Heart's Thief (Highland Bodyguards, Book 2) - Emma Prince

A dangerous mission... Although Colin MacKay is thought a charmer, he hides an old wound behind his quick smile and dancing blue eyes. To ease the pain of a past betrayal, he has devoted his life to the cause for Scottish freedom. When King Robert the Bruce fears his strategic communications have been compromised, he sends Colin on a crucial mission: ferret out the spy and deliver an urgent missive to the King's brother. When Colin discovers that the deceptively enchanting Sabine has been intercepting the King's correspondence, he holds her captive until he can deliver his missive and hand her over to the King's judgement. But detaining the sable-haired beauty proves far more dangerous when lust flares hot between them. A deadly game of seduction... Sabine has known only the life of a thief. Scooped from the streets as an orphan child, she thinks of the man who saved her as a father, though his dark moods and cruel manipulations keep her frightened of being abandoned again. Under his tutelage, she learns that with a suggestive smile or a heart-wrenching tale, she can lower men's guards just long enough to steal their secrets. But when she is sent to seduce a handsome, golden-maned Highlander bearing a message from the Bruce, soon she cannot tell who is playing whom, or if it is a game at all. Colin's searing touch crumbles the walls around her heart, forcing Sabine to realize that her loyalty to her boss may come with a price-her life. When unseen forces threaten to tear their world apart, Sabine and Colin must choose between duty, loyalty, and love to save themselves-and each other.