Sean. Donna Kauffman

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      “We haven’t done the talking part yet,” Sean said

      “We will…” Laurel rose up on her toes, took his face in her hands and kissed him. No gentle peck, no teasing come-on. She flat out kissed him. A heartbeat later he was kissing her back.

      Sean pushed his hips against hers. “Damn, I still don’t even know you.”

      “I don’t know you, either. So explain why this feels like one of the rightest things I’ve ever done.” Laurel laughed a little. “God, I hope I don’t feel like an idiot for saying that come morning.”

      Sean leaned in and kissed her, only gently this time. “I don’t want any regrets,” he murmured. Although he already knew he’d have a boatload. Not for making love to her. No, never. He was going to regret not having more time with her here on the island. Time to get past making love…and falling into it.

      Dear Reader,

      I was thrilled to hear that the Men of Courage anthology was so well received that our editors wanted each of us to write a spin-off story. Brett, my hero from “Buried!,” has a great set of siblings that I was dying to write about. But none so much as his older brother, U.S. marshal Sean Gannon. Of course, given Sean’s dedication to job and country, he’d probably have preferred me to leave him alone. All the more reason to complicate things for him!

      So I put a damsel in distress directly in his path, one he wasn’t going to be able to walk away from. The problem? Laurel Patrick is the type of woman who prefers to solve her own problems, thank you. Did I mention she was a district court judge? Sean suspects she’s in more trouble than she can handle…and he’s not backing off. Sparks fly, pulses pound, passion flares. All the ingredients I love best!

      I hope you enjoy Sean and Laurel’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

      Happy reading,

      Donna Kauffman

      Books by Donna Kauffman

      HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION

      828—WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

      846—HEAT OF THE NIGHT

      874—CARRIED AWAY

      HARLEQUIN BLAZE

      18—HER SECRET THRILL

      46—HIS PRIVATE PLEASURE

      69—AGAINST THE ODDS

      Sean

      Donna Kauffman

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      This book is for Mark, Mitch, Spence & Brandon

      My own personal heroes.

      Contents

       Chapter 1

       Chapter 2

       Chapter 3

       Chapter 4

       Chapter 5

       Chapter 6

       Chapter 7

       Chapter 8

       Chapter 9

       Chapter 10

       Chapter 11

       Chapter 12

       Chapter 13

       Chapter 14

      1

      “WHO’D HAVE THOUGHT I’d be the first one of the Gannon men to tie the knot, eh?” Brett Gannon slung an arm around his older brother’s shoulders and tipped back the last of a beer.

      Sean grinned and finished his beer in one long pull. “Well, Clay is too busy dating his way through the University of Louisiana’s cheerleading squad. And I knew it wasn’t going to be me.”

      “Yeah, you’re already married. How is the Marshals Service treating you anyway?” he teased. “Still exciting as those early days, when the romance was fresh? Can we expect the pitter-patter of little agents’ feet anytime soon?”

      Sean just grinned. “Yep, just as soon as I get through with my next class out at Beauregard. I’m sure my recruits are all going to make me very proud.” His grin widened. “Or die trying.”

      Brett winced. “Glad I don’t have to impress you.”

      Sean looked across the yard at Haley, at how happy she was. “You already have,” he said quite seriously. He grinned when Brett gave him a surprised look. “But I will admit I thought you’d play a much wider field first.”

      Brett shot him his trademark cheeky grin. “In the end, it’s just more green grass.”

      Sean looked back to Haley, radiant in the simple white gown she’d chosen. “You did find yourself a right sunny patch of it, that’s for certain.” He glanced back at the middle Gannon brother in time to see Brett staring at his wife of less than one hour, so totally besotted it should have made Sean want to roll his eyes and shake his head. Instead it created an odd little twinge somewhere down deep inside him.

      Brett noticed his brother’s frown. “Is it weird for you? Because you used to date her? I mean, it was several lifetimes ago.”

      “And I suppose that crush you had on her back then was just some youthful infatuation, huh?” Sean countered.

      Brett was unabashed. “The only thing youthful was my inability to hold on to her. But I always knew a good thing when I saw it.”

      “Unlike me, I suppose.” Sean had said it jokingly, but there was a thread of honesty in the statement that caused that twinge to sharpen.

      “Hey, I figure you did us both a favor. She didn’t want to marry the U.S. Marshals Service. And eventually I did grow up and learned to hang on to something good when I had it.”

      “Yeah,” Sean said, his gaze shifting back to Haley, serene and calm amid the other members of the raucous Gannon clan. “And may I say, when you hang, you hang with the best.” He looked back at his brother. “I’m happy for you, Brett. Truly. And I hope like hell you contribute more to the Gannon legacy than those four-legged animals you work with.”

      “What, you having a yearning to play uncle? Carly’s brand-new little squaller isn’t enough for you?”

      “Carly’s baby terrifies me,” he said quite seriously.

      “Yeah, I know,” Brett said, admitting his terror for the first time. “How can something so tiny have such huge lungs?”

      It wasn’t the screaming that bothered him. Sean had been referring to those perfect little delicate fingers and those teeny, tiny toes. How was a guy supposed to hold something like that without breaking it? Yet his younger sister had taken to motherhood as if she’d