What do a jewel thief, a stain glass artist cowboy, pink elephants, and a Nostradamus-believing faith healer all have in common? Not a damn thing--unless you're Adrian Williams, jewel thief extraordinaire--or Jamie Holland, the stain glass artist who stumbles into Adrian's world. From pink elephants to diamonds--and traipsing in a park fountain to making out wherever they can, Jamie and Adrian have their hands full. And somehow, somewhere along the way, they manage to fall in love.
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| Excerpt ~~ The Cowboy and the Thief |
"I’ve got to find that damn diamond before Eric comes after me." He fully expected Jamie to join him in the search of the fountain.
Taking the flashlight, Jamie just shook his head. "I’m still trying to figure out how the Hell you lose a rock that big."
Still, he walked around the perimeter of the massive stone fountain, shining the light here and there in the water. Then he grumbled. They weren’t going to find anything like this.
Watching Jamie for a moment, Adrian gave him an irritated look as he slipped off his shoes. "We’re going to have to go into the fountain. Nobody is around to see us."
Gingerly, Adrian stepped into the water. Feeling the water seep into the legs of his pants, he muttered, "Fuck, that’s cold."
Jamie’s mouth dropped open and for a minute, he just stared wide-eyed at Adrian. "That’s it. It’s official. You’re insane."
He hopped on one foot and then the other, tugging off his cowboy boots. With a grumble, he stepped into the fountain, shooting a glare at Adrian--for the cold, for losing the damn diamond, for this whole absurd situation. "If I wanted to go swimmin’," he muttered as he walked through the shin-high water, "I’d have gone home and jumped into the pool."
"I’ll be swimming permanently in a larger body of water if we don’t find the damned diamond." Carefully his hand swept back and forth, lighting the area as he searched the water for the sparkle of a diamond.
"Don’t suppose makin’ one out of glass is an option," Jamie said as he continued his own search. He passed by Adrian, each of them going the opposite direction, and reached out, brushing his fingers across Adrian’s chest. "We’ll find it."
The glass comment earned Jamie a disgruntled look from Adrian. "If I thought it would fool Eric, I’d do it, but it won’t, so I won’t."
As he felt the touch, Adrian paused, trying not to laugh. "Only you would want to fuck when we’re ass deep in cold water."
"We’re not ass-deep; we’re shin-deep. And who said I want to fuck?" Jamie’s grin didn’t exactly reflect the denial, but he just winked before moving on.
"Fucking smart ass." The words were more kidding than pissed. Ignoring his companion, Adrian continued his slow, methodical search of the water. "Maybe one of us will step on the damn thing."
The sound of someone clearing their throat made Adrian left his head. As he raised the flash light, a gleam shone off the badge of the cop watching them.
"Now there’s a hard-on killer," Jamie muttered. "Evenin’, officer." Jamie tipped his Stetson at the cop.
Swallowing hard, Adrian managed to say, "Hello officer."
"Mind telling me what you two fellows are doing in the fountain?"
Thinking fast, Adrian’s hand slipped into his back pocket, taking out his wallet. As he leaned over towards the water, he put the wallet into it. "This idiot tossed my wallet into the fountain, and we’re trying to find it now."
"Shouldn’t have been arguing ‘bout dinner," Jamie shot back under his breath, but loud enough for the cop to hear. "Hey. That it?" He shined his light near Adrian’s right foot.
"Well, now that you’ve found it," the officer said, "don’t you think it’s time to get out?" An eyebrow lifted, more in warning than amusement.
Hastily grabbing his now wet wallet, Adrian quickly moved to the edge of the fountain. "No problem, officer. Sorry about this."
He didn't want to get out, but he had no choice. Slipping his shoes back on, he told the cop, "We'll be out of your way now."
"You do that." The cop gave them both a nod and Jamie stooped like he was scratching his foot before walking through the water to the edge.
"Thank you, officer," he said as he stepped out. Once the cop was gone, Jamie turned to Adrian, grabbing an arm and jerking him close, wet clothes and all. "You owe me." He pressed something cold and hard in Adrian’s hand.
Relief flood Adrian as he felt the chill stone in his stone. His fingers wrapped tightly around it as his arm slide around Jamie. "I owe you a hell of a lot."
"Uh-huh." Jamie grinned and tipped his hat back just enough to lean close for a kiss. "But I ain't collectin' here. It's cold. Where to?"
"Anywhere but here. That cop’ll be coming back, and it’s fucking cold now." Shivering slightly, he returned the kiss before pulling away from Jamie. "We both need to change our clothes."
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