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In the Man on a Mission series, a special agent becomes one woman’s most dangerous weakness…
Bodyguard to the queen of Zakhar, lieutenant Angelina Mateja is unwilling to risk her reputation or her job for US special agent Alec Jones—no matter how sexy and irresistible he is. Alec’s been recruited by the king to root out a human trafficking ring—not get up close and personal with a stunning woman who practically radiates touch me and die. But after sharing a mind-blowing kiss, Alec can’t deny the fire simmering beneath Angel’s cool exterior. As the danger—and their attraction—intensifies, Angel is forced to choose between the job of her dreams, and the man who is starting to occupy her heart…
Their lips met. Their mouths fused as if they were both firing shots over the bow in a take-no-prisoners stance.
Hunger roared through his body, and an aching need to give her back just a tiny fraction of what she was giving him.
Angelina tore herself out of his embrace. “Why did you do that?” she asked him finally.
“Because you wanted me to.” It sounded arrogant put that way, so he added, “Because I wanted to.”
“That is not true.”
“Which? That I wanted to kiss you?” One corner of his mouth twitched upward into an engaging grin. “I wanted to. Oh, yeah, I definitely wanted to, since the first moment I saw you.”
She shook her head. “Not that. You said I wanted you to kiss me. And that is not true.”
Alec’s grin faded, and he held her gaze with his steady one. “Oh, yes you did,” he told her, accepting the truth even if she refused to acknowledge it. “You wanted to know what it would be like. We both did. And now we know.”
And nothing will ever be the same again.
* * *
When I wrote McKinnon’s Royal Mission, part of my Man on a Mission miniseries, two characters who intrigued me were Princess Mara’s other two bodyguards—Diplomatic Security Service agents and brothers, Alec and Liam Jones. So alike in many ways, and yet so different in others. They are emotionally close, as brothers should be, so I started writing their stories simultaneously, weaving the plots together into a cohesive whole, although each book stands on its own.
But it was the brothers’ differences that caught my imagination. While both men are protectors, Alec, the older of the two, is more—more assertive, more demanding of himself, more demanding of others, as well. Alec needs a woman who understands what motivates him…because she’s motivated by the same things—honor, duty, loyalty and sacrifice. Like Alec, Angelina Mateja has stepped between danger and the person she’s guarding. Has been forced to kill in the line of duty. And like Alec, her career is the most important thing in her life…until they meet.
Readers often ask, “Where do your story ideas come from?” We live in a violent world. Tragedies happen every day. In the case of Alec’s Royal Assignment, it wasn’t just one idea, but several, sparked by real-life occurrences and what-if scenarios. And a heroine whose moral stand on right and wrong matches Alec’s…and mine.
I love hearing from my readers. Please email me at [email protected] and let me know what you think.
Amelia Autin
Alec’s Royal
Assignment
Amelia Autin
AMELIA AUTIN is a voracious reader who can’t bear to put a good book down…or part with it. Her bookshelves are crammed with books her husband periodically threatens to donate to a good cause, but he always relents…eventually.
Amelia returned to her first love, romance writing, after a long hiatus, during which she wrote numerous technical manuals and how-to guides, as well as designed and taught classes on a variety of subjects, including technical writing. She is a longtime member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), and served three years as its treasurer.
Amelia currently resides with her PhD engineer husband in quiet Vail, Arizona, where they can see the stars at night and have a “million-dollar view” of the Rincon Mountains from their backyard.
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For my sister, Diana MTK Autin, Esq., whose Edward Everett Hale quotation on FB sparked an idea, and who helped me get the legal details correct (any errors are mine and mine alone). And for Vincent…always.
Though itself part of the US Department of State, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security is the parent organization of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). The DSS is the primary tool by which the DS carries out its security and law enforcement mandate.
For more information, please visit state.gov/m/ds.
I have the highest regard for the work these
federal agencies perform. Nothing in this story is intended as a negative representation of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security or the Diplomatic Security Service, their duties or their employees.
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