Hello! This is my first time back to #SnippetSunday since before Christmas and it's good to be back.
This month I'm featuring my books set during and shortly after World War Two. Here's an excerpt from FLAWLESS, my #WW2romance and romantic suspense. Hunter Smith has been sent to France to work with the French resistance. His cover is to be a gardener at a chateau taken over by the Nazis. His real job is to steal a priceless diamond. He doesn't realize he is to pose as the husband of Madeleine Bertrand, the widow of his best friend, Jean Philippe. He also doesn't realize that Madeleine blames him for Jean Philippe's death.
In this scene, Madeleine is threatened by General Dietrich, the German commander at the chateau:
Excerpt:
The birds suddenly took to the sky, their cries calling a warning as General Dietrich strode between the trees lining the entrance to the fountain area, his boots gleaming in the sunshine. The self-satisfied look on his face told Madeleine he did not mean for her to get away this time.
Madeleine quickly rose and glanced around for something to use as a weapon. There was nothing, not even a rock or a stick. The general’s gardeners had groomed the property to perfection. She lifted her chin in a show of bravado.
“I must get back to work.”
He grabbed her arm as she tried to pass. “They are not expecting you for…a while. The cook told me you were here.”
Madeleine silently cursed the older woman, but then cursed herself instead. The cook was terrified of the general and what he would do if she didn’t tell him what he wanted to know. Madeleine should have known better than to tell her she planned to take her lunch here.
He pulled her against him, one arm holding her in a vise-like grip. “I would have preferred our first time together in my bed, with silk sheets and soft music playing. But this will do quite nicely.”
He kissed her hard, forcing her mouth open to accept his probing tongue. His free hand, large and calloused, found the hem of her skirt and snaked up her thigh. He tugged at her panties, inching them downward. For a moment Madeleine thought she would be sick, but then she made her mind go blank. This wasn’t happening to her. This was a bad dream, and soon she would wake up in Jean Philippe’s arms.
Jean Philippe! Please help me!
“Madeleine!”
The angry male voice surprised her. Dietrich released his hold just enough to allow Madeleine to free herself and run towards the exit, her eyes blurred with tears. A strong hand grabbed her arm and, for the second time, she was prevented from leaving the fountain glade.
“Slut!”
Madeleine’s head snapped back from the force of the slap across her face. Her head swam for a moment, but when her vision cleared she looked up into the face of the American.
Damn him! The bastard! What did he think he was doing?
She roared in indignation and raised her hand to slap him back. He easily intercepted her blow, holding both her arms behind her back with his as he brought her tight against his body.
“Is this how you greet your husband? Have I been away so long that you turn to someone else?”
Her husband?
Madeleine barely had time to process this bit of news before Hunter’s mouth descended on hers. She braced herself for a hard, punishing kiss much like the general’s. But instead Hunter’s kiss was gentle, soft, almost…pleasant.
He released her arms and somehow they wound themselves around his neck. At last his lips left hers, and he kissed her cheek.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear.
Blurb:
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.
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Great excerpt. Thanks.