Dream of Me: Delos Series 4B1
Page 1
Dream of Me
By Lindsay McKenna
Praise for Lindsay McKenna
“A treasure of a book … highly recommended reading that everyone will enjoy and learn from.”
—Chief Michael Jaco, US Navy SEAL, retired, on Breaking Point
“Readers will root for this complex heroine, scarred both inside and out, and hope she finds peace with her steadfast and loving hero. Rife with realistic conflict and spiced with danger, this is a worthy page-turner.”
—BookPage.com on Taking Fire
March 2015 Top Pick in Romance
“… is fast-paced romantic suspense that renders a beautiful love story, start to finish. McKenna’s writing is flawless, and her story line fully absorbing. More, please.”
—Annalisa Pesek, Library Journal on Taking Fire
“Ms. McKenna masterfully blends the two different paces to convey a beautiful saga about love, trust, patience and having faith in each other.”
—Fresh Fiction on Never Surrender
“Genuine and moving, this romantic story set in the complex world of military ops grabs at the heart.”
—RT Book Reviews on Risk Taker
“McKenna does a beautiful job of illustrating difficult topics through the development of well-formed, sympathetic characters.”
—Publisher’s Weekly (starred review) on Wolf Haven
One of the Best Books of 2014, Publisher’s Weekly
“McKenna delivers a story that is raw and heartfelt. The relationship between Kell and Leah is both passionate and tender. Kell is the hero every woman wants, and McKenna employs skill and empathy to craft a physically and emotionally abused character in Leah. Using tension and steady pacing, McKenna is adept at expressing growing, tender love in the midst of high stakes danger.”
—RT Book Reviews on Taking Fire
“Her military background lends authenticity to this outstanding tale, and readers will fall in love with the upstanding hero and his fierce determination to save the woman he loves.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Never Surrender
One of the Best Books of 2014, Publisher’s Weekly
“Readers will find this addition to the Shadow Warriors series full of intensity and action-packed romance. There is great chemistry between the characters and tremendous realism, making Breaking Point a great read.”
—RT Book Reviews
“This sequel to Risk Taker is an action-packed, compelling story, and the sizzling chemistry between Ethan and Sarah makes this a good read.”
—RT Book Reviews on Degree of Risk
“McKenna elicits tears, laughter, fist-pumping triumph, and most all, a desire for the next tale in this powerful series.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Running Fire
“McKenna’s military experience shines through in this moving tale … McKenna (High Country Rebel) skillfully takes readers on an emotional journey into modern warfare and two people’s hearts.”
—Publisher’s Weekly on Down Range
“Lindsay McKenna has proven that she knows what she’s doing when it comes to these military action/romance books.”
—Terry Lynn, Amazon on Zone of Fire.
“At no time do you want to put your book down and come back to it later! Last Chance is a well written, fast paced, short (remember that) story that will please any military romance reader!”
—LBDDiaries, Amazon on Last Chance.
Available from
Lindsay McKenna
Blue Turtle Publishing
DELOS
Last Chance, prologue novella to Nowhere to Hide
Nowhere to Hide, Book 1
Tangled Pursuit, Book 2
Forged in Fire, Book 3
2016
Broken Dreams, Book 4
Blind Sided, BN2
Secret Dream, B1B novella, epilogue to Nowhere to Hide
Hold On, Book 5
Hold Me, 5B1, sequel to Hold On
Unbound Pursuit, 2B1 novella, epilogue to Tangled Pursuit
Secrets, 2B2 novella, sequel to Unbound Pursuit, 2B1
2017
Snowflake’s Gift, Book 6
Never Enough, 3B1, novella, sequel to Forged in Fire
Dream of Me, 4B1, novella, sequel to Broken Dreams
Trapped, Book 7
Taking a Chance 7B1, novella, sequel to Trapped
Hidden Heart, 7B2, novella, sequel to Taking A Chance
Harlequin/HQN/Harlequin Romantic Suspense
SHADOW WARRIORS
Danger Close
Down Range
Risk Taker
Degree of Risk
Breaking Point
Never Surrender
Zone of Fire
Taking Fire
On Fire
Running Fire
THE WYOMING SERIES
Shadows From The Past
Deadly Identity
Deadly Silence
The Last Cowboy
The Wrangler
The Defender
The Loner
High Country Rebel
Wolf Haven
Night Hawk
Out Rider
WIND RIVER VALLEY SERIES, Kensington
2016
Wind River Wrangler
Wind River Rancher
2017
Wind River Cowboy
Wrangler’s Challenge
Dream of Me
Copyright © 2017 by Nauman Living Trust
ISBN: 978-1-929977-24-6
Kindle Edition
Excerpt from Sanctuary
Copyright © 2017 by Nauman Living Trust
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Blue Turtle Publishing, PO Box 2513, Cottonwood, AZ 86326 USA
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Blue Turtle Publishing
www.lindsaymckenna.com
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the Delos Series! You met Alexa Culver and Gage Hunter in Broken Dreams. Now readers get to follow Alexa and Gage’s continuing story in Dream of Me.
