Zone of Action: A Career Soldier Military Romance

by Tawdra Kandle

  He nodded, and his eyes were serious. “It really does. I need to know that I’m not alone. I love you, Harper. How do you feel about me?”

  I took a deep, cleansing inhale and spoke on a whoosh of breath. “I love you, Jake. I didn’t want to, and I didn’t plan on it, and maybe it’s fucking inconvenient, but I can’t help it. I fell in love with you when I wasn’t looking for it, but I wouldn’t change it now for anything in the world.” I let my hands trail down his shoulders, over the rough fabric of his uniform. “I want us to be together as more than friends with benefits and more than just fuck buddies. I want to wake up with you and go to sleep with you, and in between that, I want to laugh with you and fuck you senseless and tell you everything about my day. I want to get mad at you and then have fabulous make-up sex. I don’t want to be alone anymore. I want you. I love you.”

  Jake lifted me so that I sat on the desk with him, straddling his hips. “Thank God,” he breathed against my hair. “Now, can I take you home so we can consummate this love in your bed three or four times before you have to go to work tonight?”

  I kissed his neck, sniffing his unique Jake aroma. “Only three or four times?” I wrinkled my nose. “You’re demonstrating a deplorable lack of ambition, Captain Robinson.”

  He stood, picking me up and shifting so that he cradled me against his chest. “I was being conservative in my estimates, because I didn’t want to scare you off. I don’t plan to let you out of bed until neither of us can walk.”

  Heat and gladness filled me in equal parts. “Bring it on, buddy. Did I mention I made some chocolate syrup yesterday, and I think it would be the perfect addition to Fuck the Chef, home edition?”

  Jake’s brown eyes went nearly black, and he kissed me, open-mouthed and possessive. “I fucking love you, Harper Drummond.”

  The End

  Derek’s story is coming in three weeks! Damage Assessment is available for preorder now, only through Kindle Unlimited.

  And finally, Owen will find his someone . . . in the final Career Soldier installment Scheme of Maneuver, coming May 30th.

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  Damage Assessment: Career Soldier Book #5

  These are the men of the 94th ID. They fight with honor, they defend their nation and their brothers fiercely, and when they love, they do it with single-minded passion.

  When a freak accident seriously injures Derek McTavis, he’s afraid that his Army career might be over. Even after he returns to Fort Lee, he has a hard time recovering and returning to his old lifestyle, despite the encouragement and support of his friends.

  And then he meets Tasha O’Hare.

  After years of uncertainty about her future, Tasha’s working hard toward a career in physical therapy. She doesn’t need anything—or anyone—to distract her. But when she’s assigned the broody Captain McTavis, she soon realizes that she’s becoming invested in more than just his physical recovery.

  Derek resists Tasha’s help, but it turns out she’s just as stubborn as he is. Her passion and determination give him hope not only for his broken body . . . but also for his heart and his future.

  For these two wounded souls, love may be the only path to healing.

  Coming May 9th

  A sneak preview of:

  Damage Assessment Sneak Preview!

  Owen

  “I don’t know why the hell I’m here.”

  I balled up my hands into fists, feeling the muscles of my arms bunch. My eyes were riveted on the faded pink rose woven into the rug on the floor. I wasn’t going to look up and meet the eyes of the chick across from me, the one who looked like she didn’t weight ninety pounds soaking wet. How anyone could think someone like her could make a difference for someone like me was ludicrous.

  “Well.” Her voice was soft, too, and she spoke in a measured tone, like most fucking doctors did. I was damned sick of them all. “I can’t give you the existentialist answer to that question, but from where I sit, you’re here because you have a group of friends who care about you, maybe more than you deserve, and who don’t want to see you get pushed out of the Army on a medical discharge. Because of that, they’ve taken it upon themselves to make sure you get to these appointments with me.”

  “They’re fucking interfering morons. If I want to sit in my house until I die, it’s none of their fucking business. There’s such a thing as freedom, you know.” I flickered my gaze up to her for a nanosecond. “Which means that I’m free to sit here and ignore you until that asshole Robinson comes back to pick me up.”

