Planetary Passions - Matching Signs
Ellora's Cave
Genre: Romantic Suspense
ISBN #1-4199-0536-8
Book Length: Novel
Buy the eBook

Let the planets guide you to your Perfect Match.

As a cop, Mitch has three rules for successful police work - never work with rookies, never sleep with another cop and, whatever you do, never sleep with a rookie cop. When three women are attacked after attending an astrology dating club, Mitch must go undercover as a man looking for love in the stars. And his partner in all this is sexy, seductive Kat. Very soon, Mitch finds himself breaking all the rules - particularly number three. Repeatedly.

For Kat, working with Mitch is a great way to gain experience and move beyond the traffic beat. Even though she knows her relationship with Mitch can never be more than physical, she can't quite stop herself. There's something delicious about Mitch that makes him feel like her soul mate. It's too bad really - underneath that tough exterior Mitch is a pretty good guy and he makes her heart pound. But Mitch isn't a one-woman man and Kat won't settle for anything less.

So, they'll have their affair, work together to catch a killer and then they'll go their separate ways.unless the planets have something to say.



Excerpt:
Kat walked up the stairs, shoring up her courage as she turned the corner. If she'd been alone she might have paused and straightened her uniform before she walked inside but there were others in the hall so instead she tugged on her vest, pushed her shoulders back and walked into the detective bullpen. She made a quick scan of the room, cataloguing the mostly untidy desks and the two guys talking on the phone. She nodded to Justin and the other guy. She thought his name was Brad but hadn't ever talked to him.

She turned her gaze to the target for her visit in the corner-Lieutenant Lee's office. The lieutenant looked up from his desk as she approached and called for her to come in. Two other detectives filled the chairs opposite the LT's desk.

They all stood up when she walked in. The radio strapped to her belt crackled and she casually turned it down. She was still officially on duty. "Officer Browning, thanks for coming." He nodded to the two men. "Do you know Mitch Keane and Drew Nelson?" She nodded in greeting. She hadn't actually spoken with either of them but she knew them on sight. Drew was kind of hard to miss. He was over six and a half feet tall, broad shouldered and completely bald.

Mitch was hard to miss as well but for totally different reasons. The kind of reasons that gave a girl wicked fantasies. Kat quietly took a deep breath. So she'd had a few late night thoughts about the Detective. She knew she was not alone in that. He was a favorite lust-crush among the women at the station, though none ever claimed to have dated him. Which meant he was either very discreet-or didn't date people he worked with. Or maybe he didn't like women.

That would be a shame.

"Did Sergeant Green tell you what we're looking for?" the lieutenant asked.

"Yes, sir. He said you needed some help for a few weeks, maybe longer."

"We've got three people out. One on maternity leave, one injured and one has a family emergency." Kat nodded. "I understand from Sergeant Green that you're interested in moving into the detective squad."

"Yes, sir."

"Well, this will give you a chance to try it out. I can't guarantee the work will be terribly exciting. Mostly paperwork and helping out so what's left of my team can get back on the street."

"I understand." And she did. She had no illusions that she was going to be an instant hero or suddenly solve a case that none of the other detectives had managed to solve. But still, this was a chance to prove herself. If nothing else, she could show them her work ethic and prove she wasn't some bimbo with big breasts.

Not that many in the department thought she was a bimbo. Not anymore. When she'd first joined the force four years ago, one sergeant had tried to relegate her to a fluffy PR job. When that didn't work, he'd suggested she work in Vice-saying she'd be the perfect decoy-but she'd held firm and gone on patrol. She'd done her time driving the streets, stopping red-light runners and even running down the occasional dirt bag.

As for her breasts, there wasn't much she could do about them-not without major surgery-but she did her best to downplay them and after four years, she rarely had to smack someone around for staring at them. She wasn't exactly "one of the guys" with the other officers in patrol, but neither was she the favorite fantasy. At least she hoped not.

And, in truth, the vests all the patrol officers wore were so thick and had so many pockets and pieces of equipment that it was almost impossible to see anyone's shape beneath.

