Heart of a Thief
by Ella Miles
Publication date: June 26th 2017
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense
BLURB
I’m the villain in most romances.
I’m a thief that steals happily ever afters.
Except unlike most romances love doesn’t conquer me, I conquer it.
I’ve stolen countless women from unsuspecting men.
Gotten my one night with them.
And then watched the heartbreak that occurs in my wake.
Love doesn’t survive once I enter the picture, if it ever existed at all.
Although, stealing Sloane might be my greatest challenge of all.
Asher is a villain trying to a
put a horrible life behind him by doing the only two things he knows to do:
surf and steal. Sloane is an angel that runs a charity helping children needing
a fresh start. Asher will do anything to have her. There is just one problem…she’s
about to marry another man.
EXCERPT
CHAPTER
ONE:
I
grab a beer out of the mini fridge while I wait to see if Danielle is coming up
or not. I pop the cap off against the counter in my hotel room and then bring
the cold liquid to my lips as I stare at the door.
I
met Danielle three weeks ago. It was a lucky happenstance really. Well, lucky
for me, not so lucky for her. I met her like I meet most of my targets—in a
bar. She was with her fiancé, minding her own business, just having a drink at
the bar, when he was called away for work. That was when I stepped in and gave
her the attention that she was so desperate for.
That’s
all it took. One night of being nice to her, and I knew I could steal her from
her fiancé. I knew it wouldn’t take long. I probably could have had her that
night if I really wanted. But that’s not my game. Cheating isn’t enough. Many a
men take back fiancées or wives who have cheated on them. No, I don’t entice
the women so that they will cheat on their husbands. I hit on the women to
steal them and make them mine—at least, until I get bored with them.
I’m
not looking for anything long-term. I’ve never dated a woman for longer than a
few weeks after claiming her as mine. Others, I get bored with much faster. I’m
not really after the women. I’m after the chase that comes with stealing them away,
and that satisfies the rush I used to get when I stole objects instead of
people.
I
don’t know which makes me a worse person. Stealing things like cars, money, or
jewelry. Or stealing women and their hearts. But, this way, at least I don’t
have to worry about going to jail.
I
sit on the edge of the bed as I take another sip of my beer. I thought tonight
was the night I would claim her. I thought tonight was the night I would steal
her away. But, as every second passes, I become less sure of myself.
Maybe Danielle loves her fiancé, Wade, more than I thought she
did.
I
hear a soft knock on my door. Once, twice, and then a pause before the third
knock. I grin before I down the rest of my beer and toss it into the trash can
as I walk to the door. I open it and widen my eyes when I see Danielle standing
outside my door, like I’m surprised that she is standing here even though I’m
not the least bit surprised.
“What
are you doing here, Danielle? Shouldn’t you be in bed, dreaming about that
fiancé you are going to marry tomorrow?” I ask.
I
haven’t stolen her yet. Not fully. I don’t win until she’s broken up with him,
and I’ve had her in my bed.
Danielle
wraps her arms across her chest, covering her cleavage that was sticking out
from beneath her sparkly white dress that she wore to the rehearsal tonight.
I
didn’t have to do much to get Danielle here. At least, not tonight. All I did
was show up at the rehearsal. I made an appearance in the background, and it
was enough to convince Danielle that she might be making a huge mistake.
“I’m
not getting married tomorrow,” Danielle says.
“Oh,”
I say, my voice dripping with sadness that isn’t the least bit real. “Would you
like to come in?”
She
nods, and I hold the door open for her. She walks over to the edge of my bed
and sits down. I walk over to the mini fridge and pull two beers out. I open
the caps on both and then hand one to her. She takes it, loosely holding it in
her hand. She stares at it for a while, not able to look at me.
I
keep my distance until she is ready to talk. Leaning against the counter next
to the mini fridge, I sip on my beer.
“I
broke up with Wade tonight,” Danielle finally says.
“I
gathered that. Why though?”
She
looks up at me with puppy-dog eyes. “Because I don’t love Wade anymore. I love
you.”
I
look at her seriously and say, “I want you.”
She
hears I love you though.
It’s clear from the goofy smile and blushed cheeks.
But
that’s the one thing I won’t ever do. I won’t lie to these women. I can’t help
it if they hear what they want to hear.
I
put my beer down and walk over to her until I’m standing between her legs. I
take the beer out of her hand and place it on the counter. Her eyes follow me.
I
push her back on the bed, and then I take the off the T-shirt I’m wearing… She
bites her lip as she stares at my abs that have formed from surfing every day.
“Tell
me you want me to fuck you,” I say.
Danielle
sits up and unzips the back of her dress, letting it fall to her waist,
revealing her white lacy bra that holds her perky breasts in, away from me.
“Fuck
me, Asher.”
I
grin as I grab ahold of her dress and roughly pull it off her body. She lets
out a gasp.
She
grabs at my neck, trying to pull me in so that she can kiss me. I let her pull
me into her. I let her kiss me, and then I turn the kiss into rough kisses that
show her what I really want.
“You
like it rough,” she says.
“Don’t
you?” I ask.
“I
like anything with you.”
I
flip her over on the bed, and she lets out another surprised gasp.
I
slap her ass. “I’m going to fuck this later, but first, I have to claim your
pussy.”
“God,
just fuck me already. I can’t wait,” she cries into the pillow that she is now
face down on.
I
sigh. “They never have patience,” I mutter to myself, annoyed that I can’t take
my time to properly enjoy her body.
“What?”
she asks.
“Nothing,”
I say, hitting her hard on the ass, causing her to cry out.
