Don't Forget Me

by Meg Benjamin

  “I’ll bet.”

  Colin flipped the eggs. “Reece is cautious, to a fault. Always has been. I was as shocked as anybody when he said he was going to work for your dad. But he’s been gone a long time, and he was MIA for some rough shit that’s gone on around here. I think this is his way of making up for all that, or trying to. Doesn’t look like he’s feeling too keen for it now though. Failure’s not his strong suit. Don’t take it too personally if he’s hard on you. You wrecked his plans. Give him some time to lick his wounds.”

  Libby nodded, thinking. “Well if Reece doesn’t want my father’s gig, why don’t you do it? I’m trying to convince him to be my double agent. Document me on my own terms, for a generous bonus. He’s not really taking the bait. If he hates it so much, you should do it. Maybe Reece could recommend you as a replacement.”

  Colin laughed, his eyes squinting and his dimple reappearing. He turned to Libby and held out his tattooed arms, presenting himself as a package. “No father would hire me to stalk their daughter.”

  He had a point. “No, I guess not. And not my father, especially.”

  “Plus I’ve already got two jobs. And anyway—don’t pretend you’re not hoping my brother’ll be forced to keep sharing your company.”

  “Touché.”

  He’s handsome, hot, hunted and hurt…a plea for help from this detective is one her heart can’t refuse.

  Stowaway

  © 2011 Becky Barker

  Keri Merritt desperately needs her long-overdue vacation, preferably as far as she can get from anyone with a badge. It’s not that she doesn’t respect those modern knights, but between her job as a trauma nurse and her overprotective law enforcement family, she’s overrun.

  When she finds something in the back of her truck she definitely didn’t pack, all hope of a peaceful break from reality burns away in the heat of a dark, fevered gaze. Behind those chocolate eyes lies everything she wants to avoid.

  Nick Lamanto is in trouble. He’s tracked the mastermind of a gunrunning operation from Florida to Tennessee, only to wind up with an attempted murder warrant hanging over his head, a bullet in his arm and no one he can trust. Except the sheriff’s petite, strong-willed daughter, whose jittery finger is on the trigger of the .45 pointed between his eyes.

  Lucky for Nick, Keri’s healing instinct kicks in. And so does a powerful attraction sharper than the needle with which she stitches him. As the threads of his investigation connect with unanswered questions about Keri’s past, keeping her safe matters more to him than his next breath. Even if it’s his last…

  Warning: If you have a weakness for dark-haired, dark-eyed law enforcement officers with strong protective instincts, prepare to lose your heart.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Stowaway:

  Keri stared at the metal shackles in stunned fascination. Her dad stored them in the first-aid kit too, but she’d never imagined them being used on her. After a split second of hesitation, she began to struggle, but Lamanto had anticipated the reaction. He swiftly pulled her left arm behind her back, jerking her body full force against the strength of his own. Her breath hitched at his closeness.

  He should be as weak as a kitten, yet the steel of his muscles swiftly squashed any desire for a physical skirmish. She just wasn’t sure enough she’d win. She abruptly stopped struggling, tilted her head and glared at him.

  “You have a great way of showing your appreciation for my help,” she snapped. “I should have held you at gunpoint until my dad could come get you.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “You should have.”

  Keri clenched her teeth in frustration. Another damned man who thought he knew what was best for her.

  She glared harder, and he returned her gaze with a steady, unblinking stare. Their hearts pounded frantically in their chests, beating against each other with tension heightened by the strength and heat of his body.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he swore softly, never losing eye contact. “But I’m not going to let you turn me in, either.”

  “I don’t suppose my word is good enough to get this handcuff off?” she tried.

  “No.” His tone brooked no argument, but his mouth curved in a rakish smile. A glimmer of amusement lit his fevered eyes. Even in their not-too-amiable situation, he oozed charm. He enjoyed provoking her.

  Keri’s heart tripped again. Damn but the man was handsome. A woman would have to be dead not to appreciate his aesthetic beauty. Up close, she noticed the ebony hair of his eyebrows had the slightest tendency to curl. Deep laughter lines slit the corners of his eyes and softer grooves at his mouth. His mouth was wide, with sensuously full, firm lips. His skin dark and smooth, pulling tight across high cheekbones.

