Simple Treasures
Honor Guard Series
Alexa Bourne
Take-charge bodyguard Colin Munro believes working for the
International Protective Network will be the perfect occupation for him.
Unfortunately, his trial assignment is protecting a woman who has no
intention of blindly following orders. Aye, he’ll bring the bonnie lass
in line because there’s no way he’ll allow her to ruin his chance of
securing his dream job.
Physically and emotionally scarred during her stint as a U.S. soldier,
Joanna Grainger wants nothing more than to enjoy life. New Year's Eve in
Edinburgh marks the beginning of her transformation. But when she
witnesses a crime no one believes occurred, her plans come to a
screeching halt. To make matters worse, her sexy but headstrong
bodyguard has no compassion for her or the victim.
As danger hunts them during one of the busiest times of the year, Joanna
must convince Colin she's a worthy partner. But first, can she convince
herself?
Genre: Contemporary romance, adventure, suspense/thriller, holiday
Heat level: 3
Word count – 26k
Cover art by Mina Carter
~Excerpt~
“I had a bad dream.” She smoothed her hair back off her face. Moisture beaded at her temples.
“Here we call it a nightmare.” He smiled, and at once she relaxed her shoulders.
“Americans do, too.” After another deep breath, she said, “I’ll
be all right.” Once her heart rate slowed to normal. With her forearm,
she wiped perspiration from her forehead.
He stood, padded into the bathroom, and ran the faucet. When he
returned, he sat beside her, tucked his finger under her chin, and
pressed the cloth to her cheek. The cool moisture soothed her burning
skin.
She reached up and covered his hand with hers. “I can do that.”
“I know.” He brushed her fingers away. “But you’ll not.”
After a few seconds, he moved the wet towel across her forehead and to her other cheek.
When he reached her neck, she sighed and closed her eyes for a few valuable seconds.
“Thank you.”
His gentle caress reminded her how much she’d missed simple comfort…from anyone.
“You’re welcome.” The cloth soon disappeared. “Now, will you tell me what you dreamed about?”
“Mark Rawlings. I dreamed I was back in the train car and he was
bleeding out on the floor. The guy with him faded into the background,
but I could see the man’s hands and lips moving. I couldn’t hear
anything, though. Then somebody jabbed me with something, and my blood
drained out of my body, but there was nothing I could do. The guy
standing stayed in front of me. There was another voice, but the words
were garbled.”
“Did you see anyone else?”
“No, but at the end I wasn’t paying attention. I was losing
consciousness.” She tilted her head to one side and into her palm.
“Colin, what am I going to do if we don’t find the professor’s attacker
soon?”
“We’ll take it one day at a time.” Strong, confident, able to leap tall buildings and all…even in the middle of the night.
Author Bio:
Alexa Bourne is a teacher by day and a romantic suspense writer by
nights, weekends and all school holidays. She also teaches online
classes for writers, such as “Killer Openings” and “Candid Confessions
of a Newbie Author”, throughout the year. She is thrilled to be writing
for Decadent Publishing and to have the chance to share her love of the
UK with readers everywhere.
When she’s not concocting sinister plots and steamy love scenes or
traveling and exploring cultures, Alexa spends her time reading,
watching brainless TV and thinking about exercising. She loves to hear
from readers. To find her, visit www.alexabourne.com or
http://alexabourne.blogspot.com,
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlexaBourne or follow her on Twitter
@AlexaBourne.
Sarah's Review:
Thanks to Decadent Publishing and Alexa Bourne for giving me another Scottish setting!! I have to say, I want more in the Honor Guard series! Someone needs to get writing!!
I love newbie Colin instantly! When I saw that Heather was mentioned, I was glad that I had read Her Highland Champion first since I made the connection immediately!!
My heart went out to Joanna especially after she was injured while serving her country and didn't believe she was beautiful anymore. Self-esteem can do major damage when bad things happen.
I really enjoyed this story and hope there will be more soon!!
No comments:
Post a Comment