She must have picked up on what he had been talking about. “I would never ask you to give up your job, Marco. It’s who you are, and one of the reasons I love you.”
Happiness exploded. “Yeah.”
She smiled. “Yeah.”
He stepped closer. “You know what that means, don’t you?”
She shook her head.
“You’re gonna have to marry me, woman.”
For a few long seconds she studied him. Then, she grinned. “Name the time and place, SEAL.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She opened her mouth willingly and pressed her body against his. For a moment, everything faded away and it was just the two of them.
They were interrupted by a cheer. When he pulled back, he noticed the crowd had watched the whole argument and his proposal. He glanced at Alana and found her blushing.
He leaned down, lifting her into his arms.
“Marco.” She giggled and he realized that as long as he could make her laugh, everything was going to be okay.
He turned toward their audience and said, “Next show’s in about five minutes, folks, but it’s just for private viewing.”
Then, he turned to walk back to her house.
“I love you, Marco,” she said as she laid her head on his shoulder.
“I love you too, Alana.”
And he planned on making sure she knew that every day of their lives.
Epilogue
Marco’s phone rang in the middle of the night with his mother’s ringtone. He shot up in bed and answered it immediately. If his mother was calling at this time during the night, there was trouble.
“Marco?” Alana asked.
He looked at her, shaking his head and turning on his phone.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Only one of them was deployed and that was Gee.
“It’s your brother. He’s okay, so don’t freak out.”
His mother’s voice was thin as if it had been a long night.
“It doesn’t sound like it.”
She sighed. “Gee is okay. They had to set down hard and so he has a concussion. Luckily, he only has two weeks left so they are sending him home. He’s coming here.”
Oh, that didn’t sound good. Not that he doubted his mother’s recitation of the facts. That he believed. For a PJ, there were a lot worse injuries he could have sustained. They dropped into war zones to save lives. Some of them ended up fighting for their own in the end.
The fact that Gee was now going to be subjected to his mother’s care…that couldn’t be good for Gee.
“What is it?’ Alana asked.
“Gee, he got a concussion.”
“Oh, no. Do we need to get back to the mainland?”
He smiled. “No.”
“Is that Alana?” his mother asked. His mom knew she raised a bunch of healthy men, but she did not like to be confronted with the fact he and Alana were living together until the wedding.
“Yes.”
“Let me talk to her.”
“I don’t think Alana—”
His fiancé grabbed the phone out of his hand. “Joey, is everything okay? Do you need us there for Gee?”
He watched her nod taking orders from her mother. It was amazing how both of the newest members of the family had aligned with his mother on every issue.
“Of course. But you will call if it is worse than what he says it is? You know these Santini men. None of them are hurt, ever.”
She laughed.
“Yeah, Vince is the worse, but it’s hard to say which one comes in second. Do you want to speak to Marco again?”
She waited, listening to his mother.
“Okay, well, goodbye.”
She clicked off his phone and handed it to him.
“What the hell, Alana?”
“Everything is fine. When Gee makes it back, she’ll have him call us. Vince and your father are there to help if she needs it. Also, there is a pressing reason for him to return to Georgia.”
She settled back in bed and snuggled under the covers.
“What?”
“Your mom’s not sure, but apparently, MJ thinks it’s a woman.”
There it was again. The women were ganging up and talking with his mom behind all their backs. They were doomed.
“Marco, is there something wrong?”
He looked down at her. There was nothing but moonlight filling the room but he could see her. How did a man get so lucky? A beautiful woman with such a kind heart and she was all his.
“No, love. But, since my mother decided to wake us up…”
One eyebrow rose. “Yes?”
He slipped over on top of her. “I thought maybe we could find something to fill our time.”
“Really? And just what would that be, SEAL?”
They both slept in the nude, so he was pretty sure she knew exactly what he had in mind. He was already hard.
“Well, how about I just show you, Ko'u ipo,” he said as he started to kiss his way down her body.
Coming May 17th, the third of the Santini Brothers!
The Santinis: Gianni
The youngest of the Santinis, Gee has always been the biggest flirt. He usually has no problem charming women. That is until he spies Kianna Jones across the room. For once in his life, he is unable to charm her into a date.
