A navy SEAL takes on a death-defying assignment to save the one who got away
With the island nation of St. Marc erupting in civil war, SEAL Jarrett Adler must rescue the woman he never got overhis alluring ex-wife, Lacey. Jarrett regrets failing her as a husband, and he hopes protecting her will offer a second chance to win her trust.
As charming and sexy as Jarrett still is, Lacey knows he wont stick around. Shes found her niche in nonprofit work and longs to create a family of her own. But when death threats and bombs arrive at her door, she turns to the man who still holds her heart. Can Jarrett and Lacey navigate their way homeand back into each others arms?
This time shed listen to her broken heart, and not her hormones, even though her heart jumped at the sight of him.
He had never been there for her before, and certainly wasnt staying now.
Lacey managed to find her voice. I hope this is a bad dream and Ill wake up and find you gone.
Her ex-husband pulled out a chair, turned it around and straddled it. Well, darling, it seems your nightmare isnt going away. Neither am I.
She managed to conceal her trembling hands by wrapping her fingers tight around the beer bottle. Lacey took a deep drink, relishing the cool wash of liquid sliding down her throat. It reminded her of that time after theyd consumed several beers and then hed kissed her and they had
Not. Going. There.
Go away, Jarrett. If youre here on a mission, arent you supposed to be invisible in your invincibility?
He did not smile. Flickering candlelight on the table revealed the sharp angles and planes of his lean face. Jarrett looked all business.
Youre my mission. Im taking you out of here.
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Dear Reader,
Navy SEAL Seduction began on a warm February evening in a country I often visited for twenty-two years in my work as a humanitarian writer. I sat outside the hotel where I was staying and a group of the presidents security guards crossed the terrace. Suddenly Jarrett, the hero, came to mind as clear as the guns the men carried. I could see Jarrett dining with Lacey, his ex-wife, and feel his worry and fear as Lacey shrugs off the impending violence simmering in the background.
Jarrett is a strong, sexy Navy SEAL who still loves his ex-wife, though he has fought these feelings since the divorce. He is determined to protect Lacey and keep her safe from all harm. Lacey still feels the old passion kindling when she sees Jarrett, but when he was deployed after she miscarried their baby, she felt abandoned. Although he makes her feel alive, and cherished and safe, she cant risk falling in love with him all over again. But when it becomes clear that someone is targeting Lacey and sabotaging the charity she runs, she realizes Jarrett is the only one she can trust to protect her and her adopted daughter.
Jarrett and Lacey are two people who need a second chance at love. Theirs is a story of passion and love, strength in the face of adversity, and having the courage to do what is right, not what is easy.
I hope you enjoy Navy SEAL Seduction.
Happy reading!
Bonnie Vanak
Navy SEAL
Seduction
Bonnie Vanak
www.millsandboon.co.uk
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author BONNIE VANAK is passionate about romance novels and telling stories. A former newspaper reporter, she worked as a journalist for a large international charity for several years, traveling to countries such as Haiti to report on the sufferings of the poor. Bonnie lives in Florida with her husband, Frank, and is a member of Romance Writers of America. She loves to hear from readers. She can be reached through her website, bonnievanak.com.
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In memory of my uncle, Donald Fischer, who flew B-24s as a bombardier during WWII and was shot and injured on his 13th mission over German-occupied territory. Thanks for all the memories and the stories you shared.
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
Introduction
Dear Reader
Title Page
About the Author
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Extract
Copyright
Chapter 1
Everything was going to be all right, even if he had to resort to using his pistol on his ex-wife.
Cold sweat trickled down his back. US Navy SEAL Lt. Jarrett Iceman Adler rolled up the cuffs of his white shirt, tucked his loaded Sig Sauer P226 into the leather holster hanging on the belt of his black trousers and prepared for the most challenging mission of his life: dragging his ex-wife back to the United States, where shed be safe from a country about to explode into violence and from the terrorist interested in donating to her nongovernmental organization.
He walked out onto the balcony of his hotel room, taking a deep breath as he studied the sweep of sagging tin hovels dotting the mountainside. Here in the rich enclaves of the capital, poverty snuggled side by side with the wealthy, who hid behind massive stone fences decorated with colorful pink-and-purple bougainvillea. In the distance sirens bleated as three floors below on the streets, horns blared, dogs barked and people shouted in French in the rhythm of the city at rush hour.
Hed listened all day to the radio. The reports were scattered, a volley of excited French talking about protests downtown regarding the elections in two days. The city was hot, and before long, violence would spill out all over the city, a stream leaking onto the streets like gasoline waiting for a lit match. His instincts warned the tiny island nation of St. Marc was a pressure cooker about to explode.
