Heat Seeker

Praise for bestselling author Lora Leigh’s

MAVERICK

“A phenomenal read.”

—Romance Junkies

“Scorching-hot sex, deadly secrets, and a determined assassin add up to another addicting Leigh thriller. Leigh’s ability to credibly build damaged characters who are both intriguing and intense gives her stories that extra punch.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“Sex and violence power the satisfying second installment of Leigh’s Elite Ops series.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Full of wrenching emotion and self-flagellation by the hero, the new series of Elite Ops promises to be even better than the Sexy Seals at this rate.”

—Night Owl Romance

“With her customary panache for emotionally intense, sensual characters, the author attracts readers into every world she creates. This fabulous follow-up to
Wild Card
is no exception to the rule.”

—A Romance Review

WILD CARD

“Highly emotional and addicting…an intoxicating first installment of a brand-new series.”

—Romance Junkies

“Ferocious passion!”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

…and the novels in her sexy SEALs series

KILLER SECRETS

“A smoldering-hot new espionage tale. This chapter of Leigh’s SEAL saga reverberates with deadly danger.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

HIDDEN AGENDAS

“Treachery and intrigue combine with blistering hot sensuality in this chapter of Leigh’s SEAL saga. The title of this book is particularly apt, since many of the characters are not what they seem, and betrayal can have deadly consequences. Leigh’s books can scorch the ink off the page.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“An evocative and captivating read.”

—Romance Junkies

DANGEROUS GAMES

“A marvelous novel of suspense and raw passion.”

—Romance Junkies

“Lora Leigh ignites the fire…with steamy heat added to a story that makes you cheer and even tear up.”

—Fallen Angel Reviews

“Leigh writes…tempting, enchanting romance[s] that readers are certain to devour.”

—Romance Reviews Today

St. Martin’s Paperbacks Titles By

L
ORA
L
EIGH

Elite Ops series

Maverick

Wild Card

SEALs series

Killer Secrets

Hidden Agendas

Dangerous Games

Lora Leigh

St. Martin’s Paperbacks

NOTE:
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

HEAT SEEKER

Copyright © 2009 by Lora Leigh.

Cover photograph of man and woman © Shirley Green
Background image ©
Shutterstock.com

All rights reserved.

For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

ISBN: 978-0-312-94581-7

Printed in the United States of America

St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / September 2009

St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

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Sharon, you’ve made life fun. You’ve taught me how to be strong
and you’ve become more important to me than I could have ever
imagined. You are my very bestest friend.
This book is for you.

Brisbane,
Australia

LIGHT CRASHED AND THUNDER
boomed. Rain poured down in sheets as Brisbane experienced one of its hardest thunderstorms in years. Inches of water fell, saturated the ground, and ran in streams along sidewalks and roads. The wind howled and raged, and inside the tiny bungalow just outside town, the woman who had always hated the thunder, detested the lightning, and scowled at the rain paid little heed to the storm.

Through slitted lids she watched as Trent Daylen, the tough, sun-darkened, laughing Australian Secret Intelligence agent she had been paired with on the mission they’d just finished, kissed the arch of her foot with greedy arousal.

Bailey wanted to moan at the sight. She’d never, at any time, had her foot kissed by anyone. It was almost like being a virgin all over again, because the sensations this man inspired inside her assured her that she had much more to learn.

“Like silk,” he whispered, the low, slow drawl of his accent sending shivers up her spine as his lips slid to her ankle.

Bailey fought to simply breathe. She hadn’t expected this. She’d wanted it, ached for him, dreamed of him, but she had never expected to actually find herself in his arms when the mission was over.

“Come on, love, let’s get those jeans off. Let me see those gorgeous legs.”

Legs he’d watched through the months, making her so wet she’d nearly had to change her panties several times. She’d worn short skirts and skimpy tops to play a waitress in a low-end dive in Brisbane as they searched for an Australian naval officer selling secrets of a top-secret military base both their countries were conducting operations out of.

They’d caught the officer. They’d celebrated with drinks. And now they were celebrating with each other.

Bailey watched as his fingers, long and strong, moved to the clasp and zipper of her jeans. They came loose easily, the rasp of the closure audible even over the storm that raged outside.

Her stomach clenched, her sex heated as the material parted and he gripped the hem, drawing the pants over her thighs and down her legs.

He was still dressed. She wanted him naked. But his lips at her hip bone stilled her hands as they moved for the buttons of his bush shirt. Her nails raked against the hard muscles of his shoulders, and the involuntary arching of her hips surprised her.

She could feel the dampness building between her thighs, soaking the sensitive folds there, sheening moisture along her thighs. She had never been so wet in her life, so ready for a man’s touch, his kiss.

“Trent.” She moaned his name. She couldn’t help it. She needed more, so much more that she wondered if her need would ever be sated.

“Patience, love,” he soothed her gently as he moved back up her body, one hand easing the fabric of her shirt up her stomach, to her breasts. “Let’s get these clothes off that gorgeous body of yours. I swear I’ve dreamed of kissing every inch of that perfect, silky flesh.”

There was nothing perfect about her body and she knew it. But he sounded as though he believed it. As though he saw perfection somewhere in her.

Heat sizzled under her skin when his palm raked over a tight, hard nipple as he drew her shirt farther up. Then he was gripping the hem, pulling it over her head. Before it cleared
her head, his lips were back on hers and she was sinking into a morass of rich, sensual sensations, into a pleasure that rocked her, drew her tight against him.

Her arms wrapped around his neck as his lips took hers. His tongue pushed past, brushed against her own, then retreated. He sipped at her lips, caressed them, then came back with a hungry demand that had her crying out into the kiss.

Desperate fingers fisted into the material of his shirt as she tried to drag it up his body, fighting to touch his flesh. Hard, hot flesh that invited her hands, muscles that flexed above her.

Bailey writhed beneath him, her hands reaching beneath the shirt to clench on his back, her nails scraping against his flesh as she gripped her thighs tightly closed and fought for enough sensation against her clit to ease the ache building in it.

“Don’t stop,” she cried out as he drew back.

“Stop? Not on your life, sweetheart.” He tore his shirt over his head, his normally serene gray eyes stormy now as he revealed the dark blond scattering of hair that covered his hard chest and arrowed down the darkly tanned stomach and tight abs.