The Marine’s Little Secret by Ava Gray

I thought he was dead.

I grieved him.

I broke over him.

And then… I forced myself to move on.

Because United States Marine Corps Captain Jaxon Cole didn’t just disappear—

he never came back.

No calls.

No letters.

No goodbye.

So I buried the girl who loved him…

and raised our daughter alone.

Until he walks back into town.

Alive.

Dangerous.

Looking at me like I still belong to him.

I should be relieved.

Instead… I’m angry.

Angry that he left me behind.

Angry that he has no idea what I’ve survived without him.

And terrified of the one truth he doesn’t know—

Mercy.

The little girl with his eyes.

Because if Jaxon finds out…

he won’t walk away again.

He’ll claim.

He’ll fight.

He’ll take.

And the way he looks at me now—

possessive, intense, impossible to ignore—

tells me I’m already losing control.

Because Jaxon Cole isn’t the boy I once loved.

He’s a Marine who doesn’t lose…

and doesn’t let go.

And if he discovers the truth—

he won’t just change my life.

He’ll take everything I’ve fought to protect.