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    Indelibly Inked
    Indelibly Inked
    Indelibly Inked
    Ebook98 pages1 hour

    Indelibly Inked

    By Jamie DeBree

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Claire Taylor is running for Mayor, and she's been advised to clean out her proverbial closets - including covering up the initials she had inked on her ankle many years ago. When it comes time to get the cover-up though, she can't go through with it, and when she's plunged into a world of threats, explosions and kidnapping, suddenly her tattoo is the least of her worries.

    Adam Cranston hasn't seen Claire since high school, but when he sees his initials on her leg, it brings back feelings he was forced to ignore in his youth. When a publicist asks him to protect Claire during her campaign, he's caught between his attraction to a woman naive to the dark side of politics and a family that will stop at nothing to win.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrazen Snake Books
    Release dateJun 21, 2012
    ISBN9781937477646
    Indelibly Inked
    Author

    Jamie DeBree

    A full-time webmistress by day, Jamie DeBree writes steamy, action-packed romantic suspense late into the night. Her goal is to create the perfect blend of sensual attraction, emotional tension and fast-paced adventure, similar to the television crime dramas she’s hopelessly addicted to.Born in Billings Montana, she resides there with her husband and two over-sized lap dogs. She reads in a wide variety of genres including romance, erotica, action/adventure, thriller, & horror.

    Read more from Jamie De Bree

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      Book preview

      Indelibly Inked - Jamie DeBree

      Indelibly Inked

      by

      Jamie DeBree

      SMASHWORDS EDITION

      * * * * *

      Indelibly Inked

      Copyright 2012 by Jamie M. DeBree

      Edited by Carol R. Ward

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

      This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination, and used fictitiously.

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

      * * * * *

      Indelibly Inked

      Chapter 1

      Claire parked her car at the curb and stared at the blue neon letters that spelled out Indelible Ink across a dark window. She got out, her stomach fluttering at the thought of what she was about to do. Stacy had insisted it was necessary. She’d even made an after-hours appointment with the owner to avoid any bad publicity before the press conference. Claire still wasn’t convinced. It was such a small thing. Who would even notice?

      She rapped twice on the door, surprised when it swung open right away. There were no lights on in the shop and she hadn’t noticed anyone on the other side of the glass. She stepped inside, unable to see anything but the profile of a tall, apparently well-built man in the dim storefront. A sliver of light drew her gaze down a long hall, and she assumed that was where they’d be working. Heat flooded through her as the man’s warm, spicy scent enveloped her senses. Suddenly she was grateful for the darkness, embarrassed at her reaction. Obviously it had been too long since she’d been this close to a man.

      A real one, anyway.

      Thank you for meeting me after hours, she said, anxious to break the silence.

      He closed the door and secured the deadbolt with a loud click. It's okay, he said. His voice was low and rough, sending another prickle of awareness over her senses. I’ve got a room set up back here, if you want to come with me.

      Boy do I.

      She followed him down the hall, focusing on his back as it came into focus closer to the light. Well-defined muscles stretched his black t-shirt tight and she fought the urge to run her fingers over the lines. It had definitely been too long.

      An exam table complete with a paper cover sat under a bright spotlight in the back room. He stepped over to a counter on the far wall and washed his hands while she hung her coat and purse on a hook beside the door. Go ahead and hop up there, he said, opening a drawer. She gave an awkward little jump to hoist herself onto the table as he snapped on a pair of white latex gloves.

      I really don’t think it was necessary to sneak around, but my publicist thought…

      She lost her train of thought the second his eyes met hers. Steel gray and cool, there was something so familiar about them that she couldn't look away. She struggled to remember what she’d been saying, heat flooding her face as he stepped closer to the table.

      You’ll need to slide up more - it’s on your ankle, right?

      The question startled her. Um, yes. Sorry. She moved farther up, until just her feet were hanging over the edge. He slid her high heel off and she froze as he reached out to gently grasp her right foot. She turned it out to reveal a small image on the inside of her ankle.

      Let's see what you've got. His touch was gentle as he ran a finger over the tattoo she'd gotten so long ago. She couldn’t see it clearly from her position, but in her mind she saw the small stylized tree inked into her skin, a heart in the center bearing two sets of initials. A talisman from another time.

      His hands were warm as he gently rotated her leg, his brows drawn together as he examined the image. Nice tat. Who did the original work? He glanced up, and she smiled.

      Bailey's on Fourth Street, she said. Nathan Bailey did it for me. My best friend had a crush on him back then. She, uh…dared me to get the tattoo.

      He nodded, and ran a finger over her skin once more. She fought a shiver from his touch. It's nice work. Who’s the lucky guy? Or unlucky, I guess, considering why we’re here.

      She laughed, feeling the blush was creep higher on her cheeks. It was a guy I had a huge crush on in high school. It sounds silly now, but he sort of inspired me to do more - to want more out of life.

      So what went wrong?

      She shrugged, giving him a sheepish grin. He...ah...he barely knew I was alive, to be honest. We weren't exactly in the same social set. Or on the same planet, for that matter, she mused silently. He'd been rich, the son of a senator. There was no doubt in her mind that his parents wouldn't have approved of him dating the daughter of a strung-out stripper.

      But you inked his initials on your ankle. It wasn't a question, and Claire just nodded, avoiding eye contact. She'd never told anyone the story before, and after tonight it wouldn't matter anyways. Still, she blinked back sudden tears that threatened to spill over. He laid his hand casually over her calf and she could feel him watching her. That feeling that she’d met him before tugged at the edges of her memory.

      She looked at him again, focusing on the lines of his face. They’d definitely met before, and she frowned. He must not recognize her. Have we-

      So you want me to cover this up? He spoke quickly, and she wondered if it was just bad timing, or something else.

      She nodded again. I'm announcing my candidacy for Mayor tomorrow. Stacy - my publicist - thinks that some curious person will notice the initials and start digging into my background. She's afraid of the impact it might have on my campaign if people start wondering who the mystery guy is.

      I see. He turned back to the counter, a chill moving over her skin when his hand left her ankle. And you're willing to give this up for politics? Seems like you have a lot of history with this guy, whether he knows it or not.

      She shrugged. I don’t really see the problem, personally. I’m the only one who knows who he is for sure, and I’m not talking. I have far bigger skeletons in my closet to worry about. She blinked back the sudden moisture building in her eyes. But Stacy says that’s the point - get rid of the small problems so we can focus on the bigger ones.

      Seems kind of backwards to me, he said, handing her a plastic sleeve holding a sheet of design sketches. You have a couple of choices here, he said, his matter-of-fact tone helping her regain control. "I can work the lettering into a vine or some

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