The second in Kate SeRine's romantic and suspenseful Protect & Serve series, Safe from Harm, is out now! To celebrate, we've pulled an excerpt from the book to share.
*******
Gabe started awake, throwing off
the covers and bolting to his feet. Pain shot up and down his leg as soon as he
made contact with the floor, making him groan through clenched teeth and follow
it up with a juicy curse.
“Motherfu—”
“I’ll just come back later.”
His gaze shot up to see Elle
standing inside the doorway, gorgeous eyes wide, her peaches-and-cream skin
flushed an alluring shade of pink that deepened as he gaped at her. When she
dropped her gaze, turning first left, then right, as if forgetting where the
door was, he suddenly realized his bare ass was hanging out of the back of his
hospital gown giving her quite an eyeful.
“No, that’s okay,” he said in a
rush. “Come on in.”
He straightened quickly, wincing
with the sudden movement, belatedly realizing his wound apparently hadn’t
affected other areas of his anatomy and he was sporting some serious morning
wood, which was pitching one helluva tent beneath the thin cotton gown.
He cursed again and dropped down on
the bed, throwing the blanket over his lower body in one quick motion and
trying unsuccessfully to suppress another groan. He squeezed his eyes shut for
a second until the wave of agony passed. When he opened them again, he was
surprised to see Elle standing before him, her gaze searching his face.
“Are you okay?” she asked, her hand
coming up to cup his jaw. The gentle warmth of her palm sent a chill through
him, making him shudder. Her hand immediately dropped away at the response,
mistakenly thinking her touch was unwanted when, in fact, he desperately he
craved it. “I’ll get the nurse.”
When she reached for the call
button hanging near the head of the bed, he gently grasped her wrist and drew
her hand away. “Leave it. I’m fine.”
She swallowed and dropped her gaze
briefly to their hands, looking like she wanted to bolt and rid herself of his
touch. He almost released her, saddened that she found the contact so unwanted.
But then he felt her pulse quicken beneath his fingertips.
So
maybe it wasn’t revulsion she was feeling after all…
When
her gaze drifted back up to his, he decided to test his new theory and let his
thumb slowly smooth over her skin. “How are you?” he asked softly.
She gave him a tremulous smile and,
God help him, he damned near dragged her into his arms and kissed her. But he
managed to restrain himself as she said, “Shaken up a bit. But no lasting
harm.”
He narrowed his eyes at that, not
believing her for a second. “You sure about that, honey?”
“I’ll be okay,” she assured him,
nodding a little, her lips pressed together as if she was trying to convince
herself of the truth of her words. “It’s just…” She sighed. “I almost died
yesterday.”
There it was. The truth they both
needed to face. Elle was no fool. Hell, she was brilliant as far as he was concerned.
She must’ve known as certainly as he did how close they’d both come to losing
their lives the previous day. So there was no denying her words, no use trying
to convince her she was mistaken.
“Yeah,” he said, still caressing
her pulse point. “You sleep at all last night?”
She shook her head, her eyes
beginning to glisten with unshed tears. “No. All I could see when I closed my
eyes was—” Her words broke off when her voice hitched with emotion.
Ah hell.
He slipped his hand into the thick
waves of hair at the base of her neck and pulled her toward him. Every inch of
him—especially those hidden under the blanket—longed to kiss her, but at the
last moment, he pressed his lips to her forehead in a lingering kiss.
He didn’t know what to say to make
her feel better. It wasn’t like that time when Todd Jenkins had broken up with
her a week before the homecoming dance and Gabe had hinted to Chris that maybe he
should ask her. Or the time her biggest rival was made editor of the school
yearbook and he’d broken into her locker before school to leave her flowers
(anonymously, of course). Or the time he’d given Aaron Maguire a fat lip when
that asshole had gotten a little grabby with Elle in spite of her saying no loud
and clear. Or the time he’d driven two hours to the college she was attending
to fix her car on the sly because her aunt Charlotte had mentioned that it
wasn’t running and Elle refused to ask for the money to fix it.
He’d been secretly looking out for
Elle for as long as he had known her, never letting on that he was the one,
never asking for anything in return. Knowing she was safe and happy was enough.
But he was at a loss on how to comfort her this time, when they were very
literally face to face.
He’d never known how to deal with a
woman when she was upset. He supposed he got that from his father, who wasn’t
exactly the most nurturing guy. Normally, Gabe bailed when things got serious
enough with a woman that she was actually sharing emotions. Okay, to be
honest, he usually bailed way before that. But seeing Elle looking lost and
afraid brought out a protective urge in him that he’d never really experienced
with anyone else—not to this extent, anyway.
He
could lie and say she’d be fine in a few days. But the truth was, it might be
something that haunted her far longer. God knew he had plenty of
nightmares—some of them walked and talked and dropped by for a visit in his
hospital room in the middle of the night.
Elle’s
hand came up to rest lightly on his chest, and he felt her breath quicken as
tension began to build in the air between them. “Thank you for saving my life,”
she whispered. She pulled back enough that their faces were just inches apart.
And for a moment, he thought she might actually kiss him. The
look in her eyes told him she was considering it, which shocked the hell out of
him…
Series: Protect
& Serve, #2
Author: Kate
SeRine
Pub Date:
October 4, 2016
ISBN:
9781492639169
It's All Harmless Flirting Until Someone Gets Shot...
Deputy Gabe Dawson has had his
eye on prosecuting attorney Elle McCoy for years. But the smart, sassy redhead
is immune to his legendary charm and good looks--until Gabe is shot on the
courthouse steps protecting Elle from a vengeful domestic extremist.
Elle has been protecting her
heart from the cocky playboy cop. But it's hard not to notice a guy when he
takes a bullet for you and seems determined to turn his life around. With
terrorists still at large and Elle a target, Gabe and his law enforcement brothers
kick into high gear to take down the threat. And as they work together, Elle
realizes she's losing her heart to a man who will risk it all to keep her safe
from harm.
Kate SeRine
writes award-winning romantic suspense and paranormal romance. A past recipient
of an Emily Award and the National Readers Choice Award, she has also been a
finalist in the Fire and Ice Contest, Finally a Bride Contest, and the Gayle
Wilson Award of Excellence. She lives with her husband and two sons outside
Indianapolis, Indiana. Connect with Kate at www.kateserine.com.
Buy Links:
Congrats on the release!
ReplyDelete