Tag Archives: romance

Have you been naughty or nice?

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

I know it seems early, but even as I type this there is a commercial on TV for the Rockette’s Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall, so I guess like it or not the holidays are coming. So why not get in the spirit with my NICE & NAUGHTY?
Nice & NaughtyWhat’s better than a fireman? Twelve of them, naked, on the pages of your calendar.

The hot firemen you loved inOpposites Attract are back with their friends, but now they’re wearing a lot less clothing and heating up the holidays like never before. Be prepared for secret identities, a sizzling calendar shoot, smoldering bachelor firemen up for auction, sexy Santas and a whole lot more!

Secret Recipe: A famous lifestyle maven who secretly can’t cook? Good thing a sizzling hot fireman/calendar model knows his way around the kitchen and is there to rescue her and her charity event from certain disaster. If they detour to the bedroom on the way to the kitchen, even better.

Mr. December: When the real December calendar man gets sick, a rich department store owner has to step in for him and play Santa. Once he meets the pretty lady photographer sent to cover the event, things really start to heat up. The only problem is, she has no idea who he really is, and he’s not all that keen on telling her.

Can’t Buy Me Love: What do you get when you take one over-worked caterer on the brink of a nervous breakdown and add a hunky fireman for sale at the charity bachelor auction she’s catering? You get a woman who finally finds the one gift to buy herself that she’s never going to want to return.

If you love the old black-and-white classic holiday movies such as Christmas in Connecticut, Shop Around the Corner and Holiday Inn, you’ll love the threeNice & Naughty stories they inspired.

This book was previously published. It has been reedited from the original version.

Amazon for Kindle

BN for Nook

AVAILABLE NOW AT:

All Romance eBooks

Bookstrand

Smashwords

Don’t miss Troy and Antonio’s stories in Opposites Attract

Available now!

The ABCs of an Erotic Romance Writer

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

Ever wonder what all the acronyms and terms mean that we romance authors throw around? Here is a quick primer in the ABCs of Erotic Romance.

ARC- Advanced Review Copy (sometimes Advanced Reader Copy). It’s a copy of the book given prior to release usually to book reviewers.

HEA- Happily Ever After. Think fairy tales. It’s required by many of today’s romance publishers

HFN- Happy For Now. The hero and heroine don’t have to declare their undying love and get married, but there is a promise that they are at least happy…for now.

M/M – Male/Male gay-themed romance (or F/F would represent 2 women)

M/F/M – a heterosexual threesome where the Male/Female/Male characters all have sex together however there is no direct same-sex sexual interaction between the men.

M/M/F- a threesome where the Male/Male/Female character all have sex together during which the men also interact sexually with each other.

GBLT – a genre in romance incorporating Gay/Bisexual/Lesbian/Transexual themes.

BDSM – a genre in romance with Bondage and Discipline/Dominance and Submission/Sadism and Masochism elements.

D/s or D/S  D usually stands for the dominant partner (or Dom/ dom) in the BDSM.  S (or s) usually stands for the submissive partner in BDSM

Galley – before a book goes to print, we review the galley and look for not only typos that may have been missed in the editing and proofreading stages, but also for formatting issues, page numbers, correct headers and footers, etc.

WiP – Work in Progress. Whatever book I’m in the middle of writing at the time.

FLE- Final Line Editor. After my editor is done, a FLE goes through the book to find any grammar, spelling, continuity or story issues.

The Big Six – the 6 big publishing houses who own most of the imprints you’d recognize.

Agency Model – a big mess where the publishers and the booksellers are in debate as to who gets to set pricing on third party sites like Amazon.

Legacy Publishing – the way publishing was done forever before digital came along. Authors (usually through an agent) submit, if contracted they receive an advance which will either be earned out or not. This model depends a very few huge name authors to sell many books and carry the rest.

Digital First- a publisher who releases the book in eBook format first and possibly will release some in print later. Generally authors are paid in royalties on actual sales and not with any form of advance. This model depends on sales spread among many authors.

Vanity Press – Author pays a publisher to put out their book.

