Forbidden desire...
Marine captain Gabe Pennington knows how to keep a secreta little too well. Hes been in love with his best buddys wife since they met. And he cant forget the stolen, passionate kiss they once shared. But now Annie Jennings has been a widow for two years, and Gabe wants her more than ever.
Except that Annie still isnt ready to say goodbye to her deceased husband. Instead, Gabe can only hope that the searing chemistry between them is enough to convince Annie to move onand forget her promise to never again date military guys. Especially because Gabe still has one secret eating away at him. And its a secret that could set Annie free...or destroy her faith in love forever.
Youre the most amazing woman I know...
Cupping Annies cheek in his hand, Gabe bent close and kissed her.
It was something hed been thinking about since the moment they first met. How many nights had he imagined what it might be like to hold her in his arms, to be the one that she waited for day after day, to know that she loved him?
Her lips were soft and warm, and Gabe gently probed the crease of her mouth with his tongue, deepening the kiss. She moaned, then suddenly pressed her hands to his chest, pushing him away.
She stared up at him, and a heartbeat later her palm met his cheek, stunning him back to reality.
You need to leave. Right now. Just go, please.
Annie, I
I dont want to hear it, she said, placing her hands over her ears and shaking her head. Her eyes flooded with tears. Get out.
As he walked out of the shed, Gabe cursed himself. What the hell had he been thinking?
Hed just betrayed his best friend.
Dear Reader,
Its true that time does pass quickly when youre having fun. In August 1993, my first book was published by Harlequin, a story called Indecent Exposure written for the Temptation line.
Since then, Ive written ninety more books, mostly for Blaze. Twenty-three years have come and gone!
Ive lived in three different places, gained and lost countless pounds, said goodbye to sweet feline friends, blown up numerous computers and laptops and visited many story settings, both in person and via the internet. I dont know whats next for me, but I know it will be fun to find out. I hope you come along for the ride!
Happy reading,
Off Limits Marine
Kate Hoffmann
www.millsandboon.co.uk
KATE HOFFMANNs first book was published by Harlequin in 1993, and in the twentysome years since, she has written ninety stories for the publisher. When she isnt writing, she enjoys genealogy, golfing and directing student theater productions. She lives in southeastern Wisconsin with her two cats, Winnie and Gracie.
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To Birgit, Malle, Susan, Marsha, Brenda, Adrienne and Johannafor all youve done to make me a better writer.
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
Introduction
Dear Reader
Title Page
About the Author
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Extract
Copyright
Prologue
HE OUGHT TO be used to funerals by now. Hed been to enough of them over the years that he expected his grief to be numbed, reduced to a dull ache.
Marine Captain Gabriel T. Pennington drew a deep breath of the warm evening air. In the distance, he heard the sound of a fighter jet, taking off from Miramar, and he looked up at the sky, searching for the vapor trail in the late-afternoon light.
This was a different kind of grief, though. Deep and powerful, like a wound that wouldnt heal. Hed lost his best friend, a guy hed known for a decade. And unlike the other funerals hed attended, this one wasnt followed quickly by a return to active duty and the strange rhythms of a war zone to occupy his thoughts.
He cast his gaze across the wide lawn, his eyes fixed on an old shed set on the rear of the property. It had been two weeks since theyd laid Marine Captain Erik Jennings to rest and Gabe was still looking for something to ease the ache inside him. Perhaps this was it.
The shed door rattled as he drew it aside along a rusty runner. The light switch was beside the door and Gabe flipped it on, then squinted against the harsh glare from a bare bulb.
The familiar lines of the sleek wooden sloop were visible, even when hidden by the dusty tarp. He pulled the canvas cover aside, revealing a sailboat sorely in need of some tender loving care. Running his hand along the faded bright work, Gabe smiled to himself, remembering the late nights theyd spent working on the boat.
Erik had bought the old sloop with money he and Annie had received for their wedding five years before. Hed named it the Honeymoon and convinced Annie that one day hed leave the military behind and sail her around the world. To most people, it might have looked like a lark, but to Erik and Annie, the boat had been an insurance policy, a promise that theyd have a happy future together, even if the military kept them apart.
Gabe and Erik had been friends since their plebe year at the naval academy. Ten years of friendship that had taken them to the far side of the world and back, Gabe as a Marine helicopter pilot based out of Camp Pendleton, and Erik as a Marine F-18 pilot out of Miramar, call signs Angel and Breaker.
Theyd come from opposite coasts of the country, Erik from San Diego, the son of a surgeon and a socialite, and Gabe from Portland, Maine. His father was a lobsterman and his mother taught school. Theyd arrived at Annapolis with two goals in mindgraduating first in their class and nabbing a spot in Marine Aviation School immediately after that. Their choice of the Marine Corps had put them in the minority among the sailors at the naval academy, but it had bonded them as brothers.
