“Then we’ll be crying often, honey.”
Dany smiled blissfully. “We owe you so much, Sam.…”
“Shh,” he commanded, placing a kiss on her hair. “There is no scorekeeping where we’re concerned, Dany. Never.” He tucked her beneath his arm, leading her away from the stadium.
Dany stole a look up at him as they walked toward the quieter area of the stables. There was an unspoken aura of happiness lingering in his lightened gray eyes. He walked like a man who was on top of the clouds. She was there, too, she realized. “You’ve helped me chase the clouds, Sam,” she said, catching his gaze.
His hand tightened momentarily against her waist. “Your riding master taught you that, didn’t he?”
“Yes. But thanks to you, I was able to scale a few hurdles of my own to reach those heights.”
Sam tried to appear nonchalant about his part in the healing of her fears. “I don’t know, honey,” he drawled, “when you’ve got a hammerhead of a stallion and a stubborn cowboy from California to help, how can you lose?”
Dany laughed fully, reaching up impulsively, curving her arms around his neck. Sam drew to a halt, a careless smile edging his mouth. “More than that,” she whispered, “I’ve fallen in love. And that means more than scaling the heights of any career.” Her voice shook with emotion. “More than anything,” she promised fiercely.
He lost his smile, studying her in the intervening silence. “We’ve all found love in one another, honey. And when you’ve got love like we do, everything else around us automatically turns to success.”
“I’ll never care about the trappings of success, Sam. All I’ll ever need is your love and understanding,” she admitted softly.
He groaned, sweeping her against him. “And you’ve had my love since the day we met,” he murmured thickly. “You’re mine, now and forever.”
* * * * *
Black Hawk pilot Sarah Benson is known for her risky flights to save lives and SEAL Ethan Quinn is just one more mission. But when she needs rescuing, it’s Ethan who infiltrates enemy territory, and her heart. Read on for a sneak peek of RISK TAKER by Lindsay McKenna, available February 2013 from Harlequin Romantic Suspense.
* * *
Sarah sat with Ethan, watching him gulp down his meal as if he were starved. She forced herself to eat because she knew it was going to be a long day. When he finally slowed down, she narrowed her eyes and held his gaze.
“You’ve been writing those poems and putting them under my tent flap. Haven’t you?” Her heart thudded because if she was wrong, she would feel foolish. Ethan stared at her as if stunned. And then a ruddy flush rose up his neck and swept across his face. For once, he was speechless.
“How did you know?”
“I was awake the first time you pulled the tent flap open to put the envelope inside it,” she said, still tense, unsure of why he was writing such beautiful poetry to her.
“Oh…”
He looked so crestfallen. “What? You’re a SEAL and you got caught in stealth mode?” A grin nudged at one corner of her mouth.
“I thought…I knew it was a risk. I was running late.…I had wanted to finish the poem and get the first stanza to you, but things went haywire at the HQ. I had to drop what I was doing and attend to other things. I didn’t get back to it until after dawn.” Ethan shook his head and gave her an apologetic look. “I meant it as a surprise. Something I hoped would make you happy after getting the crap beat out of you by that Army sergeant. I didn’t want you to think all men were like that guy who attacked you.”
Her heart warmed. This time, Sarah allowed it to fully embrace her. “Is that why you wrote me the poem?”
Ethan pushed his tray aside, then folded his hands, never more serious. “I’ve always been attracted to you, Sarah. I wanted to get to know you, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t want to hit on you like every other guy was doing. I knew you hated it, and I don’t blame you. And just getting to hold you…carry you…to the E.R., I went crazy trying to figure out a nonthreatening way to reach you.”
“Then why didn’t you sign your name? It was a good thing I saw you, Ethan. I would have, for sure, thought it was the pilots in my squadron playing another dirty trick on me.”
“I didn’t think—”
“You didn’t know what I’ve been up against in the squadron…the tricks…”
“I’m sorry, Sarah.” Ethan searched her eyes. “Do…you like the poem so far? Or do you want me to stop sending them to you?”
Sarah had never seen a man be as vulnerable as Ethan was being with her right now. She knew he was unguarded, no game face, but authentic and honest. “I loved the poem, Ethan. I love receiving them. They’re like new life being breathed into me when I read the lines.” She quirked her mouth and looked away, a war raging inside her. “I so wanted to believe you. I knew you were writing about how you saw me. And—” she swallowed, her voice hoarse “—I loved how you saw me because that’s not the way I see myself.…”
* * *
Don’t miss RISK TAKER by Lindsay McKenna, available February 2013 from Harlequin Romantic Suspense.
Copyright © 2014 by Lindsay McKenna
Lindsay McKenna is proud to have served her country in the U.S. Navy as an aerographer’s mate third class—also known as a weather forecaster. She was a pioneer of the military romance subgenre and loves to combine heart-pounding action with soulful and poignant romance. True to her military roots, she is the originator of the long-running and reader-favorite Morgan’s Mercenaries series. She does extensive hands-on research, including flying in aircraft such as a P3-B Orion sub-hunter and a B-52 bomber. She was the first romance writer to sign her books in the Pentagon bookstore. Today, she has created a new military romantic suspense series, Shadow Warriors, which features romantic and action-packed tales about U.S. Navy SEALs. Visit her online at:
www.LindsayMcKenna.com
www.twitter.com/lindsaymckenna
www.facebook.com/eileen.nauman
Also available from Lindsay McKenna and HQN Books
Down Range
High Country Rebel
The Loner
The Defender
The Wrangler
The Last Cowboy
Deadly Silence
Deadly Identity
Shadows from the Past
Dangerous Prey
Heart of the Storm
Beyond the Limit
Silent Witness
Enemy Mine
Firstborn
Morgan’s Honor
Morgan’s Legacy
An Honorable Woman
Selected books by Lindsay McKenna
Harlequin Romantic Suspense
@His Duty to Protect #1691
@Beyond Valor #1739
Course of Action/“Out of Harm’s Way” #1775
Silhouette Romantic Suspense
Love Me Before Dawn #44
^Protecting His Own #1184
Mission: Christmas/“The Christmas Wild Bunch” #1535
@His Woman in Command #1599
@Operation: Forbidden #1647
Silhouette Nocturne
*Unforgiven #1
*Dark Truth #20
*The Quest #33
Time Raiders: The Seeker #69
*Reunion #85
*The Adversary #87
*Guardian #89
Trained to kill, but built for love…
From New York Times bestselling author
LINDSAY McKENNA
Captain Morgan Boland is at the top of her game, as is navy SEAL Jake Ramsay, her former lover Then a military computer selects them to partner in a special op. The mission can’t be compromised by their personal history—and they have truckloads of it.
But the Afghan assignment might provide the discipline they need to finally get it together—outside the bedroom, that is. A lot has happened over the two years since they last went their separate ways. And there’s way more to Morgan than Jake has ever given her credit for…
Available now!
www.LindsayMcKenna.com
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ISBN: 978-1-4603-1781-5
CHASE THE CLOUDS
Copyright © 1983 by Lindsay McKenna
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
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^Morgan’s Mercenaries
@Black Jaguar Squadron
*Warriors for the Light