by Tatum Throne
Enslaved & Enticed
Stolen Moment
Archaeologist Rylie Sawyer unknowingly unearthed a cursed pendant that seduces and kills. Desperate to keep others safe, Rylie plans on using her empathic abilities to steal the pendant back. The day of the heist, she discovers she isn’t the only one going after the pendant.
Trey Masters has secretly watched Rylie from afar for the last two years. He will stop at nothing to protect Rylie, even entrapping her with his abilities. All he needs to do now is keep her out of the game while his team acquires the pendant.
From the moment they meet they have an intense and otherworldly bond. Together, they must use their powers to destroy the pendant. Caught by the scars of the past year, Rylie knows she must trust Trey with her life. As the secrets Trey is keeping are revealed, will she trust the man she’s fallen hard for or run away?
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: 26,453 words
STOLEN MOMENT
Enslaved & Enticed
Tatum Throne
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
STOLEN MOMENT
Copyright © 2012 by Tatum Throne
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-395-9
First E-book Publication: September 2012
Cover design by Christine Kirchoff
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of Stolen Moment by Tatum Throne from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
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This is Tatum Throne’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Throne’s right to earn a living from her work.
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DEDICATION
These past few months have been a whirlwind for me. Thank you, AJ, for being there through all of it. Love you!
I’ve also made some great friends along the way, Susan Laine and Jennifer Denys. You girlies are the best!
Of course, I must send out a special thank you to Melissa, Kelly, and Sally. Thank you for all your support! Love you!
STOLEN MOMENT
Enslaved & Enticed
TATUM THRONE
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
Rylie Sawyer wasn’t a thief, but she was about to become one.
Her heart hammered as she stared at the pendant through the downtown store window. She was the archeologist that unearthed it in Jordan a year ago. The window vibrated as though it were alive. Rylie reached out and smoothed her fingers across the silky, wet glass. A shiver whispered across Rylie’s chilled skin. She smoothed the wetness between her fingers. It felt like her honey spreading over a man’s cock.
The sound of Cincinnati’s evening commute faded to a low rumble in the background. You’re mine.
The ruby’s deadly power to seduce was its charm, its envy. Even now, Rylie could feel the undercurrent taunt her closer. The force was so strong it had her opening the door to the high-end jewelry store.
Warmth blew down from the heating vent.
Everything came into sharp focus. She remembered the first time she put the pendant on. She had an orgasm as soon as the stone settled into the nook between her breasts.
She licked her lips nervously as her nipples tightened into aroused, sensitive peaks from the memory. She was going to steal it tonight.
A shot of adrenaline pumped through her body. Rylie’s light-blue irises caressed the bloodred ruby pendant. Light caught the sparkling gem and danced. Diamonds circled the ruby and flounced romantically up the chain.
It was a mistake to go inside before a robbery. She’d be captured on their surveillance cameras. A worker took the pendant from the locked case and brought it to a private table for a couple to see.
Rylie took two steps toward that table before she stopped short. Fear raced over her skin. They were going to buy it before she had a chance to take it. Fuck me.
Darkness clung to the piece. The piece wanted to find another victim. The curse was still alive, and it knew she was here. Its power to allure was an intoxicating, sexual rush like no other Rylie had ever experienced. Even knowing what it was, she wasn’t immune to the power it had.
She headed toward the case nearest the pendant. A flutter rippled over her skin as she moved. Rylie glanced over her shoulder and saw a man standing at the end of the case. He was watching her closely. Their gazes locked. Surprise filtered through his gaze before he shut it down.
Another shiver moved through her body. It was as though she knew him intimately and always had. Who was he?
He was gorgeous.
Wet, black hair curled around his ears and the nape of his neck. He was shockingly handsome. The kind of man that made her aware of her being a woman who hadn’t had sex in over a year. He was all alpha male and by the looks of things just over six foot tall. Perhaps he was even taller up close.
Rylie was suddenly aware, too, that she hadn’t bothered to put on any makeup when she ran out of the hotel this evening.
She felt suddenly self-conscious of the fact that her jeans were on their second day and that her shirt was an out-of-season special. Her thin navy-and-polka-dot rain jacket wasn’t much to keep out the Autumn chill.
