Elusive by LA Fiore

Elusive by LA Fiore is a contemporary, modern day romance and the first in a series of standalones.

⚓ About the Book ⚓

I didn’t set out to be a pirate.

Life for me was about surviving the ugliness that people knew existed but didn’t talk about.

I lived in hell.

Then I saw her.

I knew I couldn’t keep her, but for just a little while I had found heaven.

Eight years later, I can’t get her out of my head.

It is a mistake sailing to her island.

It is a mistake reaching out to her.

She doesn’t recognize me. Or maybe she does.

Closure, it is all I’m after.

Then my past comes back to haunt me.

She’s thrust into my ruthless world. An angel.

A romantic who has a journal that leads to a shipwreck and a lost treasure.

She wants to find the ending to a love story that is over two hundred years in the making.

I want to help her find it.

I didn’t set out to be a pirate.

I didn’t set out to fall in love with an angel.

I did both anyway.

⚓ EXCERPT ⚓

Kace

It was her hair I saw first. A copper that looked like flame falling over slender shoulders. She turned and it felt like I had taken a hit to the gut. She had the greenest eyes. Then she smiled and I almost went down on my knees. Mr. Travers had said it felt like he had been hit by lightning when he saw his wife for the first time. I understood now what he meant.

I saw the little girl and déjà vu slammed into me. I recognized hunger, desperation. I had felt that before. I waited for the beauty to turn from the little girl, or to pretend she didn’t see her. That was usually how people handled the homeless. Instead, she held out a pineapple to her. I couldn’t describe it, but I felt almost primitive watching her. I wanted her. It was that simple. She bought some fruit then headed toward the shops. She stopped in front of one as someone came running around the corner and slammed into her. I recognized a thief, one on the run from the authorities because I had been there too. What surprised me was the urge to track that dude down and beat him senseless. Instead, I took the opportunity given to me, as if fate was stepping in, opening the door so I could walk right through.

I hunched down next to her and helped her retrieve her lost fruit. When she looked up at me I was grateful my eyes were hidden because I wouldn’t have been able to control my reaction. There was an innocence buried in those green eyes and for someone as jaded as me, the sight was intoxicating.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, my fruit however…”

I should have walked away. No good came from hanging with me, but I couldn’t get my feet to move. Instead, I held the door to the bookstore open. “You were going in here, right?”

I studied her as she studied the books. The way her fingers touched things almost reverently. These old books meant something to her. She pulled out a red leather one, her expression filled with wonder. It was just an old book. Then she created a story around the book, but it was the genuine interest in the people she conjured, their stories and lives. Not famous people, not rich people, just people who had come before, who had lived their lives, who may or may not have left their mark. She cared about them. Just like she had cared about that little girl by giving her a pineapple. I had never met anyone quite like her.

She stopped in front of a case that held a leather journal and an old compass. Longing filled her expression, like she was looking at a diamond necklace.

“How much for this?” she asked.

The shopkeeper was suspicious of me. He had good instincts. He rattled off some number. I saw the disappointment before she said, “Sorry, that’s too expensive for me. It’s beautiful though.”

I had to touch her, hated seeing that look in her eyes. Later, I would wonder about my odd reaction to her, but in that moment I needed to touch her to see if she was real. My thumb brushed along her cheek and I was a goner. Before I did what I wanted to do, toss her over my shoulder and keep her, I said, “Enjoy Cancun.”

And then I left because what I really wanted to do was stay.

*

Willow

We were leaving tomorrow morning. I had thought about my encounter with that man more often than was healthy. I would have enjoyed his company; the reckless part of me would have enjoyed more than just his company. Missed opportunities.

I was having lunch on the beach. I had spent the day in the sun, but was getting a reprieve under one of the grass umbrellas. My lunch had just arrived and the burger looked amazing. Before I dug in, I saw him. He wasn’t running, but he was definitely moving quickly while glancing behind him. Yesterday someone running from something had nailed me. Was it a coincidence that the man who stumbled on me right after was now acting suspiciously? My guess, they were a team of pickpockets or thieves. You couldn’t ask for a better playground.

