Revenge Saga # 1
By: Claire Kent
NOW AVAILABLE
Loveswept
ABOUT THE BOOK~
In
the first novel in USA Today bestselling author Claire Kent’s deeply sensual
story of love, lust, and deception, a woman searching for the truth discovers
that she’s sleeping with the enemy.
Portrait artist Kelly Watson keeps
her relationships simple and steamy, with no strings attached. She’s had a hard
time trusting other people since she was a child, when her father was murdered
for trying to blow the whistle on corporate corruption. Nearly twenty years
later, Kelly finds herself in the arms of a seductive stranger—the very same
man who may have ordered her father’s death. And even as she plays him, using
hot sex as a means to revenge, Kelly is tormented by one question: Is she
committing the ultimate betrayal?
Caleb Marshall has spent decades
forging a high-powered career, rejecting intimacy for the convenience of fast
women and cheap thrills. But Kelly intrigues him, pushing commitment buttons he
didn’t know he had. Still, something is wrong. Despite their physical and
emotional chemistry, Caleb feels the fear inside of her. Now the only way to
keep her safe is coming clean, before secrets and lies destroy their
connection—no matter how deep, intense, and addictive it may be.
LINKS~
GOODREADS
GOODREADS SERIES
BUY ME AT~
ABOUT THE AUTHOR~
Claire Kent has been writing romance novels since she
was twelve years old. She has a PhD in British literature and, when she’s not
writing, teaches English at the university level. She also writes contemporary
romance under the pen name Noelle Adams.
AUTHOR LINKS~
EXCERPT~
Getting
out of the car, she glanced down at herself to make sure she looked
presentable. She had on one of her work outfits, consisting of a long, flowing,
casual skirt, a tank top, and a thin tunic sweater. She’d set up her business when she was twenty-one,
so she’d been doing this
for seven years. In that time, she’d
learned that clients expected a certain look from pet artists, and the slightly
bohemian style—as long as it wasn’t
too over-the-top—satisfied their expectations nicely.
Pet
portraits weren’t
exactly a booming business, so she did anything she could to give herself an
advantage. She’d
done all right for herself, considering. The first few years had been slow, but
she’d used her adoptive
parents’ wealthy
contacts in the area and had slowly built up a business. She’d made a living out of it for the last four
years, but if her adoptive parents hadn’t
left her a sizable inheritance, she never would have been able to afford her
lifestyle.
She
swung her leather satchel over her shoulder and headed toward the entrance of
the park. She was supposed to meet her client at eleven, so she was exactly on
time.
There
was no sign of a man and a German shepherd hanging around the entrance, which
was where she assumed they would meet up, so she waited for a few minutes,
watching all the approaching cars.
It
was the weekend and a warm, sunny day in April, so the park was crowded. She’d never been to this park before, since she
lived on the opposite end of town. There was a wide stretch of grassy lawns and
several different trails that led into a wooded area.
Her
breath hitched at the sight of the woods. If this client wanted her to walk
those trails with him, she would have to tell him no. She’d make up something about how she needed
open areas like the lawns to get a good picture of the dog.
She
hadn’t gone beyond the
edges of any woods since her father had been murdered eighteen years ago.
When
she felt a flash of overwhelming emotion at the memory, she pushed the thought
away with a practiced mental strategy, breathing out, clearing her mind, and
looking at the family of four approaching with their golden retriever.
The
dog had a good build, so she studied it, mentally sketching out a portrait of
it in her mind.
After
a few minutes, the threat of the memory had cleared.
At
fifteen after eleven, she started to wonder if her client was waiting elsewhere
in the park, since there was still no sign of him at the entrance. She walked
down the main path and searched the wide lawns for a man with a German
shepherd.
She
had to walk over the slight hill toward the trees before she saw him, throwing
a Frisbee to the dog.
She
sighed, thinking it would have been polite had the man waited near the entrance
for her like a normal person, but the wealthy types she catered to often weren’t thinking about what was convenient for
her. She swallowed her faint annoyance and walked over to him.
The
dog was beautiful. Well-bred and healthy, with thick fur, good lines, and a
powerful run. He would make a beautiful portrait, even if his owner was rather
inconsiderate.
Kelly
pulled out her camera and snapped a few pictures as she approached. She usually
painted from photographs, since that was easier for everyone—aside from the
occasional client who mistakenly thought the portrait was “purer” when painted
from real life. She always got to
The
man saw her approaching and taking pictures of the dog, so he stopped throwing
the Frisbee and waited until she reached him.
“Good morning,” she said with her
professional smile. “He’s
beautiful. His name is Chester?”
The
man frowned. She guessed him to be in his forties. He was very attractive, with
a strong, lean body, dark hair, and the stance of a man who was used to being
in authority. He didn’t
look at all the way he’d
sounded on the phone.
“No,”
he said, his voice deep and cultured. “It’s
not.”
Kelly
gave a little start as she realized she might have made a mistake. “He’s not Chester? You’re not Mr. Verner?”
“I’m not.” He tossed the Frisbee again,
causing the dog to run exuberantly over to catch it.
“Oh.
Sorry.” She gave him a sheepish smile. “I’m
supposed to meet someone with a German shepherd, and you’re the only one here who matches that
description.”
He
smiled then, evidently assured she wasn’t
some crazed stranger who was stalking his dog with a camera. “If it’s some sort of online dating hookup, you
should get a better description of him, rather than just going for the dog.”
There
was amusement in his tone and a kind of teasing flirtation in his expression,
making him even more attractive than before. She liked the little lines at the
corners of his mouth and eyes, and she liked the warm chocolate brown of his
eyes.
His
body was nothing to sneer at either—his muscle development graceful and strong,
rather than bulky.
As
she’d been studying
him, he’d
been doing the same with her, his gaze crawling over her from her painted
toenails in her sandals to her dark gold hair in a low ponytail. It was pretty
obvious that he liked the looks of her, since his gaze heated up as he drawled,
“He sure won’t
be disappointed in you, though.”
“It’s not an online dating thing,” she said,
feeling a familiar prickle of excitement and interest running down her spine. Who was this guy, anyway? “It’s a client I’m
meeting.”
“I
see.” He gave her a leisurely smile, his eyes lingering at the slight cleavage
exposed at the neckline of her tank top. “Well, he still won’t be disappointed.” When his dog ran up to
him, offering the Frisbee excitedly, the man grabbed it and tossed it again.
“You
move pretty fast, don’t
you?” She was used to men coming on to her, but usually in bars or clubs, where
they were clearly both there for that purpose. It wasn’t all that common for a man to come on
strong like this in normal daily interaction.
It
was strangely exciting, though. Her heart was starting to beat faster as she
waited for his response.
He
laughed softly, his eyes still lingering on her face and body in a way that
felt deeply entitled.
“You’re
the one who approached me with a ridiculous pretense of looking for a client.”
“Hey!
That wasn’t
a pretense. It was an honest mistake.” She pulled out her business card and
offered it to him. “See.”
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