Runaway single-mom Clare Chandler is trying to find shelter from her wealthy and prominent ex-husband, Ramzi. Clare is fleeing the country of Abu Fujarah to avoid being separated from her two-year-old son. As they attempt to board a bus in Houston, Josh Ryan interrupts Clare's capture by Ramzi's men.
Josh, recently discharged from the Rangers in Afghanistan, is returning to his home, the legendary Delgado Ranch in Zavala Springs, Texas, which is now owned by his father after the death of Josh's mother. One thing Josh does not want is the responsibility of a beautiful woman and her child. In his effort to protect them, Josh has sequestered them at his home surrounded by his sister and brother. The Delgado family has "the gift" of witchery that Josh is trying to deny. During the attempt to protect Clare, she and Josh are falling deeply in love with no visible future together.
I loved reading Linda Conrad's SAFE WITH A STRANGER, the first book in her new Safekeeper series. It's extremely interesting and filled with believable characters caught up in difficult circumstances. Some very explicit love scenes are included, but presented in good taste. I enjoyed all the suspense along with the special "gifts" of the Delgado family.
Rule # 1: Stay out of it
Josh Ryan knew he wasnβt going to heed his own warning. A
single mom and a baby on the run? Two men in hot pursuit?
Joshβs ranger training and his Texas roots left him no
choiceβhe was hardwired to help.
Rule # 2: Do anything to save her
But the battle-scarred ex-soldier didnβt want to be a hero.
And now the very worst had happenedβhe had fallen in too
deep. Clare had gotten under his skin, and her little son
was looking at him with adoring eyes. Heβd broken the
unwritten code, making Clare even more of a target in the
process. To save her, he would have to do the unthinkable.
Heβd have to make her goβ¦
EXCERPT
βWe donβt have a lot of extra time before we have to catch
the plane,β Josh said without taking his eyes from the road
ahead. βDonβt forget the schedule.β
βIf we have any chance at all of making this act work at
the airport or anywhere else,β Clare said with a snap in
her voice. βThen we need to buy you some new clothes and
something more...uh...suburban in the way of luggage.β
βWhat? Whatβs wrong with what Iβve got?β
She tried to hide her smile. βWell, I personally like the
big, bad Ranger/slash/cowboy look on you. Itβs...sexy.
But I donβt think it goes along well with the idea of a man
bringing his wife with him to D.C. on business. Do you?β
βSexy?β Josh darted her a dark look. βWhat do you suggest
instead?β
βMaggie and I stopped at that discount store earlier today
when we bought the cell phone for you to carry. I got
myself this nice plain pants suit and a small carry-on.
Iβm sure we can find something for you thatβs a little less
edgy than what you have.β
Joshβs jaw tightened but he calmly turned into the parking
lot. βLess edgy, huh? I can hardly wait.β
A few moments later, Josh reluctantly climbed out of the
truck, jammed the Stetson lower on his forehead and
followed a sprightly Clare as she marched in through the
automatic sliding doors. She headed straight to the menβs
clothes and began checking out the racks of pants. The
first pair she put her hand on were navy polyester and
Joshβs stomach turned.
βWhat size do you wear?β she asked without turning from the
rack.
God save him. The woman had gotten him all tangled up, and
he could barely utter a sound. It would be one thing for
them to playact as husband and wife on an airplane, but to
have her choosing his clothes felt much too intimate.
He stood silently swearing at himself for his own
foolishness at ever agreeing to this crazy plan in the
first place. But the more he watched her diligently
searching the racks, the more he found himself captivated
by the curve of her shoulder and the way her hair curled
down her neck.
And so, in spite of his efforts not to, Josh lost control
of the situation.
She turned to stare at him, while her fingers tapped
lightly on the hanger in her hand. βEarth to Josh. I
thought weβd agreed you need to look like someone whoβs
going to a business meeting. Quit staring at me. Just
which one of us will make us late now?β
Lord have mercy. βThereβs only one way any kind of
businessman coming from Texas would dress,β he
muttered. βLeave it to me. You go round up whatever
luggage you think looks better than my duffle.β
Clare bristled, but shut her mouth and went to look at the
luggage. She wondered if this whole idea had been smart
after all. Josh had been touchy ever since heβd gone to
see his father. So touchy, yet so damned sexy she could
barely concentrate. Swallowing down the wave of lust she
felt every time he was nearby, she decided that for right
now, she would act instead of think.
Not long afterward, she rolled a super light, upright carry-
on bag in a tasteful shade of dark gray toward the check-
out cashiers at the front of the store. From the corner of
her eye she saw Josh with his back to her as he stood
peering into a glass-fronted counter. He was wearing a
pair of dress jeans, a long-sleeved dress shirt in a muted
denim shade of blue. And when he turned, she saw he had on
an impressive red-striped tie. Clare was touched by his
quick change and nearly dumbfounded with the picture he
made of the clean-cut Texas business man.
She made a u-turn in the middle of the aisle and walked up
beside him just as his gaze seemed to be searching the
store aisles.
