Title: Semper Mine
Series: Sons of War #1
Author: Lizzy Ford
Genre: Contemporary Military Romance
Release Date: April 29, 2014
Award Winning author, Lizzy Ford, gives us an emotional, sexy read with her first Sons of War novel, SEMPER MINE.
A Marine captain tortured by the death of his men in Iraq returns home and falls in love with the sister of one of the slain, who blames him for the massacre that killed her brother. SEMPER MINE, is a standalone novel in the Sons of War contemporary military romance series.
Synopsis
“A freak accident landed both of the Khavalov twins under my command, just before a routine mission turned into a nightmare. I brought home one twin in a coffin and the other in a coma missing his leg. I did everything right – and still people died. I can’t forget that night or how many lives it changed, including mine.
It’s natural for their sister, Katya, to blame me. I made one decision in the middle of a firefight, and it shattered her sheltered world. I’m the ice to her fire, and when we first meet, it’s not pretty. I don’t fear war or death, and I am definitely not going to let a beautiful woman with a quick temper and broken heart scare me off, either. I know she’s hurting, and I’m determined to make sure she’s okay. It’s the least I can do for the twins.
I may have failed them that night, but I won’t fail her. What I’m not counting on: the feelings she ignites within me.” – Captain Sawyer Mathis
Excerpt
Night Terrors
Some
time later, I wrench out of deep sleep, alarmed. Lightning lights up the pup
tent as
bright
as day. The smash of thunder immediately follows, strong enough to make the
ground
shake.
My heart is flying, my adrenaline racing through my blood.
But
it’s not the storm that woke me.
Captain
Mathis is thrashing, struggling in the sleeping bag, mumbling names and
shouting
words I can’t understand. He managed to roll over me, and the sensation of
being
temporarily
unable to breathe is what scared me out of sleep.
Night
terrors. Like Petr used to get.
I
prop myself up on my arm, twisted up in the sleeping bag with him. Our legs are
tangled,
and I’m lying half on top of him.
“Hey,”
I whisper, resting a hand on his arm. “Wake up, Sawyer.”
He
calms at my touch without waking. His head goes back and forth, and I recall
what
Petr
told me about the dreams. He said it was like being trapped in a nightmare that
was too
real,
one based on something terrible that happened. For him, he wasn’t able to get
past the
night
Mikael died. Over and over, he watched our brother die, every night for weeks.
66
I
can’t think about it without wanting to cry and focus on Captain Mathis. The
night
terrors
scare me, remind me how deep the unseen wounds of battle really run. Petr’s
body is
almost
healed, but I have a feeling he’s still having bad dreams.
“You’re
safe, Sawyer,” I say. “Wake up. It’s okay - you’re safe.”
They’re
the same words I used to repeat to Petr every night when his screams awoke me.
I
rest a hand on Captain Mathis’ forehead and murmur to him over and over,
knowing
that
eventually, he’ll snap out of it. His body is trembling, his brow clammy. I
take
everything
in, not sure why it bothers me so much to see him like this. It doesn’t seem
like
anything
affects Iceman.
He
wrenches awake and sits. My hand drops, and I sit with him the best I can, one
of my
legs
caught between his.
“You’re
safe, Sawyer,” I say again. I reach for him instinctively, wanting to help him
the
way I
did Petr.
He
pulls away.
I do
it again, though, accustomed to this reaction from Petr. He used to tell me he
didn’t
always
know where he was when he woke up and me speaking to him helped him realize he
wasn’t
in the middle of the battle anymore. Gently, I clasp my hands loosely around
Sawyer’s
upper
body the best I can at the awkward angle and lean into him, resting my head on
his
shoulder
while tugging him towards me. I’m still murmuring, waiting for him to register
where
he is once more.
There’s
a hesitation before his arms wrap around me, and he buries his face into the
nape
of my
neck. He’s stronger than Petr was those first few weeks, his muscular arms
pinning me
against
him. I relax into him, understanding what he needs right now. My voice helps,
but
it’s
my body that grounds him in reality. He’s hanging on like he’s afraid to fall
again into the
dream
world.
His
breathing is ragged, his skin covered in a sheen of sweat. His body trembles in
my
arms.
It alarms me, a stark reminder that he was in the same firefight that killed one
of my
brothers
and injured another. I want so bad to forget, to blame the cold man who let my
brothers
get hurt.
Any
other time, I can. Right now, it’s impossible to remain angry with him, when
I’m
starting
to realize that he’s as broken inside as Petr was. He simply hides it better.
“You’re
safe.”
He
rests his cheek against mine, his breathing growing steadier and the quaking
gradually
receding. I hold him and wait, uncertain what is stronger within me:
remembering
the
pain I experienced seeing Petr like this or the desire spiraling through me at
the feel of
our
bodies pressed together.
About the Author
Lizzy Ford is the author of over thirty books written for young adult and adult romance readers, to include the internationally bestselling “Rhyn Trilogy,” “Witchling Series” and the “War of Gods” series. Lizzy has focused on keeping her readers happy by producing brilliant, gritty romances that remind people why true love is a trial worth enduring. Lizzy’s books can be found on every major ereader library, to include: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Sony and Smashwords. She lives in southern Arizona with her husband, three dogs and a cat.
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