SEAL of Honor (26 page)

“C’mere.” He patted the desk. She crossed the room and pulled herself up to sit in front of him. Sure enough, her foot was like an ice cube despite the humid day, and he closed his hands around it to warm it up. “I’m going to buy you a pair of slippers.”

She made a face. “I won’t wear them.” She let him massage her foot for a moment longer, then tucked both feet under his thighs in the chair and drew him closer so that they were nose to nose. She kissed his forehead. “Everything okay?”

“No, I don’t think so.” He told her about Quinn’s medical condition. Her eyes glazed with tears and he pulled her down onto his lap.

“Oh, no. Poor Quinn. What are you going to do?”

“About him? I don’t know.” And frankly, he didn’t want to think about it at the moment. He lifted her chin with the curve of his index finger and tried on a smile. “But you… I know exactly what I’m going to do about you.”

“Hmm.” She pressed a lingering kiss to his mouth. “Did Raffi’s little ploy work?”

“What little ploy?”

“He told me if I wanted to get you to the altar, I had to be a
tad
”—she held her fingers a millimeter apart—“manipulative. Make you think there’s a chance I’d leave you.”

“There isn’t?”

“For a smart man, you sure can be an idiot sometimes.” She laughed and slapped his chest. “So? Did it work?”

Gabe thought of the last time he was asked that question by Quinn during his retirement party. Thought about how lonely he’d been back then and he hadn’t even known it, how colorless his life had been without Audrey to brighten it up. He never wanted to go back to that dull, lonely existence again.

“Yeah,” he admitted, “it worked.” He reached into his desk drawer for the plane tickets, but had to bite the inside of his cheek to fight a smile. He’d been played beautifully, and he loved her all the more for it. “We leave tomorrow.”

“Vegas?” She fanned the two tickets out and grinned at him. “So are you just carting me off like a caveman, or are you gonna ask me like a good, honorable SEAL should?”

Gabe pretended to think about it for a half second, then scooped her into his arms and carried her through the door adjoining his office to their bedroom.

“Gabe, no. We have company!” She laughed when she hit the bed with a bounce, but the laughter soon turned to moans as he settled between her open legs and dragged his lips up her neck to her ear.

“Caveman,” he said and nibbled her earlobe. “I’m not a SEAL anymore.”

And for the first time, that didn’t bother him in the least.

Can’t get enough of the men of HORNET?

Check out Tonya’s new tie-in series

Wilde Security

debuting on the Brazen imprint June 10, 2013 with

Wilde Nights in Paradise

Former Marine Jude Wilde’s motto has always been “burn bridges and never look back,” so nobody is more surprised when Wilde Security is hired to protect assistant district attorney Libby Pruitt, the woman he once loved and left. Although she makes it clear she wants nothing to do with Jude, they’re forced to fake a relationship for her safety. He can’t ignore the heat still simmering between them, and when her stalker’s threats escalate to attempted murder, he’s left with no choice but to whisk her away to a friend’s safe house in Key West, FL.

Cooped up in paradise together, Jude begins to chip away at Libby’s resolve to hate him. But even as she gives in to his proximity and her body’s demands for his, she refuses to fall for his charms again. Maybe a torrid affair in the sun is exactly what she needs to get him out of her system. But when her stalker tracks them down, can they escape the steamy Key West night without anyone getting hurt?

About the Author

Writing has always been Tonya’s one true love. She wrote her first novel-length story in 8th grade and hasn’t put down her pen since. She received a B.A. in creative writing from SUNY Oswego and is now working on an MFA in popular fiction at Seton Hill University.

Tonya shares her life with two dogs and a ginormous cat. They live in a small town in Pennsylvania, but she suffers from a bad case of wanderlust and usually ends up moving someplace new every few years. Luckily, her animals are all excellent travel buddies.

When Tonya is not writing, she spends her time reading, painting, exploring new places, and enjoying time with her family.

www.tonyaburrows.com

Acknowledgments

First, I want to thank my editor, the lovely Heather Howland, and the rest of the amazing people in the Entangled family for putting untold hours into this book. It’s been a year in the making, but seeing the guys of HORNET out in the world is still the best birthday present anyone has ever given me. Thanks for all of your encouragement and support.

A nod of thanks also goes to Seton Hill University’s MFA program. Without all of the excellent critique sessions, I doubt this novel would have seen print. And a special thank you to my fellow Unteachables for putting up with my occasional lack-of-sleep-induced internet rants and random bursts of “OMG, it’s really happening!” You guys rock!

I need to take a moment to show appreciation for the Western New York chapter of RWA, especially Helen Jones. If you had never told me about Entangled during lunch last March, this book would still be just another file on my computer.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention my eighth grade literature teacher, Ms. Hoopsick. You saw something in my writing before anyone else. By reading all of my silly stories (including that epic romance/fantasy/mystery/sci-fi concoction), you nurtured my fragile middle school writer’s soul and pushed me the first steps down the path to publication. Thank you.

And to my family, thanks for always being there. I know it’s not always easy having a crazy writer on the family tree. Love you!