And Lacey was square in the middle of it.
His chest felt hollow as he stared for the tenth time at the old photo of Lacey he still carried in his wallet. Her large blue eyes sparkled with life, and her wide mouth was open in a delighted laugh. Hed dreamed of her two nights ago and tossed and turned in his bed, remembering the good times they had shared.
His CO had ordered him to take leave, so Jarrett decided to head to St. Marc to visit his good friend and SEAL buddy Kyle Ace Taylor, who was recuperating at a posh beachside resort managed by his widowed sister. Upon his arrival, Ace warned him Lacey was in deep.
No matter what it took, hed get her home safely.
He dedicated his life to fighting for his country. But after the last mission hed led nearly turned into a royal goat fluster, Jarrett wondered if it was time to step aside. Being a SEAL meant spinning the roulette wheel of broken bones, banged knees, gunshot wounds and worse. On the last mission, the teams communications expert, Cooper, narrowly missed coming home in a body bag. As the missions leader, Jarrett felt responsible.
Jarrett ran a hand through his dark hair, then headed out toward the third-floor elevators. What would Lacey say when she saw him? Would she be delighted? Appalled? Horrified? Turned on?
Sex had never been a problem with them.
His mouth twisting in a wry grin, he punched the elevator button and went downstairs.
Soft amber lamps hanging on the wall lit the hotel lobby, casting shadows on the white-bricked walls. The marble lobby flowed down to a bar, where three men sat on stools nursing bottles of beer. Jarrett chose the stool overlooking the courtyard, his back to the wall.
He ordered a Jameson neat and sipped the drink. Two minutes later his target walked past, a spring in her step, a smile on her face, her long blond hair swinging in a ponytail tied back with a tortoiseshell clip. Black trousers covered her legs, and a white peasant blouse displayed her curves. Jarretts gut clenched with longing. Hell, he hadnt expected this kind of reaction. Stay cool. Lowering his head, he pretended to be absorbed in his drink. But deep inside he felt the old, familiar pain, the sense of loss and, worse, the yearning that squeezed him from the inside out.
Hips gently swaying with feminine grace he knew was totally natural, she walked outside to a metal table in the courtyard. A man in a black business suit greeted her French-style, a kiss on each cheek. He looked older, stylish and wealthy, with looks women swooned over. Jarrett recognized him from the newspaper clipping Ace had providedPaul Lawrence, the vice president of the board of directors for Laceys NGO.
Jarrett dragged in a deep, calming breath and willed away his jealousy. Steady. He focused on the mission. Always the mission.
Target: Lacey Stewart. Only child of Senator Alexander Stewart, retired corporate scion whod made millions by opening outlets of exclusive espresso coffee shops across the United States and then chose to enter politics. Lacey Stewart, president of Marlees Mangoes, a nongovernmental organization operating in St. Marc for four years.
Ives, the friendly waiter whom hed tipped liberally these past two nights to find out about the meeting Lacey had arranged at this hotel, came over to greet him with a wide smile.
Everything is going according to your plan, Ives told him.
Jarrett slipped Ives a US fifty-dollar bill to tell the dreamboat with Lacey the important client he awaited was out front and something was wrong.
As soon as the dreamboat left the table, Jarrett downed his whiskey and wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. With a long-legged stride, silent as if he glided through water and not walked on tile, he walked out of the hotel onto the courtyard, shaded by several sprawling mahogany and palm trees.
Busy peeling the label off her beer bottlehad anything changed? She still had that nervous habitshe didnt notice. Jarrett planted his size twelves square in her line of sight. Now she did finally look up and her rosebud mouth parted in a shocked gasp. But there was no mistaking the flare of heat in her gaze and the same quiet longing hed harbored.
He nodded.
Hello, Lacey. Nice to see you again.
* * *
A tall, muscled pirate in a clean white shirt and black trousers stood before her in the courtyard of Le Soleil Hotel. Scowling to hide her emotions, she stared, her heart racing as if shed run a mile up and down the nearby mountain. Black hair cropped short, he wore a pressed white shirt, the cuffs rolled up to display tanned, muscled forearms. Smooth cheeks, strong jaw and a nose that had been broken at least once. Rugged, tough and those eyes, green as the ocean water he navigated on a mission.
Those eyes had turned smoky and dark with passion as theyd made love, and cold as the Arctic the day shed announced shed hired a lawyer to initiate divorce proceedings. Whoa, he still had it. Hot, hot, hot, as the locals said. Bad boy to the extreme, who made her female parts say Why, hello there!
Her female parts needed to stay quiet. This time shed listen to her broken heart and not her hormones, even though her heart jumped at the sight of him.
He had never been there for her before, and certainly wasnt staying now.