βThere you are, darlinβ,β he said when he spotted her. He
reached out and drew her close. βI want your opinion on
something.β
It pleased her to think heβd been looking for her. Maybe
it pleased her a little bit too much. She didnβt want to
let him keep getting to her like this. Their situation was
difficult enough.
When she got close enough to see, she discovered the glass
case was the jewelry counter. Then she noticed the
expression on the face of the woman behind it, and Clare
was floored. The woman was giving her a βyou-got-it-made,
girlβ kind of look. A look that clearly said the middle-
aged woman wished sheβd hooked a man like Josh.
Josh picked up a braided silver band and held it out to
her. βThis ring isnβt that fancy, but it made me somehow
think of you. You canβt be married without rings, you
know.β He secretly winked at her as if to let her know
this was all just part of the act.
But Clare didnβt feel like acting. Torn between pulse
spiking desire and total disbelief, she could only give him
a weak smile.
His grin faltered as she silently stood there staring down
at the ring in his hand as if it were a bomb. βYou donβt
like it. My fault. But I was just trying to do the right
thing. If you would rather have one of those platinum and
diamond rings, thatβll be fine.β
βNnβ¦no,β she sputtered, feeling as though her insides were
sliding into a pool of warm chocolate. βI wouldnβt trade
it forβ¦ Um. I mean, nothing wrong with this one.β
Her knees knocked together as she tried the plain band on
her ring finger. It fit perfectly. In fact, the way the
ring fit and looked after sheβd put it on her finger
quickly turned in her mind to a fairy tale. The story of a
solid man who had picked it out, and of how much he truly
loved the woman who would wear his promise on her hand for
life.
If only that story wasnβt just all lies in their case.
βFits just right,β she said weakly. βWeβll take it.β
Fifteen minutes later, they were through the check-out line
and back beside Lucille, the pickup. Clareβs head was
spinning. She couldnβt stop sneaking peeks at her left
hand. Cripes. Sheβd been the one whoβd started this whole
impossible journey, but now things were moving beyond her
control.
Out beside Lucille once again, Josh tore the tags off the
new piece of luggage and crammed a few of his things
inside, then turned to her. Sunlight gleamed in his rich
dark brown hair. His coffee-colored eyes darkened to ebony
and filled with something she would swear seemed like
passion.
He touched her cheek. βYou were right. About the clothes
and the bag. They make us look right together. A better
picture for our act.β
βAnd thank you for the rings.β Only rudimentarily aware of
the change in her breathing, Clare let hormones rule, stood
on tiptoes and touched her lips to his with a feather-light
kiss of gratitude.
But when he gasped, she let herself fall into the fantasy
and deepened the kiss. Josh didnβt take long to respond in
kind. With lightning speed, he dug his hands in her hair
and hauled her closer, wedging her body between his
thighs. He cruised his mouth over hers, promising heaven
with his touch and driving her wild with the primal thrust
of his tongue.
The thrumming pulse ran from him to her, creating one hell
of an incredibly female earthquake to curse through her
body. Catching her chin with gentle fingers and holding
her fast, he crushed his mouth to hers, sensually exploring
and tasting until the tiny quakes growing inside her turned
to huge, 9.0 on the Richter Scale tremors.
βJosh?β
Through the haze in his head, Josh heard her say his name.
It slipped off her tongue easily. Like something she said
all the time without giving it a second thought. As though
sheβd spoken his name in hundreds of moments of
companionable reflectionβ or in the heat of passion.
His pulse picked up speed as she clung to him. Rubbing his
hands up and down her ribcage and lightly rolling his
thumbs up under her breasts, he discovered something
wonderful. The tiny mewling sounds she made as he stroked
her body were turning him hot, hard and wild. Lost and
becoming more and more impatient to be rid of the layers of
clothes separating his fingers from her warmth, Josh nearly
quit thinking altogether.
But while whatever was left of his brain focused on Clare,
a car came up the parking lot aisle toward them, revving
its engine. Josh heard the sound in the back of his mind
and actually processed what it meant. Managing to find a
shred of survival instinct still intact, he dropped his
hands and set her back just as the car rumbled past.
Frustration shimmied along every nerve ending. He exhaled
hard, and fought to bring down the fire.
βWhat just happened?β Clare asked as she swayed on her
feet, clearly dazed.
The bruised look of her swollen lips and the slightly
mussed look of her long, blond hair shocked him and knocked
him flat. He shouldβve kept his damn hands off her.
βYou kissed me.β Josh heard the annoyance in his voice and
managed to pull himself into the moment by letting that
irritation have its way. βWhyβd you do it?β
βI...β She looked up into his face and the prettiest shade
of blush colored her cheeks. βItβs not my fault. You turn
my head around with your darlinsβ and your winks and your
rings...and with your whole damn act.β
βArenβt we supposed to be acting?β he asked wickedly. βI
thought thatβs what this was all about.β
She bristled, then apparently found her backbone and
straightened up. βYouβre too good at acting. I lose
track. From now on, donβt improvise. Just follow your
sisterβs plan. Okay?β
Without answering, he gritted his teeth, sucked in a breath
and hustled her into the pickup. They were late enough
already.
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