Wild (35 page)
She hadn’t known he was considering a job change. “What about the zoo?”
“I’d have to resign.”
“I thought you loved it there.”
“I do,” he said, meeting her gaze. “I like the combination of environmental science and public service. The Coast Guard can offer me that, too, but with more opportunities for advancement.”
“And more opportunities to get shot at.”
“There’s a certain amount of danger involved,” he admitted.
She studied the Buddha in the corner, annoyed with his happy face.
“You look upset.”
“Should I be ecstatic?”
“You’re the one who said I wasn’t challenging myself.”
“That was before I—”
Fell in love with you
.
“Before you what?”
They hadn’t talked about love since the first night. He’d made good on his promise to keep her well-satisfied, in and out of the bedroom. She enjoyed his company. He didn’t care about socializing with friends as much as she’d figured he would. They were both content to stay home and relax, or spend an afternoon at the beach.
He hadn’t pressed her about the future, either. She’d been expecting him to. He seemed so crazy about her, so intent on winning her over. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d brought her here to propose.
“Is this part of your campaign to convince me that we’re meant to be together and you’ll do anything for me?” she asked.
“I will do anything for you, but this is for me. It’s what I want.”
“Since when?”
“Since the whole city fell apart? I liked standing on that stage today, knowing I made a difference. I’m proud of what I’ve done so far, but I can do more. You were right about that. You were right about a lot of things.”
She waited for him to continue, her pulse racing.
“My time in the navy was full of challenges and responsibilities. I was disappointed that I didn’t make it through special-ops training. The death of my crewmate weighed heavily on me. Maybe I lost faith in myself. Since then I’ve avoided big commitments. I didn’t want anyone depending on me, because I was afraid of letting them down.”
Reaching across the table, she took his hand. “You didn’t let me down. You didn’t let your sister or Emma down.”
“I’m glad,” he said simply. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
She rubbed her thumb across his knuckles. He’d be a conscientious officer, not reckless or trigger-happy. He’d have to take some professional risks, but so did she. She couldn’t let her fears hold him back. She couldn’t let them hold
her
back, either.
They needed to have a serious conversation before they could take their relationship to the next level. She’d learned her lesson about failing to communicate with Mitch.
“Do you still have a gut feeling about me?” she asked, pulling her hand back. “That we belong together?”
“Of course I do. I love you, Helena. I’m not going to change my mind about that.”
She inhaled a shaky breath. “I didn’t believe in gut feelings after my father died. It was my way to protect myself from getting hurt. I was afraid to feel…too deeply. And then the earthquake hit, and you showed me what I was missing.”
His eyes darkened with emotion.
“I’m still afraid, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.”
“It’s not as bad as you thought it would be,” he repeated, squinting into the distance. “That’s quite a romantic declaration.”
She surged ahead before she could bungle things further. “You were right about me, too. I was closed off and out of touch. It’s not easy for me to share my feelings. But I’m trying, because I love you.”
He straightened in his chair. “You what?”
“I love you,” she said, swallowing hard.
“You love me.”
“Yes.”
He just stared at her in shock.
“Say something.”
“I don’t know what to say. I had all of these sneaky plans to win you over. I was going to invite you on a nice vacation and butter you up.”
Tears of joy filled her eyes. This sharing-feelings thing was kind of liberating. She should do it more often. “We can go on a vacation.”
His lips curved into a smile. “Yeah?”
“What else did you have planned?”
“Asking you to move in with me at the end of the summer.”
They were already sleeping together every night. Shacking up with him wasn’t that much of a stretch. “I’ll think about it.”
“Really?”
She nodded.
“Maybe I should just pop the question while you’re in an agreeable mood.”
Laughing, she glanced around the restaurant. It had romantic lighting. “I thought you might have brought me here to do that.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No.”
“You thought I’d propose in public, at a place like this?”
“You wouldn’t?”
“Hell no. I’d take you somewhere classy, like Olive Garden.”
She laughed again, shaking her head.
“Would you have said yes?”
