And won back her life. His too.
“Watch him.” Rio nodded at Adam, as he handed her his weapon. “Shoot him if he tries anything.”
“With pleasure.” A hint of that earlier ferocity touched her face.
It relieved him to find some of that teenage tempestuousness still alive and kicking inside her. The old Becca hadn’t been completely erased.
“What are you doing?” she asked as Rio went to work unbuckling her vest.
“I’m checking you for more holes.” He eased the armor down her arms, carefully sliding it past his pistol. Adrenaline could cloak trauma and her adrenaline was still at full throttle.
The creamy blouse he exposed was rumpled and damp—but not with blood. He scanned her torso intently. There was no evidence she’d taken another bullet.
Thank you, Jesus.
He took back his gun and trained it on Adam.
And then, because he couldn’t help himself, he took her in his arms, breathing in her sweet scent, basking in her damp warmth. She felt so perfect against him. Like she belonged. His chest tightened. Thickened. The sensation emotional rather than physical. It was raw. Uncomfortable. And all too familiar from twelve years ago.
“Uh…Rio. Maybe you should call 911.” But instead of trying to wriggle away, she cuddled closer.
“In a minute,” he murmured, reluctant to let her go long enough to dig for his phone.
As his own adrenaline fell away, a steady burn radiated across his ribcage. No surprise, he’d hit that steering wheel pretty damn hard. But the mushrooming pain didn’t come close to denting the contentment.
He sighed and cuddled her closer.
She wouldn’t be headed back to Olympia anytime soon. Not if he had any say in it.
Epilogue
A month later, with the San Diego sun hot on her head, Becca stared down at her mother’s grave. It was the first time she been back since her mother’s funeral all those years ago. Even now, the site of the marker nudged at the demons, and a nightmarish, writhing figure ghosted along the edge of her mind, knocking for entrance.
Her fingers tightened around Rio’s hand, and the demon fled.
She sighed, her world at rights for the first time since her mother’s death.
Adam was in jail, his bail denied. Apparently the courts didn’t approve of flagrant attacks on one of their own. While Lena had been charged with accessory to murder, she’d been allowed out on bail and was camped out at Villa Fontaine, hiding from reporters. Preston had jilted Adele, so the wedding was off, to the unmistakable relief of the bride-not-to-be.
She bent to set the huge bouquet of red roses against her mother’s headstone. Red—symbolizing love and remembrance.
Straightening, she looked out over the cemetery her mother had been buried in. An ocean of emerald grass and tranquility stretched out before her. Who’d paid for the funeral? The headstone? The plot? Had it been her father? Harold? She’d probably never know for sure, since both men were dead.
“Fuentes opened an investigation into Moyer and Henderson, and the role they played in covering up your mother’s murder,” Rio murmured, his hand warm and comforting around her own.
“We knew it was coming,” Becca said.
The media had gotten their first whiff of the story with Rio’s 911 call. Within days, reporters had broken the sordid story wide open, and pressure from local lawmakers to hold Moyer and the old M.E. accountable, had quickly risen.
Turning to Rio, she grimaced. “Are the reporters still making your life hell?”
They’d become minor celebrities since the story of her mother’s murder and the resulting fall out had hit the news.
“It’s dying down.” Rio said, squeezing her hand. “How are your clients handling the attention?”
After a three-week hiatus, where she’d basically hidden out with Emma and wallowed in Rio’s attention, she’d returned home and reopened her practice.
“It went okay. I didn’t lose as many clients as I expected.” Which was almost a shame.
Losing her client base and having to start over would have made the looming decision easy. This new relationship unfurling between Rio and her was precious, but fragile. Would it survive her commute between San Diego and Olympia? Would it survive two days together, followed by five days apart?
“How’s the shoulder?” He shot her a glance out of the corner of his eye.
“Good as new. How about your ribs?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows.
The gleam in Rio’s blue-gray eyes told her exactly where his mind was headed. Same place hers had been occupying lately. Between the bullet hole in her shoulder, and his bruised ribs, they’d been banned from physical intimacy—banned by their own bodies.
Sure, there had been some light petting, lots of cuddling and plenty of kissing. But anything further had brought groans and hisses, and not of the pleasurable kind.
After a month of stimulation, and no satisfaction, her libido was in danger of flaming out. She seriously needed some alone time with her man.
In unison, her hand still locked in his, they turned, walking down the hill. He slung an arm around her shoulder and tugged her closer.
He hadn’t hesitated or groaned when he lifted his arm. She took that as a good sign.
“I’ve got the night off. I’m thinking lasagna, ciabatta bread, a Caesar salad.”
“Are you offering to feed me?” A grin tickled Becca’s lips. Anticipation rose hot and heavy.
“You’re as hungry as I am.”
The glitter in his eyes was a dead giveaway. He wasn’t talking about food.
“I am. I’m starving. And lasagna is Emma’s favorite, she’ll be thrilled.” Becca said, totally deadpanned.
He stopped in his tracks, his forehead wrinkling in consternation, his gorgeous blue-gray eyes wary. “Uh, Becca—”
She burst into laughter. He responded by swallowing her amusement with his mouth.
