The Pen Review: Stolen Treasure

Title: Stolen Treasures

Author: Laurie Ryan

Author Website: http://www.laurieryanauthor.com/

Publisher: BookStrand

Genre:Contemporary Romance

Rating:

What I liked : One word, love. I literally loved this story of Claire and Dion. I love how these two characters come together and face obstacles together and then later find the desire that sparks something that burns, churns, and cannot be denied. Ryan keeps the reader entertained with tons dialogue and inspiration to journey with the characters. A must read!

Blurb:

Claire Saunders is on the brink of realizing her dreams and putting her past behind her. She could care less about a group of pirates preying on San Diego. Nothing will derail her. Or so she thinks, until she finds herself an unwilling passenger aboard a schooner at sea. A reluctant participant in a covert operation, she sails further and further away from everything she’s worked so hard for. Without her there, it will all fall apart.

Hot-shot agent Dion Gaetani can’t believe he’s been saddled with a civilian. Worse—a woman. Guilt-ridden over a prior op gone bad, this is a burden he doesn’t need.

Together, they must work in close quarters to capture a rogue band of pirates. The stakes are high. Dion’s own boat, the Treasure, is the bait. And an unwelcome yet undeniable desire is the complication.

Excerpt:

His eyes were drawn to her lips. Slightly parted, they invited him. The upper one was thinner, giving way to the fullness of her lower lip. An irresistible urge to taste it gripped him. Reaching up with his free hand, he ran his fingers lightly over her lower lip. The edges quirked slightly upward, sending shards of white-hot desire straight through him. Her lips were so soft. He gave up any lingering resistance, his only thought to keep it light and quick. Get it over with and out of his system.

The first contact created a tremor that racked his body, turning aside reason and will, leaving only a sensual urge for more. He knew she felt it, too. She shuddered, as if cold, and didn’t resist. In fact, she leaned into it, tried to deepen the kiss. He welcomed it, reached up into her hair, and pillowed of the back of her head with his free hand, entangling his fingers without notice. Nothing mattered except the powerful erotic sensations screaming through his body, shattering his sense of reason.

Then her hand brushed his injured knee, and it had the effect of ice-cold water. Breaking contact, he jumped up quickly, breathing deeply to gain some control, elusive though it was.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally.

“What?”

“I’m sorry. That should never have happened.”