Take Me 01 - Love Me

daughter one too many times for comfort. Not just because he was reviewing the rescue, trying to look for what he could have done differently, to have gotten them out faster and more safely—but because he hadn’t been able to forget her strength, how hard she’d fought to stay conscious, and what a fighter she’d been every single second of the harrowing journey from her burning apartment.
    Still, he understood that fire victims often felt compelled to say thank you to the men who had saved them. Especially in a case like this, where they’d just barely held death at bay.
    “Sure.” He began to nod, but a sharp shooting pain stopped him halfway into the movement.
    Catching his grimace, Todd said, “I’ll ask Megan and her daughter to come back later.”
    Her name fit her, Gabe had found himself thinking one too many times. Megan was pretty and strong all at the same time. It would be better to think of her as Ms. Harris. Although, he had to wonder, was there a husband? And if so, where had he been during the fire and why wasn’t he here with them now?
    “No,” he said, “it’ll be better if I see them now.”
    She’d say thank you, he’d tell her he was happy to see her and her daughter doing so well, and that would be that. No more being haunted by her eyes, by the surprising strength she’d shown him as she’d crawled on the floor of her apartment and down the stairs.
    A couple of minutes later, Todd walked back in with the mother and daughter. Ignoring the pain in his head, Gabe sat up higher and forced a smile on his face.
    And then, his eyes locked with Megan’s and his smile froze in place.
    My God , he found himself thinking before he could shove the thought away, she’s beautiful.
    The last time he’d seen her face it had been through a thick haze of dark smoke and the knowledge that one wrong move meant their lives were over. Her eyes were just as big and pretty, her limbs looked as lean and strong as they had when he’d been helping to move her along the floor, but now he could see the softness in her, the sweet curves of her breasts and hips in her T-shirt and jeans. He couldn’t stop staring at the startling green of her eyes, the silky dark hair falling across her shoulders, and the way her pretty young daughter was a carbon copy of her, the only difference their hair color, one dark, one light.
    She seemed just as stunned as he and for a long moment, the two of them just stared at each other in silence until her daughter ran over to him and threw her arms around him.

    ...Excerpt from CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE by Bella Andre ©2011.

    Buy CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    Bella Andre has always been a writer. Songs came first, and then non-fiction books, but as soon as she started writing her first romance novel, she knew she'd found her perfect career. Known for "sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance" (Publisher's Weekly) about sizzling alpha heroes and the strong women they'll love forever, many of her 20+ titles have appeared on Top 20 bestseller lists, including THE LOOK OF LOVE (The Sullivans #1), FROM THIS MOMENT ON (The Sullivans #2), CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE (The Sullivans #3), GAME FOR LOVE (Bad Boys of Football #3), CANDY STORE, and LOVE ME.

    Her books have been Cosmopolitan Magazine Red Hot Reads twice (GAME FOR ANYTHING and WILD HEAT) and have been translated into German, Thai, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Ukrainian. NEVER TOO HOT won the Award of Excellence in 2011. The Washington Post has called her “One of the top digital writers in America” and she has been featured on NPR, Forbes.com and in The Wall Street Journal.

    If not behind her computer, you can find her reading her favorite authors, hiking, knitting, or laughing. Married with two children, Bella splits her time between the Northern California wine country and a 100 year old log cabin in the Adirondacks.

    For a complete listing of books, as well as excerpts and contests, and to connect with Bella:

    Visit Bella’s website at: http://www.BellaAndre.com
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