by Tess Summers
Reignited
Ensenada Heat, Book Three
Tess Summers
Seasons Press LLC
Copyright 2019 Tess Summers
Published: 2019
Published by Seasons Press LLC.
Copyright © 2019, Tess Summers.
Edited by Maggie Ryan.
Cover by OliviaProDesign.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations within critical reviews and otherwise as permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
This book is for mature readers. It contains sexually explicit scenes and graphic language that may be considered offensive by some.
All sexually active characters in this work are eighteen years of age or older.
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The Playboy and the SWAT Princess
She’s a badass SWAT rookie, and he’s a playboy SWAT captain… who’s taming who?
Maddie Monroe
Three things you should not do when you’re a rookie, and the only female on the SDPD SWAT Team… 1) Take your hazing personally, 2) Let them see you sweat, and 3) Fall for your captain.
Especially, when your captain is the biggest playboy on the entire police force.
I’ve managed to follow rules one and two with no problem, but the third one I’m having a little more trouble with. Every time he smiles that sinful smile or folds his muscular arms when explaining a new technique or walks through the station full of swagger…. All I can think about is how I’d like to give him my V-card, giftwrapped with a big red bow on it, which is such a bad idea because out of Rules One, Two, and Three, breaking the third one is a sure-fire way to get me kicked off the team and writing parking tickets for the rest of my career.
Apparently my heart—and other body parts—didn’t get the memo.
Craig Baxter
The first time I noticed Maddie Monroe, she was wet and covered in soapy suds as she washed SWAT’s armored truck as part of her hazing ritual. I’ve been hard for her ever since.
I can’t sleep with a subordinate—it would be career suicide, and I’ve worked too damn hard to get where I am today. Come to think of it, so has she, and she’d probably have a lot more to lose.
So, nope, not messing around with Maddie Monroe. There are plenty of women for me to choose from who don’t work for me.
Apparently my heart—and other body parts—didn’t get the memo.
Can two hearts—and other body parts—overcome missed memos and find a way to be together without career-ending consequences?
Reignited
He’s known as the CIA’s top mercenary fixer. But he can’t fix this.
Jacob Smith
Seven years.
Seven long miserable years since he’d ripped his heart from his chest and left it on her doorstep when he walked away from her. But, he’d had no choice.
At least, he’d thought he hadn’t. He was too entrenched in the CIA’s underground world to safely ever have a wife and family.
But now, after turning his CIA dealings into a very lucrative mercenary career, here he was, about to embark on a ten-day cruise with his cabin next to hers, not by coincidence—although she didn’t know it yet.
He wasn’t known as a ‘fixer’ for nothing. Maybe it was time to try to fix his broken heart, and hers—if she’d let him. And that was a big if, given how he’d shattered hers so long ago.
Reignited is Book Three in the Ensenada Heat series. Each book is a standalone, with a guaranteed HEA and no cliffhangers.
Table of Contents
Free Book! The Playboy and the SWAT Princess
Reignited
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Epilogue
More in the Ensenada Heat Series!
Thank you!
Other Works by Tess Summers
The Playboy and the SWAT Princess
Inferno
Combustion
Operation Sex Kitten
The General’s Desire
Playing Dirty
Cinderella and the Marine
The Heiress and the Mechanic
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Contact Me!
Reignited
Ensenada Heat, Book Three
Chapter One
Taren Fairchild
She held her breath as she handed the young man in the white uniform her boarding pass. Even though the cruise line had assured her everything was paid for when she’d called directly two weeks ago, she was still nervous, wondering if they were going to let her on the ship. The tickets had shown up via courier the day after her divorce, and she had no idea who bought her the vacation—the typed note in the envelope simply said: You deserve it. Enjoy.
“Welcome aboard, Ms. Fairchild,” the man said with a hospitality-perfected smile as he handed her boarding pass back to her. She let out a sigh of relief and smiled back, only hers was genuine. It felt weird to be referred to by her maiden name, but also liberating, and now that she was being allowed on board, she was filled with gratitude toward her mystery benefactor that she hadn’t allowed herself to feel until just then.
Taren crossed the carpeted threshold into a circular atrium surrounded by six floors of decks. There were two glass elevators and a big bar in the middle of the sunken room with two strapping bartenders in blue Hawaiian shirts and white pants. She’d definitely be stopping by there after she found her stateroom.
