Sweet Hart by Rae Marks - Novel Excerpt!

Want a sneaky read of Rae Marks' latest suspense romance? Of COURSE you do!

In order to stay alive, Bray and Sam must appear to be lovers. What happens when pretending becomes too real?

When Brayden stumbles into a covert operation, Sam has to keep him alive. Together they navigate their unexpected attraction and the world of the Ukrainian mafia.

Brayden Hart needs to find his older brother Mason and time is running out. Mason disappeared after being discharged from the military two years before. While on leave from the army, Bray follows a lead his friend has been able to find. When he knocks on the door of a dingy apartment outside Miami, the last person he expects to meet is the gorgeous but grumpy Sam Wheeler.

Sam denies knowing Bray's brother and turns him away. But Sam is Bray's only lead. Luckily, Bray's childhood friend is one of the best hackers in the country and helps Bray follow Sam to Ukraine.

In Kiev, Bray falls blindly into the fray of a covert operation and Sam steps in to keep him alive. While navigating the choppy waters of the Ukrainian mafia, Bray and Sam fall into the bedroom. But what happens when the mission ends?

Excerpt

“I’ll let you relax,” Sam said as he stood.

“Don’t go. You said I couldn’t sleep. I want to relax, but if you keep me talking, I won’t fall asleep.”

With a nod, Sam backed away and sat on the closed toilet. From there, he could only see Bray from the shoulders up. Much less of a temptation.

“This feels amazing. The warmth is seeping into my bones. Today definitely didn’t turn out how I thought it would.”

Sam snorted. “Ditto. I thought I was in for a fairly mundane business trip.”

Bray reached for the little soap provided by the hotel but flinched. Sam jumped up to get it for him. He tried not to look at Bray’s lower half, but his eyes caught on the bruises.

“Are they getting worse?” Sam asked.

“I’d only worry if it hurt to breathe. You’re quite the mother hen, Sam Wheeler.”

Sam looked up at the sound of his alias. The last name sounded so wrong coming from Bray’s mouth, but the kid was smiling like he was proud of himself. Sam found himself smiling back until his gaze fell once again to the black-and-blue marks on Bray’s abs.

“I feel responsible,” he murmured as he returned to sit on the toilet lid.

“You couldn’t have stopped me. I did my best to hide the fact I was following you.”

“Next time I’ll remember to have one of my men sit on you.”

Bray’s eyes went wide.

“Not like that. Don’t get all offended. I meant trail you, make sure you don’t leave the States.”

“I want to apologize,” Bray said. “I’ve caused you a lot of trouble today with your...associates and I didn’t mean to. You don’t know how relieved I was to see you walk into that room. I knew you’d come for me.”

Sam wasn’t sure how true that last sentence was, but he was sure the rest was true. The look in Bray’s eyes made Sam uncomfortable.

“Don’t look at me like I’m some hero, Bray.”

“You’re a good man, Sam Wheeler. I knew it right away, and today, you proved it.”

“I didn’t prove anything. My business is about as dark as you can get. I’m not a good man.”

“You are to me. I might be naïve, but I think that counts for something.”

“Don’t see pixie dust where there is none. It wouldn’t behoove me to have left you there at their mercy. I had selfish reasons for getting you out of there.”

“I’m sure you did.” Bray smiled.

Maybe he was getting too into his role, but that smile was one of both indulgent patience and dirty little nymph. It was a smile one boyfriend would give another and Sam hated how much he loved looking at it.

Details

• Title: Sweet Hart
• Author: Rae Marks
• Publisher: Pride Publishing
• Cover Artist: Erin Dameron-Hill
• Genre/s:. Contemporary M/M Romance (Action/Adventure)
• Trope/s: Fake boyfriend
• Themes: Finding belonging, Moving on from the past
• Heat Rating: 4 flames
• Length: 79 900 words/ approx. 300 pages
• This is the first book in The Hart Consulting Series, but can stand alone.

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About the Author

Rae has been secretly penning romances since high school. It started with short stories that grew into full-length novels. When she received her first Kindle and had thousands of books at her fingertips, she became a little distracted from writing. Then one day she read a book that she would have written a different way. She began writing again and hasn't stopped since.

When she's not writing, Rae can usually be found reading, walking along the beaches of Half Moon Bay, or taking her geriatric dog to the vet, yet again.

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