Kianna is a woman who doesn’t expect romance, especially with a sexy PJ who is five years younger than she is. But, he just won’t give up so she agrees to a date, which turns into several and eventually to the best sex of her life. Still, she isn’t ready to commit beyond their present status.
Gee isn’t happy when Kianna resists taking their relationship to the next level but he refuses to give up. If there is one thing a Santini understands is that nothing worth fighting for comes easily—and he is prepared to launch the fight of his life.
* * * *
Enjoy this unedited excerpt.
Kianna was holding the door open and he leaned in for a kiss. She felt everything in her flutter then explode. Her nipples tightened and heat danced over her nerve endings.
He pulled back then rested his forehead against hers. “I really should go.”
She sighed. “Yeah.”
“I don't want to.”
“Really?”
Gianni gave her another heated kiss. “I really want to take you back to your bedroom and touch every inch of your flesh.”
She really should say no. It was too fast, too much. Worse, he was almost five years younger than she was. It would never last. But, instead, she threw caution to the wind and slammed the door shut.
“Sounds good to me.”
About Melissa Schroeder
From an early age, Melissa loved to read. First, it was the books her mother read to her including her two favorites, Winnie the Pooh and the Beatrix Potter books. She cut her preteen teeth on Trixie Belden and read and reviewed To Kill a Mockingbird in middle school. It wasn’t until she was in college that she tried to write her first stories, which were full of angst and pain, and really not that fun to read or write. After trying several different genres, she found romance in a Linda Howard book.
Since the publication of her first book in 2004, Melissa has had close to fifty romances published. She writes in genres from historical suspense to modern day erotic romance to futuristics and paranormals. Included in those releases is the bestselling Harmless series. In 2011, Melissa branched out into self-publishing with A Little Harmless Submission and the popular military spinoff, Infatuation: A Little Harmless Military Romance. Along the way she has garnered an epic nomination, a multitude of reviewer’s recommended reads, over five Capa nods from TRS, three nominations for AAD Bookies and regularly tops the best seller lists on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Since she spent her childhood as a military brat, Melissa swore never to marry military. But, as we all know, Fate has her way with mortals. She is married to an AF major and is raising her own brats, both huma
n and canine. She spends her days giving in to her addiction to Twitter, counting down the days until her hubby retires, and cursing the military for always sticking them in a location that is filled with bugs big enough to eat her children.
You can connect with Mel all over the web:
WEBSITE
TWITTER
FACEBOOK FAN PAGE
HARMLESS ADDICTS
THE HARMLESS SERIES
THE CURSED CLAN
THE SANTINIS
Or email her at: Contact@MelissaSchroeder.net
Other Books by Melissa Schroeder
Harmless
A Little Harmless Sex
A Little Harmless Pleasure
A Little Harmless Obsession
A Little Harmless Lie
A Little Harmless Addiction
A Little Harmless Submission
A Little Harmless Fascination
A Little Harmless Fantasy
A Little Harmless Military Romance
Infatuation
Possession
Surrender
The Harmless Shorts
A Little Harmless Surprise
A Little Harmless Gift
Prelude to a Fantasy
By Blood
Desire by Blood
The Santinis
Leonardo
Marco
The Cursed Clan
Callum
Once Upon An Accident
The Accidental Countess
Lessons in Seduction
The Spy Who Loved Her
Leather and Lace
The Seduction of Widow McEwan
Leather and Lace—Print anthology
Texas Temptations
Conquering India
Delilah’s Downfall
Hawaiian Holidays
Mele Kalikimaka, Baby
Sex on the Beach
Getting Lei’d
Bounty Hunters, Inc
For Love or Honor
Sinner’s Delight
The Sweet Shoppe
Turning Paige
Cowboy Up
Connected Books
Seducing the Saint
Saints and Sinners—print of both books
The Hired Hand
Hands on Training
Cancer Anthology
Water—print
Stand Alone Books
Grace Under Pressure
The Last Detail
Her Mother’s Killer
A Calculated Seduction
Telepathic Cravings
Operation Love
Coming Soon
The Santinis: Gianni
The Santinis: Vicente
The Harmless Shorts
Angus
A Little Harmless Ride
Craving
Relentless
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
A Note from Mel
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
Coming May 17th
About Melissa Schroeder