"There is one case we'd like your help on, if you're interested." Her spine instinctively straightened. "You were first on the scene at the dead body last week, right?" Conscious of the way Drew and Mitch silently watched her, she nodded. "We're hitting brick walls on this case. The only thing the three victims have in common is a dating service called Matching Signs. The membership list they gave us as part of a search warrant was incomplete. The organizer says last-minute additions don't always sign in fully, so there are no addresses, sometimes they don't even use last names. And about half the people pay in cash, which tells me they're either hiding from a partner or they're hiding from us. Either way, about a third of the people who attend, mainly men, we have no way of actually finding. So we're going to do things the old-fashioned way."

"Spy on them," Drew said with a smile.

She noticed Mitch didn't smile. And he didn't look away from her. The steady stare made her want to check her fly, make sure she wasn't flashing pink polka-dotted panties at these guys.

"Tomorrow night, they're holding another one of these parties. Mitch is going in as a guest. We'd like you to do the same."

"Undercover?"

Mitch scoffed and shook his head. "You're not Sam Spade."

She felt her cheeks heat up.

"I never thought I was," she said coolly, turning her attention to the lieutenant. "What do you want me to do?"

"You'll attend the party and see what you can find out."

"Your job," Mitch said, "will be to observe, record the names of the guys who you talk to and report back to me. That's it." The precise, almost snippy, way he spoke set her teeth on edge-like he was giving instructions to a five-year-old.

"I can handle that," she said with as much confidence as she could.

"We're looking for a killer here," he countered, his eyes flashing.

"I know. I was there, remember?" She'd been the first cop to the scene and had a good idea of the damage done to that woman. "And I'd like to help."

"That settles it." The lieutenant stood up and everyone else followed suit. "Mitch, work with Kat. Get her set up and prepared for tomorrow night. You need to fill out some paperwork for this party thing. Mitch has a copy he can give you. Kat, as of now, you're officially on loan to our department."

"Thank you." She nodded, trying to crush the little fizzle of pleasure. This was her chance and she wasn't going to screw it up.



Reviews:
"Matching Signs is superbly written. Kat is easy to relate to and very down-to-earth. I was cheering her on from the beginning. Mitch's raw sex appeal was tangible and downright exciting. The culmination of their attraction for each other was scorching and will be fueling my fantasies for a long time to come! Tielle St. Clare is a very talented writer and I have yet to be disappointed with anything that she's written. I highly recommend Matching Signs."

Two Lips Reviews


"A very sensual story with a hint of suspense, MATCHING SIGNS is a truly enjoyable book. Mitch and Kat are both very strong, likeable characters, and the chemistry between them sizzles. The sex between them is hot enough to singe, and as they work together and get to know each other, the relationship slowly evolves into much more. It is both passionate and believable, making for a very good tale."

RRT Erotic


"Matching Signs reads like a great suspense novel with the added bonus of an incredibly sweet love story. Ms. St. Clare's ability to weave a great plot around two distinctly different characters kept the story moving and aroused me both physically and emotionally.The sexual chemistry as written by Ms. St. Clare is insanely good. With a variety of positions and just a hint of BDSM, there was no interaction between the two that didn't leave me hot and aroused. I look forward to reading more by Ms. St. Clare in the future."

Just Erotic Romance Reviews


"Steamy love scenes are not all that Matching Signs has to offer. Ms. St. Clare does a superb job of quickly establishing two good lead characters. Kat is portrayed as a strong, courageous, and down-to-earth heroine. This was rather immediately apparent when she shows an understanding in her role in the undercover operation - showing an enthusiasm to help as much as possible, but not so much as to grandstand or jeopardize the investigation in any way. It was also great to see a tough Alpha male meet his match and watch him soften a bit for Kat, effectively showing that his bark was a lot worse than his bite.

Part of the Planetary Passions series, Matching Signs is a fabulous blend of contemporary suspense, sizzling romance, and a touch of astrological magic. I look forward to reading more of Ms. St. Clare's writing."

Fallen Angel Reviews