Dark Cover by Susan Vaughan is a Shake Off Winter Doldrums pick #romanticsuspense #mustread #giveaway
- N. N. Light
- Mar 7
- 5 min read
Title: DARK COVER
Author: Susan Vaughan
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Book Blurb:
A traitor’s brother, an undercover fiancée—and a terrorist’s deadline…
Nick Markos inherited the shame of his brother’s terrorist dealings. Hoping to uncover the terrorists’ plot, DARK installs Vanessa Wade as Nick’s fiancée. She must make sure he’s no traitor, but believes he wants to regain his family honor—and his own. Amid galas and intrigue, they cannot deny attraction, but is their relationship only a charade? One that can explode—along with a terrorist bomb?
Excerpt:
Nick shifted his feet. Glanced at his Rolex. An hour since the London plane had landed. The woman playing Danielle should be finished with Customs. He wanted to get this initial meeting over with and hustle her to the house. Traffic should be light on an early Saturday afternoon.
He shouldn’t be anxious. He knew the drill, but he’d put cloak-and-dagger behind him ten years ago after his last, disastrous op. These days he was a simple businessman. No intrigue outside the board room.
His spoiled younger brother had changed that.
Activity in the corridor from the International Arrivals Building caught his attention. Among the group of travelers came the woman he awaited. The designer sunglasses hooked in the breast pocket of her jacket identified her. Bulging tote and slim black purse of the type Danielle favored swinging from her shoulder, she walked with purposeful grace.
Close behind her strode a copper-skinned man in sunglasses and a denim jacket. Too close.
Alarmed, Nick started toward the advancing crowd. As they drew nearer, he saw that Denim Jacket wore an owl lapel pin. The DARK pin of the day that they wore to ID each other.
Of course. Her DARK guard to protect her during her trip. He deliberately relaxed the tension in his shoulders and turned his attention to his “fiancée.”
The tailored jeans, fitted leather jacket and heeled boots were right on target. About the same diminutive height as Danielle, but curvier. Curves where there should be curves. Very nice. Red hair, but a softer rose-blond than the fire-engine tone the salon regularly painted Danielle.
The overall look and her oval face would match any description or photographs New Dawn possessed. On her ring finger winked the two-carat stone he’d bought Danielle to seal their bargain.
Odd. He had the feeling he’d met this woman before. Impossible.
Intelligent green eyes searched the lounge with candor and warmth, not the guarded coolness he expected from a spy. Just as well that she wasn’t his type. Too wholesome. Too open. Too… cute. But as he perused her parted lips and ripe curves, his blood stirred.
Bad move. Hell, what was he thinking?
She was an undercover agent, probably more expert in deception and betrayal than any jet-set babe. Plus the situation precluded sex. She had to do her job as Danielle. He had to do his part. He had to stay alert if they were to stop New Dawn.
“Nick!” the pretend Danielle called, threading her way through the crowd. A warm smile curved her lips. She halted in front of him and turned her cheek for a kiss.
Danielle had coached this woman well.
She leaned close, her breasts soft against him.
Her subtle scent, something like rain-washed flowers, triggered traitorous urges. The errant urge to taste her lush mouth temporarily derailed him.
With a mental kick in the butt, he gave her the expected quick buss. “Danielle, I’ve missed you.”
Her un-Danielle-like, bubbly laugh elicited a smile from him, the first he’d managed in days. Weeks.
“I felt like I was in a bad movie. Let’s get out of here.”
Nodding at the uniformed porter alert for his signal, he started to lift the tote from Danielle’s shoulder.
With a firm grip that surprised him, she held on to the strap. “I can manage this one.”
He understood her independence. He would’ve done the same. He covered her hand with his. “My fiancée would have the porter handle all the luggage.”
Without so much as a blink, she released the tote to his grasp. The pink flush on her cheeks was the only sign of her chagrin at the slip. Buttery freckles on her nose. She might be a true redhead.
Minutes later, the suitcases on a cart, they headed outside to his waiting Mercedes. Nick preferred to do his own driving. But DARK had inserted an officer as driver and bodyguard. After New Dawn’s threatening call, the terrorists would expect him to hire protection.
Denim Jacket and the local DARK team entered a second sedan ahead of them. The lead car would take the same route, but remain separate and unobtrusive. Unless they ran into trouble.
Green eyes glinting with good will, the woman he was supposed to call Danielle smiled at him. “That went fine back there. I think this will work.”
Her voice was low and sexy. He couldn’t put out of his head—and his body—the feel of her against him when he’d kissed her cheek. No. Kissed Danielle.
Hell.
“It’d better work,” he said, his unwanted attraction sharpening his tone. “You do your part, and I’ll do mine.”
They pulled away from the curb behind the lead car. Damn. He was protecting the woman he’d planned to marry, and here he was lusting after a stranger. And being deliberately rude to her. No honor in any of that.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJG4VWKB/thewildrosepr-20
Amazon Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Cover-Files-Susan-Vaughan/dp/1509252894/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=
BN paperback: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-cover-susan-vaughan/1125896674?ean=9781509252893
What’s your favorite activity to shake off the winter doldrums?
First, my dog won’t allow me to get blue because it’s always time to get outside for a walk in the sunshine. Winter sunshine glistening on the snow has a special kind of warmth that heats me up inside. Also, listening to my fave oldies tunes can lift my spirits anytime, especially on a drive through the snowy Maine landscape.
Why is your featured book a cure for the winter blues?
Dark Cover has the recipe for the cure—a tortured hero who’s part ex-special forces, part business tycoon and a curvy undercover agent who must prove her skills while denying the attraction between them. Stir in a terrorist plot, and you’ve got a hot romantic thriller sure to chase away the blues.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.
Open internationally.
Runs March 1 – 31, 2025
Drawing will be held on April 1, 2025.
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. Besides curling up with a good mystery or romance, Susan enjoys walking her dog, boating, traveling, and volunteering. A former teacher, she is a West Virginia native, but she and her husband have lived in Maine for many years. Susan is the author of 16 novels and two children’s books. Find her at www.susanvaughan.com.
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