Special Operations 5
Coming October 2nd
Cecil Montgomery took
one look at Manuel Lopez and knew he wanted the handsome Marine in his life.
Convincing Manny of that might be harder than anything Cecil has ever faced
before, especially when fate seems determined to keep them apart.
After one night of
passion in the arms of Cecil Montgomery, Manuel Lopez runs in the other direction.
Besides the fact that Cecil is so gorgeous he makes Manny ache, the man is
rich, and Manny has a deep hatred of anyone with money, a hatred that goes back
nearly twenty years.
When confronted by the
man that started it all, Manny realizes he might have made a mistake, but by
then, it’s too late. Cecil wants nothing to do with him. Worse yet, Cecil’s
life is in danger and Manny and his fellow Marines might not even be able to save
him.
STORY EXCERPT
Cecil
absently rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hand, the heavy thudding
between his eyes growing worse. The worry and anxiety building inside of him was
causing his head to throb.
“Headache?”
Cecil
dropped his hand to his lap as he nodded. Mind numbing migraine was more like
it but he wasn’t about to admit that to Creed. The man took his health and
safety very seriously.
“You’ve been
getting a lot of those lately.”
“I probably
need a few days off.” He worked hard, long hours. He might have inherited money
from his parents when they passed away but the bulk of his money came from
working that money to the best of its advantage. That took time and planning
and burning the midnight oil.
“Maybe you
should see if Manny wants to go to the lake house with you after he gets out of
the hospital,” Creed said. “I’m sure the two of you could find something to
occupy your time.”
Cecil
grinned at the amusement he could hear in Creed’s voice. He really couldn’t
think of anything he would like more than to spend a quiet weekend with Manny
at his lake house, just the two of them. They could spend the entire weekend
naked. Cecil would insist on it.
When the
limousine pulled up in the entrance of County General fifteen minutes later,
Cecil was a little white knuckled from the wild ride but he was there in one
piece and that was all that mattered at the moment.
He scooted
toward the door thankful when it opened before he got there. He quickly exited
the vehicle, in no way surprised when Creed climbed out after him and started
scanning the area for danger. Creed might not follow him into the office every
single second of the day but the man took Cecil’s security in strange places
very seriously. Cecil knew Creed would follow him as he hurried in through the
emergency room doors. In public, the man was never more than a few feet away
from him.
Now, he just
needed to find Manny.
“Are you out
of your mind?” an all too familiar voice shouted, giving Cecil a direction to
head in.
His throat
felt too thick to call out or to even ask a nurse where to find the owner of
that deep, slightly accented voice, the same voice that Cecil dreamed of almost
every night since he had laid eyes on Manuel Lopez.
Cecil didn’t
know if it was the desperation in his eyes, the fancy suit he wore, or the
large man following behind him, guarding him, but no one stopped him as he made
his way through the emergency room corridor, heading toward the man that held
Cecil’s soul. He wouldn’t be able to breathe again until he laid eyes on Manny
himself and knew that the man was alive.
He knew
Manny was hesitant about their relationship, even standoffish on occasion.
Cecil didn’t hold it against the man. Once Manny got used to the idea of them
being together, he would fall into line easily enough. Manny was just too used
to being all alone.
Cecil
planned to change that.
There was
something about the tall Hispanic man that had caught Cecil’s interest from the
very first glance. Cecil had been unable to think of anyone else since. He had
even gone as far as getting rid of his little black book.
One night
spent in Manny’s arms had proven to Cecil that he didn’t need anyone but the
sexy marine. Convincing Manny of that was proving to be just a tad bit harder. The
morning after they had practically fucked each other unconscious, Manny started
running. Three weeks had gone by since that night and Manny was still running. Cecil
hadn’t gotten to where he was in the business world without being stubborn. He
refused to give up when he wanted something, and he wanted Manuel Lopez, and he
wasn’t going to stop until he had him.
Cecil’s
heart beat a little faster when he saw Sheriff John Henry Harrison standing in
the doorway of one of the emergency room cubicles. If John Henry was standing
in the doorway that meant his partner Charles Pennington III was inside the
room.
And that
meant Manny was inside as well.
John Henry
turned just as Cecil reached him. He stepped forward, holding out his hands as
if to stop Cecil, but no one was going to stop him from getting to Manny. Cecil
continued to walk forward then quickly zipped around John Henry.
He paused in
the doorway, finally able to breathe again for the first time since he received
the phone call from Charlie that Manny had been injured. Manny was alive. Manny
was breathing.
Manny was
pissed.
Cecil
frowned as he glanced from Manny’s scowling face to Charlie and then back
again. He wasn’t real sure what was going on but it seemed to him that this was
the last place Manny and Charlie should be arguing. Besides the fact that it
was a hospital, Manny was obviously injured. There was a white bandage around
one of his arms.
Cecil opened
his mouth to say something, and hopefully defuse the situation, when the words
Manny was speaking filtered through the worry that had been clouding Cecil’s
brain since he had received a phone call from Charlie over an hour ago.
“I can’t
believe you called him,” Manny snapped, his dark cocoa brown eyes blazing with
fury. “I went on that stupid mission to get away from Cecil.”
Cecil stood
utterly frozen in the doorway, his heart thudding painfully in his chest. Only
by sheer force of will did he continue to stay standing when everything inside
of him was crumbling around him.
“You left on
a mission to get away from me?” Cecil’s words were whispered but loud enough to
be heard by the two men in the room. Manny’s face drained of color as he turned
to look at Cecil.
“Shit.” Charlie
rushed over and grabbed Cecil’s arm as if Cecil was about to collapse and
Charlie was trying to keep him standing.
Cecil shook
Charlie off and stepped into the room. “Answer me, Manny. Did you go on that
mission to get away from me?” Cecil swallowed. “And I want the truth.”
Manny sighed
as his shoulders slumped. The cold, congested expression that settled on
Manny’s face as he glanced away gave Cecil his answer even before the man
opened his mouth. Cecil’s heart stuttered for one last bit of life before
shattering into a million painful pieces.
“I see.”
Cecil cleared his throat and tried to gather the remains of his tattered pride
around himself like a shield. He stiffened his back and squared his shoulders
then raised his eyes to meet Manny’s. He had never shied away from anything in
his life. He wasn’t going to start now. “My apologies, Mr. Lopez. I will not
bother you again.”
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