FLAWLESS
France,
1942. The world is at war. The Nazis have stolen
the infamous blue diamond, Le Coeur Bleu,
intending to barter it for weapons that will destroy the Allies. Jewel thief
Hunter Smith is given a choice; help the French Resistance steal back the
diamond and avenge the death of his best friend, or stay locked up in an
English prison. He chooses revenge.
Resistance fighter Madeleine Bertrand’s husband
died when he was betrayed by Hunter Smith. How can she now pretend to be
married to the arrogant American? How can she betray Jean Philippe’s memory by
her passionate response to Hunter’s kisses? Neither is prepared for the
maelstrom of attraction that erupts between them. To survive they must uncover
the mysteries of the past and conquer the dangers of the present. But first
Madeleine must decide if her loyalties lie with her dead husband and the Resistance
or with the greatest love of her life.
Excerpt:
Hunter’s
eyes snapped open, his blood pounding in his ears. “What do you know about The
Blue Heart?”
“Only that it is one of the most famous and rare
diamonds in the world, over 30 carats, and said to be flawless.”
Hunter rose from his cot and paced his small cell,
heart racing. “Ah, finally something you don’t know. Le Coeur Bleu has a small flaw, an inclusion visible only with a
jeweler’s loupe.”
Campbell inclined his head. “My mistake. I bow to your
superior knowledge of the stone.”
He met Campbell’s calm stare. He doubted this man ever
made mistakes. “What else do you know about the diamond?”
“I know the diamond is reputed to have magical powers.
Some even say it is cursed.”
“You don’t really believe in magical powers, do you?”
Hunter scoffed.
Campbell lifted one shoulder in a delicate shrug.
“Perhaps, perhaps not. Do you think your friend Jean Philippe Bertrand believed
in magic?”
All the air rushed out of Hunter’s lungs and he
struggled to breathe. “What do you know about Jean Philippe?”
“That he came into possession of Le Coeur Bleu and was murdered for it by the Nazis.”
Hunter dropped heavily onto his cot, shock and pain
turning his knees to water. Snippets of the telegram he’d received from his
best friend a few weeks before his arrest flashed in his head. Need to buy Heartstone times two from Jewish
refugee. Desperate. Send cash. Hunter had immediately wired JP the money to
buy the Heartstone, the name by which Le
Coeur Bleu was sometimes known. He never heard from Jean Philippe again. In
all the months of his captivity he’d clung to the hope that Jean Philippe was
safe. But now that hope was dashed.
“Dead? You’re
sure?”
“Yes. The SOE
is very well connected in France. I can assure you, your friend was killed for Le Coeur Bleu.”
Guilt flowed through Hunter’s veins like a poison. If
he hadn’t sent the money, JP wouldn’t have had the diamond and the Nazis would
have had no reason to kill him.
Campbell stepped closer to Hunter’s cot, determination
glittering in his eyes. “I’m giving you the opportunity to avenge your friend’s
death. Will you take it, Mr. Smith?”
“How is stealing The Blue Heart going to avenge Jean
Philippe’s death? It’s just a stone, Mr. Campbell. Very pretty, very valuable,
but just a rock. Is stealing it going to bring him back?”
“No, it won’t,” Campbell conceded, “but it will hurt
the Nazis immensely. I can assure you that taking Le Coeur Bleu from them will reduce their capacity to fight, Mr.
Smith. It may even shorten the war and provide the turning point we’re looking
for. Is this not what your friend would have wanted?”
As Hunter stared into Campbell’s round face, he
remembered the last stinging conversation he’d had with his friend. “If you used your God-given talents for good
instead of squandering them on party tricks, perhaps you’d be a lot happier.
It’s time to grow up, Hunter. For once in your life, be a man.”
Perhaps the time had finally come.
“How soon can I get out of here?”
Campbell smiled in satisfaction. “Follow me.”
FLAWLESS
(e-version) is on sale for .99 cents at all major e-retailers between December
4 and 17, 2015.
Buy Links: The Wild Rose Press | All Romance Ebooks | Amazon | B & N | Bookstrand |Google Play | Kobo | iBooks
BUY in Print: Wild Rose
HOME FIRES
Anne Wakefield travels halfway
around the world for love. But when she arrives in Canada from England at the
end of World War Two, she discovers the handsome Canadian pilot she’d fallen in
love with has married someone else. Heartbroken, she prepares to return to
London, though she has nothing left there to return to. Her former fiancé’s
mother makes a suggestion: marriage to her other son.
Badly wounded and scarred during the
war, Erik Gustafson thinks he’s a poor substitute for his brother. Although he loves
Anne almost from the first time he sees her, he cannot believe she would ever
be able to love him as he is – especially as he might be after another
operation on his bad leg. Anne sees the
beauty of his heart. The cold
prairie winter may test her courage, but can she prove to Erik that her love
for him is real?
Excerpt:
She whirled around to glare at him, her eyes blazing.
“No! I’m not a child! I don’t have to be mollycoddled and babysat. I spent six
years in a war zone, hiding in bomb shelters, never having enough to eat. I
worked in a hospital treating blitz victims with wounds so horrendous grown men
would gag to look at them. I faced those horrors every day. Sometimes things
were so bad I thought I couldn’t go on. But I did. Because I had to. And I’ll
face things here, too. So don’t tell me to give up, because I won’t!”
Erik pushed himself out of his chair to face her, awed
by her spirit and courage. She lifted her chin as if defying him to contradict
her, her hands clenched at her sides. Her dark hair curled in wild abandon as
it dried, framing her pale oval face like a halo. Her beauty and ferocity were
magnificent.
“I think you’re the strongest woman I know.”
Her eyes widened in surprise, her hands unclenching.
He caught the quiver of her chin as she fought to hold back tears.
“I made such a mess of things,” she whispered. “I’m
sorry for all the fuss I caused everyone.”
Erik took a step toward her. “It’s not your fault. I
shouldn’t have let you go alone in the dark.”
“You didn’t know I would stupidly walk out onto thin
ice.” She shook her head. “I wanted to help. I wanted to be useful. I can’t
stand feeling so bloody useless.”
“You’re not useless. You’re an amazing woman. Anders
is a fool for letting you go.”
She stared at him, her eyes filling with tears. “Thank
you.”
He opened his arms and she stepped into them, wrapping
her arms around his waist, clinging to him.
He held her tightly, inhaling the
sweet, clean scent of her, never wanting to let her go.
“Don’t cry. Everything’s all right now.”
“I know I’m being stupid. Tears don’t solve anything,”
she said against his chest. “But I was so cold, and so scared. I thought I was
going to die.”
He tightened his hold and kissed her hair. “Don’t
think about it anymore. You’re safe now.”
He heard her sigh, felt her relax against him. “Yes.
I’m safe.”
She lifted her head to look into his face, her dark
eyes shiny with tears, her lips slightly parted, and Erik stared at her mouth,
wanting desperately to kiss her, to capture her sweetness. He slowly lowered
his mouth to hers. To his surprise, she didn’t run off or turn away in
revulsion. He was so close her breath mingled with his, her breathing shallow
and erratic. His heart slammed against his chest, his body thrumming with need.
For the first time in over three years, he felt alive.
HOME
FIRES (e-version) is on sale for .99 cents at all major
e-retailers between December 4 and 17, 2015.
Buy links: The Wild Rose Press | All Romance Ebooks | Amazon | B & N | Bookstrand |Google Play | Kobo | iBooks | BAM
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