Six years ago, tough-as-nails military contractor Bobby Taggart met the woman of his dreams in war-torn Kabul — a sexy, whip-smart war correspondent who approached him at a local bar, took him to bed, made him fall in love… and then mysteriously disappeared. In her wake, the terrorist leader he’d been mining for valuable intel was assassinated — then Bobby discovered his phone had been bugged. And he’s pretty damn sure he’s been played for a fool.
Now, a covert security mission for the U.S. Embassy in Oman unexpectedly reunites him with Talia Levine, the woman who betrayed him and broke his heart. And there’s one more secret she hasn’t told him — one that will change his world. But as the heat of anger mixes with a still-simmering passion, dangerous forces close in, their sights set on Talia. Trust is the only way they will survive — but with their lives in the balance, can Bobby risk trusting her again?
Read the excerpt from Taking Fire:
“Dinner? I can’t go out like this,” Talia protested when Taggart asked her to go out with him several days later. “I’ve been out in the field all day. I haven’t even been up to my room yet. I need a shower and clean clothes.”
“Then go. I’ll wait. I want to take you somewhere special. Someplace we can get a real meal,” he insisted, and that was the end of the discussion — almost.
His eyes were never hard or cold when he looked at her now. They’d softened to warm and intimate when he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Wear your hair down for me.”
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His voice compounded the sexual awareness. Gruff and gritty and sounding very much as he did every night in her bed, where they’d spent the last six nights together. He loved her hair. She’d even teased him about having a fetish for it. He’d agreed without remorse that he loved burying his hands in it. Loved to fill those callused but oh-so-giving hands with it, then tug her down to kiss him. Loved the feel of it trailing over his body.
And she’d loved the way he groaned in deep, almost primal pleasure, the way he made her moan. One particular memory was so visual she got lost in it. And it frightened her to realize this man had such a hold on her.
“Talia?”
“Yes,” she said breathlessly, and found his hungry eyes focused on hers.
He knew. He’d been there, fantasizing right along with her. “You were going to shower?”
“Right.” She eased off the bar stool, working hard to appear collected. “Give me fifteen.”
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Then she headed up the stairs to her room, telling herself the same thing she did every day. There was nothing wrong, just because Bobby Taggart knew how to engage her libido. With a word. With a look. With a touch.
Nothing wrong with the weakness in her knees, either, or with the flush of heat surging through her body and the sweet gnawing ache that gripped her when she thought of him. Nothing wrong with spending as much of each day and all of her nights with him.
He was a striking man. A battle-hardened warrior yet a generous and giving lover. The contrasts were fascinating, and she wasn’t immune to the sheer excitement of being around him.
Going into this, she’d known she might have to seduce him.
What she hadn’t been prepared for was that he hadn’t been the only one seduced.
About the author: Cindy Gerard’s the critically acclaimed New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the wildly popular Black Ops series, the Bodyguards series, and more than 30 contemporary romance novels. Her latest books include the One-Eyed Jacks novels Killing Time, Running Blind and The Way Home. Her work has won the prestigious RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense. She and her husband live in the Midwest. Visit her online at CindyGerard.com.
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