Talon, p.1
Talon, page 1
TALON
BROTHERS IN ARMS IN ALASKA BOOK 4
KALI HART
Talon is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 by Kali Hart
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without express written permission from the author/publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Brothers in Arms in Alaska Series
Sneak Peek BROOKS
1
MACY
“You’re absolutely sure you need him there?” I ask my brother as the Anchorage city skyline disappears in my rearview mirror. I’m lucky to have cell service this many miles away from civilization but suspect it’ll drop any second.
“It’s my wedding, Macy.”
I let out a loud sigh to make sure he hears it over the Bluetooth speaker in my rental car. My brother and my ex-husband were very close at one time. Not only did they grow up together, they did multiple tours overseas in the same Army unit. “I just don’t know why Talon going off the grid is my problem.”
“You promised.”
I fight a groan and instead grip the steering wheel harder to channel all my mounting frustration. A month ago, I promised to track down Talon and make sure he got a personal invite to the wedding. I’ve tried everything I can think of to get a hold of the man. I even bribed his great aunt Wilma to give me his address. But not even certified mail has made it through.
If I didn’t know the man I’ve been married to twice so damn well, I’d be worried he was dead.
But a few phone calls around Three Rivers, Alaska ensured me that he is very much alive. Even if he’s impossible to track down.
That leaves me with only one option: drive to his remote cabin and drag his ass back with me to the airport. The wedding is this weekend, and every day I’m stuck in the dinky town of Three Rivers is one less day I’m lounging on the beaches of Maui. “Fine,” I finally say after several beats of tense silence. “I’ll find him and ask him to get on a plane.”
“I need you to do more than that, Macy.”
This time, I do groan out loud. “Okay, fine. I’ll make sure he comes. But you owe me for this!”
“Love you, sis!”
“Bottomless Mai Tai’s are just the beginning of that favor.”
“Done.” The call clicks off, saving my brother from a string of expletives that slip from my tongue.
The last thing I want to do is hunt down the man I was hoping never to see again. Talon Roark was my first…well, everything. My first crush, my first kiss, my first time, and my first husband. He was also my second. I left him behind, swearing he would never be my third. He deserves the one thing I can never give him.
I should’ve known my damn brother would want him at his wedding.
I listen to the radio until all the stations turn to static. I could play some music from my phone, but I don’t want the GPS to shut off. I don’t have any signal, and the directions to Talon’s cabin are squirrely and impossible to memorize.
Turning off the main highway and onto a smaller one, I take a deep breath. No matter what I feel when I first see Talon again, I can’t let it show. The first time we got married, we were eighteen. He was enlisted and stationed on the other side of the country. So he sent for me, and we got married at a courthouse just so we could be together. A year later, we realized the foolish mistake we made at such a young age and went our separate ways.
The second time… I shake away the memories.
“Where’s the damn turnoff?” I mutter, picking up my phone for a clue. But the GPS has clicked off because my battery is dead. “Are you kidding me, Universe?” I shout to the roof of my car. I had illusions of convincing Talon to get on a red-eye flight tonight. But that’s a little hard to do if I can’t find him.
I pull off onto the shoulder, trying to wiggle the phone cord every which way to get a charge. But either the cord is faulty or my phone has died a very untimely death. “Damn electronics,” I mutter.
I’m forced to drive down the small highway all the way until it dead-ends into the town of Three Rivers. I find a spot to park at the edge of the smallest downtown strip I’ve ever seen in my life and proceed on foot.
Passing some red building labeled The East Fork, the aroma of freshly cooked burgers drifts to me. My stomach rumbles, reminding me I’ve only had some airplane pretzels that left a lot to be desired to eat today. “Food first,” I mumble to myself. “Then I’ll hunt him down.”
But I don’t even make it to a table before I spot Talon out on the patio, laughing with his buddies like he has no cares in the world. I’d bet my last paycheck that they’re all Army soldiers. I learned to recognize the look while married to one.
“Just one?” the host asks.
“No, I’m not staying.” I dig in my purse, preparing the insurance that Talon will go with me whether he wants to or not. Maybe I’m going to extremes, but I can blame Elliot and his last-minute destination wedding for this one.
“Are you—”
I don’t hear what else the host says, because I march onto the patio. I slap a fuzzy pink handcuff on Talon’s wrist before he even spots me. Before his shock wears off, I slap the other one over my wrist. “You’re a hard man to track down, Talon Roark.”
2
TALON
It takes a second to register what the fuck just happened. Normally I’m better aware of my surroundings, something I learned to be in the Army. But I’ve been fighting forest fires for two straight weeks, and I’m dog-ass tired. That’s the only explanation I have for not seeing my ex-wife before she slapped a handcuff on me.
