The Sapphire Heist by Lauren Blakely
Series: Jewel #2
Published by Self-Published on August 16th 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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Keep your lover close and your enemy closer…
After giving in to a fiery night of passion, island adventurer Steph Anderson and bounty hunter Jake Harlowe are back to square one. With millions in stolen jewels at stake, it’s hard for Steph not to question her new partner’s true motives—no matter how sexy he might be. Jake is hungry for more of Steph, but he can sense her growing mistrust, which only fuels his own doubts. Worse, there’s undeniable evidence that someone else is now after the jewe…
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Excerpt:
He grabbed her waist and slammed her close. Her breath caught. He nipped her earlobe.
“Admit it,” he growled. “Admit I am masterful at darts. Then, and only then, will I accept your rematch offer.”
She shook her head and made a move to reach for the dart in his hand. Like she was trying to subtly snatch it away. He clamped his palm around it and raised an eyebrow.
“You trying to pickpocket me?”
“If pickpocketing from your hand counts, then yes. I was.”
“You need a lesson in proper pickpocketing then, woman. You’re too obvious. Like you were in the alley earlier today.”
“You’re telling me you know how to pick pockets, too?” She narrowed her eyes, skepticism in her tone as she grabbed her iced tea from the nearby counter and took a drink.
He laughed. “I do. I don’t do it often, but it’s a useful skill.”
She put down the glass, then parked her hands on her hips, hiking up her purse on her shoulder. “Teach me.”
“Can’t really teach you everything in one night, but it’s all about the art of deception,” he said as he led her back to the dartboard. Grabbing a dart from the green felt, he raised it and took aim at the bull’s-eye. Her gaze followed the dart. “That means you need to get the person to look elsewhere, like at the dartboard.”
She nodded and stared at the dartboard. For one second. Two seconds. Three. Then it dawned on her. When she snapped her focus back to him, he brandished her wallet.
“You got that from my purse,” she said, stomping a foot.
“I sure did. But that was the point. To show you how it’s done.”
“OK,” she said, wiggling her fingers. “Let me try.”
He taught her a few basic distraction tricks, and she practiced on him, dipping her hands in his pockets and trying to pilfer his watch. She was no pro, and he was aware of her moves every time. But her technique improved with the brief lesson. However, the constant gliding of her hands into his pockets zapped his focus away from teaching and onto the next phase oftonight.
“That’s all for today’s lesson,” he said, since he had no more interest in being out with her. “Need to get you alone now.”
Her eyes told him she wanted that, too. “Let’s say good night to Marie.”
She’d been busy all evening pulling the tap and pouring drinks, so he drummed his fingertips against the bar, tipped an imaginary hat to her, and waved good-bye. But she beckoned them over. “Hey. You found your sexy fisherman,” Marie said to Steph, flicking her long braid off her shoulder so it hung down her back. She turned to Jake. “And you found my favorite mermaid.”
“We did find each other,” Steph said in a sweet voice that nailed him right in the heart. We found each other. Those words. They pulsed with double meaning.
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✦ Audiobook (narrated by Sebastian York)➙ http://adbl.co/29fbETU
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About Lauren Blakely
Lauren Blakely writes sexy contemporary romance novels with heat, heart, and humor, and her books have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller lists. Like the heroine in FAR TOO TEMPTING, she thinks life should be filled with family, laughter, and the kind of love that love songs promise. Lauren lives in California with her husband, children, and dogs. Her novels include Caught Up In Us, Pretending He’s Mine, Playing With Her Heart, and Trophy Husband. She also writes for young adults under the name Daisy Whitney.
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