“Excuse me, darlin’,” a handsome middle-aged man said as he stepped in front of her on his way to the bar. His Cajun accent made her observe him carefully as he ordered his drink. When she’d asked the cruise line who purchased the tickets, the only thing the representative could tell her was they were bought through a travel agency out of New Orleans that catered to patrons worldwide.
Ah, New Orleans. Once her favorite city in the whole world—where she’d gone to college and had her first taste of independence. It was also where she’d met the love of her life. The one she was sure was going to ask her to marry him, only to dump her instead. Talk about being blindsided.
Jacob ending things without warning had left her devastated for years, unable to trust her judgment—which is probably how she’d eventually ended up married to David Graham. He’d made sure to do all the thinking for her.
Not anymore.
Taren looked up at the light coming in through the glass ceiling and smiled as she took a deep breath. To my new life. To having independence again.
****
Her steps were light as she made her way to her stateroom. A blond man with sunglasses on his head, dressed like he was a throwback from Miami Vice in an aqua t-shirt, pink blazer pushed up to his elbows, white pants and white shoes gave her a crooked smile—blatantly checking her out as he passed her in the hall.
Maybe I’ll even get laid on this trip. Not with the Don Johnson wannabe—obviously—but she was sure there were plenty of single men on the ship. It’d been a long time since she’d had satisfying sex.
An older man in a white uniform greeted her just as she found her room number and slid her key card in the slot.
“Hello, Taren, welcome. I’m your steward, Manuel. Let me know if you need anything.”
“How do you know my name?” she asked with surprise.
“It’s the crew’s job to know all our guests’ names.”
Impressive.
“Thank you, Manuel. I will.”
She tugged her suitcase over the threshold and stepped inside, and after getting a glimpse of her cabin, immediately stepped back out.
“Manuel?”
He quickly turned around at the sound of her voice.
“Is there a problem, Taren?”
“Um, I think this is the wrong room.”
She handed him her boarding pass, which he dutifully took and compared the number on the paper to the number on the door.
“This appears to be correct. Is there something wrong?”
“It’s a suite.”
He nodded in confusion—obviously not understanding what her problem was.
“I, uh, guess I didn’t realize I was in a suite.”
Manuel smiled at her. “Let me know if you need anything.”
Walking back in, she pushed her suitcase further into the room while surveying her surroundings. Who on earth bought me this cruise?
That was the question she pondered the entire time she unpacked, and she was even more confused when Manuel delivered a bottle of her favorite white wine along with a single glass and a card that read, Enjoy your vacation.
“Would you like me to set this on the balcony? You might enjoy it while we leave port.”
“That would be lovely. Thank you.”
Taren stood to the side as he set the wine bucket on the small table outside the sliding door. Whoever her benefactor was, he or she or they, had great taste.
“What time do we leave?” she asked when he came back inside.
The steward glanced at his watch. “In two hours.”
Following Manuel out the door into the hall, she said as she closed the door behind her, “I think I’m going to go to the lido deck and look around.”
He replied with his usual mantra, “Let me know if you need anything.”
****
Jacob Smith
He’d always considered himself a patient man—hell, he’d been keeping an eye on Taren for almost a year without having any contact. But the next few hours until they left the dock were going to kill him with anticipation.
Jacob had been content with biding his time until seven months ago, when the photos on his desk showed the dark circles under her blue eyes filled with sadness and tears when she thought no one was looking. Only then did he intervene.
The guilt that she had ended up with someone like Graham weighed heavily on him. He’d thought he had done the right thing by leaving her so she could find someone who would make her happy and keep her safe. His friend Mason’s words on his jet one night haunted him until he took action.
Just because she moved on doesn’t mean he’s the better man for her. I guarantee no one could love Reagan better than me.
There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that anyone would love Taren more than he did—it was the better man part that had initially given him pause. The better man would be able to guarantee her safety.
He was nervous about how she was going to react at seeing him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been nervous. Maybe the last time he’d been with her and knew he was going to end things.
The bottle of wine he’d had delivered was supposed to ensure that she was on the balcony when they left the dock, but she seemed to be enjoying cocktails on the lido deck with a group of singles her age—dancing and waving at people on shore as they sailed away. One guy seemed to have taken a special interest in her and had positioned himself next to her at both the railing and on the dance floor. Taren wasn’t exactly pushing him away, either.
