скачать книгу бесплатно
Night Maneuvers
Jillian Burns
Subject: Mitchell McCabe, U.S. Air Force Captain (Call Sign: Casanova)Current Status: Celibate–because he lost a bet.Mission: Survive thirty days without sex.Obstacle: Captain Alexandria Hughes, who's suddenly gone from hotshot pilot to just plain hot!Alex has had it bad for gorgeous Mitch ever since their academy days, but he's only ever seen her as a wingman, never a woman. It's time she made him take another long, hard look.After years as friends and comrades, Mitch is seeing Alex as the opposite of "one of the guys." Has that smoking-hot body always been hiding under her flight suit? Is she just messing with him? Can he wait a month to discover what he's been missing out on…or are some sizzling night maneuvers a sure bet?
Twelve military heroes.
Twelve indomitable heroines.
One UNIFORMLY HOT! miniseries.
Don’t miss a story in Harlequin Blaze’s
12-book continuity series, featuring irresistible
soldiers from all branches of the armed forces.
Now serving—
those reckless and wild flyboys in the U.S. Air Force…
TAILSPIN
by Cara Summers
July 2011
HOT SHOT
by Jo Leigh
August 2011
NIGHT MANEUVERS
by Jillian Burns
September 2011
Uniformly Hot!—
The Few. The Proud. The Sexy as Hell!
Dear Reader,
One of the last movies River Phoenix ever made was called Dogfight. It was about a young marine about to ship off to Vietnam in 1963. He and his buddies throw a party the night before called a Dogfight. The guy who brings the ugliest girl wins. So River finds a plain girl and asks her to the party. At the last minute, he tries to back out, but it’s too late. Of course, she finds out what the party is really about, and he spends the rest of the night trying to make it up to her and ultimately falling for her.
River’s character is a deeply flawed young man, hardened by a brutal childhood, yet eventually redeemed by love. Ahh, my favorite kind of hero. My hero Mitch McCabe is a flawed, bitter guy, too. And I knew I’d need just the right heroine to make him believe in love. When Alex appeared in Let It Ride, I knew she was the right one for Mitch. Who better for him to trust implicitly than his best buddy?
Enjoy,
Jillian Burns
Night Maneuvers
Jillian Burns
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jillian Burns has always read romance, and spent her teens immersed in the worlds of Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennett. She lives in Texas with her husband of twenty years and their three active kids. Jillian likes to think her emotional nature—sometimes referred to as moodiness—has found the perfect outlet in writing stories filled with passion and romance. She believes romance novels have the power to change lives with their message of eternal love and hope.
To Tommy
for putting up with my deadline crunch times.
To Pam and Linda—
as always, couldn’t do it without you.
And to Elizabeth,
for breaking the tie.
To Jennifer for great insights,
and to Barb for encouragement and support.
It really does take a village to raise a book.
And, as always, to my amazing editor Kathryn
for trusting that this story could be something,
despite everything, and making it so.
This book is dedicated to
all the children of alcoholics.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
1
IF SHE EVER got married in a place like this, her mother would weep and wail for a month of Sundays.
Captain Alexandria Hughes, unlikely bridesmaid, looked around the small Las Vegas chapel, taking in the garish pink and purple drapery swags and the fake marble pedestals holding bouquets of fake white roses. The dozens of white candles weren’t too bad, but…the Elvis impersonator in the cheap gold jacket would have to go.
Or maybe not. Maybe her mother would be so grateful if Alex ever married at all that Mom would even agree to let Elvis officiate.
The lone daughter in a family of three sons, Alex had been her mother’s only hope for all things girly. Unfortunately, Alex had always preferred roping calves to baking pies. But that had never stopped Mom from trying. Even after twelve years, she still hoped Alex’s Air Force career was merely a rebellious phase that would end when she met Mr. Right.
The wedding march suddenly blared from speakers. She let all thoughts of Mom slip to the back of her mind and turned with the dozen or so guests to watch the bride walk down the aisle.
God, Jordan looked beautiful in that strapless white dress. The material shimmered and the full skirt flowed down to the pink shag carpet and swished when she walked.
Alex flattened her palm and pushed at an ache in her stomach. Must be nerves for her friend. She could never rock a wedding dress like that. For one thing, she had nothing in front to hold it up. For another, she’d have tripped over all that material puddling around her feet.
Luckily, she’d obtained permission to wear her dress uniform even though the wedding wasn’t being held on base. She preferred her uniform to one of those froufrou dresses. Her uniform was familiar, comfortable. The only primping she’d done was shining her dress shoes and polishing her saber. The amount of fuss most women put into their looks had always seemed so ridiculous.
Until recently.
Major Cole Jackson, er…former Major Jackson of the U.S. Air Force—now Officer Jackson of the Las Vegas Police Department—beamed at his bride as she advanced down the aisle. Pure love for Jordan shone in his eyes and Alex felt a stab of…was that envy? Nah. Jackson was a good buddy. After what he’d been through in Iraq, he deserved happiness. She’d about busted a gut cheering for them when he and Jordan had announced their engagement.
It was just the look that came over Jackson whenever he gazed at his fiancée. Like she was the missing part of his soul. Even the toughest airman might get a little knot in his throat watching that. Even McCabe.
Alex glanced over at Captain Mitchell McCabe, aka the best man. Okay, so maybe not McCabe. He was too busy winking at the redheaded maid of honor standing in front of Alex.
