Illicit Intuitions: Sensory Ops, Book 3 (26 page)

His heart stuttered and his throat burned.
 

The woman stood and covered her timidly trembling lips. Her tears glistened like thin morning fog over the water. The man rose from the couch and holding himself stiff and upright wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

They weren’t any woman or man, though.
 

They were the people he remembered from his childhood dreams.

They were the people he’d blocked from his mind in a quest for sanity.
 

They were his parents.

Years of pain and regret and agony vanished. The woman he loved, his sister and his parents were together. Allowing the tears stabbing at his eyes freedom, Hermes crossed the lobby and grabbed his mom and dad in a hug.
 

Protective and powerful, the warm radiance of pure pleasure enveloped him.
 

He’d made it home.

About the Author

Heart stopping puppy chases, childhood melodrama and the aborted hangings of innocent toys are all in a day’s work for Nikki Duncan. This athletic equestrian turned reluctant homemaker turned daring author, is drawn to the siren song of a fresh storyline.

Nikki plots murder and mayhem over breakfast, scandalous
exposé
s at lunch and the sensual turn of phrase after dinner. Nevertheless, it is the pleasurable excitement and anticipation of unraveling her character’s motivation that drives her to write long past the witching hour.

The only anxiety and apprehension haunting this author comes from pondering the mysterious outcome of her latest twist.

More can be found out about Nikki at her website
www.NikkiDuncan.com
. Nikki is also on Twitter
www.twitter.com/nduncanwriter
and Facebook at
www.facebook.com/nduncanwriter
.

Look for these titles by Nikki Duncan

Now Available:

Sensory Ops

Sounds to Die By

Scent of Persuasion

Tulle and Tulips

Tangled in Tulle

Coming Soon:

Tulle and Tulips

Twisted in Tulips

Whispering Cove

Wicked

Burned

Her Miracle Man

Mission: Build a new life. Confront the past. Plan the wedding of the man she loves.

Tangled in Tulle

© 2011 Nikki Duncan

Tulle and Tulips, Book 1

Lori Mullins yearns to shake off her past and live free of shadows and fear. Yet her only shot at obtaining the capital to launch her business rests in a man she met during a lie. A man whose voice alone turned her from jaded escort to giddy schoolgirl. A man who almost died because of her.

Trevor Masters can call off his search for the woman he loves. The woman he dreamt of while comatose. The quest for her heart, however, is only beginning. The trick will be convincing her he doesn’t blame her—and that she deserves to accept herself as the woman who holds his heart.

Business negotiations land Lori in a heavenly hell. Heaven that Trevor is close enough to touch. Hell that she’s planning her first designer wedding. His. And something’s not quite right. The kind, compassionate man she fell for all those months ago, the man who’s engaged to another, seems intent on wooing
her
…

Warning: This title contains a balloon-toting rodent, a hero scheming for love, a heroine evading complications, and hot sex.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Tangled in Tulle:

“He asked not to be disturbed.”

Trevor glanced up from his computer, eavesdropped on Gina in the outer office. He’d intended to shower off the week of travel, but had been sidetracked by a panicky phone call and the need to send an emergency email. Closed in the privacy of his office he only bothered wrapping a towel around his waist.

Now sidetracked again, he waited to see who Gina was speaking to and how she’d handle it. He only waited a couple beats.

“Then he shouldn’t have insisted on a partnership with me.”

He grinned, easily picturing the scene in his office waiting area. Judging by the shift of their voices, Gina had positioned herself between Lori and his door. And if Lori’s tone was a clear indicator, she was rediscovering her fire. She certainly didn’t
sound
like the uncertain, nearly defeated shell of herself she’d been the last times he’d seen her.

“I’m sorry,” Gina said. “You will have to come back later.”

“No.”

After hitting “send” on the email, he tightened the towel at his waist and moved around the desk, eyeing the door, half hoping Lori listened to Gina and half hoping she bulldozed inside. Something about her gave him the impression Gina would never know how she’d been bested and why he thought that was one of the many mysteries of Lori he wanted to solve.

“Ms. Mullins.”

“Gina,” Lori stated, mirroring Gina’s calmly modulated tone.

“I have my orders.”

“And still I suggest you move. Or I will move you. Either way I am going in.” She paused for a long moment between each statement, giving Gina a chance to respond.

Trevor glanced between the main door and the door to the bathroom which led to his private apartment. Lori was one of few people privy to the set up. Mostly naked, there would be no escaping her if she got past Gina.

Assuming he was interested in escape, which he wasn’t.

Again calculating the distance he knew well, he considered darting to the bathroom and dropping the towel. If she was going to disturb him she may as well be disturbed.

“I’ll tell him you put up a good fight,” Lori said from just beyond the door. Silent and slow, the knob turned.

Glancing down at the towel, he shrugged and leaned against the nearest chair. If she had issues seeing him without his clothes she’d learn to listen to Gina. He’d have to consider how such an issue played into his plans. His bride-to-be couldn’t take issue with his nudity.

“Trevor.” She addressed him before she was even in the office. “I need—”

Her words died as she flung the door wide. Her mouth dropped. She stumbled to a halt. For the first time since her return she failed to hide her reaction. Instant arousal, judging by her eyes.

