Caught in the Act: A Jewel Heist Romance Anthology Read online

  Caught in the Act: A Jewel Heist Romance Anthology

  By Ainslie Paton, Emma Sinclair and Michelle Dayton

  Three heist-romance novellas that will steal your heart and make your pulse race...

  Hoodwinked Hearts by Ainslie Paton

  Ten years ago, master thief Cleve Jones risked his freedom to fall in love with a dangerously sexy professor’s daughter only to watch her disappear. Now Vegas hustler Aria Harp is back—and she’s snatched the famous diamond Cleve’s been casing. Aria’s too smart to let Cleve break her heart, but he’ll do anything to keep her safe. Even if it means a dirty double-cross and losing the only woman he’s ever loved—all over again.

  Rough Edges by Emma Sinclair

  The Staffordshire diamond: sixty carats of pure perfection, a priceless keepsake that’s been in Anastasia Staffordshire’s family for generations. But sentimentality means nothing to her corrupt cousin Leonard. He plans to sell the jewel. Anastasia plans to take it back. But first she’ll have to get around delicious bodyguard Jake Hoffman...

  Strange Tango by Michelle Dayton

  Diamonds are a thief’s best friend, and Adam Patrick Henry, professional jewel thief, knows diamonds. When he sees an amateur thief with impressive sleight-of-hand skills trying to work a con, he figures he could use a partner. And if that partner is irresistible, all the better. But Jessica Hughes is no thief, not really, and teaming up with Adam to work one big job could be more dangerous than it’s worth.

  Each title in this anthology is also available for purchase separately.

  This book is approximately 92,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  I love the summer. I hoard most of my vacation for the summer months because I live near the ocean, so I like to spend my time at the beach, Jet Skiing, drinking frozen tropical drinks and, of course, reading. I always try to stockpile books I’m looking forward to for these lazy days. If you’re like me and you want to always make sure you have something great to read on vacation, I have some books you’ll want to check out!

  Rhenna Morgan is back with her badass good guys of the Haven Brotherhood in Claim & Protect. Natalie’s only interest is in making a fresh start. She’s a woman with a plan and the plan doesn’t include a man with secrets, no matter how sexy he is. Trevor had no interest in settling down, but there’s something entirely too appealing about this woman he can’t stay away from. There’s only one thing to do—change his plans...and hers. Jump into this series now, or go back and read Rough & Tumble and Wild & Sweet—you’re going to want to read them all once you read one!

  Readers loved male/male romance Off Base by Annabeth Albert, and now she’s got a new book in the Out of Uniform series. After a mission strands them in the jungle, two best friends and fellow SEALs must confront their long-buried passion for each other and decide if they have something worth fighting for back home. Buy On Point today.

  Julie Hall is an unintentional corpse magnet who can find the dead. Three girls are still missing. The killer is still out there. And when the killer turns his sights toward her, even her growing relationship with the protective Agent Garrett may not be enough to save her. If you’re a mystery fan, you need to read A Grave Calling from Wendy Roberts, a book that made our entire acquisitions team say “I love it!”

  Everyone gets a happy ending as Jade A. Waters brings her erotic romance trilogy to a sexy conclusion, following The Assignment and The Discipline. In The Reward, Maya Clery and Dean Sova’s passionate exploration has gotten as hot as their love has grown deep. But once they move in together, their dynamic is tested with dangerous connections to the distant past in a story of desire, empowerment and the strength only found in a lover’s arms.

  Easygoing mechanic Bryan doesn’t believe in soul mates, much less dragons, but he’s confronted with both when rescue diver Deke comes into his life. When Deke shifts for him, Bryan decides he must be dead. After all, that’s much easier to believe than the truth. Let yourself be Seduced by the Tide along with Bryan and Deke in Sean Michael’s latest male/male erotic paranormal romance.

  Speaking of erotic, have you picked up one of Brianna Hale’s naughty novellas yet? In her newest, Princess Brat, tantrums, tricks and insults won’t get Adrienne’s bodyguard off her back, and she’s about to find out what happens to bratty little girls who provoke a Dom—they get put over daddy’s knee. Looking for another novella to spice up your life? Little Dancer, Brianna’s debut erotic romance, will heat things up.

  Kerry Adrienne returns to the world of the Shifter Wars with Taming the Lion. The battle between the lions and bears decimates Deep Creek, and one of the heirs to the lions’ throne is saved from death by a beautiful bear medic who’s torn between her allegiance to her den and her attraction and obligation to the wounded lion. Want to start at the beginning? Pick up Waking the Bear, available now.

  Here at Carina Press, we love a good heist or caper romance, so we decided to publish Caught in the Act: A Jewel Heist Romance Anthology, containing three charming and seductive heist novellas. In “Hoodwinked Hearts” by Ainslie Paton, two thieves collide in a high-stakes dirty double cross that would be strictly business...except Cleve Jones and Aria Harp were childhood sweethearts before betrayal broke them. Can they steal each other’s hearts again?

