The Avid Book Collector: Blog Tour & Giveaway ~ Uncover Me by Linda Barlow ~ Excerpt

Uncover Me

by Linda Barlow

Publication Date: August 18, 2014

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Suspense

Synopsis

ELLIE:

All I did was take a few pictures. I didn't realize I was witnessing a crime.

I was hoping for a kick-ass adventure when I set off on my dream vacation. Instead, I've fallen in with a ruthless band of thieves.

Kidnapped, bound, and ordered to submit, I'm stuck on a yacht with a sun-bronzed pirate who caught me photographing his antiquities-smuggling operation. He doesn't want me tagging along any more than I want to be here. But that hasn't stopped him from finding a use for me.

NICK:

She thinks I'm hard-assed. Dominating. Cruel. But I've got a dirty job to do. It has required months of scheming, a billionaire's yacht, and a shitload of priceless stolen artifacts.

I'm not about to be distracted by one inconvenient redhead. Even if she is supremely fuckable and oh-so-sweet when I have her on her knees.

She probably doesn't realize it, but I'm doing my best to protect her. There are guys here a lot badder than me. But I can't allow her to mess up my plans. There's no place in my life for softer emotions, and no space in my body for a heart.

UNCOVER ME is a contemporary romantic suspense novel with a touch of darkness. Intended for mature audiences.

Excerpt

I shook back my long hair, which was falling into my face. "People will be looking for me. When I don't check in with my mother and my friends, they'll call the authorities. You won't get away with this."

He smiled thinly. "We'll see."

"The sensible thing would be to take the yacht into shore and drop me off. I'm a complication that you don't need."

"The sensible thing would be to weigh your body down with something heavy and drop you overboard. It's an option that will remain on the table while I assess what other uses I can put you to."

The uses I pictured were scary and degrading. It was nothing but bravado that kept me from curling up in a ball. "I won't be used by any man, so stop threatening me."

His eyes darkened and he grabbed me, fisting a handful of my hair. It hurt. "You're frightened and trying to cope. I get that. But you've landed in the middle of a fucked-up mess, and it's gonna get worse. Right now, I'm your best hope of staying alive, so don't piss me off. Do exactly what I order you to do, and maybe you'll survive. Defy me, and you're dead."

I noted for the first time that there were dark circles under those large eyes of his, that he was weary and not quite as much in control as he was pretending to be.

"I don't want you here," he went on. "You've no idea what a complication your presence poses. It would have been far more convenient to shoot you and toss your body into the sea. Maybe you haven't realized how close you came to endless night."

I felt the sweat break out again. He'd chanced upon a metaphor that called up my worst anxieties. So I continued to beat at him, knowing no other defense except attack.

"So I should thank you for saving my life? Am I expected to lie back, spread my legs, and express my gratitude? Is that what you mean by obeying your orders?"

He still had the knife in one hand. He saw me staring at it and his knuckles whitened around the handle. "As a matter of fact, yes," he said coldly. "If I tell you to strip, you will strip. If I tell you to spread your legs for me, you will do so. If I order you to drop to your knees and suck me off, you will do that, too, and gracefully. If you disobey me, you will be punished."

He grabbed the shirt he'd stripped off and pulled it over his head. Then he opened the door to the cabin and exited. I heard the key turn on the outside; I heard him stomp away. Then there was silence, except for the pounding of the sea, and my own heart.