  She stared into his eyes, watching his gaze drop to her lips. His eyelids dropped too, dark lashes sweeping downward. Her pulse fluttered with unexpected and unwelcome excitement. She felt the metal of her father’s gun gently pressing against her back, but she felt no fear. In a blink of his fascinating eyes, their battle of wills had become a battle of the sexes.

  The air between them electrified, sizzling her nerves. The throbbing of her own pulse nearly deafened her. Keri struggled to shrug off the heavy lethargy invading her body.

  Please, no, she mentally begged the gods of desirability. Please don’t let this be the fiercest physical attraction she’d experienced in her whole life. Please make her quaking nerves and erratic pulse a result of exhaustion or frustration. She would not accept an attraction for this man.

  “You feel good,” he murmured as though surprised by the revelation. “And you smell good too.”

  The arm holding her tightened fractionally. He didn’t hurt her, yet he threatened Keri’s composure. Her breathing faltered and her breasts swelled against the solid wall of his chest.

  She frantically searched her tired brain for a rational explanation. The fruitless search caused an unreasonable spurt of panic in its wake. Defensive and feeling desperate, she pressed her free hand against his chest and shoved.

  His low groan reminded her of his wound. Even as she stepped out of his embrace, her gaze searched his face and shoulder to see if she’d done any damage.

  “Sorry,” she whispered, genuinely stricken to have caused him more pain.

  Lamanto gave her a weak smile but kept a firm hold on the cuffs that made her his prisoner.

  “No problem. Women always lose their heads when they’re in my arms.”

  The comment didn’t sound like a boast as much as a statement of fact. He might have said it jokingly, but her expression hardened.

  “Now what?” she grumbled. “I’m going on thirty hours with no sleep, and I’d guess you haven’t had much, either. We should both be in bed.”

  The unwarranted but undeniably seductive gleam in his eyes added to her annoyance. Her frown deepened, and she tugged on the handcuffs to display impatience.

  “These are totally unnecessary.”

  He ignored her grousing. “I need a shower and food.”

  “You can’t get those stitches wet.”

  “I’ll take a bath.”

  “You’re nuts.”

  “I’m filthy.”

  “All right, take a bath,” grumbled Keri, “but let me get some sleep.”

  He looked beyond her toward the bed. “I wish the bed had a metal frame so I could fasten you to the headboard or something.”

  “I don’t need to be shackled to the bed. My car’s out of gas, the radio’s disabled and I’m too damn tired to go anywhere on foot.”

  He gave her a reproachful glance and gently urged her toward the dresser. “Any clothes I can borrow?”

  Her dad and brother kept clothes at the cabin. They were taller men, but she supposed something would fit him. “Jack’s sweats will probably work.”

  “How ’bout some clean underwear?”

  “If you’ll take this stupid thing off my arm, I’ll check the drawers,” she retorted, tugging at the metal cuff.

 
He gave her a wry grin for her efforts but ignored her plea. They had a momentary battle of wills. He didn’t flinch. With a deep sigh, she twisted around and opened drawers, collecting socks, briefs, gray sweat pants and an old red flannel shirt. She turned to him again, her expression challenging him.

  “Now the bathroom,” he said.

  She led the way into the small space. It barely had room for two people, but he shifted so she could sit on the toilet seat. Then he reached for the towel rack and gave it a jerk. When it proved sturdy, he clicked the other handcuff around the bar, effectively chaining her in the room.

  Keri’s mood grew grimmer by the minute and her expression displayed her rising temper. He gave her another half smile and placed the gun on a rack in the shower. Then he began the slow process of filling the tub and stripping.

  The sexual tension steadily increased as did the steam enveloping them. Keri tried to maintain her composure, but it started disintegrating when he unfastened his belt and slid down his zipper. The sound rasped along already frayed nerves.

  “You can close your eyes if you’re shy,” he said. Despite the feverish sheen to his eyes, the dark orbs taunted her.

