Terms of Attraction

by Kylie Brant

  “Another U.S. Special Boat Squadron member and I were assigned to military boat twenty-seven. We were ambushed and overrun by rebels ten days ago. Those who weren’t killed in the battle were taken prisoner.” He looked at de la Reyes. “I regret to inform you, sir, that your military personnel who were captured were killed in captivity.”

  Cael exchanged a look with Ava. That explained the pile of bodies they’d discovered at the deserted camp.

  De la Reyes swallowed, gave a slow nod. “I had heard of the ambush while I was in the States. I want to thank you for your service.” His gaze found Cael’s. “And I owe a debt of gratitude to you, Senor McCabe, and your team that cannot be repaid. Anything that I can do for you, anything at all, you have but to ask.”

  But Cael’s mind had started working the first moment Streich had explained his presence there. His gaze landed thoughtfully on Ava, while he answered, “As a matter of fact, President de la Reyes, there is one thing….”

  * * *

  The first hint Ava had that she wasn’t alone in the bathroom was when the shower door opened. She whirled around, found her defensive blow deflected when Cael caught her wrist in one of his hands.

  The man was silent as a snake, she fumed. Twisting free, she asked truculently, “What are you doing in here?”

  “I’m dirty,” was his innocent reply. She watched, her ire splintering, as he stripped swiftly. It wasn’t fair, she reflected dimly, that the sight of all that bare skin over bulging muscle and sinew should turn her bones to mush.

  “You have a shower in your room,” she pointed out as he crowded in with her. Immediately the stall grew smaller. She felt surrounded by the breadth of him. Felt the kick start to her pulse as her body responded accordingly.

  “But yours was already running.” He leaned in then and, guessing his intent, Ava dodged around him, nudging him under the spray.

  “Like you said, you’re dirty.”

  He reached out a hand to snag her wrist, ensuring that she didn’t go too far while he washed the mud and grime away. And Ava was content to remain in place.

  The rest of his team would be flying in tomorrow and her time here would be through. The thought brought a cold bolt of dread that she strove to shake off. She had plenty of regrets over choices she’d made in the past, choices that she was going to have to answer for when she got home to her son.

  But she wouldn’t regret the time spent with Cael McCabe.

  “What were you talking about with the president after the rest of us left?” She’d noted his thoughtful gaze on her before he’d answered de la Reyes at the end. Didn’t much appreciate not being in on the conversation if it pertained to her.

  “Believe it or not, I’ve got a plan.” His voice was muffled since he was scrubbing his face with her washcloth.

  “There’s a news flash.”

  She dodged his fingers when he released her for a quick retaliatory pinch, and took the soap, running it over the broad expanse of his shoulders. There was power there, in the muscles that jumped and worked beneath her fingers as she smoothed her soapy palms over his back. A strength that was all the more devastating when it was tempered by tenderness.

  Just the memory had heat flooding her belly. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t indulge in regrets, so she’d tuck the memories away for the future when memories were all she had. But her touch slowed purposely to savor the tactile sensation beneath her fingertips. It’d be one more image to add to her mental scrapbook and she was fiercely determined that their parting be unmarred by remorse. Of any kind.

  When he turned to her his face was clean, save for the day’s growth of whiskers. They made him look tougher somehow. A bit uncivilized. She raised a hand to brush his stubbled jaw with her palm. He slid an arm around her waist to pull her closer.

  “Normally I like to keep details of my security missions under wraps, for a host of reasons. But this time I’ve asked de la Reyes to make some phone calls on our behalf.”

  She stopped midstroke. “What kind of calls? To whom?”

  “To the Pentagon, for starters. He’ll verify Streich’s identity and then he’ll be talking to everyone he can contact, both there and in the White House, to sing our praises for the rescue of both him and a U.S. military officer.” He made a slight grimace, as if the thought embarrassed him a bit. “Like I say, not my usual thing. When the national media get hold of it later in the day it’s going to be a free-for-all. So I’m going to arrange for private transport to fly you back and to get you from the airport. You might want to plan for you and your son to stay elsewhere for a few days. I’m guessing reporters will be camped on your doorstep.”

