Her Irresistible Guardian
Men in Uniforms: Marines, Book 2 (can be read standalone)
by M.D. Dalrymple
Military Romance
Date Published: 07-27-2023
Four years.
It's been four years since Olivia ghosted Dax as he departed for Marine Boot Camp.
Now a Lance Corporal, easy-going Dax "D" Cameron is shocked when the woman who left him with a shattered heart is standing before him.
The mix of fury and desire that bubble inside him rocks him to his core. Yet he's stationed stateside for the meantime, and if Olivia can explain herself well enough, it might help him finally get over her.
Which would be good, because his new training can't allow for any distractions. Let alone the buxom, golden, chestnut haired woman from his past. Any mess up or mistake can bring disaster for his entire squad.
When Olivia Hastings turns around to find Dax standing in front of her, she can't believe her eyes. It's the same Dax, only more muscular and his laid-back smile is wiped from his face. He seems larger somehow, and his presence after so long tears her words from her lips.
While she does owe him an explanation, he owes her one as well, because he bailed on her to join the Marines without even asking her what she thought about the idea or how it might affect their relationship. And now that she has a possessive ex dogging her heels, the last thing she needs is to have her emotions riled up by Dax's reappearance.
Because he's more irresistible now than he had been before he left.
Four years, however, wasn't enough time to extinguish the heat between them. And when they make their apologies, sparks fly even hotter than they had in the past.
But it turns out Olivia's ex is more than just an irritation -- he's dangerous. And when his jealously gets out of control, both Olivia and Dax are in his sights.
Can Dax and Olivia overcome their haunting past and her dangerous ex? Or will the challenges be too much for them to bear?
Excerpt:
Dax finally broke free from his trance, but his eyes remained fixed on the woman at the booth.
“Remember me telling you about the girl I dated for over a year who suddenly ghosted me when I joined the Marines? That's her.”
“No shit,” Sergeant Drake’s tone was more tempered since there was no threat, but still surprised. This was nothing short of a shock to Dax, but they were all familiar Dax’s strange story about the girl who ghosted him. Most believed the story to be a half-truth at best – what kind of person ghosted a guy right before he joined the Marines?
Yet here she was, the girl who ghosted him, at a carnival booth.
“Go talk to her,” Drake told him.
Dax tore his gaze off Olivia and her luscious body (stop it!) to glare at his sergeant.
“Are you fuckin’ sick in the head? Why would I want to do that to myself?”
Drake tugged on the brim of his straw cowboy hat. “Because I can see the way you’re looking at her right now. And if for nothing else, to get some answers. We all know you never got closure on that. Here’s your chance.” He waved a hand at the booth.
Closure. What a horrible way to think about running into Olivia.
But his sergeant wasn’t wrong. Fucking sage, that’s what Drake was. All he was missing was the gray fantasy beard.
“Fine, but get back. Give me some space, will ya?”
David and Sgt. Drake made mirrored moves of holding their hands up and taking a step back, and Brian followed them. Chewing on his lip, Dax huffed hard through his nose and turned toward the booth.
The people gathered around the table had left. Her back was to him, her rounded ass outlined perfectly in a pair of fitted black jeans (I said stop it!) as she dug in a box at the back of the booth.
“Do you have any brochures?” he asked in a tight voice. Not disguising it, just trying to control the surge of shocked irritation inside him. His fury mixed with another emotion Dax couldn’t quite place.
“There’s a few on the table. Or are we all out?”
Her voice was everything he remembered, slightly husky with a slight lilt. He would always remember that voice.
Fuck.
Dax steeled himself. “Yeah, I don’t see any brochures. I think they were all taken. Do you have any more?”
At this, she froze in her movements. Dax cursed himself. Something in his voice must have given him away. She jerked upright, her back still to him, and after a brief pause, she slowly spun to face him.
It was her.
Olivia.
Dax’s heart stopped in his chest, and he suddenly couldn’t breathe.
Her face was closed off, as if trying to hide the shock that he guessed she must be feeling.
The same shock that brought him to stock-still stance.
The colored flyers crumpled in her fist as she stared at him. Her light blue shirt pulled tight across her ample breasts, and the white stitching on her left breast matched the wording on the pop-up. Besser Real Estate.
They stared at each other for several seconds. It seemed all the fresh beach air was gone, and his chest heaved. He watched as her own gaze roved over his body, taking him in and trying to convince herself that he was indeed standing right before her.
Because he still wasn’t sure he was seeing Olivia. It was like something from a strange fever dream.
Finally, she broke the silence.
“Dax, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
About the Author
M.D. Dalrymple is a pen name for Michelle Deerwester-Dalrymple for her contemporary series. She writes police, Marine Corps, and campus romances based off real places and experiences. Are you looking for pulled from the real word romance? Grab the Men in Uniform, Men in Uniform: Marines, or the Campus Heat series today!
Writing in the dry heat of the Southwest, M.D. has written over 60 books under different pen names. She has a half-dozen kids, too many pets to count, and her hubby who is also a writer and is her happily ever after!
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