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Copyright © 2018 by Lea Griffith
Cover and internal design © 2018 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover art by Paul Stinson
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor in this book.
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.
P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410
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Contents
Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
About the Author
Back Cover
Prologue
The room was hot and humid, the scent of lovemaking a blanket on the air. Beyond the sliding glass door, waves crashed against the sand, and gulls screamed. Inside, moans and sighs, groans and hisses echoed. The bed creaked, and the headboard banged occasionally against the wooden walls. It was a symphony that serenaded and affirmed.
The single fan twirling lazily above the bed did nothing to cool the sweat coating Jude’s body, and as his skin touched hers, they seemed to meld. Becoming one with her was what he’d begun to live for. Everything found its place when he was inside her body.
Her gray eyes widened, the depth of their clarity sucking him in, not allowing him a breath, stealing it all.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“Always,” he replied, and even he heard the conviction, the ownership, in his response.
Jude pressed forward; her body accepted. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. He pushed even deeper, rotating his hips. She bit her lip. He sucked that lip between his own and laved it with his tongue. Her flavor exploded over his taste buds…Ella.
He rose up on his hands, angling his hips for maximum impact. Her tiny body was flushed, nipples beaded, eyes bright. He’d watched her come many times, yet every one was brand new. Something about this woman made Jude feel brand new.
“Please,” she pleaded. He held off release for them both, savoring her and the unique bond between them.
She tightened beneath him, hips lifting to meet his heavy thrusts. Every squeeze of her internal muscles had his eyes crossing. Harder, deeper, faster—it wasn’t a race, yet he felt the end closing in. Too soon, he thought. It’s too soon.
But her need called to him, and the rush to meet it was a pounding in his blood, a drumbeat in his ears.
“Yes,” he responded savagely.
He rose on his knees, grabbing her thighs and locking her to him, allowing only enough room to withdraw and return. He looked up to the fan, the blades’ circular motion a beacon. He couldn’t hold off. His gaze lowered to her—his siren. Every step he took, he took for her.
The base of his spine tingled, and his cock flexed. Her pussy clamped down on his shaft, and her mouth opened on a wordless scream.
“Take all of me, Ella,” he demanded reverently.
And she did. She pulled him with her, taking every last molecule of breath and release, taking more than he’d ever agreed to give up. But it was okay.
Jude stayed locked inside her body until the sweat began to cool. He stared down at her. She gazed back up at him. A slow smile curved her bow mouth, and his cock responded.
“You’re a lusty one, aren’t you?” she teased him.
Jude grunted and pulled out of her carefully. They didn’t use condoms. She was on some contraceptive shot, and because of their jobs, they both had regular checkups and stayed clean as whistles. Jude acknowledged that the thought of her being pregnant with his child didn’t make his heart seize in fear. It did the exact opposite. He shook his head as he lowered her legs and came down beside her. Being inside her was as close to heaven as Jude would ever fly.
She rolled over, and he curved around her. It was still hot, still humid, but he needed her against him. He no longer questioned that need. Like his lungs required breath, his body called for hers.
“You’re wheels up tomorrow?” she asked.
The sound of her voice made his heart beat heavier. Every single thing about Ella Banning made Jude want to be a better man. Made him want to rise above the things he’d seen and done and just be—better.
“Yeah, baby. Zero dark thirty,” he said and then pressed a kiss on her shoulder.
“I’m logistics point on this mission, Jude. That means I’ll be at base. I won’t be there to watch your six.”
He snorted and ran a hand down her side, over her hip, and back up again to cup her breast. “You’re my light in the darkness, Ella,” he said solemnly. “You’re always with me.”
Her breath hissed in, and she turned in the circle of his arms. Her body molded to his, her softness conforming to his hardness. It was an ecstasy all its own. Her fingers traced the planes of his face, across his eyebrows and over the bump in the bridge of his nose. It’d been broken at least four times, possibly more. Ella didn’t seem to mind that Jude was an ugly motherfucker. Nope, his woman found beauty in the face of the worst hells.
Her
