By
NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Author
Delilah Devlin

A former Navy SEAL is teamed with a feisty ex-Marine to provide protection for a Greek tycoon’s daughter to make sure the bride gets safely to her destination wedding…

Former Navy SEAL, Trigger Matthews, now a special operator with Justin Ballard’s Black Knight Security in New Orleans, is teamed with a feisty ex-Marine as part of the protection detail for a Greek tycoon’s spoiled daughter. The prickly woman proves to be a challenge he’s eager to explore.

Due to her uncanny resemblance to their client’s daughter, Cassandra Locke is tasked with being a “decoy bride”, a job that sees her going through some matrimonial hoops while fighting her growing attraction for her partner for this operation. Together, they create diversions to make sure the real bride has a chance to prepare for her coming nuptials.

Both loners, and unaware of the fact that they are indeed lonely, Trigger and Cass find out they have many more qualities in common, including an inability to stay away from each other. As the real bride’s day draws closer, they learn that she’s more than a girl born with a silver spoon in her mouth and find unexpected friendships along the way.

When Trigger arrives at the New Orleans home for his assignment, his boss Justin is waiting for him. He hadn’t been give the details yet other than high end bodyguard.

Cass isn’t entirely pleased with her assignment. She understands why she was chosen, but the whole preparation thing, well…let’s just say it wasn’t something she’d normally do.

Both Trigger and Cass feel an initial pull but Cass is having none of it.

This is a favorite scene.

The woman at the center of the conversation sat silently, her head bent. But what Trigger could see of her mouth told him that she wasn’t a happy girl. Her lips were pressed into a thin line.

When her father cupped her chin, she smiled, her love for him in her eyes.

Trigger almost felt sorry for her. Something was clearly off. She wasn’t a happy bride, not like his friend Hawk’s new wife, Kalea, who had faced a cartel that had kidnapped him to make sure he made it to his wedding.

Not even as happy as his buddy Rooster’s girl, Casey, who should have been sick and tired of weddings, given that wedding planning was her job, but she was happy with Rooster, sickeningly so, as far as Trigger was concerned. He gave a little shudder. Weddings weren’t his thing. Putting down roots with one woman for the rest of his life…? Well, he’d obviously never met the right girl.

Didn’t look like Eliana Rosi had met the right man either.

“So, your decoy bride will live here for the duration, yes?” Mr. Rosi said.

“Along with her bodyguard,” Justin said.

Trigger blinked and glanced at Justin, who gave him a nod. Sounded cozy.

“Vehicles will leave and arrive at the same time,” Justin continued. “Our decoy will be seen, dressed as your daughter, in her vehicle, so that your daughter can be spirited to the establishments she wants without any undue attention.”

“Good, good,” Mr. Rosi said. “I have enemies who would use her against me. Also, there have been kidnapping attempts…both here and in Greece. I want her kept safe.”

“The men I have watching over Eliana are experienced. They are both highly trained. We’ll keep her safe.”

Mr. Rosi sighed and turned to Eliana. “I am leaving you in their care, koritsi mou.” He tapped the end of her nose. “Behave.”

His daughter wrinkled her nose. “Naí, Ba-ba.”

Mr. Rosi pushed up from his seat, and everyone stood. “Your people will have the run of the house,” he told Justin. “I bought this place when Eliana first came here for university. Stefan,” he said, nodding at his security guy, “will provide you with a list of employees…the cook, the groundskeepers, the maid, Eliana’s driver.” His gaze went to Cass. “She will need to wear sunglasses. Her eyes are not a lovely deep brown like my girl’s.” He shrugged. “You resemble her, physically, that is good. But it’s all in the attitude, my dear.”

After he, Eliana, and his chief of security left, everyone took their seats again. Justin drew a deep breath. “One week, folks. That’s all this is.” He glanced at Cass. “Get with her tonight and see what she plans for tomorrow. She’ll provide your wardrobe.”

Cass nodded. “Will do. Was it just me, or did she seem a little less than delighted about her upcoming nuptials?”