Author Mill – a vanity press thinly disguised as a publisher.  They accept all author submissions and charge a lot of money (either on the front end or the back end) for the author to release their book through them.

POD – Print on Demand. A technology where books are printed as ordered. Usually in Trade Paperback size.

Self-publishing – the author acts also as publisher for either eBook, print or both.

Slush Pile – where your unsolicited book submission goes to wait for someone at the publisher to read it hopefully sometime before you die.

The above are fairly universal in the industry. Specific to my Tweet stream/Facebook page you may see the following:

ARe – All Romance eBooks, LLC, a digital bookseller who own AllRomance.com, OmniLit.com and ARe Cafe.

AAD – Authors After Dark. A convention for booklovers and authors held annually.

RT – Romantic Times Book Reviews Magazine throws a booklovers convention annually which we usually refer to just as RT.

PBR – The Professional Bull Riders organization (not Pabst Blue Ribbon if it’s in my Tweets!)

PRCA – Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association

NOTE: this is based upon my opinions, experiences and understanding from having written professionally since 1988. I may be wrong. Apologies if I am.

Opposites Attract

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

Opposites Attract

A Trilogy by Cat Johnson

TAKING A LEAP

Bradley Morgan is the quintessential computer geek and nice guy, through and through. The only problem is that in his opinion, nice guys almost always finish last when it comes to hot women like his sexy co-worker Alyssa Jones. But things change after Alyssa finds her boyfriend cheating. Suddenly, nice guys like Brad don’t look so bad. So when Brad agrees to ghostwrite the sex scenes for a romance novel as a favor for desperate client Maria White and asks for Alyssa’s help after hours, she agrees wholeheartedly and things really start to heat up. Brad and Alyssa learn you should never judge a book by its cover and that sometimes love requires a leap of faith.

LIGHT MY FIRE

Amy Gerald’s life is filled with whirlwind romance. Unfortunately, it’s all on the pages of the romance novels she publishes. That is until she volunteers to cat-sit for her friend Maria White and meets Troy O’Donnell, the hunky fireman who lives next door. The problem is, this commitment-phobic consummate bachelor is far more willing to run into a burning building than allow love into his life. Troy will grasp at any excuse, even the ridiculous assumption that Amy is a lesbian, just to avoid his growing feelings for her. Amid a comedy of errors and misunderstandings, which includes Troy’s first hilarious visit to a gay bar, Amy manages to light Troy’s fire, but can she also conquer his fears?

SECOND TIME AROUND

Antonio Sanchez thought that at 32 his life was all mapped out—wife, kids, career—until some major bumps in the road radically alter his course and send him careening right into the path of newly divorced Maddie Morgan. After being thrust back into single life, Antonio moves back in with his old-fashioned parents and has to learn to juggle being a part-time dad to his kids, his job at the firehouse and his role as Best Man for his newly engaged best friend Troy, all in addition to facing his unquenchable desire for Maddie. Throw in a slew of matchmaking friends and relatives, led by Maria whose apartment appears to be the Bermuda Triangle for floundering lovers and Antonio and Maddie discover just how complicated things can get. Can the pair prove that love really is better the second time around?

This book has been previously published. It has been edited for rerelease.

Another of my out-of-print “early” works, vintage 2006 Cat Johnson, if you will. This was my first romance ever contracted. I brushed it up a bit, tried to purge it of all my bad writing habits I thankfully since have outgrown, and I’m rereleasing it in digital only through AllRomance.com, Amazon.com, BN.com and Smashwords.com. All Romance has it now, and it’ll be up in a few days at the others. I’ll post links as I get them. Just beware the story has not changed so if you owned the original release Trilogy 102: Opposites Attract from Linden Bay, don’t buy this version.

Available for download now at:

ARe

Amazon for Kindle

BN for Nook

Before There Were Cowboys…

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

Just Desserts Cat JohnsonLong before I ever considered writing about uber alpha cowboys who are bull riders or ropers there were nerds. Believe it or not, my first stories were about computer geeks and the women who loved them.

No menages. No piggin strings. Just one-on-one romances about women–close girl friends–struggling to get through life, and the men they stumble upon along the way.

