SPOTLIGHT & GIVEAWAY: SPECIAL FORCES SAVIOR By JANIE CROUCH

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Special Forces Savior
Omega Sector: Critical Response #1

By: Janie Crouch

Releasing January 1, 2016
Harlequin Intrigue

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BLURB:

He has to shut down the terrorists or lose everything. Including the woman who's become a target.

Omega Sector: Critical Response agent Derek Waterman is hunting the architects of a lethal terrorist bombing. After weeks of chasing cold leads, he has finally found the evidence that could expose the perpetrators. But in order to take them down, he needs help from Dr. Molly Humphries, Omega's lead forensic scientist.
 

Shy Molly works to retrieve the data--and overcome her debilitating crush on the sexy agent. Derek carefully suppresses his mutual smoldering attraction, sure that his dark past will drive Molly away if she knows. But when Molly is kidnapped, he will stop at nothing to save her. Even if a lethal enemy will do everything to keep him from doing so.

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“Did I misread what I saw? Was it all in my imagination?”

 

Lie to her. That was all he needed to do. One tiny lie, let her down easy, and this crisis was averted. Moments passed. It was his tactical advantage and he knew he should take it.

 

But looking into her precious brown eyes, her sweet face, he couldn’t do it. “No. You didn’t imagine it.”

 

She took a step closer. He took a step back.

 

“Why, Derek?” Her question was barely more than a whisper. “Why have you stayed away from me all this time? You’ve had to know I wanted to be with you.”

 

“Molly, our worlds don’t mix. I’m not the right person for you.”

 

“Don’t you think I should get to be the judge of that?”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Janie Crouch loves to read – almost exclusively romance – and has been doing so since middle school. She cut her teeth on Harlequin (Mills & Boon) Romances when she lived in Wales, UK as a preteen, then moved on to a passion for romantic suspense as an adult. Her favorite authors include: Linda Howard, Nora Roberts, and Elizabeth Lowell.

Janie recently relocated with her husband and four children to Germany (due to her husband's job as support for the U.S. Military), after living in Virginia for nearly 20 years.  When she’s not listening to the voices in her head (and even when she is), she enjoys traveling, long-distance running, movie-watching, knitting and adventure (obstacle) racing. Janie completed an Ironman Triathlon in 2014.
 

Most of all, she loves to laugh and smile and count her blessings. And her blessings are many.

 

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Thanks so much for having me here on Book Magic to reveal my favorite scenes in SPECIAL FORCES SAVIOR. I’m including three, with a blurb from each one.

 

3. Dr. Molly Humphries is director of the Omega Sector forensic lab. She’s intelligent, confident and capable, except when it comes to Agent Derek Waterman. I like this scene because she thinks she’s irrelevant to Derek but couldn’t be more wrong.  It occurs just after Molly’s lab has been blown up – with Molly in the building.

 

She didn’t know what to do, whom to call. It was even more chaotic and loud out here than it had been inside near the explosion. The rescue workers were all moving at a brisk pace, yelling to one another, coordinating the best they could to do their job. 

 

Molly liked order and quiet, not the cacophony of havoc currently swirling around her. She resisted the urge to put her hands over her ears and close her eyes.

 

 

And then she saw him.

 

Derek was walking directly toward her, determination in his eyes. He radiated a definite purpose in his walk, because no one got in his way; instead, they stepped around him. He didn’t stop until he was right in front of her.

 

 

She wanted to jump into his arms, to beg him to take her from here. But this was Derek Waterman. Jumping into his arms wasn’t an option.

 

She was shocked when he put his large hands on either side of her head and tilted her head back so she was looking into his blue eyes, and found them searching her face intently.

 

 

“Are you okay?” His voice was deep, gravelly. “Injured?”

 

 

“No, I’m fine. But David Thompson, the new lab assistant, is dead, Derek.” Molly could feel herself begin to cry. To her shock, Derek pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

 

 

“I know. I identified the body a few minutes ago.”

 

She leaned into Derek’s strength. He’d never put his arms around her in public before, but Molly didn’t question it. She needed his strength right now.

 

“I heard they’d found a body in the lab and I thought it was you, Molls. How did you get out?”

 

“I wasn’t in there when the explosion happened. I’d gone out to get something to eat.” She leaned back from his chest so she could look at him. “Like you told me to do.”

 

“I told you to do it hours ago.” He pulled her back against his chest. “Thank God you suck at following directions.”

 

2. After Molly is almost killed in the explosion at her lab, Derek lets his desire for her overpower his good intentions to stay away. I like this scene because it touches on both their insecurities and fears.

 

She stood there in the doorway swamped in his jacket, plaster in her hair, smelling like smoke, smiling her slightly awkward smile that always seemed to be uniquely for him.