“Not our business,” Justin said, grimacing. “Don’t blame her. I read up on this Vasili Pachis. He’s twenty years her senior and bald. I’m sure her father arranged it.”

Trigger leaned forward. “So, we’ll be staying here in the guest house…together?”

“You and Cass, yes. Gabe and Levi, here,” he said, nodding to the other two Black Knight operatives, “will be staying in the main house. Don’t let her out of your sight, guys. Also, we’ve loaded software to the computers in the guest bedroom beside Eliana’s and in this cottage, as well as two handheld devices, so that you can monitor the security cameras.” He stood. “I’ll leave you to unpack and get settled. I’m only a phone call away. Gabe’s got the lead.”

After he left, Gabe and Levi headed to the main house, and Trigger trailed behind Cass as they returned to their vehicles for their bags. He wasn’t sure how he felt about sharing the cottage with her. Sure, this was just a job. It shouldn’t matter that his roomie was a beautiful woman. It wasn’t like they’d be sharing the same bedroom. Still, he counted back the number of months it had been since he’d shared a bed with a woman. Too many.

“Don’t get any ideas,” Cass said, glancing over her shoulder.

“Ideas?”

“We’re sharing a house. That’s all. I don’t do relationships.”

“Do you do friendships?” S

he huffed a breath. “None with benefits.”

Straight to the point. He admired her for it. He just wished his dick would get the message. He’d been in a mild state of arousal since he’d first seen her.

When she reached her car, a dark green Camry, she turned. “For me, this is the job from hell.”

“Why’s that? Sounds easy. All we have to do is babysit.”

“You do. I have to play act. I’ll be attending fittings for a wedding gown, shopping for bridesmaids’ gifts…” She gave a shudder. “My worst nightmare.”

“You have something against weddings?”

“They’re a waste. All that money, and for what? An hour-long ceremony in a dress you’ll never wear again?”

He enjoyed watching her changing expressions. Every thought telegraphed before she said a word. Right now, her wrinkled nose and twisted lips displayed disgust. She’d make the worst poker player, and an even worse liar. He rather liked that about her. “I think your eyes are pretty,” he blurted. Then clamped his lips shut. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “I mean, Mr. Rosi seemed to think your eyes weren’t as pretty as Eliana’s…” His cheeks heated. Fuck, could he just stop? She was looking at him with narrowed eyes. “Um, yours are blue.”

Her eyebrows rose, and she pressed her lips together.

“I’ll just…” he pointed at his car, “get my things…”

As he walked away, he heard her chuckling softly.
Devlin, Delilah. Hot SEAL, Decoy Bride (SEALs in Paradise). Kindle Locations (122-168). Kindle Edition.

As these two spend more time together the sparks fly even as some fall for the bait.

Intriguing, fun with some action and sizzling heat. I’m kind of hoping we see Gabe and Eliana again in these books I’d like her to have a happy ending and not the one her father chose for her.

5 Contented Purrs for Delilah!

Delilah Devlin

Up until recently, award-winning author Delilah Devlin lived in South Texas at the intersection of two dry creeks, surrounded by sexy cowboys in Wranglers. These days, she’s missing the wide-open skies and starry nights, but loving her dark forest in central Arkansas with its eccentric characters and isolation–the better to feed her hungry muse! To Delilah, the greatest sin is driving between the lines because it’s comfortable and safe. Her personal journey has taken her through one war, many countries, cultures, jobs and relationships to bring her to the place she travels now–writing sexy novels that hold more than a kernel of autobiography and often share a common thread of self-discovery and transformation.

Delilah Devlin is a prolific and award-winning author of erotica and erotic romance with a rapidly expanding reputation for writing deliciously edgy stories with complex characters. Whether creating dark, erotically-charged paranormal worlds or richly descriptive historical stories that ring with authenticity, Delilah Devlin “pens in uncharted territory that will leave the readers breathless and hungering for more…” (Paranormal Reviews) Ms. Devlin has published over 140 erotic stories in multiple genres and lengths.