She couldn’t stop the tears sliding down her cheeks. Jeez, she was just a water fountain lately. “Sky,” she choked out, curling her fingers into his polo shirt. She shook her head vigorously. “You didn’t deserve what I did to you. You didn’t deserve to be kept in the dark while the investigation into Major Tucker went on. You didn’t deserve to marry a woman who lied about her job, and—”
He put his thumb over her mouth again. “You did what you were ordered to do. I’d be a hypocrite if I continued to insist I didn’t understand it. We work for a covert organization, Bliss. If ordered to do so, we’ll keep our missions secret even from those we love the most. It’s the job. It’s our duty. I understand.” He sucked in a breath. “What I didn’t understand, and it pains me to admit it, is how you were privy to information I wasn’t. It was a blow to my notions of masculinity and who wears the pants and all that bullshit. I don’t have an excuse except that I grew up with a father who ran roughshod over us all—and over a bunch of innocent people, it turned out—and who thought deference was his due. I didn’t think I was like him—didn’t want to be like him—but maybe I share more traits with him than I care to admit.”
“No,” she said, pushing his hand away. “I don’t believe that. What I believe is that you’d already been deceived by someone you loved, so when it came to what I did, it was just too much.”
“You’re sweet, Bliss, but it was more than that. I’ve been struggling to understand how the things I learned at home have affected me. Don’t let me off the hook so easily.”
“I love you, Sky Kelley,” she said, her heart threatening to beat right out of her chest. “That’s God’s honest truth.”
He dipped his head and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him, moaning softly as his tongue tangled with hers. But then he broke the kiss and pushed her gently away.
“Eat your pizza. We’ve got all night.”
“I was kind of hoping we had the rest of our lives,” she said shyly.
He grinned. “We definitely have that.” He picked up his Coke and held it up. “To the rest of our lives.”
She clinked glasses with him. “The rest of our lives.”
They finished the pizza and Cokes, and then he drove them back to his place. Before she could set foot on the pavement, he lifted her into his arms and carried her inside where he proceeded to strip her naked and make love to her until she was so sated she could barely move. They fell asleep entangled with each other and then woke up early and made love again. When she woke a second time, it was to the smell of bacon wafting from the kitchen.
Bliss got up and slipped on his discarded polo. It came to her knees. She was surprisingly hungry considering the pizza last night, so she traipsed through the house until she found him. He looked up and shot her a heart-melting grin.
“Just in time for breakfast,” he said, nodding toward the table.
She sat and he served her eggs and bacon and coffee and toast. It was the best meal she’d ever had. She finished the food and then sat back and stared happily at the trees outside the window as dawn painted them with light.
“What are you thinking?” Sky asked.
“That life is perfect.”
“Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”
“But Sky…”
He took her hand and kissed it. “Yeah, baby?”
“I don’t want to get married.”
He frowned for a second. “Okay.”
She squeezed his hand. “No, I mean I do want to get married. To you. Only you. But not until we’ve spent a lot of time together being not married. I don’t want to screw it up this time, you know?”
His smile was genuine. “I know. So we won’t get married. Yet. We’ll live together—I hope we will anyway—and we’ll work together, though not always in the same location or even the same time zone. I have to go on missions outside the country, Bliss—but if I can tell you what I’m doing, I will. You’ll be HOT, if you decide to stay—and we’ll figure it out.”
“I want to stay. I felt like what we did breaking that code had such importance. I want to wield my skills where I know they’re being used for the good of the country. I feel like I can trust Mendez, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.”
That was a big thing for her. Trusting anyone, much less a man in charge of a big organization like HOT. But she did. After what the men of HOT had done for her, she trusted them all in ways that surprised her.
She sighed. “We’ll have to invite our moms this time. If we marry, I mean.”
“When we marry—and yeah, we will.” He laughed. “God, they’ll love each other to pieces.”
She laughed too. “Right? Your mom, the society maven, and my mom, the redneck crime family queen. It’ll be epic.”
“Maybe we should elope like we did the first time. We can have a reception for friends and family.”
“Might not be a bad idea.”
He shook his head suddenly. “Nope, not doing it. I’m marrying you in front of God and everyone, and I don’t fucking care what anyone thinks.”
She left her chair and climbed into his lap. He put his arms around her, held her close as she gazed down at him. “You’re the best man I know, Sky Kelley. I love you.”
He squeezed her gently. “I love you too, Bliss. You’re the most amazing woman I know—and I’m never letting you go again. I’m yours forever.”
