Marcus’s face froze to stone. “Why? She was a bitch of the highest order!”
Jax stood and walked to him. She rubbed her hands across the hard smoothness of his chest, then pressed her body against his. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.
“Because, Marcus, I think despite everything bad about Sophia Rowland, at her core she loved her daughter. And she knew you wouldn’t hurt her. That you would protect her. Even at her worst she trusted you with her most precious possession.”
She felt the hard thump of his heart against her cheek. She looked up into his eyes and saw pain, regret and resignation in them.
“At least in that she was right.”
Jax caressed his cheek. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I.” He kissed the top of her head.
Despite the weighty moment, euphoria fluttered like a wild mass of butterflies in Jax’s belly. She had her man. There was nothing else that mattered. Nothing. She chuckled and lifted him clear off the floor, and in a one-handed heave she shucked him onto the bed. He hit the mattress and looked up at her, speechless, stunned.
She laughed so hard she nearly fell to the floor. Once she gained her breath, Jax stalked to the foot of the bed. “You’ re going to pay for the last three months, Marcus Cross. And I am not nearly as forgiving as Aelia.” Jax stripped and leapt onto the bed and into Marcus’s arms.
Marcus laughed, rolling over with her in his arms. The joy of his happy laughter was music to her ears. This was the Marcus she wanted. The one she knew lived inside of the dark, angry man she had come to love.
“Show me no quarter, Jax,” he said, smiling as his lips captured hers in a long, passionate kiss.
And she didn’ t. Not then. Or the day after, or even the day after that.
* * *
THE END
Also by Karin Tabke
BAD BOYS OF THE BAY
The Chronicles of Katrina
Dare Me Again
In a Bad Way
Bad to the Bone
BLOOD MOON TRILOGY
Blood Law
Bloodright
Blood Vow
BLOOD SWORD LEGACY
Master of Surrender
Master of Torment (coming soon)
Master of Craving (coming soon)
A Knight to Remember
Master of Deception (coming soon)
HOT COPS
Good Girl Gone Bad
Skin
Have Yourself a Naughty Little Santa (coming soon)
Wanted
Breaking Bad
Sworn to Love
L.O.S.T.
Enemy Lover
Enemy Mine (coming soon)
THE CHRONICLES OF KATRINA
The Chronicles of Katrina, Book 1
Includes all four parts:
The Dare, Part 1
Double Dare, Part 2
The Truth, Part 3
The Consequence, Part 4
Dare Me Again, Book 2
ANTHOLOGIES
OTHER TITLES
Rebel Rose, Rebel Yell #1
About the Author
Karin Tabke is a multi-published, national bestselling, award-winning author.
Karin’s break came with the surge of erotic romance in 2005. Since then, Karin has sold more than a dozen stories to US publishers: Kensington, Simon & Schuster, and Penguin. Her self-publishing debut, THE CHRONICLES of KATRINA, was met with resounding enthusiasm. Never one to disappoint her readers, Karin happily launched the spinoff series The Bad Boys of the Bay, featuring the heroes she knows so well–hot cops. Karin’s books have also been licensed in Japan, Thailand, Germany, France, Spain, and the UK.
Karin has been married to her own hot cop–now licensed Private Investigator–for over thirty years and she writes what she knows. She has also started and sold several profitable businesses, but her true love is writing passionate love stories. When she isn’t writing, Karin loves to travel and does so extensively, meeting readers and sharing her knowledge via workshops at writer conventions and conferences.
With that kind of background, is it any wonder that Sylvia Day has Tabke locked and loaded in her ‘must-read’ sights? She absolutely does, here’s the proof: “Tabke’s edgy and delicious tales hold a top spot on my must-read list!” ~ Sylvia Day
So it's not hard to believe that Bella Andre has declared: “No one writes hot cops better than Karin Tabke.”
RT Book Reviews has chimed in with: “…Tabke masterfully creates sexual tension…”
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