SE Jakes Salutes the
Military
When Mel asked me to join in this salute to military heroes,
saying yes was so easy. When she
asked me to talk about why I write military romance, that was even easier.
First of all, military men (and women) are true heroes. What better character base is
there? Honorable, loyal,
protecting our country…just thinking about their sacrifices is enough to bring
tears to my eyes. I know many
military men and women and I’m so thankful for their service.
As for military romance…for me, there’s nothing better. It’s one of my favorite genres to read,
so writing it is a natural bent.
There’s nothing better than a man in uniform – he’s alpha tough, strong
as hell, save the world badass…and those are my favorite type of men when they
fall in love. All that and the
added vulnerability makes them that much more compelling. Because when warriors fall, they fall
hard. When I decided to combine these men in uniform with m/m romance, I knew
I’d found my niche.
My next book in the Men In Uniform series is called BOUND BY DANGER – for those keeping
track, it’s Tomcat’s story and he and Jace we definitely combustible.
The danger that drew them together could send them over the edge…
Playing the role of
enforcer in the Killers motorcycle club, all CIA operative Clint “Tomcat”
Sommers has to do is make sure he has a body to show for his work. Thanks to
his ability to move stealthily and easily between the two worlds, the CIA is
damned close to making one of its biggest MC gang busts.
Two years undercover
have taken their toll, but there’s no backing out now. Tomcat’s only reprieve
from the pressure is fantasizing about the newest member of the gang.
Worry for his
cousin’s involvement in the Killers drove Navy SEAL Jace Reynolds to agree to
infiltrate the gang to do some short-term surveillance for the FBI. The deal:
do the job, and his cousin gets witness protection. When he meets Tomcat,
though, his fantasies kick into overdrive. Meeting men while on active duty is
tough. Acting on his desires within the club could have deadly consequences.
Despite the risks,
Tomcat’s and Jace’s off hours flare hotter than a full-throttle burnout. But
the smoke is bound to attract unwanted attention. And when Tomcat suddenly
disappears, the secrets both warriors keep could send one of them to the grave.
Product Warnings:
Contains two hot men
undercover—and under the covers. Both with secrets under wraps that could cause
everything to unravel in the deadliest way imaginable. If you’re inspired to
try something new on a motorcycle, go for it. Just don’t blame the author for
any pulled muscles.
Here’s an excerpt
from somewhere in Chapter One:
He dragged the boy behind him, his gun down at his side
until they reached his car. Safely inside, neither man said a word until Tomcat
pulled in to the garage that attached to the building where his loft was.
His loft—the entire building, actually—was CIA-owned and had
been a part of his long-assed cover. His loft was steel-reinforced,
soundproofed, had bulletproof glass with blackout tint, and no one was allowed
up here, not even the agent who played his old lady—for her safety. Still, it
was furnished so anyone who visited wouldn’t notice any of the high-tech
gadgetry or the insulation.
He still checked for bugs daily and changed the alarm code
every morning as well.
Now, Jace came in behind him, and Tomcat closed and locked
the door, alarmed it and swept the room silently.
“Can’t be too careful,” he said, more to himself than to
Jace when he was finished. Jace would think the paranoia normal for someone in
the MC, especially a hired gun.
If he thought differently, it didn’t show. He just nodded,
at least until Tomcat slammed him against the wall, his gun pulled.
“You set me up?” he demanded.
“No.” The kid barely blinked, even with Tomcat’s elbow at
his throat, gun to his head. “In case you didn’t notice, I saved your ass.”
Then he leaned in and whispered, “UC. I’d say Fed, but I
think you’d be offended.”
Tomcat pressed the gun harder to Jace’s temple, but still he
continued, “Spook,” with a warm puff of air against Tomcat’s cheek. “I’m young,
but I’m not dumb.”
No, indeed; to be a special forces soldier, he wouldn’t be.
He could be as dangerous as Tomcat himself was, if not more so.
“I know you need to deny it, but dude, come on,” Jace said.
“Dude, you need to shut it.” But Tomcat wanted more from
him. The man was so close—they were both hard—and no, he definitely hadn’t been
wrong about Jace’s wants.
“We clean in here?” Jace asked. “I saw you sweep, but I still
need to know.”
Tomcat ignored his question, said instead, “You fucked up my
job.” When Jace didn’t answer, he admitted, “We’re clean here.”
“I was stopping you,” Jace told him.
“Why? Trying to save my soul? Don’t bother.”
