Tori Carrington - Never Say Never Again

Standing directly in the last remaining beams of the setting sun, Bronte watched Connor’s eyes darken. “This is crazy,” he muttered, just before burying his hands in her hair and slanting his mouth against hers, the hot wetness of his tongue begging for entrance.

Bronte’s knees went weak and she melted against him for support. She suddenly realized Connor’s arousal pulsed against her stomach. She drew a sharp breath, trying to clear her head. Connor groaned something, then launched a renewed attack on her mouth.

Helpless to resist him, and not sure she wanted to anyway, Bronte arched her back in invitation. An invitation he obviously accepted, Bronte decided, when he backed her up against the rough bark of the tree, well out of sight of any onlookers. The low-hanging branches created a fragrant cocoon around them. The sun finally slipped over the horizon, leaving them in deep, secretive shadows.

Bronte shuddered as Connor’s hand seared her flesh through her dress. Then he dipped his finger inside the low neckline and his hot skin made contact with hers. Desire pooled between her thighs, making Bronte whimper.

Who would have guessed that serious, brooding Connor McCoy could bring a woman to the brink with just a kiss?

Dear Reader,

We can’t tell you how much we’ve enjoyed writing THE MAGNIFICENT MCCOY MEN miniseries. All the McCoys feel like family, and it’s really tough letting them go. Especially Connor. As the eldest of the five McCoys and fill-in dad to his four rough-and-tumble brothers, his story touched us on the deepest level. So it made sense for us to find Connor a very special woman.

In Never Say Never Again, U.S. Marshal Connor McCoy meets up with savvy junior U.S. Attorney Bronte O’Brien. Bronte is everything Connor’s always avoided in a woman—she’s strong, she’s smart and she’s very, very sexy. But when Connor finds himself framed for a crime he didn’t commit, she’s exactly the woman he needs—on his side and in his bed.

We hope you enjoy watching the last Magnificent McCoy bachelor fall. We’d love to know what you think. Write to us at: P.O. Box 12271, Toledo, OH 43612, or visit us at www.toricarrington.com for fun drawings. And be sure to keep your eyes peeled for our first book in Harlequin’s new BLAZE series, YOU SEXY THING!.

Here’s wishing you love, romance and a happy ending,

Lori & Tony Karayianni

aka Tori Carrington

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To our editor, Brenda Chin,

who took one look at License To Thrill and saw

The Magnificent McCoy Men miniseries.

This one’s for you!

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

Epilogue

CONNOR MCCOY CAUGHT A glimpse of himself in the mirror and nearly choked. Yes, he recalled agreeing to be his youngest brother David’s best man, though he still couldn’t quite figure that one out. Yes, he remembered putting the tuxedo on, every agonizing moment of the ordeal, from fastening the cummerbund to nearly strangling himself with the bow tie. But as he walked through David’s bedroom to get his brother’s wallet, he was startled by his own reflection in the mirror above the dresser.

The guy looking back at him was a stranger, as was just about everyone in his life right now. He puffed his chest out, and turned his head slightly, considering the dark-haired guy in his late thirties looking back at him. Not bad, if he did say so himself. He never spent much time grooming, which explained his startled reaction to spotting his own reflection. He made a monthly visit to the Manchester barber for a trim to the close-cropped cut he’d taken to back at the U.S. Marshal’s Service Training Academy in Glynco, Georgia, over a decade ago. A supply of good, ol’ Ivory soap, deodorant, shaving cream, a straight edge razor and a bottle of aspirin were the total contents of his medicine cabinet at his apartment. Completely low maintenance. Unlike some people he could name but wouldn’t. His gaze dropped to the dresser in front of him and he frowned, eyeing the variety of colognes there. He picked one up. Sex Bomb?

“What’s the holdup?” David asked, popping his head in the doorway.

Connor held up the bottle. “Do you really wear this stuff?”

His younger brother entered the room then leaned against the doorjamb. “Every chance I get. Drives the women crazy.” He winked.

Connor put the bottle down, nearly knocking the rest of them over as he did so. “I think I’ll pass.”

David collected his wallet from the night table on the other side of the bed. Connor watched him, trying to pinpoint some sort of visible difference. Aside from the monkey suit he wore, he looked the same. His hair was a little neater, maybe, but that was about it. For all intents and purposes, David McCoy was the same smart-ass kid he’d always been.

Why, then, the sudden need to get married?

Connor cleared his throat. “Are you nervous?”

“Who? Me?” David said, jabbing his thumb into his chest. “Hell, yeah, I’m nervous.”

Connor relaxed. Perhaps it wasn’t too late to talk his brother out of making the biggest mistake of his life. Where there were nerves, there were good, solid reasons.

David slipped his wallet into his back pocket, then straightened his tuxedo jacket. “After all, it’s not every day a man has to stand in front of half the D.C. law enforcement community and profess his love for a fellow police officer.” He grinned.

Connor grimaced.

His brother whacked him in the stomach. “What’s the matter, Con? You’re looking a little green there. Don’t tell me you’re nervous?”

“Me? Hell, no.” He stiffened. “I just want to make sure that…you know, that you’re doing the right thing here.”

“Are you kidding? Oh, I’m definitely doing the right thing. Marrying Kelli Hatfield’s the smartest thing I’ll have done in my life up ’til this point.” He smoothed down the front of his shirt, his expression slanting toward the serious. He slowly shook his head. “You know, I thought I had it all figured out before. Life. Career. Love. Then came Kelli and she…well, she proved I didn’t know diddly.”

This wasn’t going anything like the way Connor had planned. He took a deep breath and fought the urge to shake his own head in disbelief and pity for the youngest of the McCoy clan.

“Do you know what that’s like?”

Connor snapped his head up. “What?”

“You know…loving someone. Falling in love with someone. Meeting that one person who makes the whole world look different. Like opening your eyes for the first time.”

Oh, boy, was his brother really in sorry shape. “I like the way the world looks right now.”

David laughed. “I knew you’d say that.” He slapped his hand across Connor’s shoulders, meeting his gaze in the mirror. “I hope I’m around when it happens to you, big bro. Now that’s going to be something to sell tickets to.”

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t go reserving a forum just yet, David. Because you’d lose every stinking cent you’d put down.”

David waggled a finger at him. “You just watch and see if it doesn’t happen to you.”

“Never.” He checked each of his cuff links and sighed, realizing he wasn’t going to get anywhere talking to his brother now. And if they didn’t get out of there soon, he was afraid David would put on a teapot to boil and suggest they reminisce about old times. “You ready?”