Enter to win a gifted ebook copy of RECKLESS RIVER (Book Three)
Reckless River
Men of Mercy #3
Lindsay Cross
Releasing Oct 21st, 2015
Cypress Bend Publishing
They
say you can’t go home again. Jared Crowe never wanted to.
Home meant facing memories of abuse and neglect. Of dark closets and evil nightmares. Of his own relatives intent on killing him. But now his brother’s kidnapping forces him to face those demons. Only this time, Jared isn’t a scared little boy. He’s a full-grown Special Forces operative bent on revenge.
As a little girl, Sparrow Pickney risked her life to free two abused boys. As a grown woman Sparrow needs to earn a place in her adopted family’s business or be forced into a life of degradation. The chance to prove her family loyalty comes when she catches Jared spying on the compound and captures him.
When Jared sees his captor, he realizes she’s the girl of his dreams and vows to rescue her from a life of poverty. What Jared doesn’t know is Sparrow may not be the savior he remembers…but the one responsible for abducting and torturing his brother.
Jared is determined to find the truth. But that truth may be more than his heart can take.
Home meant facing memories of abuse and neglect. Of dark closets and evil nightmares. Of his own relatives intent on killing him. But now his brother’s kidnapping forces him to face those demons. Only this time, Jared isn’t a scared little boy. He’s a full-grown Special Forces operative bent on revenge.
As a little girl, Sparrow Pickney risked her life to free two abused boys. As a grown woman Sparrow needs to earn a place in her adopted family’s business or be forced into a life of degradation. The chance to prove her family loyalty comes when she catches Jared spying on the compound and captures him.
When Jared sees his captor, he realizes she’s the girl of his dreams and vows to rescue her from a life of poverty. What Jared doesn’t know is Sparrow may not be the savior he remembers…but the one responsible for abducting and torturing his brother.
Jared is determined to find the truth. But that truth may be more than his heart can take.
It had been nearly twenty
years since he’d seen her, but Jared could never forget those golden eyes. Eyes
that had haunted his dreams ever since. Had she joined up with Kay? Or was she
simply one of those poor souls struggling to survive?
The thought of Sparrow
slowly starving filled him with a sense of guilt. He should have made her leave
with them. Even though they’d been children when she’d freed them, Jared had
been big enough to drag her out, whether she’d wanted to go or not.
She leaned over him,
reaching for his hands. Her floppy hat fell down, blinding her, and she ripped
it off and tossed it across the room. Long caramel-colored hair, full of
sun-kissed highlights, waterfalled down the sides of her face and tickled his
nose. Her scent surrounded him now, flooding his senses. Honeysuckle and wildflowers.
His cock swelled in an instant. Jared gnashed his teeth together, trying to
quell his intense reaction to her nearness.
Sparrow leaned down
further and her loose tank top gaped open, treating him to a glorious view of
surprisingly plump breasts cupped in a plain sports bra. His gaze locked onto
her beaded nipples through the cotton. Fuck he wanted to rip that bra down and
reveal what was hidden beneath. The loose manly clothes she wore made her look
stick thin, but womanly curves were concealed beneath them.
Sparrow sighed and sat up
straight, leaving rope dangling uselessly on his wrists. Jared gripped the
metal headboard with his hands, waiting for her next move. She stood there for
a moment and studied him, trying to decide what to do. Well, he wasn't going to
help her out one little bit.
"Keep your hands
right there, got it?" Her voice was stern.
"Yes ma'am.” He had
no intention of acting up. Yet.
She placed a knee on the
mattress, and in one swift movement straddled him, settling on his belly. Jared
groaned and closed his eyes thankful she hadn’t sat down lower on his body;
otherwise, she would have gotten her own surprise. She leaned over him
spreading her knees wider up his chest. His eyes popped open, unable to resist
another view of her bare skin.
"You can stop with
the theatrics right now, I know I’m not big enough to crush you."
If only that were his
problem. Her shirt dipped down even more and he fixated on the pale mounds of
her breasts straining against the material of her sports bra. It was a crime to
lock those beauties up in serviceable cotton.
She should wear nothing
but pure silk and lace, perfect for him to rip off her body.
Her hair curtained around
him again, and her soft lips parted in concentration as she worked. He was aware
of every inch of exposed skin—from the graceful hollow of her neck to her
supple forearms peeking out from the rolled up sleeves of her checkered work
shirt. Even more aware of the intense heat radiating from her core, pressed so
intimately to his chest.
"There. All
done." She sat back, a satisfied smile on her lips.
Jared tugged on the rope.
