by Em Petrova
He reached inside, and she surged upward. He dragged her out, feet barely skimming the pavement. Dear God, she couldn’t even think—all she wanted was to feel him against her.
She threw her arms around his neck, and he swooped in for a kiss. The minute their mouths connected, applause broke out. She ignored the noise and so did Cav, who only deepened the kiss by swiping his tongue over hers.
Her tears of happiness and relief lay thick on her cheeks. When he finally straightened away, he looked into her eyes, thumbing away the wetness on her face.
He searched her eyes, as if to see if she was all right, but he was the one who’d been in the worst danger.
“Baby… God, I’m so glad you’re okay.” He yanked her against him again, and she went on tiptoe to crush her lips over his again.
She was aware of someone moving around them, and it wasn’t until later when the photograph of them together hit the news that she realized a journalist was capturing their reunion and their love for all to see.
* * * * *
Arielle was so exhausted from the ordeal, not to mention the hours of lovemaking that followed, that she could barely raise the warm glazed donut to her lips. Cav made a surprise run to this coffee shop and gotten a hot, fresh dozen for them to celebrate.
She admitted she wasn’t sure what they were celebrating, other than to say they were both alive, they’d survived the threat. Bomb defused, the kids all safe. No casualties.
But it had been so close, and she had no idea how to process the event. Somehow, being so close to the peril had given her an even bigger perspective on how much danger Cav put himself in every minute of every damn day. How was she ever going to forget that now? She couldn’t, and she’d be even more worried about him each time he left for duty.
But he did it and came home safe. That’s all that matters.
She set aside her donut, leaned against the sofa cushion and let her eyes slip shut.
A soft touch on her hair made her smile. Cav stroked her hair off her face, and a second later, she felt the heat of his mouth. He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead and each eyelid.
She gave a happy sigh and blindly reached out for him. His big shoulders were an easy mark, and she wrapped her arms around them as he dropped more kisses to her cheeks and the corner of her mouth.
With a shiver, she twisted her face and his kiss landed square on her mouth.
“Mmm,” he rumbled. “You taste like donut.”
“So do you.” She ran her tongue over his lips, which raised a stronger growl of desire from him.
To her surprise, his kisses didn’t reflect the noise he’d just made, but remained gentle and seeking. When he broke away, she opened her eyes to study him.
A crease between his brows said he might be holding something back.
“What is it?” She skimmed a fingertip down his chiseled jaw.
“I can’t quit thinking about what could have happened. It’s driving me a little crazy.”
Surprise hit her. She searched his gaze. “Are you saying you’re experiencing the worries that I do every time you leave for duty?”
He grunted and then nodded. “I guess I am. Damn.” He did a pushup around her and plopped backward on the sofa near her feet.
Crap. This wasn’t like Cav at all.
She moved closer and took his big hand in hers. “It’s not that easy, I know. I’m sorry I scared you.”
His brows shot up. “You’re apologizing for innocently boarding a bus that happened to have a bomb on it?”
A low laugh broke from her. “I guess I am. That’s silly, isn’t it? I guess what I mean is I’m sorry that you had to go through that.”
He stared at her for a long minute, silent. When he spoke, his words stunned her.
“If you wanted me to quit the forces, I understand why.”
“Cav.”
“I don’t want to, but I couldn’t live with going through what I just did every day, week, month, year. I can’t expect you to do so either.”
She slid into his lap and hooked her arms around his neck, looking him in the eyes. “I’d never ask that of you. I’d never want that for you. As nerve-wracking as this is at times for me, wondering what’s going on, I’ve developed some coping mechanisms to deal with it. Also… I’m so damn proud of you.”
He closed his eyes slowly and then opened them. “If it gets to the point where you’re going to end our relationship if I don’t leave Ranger Ops, then you have to speak up. Promise me.”
“I promise, but I don’t think I’ll ever get to that point.”
He ran his hand down her spine to the curve of her ass. “What kind of coping mechanisms?”
“Well, less donuts going forward. I can’t keep indulging like this. But the group the girls and I have formed is helpful.”
He looped his hand around her nape under her hair, fingers spanning warm and firm on her skin. “What else helps? Maybe I need to buy you some toys for the bedroom. To keep you thinking about me.”
She cocked a brow. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you bring out my inner slut. What kind of toys?”
He rumbled another growl and suddenly, he stood, and she was thrown over his shoulder. Hand planted on her ass, he took one step toward the bedroom. “Let’s take off your clothes and spread your legs so I can see what would work best on you.”
She giggled as he carried her to the bedroom, the liquid heat of his words already slithering between her thighs.
When he dropped her onto the mattress and moved in for a kiss, she pulled him down, mind blown all over again by how deep her love for him ran. Life had a way of giving you what you needed even if you didn’t realize it. And despite the hard times she’d inevitably face from being in love with a military man, the love she saw reflected in his eyes made everything worth it.
Epilogue
The crash of bowling balls and the scent of beer filled the air of the bowling alley the Ranger Ops had long ago claimed as their hangout. It’d been too long since they’d all gotten together here.