 

She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

 

 

All the lecturing he’d given himself on the drive here about not dragging her down into his darkness completely vanished.

 

Molly was alive and he had to taste her.

 

He slipped one arm around her small waist under his jacket and threaded his other hand through the hair at her scalp underneath her long brown braid. He backed her up against the doorframe and brought his lips down to hers.

 

He heard her soft gasp of surprise and took advantage of it to slip his tongue into her mouth. A knot of need twisted inside him as he drew her closer. He felt her arms wrap around his neck as her tongue dueled with his.

 

His jacket falling from her shoulders and pooling at their feet brought some sense of reality back to Derek.

 

This could not happen. As much as he wanted it to.

 

He dropped both hands to her waist and took a step back. “Molly…”

 

She blinked up at him, arms still around his neck.

 

“Molly, this isn’t a good idea.”

 

“Why?” She leaned forward again.

 

Hell if he could remember why in this moment. Her lips were almost to his. If he kissed her again he wasn’t sure he would have the strength to stop. “You have plaster in your hair.”

 

 

“What?”

 

“Plaster. It’s all in your hair.”

 

Her face that had just been so flushed and soft from his kisses became shuttered. Her arms dropped to her sides, before one came up to her head to find the plaster he had mentioned. Why the hell had he said that? He didn’t care about anything being in her hair. He’d just meant that she had been through a trauma and that they shouldn’t do anything she might regret.

 

Or he might regret. Like break her heart.

 

“Oh. Yeah. I—I probably need a shower pretty badly.”

 

The thought of Molly in the shower had everything in Derek’s body tightening, but the slight stutter wasn’t lost on him. He hated that he’d made her uncomfortable around him again. And her eyes were wounded.

 

Damn it. He had to get out of here just to stop the damage he was inflicting.

 

1. My absolute favorite scene is the one I think of as “Molly has had enough”. Derek has kept his distance for a long time trying to protect her. She’s not going to allow it any more. Gone is the stammering, shy woman she used to be around him. Being kidnapped and held hostage by a sadistic killer helps a gal get her priorities in order.

He wished the cabin had a television or a radio or something. Anything to distract him from the fact that Molly Humphries was sitting in the oversized chair next to the couch with her legs tucked underneath her, sipping coffee. Wearing mismatched clothes under which Derek happened to know she could not be wearing anything because they’d forgotten to buy her underwear last night.

 

Derek swallowed hard.

 

 

“So, can I ask you something?”

 

 

Oh yes, please dear heavens, ask him something. Ask him anything to get his thoughts away from her lack of undergarments.

 

“Shoot.”

 

She paused for just the slightest moment. “Do you actually remember the night we spent together having sex three years ago?”

 

Derek had to give himself credit, he at least didn’t spew his coffee. But it was close.

 

“Molly—”

 

“No. Do not Molly me.” Her tone brooked no refusal. Where was the woman who had barely been able to get a sentence out around him a few days before? She’d certainly found her voice now. She set her coffee cup down. “I have spent the last three years acting like a total nincompoop around you. Mousy Molly. Do you think I don’t know everyone calls me that?”

 

“Molly—”

 

She shook her head. “No, I deserved it. They were right. I have been mousy. Ridiculous.” She took a breath, seemed to be mentally regrouping. “I thought I was going to die yesterday, Derek. In an ugly, horrible way.”

Derek breathed deeply through his nose. He had thought the exact same thing.

 

“I was afraid.” Her voice got softer.

 

“Anybody would be afraid under those circumstances."

 

“I tried to keep it together.” Her shoulders straightened a little. “I did keep it together.”

 

“I have no doubt about that.” Just the way she’d handled herself in the jungle, under the roughest possible physical circumstances had proved that. Although Derek had already known Molly was strong.

 

“Somewhere in the midst of all this, I decided I wasn’t going to waste time with you anymore Derek, wasn’t going to be timid and wait. Life is too short. You either want me or you don’t. I know that’s a hard decision for you to make for some reason. So I’m going to help us get to the bottom of it. Do you remember us having sex three years ago or not?”

 

He wanted her. He wanted to yell it at her. But instead he sat back in his chair a little farther. Tried to feign a relaxed stance he very definitely didn’t feel.

“Molly—”

 

She shot out of her chair as if it was on fire. “No. Just answer the question.”

 

Derek couldn’t sit either, but as he stood he was careful to stay far away from Molly. If he touched her now all would be lost. He walked over to look out the window. Look anywhere but at her.

 

“Yes. Yes, I remember.” He remembered it all. Every touch. Lick. Moan.

 

Again, thank you so much for having me here today! I hope everyone will check out SPECIAL FORCES SAVIOR, on shelves now and available as an ebook on February 1. http://bit.ly/OmegaCriticalResponse