The Russian's Tenacious Lover Read Online Free PDF

something as primitive as a knockout punch. Hand-to-hand combat simply wasn’t part of the arsenal of the gentleman burglar.
    He crawled to the door, curious about the speed at which the van was traveling. At this rate, they’d soon leave London behind.
    He tried the sliding door, but it didn’t budge. Naturally. Then he turned to the bulkhead but found no way to communicate with the driver. She’d effectively locked him up in this makeshift prison for the duration of the drive.
    Who the hell was she? Some competitor? He’d had them before, and they usually came and went, never remaining on the scene for too long, his own longevity a rarity in such a risky business.
    Suddenly, and quite brusquely, the van pulled to a stop, and he was slammed against the partition. Moments later, the side door was yanked open, and he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun, then up into the face of the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen.
    For the first time, he was awarded a closer look at his assailant, and decided that whoever she was, she must have won several beauty prizes in her day. Her skin was glowing as if bathed in honeydew, wispy blond hair framing her perfect face, lips full and luscious, her nose tilted up slightly at the tip, which lent her a frivolous aspect that wasn’t reflected in her eyes, which were hard and unyielding. Crystal blue eyes, they were, clear as a Swiss mountain lake.
    A man could drown in those eyes, he briefly thought before she barked, “Out. Now!”
    Raising his hands, he stepped from the van and admired her trim form. She was completely clad in black. Black fatigues, black sweater and black army boots.
    “Where are we going if I may ask?”
    “You may not,” she snarled and gave him a prod that made him wince.
    She might be exquisite as the most precious gem, but she sure wasn’t nice.
    “Aren’t you the same person who robbed me last night?”
    “Shut up and walk.”
    Mh. Definitely not a woman big on conversation, he thought, then turned around to gaze at that lovely face again, until she snapped, “Quit staring and keep walking.”
    He gave her what he hoped was an engaging smile. “As you say.”
    They were walking down an earthen path that led along a nicely maintained garden or park, statues adorning the walk at intervals. Then, when the small castle loomed up before them, he eyed it with surprise. Somehow, it seemed familiar, as if he’d been there before.
    Then he got it. He’d burgled this place three years before, relieving its owner of a very nice heirloom. A pearl necklace, if he wasn’t mistaken.
    As they neared the castle, he felt the sense of dread deepen. Whatever this woman was up to, it wasn’t going to brighten his day, he feared, and she wasn’t going to invite him in for tea and cake either.

CHAPTER 7

    Glynis found her father on the phone when she entered the study that was his home during the day. He looked up when she entered, then frowned at the man she’d brought as her unwilling guest.
    “Yes, we’ll talk later. I have some business to attend to now. Yes, four is fine.” He replaced the receiver and stared at Thomas Spencer. “Did you have any trouble bringing him in?”
    “None whatsoever. He came along quite willingly.”
    “Willingly is perhaps not the word I’d use, sir,” said Thomas amiably. “In fact there was some reluctance on my part.”
    As she studied him, she had to admit he was quite handsome for a thief. There was a roguish quality about him that became him well, and in spite of the fact that he was a crook, he looked more like a nobleman than her own father, who was an actual nobleman.
    Thomas Spencer’s eyes were dark, almost black, as was his hair that fell in recalcitrant curls across his brow. His face was bronzed, as if he’d recently spent some of his ill-gotten fortune on a sojourn in the Bahamas, enjoying sun and surf. And a dozen pretty ladies, no doubt. The man certainly knew how to live. And even though he’d