Brody's Vow (Colebrook Siblings Trilogy Book 1) (21 page)

Except it had sure felt like they’d been heading into a serious relationship over the past few weeks. At first when she’d come here she’d been determined to distance herself from him. He’d texted and called her a few times every day, and she always responded. Then she’d found she looked forward to hearing from him and had started to miss him.

Eventually she’d broken her cardinal rule about distancing herself from him and called him first. Since then they’d spoken on the phone at least once every day, sometimes lasting for hours. He filled her in on what was happening with his rehab, his team and his family. In turn she’d told him everything he wanted to know about her. He knew pretty much everything about her, except for the secrets she’d been sworn to keep about previous ops.

And now, for some reason, he wasn’t answering her.

The flash of hurt and insecurity pissed her off. What the hell? She was being such a girl. Like one of those annoying female characters from the chick-flicks she hated so much, who sat around feeling lonely and sorry for herself while waiting lovesick by the phone for her man to call.

Gah. Brody had somehow turned her from a deadly and feared assassin into a freaking
girl
.

What’s there to think about?
Briar demanded.
Call him and tell him yes, then get your ass on a plane back here
.

Trinity smirked.
You wish.

Hell yeah, I do.

A sharp rap sounded on her door.

Fettuccini time. She swiped her thumb across the screen of her phone and brought up her security app. The deliveryman stood with his back to the hidden video camera, facing the exterior wall of her courtyard garden.

Her heart skipped a beat when she took in the broad shoulders encased in a black leather jacket, his rain-slicked dark hair. He reminded her so much of Brody from the back.

Her breath caught when he half-turned and she saw his face. She dropped the phone onto the couch, was up and running for the door before she was even conscious of moving. Undoing all the locks, she yanked it open and stood there staring at Brody.

His face split into a warm, sexy smile. “Hey. You ordered Italian, apparently?” He held up the takeout bag.

Trinity didn’t answer, she jumped. Literally threw herself into his arms and clung, wrapping her arms and legs around him.

Brody caught her, chuckled deep in his chest as he hugged her and walked them inside out of the rain, setting the takeout on her entry table without releasing her. “Wow, I guess this means you’re happy to see me?”

She caught his face between her hands and kissed him. A hard, desperate, hungry kiss that made her ache all over. Made her want to rip all his clothes off and kiss every inch of him. It had been too long since she’d seen him, too long since she’d tasted him and felt his arms around her.

He leaned against the door to shut it, one hand cupping the back of her head and the other holding her rear, his mouth every bit as hungry as hers. After a minute she unwound her legs and set her feet on the floor, then ended the kiss to gaze up at him. “I can’t believe you’re here.” It was the most romantic thing in the world, him surprising her this way.

God, maybe part of her
was
“that” girl from the chick-flick movie, and maybe there wasn’t anything wrong about that at all.

His eyes were filled with silent laughter. “I can’t believe I waited this long to fly over here if this is my welcome. I was only giving you your damn space so I didn’t scare you away.”

“I don’t scare easy.” She smiled, but there were tears burning her eyes. “God I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

His expression sobered and he cupped the side of her face in one wide palm. “Did you seriously think I was planning to let you walk away and forget me?”

Biting her lower lip, she shrugged, suddenly vulnerable and unsure. “I wasn’t sure what you’d do.”

His eyes widened at that but then he frowned. “Sweetheart, there’s no way in hell I’d let you go without a fight.”

The endearment and the conviction in his voice made her go all gooey inside.

“And I’m only letting your whole doubt thing slide because I know you don’t trust what’s going on between us. That’s why I flew here, because I have something to say and it needed to be said face-to-face. Now come here.” With that he grabbed her hand and towed her to the couch. “Nice place,” he commented as he sat, dragging her down to straddle his lap.

She set her hands on his shoulders. To hell with her place, she couldn’t stand the suspense another minute. “You didn’t return my texts or calls for the past two days. Was it because you were coming here?”

He nodded, slid his hands into her hair. “I got your voicemail once I landed in Heathrow. I didn’t call back because I wanted to surprise you.”

Aw. “Mission accomplished.”

Something shifted in his gaze, something hot and possessive. “Not yet.”

That sounded borderline cryptic, but she let it go. “So what did you want to say?” she prompted, heart thudding with a mixture of hope and excitement.

“You first. That was a lot of messages, for you. What did you want to tell me about?”

“I got a job offer yesterday.”

