Bonjour! My friends – we had a bit of an “oops” which is why this wasn’t actually scheduled… well, for the day it was supposed to be. But it’s all sorted out now! And we’ve got a hot excerpt from Callie Croix‘s upcoming book, Covert Seduction. Enjoy!

Navy SEAL Reid Galvin is back from hell and eager to find comfort in Becca Anderson’s arms. He knows he hurt her when he cut contact during his deployment, so when his call interrupts her date with another man, he has only himself to blame. But he can’t forget what she means to him—or the sexy email she sent him—and he won’t miss this chance to claim her as his own.

It’s been weeks since Becca heard from the man she thought she was involved with. So when Reid wants to take up where they left off as if nothing happened, she refuses. Then he rescues her from a first date gone very wrong, and she realizes she’s not quite ready to let him go.

Reid and Becca have a lot to talk about, but since she’s not listening, he’s going to have to regain her trust another way—by bringing her most erotic fantasies to life. Making her surrender to pleasure just might be his most important mission.

Reid’s heart thudded as he awaited her answer. The astonishment on her face made him want to curse. She really had no clue what she meant to him. But she would. By the end of the night, he vowed she’d never wonder again.

“Tell me what I want to hear,” he whispered against the bridge of her nose, brushing a kiss over the abrasion there. He covered her face with soft kisses, touching every mark on her skin until he reached her mouth, nibbling at her luscious lower lip that glistened with a faint sheen of gloss. She leaned forward and tried to deepen the kiss but he eased his head away, denying her.

His hands at her back kept her torso tight against him. He itched to run them over all those sweet, soft curves hidden by the folds of the robe. The combined scents of her shampoo and the musky vanilla perfume she wore drove him crazy. He hadn’t been lying when he told her he’d thought of her every day they’d been apart. Over there he’d finally realized that Becca was the only woman he’d ever want to come home to after a mission or deployment.

He needed this more than his next breath, but she had to put herself in his control first. Something he wasn’t sure she was ready to give, considering how he’d hurt her, though he hadn’t done it intentionally. Unfortunately his explanation wouldn’t mean shit to her until later. Much later, after he’d taken care of the deep hunger that lurked beneath her independent, sophisticated exterior and shown her exactly how much she could trust him with her body and her innermost desires. This time he wouldn’t settle for anything less than everything she had to give.

And that meant claiming her whole heart.

Staring up at him with heated blue eyes made even sultrier by her makeup, Becca considered him for several long moments before giving a hesitant nod. “Yes.”

Biting back a victorious growl, he bent and covered her mouth with his. The kiss was pure hunger and fire. He tangled his hands in the silky fall of her dark hair, fisting them tightly. Becca didn’t hold back. She moaned and sucked on his tongue, rubbing the back of her head against his fists. That proof of how much she loved his show of authority ramped his desire even higher. Reid bunched and unbunched his fingers, giving her more of the tiny burn she craved each time he pulled on the smooth strands.

Her uninhibited response made the pleasure rage hotter. She gave a soft little mewl and slid her hands over his arms and back, the enjoyment clear on her face. Her fingers kneaded the muscles across his shoulders and down his spine, skimming down to sink into his ass and pull his raging cock tighter against her abdomen. Reid palmed her hip with one hand and kissed her harder, deeper, wanting to bend her over the foot of that four-poster bed and fuck her until she sobbed out his name and exploded around his cock. Only the burning need to fulfill the fantasy stopped him from doing just that. Because something much more critical than satisfying their physical needs was at stake here.

He had to get in her head, figure out exactly how far she wanted him to push her tonight. What she’d revealed in that naughty email had been one hell of an eye-opener, and the images she’d planted in his brain had tortured him ever since. He’d never realized just how much more she needed from him in bed than he’d given her, or that he didn’t have to hold back anymore. The all-important punch line from her email reverberated in his head, made him break out in a sweat.

I want you to tie me down and take me. Force me to lose control.

Holy fuck, did he want that.

Part of him was still stunned that she craved it though. In his wildest fantasies he’d never imagined she’d be into rough sex, let alone long to give up that degree of control to him during sex. Thinking about it had driven him insane over the last few weeks. He’d kill for another taste of her, for the chance to let the hunger loose.

So what do you think? Did it whet your appetite? If so, you can pre-order it here. The book will be out on January 14!