Forbidden Love With the Marine by Burke, Dez (best books to read in your 20s txt) 📕

killer curves and sultry gaze to match. With tits that

had seemed so ripe, outlined by her dress, which also sheathed her curvy hips in ways that hinted at their tempting promise. Yes, truly a body for sin; a body designed just to please and drive you

crazy…

Eyes shut tight, Ivan tried to think of world hunger – the U.S. economy. Anything that would take

his mind off the thought of Olivia’s pretty luscious lips and what he wanted them to be doing to him right at this moment.

No doubt he had it bad for her. Big time.

Just like that, Olivia Kirkland had got under his skin and he knew that if she was right here, in

this room, he may just decide to forget every honorable promise he’d made to himself not to mess

with Martin’s daughter. And yet…though Olivia might be grown up now – all grown up – Ivan told

himself that there were still some lines even he wouldn’t cross.

At least in person. He crossed them many times in his head right then as he lay in bed trying to

fall asleep…fantasizing that he had Olivia’s mouth on him. She’d be moaning and telling him how

much she wanted him. Ivan let out another long groan, rolling on his back as the hot pressure in his crotch made sleep evade him the more.

Her quizzical words of earlier that night at the party, when she’d asked him, “Do I make you

nervous?” now changed in his mind to “Do you want to kiss me? ”

Shit! Ivan thought, finally flinging off the covers and heading back for the shower. Damn it all to hell!

For heaven’s sake, he was a trained soldier. From constant training as well as the very

demanding missions he’d gone on, he was used to cold water conditioning. He could remember “Hell

Week” which had been part of the extreme activities he had to go through as a trainee.

There’d been the surf-torture where he and others had to train oblivious to sub-zero

temperatures as well as their own physical comfort. If he could survive all that, plus enduring four to five nights of training with a maximum total of four hours sleep – then hell he’d endure as many ice-cold showers as he needed to get over his rampaging desires for Olivia.

He let out a long sigh as he stepped under the cold wet spray. Well, at least now he’d stopped

denying it. Finally, he admitted to himself the same thing he’d been trying to refute all these years. The same thing that had made him take on more and more assignments that sent him away from home for

longer periods of time.

He loved being a Marine and the time-consuming schedule had never been a problem, but now

he knew that a part of him had been happy to have an excuse to keep running away from the truth that had now kicked him in the balls.

He didn’t just want her, he craved Olivia.

But there was nothing he could do. He’d have to keep his inflamed lust for her as hidden as

ever. She must never suspect – and neither must her father or in fact, anyone they knew. Martin

Kirkland had trusted him, given Ivan a second home. The last thing Ivan would dream of doing was

destroying that trust and losing the only thing that meant anything to him apart from his work in the service: his family.

That was right; Olivia was family and he shouldn’t be thinking of jumping in between her legs.

Maybe it was time, Ivan decided, to get into the dating scene again. Now that he was back

home, he’d carve out some “me” time for himself. Go out with pals, get to meet some women. And

probably get laid. Maybe that would keep his sexual appetites off the one woman he was determined

not to claim…

Chapter Three

Olivia could have any man she wanted. She didn’t believe in false modesty and was well

aware that, from her college days and up to her entrance into the professional field of business

finance, she’d been a prime target for male attention.

They couldn’t seem to keep away from her. Whether at work or at play among her equally feisty

friends, she was never short of admirers. Some with less than good intentions. In fact, many made it known they would give anything for a taste of her treasures.

But Olivia had never been tempted. Just a few months after her twenty-second birthday, she

was getting steadily better at rejecting “suitors”. Men just didn’t seem to get why she was far from ready to jump into their beds; not with her partying and clubbing ways. Not with the seductive way she looked.

She loved to surprise people with the way her bold, daring fashion sense contrasted with her

demure, even prudish principles. That was why she always laughed when any of her handsome dates

got fooled by her “glam doll” exterior into thinking she would be an easy lay. She knew they could never give her what she wanted.

And that was the same thing she’d wanted ever since she started to understand her feelings for

Ivan Lance.

As a clueless teen, she’d adored him for his protective if sometimes teasing nature. An only

child, like him, they’d formed a connection that she’d never dreamed she’d want to take to another level. But as they’d matured, he’d turned into a walking, talking sex god and the next thing she knew, she was crushing hard on him.

While in college, none of the gorgeous jocks or cool, brooding geeks had appealed to her. All

she could think of was her handsome “hero” Ivan who’d become a Marine. He’d joined unexpectedly

after he’d graduated from university, and for more than two years, she hardly ever saw him as he

completed his training and got deployed to his base. And then, when he finally got shipped out to

Afghanistan, she’d been terrified she’d never see him again.

Olivia thought he was so brave; being part of something so iconic and world-changing.

Knowing he was risking his life everyday to make people like her feel safe from terror made her

feelings for him deepen even more.

Hopelessly