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Nancy's Novels
Category:
Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Crooked Cat Publishing
Type: Fiction
Pages: 318
Copyright: June 5, 2015
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
A fun contemporary romantic mystery based at a Scottish island castle from where Aela and Nairn travel to fabulous world destinations.
Patience isn’t Nairn Malcolm’s strong point when he finds himself and his business mysteriously under attack. He needs a general factotum immediately— someone with exceptionally varied skills who can ferry him around, help him keep his business running smoothly and be available to him 24/7. He doesn’t expect the only candidate who arrives at his Scottish island castle for an interview to be so competent… or so incredibly attractive.
Aela Cameron’s range of talents is perfect for Nairn’s current predicament. She loves transporting him all over the globe, adores his restored castle, and is thrilled with his hectic lifestyle. Dangerous situations don’t faze her, in fact they make her more determined to solve the mystery of Nairn’s saboteur. She’s not into passing flings—yet how can she resist her new boss as time runs out on her temporary contract?
Can Nairn persuade Aela she’s the woman for the long haul as the mystery is solved?
Excerpt
“Brace yourself!” she yelled as her finger flicked on the left indicator, the nearside of the car shuddering even more, right underneath a yelping Nairn.
She yanked her foot off the accelerator. Defensive driving techniques she’d learned years before got their first proper airing. She was wrapped in traffic. Car in front; one behind; another in the next lane alongside. A glimpse at the rear-view mirror told her the car behind was too close for sudden deceleration. Harsh braking was no option anyway.
“Hazards!” she yelled at Nairn.
Nairn angled forward and punched on the hazard button set in the middle of the console since Aela needed both hands to control the jouncing and slewing of the car. Before sliding back in his seat again, he flipped down the visor at his side of the car, the mirror giving him a rear view.
“He’s too bloody close, Aela,” he warned.
“No. Look. He’s slowing down.”
Adrenalin pumped fiercely as she guided the convulsing car over onto the hard shoulder, thanking the almighty the driver behind had got the message as soon as the hazards flashed - but he was still a hairsbreadth from her bumper.
Struggling to keep on a straight course her grip was indomitable till the car eventually grated to a halt. Yanking on the hand brake, she braced her forearms on the steering wheel. Her whole body was still vibrating - though thankfully the car wasn’t any more. Her head twisted around to look at Nairn before she collapsed back in her seat.
“You okay?” she muttered, a nervous smile erupting. “Bejeezuz! Thought we were done for, there.”
His eyes flickered, his mouth twitching before he groaned. “You sure are a cool customer under pressure. What the hell just happened?”
Aela didn’t care to analyze. The adrenaline was still pumping high and all she wanted was to devour Nairn. Unclipping her seat restraint she grabbed his face and took his lips in a kiss robbing both of them of their senses. Still on a roll she snatched another. Nairn needed no prompting to control the next as his good arm crushed her to him.
Sanity slowly returned. They were not in the safest of places to be conducting any kind of lovemaking…or affirmation of life. For in a way that’s what it was. Slipping free of his grip, her chest heaving, she grinned. “We are still alive, aren’t we?”
His answering smile was not constrained. Admiration, gratitude…and something else, really intense, radiated back to her. When he eventually spoke his voice was the deepest whisper. “Yeah. My…oh…so competent PA. More alive than you know.” His knuckles stroked her cheek, the merest soft touch.
For an aeon she stared: Nairn stared back. Neither of them moved. But the car did from the buffeting blast of other vehicles whizzing past them.
“Don’t you dare move yet, Nairn Malcolm. Not till I make sure it’s safe,” she ordered as her pulse settled, just a little.
A swift check of the side mirror told her when it was clear to open her door. Staggering her way round to Nairn’s side she checked the state of the car.
The front wheel under Nairn was in place though only barely, and was pitched at a precarious angle. Exactly what was wrong with it, she hadn’t a clue. The tyre seemed to be intact, no air leak as far as she could tell. Nairn wasn’t sure either when he gingerly removed himself from the car and stood alongside her. Both, however, thought it much too coincidental to be just one of those things. The Range Rover, Nairn explained, was less than a year old and had never had any malfunctions before.
Vehicles gusted past them as they gaped at the wheel, but since the Range Rover displayed no appearance of an accident on the road side, other cars passed by on their merry way.
“I get the impression that a change to the spare tyre is not what this needs.” She waited for Nairn’s response to her question as he pulled out his cell phone.
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