A fuzzy pink handcuff.
“If you’re going to have your way with me, you should at least buy me dinner first,” I say, pretending like I’m not in the least bit affected by her unexpected presence. Never mind that my heart pounds so hard in my chest it feels like it might explode. After the way we broke it off three years ago, I was certain she’d never get within a hundred miles of me again.
“Where have you been?” she barks, ignoring the few sets of eyes on her. It’s not just my table that’s more than curious, it’s all the diners on the patio.
“He’s been—”
I hold up my hand to silence my buddy Blaine. “Macy doesn’t care where I’ve been. Only that I haven’t returned any of her calls.”
“You asshat!” The fire in her eyes reminds me of our heated arguments in the past, usually over something completely stupid, that ended in the hottest sex. That she used the fuzzy pink handcuffs I bought her on an anniversary trip only makes her hotter in her frazzled moment now. Chemistry was never an issue between us. We could scream at each other one minute and be naked the next.
“So, what’ll it be?” I ask. “You buying me dinner or what?”
“You’re getting on a plane.”
“The hell I am.”
She narrows her eyes at me, shooting daggers. It only makes me want her more. With her in those handcuffs… “My brother’s getting married. For some unknown reason, he wants you to be there.”
I stiffen at the news, praying like hell that he’s not getting married to the crazy redhead he was dating the last time we met up. “To who?”
“Tricia.”
“Fuck.”
Macy raises an eyebrow at that, the irritation in her expression momentarily fleeing. “Guess we finally have something in common.” She shakes her head, searching for an empty chair nearby. But in order to retrieve one, she’d have to drag me out of my mine. Not a chance.
“You can sit on my lap, sweetheart.”
“Don’t call me that,” she snaps, causing my pulse to double. It’s been months since I’ve bedded another woman. Hell, maybe more than a year. After Macy stormed out of my life, deciding she no longer wanted to have the kids we always planned to have, I tried to move on. I even tried the online dating scene for a while. But no matter who I met, no one made me feel even half of what I did with Macy. Correction: do.
“Afraid what’ll happen if you do?” I wriggle my eyebrows to piss her off.
“You’re impossible.”
“You could uncuff me.”
“The hell I will.” She lets out a heavy, annoyed sigh and drops onto my thigh. My dick twitches instantly, reminded of many times she’s sat in my lap before. Most of those times she was naked or at least part of her was. “I’m not letting you loose until you promise to come back with me.”
“Get comfortable, sweetheart. We’re going to be here a while.” I wiggle my leg because I know what it’ll do to her.
“What’s a girl gotta do to get a beer around here?” she says, looking around for a server. She can pretend all she wants that the physical contact isn’t doing shit to her, but we both know better. Despite a
“Babe,” Blaine says, flagging his wife Charmane. “We have a new guest who needs a drink.”
“Do you want a chair, hun?” Charmane asks Macy.
“Please.”
I have to admit I’m a little disappointed by her answer, but if I had any sense, I’d be figuring out how to rip these damn handcuffs off so I can disappear until after the wedding. Then Macy wouldn’t have a reason to interrupt my peaceful life. I’m too fucking exhausted for drama right now. But dammit, the way she slides her ass from my thigh when Charmane brings her the chair ignites a fire that has long since been dormant. I bet she’s fucking doing it on purpose too.
“The wedding is Saturday,” Macy says coolly. “The sooner we get to Maui—”
“Maui?”
“You have something against sandy beaches?”
I shake my head. Fuck, my buddy Elliot must be spending his life savings for a wedding that’s going to ruin his life. That woman will bleed him dry and move on before he can so much as blink. If I wasn’t so set on pissing off Macy—the sex is always hottest when she’s mad at me—I’d get on the plane right now to talk him out of it.
“Here you go,” Charmane says to Macy, setting a frosted glass of beer in front of her.
She reaches for the drink with her right hand, but it’s chained to my left. To be a pain in the ass, I don’t move my hand to help. She grabs the cup with her left and empties half the beer in one gulp.
“You had anything to eat, sweetheart?”
“What do you care?” she snaps, which is answer enough: no.
“Charmane, bring us some of those caribou nachos please?”
“You got it.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Your stomach’s growling louder than a pissed off grizzly bear.”
“Macy, long time no see.” Brooks pulls up a chair to the crowded table, but we make room. As the group of us Army veterans grows in Three Rivers, we’ll always make room for one more. That’s what being a brother in arms is all about. Soon, we might need a second table. But we’ll never leave a man behind.
“Brooks,” Macy says flatly.
“That’s no way to greet an old friend.”
“You could’ve tried returning my calls.”
“And give up Talon’s position?” Brooks scoffs. “No chance in hell. You lost that privilege the day you walked out.”
