Badass

by Linda Barlow

  “Shit, Cassie, I don’t even know if I can ever make you happy. You don’t know what you are getting into dating a Team guy.”

  “So tell me.”

  “I get deployed a lot. It’s a dangerous job. You will go months without knowing if I’m alive or dead. It’s not fair to ask you to put up with that. You might end up hating me and wishing you’d never met me.”

  Did he think I’d never considered that? It would be difficult, I knew. Worrying about him and missing him would be the worst. I hated to even think about how hard it would be. But other women did it when they loved their man.

  “I hear what you’re saying, but I have plenty going on in my life to keep me busy while you’re away. I’m in grad school, I work, I do research projects. Hell, I do yoga. I don’t need you to hold my hand every day to make me happy. Have I ever seemed to you like a woman who couldn’t get along without a guy?”

  “Well, no,” he admitted. He paused for a bit, and then added, “But you know what I do, right? I kill people. You’ve seen that first hand.”

  “You defend people. You protected me. Shane, you saved my life." Was he worried that I’d reject him because I’d seen him kill those two motorcycle thugs? I knew what SEALs did. I knew that those creeps weren’t the first men he’d killed, nor would they be the last. But if I hadn’t accepted that side of him long ago, I never would have let myself fall in love. “I don’t see you as a killer. The way you were with Meztli, with me, with that baby you helped pull out of the rubble. I see you as a healer and a protector, Shane.”

  He still looked a little dubious.

  “Look, you’re passionate, smart, and incredible in bed. You’re principled, honorable and artistic. Shane, you’re everything I want, everything I need.” I kissed him again, hard. “I fucking love you.”

  As his arms enfolded me tightly, I noticed a sea lion staring up at us. The scarring around his neck suggested that he was the one I’d saved. The now almost full-grown pup who had brought us together. Was he rooting for us from his home in the sea?

  Perhaps you are a whale-whisperer too, Metzli had said.

  When Shane finished kissing me thoroughly, he lifted his head and gave me that old familiar leer. “I think you’re a little crazy if you can love a guy like me, but you’re my kind of crazy. Crazy beautiful. You’re coming home with me, babe. Right now.”

  “Oh yeah? What for?”

  “I’m gonna fuck you silly, that’s what for.” With one arm firmly around my waist he dragged me up the path to the parking lot. Okay, he didn’t have to drag. I was jogging along beside him, as eager to get to a bed as he was to take me to one.

  “Look what your dad did,” he said, taking me to…wow…the Harley. All bright and shiny and repaired and looking as good as new. “He had the whole thing refurbished for me after shipping it back up here. Nice, huh? I wouldn’t have thought a prof like him even knew anything about bikes, but I guess he’s not as much of a stick in the mud as I thought. He confessed he’d had a Harley of his own when he was young.”

  “My father did that?” I’d had no idea Dad was fixing Shane’s bike.

  “He didn’t tell you?”

  “Nobody tells me anything!”

  He grinned at me. “I love you.”

  “Well, I love you, too, you big jerk!”

  “Then get on the bike. Because I’m gonna make you prove it tonight in about a hundred ways.”

  I laughed and hugged him hard. Then he mounted his shiny Harley, the one that had borne us a thousand miles into the wilderness and been a cold metal witness to our love, and I climbed on behind him, pressed myself against his ass, and hung on tight.

  This was where I belonged, and this was where I was gonna stay, no matter where the next road trip took us. This badass was mine and I was his.

  Forever.

  THE END

  From the Authors

  If you enjoyed this book, we have more!

  LINDA: If you love bad boys, check out Cassie’s hometown friends:

  Stephen: I want it all: whips and chains. Hearts and kisses. The Dangerous Hero.

  Nick: She thinks I'm dominating. Cruel. But I've got a dirty job to do. Uncover Me.

  Daniel: She’s a psychic? With a reincarnated cat? Don’t make me laugh. Blazing Nights.

  Connor: She accepted a ride with me? Her troubles are just beginning. Color Me Blue (novella).

  If you love alpha male shifters, check out The Zrakon’s Bride and The Zrakon’s Curse.

  For the latest updates, release, and giveaways, subscribe to Linda’s newsletter.

  For all her available books, check out Linda’s Amazon author page, website or Facebook page.

  ALANA: Want to meet Shane’s SEAL buddies?

  Meet Pat! I had one chance to put on the cape and be her hero. Invincible.

  Meet Grant! She wants to get wild? I will fulfill her every fantasy. Conceit.

  Like Marines?

  Meet Bret! The thought of being with a real man, muscles sculpted from carrying weapons, not practicing pilates made her quiver. Love Waltzes In.

  Like Rockstars?

  Meet Tony! This Greek God of a man is six feet five inches of perfection. Waltz on the Wild Side.

  For the latest updates, release, and giveaways, subscribe to Alana’s newsletter.

  For all her available books, check out Alana’s Amazon author page, website or Facebook page.

  Linda’s Bio

  Linda Barlow is the author of 25 novels, with more on the way. She lives in New England with her spouse (who sleeps during the day, which has often made her wonder if he's a vampire) and their equally enigmatic and nocturnal cat.

  Linda has written in various genres, including historical and contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, New Adult romance, family sagas, and general mainstream fiction. Publishers have included Doubleday, Dell, Penguin, Warner Books, Hachette, New American Library/Signet, Berkley/Putnam, Silhouette and Harlequin.

  Linda is a USA Today bestselling author. She's proud to have earned a few awards over the years, including the Rita from Romance Writers of America for Leaves of Fortune; New Historical Novelist of the year from Romantic Times for Fires of Destiny; and a Career Achievement award from RT.

  Alana’s Bio

  Alana Albertson is the President of Romance Writers of America’s Contemporary Romance chapter and former President of RWA’s Young Adult and Chick Lit chapters. Alana Albertson holds a Masters of Education from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Stanford University.

  A recovering professional ballroom dancer, Alana currently writes new adult, romantic suspense, contemporary romance and paranormal young adult romance. She lives in San Diego, California, with her husband, two young sons, and four dogs. When she’s not spending her time needlepointing, dancing, or saving dogs from high kill shelters through Pugs N Roses, the rescue she founded, she can be found watching episodes of House Hunters, Homeland, or Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.