These first stories I wrote and published in 2006-7 would most closely fall into the romantic comedy genre I think. Sensual, but not nearly as scorching as the cowboy threesomes you’ve come to expect from me.

That doesn’t mean I don’t love these stories too. You’ll probably see most closely into my real life by reading them. The stars of Just Desserts are based in name and personality on my two actual friends Donna and Grace, and some of the incredible things that come out of their mouths in the book are actual quotes from real life. Grace’s proclamation “I’d rather be poor than unfashionable” is one example.

Just Desserts has been out of print for a while, but it’s back now, brushed up and with a fresh new cover and available at All Romance now for download in multiple formats, at Amazon for Kindle and Barnes & Noble for Nook.

BLURB

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but these three tales are hot, hot, hot!

Private Investigations
Donna is the kind of person who never thinks twice when it comes to helping a friend in need. So when her co-worker suspects her boyfriend of cheating, Donna is right there in the stakeout car next to her. Little does she know that their brief foray in private investigation will lead to her own investigating of a sexy PI’s privates.

Between Love and Hate
Jade thought she’d found the one, until she finds proof her boyfriend has been secretly meeting someone else. What’s a girl to do? Get back at him, of course. However, sometimes things aren’t always as they seem.

Saving Grace
As Valentine’s Day approaches, Grace realizes all of her friends have found the loves of their lives while she is still alone and lonely. But when a secret admirer sweeps her off her feet, she discovers that Mr. Right may really be oh-so-wrong. With help from an unexpected ally, can she get free of him before she finds herself all tied up?

This work has been previously published. It has been edited for rerelease. (What’s this mean? The stories haven’t changed, there is no added content but I corrected all the annoying bad habits I’ve outgrown. If you own it already from the first release in 2007, don’ t buy it again.)

Download (PDF, ePub and HTML) at ARe (All Romance eBooks)

at Amazon for Kindle

and at Barnes & Noble for Nook

Excerpt from Texas Two-Step–Let’s Dance!

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

Texas Two-Step

Contemporary, Westerns/Cowboys

Download at ARe ONLY.

Not available from Amazon, BN, Borders or any other eRetailer.

It takes two to tango, but three to do the two-step with these Texas cowboys…

Londoner Maryann Morrissy finds the companionship she’s missing by making friends on the Internet with fellow rodeo fans in the States. Her fiancé Robert doesn’t understand her new obsession. His mocking is just one more thing in a long list that convinces Maryann he’s not the man for her. Perfect timing, because Maryann is flying to Texas where two rodeo cowboys are waiting to show her the ropes.

Annoyed he has to pick up his sister’s British online buddy from the airport, tie-down roper Wes Griffin drags his best friend Shooter with him. Misery loves company until Wes sees Maryann get off the plane. When her sexy accent makes his heart do the two-step, Wes begins to wish he’d kept Maryann all to himself because Shooter is just as intrigued.

After the nasty end to Maryann’s engagement, she’s ready to take both cowboys on, but is Wes willing to share?

EXCERPT (rated G)

“What do you think she looks like?” Shooter surveyed the new arrivals in the terminal, the torn piece of cardboard Wes had made into a sign resting in one hand and propped against his chest.

Wes still couldn’t believe all it had taken to convince his friend to hold that stupid sign was the promise of an extra beer out of the twelve-pack they’d be sharing. The one that Ellen hopefully had already put in the fridge to chill for him while they waited for Brit Chick to arrive.

Shooter’s question was one Wes had already asked himself the moment he’d been assigned this task so he had an image of Maryann Morrissy already firmly planted in his head. “I’m picturing one of those British nannies like you see on TV. You know the ones I mean?”

“No, not really. What kinda television you watching any way? Ain’t no British nannies on the hunting channel, that’s for sure.” Shooter frowned.

“Come on. You’ve seen them. The ones with their hair pulled back into a really tight bun. They wear glasses and they’ve got thick ankles and wear big, ugly shoes. They could be old, could be young, but you can’t tell. They could be skinny, or could be fat, but you can’t really judge that either because they wear dresses that look like they were made outta a burlap sack.”

