Sweet Burn (26 page)
Authors: Anne Marsh
“Jesus. You didn
’
t tell me getting inked would hurt that much.” Mack stared down at his hand.
“Baby,” she said fondly because, no, she hadn
’
t. He was a guy. Wasn
’
t he supposed to have a high pain tolerance? Most of the men she
’
d known would swear that everything was fine, even if they were missing a limb or gushing blood. Mack needed to toughen up. He
’
d had burns that were worse. The scars on his body promised as much. Not as bad what had happened to poor Will Donegan, however. She pushed the thought out of her mind. What had happened to Will and Abbie was a tragedy and the entire community of Strong had rallied around the widow, herself included. Finally, she felt like a part of Strong and Abbie needed every one of them. Mimi planned on being here.
She carefully unwrapped the thin strip of gauze wrapped around his ring finger. The bandage matched the one on hers. She
’
d temporarily shifted her wedding band to another finger while the ink healed. She felt like a part of Mack now too and that feeling was everything.
“It took thirty minutes,” she pointed out, failing to hold back her smile.
“And I want recompense for each and every second.”
The heated look in his eyes made it clear exactly how he planned on taking his payment. She could so work with that. Thank God, her annulment had in fact gone through. She
’
d made an awkward phone call to Eddie Worthington—now senior partner at the family law firm—and learned that she
’
d been legally free and clear for almost eight years. Apparently, he
’
d worked around her disappearance and non-signature. He did come from a family of lawyers, after all, and she
’
d made it clear that she had no intention of asking too many questions about the annulment’s mechanics because she
’
d gotten what she wanted.
Mack
.
“We match,” she said, holding her hand out next to his. She
’
d done his ink herself, etching strong, dark swirls of black around his ring finger in a pattern that was part Celtic, part Native American, and all
her
. He was wearing a piece of her on his skin, a living wedding band and daily reminder.
“Always,” he agreed, pressing a kiss on her hand. “You going to put your rings back on?”
“You bet.” She grinned and slid the sparkling stones over her ring finger. She loved the way the diamonds played off the matching dark ink tattoed on her skin. There was no easy way out, no way to remove him from her body anymore than she
’
d been able to remove him from her heart. She’d planned on leaving Strong, but instead she’d found an unexpected family.
Mack.
“I should have held out for a ring,” he grumbled, but he was smiling.
“Just wait,” she whispered. “Until you see what I
’
m giving you for our tenth anniversary.”
He leaned in and kissed her, gently tucking her hair out of the way. “You should know that I
’
m really good at waiting,” he said. “And that I
’
ll always wait for you, as long as it takes.”
“That
’
s good,
” she said, “seeing as how I love you.”
“Me too.” He tangled his fingers with hers, their ink forming one pattern. “I love you and I
’
m counting on forever to show you.”
Contemporary Romance – Smoke Jumpers
BURNING UP
(Smoke Jumpers, Book 1)
SLOW BURN
(Smoke Jumpers, Book 2)
BURNS SO BAD
(Smoke Jumpers, Book 3)
SMOKING HOT
(Smoke Jumpers, Book 4)
SWEET BURN
(Smoke Jumpers, Book 5)
Contemporary Romance – The Hotshots
REBURN
(The Hotshots, 1)
HOT ZONE
(The Hotshots, 2)
FIRED UP
(The Hotshots, 3, in HOT SHOTS)
Contemporary Romance – Men of Discovery Island
WICKED SEXY
(Men of Discovery Island, 1)
WICKED NIGHTS
(Men of Discovery Island, 2)
WICKED SECRETS (Men of Discovery Island, 3 -- Winter 2015)
Paranormal Romance – Blue Moon Brides
TEMPTED BY THE PACK
(Blue Moon Brides, Book 1)
PLEASURED BY THE PACK
(Blue Moon Brides, Book 2)
CLAIMED BY THE PACK
(Blue Moon Brides, Book 3)
Paranormal Romance – The Fallen
BOND WITH ME
(Fallen, Book 1)
HIS DARK BOND
(Fallen, Book 2)
SAVAGE BOND
(Fallen, Book 3)
Non-Series Books
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Too sexy to resist?
Danielle Andrews was supposed to be on her honeymoon. Instead, she's back on Discovery Island licking her wounds and running for shelter when she sees Daeg Ross coming her way. Years ago, on this very beach, Dani started something with the special ops aviation rescue swimmer. But she refuses to be tempted by the wickedly hot military hunk again.
Daeg Ross is used to jumping into treacherous waters. But his feelings for relationship-shy Dani are a whole new type of risk. They are volatile—and irresistible. When their lives are threatened by the invading winds and endless rain of a tropical storm, Daeg and Dani are forced to take shelter and ride out a wild night. Together, will they sink…or swim?
Uniformly Hot! The few, the proud, the sexy as hell!
Pre-order now from
Amazon
for delivery on July 1st, 2014 and keep reading for a special sneak peek of Anne Marsh’s sexy new series featuring Navy rescue swimmers!
