Now that she was getting to know him better, he seemed the type to have ink, and lots of it. Probably a really crude naked lady or obscenities. Or maybe some morbid, bloody skull tattoo. Emily could only guess. She and Katie hadn’t discussed the possibility of tatts. Perhaps they could airbrush any of those out too.
Then a small detail she’d missed before hit her.
She frowned. “Your shirt. It’s tan.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So, shouldn’t it be green? You know, Army green. No?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s the rules.”
“Oh, come on. I know I’ve seen military men in olive-green shirts.”
He nodded. “I’m sure you have. Marines wear green shirts. The Army wears tan T-shirts with the universal-camouflage pattern for our combat uniform.”
She sighed again, deeper. Fighting the rules seemed useless, but she couldn’t resist one last word. “Well, that tan does nothing to bring out the color of your eyes.”
Hawk smiled broadly at that, looking genuinely amused, an emotion Emily had begun to doubt was in his repertoire.
“I’ll make sure to point that out to my superiors. Maybe they’ll consider changing the regulation uniform in deference to the color of my eyes.”
Well, that was the highest amount of syllables she’d heard come out of him all at once the entire day.
Emily had a strong urge to stick her tongue out at him. He’d probably laugh at her for that too, so she didn’t give him the satisfaction.
She heard Jai’s shutter and looked up to see him snapping candid photos of Hawk, who went from a laughing smile at her expense, to a frown, to looking stern and kind of scary in a matter of seconds.
“That’s great, Sergeant.” Jai wore a grin. “Perfect. I want your whole range of expressions over the next few days.”
That led to an even more comical expression of horror clearly written across Hawk’s face. Had he just realized that whether he was happy about it or not, this photo shoot and this ad campaign starring him was going to happen? Difficult or not, he was stuck with them for the next few days and there was nothing he could do about it.
Now it was Emily’s turn to smile.
The heat is on...
Into the Fire
© 2012 Donna Alward
First Responders, Book 3
The last person firefighter Chris Jackson expects to rescue from a burning animal shelter is Ally Gallant—his ex-fiancé. Even though three years have passed since she gave him back his ring, one look at her frightened face in the haze of a smoky building is all it takes for him to realize he’ll still do anything to protect her.
Ally’s put her heart and soul into the shelter, and she’s devastated when it’s destroyed. What's more, Chris is suddenly there for her in ways she doesn’t expect—ways she’s sure she doesn’t deserve—as she makes decisions about her future. Then there’s the not-so-small matter of the blazing passion between them that refuses to be extinguished.
But when Chris is injured while on a call, Ally’s reminded of all the reasons she walked away. Now she must look deep within herself to find the courage to put fear on the back burner and step into the fire—into love.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Into the Fire:
Chris put down his glass and reached over to put his hand on her knee. “It’ll all work out, you’ll see.”
“I hope so.” She toyed with her glass. “It was a big job getting it going in the first place. Now it’s like starting all over.”
“What about insurance?”
She shrugged. “Insurance will cover some of the contents, I suppose. But the building wasn’t ours. We rented it. In fact, we were looking at relocating because the landlord wanted to raise the rent. As a charity, that’s a tough pill to swallow, you know?” She sighed. “We don’t have a choice now. But we’ve also lost all our equipment, cages, food…”
“Don’t think about it.” Chris could tell she was feeling overwhelmed again. “You can figure that out later. One thing at a time, and right now it’s looking after you. Making sure you’re okay.”
She looked at him so sweetly he nearly forgot the edge of bitterness he still felt when he thought about their breakup. It still hurt, knowing they’d been so close but that she’d been able to walk away so easily.
“I’m okay thanks to you. A lot of animals are okay thanks to you. You saved us today, Chris.”
He’d left his hand on her knee, and now she put her hand on top of his. It was warm and soft, and without thinking he turned his over so his fingers were twined with hers. For all the hurt, he’d never hated her. It was impossible to stay angry with Ally. She was too kind of a person.
That kind nature was part of why her leaving had hurt so bad. It would have been easier to get over her if she’d been nastier, selfish, vindictive. But she was none of those things. She never had been.
“I was just doing my job,” he said. But he knew that wasn’t strictly true. For a second today, it had been intensely personal. All he had to do was think about her wide, frightened eyes and he had the urge to pull her into his arms and protect her.
He was suddenly aware that his thumb was stroking the soft skin at the top of her hand. And that she hadn’t pulled away.
“I was so scared,” she whispered. “I knew I had to try to get as many out as I could, but I could taste the smoke and hear the fire and I was terrified. And then you were there.” She slid over on to the cushion between them, turned and put her arms around his neck. “I was never so glad to see anyone in my life.”
“You’d never know it.” His voice came out all husky, and he swallowed, putting an arm around her back, trying to hold on to his composure. It was difficult when she was pressed against him, smelling like his shampoo, wearing his clothes. “You started barking orders.”
“Only because I saw you and I knew it would all be okay. I knew you’d make sure it was okay.”
It was the grandest statement of trust he’d ever heard. And certainly unexpected from her, who’d been so disapproving about his training to be a firefighter and had made no secret of her feelings. She’d hated the fact that he’d wanted to be a fireman. But he had no regrets. The only thing that had kept him sane for the first year after their breakup was how much he loved it. He still did, even if it was only as a part of a volunteer department. He could have gone somewhere else with a paid department, but he’d wanted to come back to the one place that was home for him. This way he got to have both the job and still stay in the valley. It was where he belonged.
She was pressed against him and he closed his eyes. He could feel her breasts against his chest, free from constraint inside the soft T-shirt. He turned his head slightly and his lips touched a wisp of hair just behind her ear. A breathy sigh fluttered against his neck and he felt his judgment weakening.
Dream Shadow
Mary Wine
She doesn’t need backup…until love backs her into a corner.
Dream, Book 1
Sheriff Brice Campbell never met a psychic worth a dime. Until Grace. She’s the real deal, an Army psychic tracker with a flawless record for finding her target. And somewhere behind her bristling defenses is a woman he’s determined to coax out into the light of day.
Grace’s legendary ability to keep her emotions walled off from her gift is the key to her success. Unfocused equals unproductive. Only this time, her target is a child that’s gone missing. Worse, an unexpected attraction to Brice is messing with her concentration, big time.
Desire sends them both up in a firestorm of passion, which only makes it painfully clear that the Army’s secret weapon has one embarrassing flaw. In matters of the heart, she’s a rank amateur.
Brice is more than willing to help her navigate these unfamiliar waters, but bringing her heart out of the shadows exposes
her to danger neither saw coming. And from which no army can save her.
Warning: Contains a small-town sheriff who isn’t going to let a few emotional walls get in his way, and a woman who can’t help but let him take hers down, brick by brick.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
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Dream Shadow
Copyright © 2013 by Mary Wine
ISBN: 978-1-61921-375-3
Edited by Heidi Moore
Cover by Angela Waters
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: January 2013
www.samhainpublishing.com