AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I refused the assignment.”
“What? You? What?” She couldn’t breathe for the happiness blooming inside her. She was scared to trust it, but his dark gaze made promises.
“I’m not leaving you. You’re my family. My dad, maybe long-haul trucking was all he knew. Maybe it’s all he wanted. But damn, him and my mom? They weren’t happy. Maybe they wouldn’t have been even if he was home the other twenty-two days of the month, but I want a family with you . . . a life that includes time together.”
“I thought you weren’t ready to retire from soldiering.”
“I thought I wasn’t either, until I met you.”
He wasn’t going to leave her alone. She meant so much to him that he was going to change his life for her. Danusia felt the happiness burst in her chest and she started laughing, even as the tears still tracked wetly down her cheeks.
He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.
“You really like carrying me.”
“Just call me Power Man.”
She giggled as he dropped her on the bed. “I’d rather call you Max. You’re the man I love.”
He leaned down to kiss her, his lips right against hers as he said, “I love you. Always.”
After they made love (which was so much more fun than packing him up to leave the country and put his life on the line again), she was snuggled into his side, drowsing when he asked, “Once you finish this Ph.D. thing, how do you feel about moving to California, closer to our families?”
“You’re really serious about us, aren’t you?”
“I refused any more field assignments. I’d say so, yes.”
She grinned against his dark, warm skin. Every time he said it, she loved hearing it—as much as hearing his I love yous.
“Matej and Elle’s company has already made me an offer of employment. I wasn’t sure about it, though it’s exactly the kind of place I feel I could make the best income.” Maybe she could build closer, more normal relationships with her siblings now that they were all adults and the age gap and the brain gap just wasn’t that important anymore.
He squeezed her tight, his hand settling on her hip. “We’re going to do it, aren’t we, sweetheart?”
“What?”
“Work on that happily-ever-after so many people talk about.”
“Yes, yes, I think we are.”
Hot Mess
JAMIE DENTON
To Kristine Bammerlin Thompson,
for being there every day.
I couldn’t have done this one without you.
CHAPTER 1
Alyssa Cardellini considered herself a work-in-progress. Unfortunately for her, not everyone agreed. Case in point—the razor-thin woman with mean eyes, glaring at her as if she were nine donuts shy of a dozen.
“Imbecile!”
Flat on her ass in the middle of Los Angeles International Airport and being called names while covered in her favorite flavor of frozen coffee, was not how Alyssa had planned to start her day. Hell, she hadn’t even dreamed she’d be anywhere near LAX, for that matter. But, she wanted to keep her job at Primo Security Services and therefore had no other choice. Those pesky love/hate relationships she had with food and keeping a roof over her head required constant funding. Just her luck, her savings account was on life support. Besides, the quadruple booking was her fault. Since she’d been the only available body left to play watchdog to corporate whistleblower Charles Rolston, here she was, being called an imbecile and wishing she could have a Groundhog Day do-over.
Under her breath, the woman muttered a string of curses vile enough to make a truck driver blush. Alyssa narrowed her eyes at the bad-tempered female, dressed in a black micro-skirt and the highest freaking heels she’d ever seen. Feeling none too charitable herself, she flicked a melting piece of ice from her skirt and said, “What kind of dork wears four-inch spike heels when traveling?”