She clenched her teeth. What a player. But she cleared her expression and smiled as Jordan stepped up and took her groom’s hand.
The vows were short and sweet, even with Elvis curling his lip and swinging his hips to punctuate each statement. Pastor Elvis pronounced Jackson and Jordan husband and wife and then Alex and five of her fellow uniformed officers pivoted to face each other, drew their sabers, and formed the arch.
Jackson—looking fit and strong in a simple black tuxedo—extended his elbow to his bride. They passed beneath the arch and kissed. After Lieutenant Colonel Grady issued the command to return sabers to belts, everyone headed into the next room for cake and champagne.
Whew. It was over. Maybe now Alex could get something to drink and go prop up a wall somewhere. She removed her white gloves and spent the next twenty minutes nursing her beer and glaring at McCabe’s seduction routine as he hit on the redhead.
Never mind his practiced words. All Mitch had to do was stand there and women flocked to him. Even with the short military cut, his blond hair begged for a woman’s fingers to run through it. His mischievous light blue eyes and tall, muscular build were simply icing on the cake. And when he smiled? Forget it, women were down for the count. Those twin dimples were the strongest weapon in his arsenal, and even his slightly crooked teeth only added charm to his deadly grin.
Fury ramped up as Alex watched him. When she’d returned to Nellis Air Force base after a two-year stint at Langley, she’d hoped to find he’d gotten past his I’ve-been-screwed-by-my-ex-wife-and-now-I’m-just-here-for-the-party phase. But it’d been seven years since his divorce, and, if anything, McCabe was worse now. She’d thought losing that bet with Jackson, forcing him to be celibate, might be the beginning of change for Mitch. But he’d seemed to make it through the ordeal unscathed.
“Alex, come get in the picture.” Jordan took her elbow and led her to stand in front of the table where the cake and punch had been served.
The photographer fiddled with the tripod.
McCabe lined up next to Alex as Jordan gathered more people into the picture. “Aren’t you going to find someone to go home with, Hughes?” McCabe murmured into her ear. After a dozen years of friendship, it irritated her how his Southern drawl still flowed through her core like premium oil through an engine. “It’s practically required at weddings, isn’t it?” He winked at the redhead.
“I think you’ve made the quota for both of us.” She swiped her hat out from beneath her arm and clasped it behind her back.
“Aw, Hughes.” McCabe grimaced. “What happened to you at Langley? Two years away from Nellis and you’re no fun anymore.” He scooted closer and placed his arm around her shoulder as Jackson and Grady took their places on either side of them. “I remember a time when we used to race to see which one of us could close the deal first.”
“Once. We did that once. Almost a decade ago.” When she’d have rather died than let her fellow cadets know she was a virgin. Her mission that night had been to find some guy she’d never see again, get laid and get it over with. Geez, that seemed like a lifetime ago.
“Has it been that long?” He looked down at her, his eyes twinkling mischievously and his teeth gleaming white.
She scowled. “Not long enough, I guess.” Not if Mitch was still strutting around like a stag during mating season. He hadn’t gotten any better since she’d transferred out of here for Langley.
Following the photographer’s instructions, she scrunched in and placed a hand on McCabe’s back. As she smelled his expensive sandalwood cologne her stomach dipped like she’d just rolled her F-16. Damn it. She refused to let him get to her anymore. He was the reason she’d asked to transfer out of Nellis. She’d moved hundreds of miles away trying to extinguish whatever she might have imagined she felt for him.
It had hurt to see him drinking and sleeping around after the divorce. She’d understood it. Up to a point. But she’d finally had to put some distance between herself and her buddy. Watching him become more and more callous had broken her heart.
Now she was just annoyed. Ever since she’d been stationed back in Vegas, resentment burned in her gut watching him continue to behave like a shallow serial dater. She’d hoped in time his flame of hatred for his ex would burn itself out. But she could see now that Mitch McCabe was determined to be nothing more than a walking booty call.
As the camera flashed, she forced a smile, and then stalked off toward the restrooms.
MITCH WATCHED HUGHES storm away. Something nagged at him. He was glad she was done with her internship at Langley, but his buddy had changed since she’d transferred back to Nellis last year. What was eating her?
While the bride and groom posed for more pictures with family, Mitch checked his Tag Heuer. Ten o’clock already. And a Friday night. How much longer was this shindig going to last? The only single woman in the room was that saucy redheaded friend of Jordan’s. She’d flirted for a while before telling him she already had a boyfriend. Mitch’s most important rule where women were concerned: no poaching. He sure as hell wouldn’t do to some other poor schmuck what had been done to him.
Finally it looked as if the newlyweds were taking their leave. Jackson was acting like a lovesick fool, hanging all over his bride as if he had emphysema and she was oxygen. Even their buddy Grady—Mr. Control Freak—in an embarrassing public display of affection, had his wife, Lily, wrapped in his arms as he kissed her neck. Lily had wasted no time reeling the poor sucker in last year. And now that he’d returned from his tour of duty in Iraq Grady couldn’t go two sentences at work without mentioning his wife.
When Hughes reappeared, Mitch sauntered over. He shook his head and rocked back on his heels. “Pathetic,” he said under his breath. “First Grady falls on his sword, and now Jackson, slipping the matrimonial noose around his neck.”
“Jordan and Lily aren’t like Luanne, Mitch,” Hughes said.
