How she wanted to kiss him. Right here. Right now. Right or wrong.
She couldnât think of a better place for something sheâd waited a lifetime to do. Moving closer to him, her focus dropped to his mouth.
âHolly.â He shook his head.
âWhat?â
âThis is not a good idea.â His voice was rough.
âI donât know what youâre talking about.â But her focus remained on his lips, which had haunted her for over a decade, now a mere breath away.
âYeah. You do.â But despite his hesitation, he reached up and smoothed some strands of her hair back from her face. He caught her hair in his fist and gently pulled her toward him. His mouth touched hers, gently, tentatively ⦠But then he drew back, making her heart cry out. He watched her, carefully, intently.
âItâs just a kiss,â she whispered. She could hear the pleading in her own voice.
âWe both know itâs a hell of a lot more than that.â
* * *
Redeeming the Billionaire SEAL is part of Mills & Boon Desireâs No 1 bestselling series, Billionaires and Babies: Powerful men ⦠wrapped around their babiesâ little fingers
LAUREN CANAN has always been in love with love. When she began writing, stories of romance and unbridled passion flowed through her fingers onto the page. Today she is a multi-award-winning author, including the prestigious Romance Writers of America Golden Heart>® Award. She lives in Texas with her own real-life hero, four dogs and a mouthy parrot named Bird.
She loves to hear from readers. Find her on Facebook or go to her website, www.laurencanan.com.
One
Watching a newborn foal rise to its feet for the first time was a sight Holly Anderson would never tire of seeing. With a few staggered steps and some encouragement from its mother, the foal located its dinner bucket and didnât have to be shown how to latch on to her first meal. The fluffy little tail flipped and turned as the warm nourishment filled her tummy.
âI thought we were going to lose this one,â said Don Jefferies, owner of the mare that had just given birth with considerable help from Holly. âIâve been raising quarter horses most of my life and I guess Iâve been lucky. Iâve never had to deal with a breech birth.â
âThey donât happen that often,â Holly agreed. âThank goodness.â
âI canât say how much I appreciate you, Doc.â
âGlad I could help.â Holly took one last glimpse at the foal before stepping out into the hallway as Don closed the stall door behind her. She began gathering her implements, then walked to the truck and dumped them into a white bucket filled with a special cleaning solution. âI should come back out and check them both in two or three days. Iâll need someone here to contain Mother. Sheâs probably not going to like having her baby kidnapped for a few minutes.â
âNo worries. Iâll call your office tomorrow, schedule a time and make sure someone is around to help if I canât be here myself.â
With a final handshake, Holly tossed the last of her gear in the holding compartment in the back of her truck, climbed in behind the wheel and headed back to the clinic. The sun had set and twilight was quickly folding into night.
Sheâd finished scouring the equipment and was rinsing her hands when the little bell over the front door chimed. Someone had entered the building. She must have forgotten to put up the closed sign again. It had been a twelve-hour day with an emergency wake-up call at seven thirty this morning, and her body was screaming for a long hot soak in the old claw-foot tub.
Drying her hands on a paper towel, she made her way through the back of the clinic, rounded the corner and stopped at the edge of the front counter. She had already turned off the overhead lights but the glow from the lab area provided some illumination. Two men stood just inside the door of the small waiting room. She immediately recognized Cole Masters, one of the three owners of the ninety-two-thousand-acre beef operation across the road. Sheâd grown up with the three Masters sons; her auntâs small house, where she lived now, was just across the road from their mansion on the hill. Although they were several years older, that hadnât stopped any of them from forming a lifelong bond of friendship that was more like extended family.
As to the identity of the man who stood next to Cole, she had no clue. He must be a business associate out for the weekend. Cole and his brother Wade randomly brought people to the Circle M for a leisurely weekend in the country with horseback rides and cookouts over a campfireâby an accredited chef. Why anyone would need a professional chef to cook a hot dog over a grill was beyond her realm of understanding. To each his own, she supposed.