His smile was a wanted distraction, but not for long. The woman at the table started gushing over the pendan
t as it was draped around her neck.
“It’s perfect, Tom! I absolutely love it! I have to have it.”
“I don’t know.”
The woman frowned. “What do you mean, you don’t know? It’s amazing.”
The husband had a right to his trepidation. Sunlight glinted off the diamonds as though it were stealing the soul of the sun or the wearer. Rylie circled around the display case just as pain shot through her temple. Rylie flinched. Fate wanted in again. Not now. Not when she was so close to putting a stop to the cursed thing before it took another life.
She winced. There was little time before she’d lose all control. She had to get out of there before the psychic event left her immobile and more importantly, vulnerable.
Rylie rushed out of the store and onto the Cincinnati sidewalk, tossing one last glance at the pendant. They were taking it to the register. The pendant was getting away again. Rylie groaned as pain shot through her head like a crack of a whip.
She stumbled down the alley, grabbing her head.
Quiet enveloped her being. City traffic noises faded. Panic spiraled through her as her hearing went first. She had to get control of herself. She tried the deep breathing exercises her therapist suggested. They weren’t working. She cringed. White-hot fire seared her mind, leaving it sluggish and fogged. Oh, no. It was starting. There was nowhere to go.
Gravel mashed under her heels. Panic enveloped her as her vision went out. She fumbled as she ducked further into the alley. Two more steps and she wouldn’t be seen by anyone. Rylie made it one more before she collapsed to the ground.
She stopped breathing, her heart slowed to every third beat. Images flashed in blues and grays of the couple inside the jewelry store. They were arguing. Time flipped again. The heavy weight of the ruby lay within the woman’s right palm and a knife was in her other. Her husband was dead on the floor.
The vision stopped, but she was blinded. She moaned. She had the sensation of movement, of warmth, of searing heat spreading through her body. Her entire body was like ice. This was not normal.
Rylie knew she was dying, but there was nothing she could do to stop it this time.
Chapter Two
She rushed from the jewelry store as though she were being chased. Trey followed quickly behind.
Trey Masters made a major mistake in expecting Rylie to go on with her life. This minor miscalculation was going to cost him his chance to acquire the pendant tonight. That wasn’t the only mistake he made tonight. Letting Rylie get too close to the pendant was the second. He hadn’t counted on her being so sensitive to the presence of the pendant. There wouldn’t be a third error in judgment this evening.
He was not about to let Rylie get hurt again.
She was out cold. Trey rushed to her side, lifting her up from the wet pavement. She was limp and lifeless within his arms, but her eyes behind her lids were moving frantically as though she were having a nightmare. This was no nightmare. This was a brutally cold vision that was triggered by her proximity to the cursed pendant.
Hold on. I’ve got you.
Trey whispered the thought in his mind, hoping it would reach her core thoughts. He should’ve stopped her from getting so close, but he’d been caught off guard by her presence in the jewelry store. It was the first time they’d ever been within a few feet of each other. All this time, he’d kept his distance. Now, he knew he’d made a mistake. She obviously hadn’t moved on with her life since the pendant took her family.
He started to cut through the alley to his car when the rain started to hammer from the sky. An emergency door was propped open with a painter’s bucket next to a Dumpster. So, he ducked into the building beside the jewelry store to wait it out. A radio echoed from somewhere in the building.
Construction debris littered the hallway. He moved further into the building, searching for a place to sit down. Off to the side, there was a bench. Trey sat down and held her close. Rylie Sawyer was smaller than he imagined. She curled easily into his arms, fitting perfectly against his body.
I’ve got you. You’re going to be okay.
She jerked within his arms as though she were living the vision. Helplessness shot through his body, causing him to lock his back teeth down tight. He was a man that needed control in the field. This was so out of his comfort zone it pissed him off. Goosebumps spread across her exposed skin. She was losing body heat fast. Was it a side effect of the vision? Probably.
A few minutes in the rain wouldn’t cause this type of reaction. There was a high risk of hypothermia when the body lost heat faster than it could produce it. If he didn’t do something fast, her vital organs would start to shut down. Her cheeks were chilled. Her lips were turning bluish.