“I don’t know.”
He scrubbed a hand down his face, stunned.
“What?”
“I can’t believe this. You said you loved me, and you’ll think about moving in with me, and you might even marry me someday. Am I dreaming?”
“You’re not dreaming.”
“Pinch me.”
She got up from her chair and went to his side of the table. Sitting down on his lap, she twined her arms around his neck and brushed her lips over his. “How’s that?”
“I didn’t feel it.”
She kissed him again, deeper this time.
“You’re getting there,” he murmured.
“I’m not going any further. Buddha is watching.”
“Buddha doesn’t mind.”
“I do.”
“I love you, Helena. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
She wanted that, too. So she said yes, and he took her home, away from prying eyes to make her the happiest elephant keeper in San Diego.
The End
Author’s Note
I hope you enjoyed
Wild
. If you have time, please consider writing a brief online review. Reviews help new readers find me. Feel free to visit
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These are the other books in my
Aftershock
series:
- Aftershock (Aftershock#1)
A female paramedic and a former Marine get trapped with a group of survivors. - Freefall (Aftershock #2)
A rugged rock climber teams up with a female park ranger to solve a murder. - Badlands (Aftershock #3)
A bodyguard with a tortured past falls for his client. - Passion & Peril (novella)
Snowed in with a sexy stranger. - Island Peril (novella)
Stranded with a handsome adventure guide. - Backwoods (Aftershock #4)
A family camping trip gone terribly wrong!
Like erotic romance? Pick up the first book in my new
Dirty Eleven MC
series:
You might also enjoy these books:
- Stranded with Her Ex
RITA-nominated reunion romance set at the shark-infested Farallon Islands. - Tempted by his Target
Steamy action-adventure in rural Mexico with a lady fugitive and a US Marshal. - Risky Christmas (novella)
A single mom in hiding finds love with the sexy surfer next door.
Excerpt from
Wild for Him
Here’s a sneak peek of my upcoming contemporary romance novella, “Wild for Him” (Nov 2014). This is Mitch and Gwen’s story. I couldn’t leave them hanging!
Thanks for reading!
WILD FOR HIM
Mitch Stone is a man with a plan. Drive to San Diego, rescue his lady from the earthquake rubble and salvage their long-distance relationship. But instead of playing hero, he gets stuck volunteering at an evacuation center with his girlfriend’s quirky best friend.
Gwen Tagaloa is a woman on the edge. She’s a tattoo artist do-gooder who would never cross the line with her best friend’s man. Especially not an iceberg of a man like Mitch Stone. She appreciates his help and she doesn’t even notice his rock-hard muscles. Much.
After Mitch gets his heart broken, Gwen discovers that love—like an earthquake—can strike when you least expect it.
CHAPTER ONE
G
WEN
T
AGALOA HAD
the rudest awakening of her life.
She was shoved out of bed, thrown across the floor and doused by a full cup of water from her nightstand.
What the hell?
Before she could draw breath, she was pelted by multiple objects. Her alarm clock, cell phone and a heavy wooden tiki statue came crashing down on her head.
She cried out in shock, holding a hand to her wet hair. The room continued to spin and shudder, rocking her bed against the wall like a supernatural phenomenon. She couldn’t make sense of what was happening. There was no one else here. She hadn’t gotten lucky last night. She hadn’t even gotten drunk.
The bookshelf careened toward her and she snapped out of her stupor. She scrambled to get away, but her legs were tangled in the blankets and the floor was still bouncing. Paperbacks rained down on her, followed by the empty shelves.
Earthquake.
It was the Big One. She’d been born in San Diego and she’d never felt anything like this. The area was known for small tremors, which usually didn’t scare her. She knew she was supposed to stand in a doorway or crawl under a desk, but she couldn’t move.
Gripping the edges of the bookshelf for dear life, she squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the end to come.
Then, as soon as it began, it was over.
Not the world. Just the quake.
