“How can you ask me that when you used to be a military officer? Why’d you join the military?”
“They paid for medical school.”
“That’s not the only reason and you know it.”
“Fine. I wanted to serve my country. That’s my reason for leading a militia, too.”
“Well, there you go. We’re not as different as you think. I work for the ATF to keep citizens of this country safe. I believe in its mission. But at the end of the day, I can take off my gun, and climb into bed with you and it won’t matter that you don’t agree with me.”
At the mention of a bed, Dylan’s knees turned to mush.
“Listen,” he added, “you said it yourself when you addressed the crowd earlier. This is a beautiful country. What makes it beautiful is that we’re entitled to have differing opinions. I can respect your political philosophies if you can respect mine.”
She doubted her ability to do that. “You make it sound so simple.”
“That’s because it is simple. We compromise.” He gathered her closer, sparking goose bumps as he nuzzled her ear. “Come on, sweetheart. Let me show you how it’s done.”
Anticipation powered through her, making it impossible to resist. “Okay,” she agreed with a sigh of surrender.
As he nipped and licked her neck and ear, he skillfully let her hair down, much like he’d done on Jefferson’s Rock. Sliding his fingers through her unwinding hair, he cupped her head, holding her perfectly still to receive his kiss. His lips warmly covered hers, plying them apart. His tongue swept in, coaxing a response. The breath left her lungs, and her mind melted into a languorous stupor.
As the buttons of his jacket parted under her nimble fingers, Dylan scanned the message on the underlying T-shirt from beneath her lashes.
IF YOU CAN’T TAKE THE HEAT, DON’T TICKLE THE DRAGON.
Laughter bubbled up her throat, shattering their kiss. “Oh, Tobias,” she gasped, “you’re too much.”
“You think that’s funny?” he said with mock-seriousness. Drawing her hand over the bulge now straining the fabric of his crotch, he growled lecherously, “I would say you’re in very serious danger, ma’am. This dragon is particularly ornery and large.”
Her eyes widened in feigned dismay. “Did you say horny and large?”
“Close enough.”
“But you’ll save me won’t you?”
“Of course. It’s what I do.”
“My hero,” she crowed, throwing her head back. “Now, take me upstairs and help me to forget this entire week,” she commanded.
“Oh, you’ll forget it, all right.” Extracting out another shriek of laughter, he scooped her off her feet and headed for the stairs. “My God, you’re heavy,” he huffed, halfway to the second story. “How much do those boots of yours weigh?”
She play punched him in the chest. “Stop it. I’m not that heavy.”
“They must have fed you nonstop in jail,” he groused, panting up the past few steps. “Not you,” he added, preventing Milly from darting into the room with them. “Three is a crowd. Out.” Turning sideways, he edged into the room with Dylan and shut the door with his foot.
“Poor Milly,” Dylan lamented.
“Poor Milly, my ass. She went from a working dog to the most coddled Lab on the planet. Plus, I’m sure you’ll make it up to her later,” he added, lowering her gently onto the bed. “But right now, I want you all to myself, with no distractions. This is our time.” He lowered his mouth to hers.
Dylan went to kiss him back then changed her mind. “I’m sorry, I have to shower first. All I can smell is Kevin’s cigarette smoke and…” Pressure descended without warning on her chest.
“Sweetheart,” Tobias exclaimed, immediately contrite. “Baby, I’m sorry. I’m pushing you too fast.”
“No, I want this. I want you. Trust me. I just need to…” She sat up swiftly, tearing at her clothing in her haste to take it off. “Help me,” she demanded.
He kneeled before her to divest her of her boots and socks. Then he pulled her to her feet and stripped off the rest of her clothing until she stood in her bra and panties.
Suddenly shy, Dylan bolted to the adjoining bath, tossing a flirtatious glance behind her. Waiting for the water to warm and for Tobias to join her, she slipped off her undergarments. “Are you coming?” she called him.
