The year is 1806. Bastard-born jewel thief David Lambert has few rules in his personal life. Never bed the staff, never more than once with the same man, and never, ever, kiss. Attending an aristocratic party and relieving some of the wealthy of their possessions should be easy, but in the space of a weekend, one by one all his rules are shattered by a footman with a secret.<br><br>Jeremy Naylor thought he had found the man of his dreams, the one man who might understand him. Someone passionate, handsome, and respectable. But in one shocking moment his world is destroyed, and he is forced to run for his life.<br><br>Flung together to escape the hangman’s noose, the passion between David and Jeremy burns fiercely. But Jeremy yearns for respectability, and David refuses to admit what lies in his heart. Will they find a way together, or will their differences lead them to the very brink of disaster and the shadow of the gallows?

Thief of Hearts

He looked at pocket watches, writing desks, handkerchiefs and gloves, all manner of gewgaws and fripperies, but nothing stood out to him, so he walked back down the other side slower this time, paying more attention. He was almost at the bottom, when he spotted something in the window of a small, exclusive jewellers. He hesitated, and then went inside.


He was seated in a comfortable parlour whilst the shop keeper brought the items from the window for his inspection. A single rope of pearls, long enough to sit nicely on the décolletage and not strangle the owner, and beside it, a gentleman’s cravat pin with a single, beautiful pearl. As the owner extolled the quality of the pearls, David imagined them sitting about Jeremy’s neck whilst he wore the violet dress, and when he wore a cravat, the pin would nestle gently at his throat. He thought of other pearls he might give him and realised he might have to stay seated for a moment or two longer.


Chapter 55