Before I end this series however, I'm leaving you with the final installment in my Defender's of Love series...Keegan James finally gets his girl...but not before she tries to arrest him...
He’s running away from a broken heart…
For Keegan James, his career meant everything. Until
he let his heart get in the way of his good sense. Oh, she was thinking about
the future too—with another man. So, he did what any jilted lover would do and
left the FBI to move to the beach to join the Border Patrol. He bought an old
farm in need of a ton of work—or a total tear down. Unfortunately for him, the
entire property is under investigation by the DEA for drug trafficking and the
agent on the case thinks he’s involved. What’s worse? She’s smart, sex and good
with a gun.
Falling for those deep blue eyes could ruin her
career…
Nikki Swenson has had to prove herself every step of
the way to get where she is. After months of investigation, dedication, and
surveillance, she’s about to break the biggest case of her career and possibly
arrest the sexiest man she’d ever met. But things are not always as they seem.
Will one tiny detail totally derail Nikki’s carefully constructed case?
Since it's the last week of summer, I figured I'd raise the temperature just a little bit with this week's excerpt...
"I've got your
towel," he called through the space between the door and the frame.
"Can you come in and
put it on the counter for me please?"
Clearing his suddenly
clogged throat, Keegan pushed the door open and stepped into the unexpectedly
large bathroom. He intended to just toss the towel to the counter and hightail
it out of there but the smooth glass of the shower, coated with steam, stopped
him in his tracks. Despite the fogged over shower door, he could make out the
definite outline of Nikki. She had her arms up over her head, massaging
grapefruit smelling suds into her thick hair. The position accentuated the
shadowy curve of her breasts and hips making his mouth go dry.
"Keegan? Can you
leave it on the counter?" Nikki called, her back now to him.
"Yes," he
croaked out over the lump that had formed in his throat.
Nikki jumped at the sound
of his voice, dropping the bottle she held with a loud crash. "You scared
me."
"Sorry. My brother
always said my ability to sneak up on him was a mad ninja skill."
Nikki laughed. He watched
as she leaned her
head back into the steady stream of water
and worked her finger tips through the wet strands of thick, dark hair wishing
those were his fingers.
"I guess it’s a
skill that served you well in the FBI."
"I suppose." It
used to drive Margot crazy that she never knew when he was approaching.
"I like
surprises."
Damn. The way she said that made Keegan want to tear of his
clothes and show her all of his
secret talents. Why the hell not? His fingers went to the hem of his shirt when
the water in the shower suddenly shut off. He was halfway out of it when Nikki
cracked the shower door open, letting out a squeal when she saw him. Keegan
froze.
"What are you doing?"
"Um, it was hot in
here?"
Nikki smiled, a small
knowing smile lacking the shock and annoyance he had expected. "Hand me
the towel."
Keegan did as he was
told, his eyes never leaving hers. The steam was beginning to dissipate enough
that he could start to make out few details of the shadow that had been her
body a few seconds ago. His self-control was dissipating at the same rate.
Nikki pulled the towel
into the shower and
wrapped it around herself. He knew this
because he watched every movement through the still opaque glass, his feet
rooted to the tile beneath them. A memory of Margot doing the same thing passed
through his mind but there was nothing sexy about it the way there was with
Nikki. For the first time ever, he was beginning to think his entire relationship
with Margot had been a mistake of epic proportions.
Yeah, but if he hadn’t
been through the hell with his ex, he never would have quit the agency and most
definitely wouldn't be standing there in Nikki's bathroom right then.
She pushed open the door,
knocking him in the knee cap with the beveled edge. White hot pain shot through
his leg in both directions dropping him to the tiles.
"Oh Keegan! I'm so
sorry! Are you all right?" Nikki leaned over him, clutching the towel
closed.
He looked up and straight
down into the gaping towel between two smooth, creamy breasts and let out a
groan.
"I did hurt
you!"
Oh, she hurt him all
right, just not in the way she thought. A certain other part throbbed a hell of
a lot more than his knee did.
"I'm fine," he
ground out between clenched teeth as he pulled himself upright using the
vanity.
Nikki used her free hand
to help him. At least she thought she was helping. What really happened was his
gut clenched with an overwhelming desire to feel her still damp skin pressed up
against his. As he struggled to maintain his composure, Nikki turned him to
face her, concern darkening her eyes.
"Are you sure you're
okay?"
He shook his head.
"No. No, I am not sure."
Without thinking through
his actions, Keegan put his hands on Nikki's shoulders. Oh my God, her skin was softer than it looked. In one swift motion
he backed her into the shower pressing her body against the slick tiles. Moving
his hands to the wall on either side of her head, he crushed his lips to hers.
No more dancing around each other. No more teasing and flirting. No more
arguing and no more Margot
taunting him from the depths of his mind.
He knew what she tasted like and he needed more. So much more. He was like an
addict that carried his drug around to torture himself. That ended now. Being
with Nikki all night, watching her fall into the icy water, feeling her cold,
wet body shake so violently—it had shredded his soul in a way even his ex
hadn’t
done. To hell with waiting until the case
was over. She knew he wasn't involved and that was
enough for him.
Nikki quickly melded her
body to his, her arms sliding up and around his neck as she parted her lips to
his insistence. The only thing that held her towel closed was the pressure
between them. Keegan was torn between not wanting to ever let her go and
stepping away just to see what that piece of cotton hid from him.
He slid one hand slowly
on the tile until his fingers touched her cheek. Trailing the now wet tips
along her jawline, down her neck and on to her bare shoulder, Keegan moaned
deep in his throat. Nikki responded by deepening the kiss and pressing herself
more tightly against him. So much for letting the towel drop. He wouldn't break
the contact between them now for all the money in the bank.
He let his fingers dance
a little toward the top of her breast. This time the moan came from Nikki who
lowered her hands from where they had been threaded in his hair to the waist of
his jeans. She tugged his shirt out and slipped her hands up under the material.
His skin burned at her touch setting every inch of him on fire. Grasping the
towel she wore with both hands, he yanked it down between them, letting it fall
to the shower floor.
Not breaking their kiss,
Nikki started
frantically working the buttons on his shirt.
Keegan loved a woman who wasn't shy about
what she wanted but he was as impatient as she was so he stepped back a little,
reluctantly separating their lips so he could pull the offending clothing off
letting it hang over the shower wall. In the process he caught a full glance of
what had been hidden from him before and sucked in a breath.
"No talking,"
Nikki command as she pulled his lips back to hers. She didn’t wait for him to
deepen it either, rather demanded entrance to his mouth which he readily gave
her. Nikki's approach was refreshing and hot as hell.
His hands roamed
everywhere they could reach, memorizing the contours of her hips, her waist and
the firmness of her abdomen. He had just discovered the heaven that was her
perfectly sized breasts when a loud voice boomed through the house.
"Nikki!"
"Oh, shit! It's
Henry!" Nikki pushed him away reaching for her towel. "You have to
get out of here."
"Your boss has a key
to your house?" he asked with disbelief. "You sure there
isn't
something—?"
