Dark Romance
Blurb
A drug lord on the run. A cartel princess in hiding. All it takes is a spark to set their world ablaze.
Bristol Rieger, better known as Thorn, left his criminal life behind for a fresh start in Mexico. Flying under the radar of the government and the cartels alike, his best-laid plans go awry when a woman from his narco days discovers his whereabouts. Carmen Lozano, however, is no longer the innocent girl he remembers.
Carmen escaped the chains of her tiara and her abusive marriage to join a group of resistance fighters. The last thing she expected was the now-retired capo setting out to seduce her with his wicked touch. Embracing the blood on his hands is easy, but his secrets wear on her patience.
When their enemies close in, Bristol will have to summon his inner monster to protect her. But can that monster be tamed again?
Tagline: He gets more than he bargained for with this runaway cartel princess.
Excerpt
The scent of wood smoke and something spicy teased his nostrils, stirring his empty stomach. The anger thickening the blood in his veins craved an outlet—either a human punching bag or a willing woman in his bed. Better yet, Carmen naked and begging for his touch. That wasn’t gonna happen anytime soon. His cool-under-fire Thorn persona had protected everyone in that fucking boardroom from the monster inside him. Even Carmen. He wanted to shake her as much as he wanted to kiss her.
“Now I know what you’ve been up to for the past few years.” Bristol leaned against the wrought iron guardrail and nodded toward a group of strangers who sat atop a blanket in the field. Their conversation carried on the wind, but he didn’t care to hear about their fallen comrade, Paco Velasco. The resistance group meant nothing to him. “Why did you agree to have dinner with me only to cancel? You obviously had other plans, your responsibilities.”
Carmen smoothed her hands down her slacks. “I’ve dreaded this party for weeks and would have preferred a few hours with you. I guess I could’ve told you about the Terenzios, but you’re a fugitive drug lord. You see my dilemma? I never thought you would understand.”
He balled up his hands. “Yeah, of course, you’d think I’m the villain.”
Her brow creased. “Deep down, you’re not, but the sins on your soul must weigh a ton. How could it not? Do you despise the misery and violence as much as I do?”
He better not answer. She didn’t need to know the truth. Their gazes locked. Her sultry brownish-green eyes stared at him through thickly fringed lashes that fluttered like butterfly wings. God, she was temptation incarnate, and she wasn’t even trying. He clasped the back of her neck and dragged her close. Barely an inch separated them.
She gasped, her mouth parting in welcome.
He wanted to kiss her so fucking much. Push her against the side of the building, unzip her pants, and stroke his fingers in her heat. Make her cry out his name and sing his praises to the heavens. Summoning his control, he stepped back and dropped his hands.
She blinked, her throat bobbing.
“Listen, Carmen,” he forced out through his tight throat. “I’m proud of you for what you’re doing, but it’s none of my business. I want peace in my life.”
“Then you do hate it?”
“Yes. So much misery and violence stems from trafficking, whether it’s drugs, guns, prostitution, or something else. I bet I despise it more than you do, and that’s a bad habit for a drug lord to have.” Fucking hell, he was an idiot. But he couldn’t lie to her about something so fundamental and true to his heart, as black as it was.
“Stay with me.” She gripped his hand with both of hers. “I’m sure Gaspar could find you a room in the men’s quarters. Most of these people are angry farmers, businessmen, and housewives. They know very little about guns and fighting, only to learn by trial and error. You could help train them. Teach them how to shoot or show them offensive and defensive moves in hand-to-hand combat. We all need to do our part.”
He smiled, shaking his head. “You remind me of a woman I knew back in the States.”
“Your girlfriend?”
The jealousy deepening her voice shocked him more than her question. After all this time, does she still have a crush on me?
He hoped so. She was now old enough for him to pursue, and this strong, gorgeous woman was exactly his type.
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About the Author
Amber Daulton is the author of the romantic-suspense series Arresting Onyx and several standalone novellas. Her books are published through Daulton Publishing, The Wild Rose Press, and Books to Go Now, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats.
She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats.
Find her here: https://linktr.ee/AmberDaulton