Deceived by Desire

by Marie Force

  While Derek had stepped nobly and with infuriating independence into the position he’d been born to, Anthony had been relegated to watching and seething and planning. Now, on the eve of Derek’s thirtieth birthday, came opportunity. If Derek failed to marry by the sixteenth of May, the title would revert to Anthony, and he would finally be the Duke of Westwood. The way it always should have been.

  And while he had come to grudgingly respect his nephew’s acumen with finance and his bearing among the haute ton, he disdained the boy’s inner softness. That softness, Anthony mused, would be his downfall, just as it had been his father’s. Perhaps it was because Derek had lost his parents at such a tender age or maybe it was the guilt that came from being the twin who’d survived the journey into this world. Regardless of the cause, Derek lacked the inner fortitude that Anthony possessed in spades.

  Anthony wasn’t afraid to use that fortitude to gain what should’ve been his all along. Derek was supposed to have been in that carriage the night his parents had been killed. They had planned to dine as a family at a neighboring estate. No one had bothered to tell Anthony that the boy had been left behind in the nursery when he showed signs of fever.

  No one had told him until it was far too late, until he’d been saddled with an orphaned young nephew and vast holdings to “oversee” until that nephew gained his majority.

  The holdings were supposed to have been his. Instead, he became the steward rather than the duke. Instead, it was left to him to nurse his grief-stricken nephew through those dreadful months after “the accident.” Since another “accident” so soon after the first would’ve raised suspicions, he had nursed when he’d wanted to strangle. He’d mentored when he wanted to stab. If only the boy had been where he was supposed to be, Anthony would’ve had what was rightfully his for all this time.

  Soon, Anthony mused. That softness within Derek wouldn’t permit him to marry for the sake of his title. Like the fool he was, Derek wanted more. The softness would be his downfall. Anthony was betting on it and breathing a bit easier after realizing that none of the Season’s debutantes had caught his discerning nephew’s eye.

  Lucy Dexter, one of London’s most accomplished courtesans, crawled from the foot of the chaise to envelop him in soft curves and sweet scent. Silky dark hair cascaded invitingly over his chest.

  “What troubles you tonight, my lord?”

  “Nothing of any consequence.”

  “You ponder the fate of your nephew and the duchy you covet.”

  Anthony raised an imperious brow. “It is rather impertinent for you to speak so boldly of things that are none of your concern.”

  Lucy’s husky laugh caught the attention of his recently satisfied libido. “How can you say such things are none of my concern when you’ve made them my concern by unburdening yourself to me quite regularly?”

  The double entendre wasn’t lost on Anthony. Through the silk dressing gown he had given her, he cupped a bountiful breast and pinched the nipple roughly between his fingers, drawing a surprised gasp from her bow-shaped mouth. “If you speak of my concerns with anyone else, madam, you will quickly discover my less-than-amiable side, which I usually prefer to keep hidden from the fairer sex.”

  Her blue eyes hardened with displeasure. “I believe I have proven my allegiance time and again over these many years, my lord. There is no need for threats nor less-than-subtle attempts at intimidation.”

  She could quite ruin him. She knew it. He knew it. Power. He had given her far too much, he realized, and that was something he might, at some point, need to contend with. But certainly not right now, not when she was pushing his dressing gown aside to drop soft, openmouthed kisses on his chest.

  Anthony sighed with satisfaction, placed the empty glass on a table and buried his fingers in silky tresses. When she took his cock into the velvety warmth of her mouth, he closed his eyes and let his head fall back in surrender.

  Power—the only commodity that truly counted. As she sucked and licked him to explosive fulfillment, it hardly mattered that he had ceded some of his to her for the time being. Before long, he’d have more than he knew what to do with. It was only a matter of time.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 65 romances, including the Gansett Island Series and the Fatal Series from Harlequin Books. In addition, she is the author of the Butler, Vermont Series, the Green Mountain Series and the erotic romance Quantum Series. Altogether, her books have sold 6 million copies worldwide. Her goals in life are simple—to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can, and to never be on a flight that makes the news. Please visit her online at marieforce.com.

  MAID FOR LOVE

  She made her bed, but she doesn’t have to sleep in it...

  Single mom Maddie Chester is determined to leave her hometown of Gansett Island. For visitors, it’s a place for fun in the sun, but for Maddie it holds only bad memories and ugly rumors. Yet no sooner than she’s decided to leave Gansett behind, she’s knocked off her bike en route to her housekeeping job at McCarthy’s Gansett Island Hotel—by none other than Gansett’s “favorite son,” Mac McCarthy.

