Page 127 of Killer Secrets (Tempting SEALs 5)

"I love you," he breathed against her lips. "Forever, Kira. With all my soul, I love you."

He had thought he had secrets from her. A man alone, fighting alone. He realized in that moment that from the first, this woman had seen past those secrets, seen into his soul, even when he couldn't see it himself.

He cradled her to him as the painkiller Daniel had injected her with earlier drew her eyes closed again. Held her as she slept, and for the first time in his life, he realized how empty his life had been before her. He had had secrets that could have killed her, that could have killed him. And now, he had someone who could share the secrets, fight by his side, and love in return.

For the first time in his life, Ian no longer felt alone. And he realized that as long as he held Kira in his arms, he would never be alone. He was home.

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Read on for a sneak peek at Lora Leigh's next scintillating Bound Hearts novel

Wicked Pleasure

Coming May 2008 in trade paperback From St. Martin's Griffin

CHASE WAS WAITING IN THE lobby of the hotel when Cam strode through the entrance. The black suit his brother wore did nothing to alleviate the aura of power and danger that surrounded him. The wicked scar that slashed down the left side of his cheek definitely helped the impression, but it was the icy green eyes, the unsmiling lips, the expression that seemed carved from experiences that suggested hell, that did it.

Cam was his brother, his twin. And sometimes Chase wondered if he even knew who or what his brother was. He definitely didn't know what had created the dark visage that strode to him.

"She's not going to appreciate a late-night visit," he told his brother as they headed toward the elevator.

"Too bad," Cam growled. "Roberts waylaid me at the party. The slick bastard. He should be in film rather than Congress. His acting ability beats the shit out of his ability to help run this fucking country."

Chase winced. Cam was cussing. That was never a good thing.

"Blindsiding Jaci like this isn't going to help," he advised him as the elevator doors slid closed behind them. "She is a little demon when that temper of hers is roused, you know that as well as I do."

And she was liquid fire when other parts of her were aroused. Chase could still taste the sweet syrup that had flowed from her body, even seven years later. And he knew Cam had never forgotten.

"I want eyes on her twenty-four seven," Cam ordered. "If Roberts even thinks about contacting her, I want to know about it."

"Cam, you can't control her life here." The elevator doors slid open.

As they stepped out of the cubicle, his brother turned to him. The green ice in his gaze flickered with a hidden flame. The intensity of the color was no longer flat with whatever emotions or memories he fought. The color was wild and vivid, shocking Chase with the emotions that seemed to swirl just under the surface.

"I have no intentions of controlling her life," Cam stated. "I'm going to become her life, Chase. There's a difference."

For a second, Chase stood in shock, staring at his brother's back as he strode quickly down the hall to the suite Ian had reserved for the interior designer.

Cameron had never claimed anything or anyone as his. Not since they had lost their parents, since their lives had gone to hell at the tender age of thirteen beneath the less than gentle care of their maternal aunt.

Hearing him claim something, someone, now was enough to almost cause him to miss that twisted expression of need on Cam's face as he turned away.

Hell, Jaci didn't need to see Cam like this. Chase didn't need to see Cam like this. Brimming with fire and lust and a need that Chase had never imagined filled his brother.

"Cam, damn it," he muttered, moving quickly behind him. "Do you think this is a wise move right now?"

Cam stopped in front of the hotel room door and glanced at his brother impatiently.

"What's so unwise about it?" He'd waited seven years for her to grow up, to find them, and now Chase wanted to wait?

"She's not exactly extending an invitation for us together," his brother snorted. "She actually stated we should find someone else to play our games with."

"You pissed her off." He lifted his hand to knock on the door.

"And you're not going to piss her off more?" Chase asked, his voice filled with a hint of disbelief that didn't make sense to Cam.

He turned back to his brother, glaring at him. "Look, I let you talk to her first, I let you bring her home, and look where it got us. You never did know how to handle her, and don't pretend you did. She walks all over you."

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