“Forever,” Bliss sighed.
And then she lost herself in his kiss…
Epilogue
Wolf prowled the edges of the room at Buddy’s Bar & Grill. Echo Squad was in attendance tonight, along with Alpha Squad and the SEALs, and the place was jumping. He’d even seen a couple of guys from Bravo Squad around. It was a good night at Buddy’s. Football was on the televisions, and the crowd was rowdy. Beer flowed freely, and wings were the meal of the day.
Hacker drew his eye. The dude was practically bouncing with happiness these days. Hack had always been so serious and a little studious—or so Wolf had always thought. Not to mention he had an air of privilege that hadn’t quite put Wolf off, but he’d noticed it. Hacker looked like he came from money, though he never acted like it.
Turned out that he did. His dad was a big-time criminal like Bernie Madoff, scamming hardworking folks out of their life’s savings. But Hacker wasn’t like that at all. He was indispensable to their work at HOT. Yeah, he wore monogrammed shirts with cuff links sometimes, and he often wore polos with loafers and all that rich bullshit, but he didn’t act like he came from money. Or that he’d gone to Harvard.
Hacker laughed at something someone said—and then Bliss appeared. Hack’s face instantly changed. He puffed up like a lion protecting his mate, the vibe he gave off clearly saying Don’t touch. She’s mine.
Not that Wolf would dream of it, but Bliss was definitely a sweet little package. Talented too. Girl had mad computer skills. She sashayed into Hacker’s arms, and they kissed like they hadn’t kissed in weeks. Wolf actually got a little uncomfortable watching.
He’d kissed plenty of women, but he didn’t think he’d ever felt that kind of all-consuming desire before. He’d never felt like a woman was necessary to his existence the way that Hacker clearly felt Bliss was necessary to his.
They’d moved in together. Bliss had a house in Arlington, a little far from base, but it was a nice place and Hacker had decided to move in with her once the cleanup from the fire was done. They’d invited everyone over last week. Nice digs, actually. Wolf could picture them living there with a couple of kids and a dog. Maybe even a cat if the urge struck.
He shook his head and took a gulp of his beer. WTF? Why was he thinking about this shit?
“Hey, Wolf,” Saint said, clapping him on the shoulder. “You having fun?”
“Always,” Wolf said. “You?”
Saint’s gaze strayed to the blond babe sitting on a barstool and talking with a dark-haired woman who was obviously pregnant. “Yeah, man.”
“You set a date yet?” Wolf asked.
“Not officially. It’ll be after Grace gives birth though. Brooke wants her as maid of honor. Not that Grace isn’t willing to do it pregnant, but Brooke insists Grace will be happier once the baby is born. So next summer probably.”
“It’ll be here in no time,” Wolf said.
“Not soon enough,” Saint replied dreamily before drifting toward Brooke like she was the sun at the center of his orbit.
Wolf didn’t understand that. He’d never yet met a woman who could hold his interest for more than a few weeks at most. He dated someone, had a lot of sex, and then he was done. Just done.
And he always would be. There was nothing special about having sex with the same woman night after night. Week after week.
Month after month.
He shook himself and went to get a fresh beer. His teammates might have lost their minds. He hadn’t.
Feeling much better about the whole thing, he took his beer from the cute waitress who handed it over.
“Hey, darlin’,” he said, letting his gaze slide over her stacked little body. “What are you doing later tonight?”
She tilted her head to the side and grinned. “What’d you have in mind, handsome?”
All he had in mind were a few mutual orgasms. But he wasn’t going to say that. It wasn’t typically what women wanted to hear. “How about we get to know each other a little better? See what happens?”
She shot him a coy smile as she lifted an eyebrow. “I get off at one.”
“I’ll be here, baby.”
“I’m counting on it.”
She flounced away as Wolf watched her ass shake. No doubt about it, he was the lucky one here tonight. Dudes like Saint and Hacker—and all of fucking Alpha Squad—were out of their goddamn minds. Shacking up with one woman would be like choosing one flavor of ice cream for the rest of your life. Might be okay for some. Definitely not okay for him.
It’d be a cold day in hell before he let a woman wrap him around her little finger.
THANK YOU!
Thanks for reading this Hostile Operations Team novel! If you want to know what happens to Wolf, then click his title for more info: HOT JUSTICE.
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Have you read the HOT SEAL TEAM yet? That’s another branch of HOT with exciting books that stand alone. Start with Book 1: HOT SEAL, and enjoy some sexy SEALs!