WICKED SEXY is a reunion romance… even if the heroine isn’t sure she wants to be reunited with the hero. She’s coming off a failed romance and just knows that that the Navy rescue swimmer she meets on the beach is nothing but trouble. The trouble is, he’s also nothing but sexy....
***
Predictable.
The man eating up the sand in long, restless strides next to her was anything
but
predictable, however. Which made him perfect.
A burst of orange and yellow shot over their heads. The wind was strong enough that the beach ball was really flying. From the accompanying protest right before the ball hit the water with a sharp smack, the ball’s owner hadn’t expected it to go airborne quite so far or so fast. Small feet sprinted toward the surf, kicking up sand before the child came to a screeching halt at the water’s edge. He must have been told not to go in alone.
Her flip-flops hit the sand as Daeg shoved his cone into her hand. There was good-natured laughter in his voice as he pulled off his faded T-shirt. “I think we need a rescue here.”
The sight of that shirt coming off woke something inside her. The thin cotton had clung to some pretty impressive muscles, but bare chested he was spectacular, all thick ridges of muscles and sun-bronzed skin. He sported a handful of scars, including a long one that wrapped around his chest beneath two pairs of dog tags.
Still grinning, he plunged into the chilly water, jeans and all.
He dove effortlessly after the ball. Waterborne, the limp vanished and all she could see was the power of that body as he skimmed the waves.
“He your boyfriend?” The child by her side leaned into her, watching Daeg pop up to the surface, shaking water from his face as he snagged the ball.
“No.” That whole sworn-off-men thing.
“Why not?” Out of the mouths of babes.
Waist-deep in the water, Daeg lobbed the ball back one-handed. The boy caught it, calling out his thanks as he scampered down the beach.
“Gallant,” she called. How many men did she know who would have been willing to soak themselves to the bone to rescue a child’s ball?
“Cold,” he countered, wading toward the shore. “We rescuers jump in first and think next. Occupational hazard.”
This was it.
This was her second chance.
The denim was molded to his powerful thighs as he left the surf. Wet, those jeans left nothing to the imagination—and boy, was she imagining things now. Starting with that sexy trickle down his chest as the water sluiced off him. Despite the June weather, the water was cold. His nipples were hard, tight nubs, and her mouth went dry. The look in his eyes was pure heat, though—and he was looking right at her. Stormy eyes. Dark green and framed by those ridiculously long lashes, still damp from his swim.
She could do this and before she could second-guess herself, she carefully tucked his half-eaten cone on the ground beside his shirt and stepped into his body, sliding her arms up around his neck. The sensation of her skin meeting his was an icy shock.
“Nice rescue, sailor.”
Try as she might, she couldn’t spot any hesitation in him as he lowered his head to hers. The beach was almost empty now, the place all theirs. His eyes watched her until she wanted those lashes to drift shut, wanted him to lose himself in her. What if he didn’t desire her or she didn’t do this right? She shoved the hurtful memories of her ex’s accusations to a remote corner of her mind. Chances were, this could be different.
Better.
Then he groaned, not from pain, but from pleasure. His arms came up around her waist and back, one large hand resting on the back of her neck. Who knew that innocent touch could set her on fire so fast? “You’re killing me, you know that? I want you right now and we haven’t even finished our walk yet.”
Sweet relief and even sweeter arousal shot through her. She’d never been naughty exactly, but now she tilted her head back as if she’d been born to flirt, trusting the weight of her head to that hand. Deliberately, she smiled, really slow. She could do this. Was doing this. “Kiss me,” she whispered. “Kiss me
right now
.”
He smiled and as he leaned in she forgot to breathe. Every inch of her was focused on the man holding her, bringing her mouth toward his mouth. His kiss. The pleasure was all consuming. She hadn’t known she could feel this way.
His mouth found the edge of her jaw, a soft brush of skin on skin. Was he waiting for her to do something? Tempting. His lips pressed a wicked pattern of kisses along her neck. She wasn’t sure what he wanted, but she knew she wanted to give it to him.
“Don’t tease,” she murmured. Her eyes drifted shut, closing against the last fiery rays of the setting sun.
“Not for too long,” he promised, and then his mouth found hers. Oh, this man knew how to kiss. His lips covered hers, exploring and tasting with every lick and stroke. His hand angled her head backward until she opened up for him and his tongue stroked inside her mouth.
Skin to skin, as they were, there was no missing that thick erection. But Daeg was taking his time. Her soldier was being a gentleman. She appreciated that, but she also wanted
him
, his heat and his strength. She wanted more than just his kisses.
His tongue dipped deeper, teasing her. The moan slipped from her throat before she could stop it. The raw, unfamiliar sound was shocking to her. She was losing this battle. The weakness in her legs warned her she had to stop before this went too far. But he felt so good.
Her soldier didn’t look bored—no, he looked one hundred percent aroused.
Hungry.
For her.