It suited him down to the ground, but he would not engage in a free-for-all here.
“Throw the switch on your unit.” He’d already done the same on his own. He forced himself to step back. “And cool off.”
“Cool—?” A gasp of disbelief. Her eyes narrowed, but she complied with the transmitter. “You ruined my op.”
“It’s not ruined. And it’s not your op.”
“I was handling him.”
“He had you trapped. He pulled a blade on you.” The memory of those fingers knotted in the fabric between her breasts, the knife menacing, wouldn’t leave him soon.
“I can defend myself.”
“With room to maneuver, probably, but the congestion hampered you. I couldn’t risk it.”
“You don’t have to protect me. I’m not fifteen anymore, Alex.”
“I know that.” He did—it wasn’t a girl he was remembering. “I didn’t break your cover. Or mine.”
“We could still be in there working if you hadn’t waded in like some avenging angel.”
That tore it. “Bullshit. You’re shaking.”
“It’s just adrenaline.” She raked unsteady fingers through her hair.
“You took chances tonight, Jade. You’re trying too hard to draw attention, parading yourself around—” The bastard pulled a knife on her. Ruthlessly, he throttled the savagery bubbling just beneath the surface. “I told you I don’t tolerate cowboys on my team.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Is that what’s going on here, Agent Sandoval?” Her voice dripped contempt. “You’ve finally found your reason to ditch me?” She closed the distance between them and stabbed a finger in his chest. “I heard you and Doc today. Any excuse would work, wouldn’t it?”
He didn’t respond.
“Wouldn’t it?” Her voice rose. She shoved, open palmed.
Her eyes were bright with tears, her magnificent hair a wild gypsy nimbus around that face that wouldn’t stop haunting him. Her chest heaved with emotion, tender flesh barely covered with fabric torn by a brute who had no right—
He grabbed the hand burning into his skin, his control teetering on the naked, ragged edge of yanking her close—
No. By the slimmest of margins, he seized hold of himself. Barely…barely he leashed the beast snarling to break free.
Grain by painstaking grain, he rebuilt the wall of his detachment until he dared speak.
He skinned his shirt over his head and handed it to her. “Go home, Jade.” His voice was barely a whisper. “Now.”
He flipped on his unit. “Bob.”
“Yeah?”
“Come pick up Butler.” His eyes never left hers, so wide and confused, as he gave Bob directions to their location.
“Be there in two minutes.”
It was three.
Not that he was counting.
…Excerpt from TEXAS PROTECTOR by Jean Brashear © 2016
Start reading TEXAS PROTECTOR today!
The Lone Star Lovers series includes:
TEXAS HEARTTHROB (Liam and Raina)
TEXAS HEALER (Rafe and Diana)
TEXAS PROTECTOR (Alex and Jade)
TEXAS DECEPTION (Diana’s sister Franny and Nate)
TEXAS LOST (Diana and Franny’s sister Clarice and Saint)
TEXAS WANDERER (Dane and Vanessa)
TEXAS BODYGUARD (Sean and Annabelle)
TEXAS RESCUE (Jilly and Gabriel)
BOOKS by Jean Brashear:
Click on the covers below for more on each book
THE TEXAS HEROES series:
THE GALLAGHERS OF MORNING STAR
Secrets will be revealed and the lives of four people will be shattered as they learn that who they are and where they come from is not at all what they always believed.
Texas Secrets: Former SEAL Boone Gallagher returns to the only home he’s ever known only to find that the ranch has been willed to a stranger who doesn’t want it—and he must keep her there for thirty days, or it will be lost to them both.
Texas Lonely: A loner who’s lost faith in love is the only hope for a mother and child on the run
Texas Bad Boy: Disgraced bad boy has his chance for revenge against the beautiful society girl who chose money over his love
The Gallaghers Of Morning Star Boxed Set
THE MARSHALLS
Texas Refuge: Haunted former detective is the only sanctuary for an actress being stalked by a madman
Texas Star: Sexiest Man Alive becomes a white knight for a woman who keeps trying to escape him
Texas Danger: Down on his luck rancher is the only hope for a socialite on the run from the mob
The Marshalls Boxed Set
THE WORLD OF SWEETGRASS SPRINGS
Nestled in the Texas Hill Country, tiny Sweetgrass Springs was founded by four veterans of the Texas Revolution, and for over a century the town and their ranches grew and prospered. Nowadays, however, too many of the town’s children leave for the big city as soon as they can escape, and Sweetgrass is barely hanging on. The heart and soul of Sweetgrass is Ruby Gallagher. Her daughter vanished from Sweetgrass right after high school, but Ruby, owner of community gathering place Ruby’s Café, remains, keeping vigil, hoping for her daughter’s return. She is fighting to save her ancestors’ legacy, but the town is dying, and it’s breaking Ruby’s heart.
Then the granddaughter she never knew existed arrives and sets in motion a new life for this eccentric, lovable spot in the road…where hope never fades and love never dies. Readers call it “a special place for hearts that need healing.”
