Product Description

Remi Beaulieux is a man without a home. A long-time deep cover agent for the FBI, the last thing on his mind is love. Certainly not with a woman like Muse Summerville, the wild-child pleasure-seeker he is tasked with protecting from the wrath of the New Orleans crime boss she's about to testify against.

For Muse Summerville, Agent Beaulieux is just another in a long string of bad boy rogues drawn to the facade she hides behind--albeit this time she has no choice about being with him. But Muse has a secret she's not about to reveal to any man alive, especially not one who begins to stir emotions she's always assumed she was incapable of feeling.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1546003 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 256 pages

From the Back Cover
He had to stop kissing her…

Muse Summerville was the only living witness whose testimony could put a notorious crime boss behind bars. Remi Beaulieux was the FBI special agent assigned to her safety. The FBI had rules about that sort of thing. But in the twenty-four hours since he laid eyes on her, Remi had broken every last one of them.

For years Muse had hidden behind her reputation as a party girl. But sharing every moment of every day--and every sultry second of every night--with her sexy protector was making it hard to hide anything. Suddenly her life wasn’t the only thing on the line.

About the Author
Four years ago, Nina Bruhns’ debut novel from Silhouette Intimate Moments, Catch Me If You Can, won both the National Readers Choice Award for Long Contemporary Romance, and the Kiss of Death’s prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence as Overall Best Romantic Suspense of 2000. Her books have been winning awards ever since. Her 2002 release, Sweet Revenge, won her second coveted overall Daphne, as well as causing more than one reviewer to compare Nina’s writing to that of Linda Howard--the ultimate compliment in Nina’s view. Her 2003 title, Sins of The Father, was named the Reviewers International Organization’s top series choice for March.

Nina Bruhns’ novels contain a unique blend of interesting characters and settings, twisty suspense and sizzling romance that is sure to please the most discriminating romantic suspense reader.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
He was following her. Again.

The fine hairs on the back of Muse's neck stood on end. For a split second she slowed her pace, glancing behind her along the dark street. Nothing. But then, she seldom caught more than a glimpse of the blond-haired man who'd been shadowing her for two weeks now.

Could it be someone else? Someone from one of the bars who wouldn't take no for an answer? She loved having a good time out on Bourbon Street, dancing and flirting and chasing away the loneliness. She always walked these last couple of blocks to her apartment alone, but there was the occasional guy who just couldn't accept the fact that she prefered sleeping solo.

But no. Persistant suitors made themselves much more visible...and obnoxious.

A spurt of uneasiness flashed through her, raising icy goosebumps on her arms despite the sultry New Orleans heat. It was him all right, the man who'd been watching her. She could feel it in her bones.

Pulse thundering, she picked up her pace, the heels of her three-inch pumps clicking loudly on the pavement. The uneven French Quarter sidewalk was not the best place for running in high heels, but Muse figured breaking her neck would probably be preferable to what this guy might have in mind. Especially if he worked for Davies. Why hadn't she worn something more practical for once, like jeans and sneaks? Not that she owned anything that practical.

She took another glance behind her.

There!

A blond male head glinted under a streetlamp, closer than before. She squinted, trying to get a better look at him between the lurching drunks that blocked her view. When this had first started she'd been certain it was Gary Fox, the boyfriend she'd just broken up with, trying to scare her back into his life. He’d been more than upset with the split, threatening all sorts of things. But she wasn't so sure it was him anymore. Gary talked a good game, but when it came to action he was a benchsitter. He wouldn’t be this tenacious.

Dread seeped through her like poison. Could it be one of James Davies' real goons, sent to kill her? Or worse...

It was the "or worse" that really terrified her. She had seen what Davies was capable of when it came to traitors to his extensive crime organization--had seen it in living color and horrific stereo sound on the videotape she and Gary had stolen from him when Gary had felt the need for insurance. The beating and torture, complete with three ghoulish onlookers, had made her sick to her stomach for weeks after viewing it.

But how could Davies possibly have found out about her? As far as she knew, there was only one person in the whole state who knew of her connection to the FBI and her plans to testify against him at his trial for drug smuggling and murder.

She risked another glance backwards. Oh, God. The man was gaining on her!

Heels be damned! She wasn't taking any chances. She hiked the short skirt of her dress up a few inches further and flew down Burgundy Street toward her apartment. If she could at least make it to the small hotel two blocks down, she'd be safe. He wouldn't dare follow her into the lighted lobby, filled with curious tourists. She prayed.

Sweet mercy, she'd never make it. Panic made her muscles scream, yet her legs were rubbery, wanting to buckle even as she urged them faster and faster.

Suddenly she heard her name float through the hot, still night.

"Muse! Here, this way!"

A large male hand reached out, beckoning from behind one of the ubiquitous wrought iron courtyard gates, this one just beyond the apartment building she was running past. Who was it? A friend; that’s all that mattered. She grabbed the man's hand and let him pull her through the narrowly opened gate. It closed behind her with a quiet metallic snick.

Relief. Talk about timing.

"Quick," she commanded, launching herself at the man's broad chest. "Pretend to kiss me!"

Customer Reviews

A superbly sexy, thrill-a-minute category romance
Impulse control is as vital as breathing to FBI special agent Remi Beaulieux. Following one's impulses is a damned good way to get killed, after all. Especially when working undercover for weeks or months at a time, as Remi is preparing to do; hell, it's his specialty. A healthy dose of curiosity can be just as lethal as a lack of self-control, however.