Jacob hadn’t taken into consideration she might hook up with someone else.
Fuck.
He sighed. This wasn’t how he’d planned on revealing himself. He’d had visions of her being on her balcony, and he would be on his next door, and she’d see him—maybe let out a little gasp, then they’d proceed to talk. She on her balcony, Jacob on his. It seemed the most nonthreatening, in case she hated him. She’d have her own space to process his presence. Approaching her on deck, especially with Romeo next to her who appeared both testosterone and alcohol fueled, could backfire badly. But, watching the guy put his arm around her shoulder, he didn’t have a choice.
Here goes everything.
Chapter Two
Taren
She really needed this guy to back off. Standing at the railing, he’d introduced himself as Peter as they left port and then attached himself to her side when she smiled and told him her name in return.
“I’m going to go to the bar. I’ll talk to you later,” she said with a polite smile as she ducked under his arm going around her shoulder.
“I’ll go with you.”
Taren almost said she was going back to her cabin instead, but didn’t want to risk him following her and knowing which stateroom was hers. With a sigh, she resigned herself to escaping to the ladies’ room once they reached the bar.
When she turned around, she came face-to-face with a ghost from her past, and it made her knees feel weak. How was it even possible he was standing in front of her? On a cruise ship out of San Diego of all places?
“Jake?” she whispered in wonderment.
Funny, he didn’t seem surprised to see her.
“Hey, Tink.”
From the first day they’d met, he’d called her Tinkerbell. He’d said she looked like she was sprinkling fairy dust on the campus mall that afternoon so long ago when he approached her on the grass at Tulane. It was the cheesiest pickup line she’d ever heard—and it worked. Or maybe it was his twinkling green eyes and high cheekbones.
He looked older now. Wiser. There was greying around his temples in his brown hair and lines around his eyes as he smiled cautiously at her, like he was unsure if she’d be happy to see him.
Peter put his hand on her elbow, and Jacob’s eyes flashed. Time for her to take advantage of the long lost love of her life’s appearance.
She threw her arms around her former lover’s neck.
“Honey! There you are! Where were you?”
His smile was wicked as he slid his hands around her back and pulled her against him, and she realized she was in trouble. Jacob Smith had never been one to pass up an opportunity when it presented itself to him. Especially not when it was served up on a silver platter like she’d just done.
“I’ve been looking for you,” he said, and then lowered his mouth onto hers.
&nb
sp; That did the trick, because Peter slunk off, but that didn’t make Jacob let up on the kiss.
The taste of his lips was soft and familiar, as was his scent, and she was taken back to a time when she was happy. Deliriously happy. She’d forgotten how wonderful he used to make her feel.
Tears welled up behind her closed eyelids, and she slipped her hands down his chest to fist his shirt in her grip while abruptly breaking the kiss.
“Tink…” he murmured against her lips.
“Why… Why did you leave me?” The words were out of her mouth with a small sob before she could stop them. I haven’t seen him in seven years, and I open with that?
“I’m so sorry, baby.” He tenderly kissed her wet eyelids, with one arm still wrapped around her, whispering, “So. Sorry,” in between each kiss while he stroked her hair with his other hand.
She didn’t forgive him—not by a long shot, but god, she loved how she felt right now as he held her. It was like going back to a time when she’d been happy and carefree. Her only care in the world was getting through finals and when she’d see Jacob next. They usually didn’t get out of bed for the first forty-eight hours when he came into town. The last time she’d had really good sex had been with Jake. The man could do things to her body that no one had ever done. The orgasms he’d wring out of her would leave her comatose. Taren could stand to be in a sex stupor tonight—she needed it. She’d worry about the ramifications tomorrow.
The bon voyage piña coladas she’d imbibed had lowered her inhibitions and upped her libido, and she subtly ground her hips into his hard cock pressed against her.
Grabbing Jacob by the hand, she said with a coy smile, “Your cabin or mine?”
His voice was husky when he answered, “Yours.”
“Follow me, sailor.”
****
Jacob
He hadn’t planned on sleeping with Taren right away. Not even close. They’d waited over a month to have sex when they’d started dating ten years ago, and that was with him flying into New Orleans every week for a three-day weekend and spending nearly every second with her—even tortuously sleeping in the same hotel room.