  The desolation that pooled in her stomach at his easy talk of her departure was alarming. She couldn’t afford to react emotionally. Not now, when there was so much at stake. Protecting Alex had to be her first concern and there were a few details missing from his “plan.”

  “And what is all this supposed to accomplish?”

  His grin was roguish. “It’s called deflection, baby. And it’s a preemptive strike that will make it politically impossible for Samuelson to strong-arm you. Even if he did expose your parentage to the public or to your superiors, your heroic stature is going to make you untouchable. If anything, the news stories will just shift to contrast your character with your father’s. Not exactly pleasant, I admit,” he added, when she made a face. “But you still come out of it undamaged, with your reputation and your career intact.”

  He free hand slid up to cup her breast, toy with the nipple. He was, she thought, with a hitch of her breath, a bit too easily sidetracked.

  “And what about you?”

  One broad shoulder lifted. “Basically the same thing. Timing won’t be the best for the smear campaign I assume he has planned. He’ll have to wait until the next opportunity arises. It’ll drive the son of a bitch crazy.”

  She eyed him knowingly. “But it won’t help you destroy him.”

  The humor abruptly fled from his expression. He shifted so the water continued to cascade over his shoulders, making little rivulets over his arms and chest. “No. It recently came to my attention that there might be more important things to concentrate on than to one-up my biological father.”

  There was a jitter in her pulse. His green eyes were alight with an emotion that she couldn’t identify. Was afraid to identify. But it sparked spurts of answering heat in her veins.

  “And when did this moment of enlightenment occur?”

  His arm around her waist tightened. “Might’ve been when I saw you standing there providing cover for us, as bullets kicked up the dirt all around you. But it started before that. I just didn’t realize what the hell had me so distracted where you were concerned.”

  Her feminine smile of satisfaction curled her lips. “Her distraction, was I?” Linking her arms around his neck, she nipped the side of his throat ungently. “I didn’t notice that you were particularly diverted when you were threatening me.”

  “I should have been tipped off when I became more concerned with protecting you from Samuelson than I was in destroying the prick for good,” he murmured, tipping her chin up to brush her lips with his. “As it is, you played hell with my intentions, because I became more worried about protecting you than getting the best of him. I don’t have a whole lot of experience in the area, but I figure that means I’m crazy in love with you.”

  Her heart did a slow, lazy spin in her chest. “I’m not going to quibble with your definition. Especially since I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since we first met. I love you—” The rest of her words were lost when his mouth came down more firmly on hers. Her fingers curled into his hair as little thrills of pleasure skipped up her spine.

  By the time he lifted his head, her thoughts had scattered. “This is going to be complicated,” she said faintly as he scored her earlobe with his teeth.

  “Simple,” he disputed, his mouth busy. “Very, very simple.”

  She tried
to gather her fragmented logic. “Our jobs…I can’t move. I wouldn’t do that to Alex. He has three more years of high school.”

  He leaned back to smile at her then, as he skated a possessive hand down her back. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll make a plan.”

  EPILOGUE

  The wedding organist was just beginning to play when Dace Recker stepped out to stand alone at the altar, looking decidedly more jittery than he did on an incident response. A moment later, Cael and Alex joined Ava in the pew. She sent Cael a reproving look, but he just winked at her. “We got stuck in traffic,” he whispered loudly.

  Beyond him, Alex grinned. “Yeah, traffic.”

  She lifted a brow to indicate she didn’t for a second believe either of them. Unless traffic was the latest euphemism for extra batting practice these days.

