By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Caitlyn O’Leary

Ezio Stark never saw it coming.

For the longest time there had been only one woman who’d sparked his interest, but she was a continent away, so he immersed himself in his life as a Navy SEAL.

A year after breaking things off at the altar with her cheating fiancé, Samantha Brooks has moved across the country for a fresh start. She’ll concentrate on friends, not potential relationships, especially with good-looking Navy SEALs, no matter how much they’d already sparked her interest.

Now Samantha is miles from home, embroiled in a life-and-death situation to help a friend. Sure, she can find a way out on her own!

Ezio thought his toughest job was going to be overcoming Samantha’s relationship fears and capturing her heart, instead he finds out his most crucial mission is trying to save her life.

I love books with animals and I fell for Ezio on the first page of this book. Volunteering at the shelter he’s found Tabitha a Shephard, Labrador, Husky mix, she will be trained as a therapy dog. She has the perfect temperament. In the meantime Tabitha is helping him with Duchess, an abused border collie mix who’s afraid of men. The dogs get along well together and Ezio has been making progress with her. He’s about done when he’s called by Leo, one of his Night Storm teammates informing him of free food at Kane’s. He’s only on loan to Night Storm from Omega Team but he will definitely join in the fun at Kane’s. The call he gets from Baron, Omega Team’s Lieutenant that made me chuckle. Baron’s concerned about the way the Night Storm team is finding lasting love, he also wants Ezio back.

The only woman Ezio had been attracted to in a long time didn’t live in the area, plus at the time she had recently broken up with her fiancé and he didn’t want to be the rebound guy.

As we meet Samantha she’s having dinner with her friends David and Toni, they have surprised her with a blind date. A golf buddy of David’s who turns out to be the date from hell. This of course leads to much apologizing from David and Toni.

The next night Sam had a fun evening with her best friend Eden. She got advise on a work issue, and ex issue and a heads up that Ezio might contact her. Ezio had found out she’s in town at Kane’s the night before. Eden was right and Ezio did contact her for a dinner date. Before that date happens her friend Toni springs a plan on her to get her brother back on the wagon again. One that Sam wasn’t sure of but couldn’t say no to.

I really loved how Ezio and Sam fell into an easy rapport after not seeing each other for so long.

This is a favorite scene.

That stopped him short. He hadn’t been asked that question before. Normally a woman wanted to pry about his missions and what they were like and find out how exciting they were. Basically, they just wanted to be seen with a Navy SEAL, not interested in the man himself. He had really felt like there was a chance that Samantha Brooks was different, and now his instincts were proving to be right.

Hallelujah.

“There’s always Netflix,” he laughed.

“That can never be underestimated, that’s for sure. What else?”

“Actually, I volunteer at an animal shelter. I love it there. I work with the dogs primarily, trying to determine if any of them could turn into therapy dogs. But any displaced animal grabs my heart.”

“We had a standard poodle growing up. To this day I miss her. She died just before I left for college.” He could see the sadness on her face.

“Does your apartment allow for them?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t checked. I sometimes have to travel, so it wouldn’t seem fair to get an animal when I don’t have a back-up to take care of one. I hate the idea of having to put them up at a doggy-daycare.”

“Makes sense. Besides discovering new artists, and working long hours, what do you do for downtime?”

“How do you know I work long hours?”

“Anyone who has a drafting table set up at their house, with as many drawings, paint chips, and fabrics samples, has to be working long hours.”

“Maybe I telecommute,” she teased.

“Samantha, do you telecommute?” he asked with a straight face.

She sighed. “No Ezio, I don’t telecommute. I work eight to ten hours at the office, then come home to work. Right now, I’m trying to prove myself to the principals at Lawton that I’m a worthwhile hire. They were kind of strong-armed into hiring me.”

“Seems to me they got the account because of you, and they should be damned happy about it.”

The waiter came by and took their plates and asked if they would like dessert.

“Samantha? I’m up for it if you are.”

“Definitely.”

Score one for the team, she didn’t want the date to end any more than I do.

The waiter gave them the dessert menu. Ezio waited until she chose a lemon tart, then he ordered the chocolate decadence cake so she could have a taste of that as well if she wanted. Then she ordered caffeinated coffee. He raised his eyebrow.

“Still have some work that needs doing.”

“We’re not getting back to your place until eleven,” he protested.

“No rest for the wicked,” she teased.

“Sounds like I did the right thing luring you away. Or maybe I did the wrong thing causing you to work too late,” he worried. Now that he looked at her, he could see she had lost some weight since he had last seen her.

“No, I don’t mind a little hard work.”

“How many hours a week have you been working?” he asked.

“Not too many compared to some of the people at the office,” she side-stepped his question.

“So how many hours do those people work?”

“Ezio, let’s not get into this. Don’t you work twenty-four-seven when you’re overseas doing whatever it is you do?” This time she raised her eyebrow. The waiter laid down their desserts and Samantha grinned because she knew that she had won this skirmish.

“Touché.” He smiled as he raised his decaf cup of coffee.

“You know I couldn’t decide between the chocolate cake and the lemon tart,” she admitted.

“Why don’t we cut it in half, then you can have the best of both worlds,” he suggested.

Her eyes lit up, and he definitely knew that he had made the right decision asking this woman out.
O’Leary, Caitlyn. Her Intense Protector: A Navy SEAL Romance (Night Storm Book 4). Kindle Locations (573-600). Passionately Kind Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Things go FUBAR pretty quickly with Toni’s plan and Sam is stuck in the middle of it all. Oh and just to make things worse her ex shows up.

Plenty of action, suspense, and surprises plus that sizzling romance between Ezio and Sam. 

5 Contented Purrs for Caitlyn!

Caitlyn O’Leary

Caitlyn O’Leary is an avid reader, and considers herself a fan first and an author second. She reads a wide variety of genres, but finds herself going back to happily-ever-afters. Getting a chance to write, after years in corporate America is a dream come true. She hopes that her stories provide the kind of entertainment and escape that she has found from some of her favorite authors.

Her Series Include:
THE FOUND
It’s a bit Paranormal, a bit Sci-Fi and 100% Action/Adventure. The characters have special abilities, that make them targets.

MIDNIGHT DELTA
This is focused on a group of Navy Seals. What makes them special is their bond to one another, and the women they come to love.

FATE HARBOR
This is the series that started her career, it is a Menage Series that takes place in Fate Harbor Washington. It focuses on a tight knit community who live and love and care for one another.

She loves to hear from her readers. caitlyn@caitlynoleary.com