Can a woman learn to trust her heart enough to give her dream another chance? Can a man reveal all, in order to keep his love safe in his arms?
Mandy would do almost anything for Mac, anything except give him her heart again. She has spent five long years trying to get over him. Now, forced back into his arms, will she finally have the courage to reach for her dream? Or will she lose him before she has even gotten a chance to be in his arms?
Mac has never been able to shake his need for Mandy—not even after five long years without her. Now she is back but instead of the young, sweet girl who gave him her innocence, she is a fierce, courageous woman—so sexy he can barely keep his eye on the prize—her in his arms for the rest of their lives.
A Mexican Mafia hit thrusts them into a race to survive. Alone with Mac, Mandy must learn to listen with her heart. While Mac will have to reveal himself for the killer he is, if he's to ever have Mandy safe in his arms.
Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of anal sex.
General Release Date: 28th June 2013
Five years later…
Mac practically ran down the luxurious hotel hallway. He slowed to a fast walk when an old couple came out of their room, but each step brought him closer to where he needed to be.
Near Mandy.
He still couldn’t believe Lacey had given him Mandy’s room number. Clearly Lacey was all about everyone being happy now that she was here, in Hawaii and getting married. Him chomping at the bit to get hold of Mandy must have been the key to convincing her he wasn’t going to blow this chance. Not with Mandy this close. That or she really believed Ace could kick his ass if he hurt Mandy, but still, he was seconds from seeing Mandy again.
Shit freaked him out. He was supposed to be one of the toughest, meanest guys out there, but the reality of it was he’d let Ace kick his ass if he hurt Mandy again.
He slowed down and saw the room across from hers first, ‘4562’, then hers.
Fuck. He froze. After five years, that door was all that kept him from the one woman on this planet who owned his heart. He rubbed his hand through his hair and back over his neck.
Buck up, asshole, and face her.
He reached up and knocked on Mandy’s door, and waited, keeping in mind everything Lacey had said about Mandy needing time and his own promise to go slow. She’d been in Africa. Africa for nearly the entire five years. Helping victims of the wars there.
His heartbeat raced and he raised his hand to knock again when he saw the doorknob twist downward. A second later, Mandy stood there with a grin, already saying, "Hey, I thought—"
She cut off with a soft ‘Oh’ and backed up. Her big grey eyes rounded out. He couldn’t take in the details of her quickly enough. She seemed to soak him in, too. He watched her swallow, feeling suddenly dry-throated as well. How was it possible she was more beautiful now than she’d been five years ago?
"Hello, sugar. Miss me?"
She blinked, then seemed to realise he was pushing her back into her room because she tried to stop him with a hand on his chest. He used it to pull her into his arms, letting the door close behind them. Sensations too wild to make sense of rushed him. Both her hands were on his chest burning through the material of his T-shirt. Her pink lips were inches from his, open in shock, sure, but, still, they were right there. He soaked her up. Her grey eyes caught him, stealing his breath like a sucker punch to the gut. With a little hiss, she narrowed her gaze, hiding the flash of emotion he’d not had time to decipher with an angry glare.
"Mac, let me go!’
Grinning, he tightened his arms around her wiggling little body. "Damn, baby, the least you could do is say hello before you fall into my arms."
She froze and rolled her eyes. "Give me a break."
"We need to talk, huh?" he asked, slowly relaxing his arms. She quickly stepped away. When she reached the patio windows, she reached up nervously and tucked her shorter curls off her face, turning to the side when she did so she didn’t have to face him. He could see her pulse thundering along the slender column of her neck from where he stood two feet from her. Her body was tight, stress showing in the way she clenched her hands together and in the lines of stiff posture.
He did this to her?
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, turning with her arms crossed under her lush breasts to face him. "Wolf, Lacey is waiting for me."
She never called him Wolf. She always called him Mac. Shit pissed him off.
"Mac."
She squinted at him. "What?"
"Don’t call me Wolf. It’s Mac," he murmured. "It’s always been Mac."
"Okay," she drawled, dragging the two syllables out with such sarcasm he felt his body tighten with the challenge.
"We need to talk," he said. He watched the tension in her shoulders tighten. She scanned the room with an impatient look. She was going to argue with him. Mandy never, ever fought anyone. She avoided confrontations. She got around people, managed the hell out of them, but she never directly argued with anyone.
After a second of turning her back on him, she faced him. "Talk? Why should I? Besides, give me a break! You can’t just barge in here and make demands. Now"—she took a deep breath, adding to the battle he had controlling his reactions by practically taunting him with her barely covered breasts in some kind of hot bikini top, and continued, "If you don’t mind, I’d like to go. Lacey is waiting and I know you don’t want Ace up here."
She thought she could scare him off with Ace? He settled against the wall and lifted a shoulder.
"Ace doesn’t scare me, Mandy. And you aren’t leaving this room, not until you tell me what I want. Like where you’ve been, why you hid, and how you hid for the past five years. You and I are going to talk, sugar. Now." As he spoke, he couldn’t stay still and ended up stalking towards her, letting some of his anger show in his face. She surprised him again by standing her ground, her fists tight at her hips but she faced him down.
"Oh yeah? Well, you’re in for a surprise, Mac, it sucks to want. I should know, right?" The way she said his name, with enough sour sarcasm to curdle milk, had him drawing up to a complete stop. "Now, we can talk later, but right now, no, not possible," she said in a rush.
He backed her up by simply walking towards her. She landed in a chair by the bed, breathing hard, her fists tight, clearly wanting to hit him. He squatted down in front of her and carefully took one of her hands. "Look, Mandy, we’re going to start this over, okay? You’re going to tell me what I want to know—"
"No, I’m not. I’m not one of your missions, Wolf."
"Mac."
He didn’t know why, but he always wanted Mandy to call him Mac. Never Wolf. Wolf was a killer. She had once loved Mac, loved him enough to see beyond the killer.
She huffed out a breath and looked away from him, but not quick enough to hide the tears shimmering in her eyes.
"Whatever," she whispered.
He loosened his hand on hers and rocked back on the balls of his feet to give her some space. If she cried, he’d be lost. He’d cut out his own damn heart if it would make it better. He’d kick anyone’s ass that made her cry, but how would he get in a fist fight with himself?
"Mandy, come on, sugar, look at me. Talk to me."
Still not looking at him, she tossed her sun-bleached hair off her face and exhaled. Her hair was lighter than he’d ever seen it before. She’d cut it, too. The long, golden curls had once reached past her shoulder blades, but he found himself liking this new style more than the old. He had a clear view of her face, slender throat and the delicate line of her jaw. The longer bangs hid her expression at times, but the way she anchored her hair behind her ear sent an odd nip of pain to his heart.
Billi Jean was born in California but didn't stay put for long. She's lived in New York, Indiana, Missouri, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts and Vermont. She's lived in and worked from ranches to beach-side coffee shops to the woods in western Massachusetts. Now living and working in China, she continues to write for Totally Bound Publishing.
Billi Jean has been writing since high school when she couldn't wait for Robert Jordon to write his Wheel of Time series faster. As an adult, she still finds herself drawn to fantasy-adventure stories, but with an erotic romance flair. Her books are extremely hot, with a focus on strong characters that are shoved into fast-paced adventures. Her unique style of incredible journeys infused with hot passion leave her fans hoping for more.
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