Modern Romance December Books 5-8
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- Жанр: зарубежная фантастика, зарубежные любовные романы, короткие любовные романы, современная зарубежная литература, эротические романыРедактировать
About the Authors
SUSAN STEPHENS was a professional singer before meeting her husband on the Mediterranean island of Malta. In true Mills & Boon style, they met on Monday, became engaged on Friday and married three months later. Susan enjoys entertaining, travel and going to the theatre. To relax she reads, cooks and plays the piano, and when she’s had enough of relaxing she throws herself off mountains on skis or gallops through the countryside singing loudly.
CHANTELLE SHAW lives on the Kent coast and thinks up her stories while walking on the beach. She has been married for over thirty years and has six children. Her love affair with reading and writing Mills & Boon stories began as a teenager, and her first book was published in 2006. She likes strong-willed, slightly unusual characters. Chantelle also loves gardening, walking and wine!
JENNIFER HAYWARD has been a fan of romance since filching her sister’s novels to escape her teenage angst. Her career in journalism and PR, including years of working alongside powerful, charismatic CEOs and travelling the world, has provided perfect fodder for the fast-paced, sexy stories she likes to write—always with a touch of humour. A native of Canada’s East Coast, Jennifer lives in Toronto with her Viking husband and young Viking-in-training.
CLARE CONNELLY was raised in small-town Australia among a family of avid readers. She spent much of her childhood up a tree, Mills & Boon book in hand. Clare is married to her own real-life hero and they live in a bungalow near the sea with their two children. She is frequently found staring into space—a surefire sign she is in the world of her characters. She has a penchant for French food and ice-cold champagne, and Mills & Boon novels continue to be her favourite ever books. Writing for Modern Romance is a long-held dream. Clare can be contacted via clareconnelly.com or at her Facebook page.
Also by Susan Stephens
A Diamond for Del Rio’s Housekeeper
The Sicilian’s Defiant Virgin
The Secret Kept from the Greek
A Night of Royal Consequences
The Sheikh’s Shock Child
Hot Brazilian Nights! miniseries
In the Brazilian’s Debt
At the Brazilian’s Command
Brazilian’s Nine Months’ Notice
Back in the Brazilian’s Bed
Also by Chantelle Shaw
Acquired by Her Greek Boss
Hired for Romano’s Pleasure
Wed for His Secret Heir
The Howard Sisters miniseries
Sheikh’s Forbidden Conquest
A Bride Worth Millions
Bought by the Brazilian miniseries
Mistress of His Revenge
Master of Her Innocence
The Saunderson Legacy miniseries
The Secret He Must Claim
The Throne He Must Take
Also by Jennifer Hayward
A Deal for the Di Sione Ring
A Debt Paid in the Marriage Bed
Kingdoms & Crowns miniseries
Carrying the King’s Pride
Claiming the Royal Innocent
Marrying Her Royal Enemy
The Secret Billionaires collection
Salazar’s One-Night Heir
The Powerful Di Fiore Tycoons miniseries
Christmas at the Tycoon’s Command
His Million-Dollar Marriage Proposal
Also by Clare Connelly
Bought for the Billionaire’s Revenge
Innocent in the Billionaire’s Bed
Her Wedding Night Surrender
Bound by the Billionaire’s Vows
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.
Modern Romance Collection: December 2018 Books 5-8
Pregnant by the Desert King
Susan Stephens
The Virgin’s Sicilian Protector
Chantelle Shaw
Married for His One-Night Heir
Jennifer Hayward
Bound by Their Christmas Baby
Clare Connelly
ISBN: 978-1-474-08673-8
MODERN ROMANCE COLLECTION: DECEMBER 2018 BOOKS 5-8
Pregnant by the Desert King © 2018 Susan Stephens The Virgin’s Sicilian Protector © 2018 Chantelle Shaw Married for His One-Night Heir © 2018 Jennifer Hayward Bound by Their Christmas Baby © 2018 Clare Connelly
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
Version: 2020-03-02
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Table of Contents
Cover
About the Authors
Booklist
Title Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Pregnant by the Desert King
Back Cover Text
Dedication
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
EPILOGUE
The Virgin’s Sicilian Protector
Back Cover Text
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Married for His One-Night Heir
Back Cover Text
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Bound by Their Christmas Baby
Back Cover Text
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
EPILOGUE
About the Publisher
Pregnant by the Desert King
Susan Stephens
Seduced as his secret Cinderella...
But will she be his queen?
Pregnant and alone, Lucy Gillingham is determined to protect her unborn child from her volatile family. Then Tadj, the enticing stranger she spent an unforgettable night with, returns with a royal revelation...Lucy is carrying the baby of a desert king! Tadj will secure his heir, but can Lucy accept his scandalous solution—that she share his royal bed?
A royal romance with a secret-baby twist!
For my wonderful ever-expanding,
ever-supportive family.
PROLOGUE
Present day...
TADJ’S WORLD TILTED on its axis as a woman in a red dress stepped out of the kitchen.
‘Excuse me, Your Excellency,’ he said, startling his ambassador to London. ‘Something extraordinary has just happened.’
‘Of course, Your Majesty...’ Raising his portly form as quickly as he could the ambassador bowed to his ruler and employer, the Emir of Qalala, as Tadj, an exceptionally striking-looking man, left the table where they’d been dining incognito, to stride across the floor.
Sensing his approach, the young woman turned and stared, paling, as if she’d seen a ghost.
CHAPTER ONE
Three months earlier...
