Title: ON DEADLY GROUND
Author: Susan Vaughan
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Book Blurb:
Kate promised her dying father to protect her brother and return a Mayan god statue to its temple. But the price to save her kidnapped brother is the valuable artifact, so keeping one promise means breaking the other. Facing a trek through the jungle, Kate must rely on a guide she doesn’t trust… yet whose touch makes her yearn for more.
Max prefers to work alone, however his DSF assignment is to guide Kate while covertly finding proof her brother sold black-market antiquities. And sticking close to this delectable and vulnerable woman proves more dangerous to Max than all the threats in the jungle.
Max and Kate must outrun smugglers and an earthquake in a race that takes them to England and into the jungle. But as perilous as their quest becomes, when desire flares between them, risking their lives seems simple next to risking their hearts.
Excerpt:
They retraced their steps to the scaffolding in what seemed to Kate like seconds. Max swung down ahead of her and she followed. She jumped the last span into his waiting arms. Still shaking, she held onto him as his arms tightened around her and held her fast. His dark eyes were radiant, intense, but with emotion she couldn’t discern. She felt every pounding beat of his heart and every ridge of his muscle as he slid her downward until she stood, still shaking, wanting to sink against his solid strength, safe and warm.
“Keep low,” he said, his voice rough. “We have to get out of here.”
She reeled as he released her, her chest light, one burden lifted.
She would whoop with joy, except they might hear her in the manor, and she needed all her breath to keep putting one foot in front of the other. They ran across the garden and the parkland. In moments they reached the woods beyond the estate and the safety of their rented British SUV.
Max jerked a nod toward Shafeton Manor. “Shit, he’s up. That place’s lit up like the London Eye. Sedgwick’s hunting us.”
Kate had no time to catch her breath before they were speeding away on the dirt track toward the highway.
After a few miles down the highway, Max turned onto a smaller country lane. Then he pulled off where a farm road disappeared into the dark, cut the engine, and slammed out of the SUV.
She stepped out and leaned on the fender, dragging in air. She flung her arms wide. “We did it, Max. We did it. I have Kizin. One step closer to rescuing Doug. Thank you for keeping me safe, for everything.” She removed the knit cap and shook out her hair.
No hint in his expression he appreciated her thanks. His dark eyes glowered above the dark smears on his cheeks. Anger simmered in his hard stare and tight mouth. He rounded the vehicle and yanked her against him. He was so indelibly male, so macho, so physical, a look from him fluttered her pulse. Then something else burned in his gaze, something molten that stopped her breath. Dangerous.
She stilled in his arms, her breasts against his solar plexus, her thighs against his. His scent—earthy, salty, male—washed over her. She ought to step back, but instead flattened her palms on his chest. She fought the urge to knead the slabs of muscle straining his jumpsuit.
“What the hell were you— Aw, shit.” He tangled one hand in her hair and brought his mouth down on hers.
Heat flashed through her, from her lips down to her core. He tasted hot and untamed and she wanted the kiss to go on and on, but, like a lightning strike, it ended after only an instant.
Blood thundered in her head, and her senses struggled for balance as she pushed through the sensual fog. Her fingers still dug into the fabric of his jumpsuit. No, she didn’t want this—him—and he didn’t want her. Not really, even if she felt evidence to the contrary against her belly. What did he want?
She pushed against his chest to step away but she might as well have been struggling against steel. Her pulse raced and she glared at him. “Let me go. Why did you do that?”
“Heat of the moment.” Chest heaving with labored breaths, he held her a beat longer, then backed away in a stiff motion. He folded his arms.
His scowl said he wasn’t going to offer a further explanation. Anger? Relief at the escape? Her lips still tingled from his kiss and her pounding heart made her rib cage feel too tight. “See that it doesn’t happen again,” she said through gritted teeth.
“What the hell were you thinking back there with that damn coin toss? You’re lucky he didn’t blow a hole through you.”
She could scarcely believe what she’d done. An acidic lump lodged in her throat. “He was going to shoot us. I couldn’t let him win. My brother... I had to do something.” She tried to inhale deeply, but her lungs didn’t want to cooperate.
His scowl remained adamantine. “I didn’t take you for being impulsive. A surprise.”
A trait hidden from herself, it seemed. But he saw that? What else did he see in her? More wild fluttering in her stomach.
Then the reason for his anger hit her. “I wasn’t thinking about the Taser. You had it ready, didn’t you?”
If not approval, at least understanding softened his eyes before he nodded. “Next time, trust me. Now let’s go. This detour back to London will take longer.”
Once on the road, he spoke again. “Nice follow through. Where’d you learn to pitch like that?” His tone was level, annoyance apparently dissipated.
She let out a breath. “Long games of catch with Doug and Dad on expeditions.”
“The slimy bastard didn’t expect you to threaten him, and he sure as hell didn’t expect you to hit him with his own coins. Hell, neither did I.” He scraped knuckles against his jaw and shook his head. “Element of surprise.”
“Be ready for the unexpected.” Like his punishing kiss—no, demanding kiss.
“Remember that once we get to Costa Verde. A Devonshire estate’s not the Central American jungle.”
No flutters in her midsection, only a sick sensation. Could she handle the dangers, so much unknown? Could she turn Doug’s rescue and Kizin’s return over to Max and Devlin? An image of her brother tied up, drugged and bloody, rose in her mind. No, she couldn’t allow anything to stop her from rescuing Doug. She was going, no matter what Max said.
She lifted her chin. “Not the jungle. I know. As you constantly remind me.”
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297 ratings with an average 4.4 on Amazon
& endorsement by a bestselling author:
“Susan Vaughan's On Deadly Ground is a red-hot, non-stop thrill ride complete with kidnappers, stolen artifacts and a dangerously inconvenient romance.” – Toni Anderson, NYT Bestselling Author
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Author Biography:
Occasional bouts of insomnia led to Susan Vaughan's writing career. When she couldn't sleep, she made up stories to fill the long dark nights. Her stories throw the hero and heroine together under extraordinary circumstances and pit them against a clever villain. A former teacher, she is a West Virginia native, but she and her husband have lived in Maine for many years. She is the author of 16 novels and two children’s books.
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