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For more information about all of my books, click here to visit my website.
Also by Lynn Raye Harris
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* * *
The Hostile Operations Team Books
(Click on link for more info)
Book 0: RECKLESS HEAT
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Book 1: HOT PURSUIT - Matt & Evie
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Book 2: HOT MESS - Sam & Georgie
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Book 3: HOT PACKAGE - Billy & Olivia
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Book 4: DANGEROUSLY HOT - Kev & Lucky
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Book 5: HOT SHOT - Jack & Gina
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Book 6: HOT REBEL - Nick & Victoria
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Book 7: HOT ICE - Garrett & Grace
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Book 8: HOT & BOTHERED - Ryan & Emily
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Book 9: HOT PROTECTOR - Chase & Sophie
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Book 10: HOT ADDICTION - Dex & Annabelle
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Book 11: HOT VALOR - Mendez & Kat
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Book 12: HOT ANGEL - Cade & Brooke
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Book 13: HOT SECRETS - Sky & Bliss
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Book 14: HOT JUSTICE - Dean “Wolf” Garner
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Sign up for my newsletter to be notified about all future releases!
The HOT SEAL Team Books
(Click on link for more info)
Book 1: HOT SEAL - Dane & Ivy
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Book 2: HOT SEAL Lover - Remy & Christina
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Book 3: HOT SEAL Rescue - Cody & Miranda
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Book 4: HOT SEAL BRIDE - Cash & Ella
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Book 5: HOT SEAL REDEMPTION - Alex & Bailey
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Book 6: HOT SEAL TARGET - Adam & Quinn
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Book 7: HOT SEAL HERO - Ryan & ?? ~ Coming soon!
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The HOT Novella in Liliana Hart’s MacKenzie Family Series
HOT WITNESS - Jake & Eva
7 Brides for 7 Brothers
MAX (Book 5) - Max & Ellie
7 Brides for 7 Soldiers
WYATT (Book 4) - Wyatt & Paige
Who’s HOT?
Alpha Squad
Matt “Richie Rich” Girard (Book 0 & 1)
Sam “Knight Rider” McKnight (Book 2)
Billy “the Kid” Blake (Book 3)
Kev “Big Mac” MacDonald (Book 4)
Jack “Hawk” Hunter (Book 5)
Nick “Brandy” Brandon (Book 6)
Garrett “Iceman” Spencer (Book 7)
Ryan “Flash” Gordon (Book 8)
Chase “Fiddler” Daniels (Book 9)
Dex “Double Dee” Davidson (Book 10)
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Commander
John “Viper” Mendez (Book 11)
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Deputy Commander
Alex “Ghost” Bishop
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Echo Squad
Cade “Saint” Rodgers (Book 12)
Sky “Hacker” Kelley (Book 13)
Malcom “Mal” McCoy
Jake “Harley” Ryan (HOT WITNESS)
Jax “Gem” Stone
Noah “Easy” Cross
Ryder “Muffin” Hanson
Dean “Wolf” Garner
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SEAL Team
Dane “Viking” Erikson (Book 1)
Remy “Cage” Marchand (Book 2)
Cody “Cowboy” McCormick (Book 3)
Cash “Money” McQuaid (Book 4)
Alexei “Camel” Kamarov (Book 5)
Adam “Blade” Garrison (Book 6)
Ryan “Dirty Harry” Callahan
Zach “Neo” Anderson
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Black’s Bandits
Ian Black
Brett Wheeler
Jace Kaiser
Colton Duchaine
Jared
Rascal
? Unnamed Team Members
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Freelance Contractors
Lucinda “Lucky” San Ramos, now MacDonald (Book 4)
Victoria “Vee” Royal, now Brandon (Book 6)
Emily Royal, now Gordon (Book 8)
Miranda Lockwood, now McCormick (SEAL Team Book 3)
Bliss Bennett, (Book 13)
About the Author
Lynn Raye Harris is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the HOSTILE OPERATIONS TEAM SERIES of military romances as well as twenty books for Harlequin Presents. A former finalist for the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award and the National Readers Choice Award, Lynn lives in Alabama with her handsome former-military husband, two crazy cats, and one spoiled American Saddlebred horse. Lynn's books have been called “exceptional and emotional,” “intense,” and “sizzling.” Lynn's books have sold over three million copies worldwide.
To connect with Lynn online:
www.LynnRayeHarris.com
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All Rights Reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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