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Pushing The Limits
Katherine Garbera
“Houston, we have a hot astronaut problem…”Survival expert and control freak Jessie Odell has faced the most hazardous environments on earth. Training astronauts should be a cakewalk. Nope. Enter candidate Hemi “Thor” Barrett and his hot, ripped bod, and suddenly Jessie is breathless with raw excitement—something she hasn't felt for a long, long time—and it scares her to death.Hemi isn't just some sexy distraction. Jessie actually likes the guy—and that makes him more treacherous than an Everest ascent. It also means Hemi's that much harder to resist. With every hungry, heat-fueled encounter, Jessie skirts closer to that dangerous edge. Falling for this space cowboy is definitely high stakes…but could the payoff be worth the risk?
“Houston, we have a hot-astronaut problem...”
Survival expert and control freak Jessie Odell has faced the most hazardous environments on earth. Training astronauts should be a cakewalk. Nope. Enter candidate Hemi “Thor” Barrett and his hot, ripped bod, and suddenly Jessie is breathless with raw excitement—something she hasn’t felt for a long, long time—and it scares her to death.
Hemi isn’t just some sexy distraction. Jessie actually likes the guy—and that makes him more treacherous than an Everest ascent. It also means Hemi’s that much harder to resist. With every hungry, heat-fueled encounter, Jessie skirts closer to that dangerous edge. Falling for this space cowboy is definitely high stakes...but could the payoff be worth the risk?
“The kisses we shared here at the lake haunt me...”
Jessie lifted her head, gazing into Hemi’s eyes, and felt a clenching deep inside. “Me, too. I can’t escape you, Hemi—no matter how hard I try. I run or climb a ravine and I’m still thinking of you. I want you.”
“I want you, too. But I’m thinking about what you said—”
She put her fingers over his lips.
“You asked me a question the last time I was here,” she said. “I should have just said yes to you then, but fear stopped me.” It felt good, finally saying out loud what she’d been trying to ignore for days.
She was afraid to make it too easy for herself to be with him.
Lust.
That was all this was, she reminded herself. That was all she would allow it to be.
They’d be lovers, and when the candidates were done training with her, she’d wave him off and wish him well.
She couldn’t help wondering if this was another lie she told herself, but she pulled him to her and took the kiss she craved...
Dear Reader (#u9e2e8315-e547-5b64-844c-8125b054a931),
I’m really excited for you to read Hemi and Jessie’s story. This story combines several passions from my childhood. When I was growing up my parents didn’t allow televisions in our rooms, and my mom, fearful that my sisters and I wouldn’t have any imagination, closely monitored our viewing time. So most of the shows I watched were with my parents and were educational.
One of our favorite shows was on PBS and featured Jacques Cousteau. My parents were friends with a couple who were marine biologists in Hialeah, where I grew up, and I think I romanticized that profession. I knew I wanted Jessie to be a survivalist but as I was developing her I realized she could have my childhood dream—growing up on a research ship. I loved the contrast of Jessie being so grounded and Hemi always reaching for the stars.
They are both very brash and daring people. I wish I could be the same, but it takes a lot of internal bullying for me to do things that feel risky. In my soul I yearn to try things, but I’m practical, too, and don’t want to get hurt :). I once did some cliff diving. But that first leap took me forever!
Jessie and Hemi risk their lives every day just doing their jobs, but the biggest risk of all may be following their hearts.
Happy reading!
Katherine
Pushing the Limits
Katherine Garbera
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
USA TODAY bestselling author KATHERINE GARBERA is a two-time MAGGIE® Award winner who has written more than seventy books. A Florida native who grew up to travel the globe, Katherine now makes her home in the Midlands of the UK with her husband, two children and a very spoiled miniature dachshund. Visit Katherine on the web at katherinegarbera.com (http://www.katherinegarbera.com), or catch up with her on Facebook and Twitter.
This book is dedicated to Courtney and Lucas, who remind me every day how lucky I am to be their mom, and to David and Charlotte Smith, who taught me all I know about parenting. I am so lucky to be their daughter.
Contents
Cover (#u3ec76105-a037-5c8f-b241-eaf001418bce)
Back Cover Text (#u64e1b3a4-d831-5927-92a7-798c48e919e0)
Introduction (#u3d79c957-b58b-5e33-ac44-cee2bc5ef712)
Dear Reader (#u69a01793-c12e-55db-9590-96664a0b38b9)
Title Page (#u7a4d2697-92f9-58f3-b422-7ccaeb59b346)
About the Author (#ud41547de-ea8c-5067-9c59-bd97f2fe3908)
Dedication (#udc39f023-cb57-5327-b535-cf82aada3404)
Chapter 1 (#ud12a6112-0040-53c2-8e7f-3bcd280a1c83)
Chapter 2 (#ua3bea43a-5320-5f2e-9c34-b5e74985974a)
Chapter 3 (#u5274791c-6c5d-520c-a387-932f039ef54a)
Chapter 4 (#uf5aa0100-4b54-54f5-a3d9-fa3018a2a279)
Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
1 (#u9e2e8315-e547-5b64-844c-8125b054a931)
JESSIE ODELL STOOD in the corner as the party raged on. The gala for the new Mick Tanner Training Facility was in full swing at the Bar T Ranch just outside of Cole’s Hill, Texas. Astronauts, astronaut candidates, government officials and private investors ready to fund missions that would take humanity to Mars all mingled in the converted barn. But she’d had enough of talking about her adventures and the famous people she’d met. That part of her life ended when Alexi slipped into the crevasse on Everest. When she hadn’t been able to save him.
