Alveus (ABC's Inc. Romance #1) (29 page)

“Right…”
she eyed him closely, making sure everything looked as it should – lying there
in just his navy boxer briefs.
Yeah, he looked good.
A blue tent began
to rise from the fabric –
very good
. Her gaze slid up his torso and met
his intense golden eyes.

“I
believe you have me at a disadvantage, mein liebes,” he stated.

Lexi
moved to close the bedroom door. She picked up the envelope addressed to Dane,
reached in a drawer and pulled out an incense burner. Lighting a match, she
held it to the paper and watched it quickly ignite. Placing it in the burner, the
offensive letter commanded her attention until it was nothing but ash, only
then did she turn back to the beautiful man waiting in her bed.

“I
love you, Daney,” she said, as she slowly removed her clothes.

Standing
naked under intense scrutiny, she pulled her chin up high basking in the
adoration radiating from his gaze. Her emotional cache filled to overflowing
with love for the man. The child that had once been Lexi Alberton had resurfaced
and matured, surrounded by the support of lost friendships, now renewed – and a
love that refused to die.

She
danced to the bed and dove in next to him. His hand slapped her buttocks
playfully and then began touching and inspecting her, as if to reassure himself
that she’d not been harmed by yesterday’s ordeal. Finally convinced, his hands
caressed. He rolled her beneath him and locked caramel flecked eyes upon hers.

“You
belong to me,” he pronounced, sternly.

“Yes,”
she willingly conceded. “I do.” She kissed him on his neck.

“Although,
there is a way you can even things out,” he revealed.

Dane
brought his mouth to hers, tasting and teasing. Her lips opened and he dove in,
pouring his passion into her soul, into the kiss. Pulling back so she could
read the love in his eyes, he implored.

“Make
us even, Pips – Marry me.”

~ 
Good-night  ~

Thank you for
reading
Alveus
. If you enjoyed the story I hope you will take a few
moments to submit a review. This is the first book in a series which will give
each of your favorite ABC characters a chance to share their story, starting
with Greig Carsten in book two. For updates please follow my Facebook page
http://on.fb.me/1t3eqB1
.

Although
this author glamorized human trafficking for light storytelling, it is in
reality a horrific crime. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall
into the hands of traffickers in their own countries, and abroad. Every country
in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin,
transit, or destination for victims. Please take time to read the statistics on
the following page.

Finally, I would
also like to acknowledge the invaluable help of my beta readers: Susie, Lisa,
and Charity, and my awesome proofreader Joy Carter – Thank you! I couldn’t have
done it without you. 

According to the
2012
United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Global Trafficking in
Persons Report
, based on data supplied by 132
countries:

·
        
27
per cent of all victims of human trafficking detected globally between 2007 and
2010 are children, up 7 per cent from the period 2003 to 2006.

·
        
The
vast majority of detected trafficked persons are women, accounting for 55 to 60
per cent of victims detected globally.

·
        
Girls
make up two thirds of all trafficked children.

·
        
Girls
constitute 15 to 20 per cent of the total number of all detected victims,
including adults, whereas boys comprise about 10 per cent.

·
        
Conviction
rates are low - 16 per cent of reporting countries did not record a single
conviction for trafficking in persons between 2007 and 2010.

·
        
Trafficking
victims from East Asia have been detected in more than 60 countries, making
them the most geographically dispersed group around the world. Victims from the
largest number of origin countries were found in Western and Central Europe.

·
        
There
are regional variations in trafficking trends. Countries in Africa and in Asia
generally intercept more cases of trafficking for forced labor, while sexual
exploitation is somewhat more frequent in Europe and in the Americas.

·
        
Trafficking
for organ removal has been detected in16 countries around the world.

The
Blue Heart Campaign
  
http://www.unodc.org/blueheart

The Blue Heart
Campaign’s goal is to inspire people and mobilize support for action against
human trafficking by international organizations, governments, civil society,
the private sector and ultimately by individuals. The Blue Heart also aims to
enable citizens to show their support for the cause and to increase
understanding of the issue of human trafficking in order to spur coordinated
actions to fight the crime. The intention is that the Blue Heart becomes the
symbol for human trafficking and its cold heartedness toward our fellows.

For more information on the Blue Heart
Campaign, please contact:

United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime
PO Box 500, 1400 Vienna, Austria          E-mail:
[email protected]

The symbol of Oberstein
(Germany) is the Church in the Rocks, built right into a steep rock and
accessible only by climbing up about 230 steps. The church was probably built
(or possibly re-built) between 1482 and 1484 by Wyrich IV of
Daun-Oberstein.  It might well have started earlier, as a military
installation, although the legend that arose is much more romantic.

Oberstein has
become a major gem and jewelry center, having contained rich deposits of Agates
and Jasper, and is also home to an important diamond exchange.

Picture obtained from the following site:

http://www.romantic-germany.info/Trails-to-epicurean-delights.4131.0.html