The ground stopped moving and the rattling went quiet. Multiple car alarms blared in the distance. Her neighbor’s dog was going nuts, barking up a storm. Gwen pushed aside the bookshelf and disentangled herself from the blankets. Standing, she left the bedroom and ventured into the hallway. Picture frames had fallen from the walls. She skirted around the glass in her bare feet.
The kitchen was a disaster area. Her coffeemaker, set to automatic, had toppled over, smashing against the tile and spilling fresh brew across the floor. Ignoring the mess, she hurried to the front door and went outside.
“Oh my God,” she said, clapping a hand over her mouth. The middle of the street was buckled and raised. Vehicles wouldn’t be able to get through her neighborhood. She glanced around in horror, stunned by the damage. She lived on the lower floor of a two-story condo. The upper floor was for sale, and empty. Although the building looked stable, some roof tiles had fallen and the stucco was cracked.
Her neighbor walked out in his robe, his dog on a straining leash. He was about sixty and newly retired. His hair was sticking up all over the place. Gwen couldn’t remember his name. Walter, maybe.
“Everything okay?” Gwen asked him.
“I think so,” he said, gaping at her.
It dawned on her that she wasn’t dressed. She was wearing a tank top and panties, no bra. Her hair was wet. The tattoos on both arms added to her disreputable appearance. She was inked up from shoulder to elbow and then some. Although she didn’t care what her neighbors thought, she usually drew the line at parading around in her underpants.
Before she could hurry back inside, the earth starting rumbling again.
Aftershock.
Gwen hit the deck. She got down on her belly and covered her head as the ground undulated beneath her. This quake was almost as strong as the first, and it seemed to go on forever. More glass shattered and objects fell from the sky. Roof tiles crashed on the sidewalk right next to her. She got body-slammed against the lawn, her elbows and knees smarting on the slippery grass.
When the quaking ceased, she rolled over and sat up. Jesus. Now she was grass-stained, tattooed and indecent. But she was alive, and unharmed. She was lucky. She lived in a quiet area a few miles from downtown San Diego. The shantytowns of Tijuana were just across the border. Many people could be trapped and suffering.
Or dead.
Gwen’s parents lived in Hawaii, and her brother played football in Seattle. They were all probably safe. Unless there was a tsunami.
She scrambled to her feet, her pulse pounding. Her neighbor had fallen on the sidewalk, but his wife had come out to help him. He was still ogling Gwen’s bare legs, so he must be okay. Gwen went back inside and searched for her phone in the twisted pile of blankets on the floor. When she found it, she only had one bar.
“Shit,” she said under her breath.
Instead of trying to make a call, she sent texts to brother and her mom to let them know she was okay. Then she pulled on a pair of jeans and stuck the phone in her back pocket, glancing around the room. It looked ransacked, as if she’d been robbed. She didn’t have a landline. Her flatscreen was busted, so she couldn’t turn on the news. A quick flick of the light switch indicated there was no electricity.
Now what?
The internet.
She grabbed the laptop from her messenger bag and booted it up. Although the device didn’t appear damaged, her connection wasn’t working.
Damn.
She gave up on communication and finished getting dressed. After tying back her long black hair, she put on her sturdiest shoes, a pair of vintage combat boots, and grabbed a checkered flannel shirt to cover her arms.
People were injured, maybe dying—and she could help. She’d majored in Health and spent two years in the Peace Corps.
Now she owned a tattoo parlor called Native Ink. Working as a tattoo artist had given her even more medical experience. She had gloves and bandages in her messenger bag. Grabbing it, she headed out into the fray.
Want to read more? Click
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Wild for Him
will be released on November 17, 2014.
Excerpt from
BACKWOODS
(Aftershock #4)
The more you trust, the more you risk…When plans for a wilderness retreat with her teenage daughter Brooke go awry, Abby Hammond reluctantly pairs up with Brooke’s stepbrother and his dad, Nathan Strom, for the weeklong trek. The only thing Abby has in common with the bad-boy former pro athlete is that their exes cheated with each other. That…and a visceral attraction that’s growing more complicated with every step through the picturesque woods.