Time was slipping through both of their fingers faster than either one could hold onto it. He looked around the foyer of the office building. Across the entrance, there was a restroom. Hold on, Rylie.
He held her close as he rushed to the private room. He laid her across the sinks and counter. Trey had to keep her warm. He removed her wet jacket and found that her shirt beneath was dry. The pale, creamy skin of her arms was icy cold. He brushed the back of his fingers beneath the tail of her shirt and found her skin beneath chilled. He needed to bring her core temperature back up or he was going to lose her.
Trey worked fast, taking her shirt off. He lost his jacket, took off his shoulder holster with his Glock, and worked quick to unbutton his shirt. He reached over his back and yanked his T-shirt from his body. Stay with me, Rylie. I need you.
There wasn’t enough room for him to hold her on the sinks, so he sat down on the floor. A rush of forbidden desire crashed through his system as they touched skin to skin. Trey pulled his wool suit coat around her shoulders, pulling her in tight. Come back to me, Rylie. You’re safe now. I need you to wake up.
Trey tucked her in close, exhaling his heat across her skin. Over the last few months, Trey had gotten to know Rylie Sawyer’s habits well. She went to work at the Art Museum and spent most of her nights alone. The death of her family had caused her to withdraw from life. It was all a normal human response. Still, he hurt for her, knowing she was all alone now.
His gaze dropped to her gray silk bra with little red roses arching over the top of the cups. Its simple everyday design was as erotic as black lace. He had to get control of his thoughts before they led him down a dark and dangerous path. That had him looking away and closing his eyes. Wrong move. The feel of skin on skin was becoming too much for him. Trey snapped open his eyes and looked down at Rylie.
He could feel her skin starting to warm. The blue tint to her lips was starting to turn a rosy pink again. Trey’s gaze dropped to the swell of her breasts and blood rushed south to his cock. His dick punched against his boxers like a prize fighter testing the waters with a competitor. Come back to me, Rylie. It’s okay. You’re safe. The pendant won’t hurt you ever again. I won’t let anything hurt you again.
Trey let his lips skim her temple. He kissed her gently, brushing her short blonde hair away from her temples. He inhaled her sweet scent, loving it more than he should. Trey brushed his thumb over her parted lips. God help him, he wanted to kiss her.
Chapter Three
Rylie’s heart raced forward making up for the near-death rate. Slowly, her senses awakened. She blinked her eyes several times. Fear rippled through her body when she realized she was no longer on the cold ground, but in the arms of a stranger.
She awakened with a start.
“Easy now. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
The stranger held her closely on his lap, cradling her head to his shoulder. Their shirts were off. Dark chest hair, trimmed short to his chest, brushed seductively against her skin. The vision had obviously taken her closer to death than she realized. They were sitting on a bathroom floor. How did he know that she needed the heat of his body to live? How much time had she lost with this vision? Ten minutes? Twenty? The last thing she remembered was her head hitting the wet pavement.
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“I couldn’t get to you in time. I’m sorry. I should’ve known you’d be so affected. I won’t let it happen again.”
He held her with an intimacy only known to lovers. The heat of his breath caressed her cheek, warming her deeply. His lips skimmed her temples, the curve of her ear as he spoke. He tilted up her chin and their eyes met.
“Talk to me.”
He was like a mountain lion pinning down a kill to play with it for a while. When nerves got the best of her, she returned his open gaze with baffled confusion.
“I tripped,” she said.
“Are you okay?”
The deep rumble of his voice vibrated through his chest. “I think so.”
His blue-gray eyes seemed to glow and challenge her version of what happened. She couldn’t admit to him that she’d heard his thoughts whispering through the vision, calming and reassuring her that she’d be okay. She didn’t want to think about what that meant too closely. She was still adjusting to the fact that her mind wasn’t like everyone else’s. That she was intuitive and that it was okay. She just interpreted the world in a different way.
The light scent of his cologne lingered within his suit coat. He drew it tightly over her shoulders. A shiver ran through her body when his hands caressed her shoulders. His warmth seeped into her chilled skin. The man tucked her closer to his neck. It was then that she saw the shoulder holster that held a Glock sitting on the floor. She wanted him to be a security guard or a cop, but deep down she knew he wasn’t.