I studied him as he made his way in my direction. He was tall and muscled, but not overly muscled. He didn’t look much older than me. His dark hair was long, falling past his shoulders and that mustache and beard was probably done on purpose to hide his face. He had on the sunglasses again, but I really wanted to see his eyes. Danger oozed off him and yet there was something about him that I found charming. Maybe the fact that he took one for the team yesterday and made certain I was okay. I saw who was chasing him as two men in dark suits appeared. They looked around so clearly they didn’t see him, just knew what direction he ran off in. What had he gotten himself into? Be reckless, those words shouted in my head when I waved the man over. Even with the glasses on, I knew he recognized me.

“Sit down.” I looked behind him. “They’re coming. Sit down.”

He pulled out the chair and folded himself into it.

I handed him an elastic. “Pull your hair back in a bun and lose the shirt.”

“Demanding,” he replied, but he pulled his hair back and lost the shirt.

I slid my plate across the table to him and reached for my book.

“Eat.”

He had the weirdest reaction to that. It was like I just offered him a brand new car. “Eat. They’re coming.”

He pulled the glasses off and lifted the burger. I expected him to eat half of it in one bite like most men I knew, but instead he took his time. I wanted to watch him because I had never seen someone eat with such a love for food, but I forced myself to look at the book. I didn’t read a single word. The men approached, stopped and looked around before continuing down the beach. As soon as they were out of sight, I looked at the man to find him staring at me. His eyes were blue, a deep blue, and seeing them looking so intently at me had my heart flipping behind my ribs.

“Why did you do that?” he asked.

“Because yesterday you stopped to make sure I was okay after your buddy took me out.”

“Buddy?”

“Tag team of pickpockets I’m guessing.”

His smile was slow to form, but it was worth the wait.

“He wasn’t with me. Too sloppy. I try to have more finesse.”

It was how he said finesse that had goosebumps rising on my skin. I rallied. “So that was finesse just now? Running from those men?”

He looked dangerous in that moment. “We are out of our element. And that was backlash from an incident last night.”

“Out of your element?”

“We prefer the open sea to hunt.”

“So not pickpockets, you’re pirates.”

“I would have said thieves, but pirates work. What’s your name?”

“Willow.”

“I’m Kace.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Kace.”

“You don’t seem disturbed that you’re sitting across from a thief.”

“A pirate. And no I’m not.”

“Why?”

“Because yesterday you stopped to make sure I was okay.”

“I could have just been hoping to cop a feel.”

“Were you?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re honest too.”

He chuckled then looked down at the empty plate. “Let me pay for your lunch.”

“No. It’s not every day I get to be an accomplice to a crime. My treat.”

“Most people would shy away from being an accomplice.”

“My wise granddad told me I needed to be daring and reckless. I think this fits the bill.”

He reached for my water and drank it all then stood. “I hate to eat and run.”

I hated that he had to eat and run too.

I was completely unprepared for him to pull me from my chair. He pressed me up against his hard body. “I should thank you properly.” His fingers threaded through my hair, he curled his spine, his lips lingered over mine for a fraction of a second to build up the anticipation and then he was kissing me. Even with my eyes closed, they rolled into the back of my head. A moan burned in the back of my throat as my hands found their way to his sides where I held on. His lips, teeth and tongue tasted me with a thoroughness that left me weak. It was several minutes later when he ended the kiss.

A growl rumbled up his throat as his forehead touched mine.

I completely agreed, because that was hands down the best kiss of my life.

“Have you seen the temples?” I wasn’t ready for him to walk away.

“Which ones?”

“Coba.”

“No.”

“Do you want to go?”

“Are you asking me to spend the day with you, Willow?”

“Yes.”

“Best offer I’ve had in a really long time.”

 

⚓ AMAZON AUDIBLE ⚓

 

L.A. Fiore is the author of several books including Beautifully Damaged, Collecting the Pieces and His Light in the Dark. Her favorite movie is Star Wars, a love her son shares. They hope to build their own Millennium Falcon one day. She would like to meet the Winchester Boys to thank them for enlightening her on the versatility of salt as not just a food enhancer, but as protection from supernatural threats. And she thinks it would be interesting to be a zombie, to get an idea of what life is like as a brain-addicted fiend so she can be their voice to tell their side of the story. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and kids, their two spoiled cats and their awesome dog.

 

 

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