“Hope you’re wrong, man. I think this British chick is going to be really hot, like the ones you see wearing those corset things in movies about Henry the Eighth. You know those low-cut tops where all the goods are pushed up and out.” Shooter used his free hand to mime pushing up his imaginary boobs.

Wes shook his head. “You’re crazy. Even if corsets were still in style, I seriously doubt she’d be wearing one on the flight.”

His friend shrugged. “A man can dream, can’t he?”

“Yeah, keep dreaming there, buddy, because I’m pretty sure this is her flight and I don’t see any of Henry the Eighth’s wenches in corsets coming through that door.” What Wes did see was a slew of businessmen in suits looking like they were late for something somewhere, a mother with too many kids to handle alone, and a middle-aged women who smiled in his general direction to reveal crooked, yellowed teeth. Was this Brit Chick Maryann? “No corset there, thank God.”

“No corset, but she’s hot enough, she don’t really need one.”

Wes frowned at Shooter. “Hot? Her? What the hell are you talking about?”

Then he followed his friend’s gaze and saw what Shooter had seen. Coming through the other door, also smiling in their direction was a woman about their own age and looking like nothing he’d imagined Brit Chick would look like.

“Hello. I’m Maryann.” The lilt in her sweet voice shot straight through Wes, right down to his groin. Down below, Little Wes woke up to take notice and was apparently enjoying Maryann’s British accent from inside Wes’s jeans.

Shooter’s face lit up with a wide, goofy grin. “Hey, Maryann. I’m Shooter. Welcome to America.”

eBook Exclusively from ARe

Want it on your Kindle, Nook or iPod Touch/iPad? Look for instructions on how to transfer eBooks from ARe onto your reading devices HERE Also available from iBooks.

Cowgirl in the City

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

Author Cat Johnson Photo

Are you in the New York Tri-state area? Wanna meet me? Are you up for a night of fun?

Then have I got an event for you!

WHEN: September 6, 7 PM

WHAT: Live Reading from UNRIDDEN (Studs in Spurs, Book 1) by Cat at Lady Jane’s Salon (NYC’s first romance reading series)

WHERE: Madam X, 94 W Houston Street, New York, NY 10012, 212.539.0808, www.madamex.com

THE DETAILS: Lady Jane’s meets at Madame X (94 West Houston) on the first Monday of every month, 7-9 PM. Cash bar (Drinks are $5). Admission is $5 or one gently-used paperback romance novel with net proceeds supporting local women’s charities. There will also be signed books for sale and swag!

Counting down…

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

One month until the eRelease of JACK!

The best way to heal a broken heart is to jump right back on the horse. So to speak…

Red, Hot & Blue, Book 2

After watching the girl he’s crushed on for years fall for his best friend, the last thing special operative Jack Gordon wants is a vacation. If cooling his heels doesn’t drive him crazy, doing it under his family’s scrutiny will.

But once he’s back home things get more than a little interesting. The new farm hand is cute, sexy—and his instincts tell him she’s got something to hide. Luckily, he’s got the skills and the backup to find out what.

Gordon Equine is the perfect place for Niccolina Campolini. The Gordons pay in room, board and cash. And they don’t ask questions. Perfect for a girl on the run…until Jack shows up. Sexy as hell and far too inquisitive, Jack strikes sparks and suspicions that put both her body and her heart in danger.

Jack knows better than to trust a woman with as many shadows as Nicki, but the heat waves of their attraction are messing with his focus. And when her secrets catch up with her, he’s not sure if he’s protecting her from something, or protecting his family from her…

This book has been previously published and has been revised from its original release.

Warning: This book contains extremely stupid gangsters bearing guns, a bored team of special operatives looking for some action, and one Southern gentleman guaranteed to charm your panties off.

Kindle and Me

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

ANNOUNCING THE KINDLE RELEASE OF

CROSSING THE LINE

BY CAT JOHNSON

Crossing the Line Kindle

Link

In this modern day tale of forbidden romance, can love conquer all?

Carrie Armstrong joined the Air Force seeking education, experience, and travel. What she didn’t expect to find was the one thing military rules clearly state she can’t have, Staff Sergeant Beau Adams.