Alexa has left the US Air Force as an A-10 combat pilot, and moved to Artemis, the in-house security firm for all the Delos charities. She is the director of the safe house arm of Delos, which works to protect women and their children who have been abused, placed into sex slavery or family abuse. She’s a crusader for women, wanting to protect them; to give them a safe place for themselves and their frightened children. Being of service, making a difference in the world drives Alexa, who is often compared to her mother Dilara Culver, who is the CEO of Delos.
Alexa understands firsthand the trauma, due to her own capture by a Pakistani raid in an Afghan village (Broken Dreams, Book 4). Due to her experience, she now suffers from PTSD. Gage, who lives with her at their farmhouse outside of Alexandria, Virginia, is worried for Alexa. He sees that the PTSD symptoms from her capture and sexual abuse, runs her life now. Their own relationship is an up-and-down emotional roller coaster as a result. Gage loves Alexa. He would do anything in the world to give her a sense of safety and being protected. But her Type A personality, her driving need to help others, places her square
ly in the face of danger once again. Can he save her? Save their relationship?
Let me hear from you about the Culver Family and the Delos series. Please visit my website at www.lindsaymckenna.com, to keep up the latest, exciting happenings with my series.
You will find an excerpt in the back of this novella for Trapped, Ali and Ram’s story.
Happy reading!
Warmly, Lindsay McKenna
Dedication
To my wonderful reviewers who are also readers of Delos—thank you for ALL your hard work in penning a review on the latest book of mine you have read! Some (but not all) are named here: L. M. Landau, Jan Kaplan, GDS, Sandra Van Winkle, Ladee Aqua, Therese Lopez, Sunny FLA, Stacey, and Viki Ferrell, plus so many others for whom I am grateful! Thank you!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Praise for Lindsay McKenna
Available from Lindsay McKenna
Copyright Page
Dear Reader
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Excerpt from Trapped by Lindsay McKenna
The Books of Delos
Everything Delos!
CHAPTER 1
“Going on a hike was such a great idea of yours, Gage,” Alexa Culver said, her spirits high as she looked back at him as they hiked a trail deep in the Virginia woodlands. Around her, late September leaves were turning red, yellow, and orange. Some drifted down toward them, creating a picture-perfect fall morning. They had just reached the top of a large hill above their recently purchased 1850s farmhouse.
“Anywhere with you is always a great idea.” Gage grinned as he picked his way along the steep, rocky trail covered with crunchy, dry leaves. The eighty-degree morning breeze swirled playfully around them as he caught up with Alexa, watching as she absently tucked her auburn hair behind her ears.
Today, Gage was wearing fitted jeans that emphasized his lean, tall body. Alexa always appreciated his lithe energy: like a cougar, he prowled rather than walked. She recognized this was partly from his training as a Marine Corps sniper, but it was also an inborn quality that had served them both well recently.
Even when they’d met last November at the Bagram Army base north of Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, she’d been aware of the powerful, undiluted sexual chemistry between them. But she had never imagined that in a few short days, Gage and his SEAL team would rescue her and eight other women from the Taliban. Since that time, they had grown even closer to each other, and were now back home in the States working for Artemis Security. It was the hidden security branch within Delos, the largest global charity.
But those terrifying, life-changing events had been indelibly burned into Alexa’s memory. She tried to bury them by working longer, harder hours—in fact, she was in the office seven days a week, and found that when she was focusing on being director of Artemis’s Safe House Foundation, she could crowd them out. Whether she could ever completely heal from those two devastating days, during which she had endured verbal abuse, assault, beatings, and nonstop sexual humiliation, no one could guess.
Now, Gage slowed his pace, his long fingers wrapped around the red shoulder straps of the large knapsack he carried on his back. “You look as if you belong out here,” he said, leaning over to brush her smiling lips with a kiss. His body, as always, hungered for Alexa. He’d missed making love to her, but because she’d been so devastated by her capture by the Taliban, he’d told her he would wait until she was ready to be intimate again.
Gage never kidded himself that he could read a woman’s mind, but he did know Alexa well enough to read her body language. Today, she looked particularly attractive in her white shorts and a sleeveless cotton tee the color of her auburn hair. She was free of makeup, and he saw the light sprinkling of girlish freckles peeking out across her cheeks.
He loved her. Gage knew her so well that he could read her moods from her eyes. He had learned that when the brown flecks in her eyes were prominent, she was emotionally upset about something. But if the green and gold were front and center, she was happy and at peace.
“Look at this,” he said, leaning down and capturing a red leaf at their feet. Holding it up, he brought it near her ponytail lying on her right shoulder. “The colors almost match,” he said, placing the recently dropped leaf next to her hair. Gage drew in her scent, which made his growing erection harden even more. Alexa gazed down at it, a playful look on her face; both were aware that they’d had no sex together for five days.