Gina silently closed the door, essentially imprisoning him and Lori together. He restrained himself. Instead of reaching out to her and answering her desire, he crossed his arms over his chest. Instead of listening to the wails of his body calling out to her, he sought her gaze as directly as he would any opponent.

“How can I make your day better, Lori?”

Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. Closed again. She stuck her hands in her pockets where she fisted and unfisted them judging from the shifting of her pants.

Trevor said nothing. Only waited, more pleased than a wolf scenting his life mate. Like a wolf, his body quivered until each hair follicle became a sensory receiver in the chilled breeze from the air conditioner. Lavender and mint. As if she’d just stepped from a garden or kitchen, her sweet scent sauntered around him, brushed teasing caresses over him until goose bumps took over his skin.

“You need to stop.” She sounded far from strong in her conviction. Whatever her conviction was about.

“Stop what?”
Dreaming of you? Wanting you more than before?

“Stop whatever it is you’re up to. You sent me balloons.” The last was a verbal foot stomp.

“Ah.” He’d confused her. “I can’t do that.”

The woman who’d testified against her former bosses and tormentors before slipping into darkness—he’d coaxed a few more details out of Breck—deserved to find joy again.

“Do it anyway.” Her tone strengthened. She advanced on him—slowly—no longer distracted to the point of wide-eyed speechlessness by his near nudity. “You have me planning your wedding. You shouldn’t be sending me gifts or trying to lure me into falling for you again.”

Her voice rose fractionally with each syllable of her tirade.

“What is so wrong with falling for me, Lori?” He raised a brow, thrilled at how quickly his gift had gotten her riled. Damn if he wasn’t going to poke the lioness a bit and dare her into revealing her feelings. “You never complained the first time.”

“This is different. Randy wasn’t around then.” She blanched and rocked back as if she’d been struck. “Was she?” Disgust darkened her demand. “Was Randy around? Were you playing us both? Is that how you came to be engaged so soon? That’s it.”

“It makes sense.” She shook her head and sneered. “You bastard.”

She lunged, landing a solid uppercut to his jaw before he could defend against her. His teeth clacked together.

“Lori.” He grappled for her wrists, barely thwarting a second hit when the towel slipped and he grabbed for it. “Stop.”

“You son of a bitch.” She punctuated her driving words with punches, some of which he blocked one-handed. Others he let go for the sake of keeping the towel secure at his waist.
 

“I thought you were a better man.”

More than a little surprised by her hand-to-hand abilities, and a little tired of defending against her, he released the towel, gripped her arms tightly just above her elbows and yanked her forward. The towel loosened, but until he let her go it would stay in place.

“Stop.” He pinned her close, fighting the urge to roll his overly-aware-of-her dick against her.

“You suck.”

Not how I’d like.
“You’re wrong.”

“Bullshit. You’re only a player. A lousy, predictable, pus—”

He seized her mouth in a kiss and held nothing back. He let his hurt and loneliness, love and confusion, desire and sadness pour forth. When she gasped for a breath, his tongue sought the inner haven of her mouth, where he found a slice of heaven he’d been missing, and thwarted any insults remaining in her arsenal.

She’d misunderstood his intentions about the wedding, but the misunderstanding had led her here. Into his arms with fire flashing inside and igniting her spirit. Damn if he’d let her go.

When the tension in her petite curves finally uncoiled and she relaxed into him, when she allowed herself to enjoy his touch, when she began to kiss him in return, he straightened. Only an inch or two separated their mouths, a space easily conquered again, yet it felt more like miles.

Not sure he could trust her to resist wailing on him some more, he retained his grip on her arms. At some point she’d rested her hands on his hips, just above the towel. Though she probably gave the contact no thought, his body noticed and responded with racing tingles radiating from beneath her hands.

“I’m not a player, Lori.”

“Bull.”

“Yes, I asked you to plan my wedding.

One tormented soldier. One woman. Eight snipers. Someone’s going down…

Tactical Deception

© 2012 J.L. Saint

Silent Warriors, Book 2

The fallout from the team’s failed mission to Lebanon is still chewing Lt. Col. Roger Weston’s butt. God help them all if the media get wind of the real story. Worse, guilt is eating him alive over a decision that left a fallen warrior’s wife without a husband…and exposed to danger from her radical family.

No matter what, Mari Dalton’s safety and wellbeing—and that of her unborn child—come first.

Mari is certain God is punishing her. She loved the man who rescued her from a windowless cell in Afghanistan, and never betrayed their marriage. But she has never been able to forget her body’s reaction to Roger. The pounding heart, the burning senses, sinful thoughts run wild.

Now she is the target of terrorists bent on destroying the heart of America. As Roger lays his life on the line to protect her, they uncover a plot already in motion to assassinate the President. As the world teeters on the edge of chaos, any hope for a future rests in Roger’s already bloodstained hands…and the quietly faithful woman who holds his heart. 

Warning: Hot action and to die for heroes will leave you breathless. 

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Tactical Deception:

His duty was to protect and to serve. Keeping Mari and her child as safe and as taken care of as if Neil himself was at her side was paramount.

Before the guilt of Neil’s death could get another strangling hold on him, Roger marched to his bedroom door. He couldn’t effectively take care of Mari if she hid herself from him. Something had to change. He knocked on the door.

No answer.

He knocked harder.

Still no answer. Worried now, he opened the door. “Mari?”

Light from the bathroom highlighted her figure at the window. She stood minus her