Texas Roots: A Paris-trained chef on the run finds Texas family she never knew existed and a sexy cowboy she doesn’t dare love
Texas Wild: Sexy SEAL turned Hollywood stuntman returns home to find his buddy’s little sister all grown up
Texas Dreams: Take two reluctant brides and two frustrated grooms, mix with both clans of Gallaghers and season with a SEAL or three, a movie star, a Hollywood Barbie and a country music giant—and get not one but two surprise weddings
Texas Rebel: A former rebellious teen turned billionaire’s reunion with his teenage sweetheart and a secret baby he never knew about
Texas Blaze: What happens when a shark lawyer in stilettos has a fling with a hot firefighter determined to find Suzy Homemaker?
Texas Christmas Bride: All he wants is the girl he thought he’d lost forever.
The Book Babes: Five women began as a reading group and became family…but now change is rippling through the group. (A surprise Sweetgrass Springs connection!)
Texas Hope: Can two brothers who never knew each other existed overcome the secrets of a woman who abandoned one son and lied to the other?
Texas Strong: Can a man who’s never trusted anyone and a woman who’s trusted all the wrong men defy the odds and open their hearts to each other?
Texas Sweet: When a stranger who holds the keys to her identity arrives in town, will the girl everyone knows as Brenda come to terms with her past or run again?
Be Mine This Christmas: The man he’s become is not the boy she once knew—and he may never forgive her, once he knows the secret she’s been concealing.
Texas Charm: He’s a country superstar; she’s a small town waitress. When the real world slams into their reverie, whose heart will be the one to break? (Contains an original song written for this book)
Texas Magic: One billionaire…one tomboy…one night of magic. Miracle or mirage?
Be My Midnight Kiss: It’s New Year’s Eve…and now or never for these two hearts
Boxed sets:
The Gallaghers Of Sweetgrass Springs Boxed Set 1 (Books 1-3)
The Gallaghers Of Sweetgrass Springs Boxed Set 2 (Books 4-6)
LONE STAR LOVERS
Heart-tugging, action-packed and passionate stories of the close-knit Sullivan/Sandoval family of four brothers and one sister, plus the three Morgan sisters, orphaned and separated for many years, whose lives reconnect as they become part of the family circle.
Texas Healer: Special Forces medic holds the power to heal both a doctor’s injured body and her wounded heart…but she can’t stay in his world—and he can’t leave.
Texas Protector: A detective forever haunted by the night when he couldn’t save a young girl from trauma—now she’s a cop herself and he has to send her undercover to lure a murderer.
Texas Deception: A plucky crusader falls for a down-on-his-luck stranger—only to learn too late that he’s the villain determined to destroy her town
Texas Lost: A hard-nosed detective targeted by internal affairs and the woman who’s professional evaluation will make or break his career. A a growing attraction between them risks first his case…and then her life.
Texas Wanderer: When she’s lost all her dreams and is finally finding a place to call home, will she place her trust—and her heart—in the hands of a wanderer with secrets?
Texas Bodyguard: He’s undercover as a bodyguard to a film star because her best friend is his top suspect. When she comes to mean too much to him, confessing his deception means risking his career—but not coming clean with her could risk her life
Texas Rescue: A haunted warrior who lives in the shadows encounters a small, valiant woman who’s a champion of lost causes, and the vibrant light within her lures him from the darkness. When she is rocked by a brush with evil, can he make her feel safe again…and can she convince him that he deserves to live in the light?
Lone Star Lovers Boxed Set (Books 1-3)
SECOND CHANCES series
Love deserves a second chance…
Guarding Gaby: Gabriela Navarro believed she and Eli Wolverton would always be together…until he abandoned her.
Bringing Bella Back: They had the perfect marriage…until he lost his way. Then he lost Bella.
The Price He Paid: The golden boy and the rebel girl who cost him everything
The House That Love Built: Once they had it all: a home with a man who adored her, three children they cherished, a life filled with passion and promise. Until one troubled child cost them everything.
The Road Back Home: Can her family forgive what she can’t forgive herself?
Dream House: Her dream house is the scene of his nightmares.
DANGEROUS TO LOVE stories
Is he her enemy…or will he save her?
Dark, deadly and dangerous, they operate in the shadows, guarding the women they love but cannot have.
The Choice: Only one of them can win—and if they cannot learn to trust each other, both of them could die.
Mercy: He went to prison for twenty years to save her…can he save her again?
The Light Walker: A brand-new detective. A mesmerizing, mysterious billionaire suspect. A powerful attraction that threatens the balance in a battle between the dark and the light
Dangerous To Love Boxed Set
About the Author
A letter to Rod Stewart resulting in a Cinderella 16th birthday for her daughter might have been the first step on Texas romance author Jean Brashear’s path to being a New York Times and USAToday bestselling author of more than 50 novels in romance and women’s fiction.
Jean’s stories are hailed as “feel-good romance at its finest” and her quirky small towns are called “a special place for hearts that need healing.” All are evidence of Jean’s heartfelt belief that love is the most powerful force in the universe, and her stories reflect that bone-deep commitment to spreading her faith in the goodness that exists inside us all.
Connect With Jean
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