A long time later, he dragged his lips from hers. “I’m about to explode, babe. Let’s table this until we get home.”
Home…
The word brought an immediate image. Him, her, together. Her lips still tingling, she smiled. “Sounds good to me.”
They started walking again.
“How is Emma anyway?” he asked.
Some of Becca’s happiness dimmed. “She’s worried about Lucas. Lonely. Trying not to show it.”
He nodded, his face thoughtful. “It’s a hard life she’s chosen.”
Becca glanced at him and frowned. She was almost certain he wasn’t just referring to Lucas’s career choice. Rio’s career held danger as well. She had firsthand knowledge of that.
She squeezed his hand. “It’s worth it though…with the right man.”
He squeezed back, silently telling her he’d gotten the message.
They stopped by the supermarket on the way home, picking up the fixings for dinner. Becca raised her eyebrows when Rio added a bottle of Pinot Grigio to the cart. It was her favorite variety and her favorite label. He’d been paying attention. She was impressed.
Anticipation built as they worked side by side in the kitchen, deliberately brushing against each other, stoking their appetite to a boil. After she’d unleashed a particularly long, sensual shimmy against his hip, he suddenly tossed the cheese grater down on the counter.
“Fuck this.” His voice was guttural. Flags of red rode his cheeks. He grabbed her hand, tugging her toward the bedroom.
“But I’m hungry.” She aimed for a plaintive tone, but the words emerged in a sensual purr.
“So am I,” he said, his voice more growl than purr.
His mouth found hers on the way down the hall, and famine flamed. They lost their shirts in the hallway, their pants at the foot of the bed. They tumbled together onto the mattress. When he yanked her panties down her legs, the motion was so urgent they shredded with a screech. But his hands gentled as he reached for her breasts.
Unhooking her bra, he eased it
out of the way and stroked a finger across her nipple. It tightened beneath the caress.
She quivered, her skin tight and tingly, her blood fizzing through her veins.
“So beautiful,” he breathed, his gaze hot and hungry as it climbed to her face.
Her heart melted, although she could think of lots of things more beautiful—like his chiseled chest and ripped abdomen. Like the hard, hungry planes of his face. Like the emotion in his eyes.
And then his mouth closed over her breast, and she forgot to breathe, forgot to think, could only feel. She grounded herself by clutching his back, only to find herself distracted by the tight, rippling muscles beneath her palms.
He felt so good. Steel sheathed in satin. A hot, hard, rush beneath her hands.
The wet suck of his mouth on her breast sparked an answering pulse between her legs. She pressed her thighs together, trying to keep the building moisture inside. As his mouth left her chest to wander down her belly, Becca groaned, holding her breath in expectation. His lips trailed fire, followed by chills and goosebumps.
He scooted down on the bed, and lifted her legs, draping them over his shoulders. And then the wet heat of his mouth was at the core of her, suckling. The wicked thrust of his tongue pushing her higher and higher. Every muscle in her body clenched beneath the exquisite pleasure.
The chemistry had always been there, simmering between them, but this…she choked back a scream…this was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. And then she was shattering, her body an endless convulsion of quaking muscles and slick skin.
She returned to awareness to the urgent beat of his heart against hers. With a languid stretch that rubbed her body against his from shins to shoulders, she opened her eyes and found him watching her, his gaze hot and hungry.
Reaching up, she stroked his tight cheek. “I suppose it’s my turn to feed you.”
His smile was so tight, it looked more pained than humorous. “How’s the shoulder?”
The question melted her heart and then tickled her funny bone. Her lips twitched. “Why? Are you going to stop if I say it hurts?”
He suddenly rolled, dragging her on top of him. Threading his fingers in her hair he urged her head down.
“Nope. I’ll just let you do the work,” he whispered, nibbling at her lips.
“I’m good with that,” she whispered back.
Languidly, she guided her mouth down his chest and abdomen, taking the same path he’d taken earlier. His skin was salty beneath her tongue. His flesh rippling with each nibble of her teeth. He tasted delicious. Like hot, urgent male.
When she reached the base of his penis, she ran her tongue along the twin, tightly drawn mounds. He jolted beneath her. His breath coming hard and fast. She got one good swipe of her tongue across the bulbous head of his penis before he broke.
Hands clamped over her hips, lifting her up and forward. Taking hold of his cock, she guided him into place and settled back down, taking him inside. The tension coiled again as she lifted and lowered herself, the pleasure twining tighter and tighter, sharper and sharper, constricting into that imperative, agonizing knot of need.
Only this time, when the pressure shattered, they flew off together, wrapped in each other’s arms.
The second time she returned to Earth, she felt Rio’s hand sliding up and down her spine. She smiled in contentment, listening to the hard beat of his heart against her ear, basking in the furnace beneath her splayed form.
“I’ve been thinking,” Rio said, his voice gruff. “There are plenty of law enforcement opportunities in Olympia, or even Seattle.”
It took a minute for his comment to register, another for the meaning to hit home. She jolted up, staring down at his face. “You’d do that for me? You’d move to Olympia?”
