Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Jake meets Pixie in #midweektease #romance #detective The things people do for love #FREE this weekend

Midweek tease is from romance detective story
Jake Snow
PI Jake Snow is tired. He’s a senior investigator in the Brandt Black Private Detective Agency, but recently he’s chosen less high-powered cases to work on than he used to. He’s tired of his job, and of being single. He’s out there in the hot city nights working cases and hoping for love. A sweetheart, gorgeous, intelligent, dedicated, Jake never takes vacations, but now he’s requested leave.
Life takes a surprising twist, when just before he’s due to take his vacation, he’s sent on what he thinks is a simple surveillance assignment. What he finds is a tangled web of lies, and a fashion designer in trouble...
The question is will he also find the love he wants and needs?
An erotic, romantic, lighthearted mystery story—the things people do for love and fashion…
Read the #midweekteaser

Jake was tired. He knew if last night’s intruder came back that night it would be in the early hours of the morning. He checked the time after reading for a while—only ten o’clock. Jake tried reading again as he waited for midnight to click over. He felt his eyes close once or twice, shook himself awake, and went back to reading. He woke up with a start—it was nearly two in the morning. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Hope I haven’t missed the action.
Jake poured coffee from his flask and drank it down. He was tempted to get out of the car and walk around, but didn’t. He hadn’t checked the photographs he’d taken the night before apart from when he’d scrolled through them then. He got the camera out and was about to look at them again when he glanced up and saw a person was on the roof. Cursing softly, he leapt out of his car, and locked it on the run, as he dashed as quietly as possible for the alley, the fire escape, and the roof of the atelier.
At the building, Jake ran up the fire escape steps as the person ran across the balcony, and took a leap to the neighboring roof. Jake froze and watched for a second, then turned to run and meet them as they descended from that building. He arrived just in time, grabbed, and tackled the person to the ground. It was incredibly easy. Jake knew the intruder was slight having seen them leap, but now he knew it was a woman, and he held her carefully.
“Please don’t run. I’ll have to restrain you. You need to tell me what you’re doing on the roof.” As he said this, he helped her up, and took off the black beanie she had pulled low over her face. At the same time, he realized what she was carrying…a black satin backpack. I’ve seen that before.
She lifted her face to his and Jake let out a small sound of surprise. It was the young woman from the atelier, the one who had passed him on the stairs. “You…”
“I can explain. I need to explain. This isn’t what it looks like.”
Jake raised his eyebrows. “No?”
She stood in front of him looking dejected and disheveled.
Jake felt a wave of some emotion. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it made his voice soften and his stance kinder.
“Okay, we’ll go to my car and you can tell me your story. You know who I am?”
She nodded. Her voice was small and she slumped a little. She certainly didn’t seem dangerous or about to run.
“Jake Snow, private detective.”
Jake felt an amused smile start and squashed it.
He took her backpack from her, and held her arm to lead her along the street and through the alley to his car.
She walked silently and Jake glanced at her a couple of times wondering what was going on. She only just came up to his shoulder, and was so slender, he felt as if the arm he held could snap if he pressed too hard. He estimated her age to be a couple of years younger than he was. Her braid had come loose from the hair comb that kept it wound around her head, and now it fell down her back as she walked. Jake put her backpack on the hood of the SUV to unlock the door. He kept his hand on her arm and put her into the back seat, then bringing in the backpack, he sat alongside her.
“We’ll start with your name shall we?”
The young woman rubbed her arm.
Concern flooded him. “Did I hurt you?”
She looked sadly at him. “Not really. I think I knocked it as you felled me to the ground.”
Jake’s forehead furrowed with sorrow. “I’m sorry. Do you need medical attention?”
She shook her head. “No thanks, I’ll be okay. My name’s Pixie, Pixie Donohue. I was just checking to make sure my suspicions were correct about Graham. You see he’s stolen my designs. The dresses in his ‘secret room’ have been made up from my designs.”
Jake stared at her. “How can you prove that? He’s said the same thing—‘Someone is out to steal my designs.’ Now I find you two nights running on the atelier roof, messing about near the skylight.”
She widened her eyes. “You saw me last night?”
“Yes I saw you, and I know you took photographs, so why are you here tonight?”
She looked away from him.
Jake knew she was pretty. He’s seen that earlier in the day. Now, seeing her close up, she was so lovely he gazed at her fine skin, and her delicate cheekbones. Her full lips enticed him. Lips to kiss, bite, and suck.
Jake waited for her answer, pushing away his attraction to her.
Copyright Elodie Parkes 2017 new edition
FREE on all Amazon sites February 2, 3, 4

 HOP to the next #MWTease


4 comments:

  1. Ooh I like the sound of Jake. He's hot!Will he get swayed from his job though?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, great snippet, Elodie. And I love that cover!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The fashion world is definitely cutthroat! Great tease, Elodie!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comment. It will be published shortly.