Her Last Protector. Jeanie London

      

      His only duty is to defend her

      Covert agent Drew Canady has guarded Princess Mirie Selskla without once crossing the line between protector and lover. Keeping her safe, and his true identity under wraps, has never been a problem. Then an attack against Mirie sends her straight into his arms. Suddenly all those feelings he’s never acknowledged won’t go away.

      Drew knows she’s the last woman he should fall for. His focus must be on finding the enemy—even if that blows his cover and drives Mirie from his life for good. But as the stakes climb, maybe he’s underestimated the power of the attraction between them….

      Drew wasn’t sure what awoke him

      He did know he shouldn’t have been sleeping. Not here in the cave. But the struggle to control his physical reaction to the feel of Mirie pressed against him had worn him out more than battling the snow.

      He wanted to stop time with the feel of her in his arms. He glanced down at her, dark lashes forming half circles on her pale cheeks, her mouth parted around shallow breaths.

      “Are you all right?” he asked automatically.

      She surprised him by sliding her arms around his chest. The heat melded their skin together. Her hair tickled his nose with every breath. Her sleek curves unfolded against him so he could feel the length of her soft thighs, the way she fitted into the curve of his body.

      His pulse began to race, rebelling wildly against his best intentions. And they were the very best. Just useless against the feel of her in his arms. A familiar burning started inside, a reaction that was going toe-to-toe with his discipline.

      For the first time, he was losing sight of his job, rapidly forgetting that he had to protect her. Instead he was reacting like a man to a very beautiful woman.

      Dear Reader,

      I’m fascinated by the people who dedicate their lives to national security and defense. These caring people possess such courage of heart—whether they serve at home or abroad, in peace or adversity. The sheer fact they live their lives in such diverse settings and circumstances for the benefit of others speaks to the nobility of the human spirit.

      That’s the idea that gave life to the Excelsior Agency.

      I fell in love with this world of covert operations back in 2005, when I wrote In the Cold (Mills & Boon Signature Select Spotlight November 2005), and I am beyond thrilled to have the freedom to revisit Excelsior again in Her Last Protector. Mirie and Drew are people who understand the meaning of loyalty, each in their unique circumstances and in their own ways. While their goals may seem worlds apart (countries, actually!), together they learn that honor does not come without sacrifice, everything worthy is worth fighting for and love conquers all.

      Ordinary people. Extraordinary romance.

      Mills & Boon Superromance is the place to enjoy stories set in circumstances where love will endure. I hope you enjoy Mirie and Drew’s love story. Visit me at www.jeanielegendre.com.

      Peace and blessings,

      Jeanie London

      Her Last Protector

      Jeanie London

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Jeanie London writes romance because she believes in happily-ever-afters. Not the “love conquers all” kind, but the “we love each other, so we can conquer anything” kind. Jeanie is the winner of many prestigious writing awards, including multiple RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice and National Readers’ Choice Awards. She lives in sunny Florida with her own romance-hero husband, their beautiful daughters and a menagerie of strays.

      To everyone who defends this wonderful country I call home.

      Your dedication reminds us all that we gain nothing through apathy. And your courage sets the standard. You are appreciated. May God bless you all.

      Contents

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Chapter Thirteen

       Chapter Fourteen

       Chapter Fifteen

       Chapter Sixteen

       Chapter Seventeen

       Chapter Eighteen

       Chapter Nineteen

       Excerpt

      CHAPTER ONE

      “DREI TIMKO,” a voice barked.

      Drew responded to the name as if it were his own. In the ways that mattered, the name was his. The man once known as Drew Canady had become a ghost from another lifetime. A life so long gone, he had almost forgotten. Almost. Not quite.

      Turning, he watched the grizzled old man muscle through the crowd, broad shoulders forging a path through the mourners, face split with a gap-toothed grin. The logger, a man named Vlas, had befriended Drew back when he had been a stranger among strangers in this mountain village of Alba Luncă.

      “You guard the princess as closely as you once guarded a lighthearted girl.” Vlas clapped Drew on the back.

      Drew glanced at the woman walking behind the casket cart—graceful and dressed head to toe in white, from the fur ushanka on her head to the hiking boots on her feet. She looked appropriately austere for a funeral, colorless but for the flushed cheeks and wisps of caramel-colored hair lifting on the wind, her expression as brittle as the weather.

      “That’s what they pay me to do.” His breath clashed with the morning air in a frigid burst.

      Princess Mirela of Ninsele hadn’t been that lighthearted girl for a very long time.

      Not since the years before his princess had come out of hiding. One minute she had been the girl