He loved her in silence…because loving her out loud was never an option.

Former Navy SEAL Sawyer Maddox has spent most of his life protecting others from the shadows. Calm under pressure. Loyal to the core. And painfully aware that the woman he’s always cared about is completely off-limits.

Anastasia Knox is the little sister of one of his best friends…and the one woman Sawyer has never been able to forget. She’s built a quiet life in their small coastal town, doing her best to be content with a relationship that looks right on paper. But when anonymous messages turn into late-night threats, that fragile sense of safety shatters.

Sawyer doesn’t hesitate. He moves in. Steps closer. Putting himself between Anastasia and the danger—no matter the cost. Even if it means crossing lines he swore he never would.

Because the longer he’s near her, the harder it is to ignore the truth.

She doesn’t belong with the man she’s with.

She belongs with him.

A gripping romantic suspense about faith, sacrifice, and a soldier who will risk everything for the woman he was never meant to love.

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Read an excerpt from SEAL of Courage

Fight flares in her bright hazel eyes, and she moves in closer. My pulse hammers as need slams into me. “Fine. You want to keep talking? Then tell me, what is it you want from me, Sawyer?” She stares up at me, and my stomach twists into nervous knots. “Because it’s been six years, and not once have you given me any indication that you wanted something aside from friendship.”

But I loved you the moment I first saw you. How do I explain to her that I kept my distance because I never felt good enough to love her? Releasing her, I reach back to grip the counter behind me. My fingers grip the cool stone to keep me from taking everything I want when it’s mere inches in front of me.

I can see it all too clearly.

Me snaking a hand around the back of her neck and pulling her in.

My lips slamming onto hers.

Lifting her into my arms so I can get closer.

But just like I can easily imagine the way it would feel, I can also see the fallout. Things are too volatile between us now. Anything that starts will surely end in flames.

Anastasia’s gaze drops to my mouth, and she leans in even closer, her own lips parting.

Lord, grant me strength.

She presses a hand to my chest, and some of my restraint snaps. I lean into her. Can she feel the way I tremble at her touch?

“Is this what you want?” She stretches up on her tiptoes until her lips are just a breath away from mine, all while I slowly lose the fight within me. Her hot breath fans over my face.

Logic says I need to pull away. No matter how badly I want this, she just got out of a relationship. She’s hurting, and I refuse to be a mistake. She’s too important to me. It’s not worth losing everything we have for a brief taste of the woman in front of me. Not when I’ve got my eyes on forever.

“Is it, Sawyer?” she presses. The scent of coffee and sugar that always clings to her assaults me now, intoxicating me as it invades my senses. 

Does she want this, too? Hope pummels me when she doesn’t immediately pull away. It pushes me past the desire and brings me dangerously close to blinding joy. Maybe this is why she wasn’t with Jack, maybe—

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She rolls her eyes and pats my chest like I’m a puppy she just gave a treat to. “Always the flirt. Never actually means anything. You just toy with people until you’ve got them right where you want them. Well, congratulations, Sawyer. I’m alone again. You’ve got what you want.” She starts to pull away.

This was a test? A game?

Fresh pain slices through me as she drives a dagger straight down into my heart. I walked right into this, though. I let her play me like a fiddle, those delicate fingers toying with each and every one of my strings.

What’s worse? I’d let her do it again in a heartbeat.

Before she gets too far, I grip her arm again, moving in so close I can count the flecks of green and copper in her hazel eyes. “Don’t tease me like that again,” I warn.

Her lips part, pupils dilating. “And why is that?” she demands, bottom lip quivering. “We both know that’s all you’ve been doing with me.”

That sharp jaw of hers is set, her gaze full of fury. I want to call her bluff. Take her mouth with mine so I can show her just how desperate I am for more. But right now in this moment, that would be a mistake. So even as it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, I restrain myself. The truth is, what’s between us is far from over. Anastasia just doesn’t realize it yet.

My gaze drops to her mouth a moment before I raise it back to her eyes. “Because you’re playing with a fuse that’s been lit a long time, Knox. And I’m not sure how much longer I can keep it from going off.”