Variations
(Base Branch #9)
Megan Mitcham
Publication date: October 11th 2016
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense
From USA Today bestselling author Megan Mitcham…
Decisions split paths. Bad decisions compound and suddenly you are no more than variations of yourself.
Decisions split paths. Bad decisions compound and suddenly you are no more than variations of yourself.
Marina Sorensen rots in a prison of her own making. The bars are the thick arms and meaty hands of Brödraskapet thugs who make money selling her body. Her guilt is the unbreakable shackle. Loneliness is her ever tightening noose. Trading her life for the survival of another is her only salvation.
For Base Branch operative Oliver Knight an eliminate and rescue mission in hostile territory against a brotherhood of brutal sons-of-bitches is another adventure. Downtime between missions in foreign locales with exotic women is worth dodging a few bullets. There is also the sense of duty and pride in a job well done.
He and his buddy rescue Marina and are blindsided by the striking, broken woman who mistakes them for Stronghold Tech. Before they can figure out how she knows about the elite securities team or find and eliminate their mark, the enemy discovers their hideout. Capture would be a fate worse than death and it looms so close Oliver and Marina can french it.
Betrayals meet harsh light and the fun-loving soldier is forced to face cruel reality. His damsel in distress is the one to blame, especially when Stronghold forces show, adding chaos to the kabooms. The dire situation turns deadly and Marina holds the key.
If only Oliver can stop loving and hating her long enough to get the answers.
Grab Enemy Mine (book 1) for FREE:
Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iBooks / GooglePlay / All Romance
“Go to sleep, Bonnie.”
Oliver’s gruff order slipped through the darkness and over Marina’s exposed calf. It worked its way past the crook of her knee, under the suffocating comforter, around the crest of her hips, and to the core of her swollen folds.
“I am,” Marina groaned.
“Liar.” He could have—should have—used the word to cut her. After all, she’d lied to him by omission at every turn. Instead, he teased her with a playful tone. His anger had melted away as they’d readied for bed—her with a quick brush of the teeth, and him with a full, mind-altering shower.
Marina blamed that shower for her current state. Her mind had played her like a trumpet, flashing fantastic images of his naked form under the whooshing spray. What she imagined it looked like anyway. She’d huddled under the covers, shielding her eyes from the crack between the door and frame. When animalistic grunts snuck between the gap along with curls of steam, she hadn’t been able to turn away one moment longer.
Her clit pulsed, remembering the way Oliver’s head hung between the taut bridge of his traps. His hair formed a blond waterfall around his face. He’d braced a palm on the glass, fingers spread wide. The muscles running wrist to shoulder and shoulders to ass cheeks bunched. Powerful thighs pistoned his hips forward. The perfectly carved bubble of his butt stopped them and drew them back from his fist. Marina hadn’t seen it or the heavy cock he stroked with near vicious pumps, but she’d heard his rough pleasure and near pained climax.
The sounds echoed in her mind.
She shoved the heavy duvet off her shoulders. Air whirred from the ceiling fan, cooling the damp fabric that taunted her nipples.
“If you’d let me go to my room, I could.”
“Sleep or lie?”
His jab, though still playful, pricked.
“You take up so much space in here.”
She kicked the cover off with her good leg and sucked in deep breaths. Raw pheromones—his and her own—smacked her palate. The calming exercise backfired, ancient engine style. Kaboom.
“I’m not even in the bed.” The low rumble carried from a wing-backed chair in the corner next to the bathroom. A sliver of light from the vanity illuminated the way his frame challenged the sturdy piece of furniture. His bare chest and low-slung jeans challenged her self-control.
“No, but you have been.” She forced her eyes to the ceiling.
“So?” He dragged out the word like she imagined he would have a sensual caress.
So? So she could smell him on the sheets. So she could hear him coming in her mind. So she could see his midnight gaze and the flare of his nostrils, the etch of each ab and curve of two solid pecs. She couldn’t keep her eyes or mind off him. He was the only thing that made her feel alive, exhilarated, lust-filled, desired.
“So I can’t sleep.”
“Why not?”
“Why aren’t you asleep?” Two could play the questions game.
“Because there’s a beautiful woman in my bed who’s naked except for my shirt.”
Well, that didn’t help things. Except maybe it did. A spark of anger lit in her chest, smoldering the flames of her desire.
“You had me here completely naked not so long ago. It didn’t bother you then.”
“Marina,” he warned.
“Just speaking the truth.”
“Now, you’re into truth.” He pushed to the edge of his chair and braced both hands on his knees. “Fine. It’s taken every bit of self-control I possess not to rip the covers off the bed and dive face first into your pussy.”
“Oh, God.” Her back bowed as though he’d done just so.
“Truth, I could make you come so many different ways, so many times, you’d forget your name for screaming mine.” He stood and stalked forward until his thighs pressed against the edge of the bed.
She placed a hand over her heart to keep it inside her chest.
“Truth, you’re not ready.” His fingers interlaced hers between her breasts. “If I touched you the way I want to, no, the way I need to, I’m afraid all the baggage you haven’t dealt with will scare you away from me forever.”
He pulled her hand to his mouth and brushed a kiss across the tips of her fingers. “Truth, I’ve never cared about a woman before.” His whiskers had tickled her open palm before he dropped a kiss in the center. “I don’t want to lose you, Marina.”
She didn’t understand how a man like Oliver could like her enough to want her around, much less need her. He was so together. Intelligent. Deadly. Caring. Loyal.
“I don’t want my past to rule me.”
Oliver scooted her to the middle of the bed and climbed in next to her. Inches separated her arm from the massive width of his chest. Bracing his hairy face with the palm of his hand, he studied her down the slope of his nose.
Marina lost herself mapping the smattering of freckles peeping out from his beard, the fullness of his soft lips, and the way his jaw sawed back and forth when he was deep in thought.
“It won’t, not forever.” Something dark—haunted, almost—shadowed his face.
“Are you thinking of my past right now or yours?”
“Clever, Bonnie.” His thumb smoothed over her jaw.
USA Today bestselling author Megan Mitcham was born and raised among the live oaks and shrimp boats of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where her enormous family still calls home. She attended college at the University of Southern Mississippi where she received a bachelor's degree in curriculum, instruction, and special education. For several years Megan worked as a teacher in Mississippi. She married and moved to South Carolina and worked for an international non-profit organization as an instructor and co-director.
In 2009 Megan fell in love with books. Until then, books had been a source for research or the topic of tests. But one day she read Mercy by Julie Garwood. And Oh Mercy, she was hooked!
Megan lives in Southern Arkansas where she pens sizzling suspense novels. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest & Goodreads. For news, giveaways, and exclusive offers sign up for her newsletter at www.meganmitcham.com!
No comments:
Post a Comment