Throughout the 14 years of his life that Beau has dedicated to the Marine Corps, he’s never had reason to regret his decision to make the military his career, until now, when loving Carrie, the only woman he can picture growing old with, could cost him his future.

As the tension between them increases to the breaking point, their ability to resist temptation weakens. Forced to make a choice, do they willingly risk everything they’ve worked so hard to gain by crossing the line?

This book has been previously published and has been revised from its original release.

~

Authors, at least this author, sometimes have a love/hate relationship with Amazon. #Amazonfail, the Agency Model, the ironic removal of George Orwell’s 1984, etc, all lead to mixed feelings for the company, but for better or worse, they are here to stay. We can’t ignore the elephant in the room and facts have proven if you can’t beat them, join them. That is what I have done. I have joined forces with the behemoth. Only time will tell if I made the right choice. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and I have ventured, spurred on by pioneers such as JA Konrath, and on a slightly smaller scale Moira Rogers, before me.

So what am I blathering about? I, Cat Johnson, am now listed as a publisher on Amazon.

Quietly I’ve been reworking an out-of-print title from my backlist. It’s no secret when Linden Bay Romance was purchased by Samhain Publishing, my backlist went off sale. I love Samhain and I’ve had great success re-releasing my cowboy and military series with them, as well as my newly written, never before published works. But getting a two dozen story backlist out again takes time and we are all subject to publishing schedules and editorial staff workloads. While I worked with the Samhain staff to get my series out, I realized I had one book that is not connected to any series. That I could easily pluck this book out and release it on Kindle almost immediately.

Crossing the Line is a military romance I worked on with my USMC consultant while he was in Djibouti. It isn’t connected to any series. Rather than let it sit on my hard drive untouched, or try to release it with Samhain when I’d rather have those limited release slots used to get my Task Force Zeta (now the Red, Hot & Blue) series re-released, I decided to throw it up on Kindle and see what happens.

It’s a kind of experiment really. You see I started in the ePub world back in 2006 when self-publishing was a dirty word. Suddenly, Kindles and iPads have opened up untapped reader dollars and it seems every author wants in on the self-pub gig. Big authors, small authors, and all those in between. Self-publishing is the new black. The stigma has been removed, or at least it has become less visible, coincidentally about the time Amazon raised its Kindle royalty rate for US sales to 70%.

I wouldn’t really call Crossing the Line a true self-publishing effort. After all, it was previously contracted with a publisher, and released by them in both eBook and trade paperback. It’s been through edits with a “real” editor. And now I’ve gone through it again and reworked it myself, changing things I didn’t like first time around. There’s even still a few used paper copies from the original release for sale by used booksellers on Amazon for between $49 and about $150. (Don’t buy those please. Way overpriced and I get none of it.)

Anyway, I thought why not give this Kindle self-pub thing a try? From what I’ve read, I’m a pretty good candidate. I’m still releasing new works and have a good following with Samhain. I have books out with Tease, Phaze and Sapphire Blue as well. Every new release increases sales of my backlist, so why wouldn’t it also spread to sales of my self-pubbed Crossing the Line? I’m not sure my readers could tell you who some of my books are published by, so that shouldn’t stop them. After all, a Cat Johnson book is a Cat Johnson book. It will have my voice, my typical witty dialogue and my usual Alpha males, regardless of what name is listed under “publisher”.

We’ll see, I suppose. Meanwhile, Amazon made it easy. Once I got the proofreading done, and the document formatting down, the upload process was simple. Amazon did email me for proof that all rights had reverted to me before they would approve it for release. I’m happy they did that. It instills confidence that someone wouldn’t be able to just claim to be me and release one of my old books.

Oh, and I had to redesign a new cover. Being cheap, and since this is an experiment, I decided to give it a shot myself. I’m pretty happy with it, actually. My Photoshop skills are pitiful but I’m pretty proud of the result. What do you think? Not bad for an amateur.

So now after a 3 day wait, Crossing the Line is finally up there. Things are not perfect. There is no blurb, even though I sent them one to upload. I’ll have to work on that. And I’m not listed as the publisher, Amazon is. Oh well. I can live with that.