She’d known that when she got back to base camp the grief would hit her...except it never had. She’d become icy inside and out. Her old life of making adventure films for television was over—both the thin mountain air and the drive compelling her to move forward. She was tired of having every moment of her life played out for the cameras. She was ready for some privacy.
So this job at the new Cronus mission training center had been a godsend.
“Don’t like parties much?” a man asked, coming up on her left to lean against the poorly lit wall.
“Not really,” she admitted. He was hard to see clearly in the shadows, just a silhouette of a man in a well-fitting tuxedo. She could tell he was taller than she was—which was saying something, as she was five foot ten and wearing three-inch heels. Her mother had told her to never apologize or cower because of her height and she never had. It was part of her and she couldn’t hide it.
“Me either,” he said. “I’m Thor, by the way.”
“Jessie. Thor, huh? You don’t look Nordic.”
He laughed and it made her smile, the sound loud and joyful, not low and subtle the way Alexi’s had been.
“Yeah. Sorry, it’s a force of habit when I’m talking to NASA guys. I guess I should have introduced myself as Hemi. Hemi Barrett. Thor’s my call sign and what I answer to. I’m part of the astronaut crew training for the first Cronus mission,” he said, stepping from the shadows and holding out his hand.
“You sound American but that name is Maori, right?”
“Yeah. On my mom’s side. She and my pops met in Hawaii and I was raised in LA.”
His strong jaw and dark stubble accentuated the fullness of his lips. She stared at his mouth for much longer than was acceptable, feeling a spark of instant attraction. She’d never had that before. Normally her sexual desire grew out of friendship with a man.
But this was different. He was different. And this was definitely lust.
His eyes were like melted dark chocolate, decadent and sinful. His skin was tanned and there were laugh lines around his eyes as well as a one-inch scar on his forehead above his right eye. There was also a birthmark around his right eye. The Maori people called those with these marks ngā kanohi ora o rātou mā kua wehe atu, which meant “the living faces of those who have gone on before us.” Many believed that the wearer had been marked by the gods for greatness.
He arched one eyebrow at her and she realized she must be staring at him, but she didn’t care. She had grown up surrounded by nature. Her first instincts were always driven by the laws of the wild. In the animal kingdom, and in life, she’d found she never regretted not backing down.
She’d spent time with a Maori family on one of her New Zealand adventures. She had also read the personnel files of each of the candidates. But a report couldn’t capture the personality of Hemi.
His lips curled in a half smile and he took a step closer. She put her hand out, settling it on his arm, feeling the strength in him under the fabric of his suit jacket. She flexed her fingers. All the men she’d known were lean from surviving in the wilderness. Not him. He was muscled, with coiled strength inside.
His handshake was firm but not meant to intimidate.
“Jessie Odell.” He said her name with a hint of awe. That meant he’d seen her show or read her books.
“Yes.”
“Wow. I used to watch your parents’ show when I was a kid,” he said.
Well, thank God for that. She was a part of so many people’s childhoods because of those shows. Her parents—marine biologists—had followed in the footsteps of Jacques Cousteau and had brought her along on their yacht as they filmed their adventures. She’d rather talk about her childhood than her last ascent up Everest. She needed to distance herself from that, which was why she was here in Texas, in a job that would be a cakewalk compared to what she’d done before.
“I bet you hear that a lot,” he said.
“Some. Other people want to hear what it was like to snowshoe in the Arctic.”
“That’s cool,” he said with a wink. “But I’ve been to space.”
She laughed and it surprised her. She hadn’t expected to laugh tonight, but he was right. She was in a room full of men and women who’d done something extraordinary, as well.
“What’s it like?” she asked.
“Buy me a drink and we can exchange stories. I want to hear about the time you were in the shark cage off Africa.”
“It’s an open bar,” she pointed out.
“Then you have nothing to lose,” he said.
“Okay, let’s go.”
They maneuvered through the crowd, where she saw her friend Molly Tanner, owner of the Bar T, dancing with her fiancé, Ace McCoy. Ace would be leading the long-term space mission to build a way station halfway between Earth and Mars.
“Ace has it all,” Hemi said, following her gaze.
“Does he?”
“Yeah. He’s got a great fiancée, he’s first crew member and leader of the Cronus mission and he’s got this training facility up and running.”
“Do you want all that?” she asked.
He shrugged. “That’s not really a first date kind of question.”
“This is a first date?” But she felt a little embarrassed that she’d asked too intimate a question. Usually, when she met people, they were on their way to do something daring, happy to answer intimate questions because there was a risk that not everyone would make it back alive. But he was different. She was curious about him. She’d spent a lot of time working around the world and was usually the outsider. People were used to her asking questions, and at times she forgot herself and followed her own curiosity.
“I’m hoping,” he said, with a wink.
That put her at ease a little bit. He had charm, she’d give him that. With his looks and body he probably didn’t have to work too hard to get women to fall for him. “We’ll see. I still don’t know what kind of story you’re offering in exchange for hearing about ten-year-old me and a great white.”
“The time I did a space walk and became untethered...”
“Obviously you made it back,” she said.
“Obviously, but it was pretty dicey for a little while. What’s your poison?” he asked as they got to the bar.
Yak butter tea. But she knew that wasn’t what he meant. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
