Oath of Honor

probably end up ratting me out like Denny. Only not to my mother.”

Evyn wanted to deny that, but she couldn’t. “If I thought something

would affect your performance, then I might have to.”

“I’d expect you to,” Wes said. “And before we go any further, I

can tell you there’s nothing about this situation that bothers me. I’m

fine.”“I wasn’t looking for ammunition against you, Wes.” Evyn pulled

herself back from a dangerous precipice. She’d crossed one of her own

boundaries without even realizing it. Wes blurred all the lines for her

between personal and professional with frightening ease, and that just

couldn’t happen. “We both have jobs to do.”

“I know,” Wes said. “And since we do, I appreciate the offer to

talk, but I think we’ll both do our jobs a lot better if we don’t complicate

things.”

Wes was right and only repeating her own mantra—never get

personally involved with someone at work. Evyn pushed open her door

and a biting wind rushed in. “We’re on exactly the same page.”

v

The patrol boat rocked on the swell as the winds gathered force.

The blue sky had given way to gray thunderclouds above churning

seas. “We’ve got time for one run,” Cord called from the wheel, “until

things get too rough out here.”

Evyn turned to Wes, who wore civilian clothes as she would on a

regular detail. She and Gary were in wetsuits. “POTUS has a sailboat,

and the maritime weather reports aren’t always accurate. He could be

caught out in this kind of blow. But this could get dicey.”

“Wouldn’t do much good to only train on calm seas,” Wes shouted,

the wind ruffling her hair. “Let’s do it.”

Evyn waved to Cord. “Go ahead.”

Cord threw a water-rescue mannequin into the water and yelled,

“Man overboard.”

Evyn and Gary clambered onto the bulwark and dove into the

• 141 •

RADCLYfFE

ocean. Even in the wetsuit, the first shock of frigid water on Evyn’s

face and exposed hands and feet made her stomach tighten. She cut

through the sea toward the bobbing figure, fighting the surging tides and

buffeting waves. The figure alternately rode the swells and disappeared

beneath the troughs. Were this the real deal, they’d only have a minute

or two to reach the president, less if he went off the boat as a result of

some kind of injury. The water temperature, the tide, and the rough

surf created a swiftly lethal combination. She and Gary reached the

mannequin at the same time, and she grabbed it in a rescue carry and

started back toward the boat. Gary kept pace beside her, ready to take

over and spell her if she grew too tired fighting the currents and the cold.

When they reached the side of the patrol boat, Wes and Cord lowered

a litter over the side, and she and Gary secured the figure inside. Gary

tugged on the line to signal they were ready, and the litter swung away

and up. Evyn scrambled up the ladder with Gary right behind. By the

time they reached the deck, Wes was already in full resuscitation mode,

kneeling on the soaked surface, rapidly running through the emergency

assessment protocol, the field-and-trauma bag beside her, Cord acting

as her first assistant.

Jeff tossed Evyn a towel, and she rubbed water from her hair,

watching Wes work. Every time she’d seen Wes in action, she’d been

struck by the way Wes gave everything her full attention, her all, a

hundred percent of the time. Evyn spent her days with powerful people,

and she wasn’t easily impressed, but that kind of fierce focus was

incredibly exciting to watch. Wes issued orders without looking up from

her patient, calm, sure, utterly in command. Wes personalized power in

a way she’d never experienced before, and watching her, Evyn couldn’t

help but imagine what that kind of potent focus would feel like turned

on her in an intimate moment. Her skin beneath the tight neoprene suit

pebbled with excitement, and heat bloomed in the pit of her stomach.

She’d rarely been the recipient of physical attention even half as forceful

and was always content to take the lead in bed. Satisfying a woman was

incredibly gratifying, and she hadn’t been looking for more. A calm and

quiet orgasm was just fine—only when she imagined being with Wes

Masters, there was nothing calm or quiet about it. She felt the weight of

Wes’s body pinning her down, Wes’s hands exploring her—not asking

permission, her consent readily given. Her blood raced with the urge to

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Oath Of hOnOr

open, to be known, to surrender. Nothing familiar about any of it, but

so right. So damn right.

Beside her, Gary cleared his throat. She shot him a look. He was

staring at her.

“What?”

“You looked…mesmerized. Where’d you go?”

“Nowhere.” Evyn was glad her face was already red from the

wind and the water, because heat rose through her. “Just watching the

exercise.”

“Ha ha. Watching a lot more than that.”

“Shut up, Brown.”

He laughed. “She’s really pretty hot.”

“Will you shut up,” Evyn said through her teeth. Gary had a wife

and three kids and was one of the few people on the detail who never