The Unicorn's Tail (The Artifact Hunters) (14 page)

A frown crossed his face. "That I'm good enough for you. That you forgive me for starting this as a bet with the friggin' pirate."

"Oh, Jack." She raised a hand to his face. "I thought you didn't want
me
. Silly man." A smile teased over her lips; to say the words in her heart or not?

The devilish crooked grin touched his mouth and he brushed his thumb over her peak.

She moaned. "I love you," she managed to whisper before he bent his head and claimed her mouth in a bruising kiss.

He pulled back, a frown on his face. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You couldn't, you protect what's yours," she said. "Love me, Jack."

He thrust into her and she lost herself in him. He possessed her and became the centre of a spinning vortex. She clung to him, holding him close as her world exploded.

Afterwards she lay in his arms, her muscles like jelly, but with a deep satisfaction in her bones. He rained kisses over the back of her neck. "You will marry me, won't you?"

"One day," she replied.

"What does that mean?" He stilled behind her.

"It means having well and truly left the polite society girl behind, I find I want to take a leaf out of Cara's book." She wiggled back against him. This really was fast becoming her most favourite place to be.

He growled against her neck and nipped her skin with his teeth. "This better be good and not involve me gettin' shot."

"I intend to be scandalous. I shall horrify all of society with my magnificent lover and my intention to pursue a medical career. But I will marry you; just not yet."

"All right. But only because you called me magnificent." He rolled her over for another kiss.

"Do you believe in unicorns?" she asked when Jack slipped the bracelet back on her wrist.

"I do now." He grinned. "Them and man-sized chickens."

"Man-sized chickens?" She really wasn't following this conversation at all. What had the delicious man done to her?

"Oh yes. We're gonna have fun giving flyboy feathers. Once I let you out of this bed."

About A. W. Exley

Books and writing have always been an enormous part of Anita's life. She survived school by hiding out in the library, with several thousand fictional characters for company. At university, she overcame the boredom of studying accountancy by squeezing in Egyptology papers and learning to read hieroglyphics.

Today, Anita writes historical novels with a steampunk twist. She lives in rural New Zealand surrounded by an assortment of weird and wonderful equines, felines, canine and homicidal chickens.

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http://www.awexley.com/

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If you enjoyed The Unicorn's Tail you may also like my main Artifact Hunters series about Amy's friend, Cara…

Artifact Hunters 1: Nefertiti's Heart

Cara Devon has always suffered curiosity and impetuousness, but tangling with a serial killer might cure that. Permanently.

London, 1861.
Impoverished noble Cara has a simple mission after the strange death of her father - sell off his damned collection of priceless artifacts. Her plan goes awry when aristocratic beauties start dying of broken hearts, an eight inch long brass key hammered through their chests. A killer hunts amongst the nobility, searching for a regal beauty and an ancient Egyptian relic rumored to hold the key to immortality.

Her Majesty's Enforcers are in pursuit of the murderer and they see a connection between the gruesome deaths and Cara. So does she, somewhere in London her father hid Nefertiti's Heart, a fist sized diamond with strange mechanical workings. Adding further complication to her life, notorious crime lord, Viscount Nathaniel Lyons is relentless in his desire to lay his hands on Cara and the priceless artifact. If only she could figure out his motive.

Self-preservation fuels Cara's search for the gem. In a society where everyone wears a mask to hide their true intent, she needs to figure out who to trust, before she makes a fatal mistake.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BFTMRBA

Artifact Hunters 2: Hatshepsut's Collar

An ancient Egyptian artifact is driving Queen Victoria insane, and that's not top of Cara Devon's growing list of problems.

Viscount Nathaniel Lyons is a man of numerous secrets, but there is one in particular that threatens his fledgling relationship with Cara. Stunned by Nate's revelation, and before she can absorb the ramifications of his actions, he is arrested, charged with treason and imprisoned in the grim Tower of London. He stole something the mad queen wants, and only has days to deliver, before his date with the executioner.

Although sorely tempted, Cara can't let him die on Tower Green, not when their connection means she would share his fate.

Only together can Cara and Nate figure out how to wrestle Hatshepsut's Collar from around the queen's neck, before she plunges Britain into a world war. The search for answers sends Cara to the opulent Winter Palace of St Petersburg and the frozen depths of Siberia, with every step shadowed by an enemy with his own dark plans.

http://www.amazon.com/Hatshepsuts-Collar-Artifact-Hunters-Book-ebook/dp/B00GMX4AG4/