Page 56 of Tempt Her

“No, Stacey’s gonna catchhim.”

I humph. “How?”

“She’s friends with a Sergeant from the Sheriff’s Office—Cade Bryant, the one who used to be a model and is all over the news?”

“Yeah, I know her.”

The whole damn island knows Sergeant Cade Bryant.

Her mom’s a local hero, and Cade is a living legend. She’s involved with some hot celebrity, Redix Dean. And if that isn’t notable, her tall beauty is. I’ve seen her around—the woman looks like a fucking warrior goddess.

“I heard Stacey talking to Cade on the phone Luke got her,” Mateo says. “She called her by her name, and it’s obvious; they’re working together to bring him down.”

“Fuck,” I groan. “That makes shit even worse.”

“No, it’s our chance.”

“Ourchance?”

Mateo turns, grabbing my stare. “Deal with it. I’ve fallen for her too. Hell, I did it fifteen years ago.”

“That’s romance. Not reality.”

“No, it’s what I’ve wanted for so long. I’ve always wanted a woman too, and you know it. The way I found out I was into men, too, I don’t want to repeat it. But her? She’s the first girl I liked, and now she’s the woman I want.”

Fuck, I’ve been shot twice, but this shit hurts worse. “Andher?”

“She wants us—me and Luke. We work together. Just like we three do. I can’t fucking explain it, and with you, I shouldn’t have to. You know love by the rules is bullshit.”

“Does she know aboutyou?” It clenches my jaw; how so many have made Mateo suffer over his past. It’s why I protect him. “Does she know what you did?”

His gaze shoots to the floor. “Not yet.”

“When are you gonna tell her?”

“Soon.” He snaps his stare back at me. “And she won’t care. She’s not like that, man. She’s got a good heart. Look at who she’s married to and all the asshole snobs she has to hang around, and still, she’s not like them.”

“And Luke?”

It’s the same feeling as my dream. Love and ache. Joy and grief.

Am I going to lose the men I love too?

“He’s happy, man. It’s like he’s getting even stronger around her. Something about her is getting him ready. Ready like we couldn’t no matter how hard we tried.”

I wince, knowing what Luke will endure. The boot camp and training; he’s got it. There’s not one drill I haven’t put him through, one test he’s failed, or one physical trial he can’t survive.

It’s his fear that’s his enemy.

I understand—nothing prepares you for war.

“She wants to come over and talk to you about something,” Mateo says, watching for my reaction.

“Here?”

Only women in our family visit us here. Mateo’s mom and his sisters. Luke’s too.

But a woman like Stacey on our property? Our Lowcountry hideout on the marsh? We’re an hour from civilization, and that’s how we want it. Fuck “civilized people.” They don’t understand us.

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