Bran’s mood fluctuated between concern for Jessie and what she had suffered, and fury that he was helpless to do anything about it.
Lowlife Ray Cummings was in prison, exactly where he belonged. He was being punished--not enough as far as Bran was concerned--but punished nonetheless.
And now, knowing the extent of what she had been through put Jessie even further out of his reach. She didn’t need more heartache and having sex with him was exactly where that would lead. She wasn’t a one-night hook-up kind of girl and he wasn’t a relationship kind of guy.
Jessie deserved a man who was gentle and caring, a guy who would help her deal with the trauma she had suffered. Bran was a rough-and-tumble lover. He demanded a lot from a woman, and the women he took to bed liked it exactly that way.
He sighed as he lay on the lumpy sofa in the living room staring up at the ceiling. If only he could get the look on Jessie’s face out of his head, the heat in her big green eyes when she’d told him she was thinking about having sex with him.
Sweet Jesus. He ached with every heartbeat. Then she’d told him about her hang-ups. He wouldn’t have a clue how to deal with that. Though in some weird way, he felt an obligation to try and help her.
She was Danny’s sister, after all. Or at least that was his rationale for the erotic thoughts he couldn’t seem to banish no matter how hard he tried.
He thought about his spur-of-the-moment invitation to join his family for the holidays. He’d never brought a woman to any family gathering, had no idea what had possessed him to extend the invitation, except that he owed it to Danny to look after his sister. Hell, in a way, she was already part of the family.
Still, knowing his brothers might make more of it than it actually was, he was mildly relieved that she had declined to come.
He sighed into the darkness. He wished to God this mission was over. Wished he had the evidence they needed to prove Colonel Kegan’s innocence. Wished he knew where to find the missing weapons.
In the morning, they planned to talk to the CID special agent who had handled the investigation, see if he had come up with anything after Jessie had talked to him on her last trip to the base.
Then tomorrow night they were going to pay a little surprise visit to Charles Frazier at his home address in Alamo. Bran was looking forward to the conversation. He had a feeling Frazier knew a helluva lot more than he was saying. If he did, he was going to tell them.
One way or another.
Bran rolled over on the lumpy mattress, trying not to listen for sounds of movement in the bedroom, where Jessie slept in a comfortable king-size bed. But the more he tried to banish lustful thoughts of her, the more he failed.
He kept seeing her in her tempting little orange-striped bikini, remembering the ties that held it in place. All he’d have to do is reach behind her and pull the strings and the top would be gone. Pull the bows on each side of the bottom and the fabric would disappear. Jessie would be his, a willing participant in his every erotic fantasy.
A soft groan escaped. It wasn’t going to happen. Too many obstacles between them. Instead it was going to be another long night.
And another cold shower in the morning.
(C) Kat Martin, HQN, 2020. Reprinted with permission from the publisher.
Maximum Security #3
When journalist Jessie Kegan’s father is accused of espionage and treason, Jessie has no doubt the man she looked up to her entire life is innocent. Worse yet, before Colonel Kegan can stand trial, he’s found dead of a heart attack…but Jessie knows it was murder. Forcing down her grief, she’s determined to use her investigative skills and resources to clear her father’s name. But going after the truth means Jessie soon finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who wants that truth to stay buried with her father.To prove her father’s innocence, she’ll have to turn a killer's sights on herself
Protecting Jessie Kegan is a job bodyguard Brandon Garrett can’t refuse. Jessie isn’t just a client at Maximum Security—she’s the sister of his best friend, Danny, killed in Afghanistan. With dangerous forces gunning for Jessie from every angle, keeping her safe will mean keeping her close and Bran finds their mutual attraction growing, though being Danny’s sister puts Jessie out of bounds.
With their backs against the wall, Jessie and Bran will have to risk everything to expose her father’s killer—before his legacy dies with his daughter.
Romance Suspense [HQN, On Sale: December 1, 2020, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book (reprint), ISBN: 9781335419996 / eISBN: 9781488056048]
Bestselling author Kat Martin, a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, currently resides in Missoula, Montana with Western-author husband, L. J. Martin. More than seventeen million copies of Kat’s books are in print, and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Fifteen of her recent novels have taken top-ten spots on the New York Times Bestseller List, and her novel, BEYOND REASON, was recently optioned for a feature film.
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