Claiming His Treasure series

BOOK ONE: CLAIMING HIS TREASUREPrague, Czech RepublicThere was nothing like a cold beer and a good fuck to help a man unwind after a hunt.Jackson North leaned back on his stool and took a long, slow sip of his lager, letting it sit on his tongue as his eyes traveled up and down the bar. The dimly lit public house was lively tonight, and he picked up snippets of conversation in at least five languages as he scoped out his potential company for the evening. There was no shortage of attractive women in this particular hole in the wall, but he was in the mood for something special. A good hunt always left his body thrumming with a distinctive sort of hunger.He wasn't the only one on the prowl tonight. Beside him, his teammate Toshi was chatting up a pretty German girl with blue streaks in her hair. Jackson had heard a duck speak better German than Toshi, but the girl seemed to find his mistakes charming. She laughed and ran a finger down one of the tattoos on his arm as she correct

"It's me," Jackson breathed in Charlie's ear. "Don't worry, it's me."Almost immediately, he felt her body relax in his arms. But though she seemed to realize she wasn't in any immediate danger, her chest still heaved against his arm and her pulse still fluttered like mad where he gripped her at one wrist. She was terrified, and no wonder.Still, tangled as they were and with his face partially buried in her hair, his body was half convinced they were in a very different sort of situation. Her lips were soft as butter beneath his calloused fingers, and her hair smelled just as he remembered - like strawberries and cream. He was hard as a rock before he even realized he'd nestled closer to those silky strands. The last time he'd had his face in her hair, he'd been buried deep inside of her. This was always his favorite position - being curled around her from behind with her neck within easy reach of his mouth and her breasts within reach of his hand. There was nothing to muffle the sw

Charlotte forced herself to focus on the strange new world outside the car, and though she couldn't completely forget the presence of Jackson beside her, she soon found herself enthralled by the city around her. Split was nothing like she'd imagined. Below them, a thousand red-orange roofs gleamed in the rising sun, and beyond that, the Adriatic Sea shone a bright turquoise blue. She'd never seen anything like it. It was half modern city - complete with grimy advertisements on every corner and stray cats scampering down the side streets - and half historical wonder. She kept catching glimpses of a white tower poking out among the roofs down near the water."That's Diocletian's Palace down there," came Jackson's voice at her ear. "Built by the Roman emperor of the same name. They let you climb the bell tower. If you have a chance, you should. The view is amazing."He spoke to her as if she were on a vacation instead of possibly running for her life. But another thing struck her about

Charlotte knew she needed to be more careful.Back in the bay, she'd almost let herself forget how much Jackson had hurt her. She'd fallen right into his arms, let him touch her and kiss her neck and chase away all of the pain he'd caused for a few heart-pounding moments. That couldn't happen again. What kind of idiotic girl trusted a guy who'd already broken her heart once?Fortunately, Jackson was occupied for most of the day. When they got back to the port town of Vis, Roth had sent the men out in two-man teams across the island to look for their missing teammate. Apparently, the teammate in question was the sole female member of this crew, and Charlotte wondered why the hell they'd ever send her off on her own - until she realized that any woman who willingly joined this group was probably tough enough to handle herself. Not every girl out there was as inexperienced or as afraid as she was.Roth and the big Russian guy stayed on the boat while the others were searching. The two

Jackson went cold.His first instinct was to drop down on top of Charlie, to protect her as much as he could. It took him a full minute to realize the gun hadn't gone off in the room with them. But it had been close - which meant the danger was still very real.He leaped up and tugged up his pants. Charlie tried to get up, too, but he shook his head. "Stay down here. Lock the door. Don't open it for anyone but me."Heavy footsteps sounded above them - then a curse and a shout.Fuck. He stumbled over to the cabinet over the kitchenette, yanking open the door and shoving aside the cans of food. In the back of the cabinet was a hidden compartment where they stored a number of small handguns. He hadn't been wearing one. That was fucking careless. He threw a glance at the stairs, but no one was coming down. Vincent's journals and atlas were still on the table."Leo?" he called.There was no answer.He ran up the stairs. Leo was on his knees on the deck, gripping his arm. Dark blood o