  The one thing reluctant debutante Anastasia Staffordshire wants most in the world is the diamond that bears her family’s name. Standing in her way is sexy head of security and lifelong crush Jake Hoffman. Her plans to seduce the diamond out from under him never included his dominant personality or her feelings getting in the way. “Rough Edges” by Emma Sinclair will capture your imagination.

  And professional jewel thief Adam Patrick Henry and disgraced technology genius Jessica Hughes team up—temporarily—to foil a diamond-smuggling plot, but their sizzling attraction might be even more dangerous than the heist in “Strange Tango” by Michelle Dayton. Check out all three of these fun novellas in June.

  Pick up one of our June releases—or check out our extensive backlist for a new favorite to fall in love with this summer.

  As always, until next month, my fellow book lovers, here’s wishing you a wonderful month of books you love, remember and recommend.

  Happy reading!

  Angela James

  Executive Editor, Carina Press

  Table of Contents

  Hoodwinked Hearts by Ainslie Paton

  Rough Edges by Emma Sinclair

  Strange Tango by Michelle Dayton

  Hoodwinked Hearts

  By Ainslie Paton

  A master jewel thief meets his match in a daring romance of love and larceny...

  Confidence man, master thief and professional crook Cleve Jones knows a thing or two about risk.

  Ten years ago, he risked his freedom to fall in love with a dangerously sexy, foulmouthed, punk-ass professor’s daughter and she disappeared, stealing his future happiness.

  Vegas hustler Aria Harp is back, she’s in disguise, and she’s snatched the famous diamond Cleve’s been casing in a bold heist. She would’ve gotten away clean if her old nemesis hadn’t figured out her sleight of hand and come after her.

  This time around, Aria’s too smart to let Cleve break her heart, but he’ll do anything to keep her safe. Even if it means a dirty double cross and losing the only woman he’s ever loved—all over again.

  This book is approximately 29,000 words

  One-
click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

  Carina Press acknowledges the editorial services of Mackenzie Walton

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Also by Ainslie Paton

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  The Sweet Celestia was the most stunning thing Aria had ever seen. Pink, pear-shaped, perfect. Also twenty-five point thirty-eight carats with an estimated value of sixty-one million dollars. In eight hours, Celestia would excite the world’s richest men and women, encouraging them to compete with each other by bidding outrageous sums of money in an exclusive auction.

  The winner would snatch up Celestia as a rare investment, wrap her in certificates of authenticity and store her in a secure vault where she never saw the light of day again until her owner wanted to cash in on her splendor.

  That was a tragedy. It could never be allowed to happen. Like anything of rare beauty, Sweet Celestia was made to sparkle and be admired, not be locked away from view out of fear and greed.

  Aria knew just who should own Celestia, and would treat her with the respect and admiration she deserved, and that person’s name wasn’t on the auction house’s private invitation list.

  When she wasn’t busy with her yakuza business as onna-oyabun, Japan’s only female godmother, Shoma Oshiro was the epitome of style and refinement. She’d pay handsomely for Celestia, and the gem would grace her hand or her neck and be worshiped at the opera and the theater and in all the most celebrated company, on both sides of the law. And Aria would pocket a hefty wad of cash instead of the stuffy Swiss auctioneers, who no doubt would be insured up the wazoo, otherwise known as the very limits of financial probity.

  There was just the small matter of stealing Sweet Celestia first, not getting caught and absolutely not letting anyone else beat her to the prize.

  The only other professional thief who could come close to the audacious plan she’d put in motion was that dishonorable larcenous bastard known to Interpol as the Shadow, and to Aria as Cleve Jones, the man who’d stolen everything from her that mattered: her inheritance, her legacy, her father’s favor and the affections of her fragile foolish heart.

  Her heart wasn’t brittle anymore and any foolishness was long replaced by the same single-minded, analytical attention to detail that’d made her father an infamous antiquities thief and con artist.

  The Shadow wouldn’t be getting his fingerprint-less hands on Sweet Celestia or his damnable devilish wiles anywhere near any part of Aria. Ever again. Jail was too good for him. He could rot in a pit of death adders, perish painfully in an untimely explosion, or expire explicitly from a single sip of vile poison, and it wouldn’t turn a hair on her head.

  Not like the stylist, Gustav, who was doing his best to turn every hair into a labyrinth of curls. He tugged as a hot roller snagged. “You have beautiful hair, darl. And I can’t wait to see what Santino does with your makeup. I know he’s thinking jewel tones and that will work brilliantly with the Giovanna Talessi dress, and those Sikander-Jah shoes are simply divine. Lucky thing you don’t have to walk too far in them.”

  Aria giggled. It didn’t sound quite right so she added a one-shouldered shrug and widened her eyes at Gustav. All she could think was that jewel tones sounded like a bad bruise.

  “Are you okay, darl? It’s a big deal, this shoot for Contessa, for a newbie like you, but you’re in good hands.”

  She giggled again, and this time it sounded suitably inexperienced and silly, and Gustav—“Call me Gus, I don’t know what my mother was thinking, I’m from Liverpool”—smiled at her in the portable mirror as he backcombed with a vengeance.