“Oh?” His gaze turned knowing. “Anything interesting?”

He already knew. She had to smile. “Rycroft offered me a job working with him and Briar.”

He nodded, confirming her suspicions. “And?”

“And that’s why I was calling you. I wanted to know what you thought.”

“What do
you
think?” he countered.

She shrugged, resisted the urge to squirm under the force of that dark gaze. And it was damn hard to think or have this conversation when she was straddling his lap and she wanted him so damn bad.

“That would depend on us. How you see things…progressing between us in the future.” A part of her cringed as she said it, hating the feeling of exposure. He could literally crush her heart with the wrong answer.

“Ah.” He curved his hand around the back of her neck, the possessive vibe to it making her shiver inside. She loved the way he touched her, and especially the way he took charge in bed. “That brings me to why I flew all the way over here.”

“Just tell me,” she blurted, annoyance taking over her curiosity. Here she was, desperate for the man, for some kind of promise, and he was making her wait.

A slow, sexy grin spread across his face. “You stubborn, gorgeous thing. I came here to tell you to your face that I love you.”

She stared at him, hear heart seizing for a moment before it swelled to double its normal size.

“And I also came here to try and talk you into moving back to the States. With me, into my place.”

To her horror, tears flooded her eyes. She choked back a sniffle, cupped his face in her hands. “You love me?” she quavered.

No one had ever loved her before.

Not her parents. Not her trainers and certainly not the people who should have protected her from the man who’d raped her. Briar and Georgia loved her in their own way, but it wasn’t the same as this. Brody’s admission shook her, his love filling her entire body with warmth.

He nodded. “Yeah. And I wanted to hold you like this and look into your eyes when I said it.”

Her insides began to quake. Could this be real? Could a man like him really love her and want to make a life with her? It seemed like more than she deserved, given what she’d done for all these years.

He’s mine.
The words felt unbelievable, and yet so right.

Staring into his eyes, a sense of security and peace wrapped around her. If she jumped, he would catch her. He would never let her fall. And he would also protect her with his dying breath.

She would do the same for him, without hesitation. So there was only one answer she could give him, even if it was terrifying to voice it aloud.

She smiled at him, pure joy exploding inside her. “I love you too.” So much it took her breath away.

Triumph flashed in his eyes. His grip on her nape tightened and he gave a soft growl as he pulled her down for a slow, hot kiss that melted her insides.

Just as she was about to slide into a puddle on his lap, he broke the kiss and peered up at her, a slight frown drawing his eyebrows together. “So this means you’re going to move in with me and take the job, right? Say the words, Trin.”

Admitting she loved him had been the hardest thing she’d ever done. This part was easy. “God help you, but yes. I am,” she murmured, and covered his lips with hers.

—The End—

Thank you for reading BRODY’S VOW. I really hope you enjoyed it and that you’ll consider leaving a review at one of your favorite online retailers. It’s a great way to help other readers discover new books.

If you liked BRODY’S VOW and would like to read more, turn the page for a list of my other books. And if you don’t want to miss any future releases, please join my
newsletter
. Direct link:
http://kayleacross.com/v2/newsletter/

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

Colebrook Siblings Trilogy

Brody’s Vow

Hostage Rescue Team Series

Marked

Targeted

Hunted

Disavowed

Avenged

Exposed

Seized

Wanted

Betrayed

Reclaimed

Titanium Security Series

Ignited

Singed

Burned

Extinguished

Rekindled

Bagram Special Ops Series

Deadly Descent

Tactical Strike

Lethal Pursuit

Danger Close

Collateral Damage

Suspense Series

Out of Her League

Cover of Darkness

No Turning Back

Relentless

Absolution

PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Empowered Series

Darkest Caress

HISTORICAL ROMANCE

The Vacant Chair

EROTIC ROMANCE (writing as Callie Croix)

Deacon’s Touch

Dillon’s Claim

No Holds Barred

Touch Me

Let Me In

Covert Seduction

A shout out to all my wonderful readers, for supporting this new series.

And as always, a huge thanks to my editing team (including Sandra, thanks for pinch hitting on this one!), cover artist, formatter and DH, for all their help in whipping this baby into shape. It takes a village!

NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards and has been nominated for both the Daphne du Maurier and the National Readers’ Choice Awards. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and family.

You can visit Kaylea at
www.kayleacross.com
. If you would like to be notified of future releases, please join her
newsletter
. Direct link:
http://kayleacross.com/v2/newsletter/

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