Devil May Care 02 Hell Fire Dee Davis (epub)

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.A bit on the tame side perhaps, but considering the end result, well worth the effort.Marcus Diablo carefully pulled his arms free and slipped out of the bed, Danielle's only reaction a soft sigh.He stood for a moment, staring down at her, his eyes drinking in the sweet curves of her breasts.Just for a moment, he considered abandoning his goal and sliding back between her legs.It was a tempting thought, but only a passing one.After slipping into pants and shirt, he moved on silent feet to the doorway, the rococo frame elaborate even for a French chateau as grand as Lavermont.He actually remembered the place in its heyday— when France was on top of the world, and known for its lavish elegance and decadent society.How he missed those days.Still, there were treasures in France.One just had to work a little harder to find them.Smiling, he walked into the hallway, the clock chiming three.The servants would be up in just over an hour.It was time to make his move.With a last glance through the door at the still-sleeping woman, Marcus turned to make his way down the main stairway, careful to keep to the left on the fifteenth stair.It had taken weeks to learn everything he needed to know—the habits of not only Lavermont's mistress but her staff as well.He'd also managed to work out the codes for security at both the chateau and the massive gatehouse that protected it.Considering the advanced security available, it was woefully out of date.But then this was the French Riviera and everything was more relaxed.He stopped on the second-floor landing, his gaze sweeping right and then left, ascertaining that the coast was still clear.Satisfied, he took the last of the stairs two at a time, excitement building.It was always the same.Centuries passed and still he loved the thrill of the chase, closing in on a thing of beauty with the intent to possess.It mattered not if it was a woman or a priceless work of art.The pay-off was the same.He entered the library and shut the massive door behind him, careful to avoid any sound.The room was enormous, all the walls lined with books, most of them ancient, all of them rare, and none of them ever touched by anything other than the occasional duster.A cardinal sin in Marcus's opinion.Although "sin" might not exactly be the right word.He grinned and stopped in the middle of the room, forcing himself to ignore a Monet and then a van Gogh.He was not here for paintings, no matter how exquisite.Perhaps another time.He turned and moved purposefully toward an ornate corner cabinet between a window and the west wall, pulling on a pair of latex gloves as he walked.The top tier of the structure was designed to look like a separate box.But it was in fact an illusion, and reaching up under the cabinet's top drawer, he triggered the mechanism that opened it.For a moment, he simply stood and stared.The tiny gold statue was everything he'd dreamed it might be.Venus in all her glory.Stolen from Louis XVI, the statue had disappeared from public view centuries before.Some experts even thought that the statue had been melted down for the metal.But Marcus always persevered when it was something he wanted, and though it had taken nearly a hundred years, he had finally found her.And now, she belonged to him.Slowly he reached for the tiny Etruscan treasure and stroked the shimmering line of her breast and hip.Now here was a woman to bed.Still smiling, he slipped the statue into his pocket, reveling in the weight of her against his thigh.Sad that a statue was more of a turn-on than the woman upstairs, but then six hundred years of love-making was bound to diminish the act a bit.Practice certainly made perfect, and there wasn't anything much he hadn't experienced.Been there, done that was a major understatement.His whole life was a bit like that.Same old, same old.Except when he was acquiring something wonderful.Like Venus.He brushed his hand against the statue in his pocket and, after resetting the little box, turned to go.All in all it had been an uneventful heist.But then it wasn't over yet.Striding through the main hall, he entered the security code and made his way out the front door.It was a bit brazen, but Danielle was sound asleep and her staff only bleary-eyed, if even that.His Jaguar was parked to the side of the circular drive.He'd refused Danielle's offer of parking it in the stable-turned-garage, citing the fact that he must return to Paris early the next morning.Actually he was headed for the Marina Baie des Anges and his yacht anchored nearby.But the lie would serve him well when she realized what he had done.He slid into the car, carefully wrapped Venus in a soft cloth, then placed her in a leather pouch, securing the package underneath the false bottom of his glove compartment.Then he started the car, shifting quickly into gear, knowing full well that the noise of the engine might arouse the household [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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