He’d completely zoned out on anything other than her straddling him. It didn't
give an inch—the knot she’d tied was worthy of a professional. A small ounce of
foreboding seeped into him. “Where did you learn to tie knots?"
"Trapping. Working
snares. Been doing it since I was a kid." Her words were so
matter-of-fact, he had no doubt she spoke the truth. Holy shit. He yanked on
the ropes, but they didn’t move.
“Impressive.” Jared
wriggled his fingers and wrists, testing for any weakness. He found none.
“Might as well stop
struggling. Nobody’s ever been able to get out of one of my knots. And I used
my new rope too, so it wouldn’t snap easy.” She made a snapping motion with her
fingers, the emphasis driving in just how stupid his plan had been. He should
have used that easy opening she’d given him with the gun.
His foreboding turned to
real worry. He had to get out of here to rescue his brother. Hoyt’s life
depended on him. If he couldn’t get free… “Nice, now what?”
“Now you tell me who you
are and why you’re here.” Sparrow sat back on her heels, the curve of her ass
grazing the tip of his cock. He clenched his muscles, fighting to free himself
from the pull of lust.
Remember, you’re the
soldier trained in interrogation techniques. Now he just had to stop thinking
with his dick for long enough to find out where Hoyt was being held. "My
name is Jake."
She tapped her chin,
staring down at him. Once again he was
enthralled by the intense color of her eyes. They were golden, almost like a
cat’s, with a darker brown ring around the edges. “Jake. You don't look like a
Jake."
He enjoyed hearing the
name on her lips. Would enjoy hearing his real name even better. Her soft accent
and long vowels stretched it out slow. Sensual. "And what do I look
like?"
"I don't know.
Killer? Tiger?"
"That's what people
name their cats.”
"True. Why are you
here?"
"Why did you take me hostage?" he countered.
"Why did you take me hostage?" he countered.
“You were spying on my
family. Only our enemies do that.” She shifted, brushing against his tip again.
Fuck he wanted to rip free of these bonds and throw her down beneath him. Where
was his detached logic now? Something about her was making him lose control.
“I have no interest in
you. I was looking for a family member who went missing, know anything about
that?” He studied her reaction intently, watching for any flash of awareness,
but she didn’t give away anything.
“Haven’t seen anybody new
around here in a long time, and I would know. Sorry, but you plopped down on
the wrong piece of land.”
“He told me he was coming
here.” Not really, but Jared knew without the slightest shred of doubt that
Hoyt had been taken by the Crowes. Miss Kay wanted to finish what she had
started all those years ago, even if Jared didn’t know why. It was bad enough
his parents had died when Jared was only nine, Hoyt six, but to have his aunt
try to murder them....
Jared yanked on the bonds
again, testing the bed frame. It screeched but held firm. Shit.
“What does he look like?”
Every time Sparrow moved or shifted he felt her. Desire was holding him hostage
as much as the damn ropes. Got to get free. Got to find Hoyt.
“What do I get if I tell
you?”
“What do you get? You get
to live.” Her brows shot down as if confused.
“You won’t kill me.”
“Try me.”
“How about we make a
little trade—you give me something, I give you something.”
"Give? What do you
want?" She laid her palms on her thighs, kneeling over his body, the
position incredibly erotic.
Blushing aside, maybe she
wasn’t so innocent after all. He had a plan and she was part of it. He knew he
could get more information out of Sparrow than her giant ass brother. And he’d
find it a hell of a lot more enjoyable too. "Kiss me."
She stopped moving all
together and her eyes narrowed in on his mouth.
"Give me a kiss and
I'll sing like a bird."
While I loved Jared's devotion to his brother, and I understand his anger towards his family, I did not like the way he treated Sparrow after he finds Hoyt. Especially because he had doubts but continues to hurt her even though you can tell she's telling him the truth. Their relationship moved quickly, and while there was plenty of chemistry, it was lacking romance for me. Hoyt went through some pretty awful things while we has held captive and his injuries are extensive, but the worst is the way it's affected him mentally. He's going to have a tough road ahead of him and I'm looking forward to his HEA.
I received an ARC for the purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for this review, all conclusions are my own.
Lindsay Cross is the award-winning author of the Men of Mercy series. She is the fun loving mom of two beautiful daughters and one precocious Great Dane. Lindsay is happily married to the man of her dreams – a soldier and veteran. During one of her husband’s deployments from home, writing became her escape and motivation.
An avid reader since childhood, reading and writing is in her blood. After years of reading, she discovered her true passion – writing. Her alpha military men are damaged, drop-dead gorgeous and determined to win the heart of the woman of their dreams.
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