Now, she stepped forward and pressed her breasts against his chest. Unable to resist, Gage pulled her to him and captured her mouth, now soft and willing beneath his. Reluctantly easing away from her, drowning in those green-flecked eyes that showed how much she loved him, Gage breathed in the scent of almond oil in her hair, a fragrance that always aroused him.
Alexa’s mother, Dilara, who was Turkish with a bit of Greek, put a few drops in her own hair every morning to make it shine, and her daughter tended to follow her mother’s example—from her high-fashion clothing, to her perfect makeup and skillfully arranged coiffure.
“Wow,” Alexa laughed. “That’s quite a match.” Her eyes crinkled with humor as she examined the leaf. “Hey, are you calling me a dried up old leaf, Hunter?”
He chuckled. “Not hardly, Ms. Culver.” His heart swelled. It was rare, since her capture and rescue, that the Alexa he’d met and fallen in love with had resurfaced. And the wicked smile on those beautifully shaped lips, combined with the dancing glint in her eyes, boded well.
Gage silently congratulated himself on having dragged Alexa kicking and screaming away from the office for this noontime hike up into the hills. She had been getting ready at nine a.m. on Saturday to drive into work, but her face reflected the strain she was under. Gage had avoided telling Alexa what to do since her ordeal with the Taliban, whenever possible urging her to take control of her activities. But this time, he was damn glad he’d coaxed her into taking this five-mile hike into the Virginia hills above their farmhouse. Already, the strain and smudges around her eyes were gone. The young woman standing before him right now was the Alexa he’d met at Bagram, and he couldn’t feel more grateful to have her back.
“It’s beautiful up here,” Alexa breathed, gesturing around the hilltop crowned with colorful trees. The sky was a deep marine blue with a few fluffy clouds drifting overhead. Breathing in deeply, she leaned against him, her hand on his chest, looking skyward. “I love the smell of autumn leaves, Gage.” Turning, she gazed at his ruggedly handsome face, his light blue eyes warm with love.
“Do you wish you were flying your Stearman biplane instead of being chained here to the earth?” he teased, lifting his hand to graze her rosy cheek with his thumb. His touch always aroused her, and he watched her pupils grow larger, her lips part. He fought his desire to take her right there. They had been together for five days, and it hadn’t been the right time or place to resume their steamy connection.
“I don’t know,” Alexa murmured. “It’s a perfect day to fly. But right now,” she smiled as she moved her hips suggestively against the thick bulge beneath his jeans, “I like being earthbound with you.” Alexa saw how Gage’s expression changed from loving to lusty, and it made her inner thighs dampen even more. She grazed his recently shaven cheek, feeling completely loved and cared for as he tightened his arm around her shoulder. Slowly moving so their hips touched, she pinned herself against him. “I can’t really pilot the Stearman and make love with you at the same time.”
“Hmm,” Gage said, giving her a crooked grin. His long fingers caressed her sweet, rounded cheeks beneath her flimsy white cotton shorts. “If you had a choice, Ms. Culver, which would you prefer: making love with me, or flying into the arms of your beloved sky?” He saw her eyes crinkle, that wicked look
deepening in her hazel eyes.
“Oh, my choice would always be you, Mr. Hunter. I’ve never met a man who could love me as wonderfully as you do.”
In response, he leaned over and nibbled on her ear lobe, feeling her breath draw swiftly inward, knowing it was giving her pleasure. She moaned as he continued to nip, kiss, and then lick his way down her exposed slender neck, her hips grinding against his. Yes, his woman was hungry for some great sex, and so was he. But with Alexa, Gage never called it “sex,” because it was a hundred times more powerful than two people simply getting physical pleasure.
Since her capture, Alexa was aware that the desire to make love with Gage came and went, mostly depending upon moods that she could not control. When she was in a “down cycle,” she sometimes couldn’t even let Gage touch her. That was when he knew she was reliving the horror she’d experienced within the Taliban caves in Afghanistan. Then, usually about three days later, she’d cycle up again and return to the Alexa she’d been before her capture.
“Then,” Gage rasped, moving his tongue over the arch of her delicate ear, “you have another big decision to make. It’s almost noon. Are you hungry for food, or for something else?” He heard her breathy sigh as her hand wrapped across his bulge beneath his jeans. Groaning, he caressed her butt, moving his finger down the crease, hearing her gasp with anticipation.
From the beginning, Alexa had brought out the hugger, toucher, and embracer in him. She had helped him heal from his own dark past so much so that it astounded him at times. Her natural warmth, her caring, and her need for a loving physical connection opened his heart in ways it never had before. Yes, Alexa was a sensual, highly erotic woman, and she genuinely enjoyed the pleasure her body received from him, but since her capture lovemaking had been erratic.
Right now, however, she was that sleek, sensual, purring animal who aroused him immediately, and she was ready for him. He could see it in her eyes and the movements of her body.
The day was perfect, Gage decided, loosening his embrace with her, allowing his hand to move between her thighs, close to her crotch, feeling the dampness there. His cock jerked in response, trapped in the tight, tough fabric of his jeans.