Military Romance Collection Volume 1: Military Romance Series, #1

By Laura M. Baird

Military romances filled with steamy emotion.

Passion and Duty: Leesa Colburn runs PAWS - the Pacific Animal Welfare Society - in Coronado, CA. Between duties at the shelter and caring for her younger sister, there isn't much time for pleasure. Enter Antonio Vega - one hot Navy SEAL who volunteers for the shelter's annual fund raising photo shoot. Their immediate chemistry is startling yet undeniable, and after one evening, they've fallen hard and fast. But when Antonio is called away on assignment, will these two have their time together or will duty override passion?
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Desire and Sacrifice: A young widow at thirty-four, Raquela Wright has enough to juggle between raising her daughter and making sure her job as an OR Tech is enough to keep the roof over their head. She doesn't need a complication that comes in the form of a sexy beast who shouldn't awaken her dormant desires. But does. Former Navy SEAL, Mick Collins, doesn't believe in fairy tales when all he's ever seen in life is no bedtime story. But could the alluring beauty next door make him believe dreams can come true?
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Love and Honor: Jessica thought she was prepared to be married to a soldier, but with each deployment, Danny pulled further and further away until she felt her love hadn't been enough. As if he knew his fate, Danny told his best friend, Anton, to always take care of her. And when he returns home in a casket, Anton carries the anguish of failing to save him. Having always loved Jessica, can Anton honor Danny's request and convince Jessica they can cast aside guilt for their chance at love?
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I had the privilege of having Love and Honor featured in a limited release anthology in 2020 with 1001 Dark Nights.
* Passion and Duty ends with a cliffhanger, but know there is more to their story, releasing in December 2023.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Laura M. Baird
• Release date: Mar 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215944547

Laura M. Baird

An avid reader-turned-writer, I've also worked over seventeen years as a dental hygienist. I'm thrilled to see my dreams come to life, and hope to provide readers with many more years of sensual romance filled with laughter, maybe a few tears, and always a happily-ever-after. Married over twenty-six years to my own stud, we've raised two wonderful sons, enjoy the beauty of the Northwest, and proudly cheer on our Boise State Broncos. When not staying active and juggling multiple tasks, I'm consuming plenty of great reads.

Book preview

Military Romance Collection

Volume 1

Laura M. Baird

Copyright © 2024 by Laura M. Baird

All rights reserved.

Names and characters are fictitious and a product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to persons (living or deceased), places, or events, is purely coincidental.

I did take the liberty of incorporating PAWS of Coronado into my story, bringing awareness to their wonderful organization and the work they do with animal welfare.

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Author’s Note: No artificial intelligence (A.I) or predictive language software was used in any part of the creation of this book, nor will it ever be used for any of my works. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the author. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author and not encouraging piracy of copyrighted materials. For permission to use portions of this text, other than for review purposes, contact the author.

Formatted with Atticus by Laura M. Baird

Covers by Getcovers

Contents

Foreword

About Passion and Duty

Passion and Duty

About Desire and Sacrifice

Desire and Sacrifice

About Love and Honor

Love and Honor

Afterword

About the Author

Foreword

Thank you for taking interest in my military romances.

As a veteran, these stories hold a special place in my heart. The dedication and sacrifices servicemen and women make, as well as their families, are commendable.

Let us honor our active duty members as well as our veterans.

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About Passion and Duty

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Leesa Colburn runs PAWS--the Pacific Animal Welfare Society--in Coronado, CA. Between duties at the shelter and caring for her younger sister, there isn’t much time for pleasure. Enter Antonio Vega; one hot Navy SEAL who volunteers for the shelter’s annual fund raising photo shoot. Their immediate chemistry is startling and undeniable.

When Antonio convinces Leesa to go out for dinner and dancing, things heat up even more and they seemed destined to fall into bed. But after arriving home, there’s trouble with Leesa’s sister. When that’s sorted, Antonio spends the night on the couch, and he and Leesa look forward to more time together.

Unfortunately, that’s put on hold when Antonio is called away on assignment during the night, leaving only a note for Leesa to read in the morning. He asks that she wait for him, and she knows she will, having fallen hard and fast.

Will these two have their time together or will duty override passion?

Passion and Duty

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But of course, I grumble while splashing through the ever-increasing puddles. My head is down as I try to avoid the sting of the pelting rain. Today of all days it just had storm. To be fair, nobody predicted six months ago while planning this event that a tropical storm would blow through San Diego.

I make it to the front door of the shelter just as a gust of wind howls, slapping into me and knocking me off balance. Son of a— I start to curse but it’s cut short as I slam into an immovable object.

Whoa, there, says a masculine voice.

Caught off guard, I gasp, not expecting that object to be a man. I lift my head to get a look at whoever is grasping my shoulders, keeping me upright. The hood of my slicker is whipped off and within two point three seconds my vision is obscured due to being soaked. I try blinking away the moisture to no avail, catching only a brief glimpse of a dark form.

Come on, let’s get outta this.

I can only assume I’m being led inside as strong hands guide me around before I hear the door slam behind us, shutting out the storm. The room is deathly quiet for an instant until my friend, Jessica, appears.

Holy jeez, Leesa, you’re drenched.

No shit, Sherlock. I catch the towel she throws at me, wiping my face as a soft chuckle sounds behind me. I spin around, nearly forgetting about the stranger who pulled me inside.

Hi. That one word in his deep voice stirs my insides. Or maybe it’s his hazel eyes, bronze face, and unruly dark hair that capture my attention. Might be that sexy grin. Could also be his tall, muscular form that’s easily identifiable due to the dripping wet garments molding to his body. Hell, it’s the whole package!

Leesa, I see you’ve met Antonio, Jessica says.

Uh, no, actually, we haven’t met, I manage.

Antonio smiles wider, showing off a megawatt smile my perfectionist father who’s an orthodontist would still find fault with. But not me. Oh no, those pearly whites are stunning and those plump lips framing his mouth look downright delectable.

I blink a few times as if that will clear my head of these ridiculous thoughts about a complete stranger.

Jessica comes to my side. Oh, well, this is Antonio Vega. He’s a member of Danny and Anton’s unit. He’s here for the shoot. The other guys are already inside. She indicates toward the door that leads to the kennels where the canines are housed.

I’m the operations manager for PAWS—Pacific Animal Welfare Society—in Coronado, and today we were supposed to have a photo shoot involving our animals and military personnel. It’s a promotional event to increase awareness for the facility as well as raise funds to help with our programs. Jessica and her husband, Danny, along with their friend, Anton, have been helping out for a few years now. In fact, that’s how they all met, at our opening. Jessica runs a dog sanctuary, is a trainer, and an advocate for adoption of shelter animals. The guys are assigned to US NAB—Naval Amphibious Base—Coronado.

And evidently so is Antonio.

Antonio, this is my friend, Leesa Colburn. She’s the gal who runs this place. She gives me a wink.

Hi, Leesa, he says.

I remain mute while staring at that sexy face. Jess then realizes Antonio’s dripping wet too. Damn, sorry Tony, let me get another towel for you. Be right back. She rushes off, leaving me alone with this handsome stranger who continues to smile at me. Me, the numbskull who can’t seem to reply with even a simple hello.

Guess the photo shoot isn’t happening outside.

I snort, actually snort before I reply with, Not likely.

Storm took an abrupt turn. Thought for sure it’d continue west. Bad timing, eh?

I shrug, feeling the weight of the slicker