Diamonds (Den of Thieves Book 1) by A.M. Cosgrove Page A

door and he couldn’t help feeling sorry for the poor bastard.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
    Daria closed her eyes and sunk deeper into the bath. Her mind slipped back to the night before. It had been a very long time since she had enjoyed someone’s company like she had with Peter. Sure she had been on a good number of dates over the years and it wasn’t as if she had no sex life at all but there was certainly a different sort of connection she felt with Peter.
     
    Something special. One she didn’t want to end.
    Her father however seemed to think differently.
     
    She frowned. It wasn’t like she couldn’t understand her father’s perspective. Neither she nor her father knew anything of the man except what he had told them. It was definitely an alarming scenario for a man who had lost his own wife to a horrible act. The thought of losing her was more than the man could bear.
     
    At the same time, what did he really know of any of the men that he had set her up with over the years? All of it was bank balances and resumes - he knew nothing of the men personally. Otherwise why would he continue to set her up with men that were nowhere near compatible with her?
     
    It wasn’t like they were horrible men, albeit some of them had been a bit odd. But none of them had treated her badly; they just weren’t what she was looking for in a companion.
 
    Peter on the other hand, was a good-looking man. Long blonde hair and the stubble gave him the look of a beach bum but one look in his eyes and she could see the intelligence in them. He was no fool. He may not have the resume or not even the bank balance that her father was looking for in her potential mates but he certainly had an air of mystery about him that Daria found intoxicating.
 
    She smiled to herself as she remembered the feeling of his lips as they brushed her skin. He was also an excellent lover.
 
    "Daria." Her fathers voice through the bathroom door interrupted her thoughts.
     
    "Yes Father?" She sat up in the tub suddenly realizing that the water had turned cold.
 
    "Can I speak with you a moment?" he sounded tired.
     
    "Give me a moment and I’ll be right down."
    "Alright."
 
    She sighed wishing the water hadn’t turned cold and she could sink back beneath the comforting warm water and bubbles. She pulled herself up and stepped out of the bath. The water ran down the length of her body as she stepped across the bath to select a bath towel for herself.
 
    She wrapped the towel around her and walked through the connecting door to her bedroom.
 
    After quickly picking out a simple sundress she got dressed and headed down to see what her father wanted to speak with her about. Peter no doubt. It was not a conversation that she was ready to have at this point in her day but she knew that the longer she avoided it the worse it would be.
 
    She found him sitting on the back patio with two steaming cups of coffee sitting on the table waiting for her to arrive. She sat down and picked hers up and took a sip.
     
    No words were spoken as they sat there looking over the ground that made up their property. A gardener was trimming a clump of bushes a ways away from them. The breeze felt nice on her bare legs.
 
    "Father--"
 
    "No. Let me."
 
    Daria said nothing but looked at her father who was still continuing to watch the gardener do his thing.
     
    "You know I love you more than life itself and that if anything happened to you I would never forgive myself. After what happened to your mother I cant--"
 
    "Father nothing is going to happen to me," she said leaning across the table to put a hand on his arm to comfort him.
     
    "You can’t know that my child. You don’t know the dangers out there for a beautiful woman like yourself."  His eye searched hers for understanding as he scooped up her hand in his and she instantly felt bad for having worried him so.
    "No you’re right, I don’t know that for