On Dean's Watch

On Dean's Watch
Linda Winstead Jones

Staking out an escaped felon's ex-girlfriend was not undercover federal marshal Dean Sinclair's idea of fun.Then he came face-to-face with serene, elegant and stunningly beautiful Reva Macklin. Reva had spent the past six years searching for a safe home for herself and her young son, and she wasn't going to let this smooth-talking, not-so-handy handyman threaten her haven!But soon she discovered the pleasure of Dean's embraces, and the walls around her heart began to weaken. Although Dean was both powerful and gentle, he had secrets of his own. When the truth came out, would her love still be left standing?

“Next time I spend the night,” he said in a low voice, “I won’t sleep on the couch, and we will actually have something to hide come morning.”

Reva shook her head. “You can’t…we can’t…Last night I made a mistake when I suggested…You were right when you said we shouldn’t…”

“I said not tonight,” Dean said calmly. “I didn’t say never. I want you, Reva, but I want you unafraid.” He traced a finger across her neck. “When you ask me to make love to you, it’ll be because you want me, not because you don’t want to be alone.”

“I won’t ask you for anything,” Reva insisted. “Not ever again.”

“Yes, you will.”

Dear Reader,

The days are hot and the reading is hotter here at Silhouette Intimate Moments. Linda Turner is back with the next of THOSE MARRYING MCBRIDES! in Always a McBride. Taylor Bishop has only just found out about his familial connection—and he has no idea it’s going to lead him straight to love.

In Shooting Starr, Kathleen Creighton ratchets up both the suspense and the romance in a story of torn loyalties you’ll long remember. Carla Cassidy returns to CHEROKEE CORNERS in Last Seen…, a novel about two people whose circumstances ought to prevent them from falling in love but don’t. On Dean’s Watch is the latest from reader favorite Linda Winstead Jones, and it will keep you turning the pages as her federal marshal hero falls hard for the woman he’s supposed to be keeping an undercover watch over. Roses After Midnight, by Linda Randall Wisdom, is a suspenseful look at the hunt for a serial rapist—and the blossoming of an unexpected romance. Finally, take a look at Debra Cowan’s Burning Love and watch passion flare to life between a female arson investigator and the handsome cop who may be her prime suspect.

Enjoy them all—and come back next month for more of the best and most exciting romance reading around.

Yours,

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Editor

On Dean’s Watch

Linda Winstead Jones

LINDA WINSTEAD JONES

would rather write than do anything else. Since she cannot cook, gave up ironing many years ago and finds cleaning the house a complete waste of time, she has plenty of time to devote to her obsession for writing. Occasionally she’s tried to expand her horizons by taking classes. In the past she’s taken instruction on yoga, French (a dismal failure), Chinese cooking, cake decorating (food-related classes are always a good choice, even for someone who can’t cook), belly dancing (trust me, this was a long time ago) and, of course, creative writing.

She lives in Huntsville, Alabama, with her husband of more years than she’s willing to admit and the youngest of their three sons.

She can be reached via www.eHarlequin.com or her own Web site www.lindawinsteadjones.com.

For my nephew Alan Kimbrel, a true inspiration

and all-around good kid.

Contents

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

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 1

Someone was watching her house. Reva came to a surprised halt, her heart stuttering as she realized what she saw before her.

A man she didn’t recognize stood close to the massive trunk of an old oak tree, motionless, his eyes and his unwavering attention on her little cottage. She’d left the kitchen light burning, so it probably looked to him as if someone was home.

All was quiet up and down Magnolia Street. It wasn’t yet nine o’clock, but dark had fallen a while ago, shrouding the old houses and thick-limbed trees in quiet night. Sporadically placed street lamps, porch lamps and the light glowing from the windows of homes cast illumination here and there. But Reva had found herself walking in more dark than light. She knew the way well, so the dark was not a problem. But then, she didn’t usually see strangers on her way home.

If not for the moonlight, she wouldn’t be able to see the man at all. He was almost hidden in shadow, there beneath the oak tree.

If he was lost in shadow, so was she.

She’d walked home from Tewanda Hardy’s after dropping off Cooper at his friend Terrance’s, where he was spending the night. It was such a pretty spring evening, much too nice to be driving the mile or so to the Hardy house and then home again. When Cooper had said he was ready to go, Reva had pulled on her Tennessee Titans cap, stepped into her walking shoes and hit the sidewalk.

Good thing she’d decided to walk. She never would have discovered the man spying on her cottage if she hadn’t cut through the yard of the main house. She would have walked into her cottage without knowing someone was watching.