He peeked around the door jam, his shoulders bare and feasted on her naked figure. “Are you inviting me?” he asked, “Because I can wait if—”
“Now,” she said firmly.
A grin split his face, and he stepped into the room, completely naked, his dragon fully evident. “I love it when you order me around,” he admitted.
“Well, then, get into this tub with me and scrub the smell of smoke off.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
They stepped into the tub together. Hot water sluiced over them as their bodies met, mouths feverishly locked. With a whimper of relief, Dylan yielded to the tide of passion rising up in her. Tobias’s sure hands swept over her body as he shampooed her hair and soaped her from heel to shoulder, ignoring his own, very obvious appetites to put her in the right frame of mind first. Arching her back, she invited his hands to linger on her breasts.
“So beautiful,” he whispered, ducking his head to suckle the pert tips, even as he donned a condom.
Dylan moaned. Behind her closed eyelids, the world became encapsulated in this perfect place and time. With a trembling hand, she reached between them, encircling his velvety erection.
Tobias lifted his head to consider her. “Better now?” he asked. Water droplets clung to his lashes. His hopeful expression made her smile.
“Much better,” she agreed, lifting a knee to coil a leg around him. Heat flared in his eyes as she signaled her desire to make love right there under the shower’s caress. Lifting her in his powerful arms, he pinned her between his larger body and the cool, tiled wall. Their breaths mingled and their gazes locked. Over the drum of water, Dylan could hear her heart thudding in her ears.
“I love you,” she declared, bracing herself to receive him.
“We’re going to make it, Dylan,” he promised, filling her with his certainty, as he filled her with his body.
Joined to repletion, she had to admit she could not imagine a life without his teasing smile, his positive presence. She needed him like she needed the air she breathed. In spite of their differences, she had to believe they would thrive together.
Epilogue
Dylan’s ears pricked at the sound of Milly’s happy bark. She’d left the dog sniffing at the fresh spring grass in the yard, while she, Gil, and Chet worked inside the barn, setting up the cooling unit that would keep their first harvest of apples crisp this coming fall. The faint crunch of gravel on the driveway suggested that a car was crawling up her driveway. Her heart gave a leap of hope. Tobias?
It couldn’t be. After their last, heated argument, he wasn’t ever coming back.
Pain lanced her chest at the memory that had ended in his departure a week ago. Hours of cell phone silence had turned into days. And she’d been too proud, too ashamed to call him first. It was her fault that he’d left in the first place. Despite the passion that kept them breathless and laughing and delighted with one another’s company, she hadn’t been able to accept his upcoming assignment. Not only would it take him away from her for a month or more, but he’d been ordered to operate undercover, to use his wiles on the girlfriend of an arm’s dealer in the Washington Metro area. Her stomach had twisted at the thought of him flirting with another woman, perhaps kissing her or . . . worse, all in the name of doing his job.
“You’re just Uncle Sam’s puppet,” she’d yelled at him. “And I can’t stand the thought of you in my bed if you take this assignment!”
And he’d stormed out.
Not a day had passed in the long week following that she hadn’t regretted her harsh words. What she ought to have said, instead, was the truth: that she feared he wou
ld fall in love with this other woman, the way he’d professed to falling in love with her. It wasn’t their differing political views that had driven a wedge between them. It was her insecurities and jealousy.
“You expectin’ someone?” Gil Morrison asked, setting aside the wrench he was using.
“Nope.” She waved Gil back and headed toward the barn doors herself. “You two keep working. I’ll check it out.”
Shading her eyes against a bright April sun, she gave a soft gasp as she glimpsed Tobias’s neon-green Jeep fording the driveway under endless boughs of blooming apple trees. Milly raced alongside it, barking in joyful welcome. Tears of relief moistened Dylan’s eyes as it drew steadily closer, then slowed to a stop, just yards away. Toby’s window lowered. The sight of his wind-tussled hair, dark blue eyes and broad shoulders had her biting her bottom lip to keep from bursting into tears.
