Adriana Kraft

When it's time to heat things up...

Detective

If he looked at her with bedroom eyes… The Heist #Excerpt #KU #steamy #RomanticSuspense

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Looking for a steamy romantic suspense?

The Heist, by Adriana Kraft

BLURB

A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s choice.

A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.

Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling exhibits.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

EXCERPT

Set up ~ the museum has just been broken into for the first time, but nothing’s been stolen. Even so, the Arts Council is sending out a detective to improve their security.

The entire day had cast a pall of suspicion over Kara and her staff. Even the police had discounted the entire unforced entry as a likely prank by an insider.

Would Ted Springs want to talk with everyone? Talk. She remembered Sasha’s expression when she’d used that term. They both knew Springs would be more into interrogating than talking, even if this was supposed to be a consulting trip. He’d have to gather information in order to give them the best advice he and the Council could offer.

Clearing her desk, Kara smiled at Sasha’s chauffeur-babysitter reference. Springs might need someone to drive him about, and she’d probably get Irving involved in that, but it was definitely her job to meet him at the airport and to see that he was dealt with professionally. He wouldn’t want or need a babysitter.

She allowed her mind to wander to their first meeting in the Council’s Chicago offices. It had been a random event, an embarrassing experience. She’d barreled into him while exiting Alice Erikson’s office. Coming along behind her, Alice had made the introductions, saving an awkward moment as Kara disentangled herself from Ted’s arms. She’d never given their meeting much thought, other than to be aware he’d taken more time than needed to free her. She’d never expected to see him again.

Did he remember their brief encounter? Given his reluctance to let go of her quickly, she surmised he was a boob man. She had no difficulty recalling his firm chest as she’d crushed into him, or his strong arms keeping her from falling or retreating.

It was his booming laugh that stuck with her most. “We ought to try that again sometime,” he’d chortled, settling her back on her own feet.

He’d acknowledged the introduction by shaking her hand and jesting, “Too bad I have to rush off.”

Kara rapped her fingers on the desktop, not pleased with the burning embarrassment she still harbored from that initial meeting. That was one of the reasons she had to drive to Lincoln to pick up Ted Springs at the airport. If he looked at her with bedroom eyes, she’d straighten him out immediately.

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Always free to read at Kindle Unlimited

Thoughts of a full-bodied heroine… The Heist, by Adriana Kraft #RomanticSuspense #KU #ArtTheft #IndieAuthor

by

Looking for a sizzling romantic suspense?

The Heist, by Adriana Kraft

BLURB

A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s choice.

A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.

Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling exhibits.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

EXCERPT

Set up ~ the museum has just been broken into for the first time, but nothing’s been stolen. Kara is meeting with her curator, Sasha, as they prepare for the detective being sent by the Arts Council.

Kara turned back to Sasha. “You’ve triple and quadruple checked the exhibit areas? Nothing is missing or damaged?”

Sasha nodded. “That’s right. Irving and David have checked everything over and over, too. You walked through the entire building yourself. Nothing is missing. Nothing is damaged. That’s what’s crazy about this. Why would anyone go to the bother of disabling our computers and alarm system and steal nothing?” She paused. “And the creepy thing is we know they were in the building. The two soda cans on the floor in the vanPatten room didn’t just walk in on their own.”

Chuckling, Kara agreed, “No, I do believe they were carried in. Maybe someone wanted us to know just how vulnerable this place is.” She scowled. “But who, and why? I thought we were supposed to have a fairly sophisticated computer system.”

“Not sophisticated enough,” Sasha huffed. “Maybe it was some computer geeks at the college trying to show off.”

“Maybe. I hope Ted Springs will be able to shed some light on those questions. Doesn’t look like the cops are going to do much. No theft, no damage. They have more significant crimes to deal with.” Kara checked her watch. “It’s been a long day. Why don’t you head out when you’re ready? I’ll walk around through the place with David while we close up. Thank god it’s a Monday and we didn’t have to be open to the public. I’ll check with you in the morning after I get back from the airport with Springs.”

Sasha smirked. “At least I don’t have to be his chauffeur-slash-babysitter. See you.”

Kara smiled watching her curator saunter out of the office. Monday was their dress-down day, and Sasha was clad in overly tight work jeans and a tank top. For someone who wanted to maintain her privacy, Sasha seldom hesitated to dress provocatively.

Sasha could get by with tight jeans, or slinky outfits, or minis, with her petite frame. Heaving a sigh, Kara tried to keep her envy in check. Petite was hardly a word anyone would use to describe her. Full bodied, perhaps. Voluptuous, if one was trying to be kind. At least she had the strength to help David and Irving unload shipping crates. Some of those weighed three hundred pounds or more, depending on the size of the painting and its frame, requiring dollies and the greatest of care. Sasha usually stood by recording and documenting crate numbers and contents.

Maybe it was their age difference. At twenty-six, Sasha could get by with most any fashion. Seven years older, Kara had fewer options. She shook her head, trying to refocus. It wasn’t age that made the difference—it was the difference in skirt and sweater size. Kara exhaled, letting go of fruitless comparisons.