  She’d had to practice giggling, it didn’t come naturally, but for this particular mission she needed to be beyond suspicion. And who would suspect an airhead model wearing a dress she could barely eke a breath in, and heels that could be used effectively to kill a large man, would be capable of pulling off the theft of one of the world’s most valuable diamonds, in front of armed security, a state-of-the-art surveillance system, and the lens of famous Contessa photographer to the stars, Annie Leibaholm?

  Months and months of planning, and it would all come down to the next few hours of work, which meant worrying her eyes might water out the violet-blue contacts she wore, and being able to contort her body into the preferred elegantly anorexic poses while she held the precious diamond for Annie’s shoot.

  More to the point, she had to worry about the split-second sleight of hand she needed to execute with the deftness of a high-wire walker performing brain surgery to make the Sweet Celestia hers—and leave a very credible fake in the hands of Greville’s Auction House, as well as the sucker they sold it to—when she was so hungry after little but lettuce for weeks that she felt lightheaded.

  She could not afford to lose focus for even a second or her ruse might unravel.

  She eyed the cotton balls on the table in front of her. If you squinted they looked like marshmallows. She now understood why models ate them. No cals and apparently, they filled you up. The only thing she could do was sip her zero-sugar pop through a straw, and giggle again as Gustav made way for Santino and his pots and brushes, and Santino made way for Katerina, who zipped her into the Giovanna Talessi and strapped her into the Sikander-Jah shoes, because God forbid she should do up her own zipper and buckles.

  Katerina walked around her tweaking the dress, yanking on the hemline to remove a tiny wrinkle at the hip. “No sitting before Annie calls for you.”

  Aria pouted. It was a real pout. The shoes had twelve-inch spiked heels and she had no idea how long she’d have to wait.

  Katerina leaned in close and tugged at the front of the dress so Aria’s breasts were more out than in. “Listen, you seem like a nice girl, but if you want to make it as a model, you need to up your game. No more giggling, pouting and sulking with magazines. Learn to make conversation. This is a tough industry and only the professional girls survive.”

  Katerina gave the dress one last tug, and Aria fluttered her stuck-on lashes and waved a hand in front of her face as if she might cry. “You’re so lovely to me,” she said, while acting like a ditz.

  Katerina eye-rolled and moved away.

  After that there was a lot more waiting around. A professional model would’ve done it quietly without complaint. Aria sighed dramatically while flicking through back issues of Contessa and secretly keeping a watch on the security rotation in the other room, where the Sweet Celestia was on display in her glass fortress. She knew what to expect from the four security guards, the pressure sensors and the self-important PR man, but still she watched for anything out of the ordinary while Annie’s two assistants brought in a classic chaise lounge as a prop and went about setting up lights and foils for the shoot.

  Finally, four hours after she’d arrived at Greville’s, ninety minutes after being brushed, teased, lacquered, painted, dressed and shod, Aria was summoned.

  It was showtime, and this was the greatest deception game on earth.

  Chapter Two

  Gorgeous. Cleve Jones toggled the control and adjusted the camera hidden in Greville’s Auction House eleven thousand miles away in Geneva. From his villa in Ubud on the island of Bali, he now had a clearer view of the hunk of rock known as the Sweet Celestia, and it was an even more brilliant stone than he’d been led to expect.

  It would make a fine asset to his patron’s collection of priceless possessions,
and in another few hours, when this publicity circus event shut down and the auction house was closed for the night, it would be his. And very shortly after that, there’d be a large sum of money that would more than cover the expense of this heist, deposited in an untraceable Cayman Islands bank account that Cleve just so happened to have the unique iris recognition for.

  All that and he’d not bothered to put on a shirt, or shoes.

  Funny how these things worked out.

  Professor Donald Harp had always said Cleve had the talent to become the kind of man who didn’t roll out of bed in the morning for less than a few multi-million, but Cleve had never quite believed it.

  He was a kid from nowhere with nothing but a gift for persuasion, who’d bluffed his way into Harvard by impersonating a member of a distant branch of the famous Kennedy family. He’d surprised himself by getting as far as Professor Harp’s Ancient History class and was happily soaking up the privileged Ivy League atmosphere and the flirty smiles of the gold class babes while he waited for his fake tuition payment to start stinking, and the moment where he’d go from living in his car to hoping it would start so he could make a clean getaway.

  The professor had sniffed him out quicker than he could say Alexander the Great loved his horse Bucephalus, and instead of turning him over to the authorities—and a no doubt shamefully long stint in an incarceration facility not of his choosing—had offered Cleve a deal.

  The professor was in need of an apprentice, and since Cleve was in need of a regular diet that didn’t come from dumpster diving, a roof over his head, and a way to channel his talent for deception that ensured he stayed on the right side of a jail cell, they shook on it.

  He’d always thought the trade-off of security for nefarious deeds would eventually lead to a Greek tragedy. He was no student of history, but he listened to police scanners and read court transcripts and true crime novels, and happy endings were a myth.