One look at Muse Summerville's lethally curvaceous body, for example, and Remi is struck, hard, with a gut punch of attraction so stunningly visceral he's at a loss as to what to do about it. An informant of sorts, Muse has provided the FBI with valuable information about James Davies' crime organization -- the organization Remi is set to infiltrate -- for the past six months through her now defunct relationship with Gary Fox, one of Davies' flunkies.

Who knew that putting a face to her file would have such an excruciatingly personal impact on him? On his objectivity, as well as his body, Remi ruefully acknowledges with a grimace of discomfort, his gaze still trained on Muse's short skirt, long limbs, and come-hither smile. She's in her element in the crowded New Orleans bar, flirting and laughing and doing the rounds with a party girl's cool, teasing confidence.

Appearances, of course, can be deceiving, as close confines will inevitably prove when Muse is placed in protective custody, and Remi is charged with the challenging task of keeping her alive, and in line. Apparently, Davies has learned about Muse's role and willing cooperation in building a case against him; and a dead witness can't testify, can she? With no other agent available, and the bad guys hot on their trail, a frustrated Remi is Muse's best bet -- but for what: heartbreak or safety in the face of such strangely surreal danger?

Her scarily strong attraction to Remi is close to making her witless, but not stupid, surely --- not foolish enough to fall crazy in love with his dark, Creole good looks, and stirring (if wrong-headed) determination to keep her safe at all costs. Not when she has every suspicion that Remi is her equal in every way, and purposefully avoids emotional complications.

And what of her twin sister, Grace, who's become caught up, unintentionally, in Muse's latest mess?

Running parallel to the storyline of Sweet Revenge, Nina Bruhns's February 2004 release for Silhouette Intimate Moments, Sweet Suspicion, is a sequel that satisfies in more than one respect. It's almost of benefit to readers, though, if their memory of Grace's story is a little bit hazy -- or completely blank, for that matter -- because Muse's actions are a pervading influence on the plots of both books. The element of surprise, therefore, is diluted somewhat by a reader's prior knowledge of certain events spelled out in the author's previous effort.

There's still plenty to get excited about, however, in this superbly sexy, thrill-a-minute category romance. The sexual tension between Muse and Remi is so potently thick, you'll be overpowered by it - pleasantly so, never fear; and the action sequences are so beautifully choreographed, you'll be holding your breath right along with Ms. Bruhns's protagonists. Remi's controlling ways, and a trauma in Muse's past, meanwhile, provide fodder for internal conflicts and complicate an already explosive situation, one that's not only intensely exciting but emotionally evocative as well.

Which opens the door, in the end, to a sweetly satisfying, perfectly paced love story about like attracting to like, and the sweet, sweet taste of satisfaction -- both physical and emotional. A top caliber author, and a top caliber read, Nina Bruhns's Sweet Suspicion is a wonderfully decadent treat for readers who've been clamoring to learn more about Remi Beaulieux's happy ending, or just plain love the utter indulgence of to-die-for heroes and dynamic writing.

Imaginative, intense and intriguing
Muse Summerville is a wanted woman: wanted by James Davies, head of organized crime in New Orleans, to prevent her from testifying against him; wanted by the FBI who needs her testimony in order to bring down Davies, and wanted by Remi Beaulieux, the FBI agent assigned to protect her. Remi wishes he could turn off his unwelcome and unrelenting desire for Muse. Battling his own need is difficult enough, but denying the reciprocal hunger he can see in Muse's eyes is almost impossible. Anything except total focus on the job could compromise the case and get them both killed, but it's a chance he -- they -- will have to take. They're playing for the highest stakes -- a lifetime of love...and their very lives.

SWEET SUSPICION takes place just before and during the time of SWEET REVENGE, the story of Muse's twin sister, Grace. In later parts of both books, the two stories overlap, expertly weaving the two together into a remarkable whole, yet both books stand alone and can even be read out of order. (Though I recommend reading them in order, back to back. Trust me, once you've finished one, you'll want to dive right into the next without stopping.)

Life has not been easy for the two sisters, but unlike Grace, who drew into herself and focused all of her energy into her work, Muse became the ultimate party girl...at least on the surface. Muse has perfected the art of pushing people away even as she seems to draw them toward her, so that no one realizes they've been cleverly manipulated or that she's holding back -- except Remi, who not only notices, he seems determined to accept nothing less than everything. But how long will he want her, and what will she do when he walks away, as everyone in her life but Grace has done?

Remi's own past has left its mark, leaving him longing for something he thinks he can never have -- family. Because of this, the job is his life. He keeps his relationships exclusively sexual and temporary. Once he sees beyond Muse's sexy surface, he recognizes her as a kindred spirit. He fights to maintain his emotional distance from her, though everything in him urges him ever closer. What will happen when the case is closed, Muse leaves, and he's alone once again? Will work be enough to fill the void?

Of necessity, Muse and Remi are the primary focus, but secondary characters Grace and Creole, as well as Remi's friend, Dev (who needs a book of his own), broaden the scope of the story while enhancing emotional and character development.

Imaginative, intense and intriguing, SWEET SUSPICION once again demonstrates Nina Bruhn's outstanding ability to create wonderful stories and characters to grace your keeper shelf.

The characters bring this book to life.
With what could be a true to life situation, these multi-layered characters bring Sweet Suspicion to life