A SEAL's Heart

She Held him in the palm of her hand…           And didn’t even know it. Fitzgerald Carrigan had been in love with his best friend, Zuly Hines, from the moment she pronounced his name with a screwed up expression and nothing but pure judgment in her eyes at the age of seven. That love simply managed to compound as time went on, growing stronger every day. When he leaves home to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a Navy SEAL he believes he’ll be able to come back just as healthy and optimistic as he was upon his departure. He never thought he’d be completely wrong. Damaged both physically and mentally while harboring a painful memory, he shuts himself off from the world believing that his family and Zuly, would be so much better off without having to contend with his pain. What he doesn’t stop to consider is that Zuly has never been one to let a person wallow. No, she’s more likely to slap you back into reality…   He was everything to her…           And was clearly too blind to see it. The majority of Zuly’s life was filled with fantasies of belonging to Fitzgerald Carrigan forever. She didn’t bat a lash the day he left to become a SEAL, confident in the fact that her love, her everything, would return and their lives together would start. Fifteen years later and she’s grasped that not every childhood fantasy goes the way you want it to. Her SEAL has closed himself off from the world, completely immersed in his role as a recluse. What he doesn’t seem to consider is that Zuly loves him enough to force him to face the real world again. Even if it means their relationship takes a turn for the worse…         Excerpt:   She gasped. “My ass is not enemy territory.” “Sweetheart, anything that angry and red-looking...is not my friend.” Turning, Zuly gave him a stare of disbelief. “Then I’m going to make the assumption that you have an awfully distant relationship with your cock.” He barked a laugh before he could stop himself. “You’re a dirty, dirty lady, Zuly Hines.” She waggled her brows. “You’ve no idea.” But damned if he didn’t want to find out. His gaze strayed to her mouth and stayed there. How many years had he been watching that mouth? How many times had he stroked himself, imagining those lips wrapped around him, sucking him dry? How many chaste kisses had he pressed there, making sure not to linger too long for fear of letting his true feelings show? How many women had he lain with, pretending they were her?“No,” Fitz said gruffly, “I don’t.” Leaning in, he watched the way her eyes slightly widened, saw the way those lips parted to emit the smallest gasp. Then he kissed her...on the forehead. “Because I’m an untouched virgin who knows how to stay away from dirty, dirty ladies.”