OUT OF LINE - EXCERPT
TWO:
When she leaned in close to me like that, I gripped my
thighs. I felt ridiculously out of place right now. I was in a pair of board
shorts, pretending to be a carefree surfer dude so that my overprotective,
needs- therapy boss could “rest easily” while his perfectly capable daughter
attended college. I didn’t even have my gun
on me. And to top it off? Carrie was a cute little thing who was looking at
me as if she wanted nothing more than to crawl all over me.
I needed to get close to her, but not that close. Even if I wanted to.
Her soft red hair reminded me of Scarlett Johansson as Black
Widow. I had always had a thing for her—what kind of hot-blooded American man
hadn’t at one point or another? I especially liked her when she carried a
kick-ass gun and wore black spandex and boots. It wasn’t a far stretch of my
imagination to picture Carrie in Scarlett’s getup. Her short skirt left little
to the imagination, and I wanted her. Bad.
I’d never had such an instant attraction to someone before.
The type that demanded I find a way to get her in my arms, naked and writhing,
before the end of the month, but I couldn’t have her. I forced myself to
picture Senator Wallington’s face instead of Carrie’s. That should help. “I
think you look like a good girl who wants to try her hand at being a bad girl.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “But maybe not. You don’t know
anything about me.”
Ah, but I did. I had her file memorized. And I’d been
watching her from the shadows all night long. I also knew enough about her to
know she hadn’t been drinking tonight. Knew enough to know the real reason she
wasn’t inside was because she hated crowds. She hadn’t been to any real parties
until now. And I knew her father was controlling enough to send an undercover
agent to watch his nineteen-year-old daughter fumble her way through freshman
year.
One thing I knew about repressed girls who went away to
college: They went all Girls Gone Wild on
crack as soon as they got even the slightest taste of freedom.
The girl was looking for trouble with a capital T. Even I
could see that.
She licked her plump, red lips and met my eyes. “So, you
going to your room or staying out here with me?”
Oh yeah. Trouble indeed. I shifted in my seat. The girl had
no idea what kind of attention she was welcoming. She might only be a couple of
years younger than me, but even so, she had off
limits stamped across her forehead. I forced a lighthearted laugh.
Something I suspected a California boy would do. Hell, something I’d once done. “I don’t really live
here. I was fucking with you.”
“Oh.” Her brow furrowed. “Which dorm do you live in?”
“None.” I grinned at her, even though my cheeks hurt from
smiling so damned much. “I don’t even go here. I’m just a surfer who lives
nearby. Can’t afford the fancy education.”
That much had once been true, at least. When I’d been
eighteen, I couldn’t afford the tuition. That’s why I had enlisted in the
Marines. My plan had been to use the GI Bill to earn my degree, but I hadn’t
gotten to that point in my life yet. As it was, I had shadowed my father’s
footsteps and joined the Marine reserves fresh outta high school. I had been
ooh- rah’ing it for five years now and had attained the rank of sergeant. On
top of that, I held the title of “assistant private security officer” with the
senator’s security team.
I could afford to go to college now, but I was too busy. And
now I was here in California. I’d been picked for this assignment since, as the
youngest employee at twenty-three, I was the most likely candidate to blend into
a college campus.
And if I managed to keep Carrie out of trouble, I would
return to
work minus the “assistant” in my title—and a spike in my
pay. But first I had to get close enough to her to be able to be in her
company, but not so close that she wanted me even closer.
BOOK
BLURB:
All three OUT OF LINE books in one volume.
PLUS two bonus scenes AND the original ending to OUT OF TIME!
OUT OF LINE
I always follow orders. My job, my life, depends on it. I thought this
job would be easy, all the rules were made crystal clear, but when I met Carrie
Wallington, everything got muddy. She's a rule I know I shouldn't break, but
damn if I don't inch closer to the breaking point each time I see her. I'm
ready to step out of line. And even worse? I'm living a lie. They say the truth
will set you free, but in my case...
The truth will cost me everything.
OUT OF TIME
Being Carrie's bodyguard was one thing. Being her boyfriend is another.
Every day she's mine is a day the sun shines in my life. Yet our time together
is running out. Her father will never think a tattooed Marine will be good
enough, so I'll do whatever it takes to be worthy of her love. But the road
will take me away from the girl who makes me feel alive--the girl I can't live
without.
Time only gets us so far...
OUT OF MIND
All I wanted was to be worthy of Carrie. One mission, just one, and I’d
be able to give her the future she deserved. Then everything went wrong,
leaving me tainted and broken. Carrie wants me to be who I was, but all that’s
left is what they made of me. I’m no good for her. No good for anyone like
this. I have to figure out how to move forward. Alone.
Sometimes love isn’t enough…
Buy Links for
individual books:
OUT OF LINE
(Book #1)
OUT OF TIME
(Book #2)
OUT OF MIND
(Book #3)
Amazon - http://amzn.to/1pUPjhY
B&N - http://bit.ly/1mSkmpP
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