  Mac has returned to the Rhode Island beach town to help his father prepare to sell the family marina—and he has no intention of sticking around a minute longer than necessary. But when he realizes he’s badly injured Maddie, he knows he has to do the right thing. When Mac decides to help her heal and care for her young son, he discovers he just may be “maid” for love . . .

  FOOL FOR LOVE

  Sometimes you have to rock the boat...

  Joe Cantrell, owner of the Gansett Island Ferry Company, has been in love with Janey McCarthy for as long as he can remember. And for just as long, Janey has had a boyfriend—now fiancé—doctor-in-training, David Lawrence. But when things go terribly wrong and the engagement is broken, Janey decides that a few days on the mainland with Joe—who she calls her “fifth brother”—is just what she needs before she goes home to the island to face her family with the bad news . . .

  Loving Janey from afar was tough enough on Joe, but having her in his house is pure torture. Will he keep himself in the friend zone? Or will he take advantage of this opportunity to show Janey what they could have together? And what will his best friend—Janey’s protective older brother, Mac—have to say about it? Now Joe will finally have to decide if it’s time to leave safe waters and set his own course . . .

  READY FOR LOVE

  Some places are made for starting over . . .

  For four of the best summers of his life, Luke Harris was in love with Sydney Donovan, a wealthy seasonal visitor to Gansett Island. Then Sydney went off to college and never came back. She married another man and had two children while Luke remained on the island, working at McCarthy’s Gansett Island Marina and wondering what had gone wrong between him and the only woman he ever loved . . .

  Fifteen months after Sydney suffers the tragic loss of her family, she needs to figure out what’s next. Searching her heart, she’s drawn back to Gansett Island, a place of happy memories. But will she also be drawn again to the man from her past who she’s never forgotten? And is she ready for a second chance at love?

  FALLING FOR LOVE

  Ever since he won an Academy Award for best original screenplay, Grant McCarthy’s personal and professional lives have fallen apart. Worst of all, Abby, the woman he was supposed to marry, is engaged to someone else. And with his father recovering from a serious injury, Grant is back at home on Gansett Island helping run the family marina. He should be focused on winning back the love of his life, but he’s got a new distraction to deal with . . .

  Exasperating, annoyingly sexy Stephanie, who runs the marina restaurant, is working her way under Grant’s skin—and into his bed. And as a major tropical storm cuts off Gansett Island—and the two of them—from the mainland, Grant begins to suspect Stephanie is hiding something big
from her past. When he finds out what it is, what will be more important to him? Winning Abby back or helping Stephanie to right a terrible wrong—and maybe even getting his own life back on track in the process?

  HOPING FOR LOVE

  All her life, Grace Ryan was the “fat girl.” Taunted, teased, and ignored by her peers, she tried every diet ever invented to no avail. Desperate to make a change as her twenties slipped away, she decided it was time for drastic measures and had lap-band surgery. More than a year later, she’s lost 130 pounds and is venturing into the dating world for the first time. But during a boat trip to Gansett Island with a new guy, Grace refuses to have sex—and finds herself abandoned without a dollar to her name at McCarthy’s Gansett Island Marina . . .

  Home for the summer, awaiting the launch of his debut album, music star-in-the-making Evan McCarthy is performing at the Tiki Bar when he notices Grace looking lost in a sea of happy people. Evan comes to her aid and quickly finds himself smitten. But the last thing Grace needs after all she’s been through is a guy who “doesn’t do relationships.” Will Evan change his ways to win Grace’s heart?

  SEASON FOR LOVE

  Owen Lawry has made a living as a traveling musician and enjoys his footloose and fancy free lifestyle. But since meeting Laura McCarthy and helping her land a job at his grandparents’ hotel on Gansett Island, Owen has decided there’s something to be said for a roof over his head—and a warm, sexy woman in his bed.

  Laura, a newlywed who discovered that her husband never quit dating, came to Gansett for her cousin’s wedding. She didn’t plan to stay—until she met Owen, and took on the renovations at the dilapidated Sand & Surf Hotel. Owen and Laura’s attraction simmers over the coming months—but as they take baby steps toward love, their growing bond is tested when Laura’s estranged husband refuses to grant her a divorce. As summer turns to autumn, will they find a way to keep the fire burning in their hearts, even as a chill fills the air?