His arms tightened around her waist, and a solemn expression claimed his face. “Babe, I’d do anything for you.”
She didn’t realize until his words hit her ears how much she needed to hear them. Her smile was shaky. “I love you. I don’t think I ever stopped loving you.”
“Good to know.” His voice was even gruffer than before. “Because I love you too.”
The last of her demons released their grip and floated away. The gift he’d just given her was so much more than she’d ever expected.
Enough to build their life together on.
The End
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Bound by Deception, the third novella in my Red-Hot SEALs series.
If you’d like to read more books set in my Red-Hot SEALs, or my Spirit Woods worlds, or sign up for my newsletter, please visit my website-- www.trishmccallan.com.
Newsletter subscribers receive new release information, new release early-bird pricing on selected books and free Bound by novellas.
For a full list of my available books you can visit my website or my Amazon Author Page.
If you enjoyed Bound by Deception, I’d appreciate it if you’d help other readers find this book by sharing the title and book description with your friends, reader’s groups, book clubs, and online reading forums.
Additionally, leaving an honest review on Goodreads, Amazon or any other retail site would be appreciated. Reviews help cue readers into what they might like or dislike about a book and enhance book discovery.
I love to hear from my readers and make a point of answering every e-mail I receive. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]
As always, thanks for reading!
Best wishes,
Trish McCallan
About the Author
Trish McCallan was born in Eugene, Oregon, and grew up in Washington State, where she began crafting stories at an early age. Her first books were illustrated in crayon, bound with red yarn, and sold for a nickel at her lemonade stand.
Trish grew up to earn a bachelor’s degree in English literature with a concentration in creative writing from Western Washington University, taking jobs as a bookkeeper and human- resource specialist before finally quitting her day job to write full time.
Forged in Fire came about after a marathon reading session, and a bottle of Nyquil that sparked a vivid dream.
She lives today in eastern Washington.
An avid animal lover, she currently shares her home with three golden retrievers, a black lab mix and three cats.
Spirit Woods
Small town life isn't as peaceful as Logan Yates expected since taking a job with the Jamesville Police Department. He's witnessed several odd occurrences, some of which might border on the supernatural if he believed in that sort of thing. But his real problem lies in figuring out who's vandalizing his new home. He's almost certain Kaylea Armund, his antagonistic college sweetheart, knows, but judging by the shadows darkening her eyes, she has no intention of sharing her secrets.
A life-long resident of Jamesville, Washington, Kaylea Armund never bought into the legends and whispered tales about Spirit Woods, the primeval forest surrounding her hometown. Not once during her childhood did she see or hear anything strange from within the dark, shadowy depths of the forest. Growing up, she had worse things to deal with than mysterious lights and unexplained weather phenomena.
But things take a turn into the strange and unexpected when Logan Yates--an old flame--brings a stray golden retriever into Kaylea's clinic. She's stunned by the dog's resemblance to Max, her childhood companion. But when the golden recognizes her and knows all the tricks she'd taught her Max, a chilling question arises--if this dog really is the beloved family pet she'd buried beneath Spirit Woods' canopy seventeen years earlier, what else might be making its way home from the grave.
Sneak Peek: Spirit Woods
As her last client of the day—Keystone, an aging bulldog—waddled out of her exam room, Kaylea Armund sprayed the stainless steel exam table with disinfectant and ripped a handful of paper towels from the dispenser. Absently she listened to Keystone’s snort
ing, wheezing progress through the clinic and sent a prayer to Saint Francis that the Clavamox she’d prescribed would clear up his respiratory infection quickly.
The poor old guy was of an age where the simplest ailment could turn life threatening, and that was without prior breathing conditions clouding the issue. Unfortunately, Keystone’s file was bulging with his respiratory history. The stenotic nares alone when combined with the bronchial infection could prove fatal. It was too bad she’d never been able to convince his owners to send him to the specialist for the surgery necessary to widen the animal’s nostrils and give the poor guy more room for airflow.
Scrunching her nose against the acidic bite of the sanitizer, she wiped the counter down, a smile blooming as she ticked off her plans for the weekend.
Barring the odd emergency call, her weekend stretched out before her in lazy, unfettered glory. No appointments. No plans. No need for watches or clocks. She could sleep in as long as she wanted and then putter the day away in her garden. In fact, she might just leave the laundry in its hamper all weekend and spend the days simply relaxing.
“Lea,” Janine Campbell, her office assistant, said from the doorway. “Logan Yates is here. He needs to speak with you.”
Her hand freezing mid-swipe, Kaylea’s contentment vanished. She hadn’t heard that particular name in ten years. Scratch that; the man who claimed that name hadn’t spoken to her in ten years, but she’d been hearing his name far too often since he’d joined the Jamesville police department.
She’d even seen him a couple of times…a tall, lean, semi-stranger with a confident stride and the unwelcome ability to stir feelings better left buried.
There were thousands of police stations around the country. Why the heck did he have to pick her hometown to jump-start his new career?
Bound by Deception Page 16