With a beer in hand, Cav watched Sully get up to bowl a strike. In the adjoining lane, Jess threw a nine. The guys jeered him about not matching his captain, but then Jess took out the last pin for a spare. The guys and their ladies all cheered, and Cav didn’t think his grin could get much bigger when Jess held out a hand for Cav to bump knuckles with him.
“You’re up, Arielle,” Avery said, turning with a grin.
She stood and Cav’s gaze locked on her curvaceous backside as she grabbed her ball and moved into position.
“Hold my beer.” He passed it to Jess, who barely fielded the bottle before it hit the floor.
Cav got up and swiftly moved in behind the woman he loved, adored and everything in between.
“Cav!” She twisted to look up at him, but he held her fast to his chest with an arm around her middle. She still held her ball aloft, prepared to roll. He cupped the weight of it and nuzzled her ear with his nose.
“You looked far too tasty up here for me to not steal a chance to feel you up.”
“We’re in public!” She laughed even as she said this.
“Mm-hmm. But once I get you alone, game’s on.”
She went still, and he felt her chest rise and fall faster. “What will you do?”
Oh yeah, he knew he snagged her interest. Over the past few months, she’d grown more and more adventurous in bed and had been surprising the hell out of him with the tricks she’d learned. He was still half-hard from the mind-blowing orgasm she’d given him last night with her hands, tongue and a finger tickling his prostate.
Placing his lips against her ear, he whispered some very naughty things that had her breaths hitching.
Then all at once, he released her, stepping back to watch her bowl her turn.
She glared at him, though her eyes sparkled with excitement. “You’ve got a cruel streak in you, Cavanagh Wraggs.”
“I haven’t heard you call me by my full nam
e since you were fourteen and I teased you about that black hoodie you wore practically every day in eighth grade.”
She rolled her eyes. “It was my emo phase. Everybody has one. Okay, sit down and let me concentrate.”
He shot her a crooked grin and returned to the bench to watch her bowl. The ball went straight down the middle and struck the head pin, but left a gap in the center in a split.
Everybody groaned on her behalf. “Tough break,” Sully called out.
“You can do it!” Avery cheered her on. “Remember, just like you did last week.”
“Wait, what? Last week?” Cav threw a look at Jess, who appeared to be just as confused.
Arielle wiggled her ass for Cav’s benefit as she prepared to throw again. “You didn’t think we girls just wait around for you men at coffee shops, do you?”
All six of the Ranger Ops team gaped at their women. “You’ve been coming here?”
They nodded in unison.
“Damn, that’s kinda sexy,” Cav grated out.
“Fuck yeah,” Jess added, grabbing Avery.
Out of the corner of his eye, Cav could see several of the others putting their hands on their wives and girlfriends too, drawing them in for a kiss.
Cav didn’t get up, but Arielle came to him, leaning over to look deep into his eyes. “You know I love you more than anything, right?” Her words hit him hard in the chest, and a lump of emotion and joy rose into his throat.
He cupped her cheek, and she leaned into his hand. “And I love you more than anything. I also challenge you.”
She moved away an inch, surprise making her brown eyes wide. “What’s the challenge?”
“You nail that spare and I’ll give you anything you want.” He hoped what she wanted was him on his knees with a ring in hand, because that was on his agenda within the upcoming hour.
“And if I miss the spare?” Her eyes twinkled.
“Then I get your ass. Tonight.”
“Sounds like I still win. All right, I accept.” With that, she wiggled her hips all the way back into position.
When she knocked down two pins and missed the third on the opposite side, Cav stood and reached into his pocket for the velvet ring case.
She moved back to the bench and allowed Avery up next. “I knew I wasn’t going to get that third pin. Only professional bowlers manage it.”
He stopped her from sitting down. Heart thumping at what he was about to do, about to ask her, he took her by the hand. When he dropped to one knee, her mouth fell open and all his friends, his teammates—hell, his family—issued a loud cheer.
“Cav!” Arielle cried out, clapping a hand over her mouth. Above her hand, her eyes swam with tears and happiness.
His throat closed off, and he had to clear it twice before the words would come out. “Arielle… baby, I love you. And I can’t imagine living a day without you by my side. Will you marry me?”
She didn’t move for a moment, frozen by his question. Then all at once, she hurled herself into his arms. He caught her and stood to spin her around as the whole bowling alley broke into applause for them.
“Drinks on me!” Jess called out.
But Cav couldn’t speak, because he captured Arielle’s lips in a long, deep kiss to seal his promise to love and cherish her for the rest of his days.
THE END
Have you have enjoyed this book, you may also like SOMETHING ABOUT A LAWMAN. Read on for a sneak peek.
Aiden Roshannon had been to some bonfires in his day. As a kid on the ranch, it was a ritual at the end of each harvest for his pa to throw a huge bash for all the hired hands and neighbors. In his teens, there was always a party involving a wall of fire some idiot had hosed down with gasoline while they all drank beers and pretended they were grown up.
But this particular bonfire he wished he could sneak away from. One of the sheriff’s deputies had invited him. Bullied him, if he was honest. It wasn’t that Aiden didn’t like the deputy—he just didn’t like his friends.
