âI told you Iâd be watching.â
His voice sounded gravelly, filled with craving as he stared at her from the shore.
âAre you stupid or just suicidal?â he asked.
âNeither.â She shot him a taunting grin.
âYou have to be one or the other to walk into the jungle alone.â
âYou managed to find me, Officer Edwards.â
âSpecial agent.â
Her smile grew.
He waded into the water and grasped her ankle. She thrashed and rolled.
âLet me go!â
âNot a chance.â
With his free hand he reached down to grab her arm. Instead, he got a palmful of silk-covered breast.
She stilled. Her face was blank, but her eyes burned as she watched him. Theyâd both been fighting this for days.
His lips pulled down into a frown. âWe probably shouldnât be doing this.â
âShut up and kiss me,â she whispered.
Dear Reader,
I have to admit that the ideas for my ISLAND NIGHTS trilogy didnât exactly come in order. In fact, Elle in Take It Down appeared to me first and really sparked off the entire series.
Sometimes characters just take over, and that was the case with my little firecracker. Elle is daring and impulsive, and I had so much fun finding her an equally strong hero in Zaneâa man who could not only go toe-to-toe with her, but also balance out that impetuous nature.
Elle first appeared in my head breaking in to hotel rooms, although she was quick to point out that she didnât actually take anything. That brought up so many questions. What was she looking for? Why hotel rooms? And who would be the worst possible man for her to fall for in the middle of all this? The rest of the story just sort of snowballed from there.
I had so much fun writing Elle and Zaneâs story. They struck sparks off each other from the first moment and it was a joy to put them into precarious situations that fought against their idea of what they should/could want.
I hope you enjoy Take It Down as much as I do! Iâd love to hear what you think. You can contact me at [email protected] or visit me at www.KiraSinclair.com.
Best wishes,
Kira Sinclair
When not working as an office manager for a project management firm or juggling plot lines, KIRA SINCLAIR spends her time on a small farm in north Alabama with her wonderful husband, two amazing daughters and a menagerie of animals. Itâs amazing to see how this self-proclaimed city girl has (or has not, depending on who you ask) adapted to country life. Kira enjoys hearing from her readers at her website, www.kirasinclair.com. Or stop by writingplayground.blogspot.com and join in the fight to stop the acquisition of an alpaca.
Iâd like to dedicate this book to three strong, savvy
and supportive womenâVicki Lewis Thompson, Rhonda Nelson and Andrea Laurence. You guys are not only a font of information, but also a well of support that Iâm so lucky to have in my life. I couldnât do this without yâall!
âWHY THE HELL ARE THESE people in my bedroom?â
Zane Edwards leaned back into a dark cornerâthe only spot in the place that wasnât buzzing with activityâand prepared for an excellent show. Between the photographer shouting instructions, his assistants moving furniture, light stands and anything else that got in their way, and Marcy constantly flipping through a clipboard of papers she hugged to her chest like a lifeline, the normally large space suddenly felt pretty small.
And Simon Reeves, his boss and longtime friend, was about to make it smaller.
Even from his melt-into-the-background location, Zane could see Marcy, the resortâs manager, grind her teeth. Her skin paled before flushing an angry pink. Oh, goody, the fireworks were about to start. Up until now, his day had been pretty damn boring.
Marcy had asked him to shadow the production team there to take marketing and publicity photographs. Not exciting, although not much about his job as head of security for Escape, an adults-only Caribbean resort on Ãle du Coeurâan island just off the coast of St. Luciaâwas.
He knew how important this shoot was to Marcy, though, so heâd do his part. She needed these photographs for a magazine ad campaign, and the deadline was fast approaching. Theyâd intended to feature a couple, but the pair theyâd had an agreement with backed out at the last minuteâafter the photographs had already been taken.
The couple, Colt and Lena, had paid for the photographs and compensated the resort for the cost of production, so Escape wasnât out any money. But theyâd definitely lost time. Marcyâd had to regroup and brainstorm an entirely new concept, since she didnât have time to hire more talent.
Apparently, Simon had forgotten heâd given Marcy permission to shoot in his private space. Not unusual when the man had his nose buried in that computerâwhich was always.
With a cutting tone of voice that reminded Zane of his high school calculus teacher, Marcy said, âThis marketing campaign is going to bring us the kind of exposure that draws guests, Simon.â