Romeo
and Julian (series) by Sage Marlowe
Hello
and welcome,
My
name is Sage Marlowe, I’m a multi-published MM erotic romance author and today
I’m here to introduce you to my new, sexy Romeo
and Julian series.
And
you? You’re an FBI agent. No, really, you are. Trust me on this.
Your
name is Julian Harris and you’ve recently been promoted to the head of the
newly implemented Division for Art-Related Crimes. You’ve spent the best part
of the past three years chasing a notorious art thief and cat burglar. You
don’t know what the guy looks like, even though you’ve been studying his every
move. You’ve even given him a name. Romeo. Because you know he’s charming from
what little witnesses have told you. You also know that, as far as crimes go,
he’s brilliant. But you have a clever mind, too, and you have figured out how
to catch him.
And
that’s why you spend Christmas Eve in a lonely house in the mountains, the
place of his next heist. You’re waiting for him. It’s freezing cold outside, with
a snow storm approaching but inside it’s warm and snug.
You’ve
been there for hours, sitting and listening to every noise of the wind outside,
every cracking of the wood panels around you until at last, you hear someone
enter. You know it’s him; it must be him. Your heart hammers in your chest, but
you force yourself to sit still and wait.
A
shadowy figure crosses the room. He walks to the safe, kneels in front of it,
reaches out and—
“FBI. Freeze.”
The man didn’t even startle at the sudden sharp order.
Crouching in front of the safe, one hand on the lock, he obediently paused
mid-motion.
“Now raise your hands.”
Julian didn’t need to repeat the order. The burglar
raised his hands but kept the rest of his body perfectly still. Controlled.
Tense and ready to move, not the resigned slackness of someone who had given
up.
“Don’t think you can try anything now. It’s over for
you. I’ve got a loaded gun in my hand that is currently pointed at your right
shoulder. If you make a sudden move, I’ll pull the trigger. The bullet will
smash the bone and your arm will be useless for a couple of months, maybe
forever depending on what it is that you want to use it for. Now turn around.
Slowly,” Julian warned and flicked on the light.
Obedient, the man turned to face him, hands still
raised above his head, and for the first time ever, Julian had the chance to
really see the phantom he’d been chasing all these months.
“You’re younger than I thought.”
“Disappointed?”
“No, just surprised. Good for you, though. It means
that if you’re lucky, you’ll have enough years left for a chance to build
yourself a life worth living by the time you get out of prison.”
The man was indeed quite a bit younger than Julian had
expected him to be. He was probably somewhere in his mid-twenties rather than
the late thirties or even forties that would have been more likely considering
the trail he’d left and the time he must have spent to train his—admittedly
admirable—set of skills to perfection.
There was a curious, almost amused expression on his
face as he met Julian’s gaze levelly with a pair of striking blue eyes. Julian
couldn’t help but notice that yes, he was just as attractive as the reports on
him claimed, maybe even more so. The few reports they had were witness
descriptions and, although the man had robbed each and every one of them, they
all agreed that he was incredibly handsome and delightfully charming. Most of
the females involved seemed to think that being relieved of a part of their
fortune was well worth the pleasure of a flirt with him. And yet, none of those
delighted ladies had been able to sit down and give a description of him that
was worth wasting a drawer’s time on.
“I’m Special Agent Julian Harris, FBI. Any preference
which one of your names you’d like me to use for this?”
“Pick one—I answer to all of them,” the man answered
with a sly grin. The trace of an accent tinted his voice. It was hard to place,
but Julian assumed it to be British. Interesting.
“Hmm, let’s see...We’ve got Brian
Crandell, Greg Anderson, Richard Stavell, and Robert Dunn. Oh, and then there’s
Curtis Halden of course.” Julian looked across the room into those mesmerizing
blue eyes that openly mocked him. “You could always tell me your real name, you
know. We’ll find out sooner or later anyway.”
“Nice try but—no. If you don’t like my aliases you can
use the nickname you got for me.”
“Nickname?”
“Sure. You guys always have one.”
“Is that so?”
“I know you have. Come on, what’s mine?”
Julian gave in with a sigh. “Romeo.”
“Romeo?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Hmm, not quite what I expected, but I
like it. Maybe I should create an alias using it. Mmm, Romeo Escalus perhaps.
What do you think?”
“I think you won’t need another alias for
quite a while. In fact, chances are you’re going to be identified by a set of
figures for the years to come.”
“Ah, good answer.” The thief nodded
appreciatively. “I thought you would say something like that. Anyway, why
Romeo?”
Julian grinned in spite of himself. Either
the man didn’t realize what situation he was in or he had a rather warped sense
of humor.
“You used a plain old ladder to enter
through a window the first time we heard about you. You go for pretty things
and never leave a woman you meet uncharmed.”
“Oh, okay. I guess I get your drift. And
where does your first name being Julian fit into this?”
Julian suppressed the urge to shift his weight,
knowing that it would only make him look nervous. Which he wasn’t. Much. “Just
a coincidence.”
“Ah. Who came up with it?”
“That would’ve been me.”
“I’m sure the guys in your division love you for
offering them that one on a silver tray.” The guy was sharp, that much was
clear. Disturbingly so. Easily picking up on Julian’s embarrassment, he offered
what looked like a sincere enough smile. Julian
ignored it and abandoned the topic with a swift “Sure you don’t want to tell me your real name?”
“Yep.”
“Well then, we’ll just have to do it without the name
for now, but just so we’re clear—you
are under arrest,” Julian said sternly, forcing himself to ignore just how
inviting those sinfully lush lips were that curled just a little more in a
half-smile.
“I know.”
“Good. I’m going to cuff you now.”
“Oh. Just like that? Is that your idea of foreplay?”
Julian refused to pursue the image that reference
created in his head and almost succeeded. At least his voice was still firm and
professional as he said, “No point cracking jokes. Hands behind your back.”
This
excerpt is the beginning of A Thief on
Christmas Eve, the first book in the series, and here’s the blurb
When it comes to slick
art thief Romeo, FBI agent Julian Harris has to realize that sometimes, to
catch a thief is just the beginning.
When FBI special agent Julian Harris finally corners
art thief and cat-burglar Romeo he's planning to put the man first in handcuffs
and then behind bars. Instead, he finds himself first trapped in a house in the
mountains by a blizzard and then captivated by Romeo's irresistible charm. One
thing leads to another and after a night spent together, Julian wakes up alone
with his pride bruised and his heart stolen.
Almost a year later, a twist of fate brings them back
together and their mutual attraction sparks up again instantly but events take
on a dynamic that could have at least one of them wind up dead. Blackmailed
into a precarious break-in, Romeo has to choose between Julian's life and his
own safety while all the time, there are two questions on Julian's mind: Who is
this slick and sexy thief really and where does his true loyalty lie?
Buy links:
Romeo and Julian’s
exciting story continues in A Talent in
Your Lies and A Life as a Ghost.
Buy links
About the author:
Sage
is a multi-published author of MM erotic romance novels and novellas and loves to
explore the flavours of gay erotic fiction.
A
willing slave to all the fascinating guys who keep queuing up and want their
stories told, Sage can almost always be found cooking up the next hot story or
daydreaming about new ways of rubbing sexy male bodies together to make sparks
fly.
Contact and buy
links
Twitter: @SageMarlowe