Hoyt stood off to the side, holding a beer, joking to one of his buddies from up north of Crossroads. Wyoming was a big state, but it seemed nobody had a problem with drinking too much and then driving too far to get home.
Aiden sat in a lawn chair facing the fire, his cowboy boot crossed over his knee and his beer growing warm in his grip. The loud bark of laughter from Hoyt’s friend made him grit his teeth. Aiden had met Cody Shivis before. He thought him a dickhead then and he thought him a dickhead now.
Several ladies came out of the darkness into the ring of firelight, giggling after their trip to the bathroom. A blonde was tipsy enough without the uneven ground, and she nearly pitched headfirst into the flames.
Aiden shot out of his seat and caught her. “Whoa, there. Let’s get you a chair.”
Holding onto her waist, he guided her to his lawn chair. She settled too hard and the chair tipped back on its legs. With quick instincts, Aiden planted his palms on her thighs and settled the legs on the ground again.
“What the fuck’re you doing touching my woman?”
Aiden recognized that obnoxious voice and turned just as a fist missiled at his eye. He couldn’t have dodged if he’d wanted—it was too late. Knuckles connected with eye socket. Stars exploded in his vision and he stumbled back a step, conscious he didn’t want to land in the fire either.
He used his jaw to draw his face down so his eye opened. Shivis swung at him again, but this time Aiden was ready.
Women screamed. The fire crackled, logs shifted, sparks flew up to the sky, dotting it orange against the midnight black.
Anger tore through Aiden as the pain in his eye meshed with the spurt of adrenaline racing through his veins.
“What the fuck’s the matter with you? I was just keepin’ your woman from falling into the fire. She’s sopping drunk and you should take her home. Oh wait, you’re soused too.”
“You touched my girl. Nobody touches my girl.” Shivis’s face was livid, a mask contorting in the strange flicker of firelight.
Aiden moved in a half-circle in front of the row of lawn chairs and log stools drawn close to the fire ring. There wasn’t enough room to fight here without somebody else getting hurt.
“Let’s take this on over there. In the yard.”
“Fight! Fight!” someone screamed.
Shivis gave a hard nod and walked away, a cocky sway in his drunken walk. If Aiden fought dirty, he’d jump the guy from behind, but he didn’t roll that way.
He followed with several people on his tail, rabid for the pending fight.
In the center of the yard, Shivis threw his arms up to the sky. It was darker over here, the firelight no help, and only a dim garage light giving Aiden an outline of his opponent’s body.
“Now, Roshannon, you don’t need to fight him. I’ll give him another beer and he’ll pass out and won’t remember a thing in the morning.” Hoyt was his angel of good on one shoulder.
Then there was the other shoulder. The one with the devil, urging Aiden to whoop this guy’s ass once and for all.
1-CLICK YOUR COPY
Em Petrova
Em Petrova was raised by hippies in the wilds of Pennsylvania but told her parents at the age of four she wanted to be a gypsy when she grew up. She has a soft spot for babies, puppies and 90s Grunge music and believes in Bigfoot and aliens. She started writing at the age of twelve and prides herself on making her characters larger than life and her sex scenes hotter than hot.
She burst into the world of publishing in 2010 after having five beautiful bambinos and figuring they were old enough to get their own snacks while she pounds away at the keys. In her not-so-spare time, she is fur-mommy to a Labradoodle named Daisy Hasselhoff.
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es by Em Petrova
Moon Ranch
TOUGH AND TAMED
SCREWED AND SATISFIED
CHISELED AND CHERISHED
Ranger Ops
AT CLOSE RANGE
WITHIN RANGE
POINT BLANK RANGE
RANGE OF MOTION
TARGET IN RANGE
OUT OF RANGE
Knight Ops Series
ALL KNIGHTER
HEAT OF THE KNIGHT
HOT LOUISIANA KNIGHT
AFTER MIDKNIGHT
KNIGHT SHIFT
O’ CHRISTMAS KNIGHT
ANGEL OF THE KNIGHT
6-Pack Cowboys Series
6-PACK RANCHER
6-PACK WRANGLER
Wild West Series
SOMETHING ABOUT A LAWMAN
SOMETHING ABOUT A SHERIFF
SOMETHING ABOUT A BOUNTY HUNTER
SOMETHING ABOUT A MOUNTAIN MAN
Operation Cowboy Series
KICKIN’ UP DUST
SPURS & SURRENDER
The Boot Knockers Ranch Series
PUSHIN’ BUTTONS
BODY LANGUAGE
REINING MEN
ROPIN’ HEARTS
ROPE BURN
COWBOY NOT INCLUDED
CUPID COWBOYS
The Boot Knockers Ranch Montana
COWBOY BY CANDLELIGHT
THE BOOT KNOCKER’S BABY
ROPIN’ A ROMEO
Country Fever Series
HARD RIDIN’
LIP LOCK
UNBROKEN
SOMETHIN’ DIRTY
Rope ‘n Ride Series
BUCK
RYDER
RIDGE
WEST
LANE
WYNONNA
Rope ‘n Ride On Series
JINGLE BOOTS
DOUBLE DIPPIN’
