The holiday cottages were set away from the main farmhouse by a safe distance, and visitors were mostly self-sufficient. All Derek did was make sure everything was in working condition and provide some basic supplies. Although it wasn’t ideal, inviting strangers into his territory, it was his way of earning a little extra money from his land without much effort.
This month’s visitor was probably going to be the same. Clarice Adler from London.
The name had conjured up images of white permed hair and floral dresses in Derek’s mind. A posh old lady, no doubt, who he imagined used to spend her younger days riding horses in the English countryside before moving to London. Her insistence in the comment box of the booking form that her stay should be as quiet and undisturbed as possible only supported his assumptions. This was going to be someone who had grown up in the country, who was now yearning to get back to a simpler life for two weeks.
When her grey rented hatchback slowly crawled through his main gate, he didn’t need to sneak a peek to know what she’d look like. After fifteen years in the tourism business, his instincts were always right, so he kept on mowing the lawn as if he hadn’t noticed the new arrival.
The car came to a halt a little way up the drive, and then it turned left, following the signs he had put up last winter, leading to the cottages. Derek had already prepared Moss Cottage for its latest guest. The bed was made, the pantry was stocked, and the key was in the front door.
Although he did often check in with visitors on the first day, just to see to it that they were comfortable, he preferred to play as small a role as possible in their visit. It wasn’t that Derek disliked the tourists, he was just a very private person.
When he was done with the lawn in front of the house, he prepared himself for his regular evening routine: check on the bees as well as the other animals, take a round of the kitchen garden to harvest the last of the summer crops to add to his winter stash, perhaps say hello to the visitor before retreating to the farm house to prepare a nice cut of meat for dinner.
“Hello? Is anybody here?” a clear female voice called out to Derek from outside the barn where he had just parked the lawn mower.
He wiped his hands clean on his overalls, then marched out to greet what he assumed must have been the old lady staying at Moss Cottage. Nothing could prepare him for what he saw waiting for him outside, though.
The shapely woman with brunette hair standing in front of him couldn’t have been older than thirty at the most. Her amber eyes flitted back and forth skittishly between him and the surrounding trees as she waited for him to reach her.
It took a lot of focus for him to remember the usual niceties city folk expected.
“Derek McMillan. Nice to meet you,” Derek said, sticking out his hand to greet his guest.
Though he tried not to stare, her feminine curves invited a closer look. Instead of acting rude, he tried to focus on her face. High cheek bones, full lips, almond-shaped, kind eyes. Perfection.
“Oh. Clarice. Just call me Clarice.” She hesitated for a moment with her arms hanging down her sides but finally took his much larger hand anyway.
It was as if an electric current passed between the two when their fingers first touched, but she barely reacted - at least not favorably. In fact, she pulled her almost fragile little hand back almost possessively after the shortest of greetings. That proved it; the attraction was definitely not mutual.
“Is there anything I can help you with? Did you find the cottage to your liking?” Derek asked.
Her eyes met his for a split second, but then she looked away again. Her demeanor reminded him of prey, painfully aware of the danger it was in. And her scent was more enticing, lovelier than a summer meadow in full bloom. There was something about her that he couldn’t put his finger on. Something tempting that made the most primal part of his being want to own her.
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About the Author
Dear Reader,
Thanks for reading Man of Mystery. Although this is my first non-paranormal release, after my debut series Scottish Werebears, I’m not new to writing in general. In fact, my mom still tells me to this day about how I would make up stories, and attempt to record them in my clumsy, shaky handwriting from the moment I learned to read and write. From there I went on to write fan fiction and other stuff meant for my own eyes only.
I’ve always enjoyed stories of the paranormal. Vampires, shape shifters, witches and magic, all featured in the books I loved the most, even when I was still growing up. But it wasn’t until much later that I got into romance. One of the first writers (a self published author just like me!) I came across was Tina Folsom, via her Scanguards Vampire series. I was hooked. From there I went on to read more paranormal romance until I found a new favorite kind of hero: bear shifters, like the kind written by Milly Taiden, Zoe Chant, and T.S. Joyce. What I love about bears is how they can be all strong and independent, a bit reclusive, and almost grumpy, but they always end up having a heart of gold (plus they tend to know their food, and we all know that a man who can cook is doubly sexy). All that (except for the shifting into a powerful bear) almost exactly describes the sort of man I ended up falling for and marrying in real life, so it’s no surprise that this is what I started my publishing career with.
For this book, my inspiration was slightly different. Together with a friend of mine, we decided to write a fun romantic suspence. It’s got the inevitable alpha male secret agent hero, and the girl-next-door who finds herself involved in all sorts of craziness all of a sudden. After starting off completely out of her element, the heroine finds her place in this strange new world and even gets a chance to make a difference in the end! I was heavily influenced by the movie Knight and Day, which perfectly combines the excitement, romance and humor we were aiming for in this book. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did while writing!
As thing stand right now, I plan to release all my work on Amazon Kindle and make it free of charge as part of the Kindle Unlimited programme, though this may change in future. All my books are also available as paperbacks, as well as in audio, as length permits.
To find out more, check:
LoreleiMoone.com
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x Lorelei
My Books
Scottish Werebear: Books 1 - 3 Boxset. Contains: An Unexpected Affair, A Dangerous Business, and A Forbidden Love
Scottish Werebear: An Unexpected Affair
Scottish Werebear: A Dangerous Business
Scottish Werebear: A Forbidden Love
Sugar & Spice: A Scottish Werebear Xmas
Scottish Werebear: A New Beginning
Scottish Werebear: A Painful Dilemma
Man of Mystery
Man of Mystery: A BBW Romantic Suspense Page 12