  “I’m a nurse. You don’t have anything I haven’t seen a thousand times,” she retorted even though she felt the sting of hot color rising in her cheeks.

  “Humor me. I’m modest.”

  Keri seriously doubted it, but she turned her back as much as the limited space allowed. She heard a muffled groan as he struggled out of his jeans. Every movement had to be hurting him. Then she heard jeans and belt hit the floor followed by the sound of him stepping into the tub.

  “Draw the curtain.” She couldn’t reach it from her tethered position, but she could see his movements in her peripheral vision.

  “I’d rather keep you in sight,” he replied, shutting off the tap. Next he sank into the water and emitted a deep, heavy sigh.

  The sound skittered along her nerves, creating unappreciated and unwelcome havoc on them. She couldn’t fully see him, yet she felt his every move. Instead of heeding her stern warning to ignore him, her weary mind recorded every little sound he made as he bathed.

  The spicy smell of soap teased her senses as it filled the moisture-laden air. Her imagination conjured images of rich, white lather coating the dark curls on his chest. She could visualize the trickle of water down his hard stomach and into forbidden territory.

  Putting an abrupt halt to the uninhibited imaginings, she silently cursed the unexpected curiosity. Her patient deserved respect even if he held the top spot on her personal shit-list right now. She needed to summon professional indifference and halt the increasing sexual awareness. Think professional decorum, she told herself, repeating the mantra for the next few minutes. Professionalism. Professionalism. Professionalism.

  When Lamanto went quiet for too long, she risked another glance in is direction. She peeked but immediately regretted the action. His sleek, wet body reclined the full length of the tub. The water didn’t hide an inch of male perfection. The image would stay in her mind for a very long time. More heat suffused her body.

  “Don’t fall asleep.” Her voice held a snap to camouflage a sensory overload.

  Another deep sigh acknowledged her warning. Then she heard the water being drained and some awkward movements as he tried to pull himself upright. A low curse had her reacting reflexively.

  “Be careful,” she said, turning fully toward him.

  The sight of him smacked her again and with staggering force. His hard, lean body stole her breath. No way could she ignore the masculine beauty of his glistening nudity.

  She mentally catalogued every inch of him from the damp, curling hair on his head, down the broad, muscled chest and flat stomach to his hard thighs and another patch of thick, curly hair.

  Her intense, intimate perusal brought a swift reaction from his very male anatomy. She swallowed hard to keep from strangling on the gasp at the back of her throat.

  “I’m wounded, not dead,” he grumbled, jerking a towel across his abdomen to cover his growing erection.

  Don’t Forget Me

  Meg Benjamin

  Once they said goodbye forever. Now they want to walk it back.

  Konigsburg, Texas, Book 6

  Eighteen months ago, Kit Maldonado was so over Nando Avrogado, she left Konigsburg without a backward glance. With the family restaurant in San Antonio sold out from under her, though, she’s back to manage The Rose, an exclusive resort eatery outside town.

  Dealing with a stingy boss, an amorous head chef, an understaffed dining room and planning her aunt’s wedding should have kept her hands full. But she realizes she might not be as over Nando as she thought.

  As the town’s new assistant chief of police, Nando’s got enough trouble without sexy Kit fanning embers he thought had long ago turned to ashes. Every time he turns around, she’s there—and it doesn’t help that everyone in town wants to see them back together.

  One incendiary kiss, and there’s no denying the force of their attraction. But there’s a mysterious and oddly familiar burglar who’s been lurking around Konigsburg, someone who isn’t above a little mayhem—maybe even violence—to cover his tracks.

  Warning: Contains hot makeup sex, wedding madness, a hot chef, vengeful burglars, and unlawful abuse of a wedding cake.

  eBooks are not transferable.

  They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

  Cincinnati OH 45249

  Don’t Forget Me

  Copyright © 2011 by Meg Benjamin

  ISBN: 978-1-60928-825-9

  Edited by Lindsey Faber

  Cover by Valerie Tibbs

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: December 2011

  www.samhainpublishing.com

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  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

  About the Author

  Look for these titles by Meg Benjamin

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