Chapter 46 [ 498 words ] Chapter 46: He reached out and grabbed the edge of the quilt she was clutching. With a sudden, powerful jerk, he pulled it out of her hands and tossed it onto the floor. Caroline gasped, suddenly feeling completely exposed in her thin pajamas. “What
Chapter 45 [ 503 words ] Chapter 45: He was awake. He was looking down at her, his head propped up on his left arm. A lazy, devastatingly sexy smirk was playing on his lips. Caroline realized with absolute horror that she was sprawled entirely on top of him. Her
Chapter 44 [ 497 words ] Chapter 44: Jarrod was not asleep. He was a soldier; he had been resting in a state of hyper-vigilant shallow sleep, acutely aware of every breath she took. The moment the mattress shifted, his eyes snapped open. In the dim light from the window,
Chapter 43 [ 511 words ] Chapter 43: He didn’t argue. He reached up with his left hand and unbuttoned his suit jacket, letting it drop onto the chair. He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his crisp white shirt, exposing the strong column of his throat. He sat down
Chapter 42 [ 491 words ] Chapter 42: Jarrod stood in the doorway. He was holding the heavy winter quilt and the pillow easily under his left arm. His massive frame filled the entire doorframe, blocking out the light from the hallway. “What are you doing?” Caroline hissed, her eyes
Chapter 41 [ 475 words ] Chapter 41: Mrs. Thompson stood up, placing her hands on her hips, shooting Caroline a look that clearly said stop ruining this. “Don’t be ridiculous, Caroline,” her mother scolded, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. “You are legally married. Jarrod is your husband. He
Chapter 40 [ 513 words ] Chapter 40: He was holding his two cards with his left hand, his thumb slightly obscuring the corners. His face was a mask of absolute, terrifying blankness. His eyes were dead, revealing absolutely zero emotion. It was the face of a man who bluffed
Chapter 39 [ 551 words ] Chapter 39: Caroline’s heart stopped. The blood drained from her face. Her mind instantly flashed back to the last time she saw him—rushing out of her parents’ house, summoned by a terrifying, highest-level military emergency alert. What was he doing here? Was the emergency
Chapter 38 [ 489 words ] Chapter 38: He saw her sitting on the sofa in her parents’ living room, her face flushed a violent, beautiful red, her chest heaving as she pushed against him. He remembered the soft, frantic gasp she made against his mouth. He remembered the smell
Chapter 37 [ 464 words ] Chapter 37: The heavy cloth hit his delicate, gold-rimmed bone china dinner plate. CRACK. The priceless porcelain shattered under the force, the sharp, violent sound echoing like a gunshot in the silent room. Harper screamed, covering her ears. Cornelia gasped, stumbling backward. Jarrod didn’t
Chapter 36 [ 510 words ] Chapter 36: “Tell me, Cornelia,” Jarrod said. His voice was incredibly soft, barely more than a whisper, but it cut through the room like a razor blade. “When exactly did you start moonlighting as a high-end pimp?” The insult was brutal. It was coarse,
Chapter 35 [ 486 words ] Chapter 35: He turned his head, his sharp gray eyes locking onto Jarrod with the weight of an incoming airstrike. “I did not summon you here to bicker with your mother,” Augustus said, his voice echoing in the cavernous room. “I brought you here
Chapter 34 [ 525 words ] Chapter 34: Harper scurried into the room, her heels clicking rapidly on the floor. She rushed to Cornelia’s side and sank onto the sofa next to her, pulling her knees together and looking at Jarrod with wide, victimized eyes, playing the part of the
Chapter 33 [ 506 words ] Chapter 33: He reached the heavy double doors leading to the drawing room. Just as his hand reached for the brass knob, the door was yanked open from the inside. A suffocating wave of cloying, expensive perfume washed over him. Harper Romero stood in
Chapter 32 [ 567 words ] Chapter 32: In the back seat, Jarrod sat with his eyes closed. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his left thumb and forefinger, trying to ward off the dull, throbbing headache building behind his eyes. His right shoulder, strapped tight under his
Chapter 31 [ 465 words ] Chapter 31: Brenna, along with three other young nurses, surrounded her. The break room door clicked shut. The air in the small room instantly crackled with the electric, ravenous energy of pure gossip. “Spill it,” Brenna demanded, her eyes burning with curiosity. “How do
Chapter 30 [ 494 words ] Chapter 30: “Thank God you’re home,” Brenna whispered, her eyes wide with frantic energy. “Caroline, you have to come back to the hospital. Right now.” Caroline frowned, pulling her wrist free. “I quit, Brenna. I told Cromwell I’m done.” “Cromwell is having a nervous
Chapter 29 [ 508 words ] Chapter 29: It wasn’t a normal phone ringtone. It was a high-pitched, aggressive screech coming from the inner pocket of Jarrod’s coat. It was the sound of a military encrypted satellite phone. The highest level of emergency. Jarrod’s body jerked. The sound was a
Chapter 28 [ 498 words ] Chapter 28: Caroline’s face was burning with a heat so intense she felt dizzy. The sheer, mortifying embarrassment of being caught by her own mother sent a surge of frantic adrenaline through her veins. “Let me up!” she hissed, her voice trembling with panic.
Chapter 27 [ 503 words ] Chapter 27: Caroline’s heart hammered wildly, but her stubborn pride refused to break. She glared back at him, her chest heaving. “Aren’t we? We know absolutely nothing about each other except what’s printed on that piece of paper.” Jarrod’s gaze dropped to her lips.