  “Hey, it also means you’re free to get your ass up out of my office and leave at any time you like.” She leaned down, moving into my line of vision until I didn’t have any choice but to see her. The bright red hair was cut short, and as I watched, she ran her hand through it. “Keep in mind that I’m getting paid whether or not you cooperate. But if you don’t, you’re only hurting yourself.”

  My left leg throbbed, and I told myself that was the only reason I didn’t do as she’d suggested and get the hell out of here. Instead, I crossed my arms over my chest and glowered at her.

  “Oh, please.” She waved one small hand in the air, laughing. “Do you seriously think you scare me, Captain McTavis? I’ve been stared down by better men than you, I can promise. You don’t frighten me, you don’t intimidate me, and I’m not going to back down from what I said earlier. You need me. If I don’t sign off that you’re showing up for these appointments, your battalion commander is going to start the process for your discharge.”

  I dropped my eyes again and set up jaw. “Maybe she should. Maybe Colonel Debbings should have drummed my ass out months ago. I’m only taking up space. I’m not any use to anyone. It would have been better if I’d died that day in Kentucky. Would have saved everyone a shit load of trouble.”

  She was quiet for a few minutes, so much so that I finally looked up again, just to see if she’d fallen asleep or slipped out or gone comatose. But she was still there, those enormous blue eyes staring me, her rosebud lips pursed.

  “Is this where I’m supposed to feel sorry for you or something? Because I’m not. Whether you want to know it or not, Captain McTavis, you’re a damn lucky guy. You’ve got a successful career, friends who care about you, and a body that can recover, if you let it happen. And what’s more, you’ve been given a second chance. Do you know how rare that is? Do you know how often it doesn’t happen? But you got it. You can heal and grow strong again. You can reclaim your job and your relationships.”

  She stood up suddenly, startling me with the rapid movement, and walked over to stand next to my chair, pointing at me with one small finger.

  “But you have to choose to take that second chance. You have to decide to do the work and make it happen. Your friends can drive you here, they can cheer you on, but they can’t do it for you. I’m here to help you get your body back, to be able to go on with less pain—but I can’t do it for you, either.

  “You have to choose to live again.”

  Other Books

  Career Soldier

  Maximum Force

  Temporary Duty

  Hitting the Silk

  The King Series

  Fearless

  Breathless

  Restless

  Endless

  The King Series Boxset

  The Seredipity Series

  Undeniable

  Stardust on the Sea

  Unquenchable

  Recipe for Death Series

  Death Fricassee

  Unforgettable

  Death A La Mode

  Death Over Easy

  Age of Aquarius

  Moonlight on the Meadow

  The Fox’s Wager

  Crystal Cove Books

  The Posse

  The Plan

  The Path

  The One Trilogy

  The Last One

  The First One

  The Only One

 
; The One Trilogy Box Set

  The Always Love Series

  Always For You

  Underneath My Christmas Tree

  Always My Own

  My One and Always

  Always Our Love

  The Perfect Dish Series

  Best Served Cold

  Just Desserts

  I Choose You

  Keeping Score

  When We Were Us

  Hanging By A Moment

  Days of You and Me

  Acknowledgements

  I am under the wire with this book . . . so my thank yous will be like these books: quick and dirty!

  Huge thanks to Sue Ann Brooks who leaped into the fray to beta FAST, and also to Kara Schillig, Krissy Smith, Christy Durbin, Carla Edmonson, Yvonne Farmer—you all rock and I adore you.

  Thank you to Meg Murrey for the H O T covers for these books, to the awesome and very flexy Stacey Blake of Champagne Formatting for the prettiness on the inside. Love you girls!

  To all my Temptresses for their support and encouragement . . .

  And to my family, always. Your patience and tolerance and love are what keep me moving.

  about the author

  Photo by Heather Batchelder

  Tawdra Kandle writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books run from YA paranormal romance through NA paranormal and contemporary romance to adult contemporary and paramystery romance. She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair.

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