Gabe had been Eriks best man at his wedding to Annie Foster, and now a pallbearer at his funeral. Was that full circle? he wondered. Somehow, it seemed as if Erik would never have a chance to finish his circle.
Death had become an accepted part of military life, at least at this point in time. And yet the loss of a friend, a subordinate or even a soldier hed never met had become harder and harder to rationalize.
Erik had been doing what he loved. He was a patriot. He gave the ultimate sacrifice. All of the words rang hollow when Gabe realized that hed never see his best friend again. Theyd never share a few laughs over a beer. Theyd never joke their way around a golf course or work late into the night on a moldy old sailboat.
What are you doing out here?
Gabe opened his eyes to find Annie standing in front of him. Her eyes were red and she clutched a wadded handkerchief in her hand. Even in her state of grief, she was more beautiful than he remembered. His fingers clenched with an instinctive urge to reach out and touch her, to smooth his hand across her cheek.
Gabe smiled and shrugged. I just wanted to take a last look.
Last look? she murmured, then took a ragged breath. You got your orders?
He nodded. This morning. Im headed back to Afghanistan. Gabe forced a smile. He had always been happy to get his orders, to have a purpose to his life. But not this time.
Annie nodded. Its time you get back to your own life. Its been two weeks. Although Ive appreciated all your help with sorting and packing, I can get along fine on my own.
I know you can, Gabe said.
Im glad you do, because Im not so sure. I keep trying to catch my breath, but it just...hurts. She pressed her hand to her chest. Im trying to be strong, but I cant do it. Im just so...angry.
Youre allowed to feel whatever you feel, Gabe said.
It was a training exercise, Annie said. Would I feel differently if hed been shot down over Afghanistan? At least Id have an enemy to blame. Who do I blame now?
It was an accident, Gabe said. Theres no one to blame.
They think it was pilot error, Annie countered.
Gabe gasped, frowning as he met her gaze. Is that what they told you? I hadnt heard.
Theyve just started the investigation, but they warned me that the report might come back as pilot error. They wanted me to be prepared.
No way, Gabe said, shaking his head. Erik was a great pilot. He didnt make mistakes. He was a fanatic about safety, and there isnt another pilot in the US Marine Corps who could pull himself out of an emergency situation better than Erik.
Annie dabbed at her nose with the handkerchief and nodded, his words seeming to bring her some sort of comfort. She slowly circled the boat, running her fingertips along the blue fiberglass hull. Look at this raggedy thing, she said. I must have been crazy to say yes when he told me he wanted to buy it. Annie looked over at him. You wouldnt want to buy a sailboat, would you?
Gabe shook his head. I dont think so.
I suppose Im going to have to sell it.
Youve got some time to decide, he said.
Annie shook her head. I have decided. Im going back home, she said. My parents asked if I wanted to take over the sailing school, and I said yes. There are just so many memories here, Im not sure I could bear it.
Silence descended over the interior of the shed as she continued to circle the sailboat. As Gabe watched her, his mind wandered back to the very first time he laid eyes on her. He and Erik had a weekend pass and had wandered along the waterfront in Annapolis, only to find themselves in the middle of the victory celebrations for a sailboat race. Annie had captained the winning boat, and as was the custom, her crew had thrown her into the water.
You looked like a drowned rat, Gabe murmured.
She glanced over her shoulder, and his heart stopped. The way the light framed her face, the soft wave of pale hair that fell across her cheek. Her beauty took his breath away.
What? she asked.
What?
She smiled winsomely. You said something.
I was just remembering the day you and Erik met. When he pulled you out of the harbor. You looked like a drowned rat.
Gabe had been first to step to the edge of the dock, offering his hand. But Erik had playfully shoved him aside and come to her rescue. It had been the genesis of their call signs, Breaker and Angel. Erik had been the bad boy, the heartbreaker, while Gabe had been his alter ego, the good guy who always did the right thing.
Hed always wondered what might have been if hed done the wrong thing that day, shoving Erik aside and declaring his intentions to his best friend.
Oh, yes. My hero. I was lucky he was there. You would have probably let me drown.
Ive always thought you were the kind of woman who could save herself, he said.
She opened her mouth to speak, then shook her head. I hope I am, she said after a long silence. I feel like Im going under and I cant get back to the surface.
Give yourself some time, Gabe said.
This is nice, she murmured. Talking to you. Its always been so...weird between us. I always got the feeling that you didnt approve of me.
Thats not true, Gabe said.
I know it must have been difficult. You guys were best friends, and then I came along like a third wheel.
He couldnt tell her the truth. From the moment hed first seen her, standing on the dock, soaked to the skin, hed been smitten. Shed been everything hed ever wanted, smart and funny and beautiful in a pure and natural way. Of course, Erik had moved first and used his extraordinary charms to lock her down. Within an hour of their first conversation, Gabe knew that there would be no reversal of her affections. Her heart belonged to Erik.