The Lone Wolf's Craving. Tina Beckett
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Dear Reader
Changes in life. We all go through them. Some of those changes make us stronger … and some of them have the power to bring us to our knees. The hero and heroine in THE LONE WOLF’S CRAVING, part two of the Men of Honour duet, are both going through such a change. They each struggle with the realisation that their lives will be forever altered as a result. They must make a choice: accept what the future holds and move forward, or rail against fate and remain trapped in a vicious cycle of anger and bitterness.
Thank you for joining Luke and Kate as they face the heartbreak that comes with change and search for the courage to overcome. Best of all—they find love along the way. I hope you enjoy reading about their journey as much as I enjoyed writing about it!
Much love
Tina Beckett
Born to a family that was always on the move, TINA BECKETT learned to pack a suitcase almost before she knew how to tie her shoes. Fortunately she met a man who also loved to travel, and she snapped him right up. Married for over twenty years, Tina has three wonderful children and has lived in gorgeous places such as Portugal and Brazil.
Living where English reading material is difficult to find has its drawbacks, however. Tina had to come up with creative ways to satisfy her love for romance novels, so she picked up her pen and tried writing one. After her tenth book she realised she was hooked. She was officially a writer.
A three-times Golden Heart finalist, and fluent in Portuguese, Tina now divides her time between the United States and Brazil. She loves to use exotic locales as the backdrop for many of her stories. When she’s not writing you can find her either on horseback or soldering stained-glass panels for her home.
Tina loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her website or ‘friend’ her on Facebook.
The Lone Wolf’s Craving
Tina Beckett
Dedication:
To those who have faced life-altering events. May you always find the strength to face the future.
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
HAD SHE FIGURED out who he was before or after she’d had sex with him?
Because Dr. Lucas Blackman sure as hell hadn’t known the petite blonde American wandering around his emergency room was his wartime hero’s long-lost daughter. Not when he’d pressed her against the wall in the supply closet and buried himself inside her. Not after it was over. In fact, she’d disappeared as quickly as she’d come.
He groaned at the unintended pun. And then again as memories of his actions yesterday washed over him: the snick of the lock; the fumbling with clothing; along with every second of pounding urgency that had happened afterward. Damn it if he wouldn’t do it all over again, even knowing what he did now. That she’d probably used him to get what she’d wanted.
Not that he’d been the slightest bit hesitant at the time.
And that memory made his already sucky day even suckier. Walking to the physical therapy center to see how his friend was doing, and seeing the woman he’d had the best sex with—well, in a long damn time—standing beside him sent shock waves rolling through him that rooted him to the spot. Nick introducing her to one of the therapists as his daughter just made it that much worse.
He decided to back away while he still could.
Then her eyes met his and flitted away, making a painless getaway impossible. He could swear he saw a trace of guilt in the deep blue depths. At what? Their naughty rendezvous? At having coffee with him for the last two mornings, all the while being coy and secretive about her reasons for visiting the hospital?
Nick spied him, calling him over just as the therapist disappeared back into the rehabilitation center. His friend winced slightly as he rotated his upper body, his surgery site evidently still tender. “Come and meet Kate—er, Katherine.” His friend glanced at her in question. “My daughter.”
“Kate,” she answered in the same low Southern drawl that had drawn him like a moth to a flame. First in the hospital cafeteria. Then in the tiny supply closet. He could still her soft moans as he’d taken her. Who knew a drawl during sex could be so damned hot. She’d reminded him of warm lazy summers by the lake, of county fairs and high school football games.
All things American.
He’d been homesick yesterday and devastated after losing a patient in the E.R., and there she’d been. As if sent just to ease his pain. And she had. She’d sent him right over the edge.
And she was his hero’s daughter. The man who’d once saved his life. His daughter!
Hell, today had officially taken a nosedive.
He moved closer and held out his hand, forcing her to do the polite thing and take it. When she tried for a quick grip and release, he curled his fingers around hers and held on, his thumb gliding over her soft skin.
Where do you think you’re going, Miss Kate? No running away for you. Not this time.
She’d