Take a trip to Amazon and look at my page for MY book, which for the first time in my writing career is truly all mine. And if you happen to read it, please leave a comment, either good or bad. The dirty little secret is that Amazon will only recommend a book to readers if it has 20 or more reader comments/reviews. (A LITTLE HINT: I don’t read my Amazon comments, I’m no longer allowed to for my own sanity, so I won’t know what you write anyway.)

Coming next-a Kindle tutorial AKA You don’t need a Kindle device to read a Kindle book. But more on that later…

Cat

New Review for BUCKED

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

“Mustang is the kind of man who would make a woman dream of happily ever after… This story is both heart warming and at times a little heart wrenching, but you won’t want to miss it. It will make you want to come back for the next book in the Studs in Spurs series. I can’t wait…”

Judy King, Veiled Secrets Reviews

Excerpt from Trey (Red, Hot & Blue, Book 1) Today’s New Release

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson


They can’t deny the heat—it’s the only thing keeping them alive.

A distracted soldier is a dead solder. That’s special operative Trey Williams’ motto. The last thing he needs in his life is a girlfriend. Problem is, the woman who’s been recruited to pose as his wife on a special assignment is proving to be exactly the kind of distraction he can’t afford.

Years ago, Carly McAfee turned her back not only on her military career, but the men who come with it. So why did she say yes to a mission that puts her in intimate contact with Trey, under 24/7 surveillance by both bad guys and good? One slip, and they’re both dead. It’s not long, though, before her body betrays her, followed closely by her heart.

With a terrorist arms deal going down and missing teammate’s life on the line, Carly and Trey must throw caution to the wind in the scorching-hot performance of their lives—and try not to lose their hearts and minds in the process.

This book has been previously published and has been revised and expanded from its original release.

Warning: Contains bad men with big guns and video cameras, and an unmarried couple who need to get naked and get busy acting very married to save both their country and their lives.

An excerpt from

Trey

Copyright © 2010 Cat Johnson

All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. Publication

“What the hell, Trey? Why did you tell the commander she’d be perfect?”

He shook his head at Jack’s question. “I don’t know. He caught me off-guard. Besides, what was I supposed to do? Lie?”

“Yes. Taking her undercover to meet the target. Are you trying to get her killed?”

Trey closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “No, of course not. I have every intention of bringing us both home alive. And Jimmy too, if it comes to that.”

Jack shook his head. “You better.”

Blowing out a breath, Trey realized it was not going to be fun being trapped in a room to wait with Jack.

Trey was correct. They spent the next fifteen minutes in awkward silence until the rest of the team finally returned. He didn’t know how they’d done it, but they walked in with Carly in less than twenty minutes and boy oh boy, she didn’t seem happy about it.

She entered the meeting room looking pissed off and confused. When she saw him and Jack, she stopped dead, hands on her hips. “Maybe you two will tell me what the hell is going on since these guys wouldn’t say a thing when they dragged me out of my apartment at the crack of frigging dawn.”

Trey had seen the crack of dawn on many occasions and O-eight-forty did not qualify. She must have been out of the military for a long time. But running a bar made her schedule pretty much the opposite of his. He could appreciate her opinion of being yanked out of bed after his own long night babysitting a drunk Jack.

Speaking of Jack… He had jumped to his feet the moment Carly entered the room, but before he even had a chance to hey, darlin’ her, the commander was at the door of his office. “Williams. Get in here and bring the girl with you. We have exactly fifty minutes before the plane is scheduled to leave.”

The commander strode to his desk. He sat and addressed Carly, “Shut the door behind you.”

Trey had to give Carly credit. Even though she looked pissed as hell, she silently followed him into the office and closed the door. Then she stood there with her arms crossed, waiting.

He watched the commander appraise her from head to toe. “Not bad.”

At that comment, Carly’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. She opened her mouth to speak and Trey jumped in before she could.

“Sir, Ms. McAfee hasn’t been apprised of the situation as yet and is a bit confused.”

She didn’t look any happier he had spoken for her, but at least he stopped her from laying into the commander.