“From shooting Jerry’s brother. It was a setup.” Jace stared
at him with those goddamned deep blue eyes. What the hell—had Tomcat gotten
sloppy, or was the club being deliberately sly because they’d stopped trusting
him?
“How do you know this?” he demanded.
“I’m a little smarter than the average MC member.”
What he meant was better trained, would notice far more than
the others. And Tomcat had no reason not to trust him. “You’re going to have to
tell me everything you know.”
Jace nodded, and he did, told him about the rival gang’s—and
its president, Jerry’s—issues. “It’s not about you—Cools trusts you. But he
also knows that if you killed Jerry’s brother, Carl would be blamed, and it
could start the internal war they want. Cools wants a leg up on Jerry and
Carl’s territory.”
Damn. Tomcat slid a hand through his hair and turned away.
He knew that the Killers fought with lesser gangs like Carl’s all the time, but
he hadn’t seen this coming.
“You’re not telling them I ratted, are you?”
“Never.”
“I’d trust you more if you were an MC member.”
Tomcat wanted to be offended but couldn’t. There was too
much truth in that statement. Finally, he put his gun away, pocketed it but
kept his arm on Jace’s throat. Mainly because he was enjoying the proximity,
never mind that his entire job could be blown to shit.
But this kid wouldn’t turn him in. The consequences to his
career would be too great.
“We’ve got to lie low for the weekend, especially since
we’re already well into Saturday.” Tomcat stared at him hard. “You’re sure no
one saw you?”
“They know there’s nothing I can do without putting my
military career on the line. No one fucks with me—no one follows me.”
Tomcat didn’t know how completely true that was, but if what
Jace had told him about the setup proved true, there were way too many people
watching Tomcat’s six. Hell, even one was too many. “You’re going to have to
drop out and figure out a story as to why we met up.”
Jace shrugged. “Can’t we just be hanging out? I mean, your
background’s military. They know that. Keeping the lie as simple as possible
and as close to the truth usually works best.”
Tomcat finally pushed away from him because he needed space.
Needed to think. He poured himself a soda and chewed on some crushed ice as he
mulled Jace’s suggestion over. Could work, he supposed, but something nagged at
him.
He didn’t want anything about this mission to come back and
haunt him. And Jace…hell, they’d killed men for less. “Why the hell did you
think hanging out with this group would be such a good idea?”
Jace’s jaw tightened—if he had an answer, he wasn’t about to
spill it. Not tonight, but Tomcat was confident he could get it out of him, so
for the moment, he changed tactics. “You hungry?”
“Maybe.”
Yeah, SEALs ate like teenage boys. He was pretty sure Jace
was no exception. “Fridge is stocked. Make yourself comfortable. Oh, and give
me your phone.”
He brushed past Tomcat. “Make me.”
Oh, this boy was going down. Would lie writhing and begging
under him by the time all was said and done.
It was like Jace knew it, too, and was taking advantage as
much as possible before that happened. And after the boy downed a sandwich or
two and a soda, Tomcat asked, “So the only reason you found me was to warn me?”
“Yes.” Jace flicked his gaze coolly over him.
“I don’t think so.” Tomcat was done forcing himself to
believe it was nothing more than a natural suspicion—he knew better. “No one
knows I live here. No one knows you’re here. Do you understand how much trouble
you could be in?”
Jace moved from the table over to where Tomcat was pacing.
He slid his body in between Tomcat’s and the wall and breathed, “Yeah. Go ahead
and punish me.”
There were inches separating them, and Tomcat liked to
pretend he was made of steel—and most of the time it worked—but the proximity
was too much. Jace might’ve been teasing, but Tomcat would up the ante, take it
to the next level and see what the boy would do then.
The boy. An intimate term he’d never thought he’d use on
anyone again. This night was turning out to be full of surprises.
***
You can purchase Bound by Danger in eFormat (print comes out
Summer 2013) at:
MEN IN UNIFORM
SERIES:
Bound By Honor (Bk1)
Bound By Law (Bk 2)
Ties That Bind (Novella)
To find out more about the series, you can visit me at
So, now that you know a bit about my series, tell me, do you
read m/m books or books with m/m storylines? If not, are you willing to try? I’m excited that authors like Suzanne Brockmann and JR Ward
are making headway in this genre and I’m hoping that means we’ll see even more
m/m (or f/f) storylines in mainstream romance.
Leave a comment and one person will win all four (4) ebook in the Men In Uniform Series. Also two (2) runners-up will get their book of choice.
