A Touch of Scarlet

A Touch of Scarlet
Liz Talley

Adam Hinton is a by-the-book kind of guy. And as the new chief of police in Oak Stand, Texas, he has a few mottos.Do the right thing. Obey the law. Don't get involved with bad girls–no matter how secretly irresistible they are. Those mottos are put to the test when too-tempting, too-sexy, too-everything Scarlet Rose speeds into town. Before the ink is dry on the ticket he gives her, he's hooked. Which means his efforts to create an ordinary, respectful life could be at risk.Much to his surprise, it's the woman beneath Scarlet's sultry exterior who captivates him. And it's that woman he wants a future with. Because he's decided his white-picket-fence world definitely needs a touch of Scarlet!

“So are you going to frisk me again?”

Scarlet sank onto the chair and crossed her legs. “You’ve got good hands,” she drawled. “If you know what I mean.”

Adam felt something terrible rise inside him. He knew what it was. A crack in the surface of his calm. One that could untether his self-control and fling it to the four winds, allowing him to bounce around with no constraints, no rules, no goal. “You know damn well I never touched you inappropriately. To say any different—”

“Got you,” Scarlet said, giving a wink. “You’re so easy.”

He’d process Scarlet and put her in the holding cell until she posted bond. Then he’d give himself another lecture on pretending the blazing-hot Scarlet was just another criminal who had handcuffed herself to a lamppost in a protest. Just another woman. No one who would interest the professional, responsible leader of a police force.

No one who made him fantasize about the various ways to use a pair of red-furred handcuffs.

Dear Reader,

I’m certain I learned drama from the best. The women of my family are many things: strong-willed, hard-working and very stubborn. But most of all we are queenly. Some are queen bees, some are beauty queens, and others are queen-sized, but we are all drama queens. So I got to thinking…are drama queens good heroines?

Whether you agree or not, drama queens are certainly interesting, as is my heroine Scarlet. Scarlet lives to enter the fray, boldly and dramatically wielding the sword to slay her dragons. And who should tame this flamboyant mudraker? A straight-laced lawman, of course. Scarlet was made to color Adam’s world, no matter how much he resists the lure of the over-the-top actress.

I had such a great time writing a love story for these two characters, and I hope you will enjoy taking one last trip back to Oak Stand, Texas, with me. You’ll see some familiar faces and say goodbye to some old friends.

I love hearing from my readers so feel free to email me at www.liztalley.com and let me know what you think about A Touch of Scarlet.

Happy reading!

Liz Talley

A Touch of Scarlet

Liz Talley

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

From devouring the Superromances on the shelf of her aunt’s used bookstore to swiping her grandmother’s medical romances, Liz Talley has always loved a good romance. So it was no surprise to anyone when she started writing a book one day while her infant napped. She soon found writing more exciting than scrubbing hardened cereal off the love seat. Underneath her baby-food-stained clothes a dream stirred. Liz followed that dream, and after a foray into historical romance and a Golden Heart final, she started her first contemporary romance on the same day she met her editor. Coincidence? She prefers to call it fate.

Currently Liz lives in North Louisiana with her high school sweetheart, two beautiful children and a passel of animals. Liz loves watching her boys play baseball, shopping for bargains and going out for lunch. When not writing contemporary romances for Harlequin Superromance, she can be found doing laundry, feeding kids or playing on Facebook.

For my mom,

who is likely the biggest drama queen I know,

but I wouldn’t want her any other way.

And also to the Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood.

Long live the drama queen!

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER ONE

SCARLET ROSE GLANCED in the rearview mirror at the lights flashing behind her. Damn. Who got pulled over for going 75 mph in a 65-mph zone? Wasn’t there a ten-mile cushion or something?