Without a word, he pushed out of the driver’s seat, crossed to where she was standing and spun her in a circle while Milly pranced around them. “God, I missed you,” he grated in her ear.
His hoarse confession and the familiar scent stealing over her freed the sob that she was holding in. “You came back,” she cried softly against his neck. “Thank you. Thank you for coming back.”
Milly moved away to sniff around his car.
Tobias pulled away just far enough to assess her emotional reaction. “Sweetheart, don’t get upset,” he begged, putting her down to cup her face in his warm hands. “Of course I came back,” he chided. “You think I’m that easy to get rid of?”
Dylan tried to blink away her tears. “But you said the assignment would last about a month, and it’s only been a week.”
He sent her a crooked smile. “I didn’t take the assignment.”
Confusion assailed her. “But you said you didn’t have a choice. Either you took the job or you…you quit.” Her voice trailed away as remorse dropped in her belly like a rock down a well. My God, he’d chosen her over his career?
“I didn’t quit,” he added, baffling her further.
“Oh.” So where had he been this whole last week?
“After our blow out, I did some serious soul searching about who I am and what I’m passionate about.”
Her heart thudded with mixed hope and trepidation. “And?”
“And I’m passionate about us and keeping my country safe—in that order. Honestly, I couldn’t stand the thought of cozying up to some other woman. And you deserve better than a husband who’s going to take off to God-knows-where at any given moment. That means no more undercover jobs for me.”
Overwhelmed by the messages bombarding her, she jumped on the latter statement. “No more undercover work? Then, what will you do? What about the ATF?”
“Don’t get ahead of me.” The twinkle in his eye belied his stern tone. “I still have to feel like I’m contributing to the general welfare of the population. It’s who I am. I’m still going to work for ATF, and even for the Taskforce, if they need me.”
“And you should,” she countered earnestly. “I should never have called you a puppet of the government.” She clutched his sleeve. “Tobias, I’m so sorry.”
Her apology rendered him mute for a second. A slow grin split his face. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Not nearly as hard as she thought it would be. Not when it meant having Tobias permanently in her life, in her bed. “Not really, no.”
“So, do you want to hear the solution my supervisor and I came up with?”
A whine and a yelp coming from inside the back of his car provided her with her first inkling. Stepping around Tobias, she neared the car to see what held Milly’s interest. Two bright sets of eyes gazed back at her out of crates stowed in the shadowy interior.
“Puppies?” she exclaimed, reaching in to let them lick her fingers through the bars. They appeared to be slightly older pups, perhaps six months old, almost fully-grown.
“Future bomb-sniffing dogs,” he clarified, joining her at the window. “I’m going to train them the same way I trained Milly. That’s my new job description.”
“Really?” Dylan tore her attention from the puppies to eye him in astonishment. “You’re giving up the Special Response Team?”
“I’m specializing. We’re not all about snuffing out the fireworks, you know. We train dogs, too.”
Tears of gratitude stung her eyes. She shook her head in amazement. “Puppies,” she breathed.
“Trust me, it’s not all games and slobber. It’s going to take consistent, hard work on my end to turn these pups into absolutely reliable working dogs. No feeding them treats on the sly,” he cautioned.
“Oh, I won’t. I promise.”
“And this way, I’ll be right here on the farm, so I can help you run the orchard.”
It seemed too good to be true. “Milly wants to meet the puppies,” she observed. Then she gasped and whirled around to face him. “Husband?” she cried, a wave of pleasure rushing over her. “Did you say husband?”
“Whoa, lady, you are long on the uptake. I thought you’d either forgotten I said it or purposefully left it hanging because the thought horrified you.”
“Horrified! Tobias Avery Burke, are you asking me to marry you or not?”
“Damn straight.” He stepped back, opened his jacket and let her read the message on his T-shirt: KEEP CALM. AND WILL YOU MARRY ME?
