Bait
Dangerous Distractions Book 2
by Samantha Keith
Genre: Romantic Suspense
There are good guys, and then there are highly trained good guys—the kind who make the world a safer, sexier place . . .
Former military and ex-FBI agent Ethan Worth is searching for a new way to serve and protect. On a break in Beaufort, North Carolina, he just may have found it. It starts with saving a tipsy damsel in distress from a shady troublemaker. But it ends with the surprisingly sober beauty outraged by his rescue. That’s all Ethan needs for his expert instincts to kick into high gear . . .
Riley Jones is back in Beaufort for one reason only: to find her missing best friend, Hanna. If that means using herself as bait for the kind of guy who’d prey on a vulnerable young woman, so be it. She doesn’t need a rugged knight in shining armor like Ethan distracting her, and she doesn’t want his help. But it turns out she needs it. And together, as the heat between them rises, so does the danger. Until both their lives are on the line . . .
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Chapter 1
Lord Jesus, it was her. She hadn’t seen him yet, thank god.
Ethan pulled his baseball cap low over his eyes and rounded his shoulders over his glass of rum and Coke.
He kept his head low, but his eyes trained on her. Riley wore denim cutoff shorts and a white lace crop top that revealed her flat, lightly tanned stomach. The man beside her passed her another shot. She tossed it back expertly. Ethan slid his thumb over the cool glass in his hand. That’s two now, and before the shots she’d been sipping on a brightly colored cocktail. That was a lot of alcohol for someone her size.
She passed the man her empty shot glass. He slid an arm around her back, inching closer to her. For a flicker of an instant, her face changed. Her eyes grew small and her jaw tensed. A shaky smile returned when
he touched her chin and turned her face toward him. Her fingers toyed with a long tendril of her hair that fell in soft waves around her breasts.
The man tucked her hair over her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. She bit her lip.
Shit.
Ethan tightened his hand on the sweating glass. She didn’t know the dude. All he had to go by was instinct and his experience on reading people. One thing was for sure, the asshole was all over her. If he was her boyfriend, he wouldn’t be trying so damn hard.
Dammit, he shouldn’t care. She wasn’t his problem. Since he’d moved in next door to her a couple weeks ago, she’d been friendly but completely disinterested in his attempts at small talk. Not that he’d done anything but be polite to her.
Riley had a wall of ice behind her green eyes and tight smile. No one was getting beyond that guard…except the douchebag that kept touching her. The man trailed a finger over Riley’s collarbone, his face tucked closely to her ear. Her cheeks turned a ripe shade of pink. She ducked her chin away from his face, but the man brought his hand to her jaw and turned it sharply toward him. The planes of the dude’s face turned hard and his fingertips held her face inches from his. Even at this distance, Ethan could see that he dug his grip too deep, making her soft skin pucker around his fingertips. His hold demanded her obedience.
Who the hell did this guy think he was handling a woman like that? And more importantly, why was she standing for it?
He lowered his hand to her bicep and rotated her body into him. With Riley’s back to Ethan, he watched as the predator smoothed his hands over her ass. She grabbed his wrists, shifting his hands to rest on her hips.
The guy put them right back on the rump of her shorts.
An iron fist of disgust gripped Ethan’s lungs. The prick was insistent and downright rough. His instincts went to war. Getting involved wouldn’t do him any good, but something wasn’t right.
“Mind if I have a seat?” A tall woman in a tight red dress blocked his view. He lifted his eyes to her face and then dragged them away. On any other night, he’d be game. Hell, he’d be more than game. But tonight, he couldn’t take his eyes off the blonde across the room.
“I’m waiting for someone, but you’re welcome to have a seat.” Manners forced the words from his mouth. He shifted his gaze around her full, sexy hips to locate the woman across the bar. His disinterest didn’t sway the woman in red. She pulled out a chair and sat. Her legs crossed and uncrossed.
“You’ve been waiting an awful long time.” She rested her chin on her palm. Warm, olive eyes met his. God, she was beautiful. Her lips were full and painted in a warm neutral tone, her dark hair curled around her exposed cleavage.
Every male hormone in his body screamed at him for not taking an interest. But he couldn’t. Not when his sixth sense was on high alert. He couldn’t pretend that he didn’t have any clue as to what the slimy bastard
was planning on doing with Riley. He forced his attention to the woman in front of him. “I’m sorry, I’m distracted tonight and not in the mood for conversation.”
A slow smile crept over her face. “I’m not in the mood for conversation either.”
Jesus, she was direct. He liked direct, he liked women who knew what they wanted and took it. Sex in particular. He was here on vacation to clear his head and figure out his next steps and he wanted to enjoy it. And that meant sex. Lots of it. Of course, this would happen tonight, when he wouldn’t be able to act. Because of Riley. Just his luck.
The waitress stepped up to his visitor, and propped a tray on her hip. “What can I get you?”
“I’ll have a mojito, please.”
Now he was buying her a drink? How in the hell had that happened? He craned his neck around the two women. A new couple stood in the same spot where Riley and the asshole had stood only seconds before.
“And for you?”
He waved his glass at her. “Rum and Coke.”
His eyes scanned the crowd. The waitress took the empty glass and sidled around the table. He leaned in his seat, not caring if he was being inconspicuous or not. Women gyrated on the dance floor, the thumping
of the bass vibrated through the soles of his shoes, racking up his pulse.
The top of Riley’s blond head passed through a gap in the throng of bodies. The man she’d been with had his fingers circled around her elbow, leading her to the exit.
Ethan leapt to his feet, opened his wallet, and slapped some bills on the table. “Have a good night.” He moved his way through the crowd, keeping his eyes on his target. The woman he’d left behind scoffed and made a rude remark.
He didn’t care.
Abducted
The Dangerous Distractions #1
In a high-stakes world of privilege, betrayal, and the sexy thrill of the unknown, you never know where a dangerous distraction will lead . . .
Cal Hart walks a blurred line of honor. The rock-hard former Marine has his lethal skills at the service of the highest bidder. Until a contract comes in to kill Lana Vanderpoel, the sultry, charismatic heiress and billionaire’s daughter. She’s way too sexy to end up at the wrong end of a silencer. So Cal takes the job—and starts planning how to get Lana to safety while he unearths who’s behind the threat . . .
Lana only knows she’s been kidnapped—and she’ll fight tooth and nail against whoever has snatched her from her life. Her stern-faced captor sends a tremor of ice through her veins, yet a thrill lies beneath her unease. He’s dark and dangerous, his body ripped, honed, and capable. But lust isn’t the same as trust—and whether or not she can believe what Cal’s telling her, there’s at least one person close to Lana who wants her dead . . .
A bead of sweat broke out on his brow, and he wiped it away with his sleeve. Despite the cool air, he was roasting in his black camouflage gear.
She should be home and in bed by now. Last Saturday night she’d been home by midnight, and even earlier on other nights of the week that he’d conducted surveillance. His pulse beat steadily against his eardrums with impatience. It didn’t matter. He’d be waiting for her when she decided to come home. There was no chance in hell he was backing out of this job now.
Headlights cut through the night as a car pulled up to the front gate.
Determination tensed his muscles, and his lips curved.
It’s about damn time.
The passenger door opened. He sunk lower in the shadows, pressing his back against the outside of the garage. He was out of sight, but still had a direct view of his target. Satisfaction brought his breath to a steady pace. Once she got inside, he’d give her some time to fall asleep, and then he’d make his move. Her delicious bare leg stepped out of the car, revealing a barely-there miniscule dress. She laughed hysterically and pitched forward, nearly doing a face-plant on the pavement. He closed his eyes and shook his head. Just great. She was wasted.
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