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

Jeremy lay on a cold, hard cot with a thin, stinking blanket. He was frozen. His head ached abominably, his feet and ankles throbbed, and every part of his body felt flayed and raw. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the warmth and softness of David’s bed, and the feel of his skin, but he couldn’t. He tried to remember the glide of silk across his skin, but he couldn’t. He coughed and listened to the cacophony of sounds from the prison. Hundreds of terrified souls shackled and freezing. He wondered if anyone ever froze to death in the prison. David would come before that happened. David would come.


Chapter 65