“Of course. Ms. McAfee, we’re requesting your help in a matter of national security. If you decide to help us, you’ll be told as little as possible, your life will be in danger and you can never tell anyone about what you’ve done, ever. In addition, you’ll have to make your decision within the next fifteen minutes and leave for your assignment immediately.”

She surprised Trey by laughing. “Well, since you make it sound so tempting and all…” She rolled her eyes and looked at Trey. Then she questioned him directly. “Am I necessary for the success of whatever this ‘assignment’ is?”

Trey considered his answer carefully. “Your presence will increase the chances of the success of this assignment. Yes.”

“Increase it by how much? From like ninety percent without me to one hundred percent with me?”

Trey glanced at the commander who answered for him. “More like sixty percent without you and seventy-five percent with you.”

They both watched her carefully as she took a deep breath. Trey knew, or at least hoped, the commander was giving her the worse-case scenario to make sure she was aware of what she was getting herself into and exactly how dangerous it would be because those odds pretty much sucked.

“Why me, specifically?” She directed her question at the commander.

“Honestly? Mostly because you look like her and we don’t have time to find anyone else.” The commander slid a print copy of the photo of the woman across his desk.

Carly walked closer, picked it up and studied it. After a moment she glanced up at Trey then back to the commander. “All right.”

The commander raised a brow. “That’s it? No more questions?”

Her short laugh sounded bitter. “Would you answer them if I asked?”

The commander smiled. “Probably not.”

“Then it would be a waste of time, now wouldn’t it?”

The commander nodded. “You’ll do well I think, McAfee. Williams will brief you on the flight over, but here’s a quick overview. You’re playing a newlywed American wife. Williams is your husband and as his wife you are devoted, loving and obedient and will do whatever he says.”

Carly screwed up her face, mumbling, “Good thing I took acting in college.”

The commander pretended he didn’t hear her, but continued a bit more loudly. “More importantly, he’s your field leader on this assignment and as such you’ll do whatever he commands, no questions asked.

This is imperative. Hesitation could cost lives. He’ll be in constant contact with myself and any others who may be working with us. You have to trust him implicitly and without discussion, because you must assume every minute, everywhere, you will be monitored by those who can do you harm. I mean not even a whisper, McAfee. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

Trey noted she was already standing a little straighter and calling the commander “sir”. Military training was just like riding a bike. You never really forgot it.

“Good. You’re quick and you’re tough, McAfee. I can see that. You must be to deal with these guys drunk every night. I wouldn’t be sending you on this assignment if I didn’t think you would succeed. One last thing—” the commander turned to Trey, “—Williams, go kiss your new bride.”

It was a test. Trey knew that. A test both for himself and for Carly. Keeping his role in mind, he became the newlywed husband who was supplying arms to terrorist bastards.

Without hesitation, Trey strode to where she stood. More petite up close than she appeared when she was wielding her larger-than-life attitude while slinging beer behind her bar, in reality she came up only to about his chest.

He tangled one hand in her hair so she couldn’t pull her head away, not that she tried. He slipped the other beneath the hem of the shirt where it just met the jeans riding low below her waist. Her skin felt warm and smooth to the touch. He slid his hand higher and let his thumb rest just below the lush curve of her breast.

Trey had to duck his head down to reach her. She stared up at him, her eyes liquid pools of green clearly showing her surprise as he bent and captured her mouth.

Kissing her hard and deep, he parted her lips and drove his tongue between them before he or she had too much time to think about it. In this particular situation thinking would be bad.

She didn’t squirm or pull away. In fact, she actually tilted her head and allowed him greater access to the warm, wet recesses of her mouth. As his tongue met and stroked hers, he felt a stirring in his pants.

There was no way to kiss a woman this attractive this deeply and not have it affect him. He was a healthy male after all, but he didn’t need a raging hard-on in front of both Carly and the commander.

When he thought how he and Carly would be sharing a bed as they portrayed a married couple for the duration of this mission his mind went to bad places, and his erection followed. Trey quickly broke the kiss.

Trying to ignore both his pounding heart and his rapidly expanding lower appendage, he dropped his hands from her too-tempting body and turned to the commander. “Sir?”

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