Flashpoint
A Rescue Series Novella; Book 3
Publish Date: June 25, 2018
Genre: Romantic Suspense
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When danger comes calling, he answers.
Maximus
My Oath never dies. I gave it willingly. I served my country with love and honor. When my time with the Navy was over, I came home and started a new journey.
My brothers and I protect and serve our community. We are the men in blue who protect the ones who cannot protect themselves.
Kennedy needs me to be that man for her and be that man I shall be.
Kennedy
I never thought I would be that girl – the one who has lost her way in the world. He did that to me. He took it all away, and now I’m fighting to stay in control of my life.
My will to be me was taken away. Until Max came back into my life. He took a broken, shell of a woman and made her whole again.
My love for him will never fade.
Excerpt:
Kennedy’s POV
“There ya go, darlin’, now do your face,” he said, standing.
“Thank you.” I smiled softly up at him. His dimpled grin made my ovaries do a damn happy dance. It was like he had me under his spell. One I wasn’t sure I wanted to break free of.
He used the bottle to fill his palm again and rubbed lotion into his own skin. As his hand skimmed along his arms and shoulders my mind fogged over. I followed the movements of his hands across each and every muscle. They rippled like a snake moving across the sand. I moaned and, as the mortification of what I had just done sank in, I turned around quickly. I pulled my shades off and tossed them to the blanket. My feet moved quickly out towards the water. I needed to cool down, now.
“Hey, wait up, woman,” I heard Jenn call from behind me. She grabbed my hand and I used her being there to calm my nerves. Jesus, what was that man doing to me? “Wanna talk about it?” she asked softly.
With a heavy sigh I leaned my shoulder against hers. “I like him, okay? He makes my girly parts-”
“Ew, that’s my brother. I don’t need to know what he does to your girly parts, okay? I mean, gross. Remember our TMI rule,” she pretended to gag as she laughed.
I shoved her playfully away from me. Bitch!
“Sorry, but seriously. Every time he looks at me something inside of me melts. That’s all it takes, Jenn. One frigging look and I’m a puddle of goo.”
“Aww… well, yeah I get it. I’m the same way with Hunter.” The happy sigh that left her lips made me smile. I wrapped my arm around hers and nodded.
“He’s good for you,” I said, stating the obvious.
“Well then, my bubba is good for you. Y’all need to just go for it, go out together, have some fun. He’s got the hots for you. A sister knows these things,” Jenn said. I gave her a hard look and shook my head.
“I can’t, not after Eric,” My voice shook with the onslaught of emotion his memory brought me.
“My brother is nothing like that asshole! Don’t you dare compare anyone in this group to that asshole, Kennedy Elise!” I went wide-eyed at her standing here, on the open beach, all but yelling at me. I sighed and turned from her. She wouldn’t understand. She couldn’t.
“No, you’re not turning away from me. You put up with so much from that- that- asshole! You didn’t deserve the things he did to you. You are better than that. If I had known before you told me, I would have charged in and gotten you out of that. No man, and I mean no man, has the right to make you feel inferior in any way.”
“It’s not his fault, it’s mi-”
“I swear, if you finish that sentence, I will hit you! It was entirely his fault! He hit you. He broke something inside of you. None of this was your fault. Are you dense? You did nothing to deserve being talked down to. You did nothing to deserve being hit on. He was just another big bully who suffers from little-man syndrome and a little limp dick!”
She was breathing heavy as she got the last words out. I sniffled and wiped tears from my eyes. I really did love this woman. She was more than just my best friend, she was the ying to my yang.
“I know that, but-”
“No!!” She shrieked. A long grunt of frustration leaving her mouth.
“Stop,” I pleaded.
“I just want to shake you!” she ground out.
“I want to beat the shit out of whoever hurt you.” The voice that came from behind me had me turning with a gasp. My eyes met the furious gaze of Maximus. The others were behind him, the look of rage covered their faces as well. I shook my head and swallowed hard.
“I’m fine. He’s gone. I’m going for a swim.” I walked off before any of them could say more. I was mortified. God! How much of that had he, they, heard? With a heavy sigh I walked out into the water and, as soon as it was deep enough, I dove down and started kicking.
The water would clear my mind. It always did.
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Giveaway closes 6/30/18
Shattered Lives Series
My Own Nightmare / Somewhere I Belong / Shatter Me Whole /
Sparks Of Deception / Living In Your Hell / Edge of Danger
The Cowboy Way Series
Wrangled By Love
A Rescue Series Novella
A Marshal’s Courage
Her Savior
Standalones
Primal Darkness
Through The Eyes of Madness (w/KA Graham)
Shifting Shadows
Anthologies
Dirty Fairy Tales Anthology – What Big Teeth
The Parlour Anthology – Ultimate Control
Coloring Books
Shaded With Love: A Coloring Book for a Cause Vol 5
~Meet Barb Shuler~
I’m a Carolina Girl by right and a Texan by birth… so I have a Texas-sized temper. Living and working in both states I’ve learned a lot about hard work, adapting to your surroundings and making the best of the path that you have been led down. My grandma Dollie once told me I would know what I was meant to do when it happened. She was right, as always.
As with most book lovers, I am an avid reader. Reading has always been a hobby – a passion, really. Reading helps to expand the perimeters of one’s mind. That is what got me to start writing as a kid. If I had paper…or a wall… I was writing. Words are a part of us all. Why not use them, right?
During the day I work as a ‘desk jockey’ and help the residents of my county navigate themselves around our little, but not too little country town. By night I am either blogging, doing PA work for some of my favorite authors or I am fighting with the voices in my head. (They can be stubborn at times.) It’s a way to cope and make the troubles of the day disappear, if only for a few hours. It’s a blessing and I am cherishing every moment. For that which is my creation, may become someone else’s treasure.
Tomorrow is never guaranteed so I want to make sure I live the day as fully as possible.
~ Connect with Barb here ~
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