Blurb: The Civil War has torn Brianna Taylor’s family apart and made her a widow. Determined to ease the suffering of the wounded crowding the Union hospitals and honor the memory of the man she loved, she embarks on a career as a nurse. But then he arrives—a patient who makes her feel alive again in spite of her resolve to stay detached.

Captain Justin Thompson understands the cost of war all too well, yet he felt compelled to fight for the Union his father died defending. Wounded at Cold Harbor and left to die at a military hospital, he owes his life to Brianna, who seems determined to guard her professional boundaries despite his best efforts to breach them. Just as he’s winning the battle for her heart, he’s forced to return to the front of a cruel war that could very well separate them forever.

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Excerpt:

Brianna gasped when he whirled on her, breaking her hold and confronting her with blazing, tear-filled eyes. So much anger in his face. So much pain and guilt and grief. Hating that she’d seen him so vulnerable.

Hurting for him, Brianna raised her hand to his rough cheek, startled by the heat against her chilled fingers. He yanked it away, his grip on her fingers almost bruising. She flinched, heart pounding as she inwardly shrank from the buried rage in his eyes.

He didn’t release her. Merely stared down at her with that tortured expression that made her bleed inside.

“You should go back to bed.” His voice was hoarse, all that volatility roiling beneath the calm facade.

“I don’t want to sleep without you.” Risking more rejection, she placed her free hand over his racing heart. His skin was so hot beneath the soft cotton lawn, the muscles under it knotted with tension. Aching to comfort him, she pressed close and swallowed a gasp of surprise when her belly made contact with the unmistakable ridge of his erection. She blinked up at him, an answering wave of heat sweeping through her.

He closed his eyes. “I’m not in control of myself.”

“I can see that.” I’m here. Let me help you heal.

His lids flipped open. The heat in his sapphire gaze made the breath catch in her throat. His eyes scorched her face. She didn’t pull away.

His hands were unsteady as they burrowed into her hair, holding tight. “You should go.” It was a warning. One she had no intention of heeding.

She shivered in his grasp. “You won’t hurt me.” The words came out as a breathless whisper.

“No.” His thumb brushed over her cheek, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “But if you stay, I’m not going to be gentle.”

She swallowed at the warning, didn’t move. Backing down was not in her nature.

Justin searched her eyes, challenging her, his arousal wedged between them. “Last chance.”

She raised her chin. “I’m not leaving.” Without her permission, a fine quivering took hold of her legs.

Despite her brave stance, she cried out when he grabbed her around the waist and drove her back against the wall, pinning her there with his body. He dragged her head back by her hair and devoured her mouth, ignoring her squeak of alarm. The air slammed out of her lungs; her fingers gripped his shoulders. The desperate urgency in his kiss jolted her out of her shock. This wasn’t about anger. He needed her. Needed to find solace inside her. His body screamed it.

*end excerpt*