By Break of Day by M. L. Buchman…Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway

Title: By Break of Day

Author: M.L. Buchman

Series: The Night Stalkers, #7

Pubdate: February 2, 2016

ISBN: 9781492621560

 

NAME: Kara Moretti

RANK: Captain of the Army’s stealthiest remote piloted aircraft (Don’t call it a drone)

MISSION: To be the eyes of the team

 

NAME: Justin “The Cowboy” Roberts

RANK: Captain of the Army’s most powerful helicopter

MISSION: To redeem the past, at any cost

They Put Life, Limb, and Heart on the Line

Two new captains join The Night Stalkers with two different strategies in life, love, and combat. When Brooklyn-raised Kara joins the crew, she knows one thing as an absolute truth: to stay safe, keep everything and everyone at a distance. Born in Texas, Justin knows only one honorable way to make up for losing his first crew to a suicide bomber: he flies with all his heart. When Kara and Justin collide on a top secret mission deep in the Israeli desert, then the battle truly begins.

 

 

A Note from M.L. Buchman: Captain Justin Roberts has just made a complete fool of himself and the woman he’s attracted to in front of the entire command crew. Being from Brooklyn, this is not something Captain Kara Moretti is going to let slip by. After the meeting, she drags him out onto the helicopter carrier’s flight deck for a bit of privacy. A bit too much privacy.

***

Justin rounded the corner out of sight of the flight line, and she turned to face him like a cornered mountain lion. Actually, more like one on the attack.

“What the hell, Roberts?”

He considered many lines of response…and retreated into the truth.

“Y’all make a man think of many things that are completely inappropriate, ma’am.”

“Like what?”

Like the way I can smell you on the breeze right now slipping off the warming day. “Some things are probably best kept between me and my horse.”

“You two that close?” She rested her fists on her hips. But instead of scowling up at him, Kara had a cocky grin like she knew the answer to everything. Her humor was sharp, biting, but always made him laugh. And the smile she put back of it always held a surprising warmth. Even as ticked as she was with him at the moment, he could see that deep kindness shining through. He wondered if she knew that about herself—he suspected not, or she might be likely to beat it into submission.

“You might say. I can tell her secrets and she promises not to tell anyone but another horse. Way I see it, that’s a safe enough bargain.”

“And just what exactly are you keeping between you and your horse? What’s so goddamn inappropriate that I—”

Justin wasn’t quite sure what came over him. Kara Moretti frustrated him worse than his brother, Rafe, which was sayin’ a handful. She knew precisely which buttons to push to make him twitch.

Justin took off his hat, because that’s what you did before you kissed a lady.

He caught her mid-word, which turned into a muffled “Mrgrf!” of surprise. He fully expected a slap—another good reason to take off his hat and protect it from being knocked into the sea—and he’d absolutely earned it.

But it didn’t come.

She tasted even better than she smelled. Her lips were warm and soft. He’d half expected them to be made of as much steel as her spine and attitude. Instead they gave and molded to return his kiss.

“Mrgrmmmph!” It seemed like a happier sound; he was fairly sure it was.

When the blow came, it didn’t connect with his jaw. Instead, her fist hit the center of his chest and only just hard enough to knock them apart.

“Shit, Roberts!” Kara cursed. “You can’t be doing something like that.”

“Sorry, ma’am. Warned you it was inappropriate.”

“You kiss me and you call me ma’am? Crap! You really are from Texas.”

“Born and bred.”

“Like your horse who keeps secrets so well.”

He nodded. “Much like. Except she’s a she and I’m not. There’s also the matter of a different number of legs, though I do hope that I kiss better than she does. She tends to slobber a bit.” Also, this conversation was not the least like any he’d ever had with a woman he’d just kissed. Whose lips still hovered close enough that he could feel the warmth of her words on his cheek.

Kara took a step back and bumped against the rail. Justin forced himself to lean back against the gray steel of the superstructure still cool with the night. It brought some tiny bit of rationality back to him.

He rubbed at his jaw. “Odd, I don’t feel a slap.”

“You were expecting one?”

“Must admit I was.”

“And still you kissed me.”

He slid his hat back on. “Seemed worth the risk. You taste sweet, Kara Moretti.”

“Do not be saying shit like that.”

“Give me a reason not to.”

She narrowed her eyes at him for a long moment before tipping her head toward the rail she was leaning on. Her hair swung like a wave softer than those rolling by behind her.

“You want a reason? Fine. I’ll give you two words. Hat. Ocean.”

The woman did know how to make her point.

Still, he didn’t have a palm print in red on the side of his face. Made it downright difficult to not be grinning as he looked down at her.

 

GIVEAWAY:

We have one copy of Night is Mine (the first in the Night Stalkers series) to give away!  To enter, comment on this blog post with the name of your favorite romantic suspense hero!  Winner will be chosen Friday, 1/29/16.

(US entries only, please) 

 

 

About the author:

 

M. L. Buchman has over 35 novels and an ever-expanding flock of short stories in print. His military romantic suspense books have been named Barnes & Noble and NPR “Top 5 of the year,” Booklist “Top 10 of the Year,” and RT “Top 10 Romantic Suspense of the Year.” In addition to romantic suspense, he also writes contemporaries, thrillers, and fantasy and science fiction.

In among his career as a corporate project manager he has: rebuilt and single-handed a fifty-foot sailboat, both flown and jumped out of airplanes, designed and built two houses, and bicycled solo around the world.

He is now a full-time writer, living on the Oregon Coast with his beloved wife. He is constantly amazed at what you can do with a degree in Geophysics. You may keep up with his writing at www.mlbuchman.com.

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