BUY LINKS

Available in e-book and print

https://books2read.com/u/4D65wD

Always free to read at Kindle Unlimited

 

We’ve got nothing to hide… The Heist by Adriana Kraft #KU #RomanticSuspense #Crime #Danger #Detective

by

Looking for a sizzling romantic suspense?

The Heist, by Adriana Kraft

BLURB

A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s choice.

A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.

Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling exhibits.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

EXCERPT

Set up ~ the museum has just been broken into for the first time, but nothing’s been stolen. Kara is meeting with her curator, Sasha, as they prepare for the detective being sent by the Arts Council.

“It’s hard to imagine a guy from Chicago doing anything in Elk Grove, Nebraska—other than holding his nose while he decides which one of us is a likely thief.” Sasha shifted nervously from foot to foot in front of Kara’s mahogany desk.

“I doubt he’ll get very involved with any of us,” Kara responded. “Besides, he’s not coming to investigate the break-in, since nothing was taken. He’s coming to help us improve our security system. That’s a good thing. Right?”

“I guess.” Sasha crossed her arms, underscoring her obvious skepticism.

“He won’t arrive until tomorrow. In the meantime we’ll need to set up a meeting with the Board for him, and I’m sure he’ll want to spend time with our Security Committee. We’ll want to make sure all our procedure manuals are available. And all staff should be on call in case he wants to talk with them.”

Kara leaned back in her chair. “We’ve got nothing to hide, Sasha. The Upper Midwest Arts Council has the same goal we have—bringing a diverse array of quality art to this community, and doing so with the best level of security we can afford. Given what happened last night, what we currently have is not good enough. The Council won’t send the traveling exhibits you request if we can’t improve our security.”

“I know. It’s just I’ve never liked outsiders prying into my business.”

“I understand.” Kara considered her curator afresh. She’d hired Sasha herself three years earlier, after she’d been promoted from that job to director. Sasha was already highly regarded across the Midwest region for her artistic judgment and presentation skills. That she preferred women to men in her private life had no bearing on her value to the museum. Yet Kara had seen this skittishness from Sasha before. She desperately wanted to keep her private life private. They both knew if an investigator considered either one of them as a potential suspect, their private lives would be open to severe scrutiny.

BUY LINKS

Available exclusively at Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LNE7366

Always free to read at Kindle Unlimited

Also available in paperback:

http://www.amazon.com/Heist-Adriana-Kraft/dp/0990747611

He’s Supposed to be Very Good… The Heist by Adriana Kraft #KU #RomanticSuspense #Crime #Danger #Detective

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Showing a little love for a backlist book, one of our favorite suspense stories.

BLURB

A heist? A murder? It’s villain’s choice.

A special-order art theft? Tedious, but seamless – until small town museum director Kara Daniels calls in the experts. Furious her favorite trio of priceless impressionist paintings has been stolen from its traveling exhibit on her watch, Kara is determined to save not only the paintings, but her future in the art world. She’ll stop at nothing to entrap the thief.

Ted Springs knows the underbelly of the criminal world a little closer than he might like—but he’s turned it to good advantage, first as a police officer, and now as detective for the Upper Midwest Arts Council. His job? To guarantee the security of the valuable paintings in the Council’s traveling exhibits.

Heat sizzles when Ted and Kara collide—can they work together, before it’s too late?

EXCERPT

Here are the opening lines of the book…

Kara Daniels swiveled in her desk chair to get a better look at her curator, Sasha Ivory.

“You’ve met this Ted Springs who’s supposed to be dashing to our rescue?” Sasha spat out the question and pushed a strand of blond hair back into her fashionable pixie cut.

“Briefly,” Kara responded, trying not to get caught up in Sasha’s frustration. As director of the Nelson museum, Kara had overall responsibility for the mid-sized institution, including security. She hugged her aching shoulders. The stress had been building ever since she’d arrived early that morning to open the building, only to discover it was already unlocked. “He’s supposed to be very good at what he does.”

BUY LINK

Available exclusively at Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LNE7366

Always free to read at Kindle Unlimited

The Mind of the Villain #TBT #RomanticSuspense #KU #Halloween #MFRWAuthor

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For Throwback Thursday, here’s another peek into the mind of our villain. Tension is amping up! By now, Nancy and Matt have figured out the villain’s timing, but they still have no clue who he is, who he’ll target next, or how to stop him.

He sobered against the stiff wind. Did Detective Appleby think she was invulnerable to his gift? No goddess could resist the gift of his Robyn. And she was a goddess. Maybe more dangerous than the others, but certainly he knew now what the universe had been trying to tell him.

The irony was that she thought she was hunting him. None of the others were that eager to receive his gift. But she’d have to wait her turn.

BLURB

Whose mask will crumble first—
the enigmatic professor of Celtic Studies,
the undercover cop masquerading as a co-ed,
or the campus stalker,
biding his time to strike again?

Is anthropology professor Matt Bayfield the Blackthorn College rapist, or a potential ally? Aloof and unapproachable, Matt has academic ambitions. He can’t escape Blackthorn College soon enough, and he doesn’t want any entanglements to slow down his exit.