She stared at the message, letting the full implication of it steep in her brain a while, before meeting his eyes again. Her heart beat at twice its usual rate. She could have sworn her feet were floating off the ground. God, what this man could do to her! In a matter of five minutes, she’d gone from utter despair to euphoria.
Hurling herself at him, she caught him off guard, managing to knock him flat. “Oooph.” They rolled and tussled for a moment in the cool, tender grass until Tobias gained the upper hand, pinning her beneath him.
“That was anything but calm,” he pointed out.
“You caught me off guard.”
“Should I take this as a yes, or what?”
“Definitely. Take it—and this,” She lifted her head to claim his lips in a tender, love-filled kiss, “—as a yes.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Everyone says that writing is a solitary occupation, but I have to disagree. My books are a product of a large group effort, and THE ENFORCER is no exception. Oftentimes, contributors don’t even realize that they’ve added a key ingredient to making my story sparkle. My gratitude overflows to everyone who participated in this production, from its earliest inception to its final publication. Special recognition is reserved for my friend and lead editor, Sydney Baily-Gould, without whom I would never have figured out this story’s ending, let alone written a story fit for reading. Thanks also to Rachel Fontana, a reader-turned-writing-expert, who taught me how to “show” more and “tell” less. Hats off to all of my wonderful Beta readers, Cindi, Cyndi, Suzy, Susan, Barbara, Bobbie, Penny, Lori, and Nicole. Your sharp eyes eliminated zillions of typos and errors, ensuring enjoyment for other readers. Thank you to Mark Goodin for helping me grasp Dylan’s political philosophies and to Officer Chris Lyons and Deputy Larry Lineweaver for advising me on police and law enforcement matters. And, finally, thanks to April Martinez, my cover artist, and to Judi Fennel, my formatter, for putting the icing on the cake. I could not have completed this feat without any of you!
Coming Soon
MARLISS MELTON’s
Next Navy SEAL Team 12 book
DANGER CLOSE
(The subsequent pages were published as part of a short story in the SEAL of My Dreams Anthology, Fall 2011. The story will continue in DANGER CLOSE to form a full-length novel.)
Madison Scott jerked to her elbows and plumbed the dark dormitory for a threat. Something had wakened her. Her heart was trotting with terror, but the room looked exactly as it should beyond the mosquito netting.
It must have been a dream that disturbed her, brought on no doubt by the overpowering heat
and the sounds of the city beyond the closed shutters. If only it were safe to open the windows. The fan secured to the crossbeam did nothing but stir the humid air.
Coated in sweat and desperate for relief, Maddy kicked off the sheet that felt shrink-wrapped to her body. It wasn’t enough. She hauled the confining length of her cotton nightdress to her hips. The suggestion of cooler air had her pulling her arms out of the elbow-length sleeves, as well, and pushing the damp fabric to her waist.
Better. This was how she usually slept—stark naked—but as a teacher of an all-girls’ school it was up to her to set a modest example. With a long-suffering sigh, Maddy flopped back down onto the bed and wondered if she’d ever get a good night’s sleep again.
Hah. The real question was would she live to see her next birthday?
A startled scream erupting out of the alley behind the school, made her gasp. It curtailed abruptly with the shattering of glass. Dear God.
Fisting the damp bedding, Maddy swallowed fear that had leapt up her throat. How long could she keep the drug lords out of the school now that her colleagues had departed? The rest of the staff at El Santuario had abandoned the building weeks ago, all except for Maddy, who’d pleaded with her colleagues to stay.
What would happen to the girls without their protection? The perverse images that crept into her head left her sick to her stomach. Pimps controlled the streets of Matamoros, forcing girls as young as thirteen into prostitution. She couldn’t just abandon them and hope they managed to fend for themselves. But she was starting to fear that she was going to end up dead. Or worse.
The compound was enclosed by cinderblock walls, all topped with broken bits of glass, but the security guard had fled with the rising violence. The only things keeping the predators out and the girls safely inside were the locks on the doors and shutters. And how long before those were compromised?
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