I
shove my shorts and briefs down and pull out a condom from the nightstand. I
quickly slip it on before she finds a way to get herself off without me.
“Ready?”
I ask, pulling her panties down and positioning myself at her entrance.
“Just
fuck me already.”
I
do. I push inside her tight pussy that I know is anything but ready for me.
I’ve barely spent any time turning her on, but if this is what she wants, I
won’t object.
She
moans loudly and then quickly starts screaming, “Yes…yes,” over and over.
I
keep thrusting until I come, not concerned at all if she comes or not. I’m an
asshole after all. Although most have called me worse than that.
She
must have come because she screams loudly, followed by nothing.
I
pull out of her and go to the bathroom to clean myself off. When I’m done, I
stay in the bathroom with my hands clenching either side of the sink as I look
at myself in the mirror. I can’t handle this woman much longer. It was hard
enough to pretend to like her to get her to want me, but now that I’ve had her
once, I don’t think I can keep up the act to fuck her more than that. I’m ready
for the implosion to happen.
I
walk back out and dig through my suitcase to find a fresh pair of briefs to put
on. After I do, I glance over at Danielle, who is now under the covers of the
bed. Her cheeks are flushed, her brown eyes heavy, and her long brown hair is a
mess on top of her head.
“That
was amazing,” she says.
I
nod and force my lips to curl up into something that resembles a smile.
“I’m
ready to go again if you are. Or if you want to sleep some first…”
I
take a deep breath, ready to tell her that I’m through with her, that she can’t
stay here, when I hear a loud pounding at my door.
I
hold up a finger and then walk to the door in just my briefs, not caring who is
on the other side. I throw the door open, and before I can register who is
standing there, a fist flies at my face and hits me square in the nose. My body
jolts backward with the hit, and I put my hands up to my nose as another hit
rains down on my face, followed by another. My nose is pouring blood now, and
I’m sure it’s broken. My eyesight is blurry, but I think I make Wade out
through the haze. Or, at least, my prior experiences with ex-fiancés verify
that he is most likely on the other end of the fist that keeps coming at my
face.
“Wade,
stop!” Danielle screams, running to my aide.
I
hear Wade breathing heavily.
“I’m
done. I’m done with both of you. You’re a rotten scumbag who deserves to be
locked up in prison. And you’re a lying, cheating slut. I’m done with both of
you.”
The
blurriness finally leaves my eyes long enough for me to see Wade stumbling out
of my room, clearly drunk. It’s a wonder he was even able to aim for my face.
The door slams shut, and then I see Danielle standing naked in front of me.
“I’m
sorry about Wade. He’s just upset that I broke off the wedding, that I no
longer love him. He’ll get over it.”
I
walk into the bathroom without saying a word and see that I was right about my
nose. It’s most definitely broken as blood pours down my face. I grab one of
the towels and hold it up to my nose to try and stop the bleeding, but I know
it is going to take a while to stop.
“Here,”
Danielle says, holding up a bag of ice.
I
take the bag from her and hold it up to my face.
“It
stings,” I say, wanting to pull it away from my face.
She
laughs. “It will help with the swelling and stop the bleeding.”
I
keep it on my face and walk back to the bedroom. Danielle follows me.
“I
think you should go,” I say.
“What?
Why?”
“I
don’t want to worry about Wade coming back and beating me up.”
“He
won’t.”
“And
I don’t think you and I are going to work out. You’re not worth my trouble.”
Danielle’s
jaw drops. “I broke up with Wade for you though. I called off my wedding
tomorrow for you. I want to be with you. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“You
made a mistake then. You should have stayed with Wade, or you should find
someone else. I’m not the man for you, Danielle.”
“He’s
not going to take me back now,” she says, her voice shaking.
I
smirk. “No, I don’t think he will take you back.”
“You
fucking bastard! You asshole!” Danielle shouts, raising her hand to no doubt
slap or punch me.
At
least, this time, I’m ready for the attack. I grab her wrist midair, stopping
her from hitting me.
“You
are an evil, vile person,” she says through tears.
I
nod. “I am.”
She
jerks her hand out of my grasp. “Why would you do this?”
I
open my mouth to speak, and she holds a hand up to stop me.
“Never
mind. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to spend another second listening to
this crap.” She grabs her crumpled dress from the floor and quickly puts it
back on, not bothering with her underwear. She cries the whole time.
Occasionally,
the women recover after this. They are able to convince their fiancés to take
them back. But I don’t think Danielle will. And I’m not sure she is strong
enough to fully recover from it either.
She
hesitates a second, like she is trying to decide if she should say anything or
if I’m going to. When I don’t, she storms out the door without another word.
I
take a deep breath as I go over to the bed and lie down, ensuring the ice pack
is still on my face.
Shit,
I curse to myself when the ice stings my face again.
If
I’m going to keep this up, I need to be better prepared. I can’t keep getting
hit like this. Next time, I might get a concussion, and then I won’t be able to
surf. I won’t let that happen. Next time, I’ll be ready for a hit.
Maybe I should take some boxing classes or something.
I
grin. Despite the pain I’m feeling now, I’ll sleep like a baby for the first
time in weeks. I stole her heart and then tore it to pieces. It feels good.
Author Info
Ella Miles writes sexy romance with strong females that could kick your butt if you piss them off, which they often do to the men that fall for them. She's currently living her own happily ever after near the Rocky Mountains with her high school sweetheart husband. Her heart is also taken by her goofy two year old black lab that is scared of everything, including her own shadow. Ella is the author of the Aligned series. Get a free book by visiting her website. Or by stalking her on Twitter or Facebook.
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