  But it was hard to be annoyed when she saw daily how well her son got along with the man she loved. And she and Alex were back on an even keel now, although there’d been some rocky days when she’d first returned from San Baltes. He’d been accusing and disappointed by turns, and she’d accepted the blame for not being honest with him about his grandfather. He’d deserved to know the truth at some point, although God help her, if this hadn’t happened she still didn’t know when that point would have come. It was difficult to balance her son’s right to know with her overwhelming need to protect him.

  But the more Alex had read about Calvin Julson, the more he’d understood her reticence on the subject. And the more his ire had faded. The man’s past was ugly enough to dim any burgeoning thoughts of long-lost reunions. And that was a disappointment she couldn’t shield him against.

  Lindsay Bradford and Jack Langley walked up the aisle arm in arm. As maid of honor and best man respectively, they would be the only attendants in the wedding. And judging from the rock on Lindsay’s finger, Ava would be attending another wedding sometime in the near future.

  She gave a slight shake of her head. It was difficult to imagine Langley, the dark-haired charmer with the devilish grin, as marriage material, but judging from the way he was looking at Lindsay, he’d finally met his match.

  The music changed, and Ava turned to see her friend Jolie Conrad walking down the aisle. There was a dizzying sense of bemusement at all the changes that had taken place in the last few months for some of the members on the Alpha Squad.

  Cael’s hand slipped into hers and their fingers interlocked as Ava turned to smile at him. It seemed fitting somehow that this man was at her side as she watched her friends begin their future together.

  Because whatever the future had in store for her, she knew Cael was going to be part of it.

  * * * * *

  If you enjoyed this story by New York Times bestselling author Elle Kennedy be sure to check out New York Times bestselling author

  CARLA CASSIDY

  and her latest heart-racing romance sure to keep you on the edge of your seat!

  COLTON’S SECRET SON

  Be sure to check out other suspenseful reads by Carla Cassidy from her

  Cowboys of Holiday Ranch mini-series!

  Operation Cowboy Daddy

  Cowboy at Arms

  Cowboy Under Fire

  Cowboy of Interest

  A Real Cowboy

  Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!

  No sooner does Knox Colton find out he has a son, than the boy is kidnapped! While Knox and the boy’s mother, Allison Rafferty, race to find him, they also find the passion between them never died…

  Read on for a sneak preview of

  COLTON’S SECRET SON,

  by New York Times bestselling author Carla Cassidy

  the first book in the newest Colton series,

  THE COLTONS OF SHADOW CREEK.

  CHAPTER 1

  Shadow Creek, Texas, held nothing but broken dreams, betrayal and heartache for Knox Colton. He had thought he’d never return to the small town where he’d grown up, but here he was again after a ten-year absence.

  Forced to take a sabbatical from his job as a Texas Ranger, embarrassed and humiliated by his mother’s crimes, he’d really had no other place to go.

  He now clenched his fingers around the steering wheel as a whisper of heated anger burned in the pit of his stomach. Nothing like being a Texas Ranger and having one of the FBI’s most wanted as a mother.

  Livia Colton had created plenty of chaos and damage in his childhood, and now she was affecting her grown children’s lives once again.

  He rolled down his window to allow in the sweet-scented early March air and drew in a deep breath. The last thing he wanted to do was to carry his simmering anger into the peaceful sanctuary his younger sister called home.

  His anger eased at thoughts of his youngest sister, Jade. Despite the nine years difference in their ages, he’d always been particularly close to her.

  A smile curved his lips as he turned into Hill Country Farm, Jade’s home. Ahead of him was her house, but around the house were her passions. Vegetable gardens were just beginning to awaken with what would be summer bounty. Stables and a riding arena were on the right, and a barn with chickens, goats and pigs was on the left.

  The house itself was small, but exuded a sense of stability and welcome. Pots of purple pansies sat on the porch, dipping and waving their heads in the light spring breeze.

  Before he’d stopped his car, Jade stepped out on the porch, a wide smile of greeting on her pretty face. He parked and got out of the car and she raced toward him, her dark brown ponytail bouncing as her sweet laughter filled the air.