As much as I appreciate the loyalty, his words stir something protective inside me. My heart shattered into a million fucking pieces when Macy told me she was leaving me the second time, but it doesn’t mean I want anyone else in her face about it. No matter how much time passes between us or who we might move on to, she will always be mine. In this lifetime and every other. “Brooks, knock it off.”
“Okay,” he says, lifting his hands in surrender. “But I’m not the one sex-handcuffed to my ex-wife.”
“Where’s the key?” I ask Macy, exasperated. I’m not just twisted up inside about seeing Macy today, I’m fucking exhausted from battling thousands of acres of forest fires. If I don’t get uncuffed from her, I might do something I can’t take back.
“I’m not telling you.”
My eyes drop to her tits. I bet it’s in her fucking bra. “You need to find a new hiding place, sweetheart.”
“Stop calling me that.” She barks the words, but the heat in her eyes says she dares me to keep using that term of endearment. It’s a dare that usually leaves us naked, sweaty, and very fucking satisfied.
“Give up the key.”
“Only if you promise to come with me to Maui. There’s a red-eye tonight—”
“No.” I swipe a nacho and take my time chewing it, just to piss Macy off.
“Then I guess you’re stuck cuffed to me until you change your mind.”
I lean in close, my lips lingering an inch from an ear I used to nibble on a daily basis. “You sure you want to do this, Macy? Because you and I both know what’ll happen if you don’t unlock these cuffs.”
3
MACY
Staying handcuffed to Talon is probably the worst idea I’ve ever had. The chemistry between us has always been off the charts, even across a crowded room. But linked together like we are now has alarm bells going off in my head on full blast.
“You ready, sweetheart?”
“Ready to go back to your cabin and help you pack your suitcase? I’ve been ready.”
Talon just laughs that low, easy sexy laugh that makes my nipples buzz. It’s not fucking fair. It’s been more than a year since a man touched me, and no one has ever made me come alive the way Talon does with just a single caress.
I follow him out of the restaurant because I have no choice cuffed together. He’s stronger than I am, but I’m not about to let him out of my sight. Knowing Talon, he’ll disappear into the mountains somewhere until the wedding is over.
“What about my car?” I protest when he starts walking in the opposite direction of where I parked.
“Don’t care.”
“But my stuff—”
Talon stops in the middle of the dirt street and pins me with a fierce stare. Most people might feel a tinge of fear at that stern look, but not me. Oh no. I was always the helpless idiot who got turned on by it. I lick my lips and bite down on the bottom one.
“I’ve been gone for two weeks,” he says in a low, frustrated growl. “I’m going home. To hell with your stuff, Macy.” He lifts our joined wrists. “You want it, you’ll uncuff me.”
I narrow my eyes at him. I’m curious what he’s been up to for that length of time, but I’m too proud to let him know I give a shit. “The key’s in my car. So if you—”
But Talon doesn’t listen to my lie. He turns and resumes course for his truck, forcing me to follow. He opens the driver’s side door and gestures for me to get inside.
“But my right hand is cuffed to yours.”
“So you sit backwards.”
The man certainly knows how to get my blood boiling. “Fine.” I shimmy into the truck, forced to sit with crossed legs and my back to the dashboard. If anyone else were driving, I’d be fearful of my safety. But even pissed off at me, Talon would never let harm befall me. My heart warms, thawing a single layer of ice.
“You’re really going to abandon Elliot?” I ask after a few miles of bumpy, awkward silence. I can’t see where we’re headed, but I can tell we left pavement. “It’s his wedding, Talon.”
Talon glances at me, his eyes dropping to my breasts. They’re bouncing with the road, and I roll my eyes at him. “Grow up.”
“You of all people know how grown up I am.”
I hate that his words send my gaze straight to his crotch. Tingling erupts between my legs. It doesn’t matter how much animosity still exists between us. Or that the best thing I could do to protect the both of us is keep my damn hands to myself. If Talon makes a move, I’ll be missing my panties in a heartbeat.
“I’m not going to witness your brother making the biggest mistake of his life.” Talon keeps his eyes on the road as the truck slows and winds up hill. I knew he lived outside of town, but with the way my ears are popping, we’re up higher than I expected. “I can’t believe you didn’t try to stop the wedding from happening.”
“You know I can’t talk Elliot out of anything once his mind’s made up.”
“So we agree?” Talon asks, parking. He throws open the door and waits for me to crawl toward him.
“Agree on what?” I’m forced to climb into his lap, and the temptation to throw my arms around his neck and sink my lips against his is undeniably overwhelming. It takes all my strength to rip my gaze away from the mouth that has shown me so much pleasure.
“That Elliot’s making a mistake.”
“It’s his life, Talon. I’m supporting him by being there.”
