Extreme Engagement: Secret Maneuvers, Book 3 E-Book

Amanda Adams

• Herausgeber: Tydbyts Media
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Sophia is being pushed into an arranged marriage with a man she loves…but not like that. He’s a friend. His kisses make her wonder if this is it? Is this life? Love? Is this her destiny?

She wants sparks. Lightning bolts. Passion.
She wants an adventure with a man who makes her toes curl and her heart race.

Trevor Olsen wants peace. Something he’s never had. Not when his dad started drinking. Not when his mother finally filed for divorce. And not when he got the hell out of there at eighteen and joined the military. Now he’s out. Home. And he’s had enough conflict to last a lifetime. Or so he thinks, until he meets Sophia.

He wants her in his bed. He wants to keep her. Only problem is, her family hates his guts, her wanna-be fiancé is looking for a fight, and the beautiful woman he can’t stop thinking about?

She’s fire and ice.

So much for not getting burned…

Leseprobe

Extreme Engagement

Secret Maneuvers, Book 3

Amanda Adams

Contents

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

Books by Amanda Adams

About the Author

1

Trevor

Stepping out into the cool stream, the bright sun beating down its warmth on my neck, I cast my line and patiently waited as still as I could be. If I could keep myself from moving, the fish wouldn't dart away. The artificial worm I was using would hopefully do the trick and let me hook one.

Feeling that tug on my line never failed to send a thrill through me.

Being a SEAL, life was always full of training, touring, and more training—whether I was on the giving or receiving end of that. Becoming a fishing expert was never something I saw in my future—I knew guns and fighting better than I knew how to catch fish for dinner—but it had become a favorite pastime.

The quiet of stepping into a gentle stream, the only sounds surrounding me being the wind through the trees and the rushing water below my feet, provided a kind of solace I couldn't find in the city.

Out here, I could imagine I was another kind of man. I could get away from the ghosts that were so intent on haunting me. I could focus and fool even myself that I was the man I wanted to be.

Temperatures were high, as they usually were this time of year here in Texas, and it showed no signs of getting better anytime soon. It was miserable and the humidity made my skin sticky with sweat.

I'd soon be as dark as the molasses my granny would use when she'd make gingerbread cookies. 

“You’re looking more and more like your daddy, getting so dark,” she'd say, like she was advising me to stay out of trouble. She could disparage my daddy as much as she wanted, which she did—often.

Shaking my head, I pushed thoughts of my daddy and my granny away. This wasn't the time for memories. I didn't want to think about anything but catching fish and floating away from reality for a time.

Right when I felt a bite and began to reel in my catch, I heard the sound of twigs snapping and the snort of horses. Glancing up, I saw two riders coming toward me: a man and a woman.

While I prided myself on being friendly, I instead chose silence. This was my time to be alone in my head, and I didn’t care about much else right then. I didn't say anything, turning away and focusing on bringing in this fish of mine. Judging by the splashes on the surface as I reeled it in, I was proud to see it was a very large trout. It was definitely worth a picture. By the time I'd reeled it in, the riders had gotten within a few yards of me. 

"What are you doing out here?" the man asked with an overly annoyed tone.

I glanced over at the pair with raised brows. The guy sounded like he'd just sat his ass down on a thumbtack.

But my attention didn't stay on the man for long. It was snagged by the woman, who was easily the most beautiful female I'd seen in ages. She had light brown skin and the darkest hair, like a raven's wings. I watched as she clenched her thighs, maneuvering her horse with ease. And I'd be a liar if I said I didn't drink in her long, long legs that seemed to go on forever.

Damn, where had she been hiding all my life?

The man wasn't about to let me off the hook. "You know you're on our land, right? Without permission?"

I barely heard his words; I was focused on the woman. I saw her give the man an annoyed look.

"Ruben, it's fine. What are we going to do, send him to prison for poaching like it's the middle ages?" Her gaze transferred to me. "Trout fishing?"

I nodded, but I didn't say anything. I found myself tongue-tied around this gorgeous woman. Then again, I was never the chatty type anyway.

"Look, man, we don't want any trouble," Ruben said, "but me and my fiancée don't need random people on our land. That’s a problem and so is the fact that trout isn't yours to take."

The woman glared at him again, and I could see her clench her jaw tightly. "It's fine," she said to me. "Really. Take all the trout you want. I'm not much of a fisherman—or woman—myself." She smiled, and God Almighty, it was like a punch to the gut.

Who the hell was she?

"I'm Sophia, by the way. You are?"

"Trevor." I started gathering my stuff, halfway tempted to toss the trout at Ruben, but I restrained myself. I made sure to wrap it up while keeping eye contact with him, mostly just to piss him off.

Based on his sneer, it worked.