Nancy Appleby would like nothing more than to solve the string of campus rape cases before Thanksgiving so she can go home. The last thing she wants is a relationship to complicate her life—but she’ll settle for a fling, especially when the sex sizzles.

The stalker has his own carefully crafted timetable, with a special date just for Nancy. Can Matt and Nancy force him out of his hidey-hole before it’s too late?

BUY LINK

Available exclusively at Amazon

Always free to read on Kindle Unlimited

That Kiss! #MFRWHooks #RomanticSuspense #Samhain #UndercoverCop #KU

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Welcome to MFRWHooks!
Scroll to the end for more of this weeks tempting excerpts

The Unmasking, by Adriana Kraft

BUY LINK  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IDVB6KQ/
Always free at Kindle Unlimited

BLURB

Whose mask will crumble first—
the enigmatic professor of Celtic Studies,
the undercover cop masquerading as a co-ed,
or the campus stalker,
biding his time to strike again?

Is anthropology professor Matt Bayfield the Blackthorn College rapist, or a potential ally? Aloof and unapproachable, Matt has academic ambitions. He can’t escape Blackthorn College soon enough, and he doesn’t want any entanglements to slow down his exit.

Nancy Appleby would like nothing more than to solve the string of campus rape cases before Thanksgiving so she can go home. The last thing she wants is a relationship to complicate her life—but she’ll settle for a fling, especially when the sex sizzles.

The stalker has his own carefully crafted timetable, with a special date just for Nancy. Can Matt and Nancy force him out of his hidey-hole before it’s too late?

EXCERPT

Set Up: It’s Samhain—after leaving Professor Bayfield’s Celtic lecture, Nancy’s determined to smoke out the stalker; she’s pretty sure he spots his victims at a local bar…

At the bar two hours later, Nancy sat on a bar stool next to the open space where patrons came to place their orders. Her purse lay on the stool beside her so there would be plenty of room for her perp to sit down—if he ever arrived. She’d wait another half hour and then make her exit. She was nearly certain the man was somewhere in the smoky bar.

Slowly adding another layer of lipstick, Nancy studied her image in the mirror that stretched the full length of the row of liquor bottles behind the bartender. She hardly recognized herself. Her own dark hair was tucked under an auburn wig. Fake contacts made her eyes appear dark brown instead of gray. The sweater she wore dipped low, revealing much more of her breasts than she preferred, but then she was trying to fulfill every man’s dream. She hoped her red leather mini-skirt screamed availability. Once again, she had on the calf length black boots. They provided her with some sense of being covered up as well as warmth. Now all she needed was a man—the right man.

She took a sip of Coors and watched a new patron enter the room still huddled over from fighting the cold wind. He straightened and stepped into the light.

Nancy raised a hand to cover her largely exposed breasts. It couldn’t be, she screamed to no one. It couldn’t be. She looked away and then peeked back at the man approaching the bar. Holy shit! It was.

Be calm. He won’t recognize you. You’re in disguise. And what in the hell was Matt Bayfield doing here? This wasn’t his kind of scene. She closed her eyes, taking in the lilting Celtic music. Of course it was, tonight. She should have remembered that. She shivered and then warmed to her task. It might be fun observing the man when he didn’t realize she was even nearby.

Nancy concentrated on her beer and nearly snickered when Bayfield came to the bar to order a drink. His fingers drummed against the bar surface no more than two feet from her arm. The bartender was busy at the other end of the bar and Bayfield’s impatience was evident.

At last, the bartender nodded at Bayfield. “What can I get for you?”

“A glass of chardonnay,” Bayfield said, distinctly as if the man might be hard of hearing.

The man wiped his hands on his once white apron. “Drinking heavy tonight, huh?”

Nancy gave Bayfield credit for not rising to the bartender’s bait.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Bayfield accept his drink and change. His gaze swept above her trying to locate a seat in the crowded tavern. His eyes lowered meeting hers. She tried to control her racing pulse. He shook his head. And then his eyes bugged.

“Ms. Cr—”

Before he could mutter another syllable, Nancy leaped to her feet, wrapped her arms around his neck, and planted the biggest, wettest kiss she could muster on his mouth, swallowing the rest of her name and his breath. He stumbled backward. She refused to let him go, imprinting her lips on his.

She started to release him, but then one of his hands pressed against her back and the other curved over her buttocks. Her eyes widened. Professor Bayfield was kissing her! Not about to pass up this opportunity, Nancy closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

His tongue pushed into her open mouth; she greeted it with her own. He brought a hand between them and squeezed a breast. Her eyes flew open. Would she burn up right there in the damn bar? As if he sensed her changing mood, Bayfield’s eyes sprang as wide open as hers. He started to pull away.

Applause and hoots broke out from bar patrons. Steins were raised in salute.

Nancy and Matt looked sheepishly at the other patrons. “Don’t say a word, Bayfield,” Nancy said, still holding him close. “I can explain everything, but we’ve got to get out of here, now.” He started to open his mouth. Brushing her lips across his, she whispered, “Please, don’t say my name. It could be a matter of life and death.”

Be sure to click on the links to travel to the rest of today’s excerpts!