Never
Underestimate the Power of F*ck It
It’s the
motto I live by, and it’s what made me the Navy SEAL I am today. The less you care, the better. Even when I woke up in a hospital in India
with no memory of the last few months and everything pointing to me being a
traitor involved with some pretty dangerous people, I knew I could handle it.
Then they
kidnapped Charlotte—my little sister’s best friend and an organized control
freak with a fear of commitment to anything but her ten-year plan.
I can’t remember
what I’ve supposedly done, or who’s trying kill us. All I know is I have to rescue Charlotte and
get us both out of this mess alive.
But I
hadn’t counted on Charlotte having her own agenda. She’s inexplicably haunted my dreams for
months, and now she’s making my reality a living hell. Because Miss Always-in-Control is hellbent
and determined to lose that control she holds on to so tightly, and she wants
to lose it with me…
“I know you like to know exactly what’s going to happen and how and
when. But that’s not how it’s going to
happen tonight. Tonight, it’s all or nothing.
You give all the control, all the decisions, all the power to me. No lists, no rules, no overthinking it, no
trying to orchestrate it all. You
relinquish it all to me, or not at all.”
“All of it?” My
voice squeaks, but Liam doesn’t waver.
“All of it,” he
says in that stern, take-no-bullshit tone that makes me simultaneously thrilled
and terrified. Then he cups my cheek in
his hand and adds softly, “All of you.”
Arousal shoots
straight to my sex like a flaming arrow seeking its target, but it’s accompanied
by a lifetime of fear of letting go, of being vulnerable and giving anyone the
power to hurt me. Can I do this? I’m
powerless to say no. Some little part of
me had wanted to keep a little control over things tonight, but faced with the
choice of giving myself wholly to Liam or going back to Charleston, back to my
old life with regret, if we even survive…it’s a no-brainer. If I’m really going to be different, if I’m
really going to learn to ride the waves and experience the thrill that comes from
actually living, I have to stop
planting my feet in the sand. And I want
this experience with Liam more than I’ve ever wanted anything.
“Okay.”
The smile he
gives me could power the entire resort.
“Give me your wrists.”
“What?”
“Give me your
wrists.” His voice has lowered an octave and has a rasp to it that is doing
strange things to my insides.
Oh God. “Um.
I…we…maybe we should take this slow?” I stammer.
“Oh, we will.”
The way he says it makes me think we’re not talking about the same thing. “Now
give me your wrists.”
“I have a better
idea. Why don’t we sit on the patio for
a few minutes, maybe talk a little…”
I trail off as he
closes the distance between us in two steps, his fingers in my hair as he wraps
my hair around his hand and tugs, forcing my head back. Distant memories of my dad flash through my
mind and I think he’s going to be angry—after all, I’ve just proven I can’t
even do the first thing he’s asked me without arguing—but instead he presses his
lips to my neck, kissing me softly. “You always think you have a better idea,
don’t you?” he says softly.
This is
Liam. Not my father, but the man who
makes me feel safe, who makes me laugh, who somehow makes me feel empowered
with every ounce of control I give up.
“Well, um…mmmmm.”
I sigh with pleasure as his lips slowly travel toward my ear. “I do have pretty good ideas.”
“How are we going
to settle this battle for control we seem to have?” His teeth are nibbling on my earlobe
now. “Especially since you keep telling
me you want to lose it.”
“Ummm.” I can’t
think straight with his tongue tracing the outline of my ear.
With my hair
still tightly gripped in his hand, he tugs my head back. His eyes are
glittering as he says, “Don’t get me wrong, sweetheart. I get horny as hell when you make lists and
get all organized and try to control shit, because that’s when you need me to
distract you most. To put you to work and quiet your mind. But if you want to
dance, then you’re going to have to trust me to lead. You’re going to have to give me all of
you. Starting with your wrists.”
Echoing Books 