  She jumped into his arms and he picked her up and spun her around. His cowboy hat flew off his head before he deposited her back on the ground and gave her a firm kiss on the forehead.

  “Oh, Knox, I’ve missed you so much,” she said.

  “And I’ve missed you,” he replied as he picked up his hat and plopped it back on his head. “You look terrific, Jade.”

  She stepped back from him and eyed him. “You don’t look half-bad yourself, big brother.” She gave him a playful punch in the stomach. “At least you haven’t gone to seed in your old age.”

  “Hey, I’m only thirty-three. I’m still in my prime,” he retorted.

  She linked her arm with his. “Come on inside. I’ve got the coffee on and I made a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls.”

  “Hmm, nothing better on a Saturday morning than cinnamon rolls and time with you,” he replied.

  Minutes later the two siblings sat across from each other at the round oak table in the kitchen that smelled of spices and sunshine. Yellow curtains fluttered at the open windows as the sweet scent of new grass and budding flowers drifted in.

  “So, how’s Ranger life?” Jade asked as she set a small plate with a cinnamon roll the size of the palm of his hand before him.

  “It was great until two weeks ago.” He frowned down into his coffee cup and then looked up and met his sister’s gaze. “And then day before yesterday I was told rather forcefully that a sabbatical might be a good idea right now.”

  Jade’s brown eyes darkened. “Because of Mother’s escape from prison.” Knox gave a curt nod of his head. “How long are you on sabbatical for?”

  “An undetermined amount of time,” he replied. “I have become somewhat of an embarrassment with a mother who plotted and succeeded with an elaborate escape from Red Peak Maximum Security Prison. I was told to lie low until she was no longer a hot news item and was caught.” The burn of anger was back in his stomach.

  “I can’t believe she managed to pay off so many guards and got into the infirmary and through two more security checks before cutting a hole in the floor and slithering down into the sewer system.”

  “A new sewer system that she somehow arranged to be built,” he added drily. “And you’ve probably heard that in the construction site she was picked up by a white van outside the prison walls.”

  “And t
he van had no plates or distinguishing marks when it was found abandoned near the Mexican border,” Jade added. “I watch the news, too.”

  What had been kept out of the news was that there had been blood found on the side of the van, blood that hadn’t belonged to Livia Colton, but Knox wasn’t telling that to Jade or anyone else. Knox had been told this by his boss before the upper brass cut him out of the information chain.

  The information was being intentionally held back by the authorities. Someone had been at the scene at the Mexican border with Livia and that someone had apparently been hurt. Knox had a feeling the identity of that person was already known to somebody in law enforcement, but it was a piece of information that hadn’t been told or leaked. By now, the blood left behind at the van would have been analyzed and he couldn’t help but believe DNA had been matched to somebody.

  “Then you know the latest is that she was spotted in Mexico, and that’s where I hope she stays until she burns in hell,” Knox said forcefully.

  Jade reached across the table and grabbed his hand with her much smaller one. “Knox, you need to release some of that anger. It knots up in your veins and makes me believe the Hulk could pop out of you at any time.”

  A wry grin curved his mouth. “Maybe what I need to keep the Hulk inside is a couple of bites of this magnificent cinnamon roll.”

  She flashed him a beautiful smile. “Dig in.”

  As he enjoyed not one, but two of the breakfast treats, Jade caught him up on her business. She ran a rehab center for off-track Thoroughbred horses, hoping to give them second careers as pleasure riding mounts or hunter-jumpers.

  It was obvious she loved what she did; it shone from the happiness in her eyes, in the flush of her cheeks as she spoke about the horses. Knox had loved being a Texas Ranger, but his mother had stolen that from him, at least for now.

  At least Jade seemed to be thriving, despite the fact that their mother had been in prison for drug charges and murder.

  “So, where are you staying while you’re in town?” Jade asked.