A CASUAL COFFEE in the steamy café next door in her lunch break from work at the laundry had never involved plugging Lucy’s body into a power source before. Lined up at the counter behind a red-hot Goliath with shoulders wide enough to hoist an ox, she reasoned it was only natural to be distracted, as her heart beat nineteen to the dozen. He was deeply tanned, with thick, inky-black hair that curled possessively over his neck in a way that made her fantasise about making it even more unruly; his short, rugged jacket might have been designed for no better purpose than to display his iron-hard butt, and long, lean legs. He was so big he achieved the impossible by making her feel dainty for the first time in her life. She was the woman targeted by slimming magazines who always planned to lose weight. And she would, just as soon as chocolate was written out of history.
‘Would you like to go ahead of me?’
She almost fainted when he swung around.
‘Are you speaking to me?’ popped out of her mouth before her brain was in gear. Silly question, when the most devastating black stare was directed straight into her eyes. It was the most arousal-inducing stare she’d ever been subjected to. There were eyes of all description, some of them very beautiful, but these were astonishingly beautiful eyes.
‘Can you move along, please? People are waiting to be served.’
Jerking alert as the lady behind the counter bellowed the instruction, Lucy shuffled along in line, and in doing so managed to stumble into Goliath.
‘Perhaps you should sit down before you cause a pile-up,’ he advised with amusement. His deep, husky voice with the intriguing accent, combined with his big, firm hands steadying her, blew her mind. ‘Now?’ he suggested as she stared at him transfixed. ‘I’ll get the drinks while you find the table.’
Finally, she came to. ‘Do I know you?’
‘I don’t believe so,’ he said, staring down from his great height. ‘Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate? Something to eat, perhaps?’
By now, people had turned to stare. One or two, having recognised Lucy, nodded and gave her a thumbs-up expression. She didn’t want to make a fuss. This was her local greasy spoon. Nor did she want to bolt, giving the man the impression he intimidated her. Who was he? she wondered. There was only one way to find out. ‘Coffee would be nice...thank you. Skimmed milk, two shots, please.’
As he turned to place their order she became aware of the buzz of interest in the café; most of it directed her way. Should she know him? Was he a celebrity? If only she paid more attention to the press. Maybe he had called in at the laundry while she was working in the back; no one could forget a face like that. He could pass for a sailor with his deep tan and super-fit appearance, but, with his commanding manner and expensive casual look, he didn’t strike her as crew.
‘When you’re ready,’ he prompted as he waited for their coffee to be prepared. ‘The table,’ he reminded her. ‘There aren’t many free. Better get moving.’
‘Yes, sir,’ she said, saluting ironically, but not before she’d absorbed his clean, spicy scent.
She did go to find a table, even though she wasn’t a fan of domineering men. This man had redeemed himself with that curving, dark-eyed smile. She guessed he used it a lot, but this was a packed café, and not much could go wrong over a coffee. It wouldn’t hurt to give him five minutes to see how he turned out. Her chums at the laundry were always complaining that nothing exciting ever happened, so at the least she’d be able to tell them about this when she got back to work.
She’d hidden herself away long enough.
As the unwanted thought shot into her mind, she shivered involuntarily, and recollections of her cruel, abusive stepfather came flooding back. Her mother’s second husband headed up a criminal empire peopled by ruthless thugs. Thank goodness he was in prison where he belonged. Lucy had left home at her mother’s insistence, to escape the increasingly unpleasant attention of her stepfather’s henchmen. She’d been lucky enough to find genuine friends on King’s Dock.
Having paused to acknowledge a couple of friends, she glanced at the man, only to see that he had not only paid for their drinks, but for an elderly couple’s pot of tea. He’d be up a tree, saving a cat next, Lucy thought with a smile as he crossed the café towards her. She had to stop being so suspicious of men. They weren’t all bad.
‘Something wrong?’ her new friend asked, frowning attractively as he drew near.
‘Nothing,’ she said, noticing how much attention he was getting. Both he and her stepfather were big, powerful men, but that was where the similarity ended. Her stepfather was a ruthless bully, and she could see nothing of the snake in this man. If eyes mirrored the soul she was safe; there was no evil in them.
Just heat, Lucy reflected with a bubble of excitement and amusement as he indicated that she should sit down. ‘Or are you going to stand here all day, blocking the aisle?’
When he lifted one sweeping ebony brow like that, and smiled into her eyes, it was impossible not to respond. Her stepfather hadn’t crushed her spirit yet.
‘Are you going to join me?’ she invited once she was settled.
She had to move the table to let him in. He was what might be referred to as a big unit, and she was hardly petite. And though he might be a player, and she his latest target, one cup of coffee did not a drama make. People knew her here, and she could leave any time she liked.
* * *
Today was turning out better than anticipated, Tadj concluded as he studied the lush-figured woman sitting opposite him. She had magnificent breasts, which even her bulky winter clothes couldn’t hide. But it wasn’t his automatic male assessment that struck him most, but her natural poise and unaffected manner. It was such a welcome change from the women who usually flocked around him, hoping for the position of wife, or mistress at the very least.
He’d been walking the dock, filling in time before a party that evening on board his friend Sheikh Khalid’s yacht, the Sapphire. Leaving behind the razzmatazz that went with the title Emir of Qalala, to mix with the crowds on the dock like any other visitor to the high-end marina, was a welcome release from the pressure of celebrity. Spending time with a woman who didn’t appear to recognise him was a novelty. The fact that this woman probably wouldn’t have cared less if she had known who he was was an unexpected bonus. He planned to stay on the Sapphire tonight, and a strange bed was always warmer with an agreeable companion at his side.
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