Title: Taken
Author: Skye Warren
Genre: Dark Romance
Release Date: August 24, 2021
BLURB
"Five glowing stars! Diamond in the Rough is the dark and dangerous world that I love from Skye Warren. You will be completely caught up in Elijah and Holly's story from the first page to the last." – New York Times bestselling author Aleatha Romig
A breathless dangerous romance between...
- An ex-military man who believes he has no honor left, and
- A reclusive author on a mission to save her sister
This is the complete Diamonds trilogy in one collection.
Kidnapped. Stolen. Taken. I'm thrown into a cell in a French prison. But I'm not alone. There's someone in here with me. Someone more dangerous than the men who brought me here.
“A novel full of intrigue, secrets, lies, and a love that won't be denied, Diamond in the Rough is easily a top read of 2020.” – Celia Aaron, USA Today bestselling author of The Bad Guy
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EXCERPT
“Stars,” I tell her, and the scene springs to life in front of me. The church basement and the cot with its white sheets dissolve into a humming dark. “There would be a million stars to look at. Skies so clear we could lie there and watch the constellations rise and set. We’d bring blankets and lay them out to watch. It would be warm if we held onto each other.”
Holly’s eyes flutter closed. The corner of her mouth curls in a smile. “Keep going.”
“We’d find a brook to drink from. Or maybe a lake, the kind that appears so suddenly. One minute there’s grass and ground. The next there’s water filled with reeds. They’d wave above the water while we slept. Or while we didn’t sleep.”
She laughs, the sound as dreamy as her eyes. Holly leans into my touch, her cheek warm against my palm. Blissfully warm. Heat means she’s alive. I haven’t stopped touching her, but I should.
I can’t.
“The ripples move through the reeds and onto the grass. They’re steady. And calm, for our camping trip. Calm water. The same sound wakes us up in the morning with the sun. Time means nothing out there. Everyone has enough.”
I don’t know what I’m saying anymore, but I keep talking. There are enough words to describe a day on the shore of the lake. A swim. An afternoon in the shade of a tent. An evening with a blazing sunset over the reeds and the water. Food over a campfire. Hot dogs and marshmallows. Innocent things. Things that make people like Holly happy. Stars, infinite stars.
Her breathing evens out. Gets deeper. I still can’t pull my hand away from her face. Not for a long time. The sunset is long over outside the church by the time I stand up and go about the second set of tasks. Getting rid of old gauze. Setting out new supplies. Counting her pills. We have enough water. There’s enough food. I turn off the overhead light and turn on an antique lamp brought down from the old church office.
It’s only when I take my seat again and listen to Holly’s deep breathing that I realize—
I wasn’t describing some fictional campground.
I was describing the woods in France where I fucked her for the first time. That’s my definition of peace. That’s the place I’d go back to if I could.
AUTHOR BIO
Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance such as the Chicago Underground series. Her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. She makes her home in Texas with her loving family, two sweet dogs, and one evil cat.
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