"I'll get out of your way." I started moving toward my trunk, a junk piece that my stepdad had gotten me when I'd returned home from deployment with the SEALs. It was a miracle that it ran most days, but it worked. I reckon that truck was a lot like me: damaged, rusty, but still useable. 

Sophia said something to Ruben, scolding him about "overstepping," and it made me smile. If they were engaged, I was a monkey's uncle. The only engagement was in Ruben's head. Plus, I didn't see a ring on her pretty fingers.

Yeah, I'd looked. Sue me.

I climbed into my truck, tossing my stuff in the front seat, and started the engine. Well, I tried to start it.

The engine turned over and over again, making an ominous sound, but there was nothing. I tried again. A third time. Finally, I had to accept that my battery was more than likely deader than dead. Even though I had jumper cables in my truck, there was no other car around for miles. Too bad horses weren't useful for jumping a dead battery.

I grunted and got out of the truck. To my surprise, the pair were still there, arguing quietly about something. I pulled out my phone to call one of my friends—but there was no service. I swore. 

Fuck me, I'll have to walk to civilization, won't I? Just my luck. 

"Is everything okay?" Sophia dismounted from her horse and came toward me.

Now that she was closer, I could see her eyes were a dark gold, like caramel, and she had a little beauty mark above her lip. With her eyes, legs, and that voice—low, almost husky, but still feminine—I struggled to find my own voice for a second time.

"Battery's dead," I said in a grunt, gesturing at my truck. "You have a cell phone that works? Mine's got no service."

"There isn't any service out here," she said apologetically. "And the closest town is ten miles, at least."

 I saw Ruben dismount and come over to us, which raised my hackles. When he put a hand on Sophia's shoulder, I couldn't help but notice how she seemed to stiffen.

Interesting. And also, none of my damn business.

"What's up? We should get going, Sophie. Your abuela will tan our hides if we're late for dinner again."

"You can get a ride back to my ranch so you can make a call," she told me, ignoring Ruben. "If you'd like."

I was surprised. I'd expected her to leave me to figure out my own shit, like anyone else would've done. To my amusement, Ruben scowled. 

"How is he going to ride back with us?" he asked Sophia. "Walk alongside our horses? And what about taking some strange man home?"

"You're with me, aren't you?" She rolled her eyes, before turning back to me. "Can you ride a horse? You can ride with me, but if it's easier for you to walk—"

I nodded, unable to hold back the smirk that formed. "I can ride." Not only did I enjoy the look of approval I received from her, but I also loved the total look of disdain I got from him. Something about him just annoyed me to no end.

This could be fun. She hadn’t suggested riding with him and allowing me to ride alone, or for me to ride with him. It had been for me to ride with her or walk, and I couldn’t help but find that amusing, though I knew I shouldn’t have. It'd been a while since I’d been on a horse, but it wasn't something you forgot easily. I wasn't as good as Sophia, but I wasn't about to tell her that. 

Ruben looked like he wanted to protest again, but at Sophia's pointed look, he kept his mouth shut. 

"You can ride behind me," she said, not even seeming to consider what she was saying. She mounted her horse with ease, tossing her leg over the saddle, and then she offered a hand to me.

I didn't take it, but I mounted with a grunt. And then I realized I'd just damned myself to another kind of hell: my dick was pressed tightly against Sophia's plump ass, her hair almost tickling my nose; I was in agony within seconds.

Every jolt of the horse moving and adjusting to our weight sent us grinding against one another. To make things even worse, I had to place my hands on her waist to keep my balance once the horse started walking.

Leave her alone, I told myself. She's taken, and she's clearly too good for you. She looks like she'd cry if you so much as hurt a fly.

But my body didn't want to listen. I was on fire, feeling how small her waist was in my hands. How her hair smelled like flowers, and how she bounced a little as she rode the horse. Her legs were sleek and muscular, and I couldn't stop myself from imagining what they'd be like wrapped around my waist.

All my mind could process at that moment was turning her around, sitting her down on my cock, and letting the horse’s movement determine our rhythm. I swallowed against the lump in my throat. It was only seeing Ruben scowl at us, his expression dark and angry, that gave me a reason to hold on tighter to Sophia. 

I just smiled at him as we kept on riding toward Sophia's ranch.

2

Sophia

I hadn't thought this through—not one bit. With Trevor so close to me, his strong chest pressing against my back, his legs brushing mine, not to mention him being pressed hard against my backside... I was in agony. I was like a jumpy rabbit, and my heart wouldn't stop pounding.

When Ruben and I had arrived by that stream and I'd seen Trevor, my first thought hadn't been that he'd been trespassing. It had been only that he was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.

He was dark—darker than me—and I wondered if he were Latino like me. Perhaps biracial. With his strong jaw, his dark eyes, and that body of his—all muscles, sleek and powerful like some wild cat—I didn't care if he were from the moon. He was sex on a stick, and the only reason I hadn't flirted with him was because Ruben looked fit to be tied.