Tempt Me

By Melissa Schroeder

The man who could be general.

Jesse Johnson is a man everyone assumes will be a general. Everyone, that is, but Jesse himself. He isn’t sure if he wants to give that much to the military. His father has spent most of his life surviving a lonely existence with only his work for comfort. Jesse doesn’t want that—he wants it all. The woman who tempts him to misbehave. The last year has been bad for Zoe Jones. Her boyfriend was killed by some nasty guys who then put her in the hospital. She’s come to Virginia to heal not to fall for some by the book, drop dead gorgeous Marine with a chip on his shoulder. But one little encounter leads to a kiss and that kiss leads to all kinds of interesting entanglements. She knows it won’t last because he has big plans, but she can’t help but falling a little in love with him. A Marine on a mission. Jesse knows Zoe thinks they’re just having a bit of fun, but he has other plans. Forever kind of plans. He’s one man who knows how to organize a full on assault to get the woman he loves—and nothing will stop him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Publishing
• Release date: May 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9781094443744

Melissa Schroeder

From an early age, USA Today Bestselling author Melissa loved to read. First, it was the books her mother read to her including her two favorites, Winnie the Pooh and the Beatrix Potter books. She cut her preteen teeth on Trixie Belden and read and reviewed To Kill a Mockingbird in middle school. It wasn’t until she was in college that she tried to write her first stories, which were full of angst and pain, and really not that fun to read or write. After trying several different genres, she found romance in a Linda Howard book. Since her first published book, Grace Under Pressure, Mel has had over 60 short stories, novellas, and novels published. She has written in genres ranging from historical to contemporary to futuristic and has worked with 8 publishers although she handles most of her publishing herself. She is best known for her Harmless and Santini series. After years of following her military husband around the country and world, Mel happily lives with her family in horse and wine country in Northern Virginia.

Book preview

1

The heavy smell of antiseptic hit Zoe Jones before she was fully awake. She scrunched up her nose trying to avoid the stench. She had always hated how it turned her stomach each and every time. She tried to swallow but found her throat dry.

The beeping of the machines was the second thing that she noticed. Drawing in a deep breath—then immediately regretting it—she opened her eyes and found her sister’s pretty husband sitting in the chair beside her hospital bed. The lights were dim, but she could see a little sun trying to peek through the slats on the blinds.

Oh, there you are, Gee said. Feeling any better?

She tried to shrug, but a spike of pain radiated from her shoulder. Holy crap.

Yeah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Gee said.

Thanks, Santini. I can see why my sister loves your bedside manner.

It’s not my bedside manner she’s interested in. He wiggled his eyebrows. It was so foolish of him, just like he always was, but she knew he did it to make her feel better. And he succeeded. There was one thing her sister said about Santini men and that was they knew all kinds of ways to keep a woman happy.

Zoe smiled and then winced when her mouth hurt. Damn, she was broken. She couldn’t even smile or shrug.

Have the cops been back by?

He shook his head. Your sister made sure they understood that they needed to leave you alone.

Of course Kianna did. She was always taking care of Zoe, making sure she didn’t screw her life completely up. And no one, not even the Savannah PD, would take on her sister. She was scary when she went into protection mode.

I owe her.

Gee made a face and even with that goofy look he was pretty. Blindingly pretty. But, then, all the Santinis were.

Well, before you say that, you might want to rethink how much you really owe her.

His mysterious tone sent a wave of uncertainty threading through her. What’s that supposed to mean?

Before he could answer, she heard a voice in the hallway.

"I don’t care what you say, I am family. I am her mother, in a sense, and you will let me in to ICU."

Joey Santini’s voice echoed down the hall. Hell, they probably heard her all the way out to the Savannah Riverfront shops.

Oh, no, Zoe whispered. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at her brother-in-law. I am going to kill you.

Listen, wasn’t my idea. Kianna called Mom. Then Mom got it in her head that she needed to be here. And Dad couldn’t stop her from coming down.

Your father. The former Marine? He couldn’t stop her?

The argument Joey was having with whoever was in charge continued in the hallway and seemed to increase in volume with each passing millisecond. Gee shrugged. Dad said he’s been on suicide missions that were easier than saying no to Joey Santini.

That’s because the man is smart, Joey said from the doorway.

Zoe looked over at the woman and found Joey smiling at her. Papa was right behind her standing in the doorway. Her blonde hair had a few gray strands here and there, but it was hard to see them. She might have had a few lines on her face, but it held a vitality that had nothing to do with age and everything to do with the woman. From the moment Zoe met her a year earlier, the older woman had impressed her. She was so small, but she had all the men in the family at her beck and call.

Mom, Gee said, rising, and hugging and kissing his mother. The boys always showed her such love and admiration. It made Zoe miss her mother even more.

Joey returned the affection, then handed Gee over to his father. She focused on Zoe. Oh, baby, look at you.

She sounded genuinely pained as she rushed to Zoe’s side. And for the first time since she’d woken up in the hospital broken and battered from the car wreck, she felt her eyes burn with tears. Joey didn’t hesitate. She sat on the bed with Zoe and took her uninjured hand into hers.

Everything is going to be okay. Don’t worry.

Zoe was trying very hard not to cry and Joey must have picked up on it. Boys, why don’t you go on out of here and find me a cup of good coffee?

They have some down at the cafeteria, Gee said.

She rolled her eyes and winked at Zoe before turning around. "I do not want cafeteria coffee. Bring me good coffee. It’s Savannah, there has to be a good coffeehouse somewhere."

Gee opened his mouth, but Papa had dealt with Joey for years and showed it by shaking his head. He came over and gave Joey a kiss on the cheek. Then, he leaned down and surprised Zoe by kissing her forehead.

Just agree with her and your life will be easier, he whispered.

She wanted to smile, but remembered her split lip. Instead, she just nodded.

Let’s go, boy, Papa said to Gee. He had to be the only person other than Joey who would refer to the massive airman as boy.

When they were finally alone, Joey patted Zoe’s hand. Now, they say you’ll be out of ICU this afternoon. You really don’t need to be here now that you’re awake. And, you should be out of the hospital in a few days.

Joey rose from the bed and adjusted the blinds to let a little light into the room. Zoe winced from the light.

That’s good.

Joey nodded. Then, of course, the doctor said you can travel back with us to Virginia.

For a moment or two, Zoe wasn’t sure she heard the older woman right. Wait, what?

You’ll come up with me and I will help you heal.

Zoe opened her mouth, then closed it again. She really didn’t know what to say to that. She knew Gee’s mother was a force of nature that no one would even think about fighting, but Zoe couldn’t get her brain to function. Maybe the accident knocked her silly.

What?

You’ll come up to our house. I have a studio where you can work and we can spend time together.

That sounded divine—almost too good to be true. It tempted her, but she couldn’t give in. She needed her space, and she knew she wasn’t going to be good company for a while.

I thought about maybe going up and see Retta or down to Valdosta with Gee and Kee.

Joey shook her head. No. You’ll come up with me. First of all, Gee and Kee have too much to handle right now. Retta…she has work. And, I am sure if you ask my boys, no one can take care of you like Joey Santini.

But…just like that, you’re going to take care of me? Zoe asked, still trying to come to terms with the reality in which she now lived.

Yes. You need to be babied.

That stung. Sure, she had messed her life up…again. But it didn’t mean that she needed to be treated with kid gloves. I don’t need to be babied.

Oh, Zoe, sweetie, you need to be taken care of. Getting messed up in the middle of an investigation like that and then attacked through no fault of your own, you deserve a break.

The memories she had avoided came seeping back