Seduced by the Italian
Page 16
Praise for The Passionate Italian
“I found this a very good book—entertaining and stimulating and ultimately a very satisfying reading experience...long enough to allow for good story and plot development and to develop characters that are realistic and basically very human.” (thebookbinge.com)
“This is the first book I have read by Diana Fraser and it is a fantastic read. The chemistry between Rose and Giovanni is electrifying making it a definite must read!!!” (Amazon)
Excerpt:
What the hell was going on?
Rose stared at the email once more in disbelief.
It seemed her sleeping business partner had woken up and sold their company—hers, in all but name. But it was the last sentence that had her really worried.
He’d also sold her services for six months as part of the deal.
Stunned, she pushed the laptop away and stared, unseeing, at the waves breaking onto the beach to the rear of her cottage.
How could she have been so stupid? She should have paid her partner off by now but she’d thought having someone else’s name on the paperwork made her untraceable.
Ha! That was a joke.
She grabbed a wrap that lay over the back of her ancient couch and flung open the rickety French windows that led directly to the beach. Her wild, curly hair lifted and whirled in the fresh wind as she scrunched through heavy sand towards the shore. She scanned the horizon but failed to find the sense of peace the beautiful, white-flecked bay usually gave her.
Here in New Zealand, half a world away from her old life, she’d felt hidden, unfindable. But someone had just bought her company for much more than it was worth. This wasn’t business; this was personal.
She turned to look at the lone cottage, nestled in the native bush between cliff and sea that had been her world—her business and her home—for the past two years, but no more.
She would have to leave.
There could only be one person persistent enough and with enough reason to seek her out. There was only one person who wanted her enough.
Giovanni Visconti—her husband.
She closed her eyes and tried to block out the memories, concentrating on the sting of the sand as it hit her bare legs, on the clatter of the New Zealand flax, alive in the fresh northerly and on the damp of the fine mist that rose from the pounding waves.
A shiver coursed through her body that had nothing to do with the chill breeze and everything to do with her husband.
Giovanni. Just the feel of his name upon her lips recalled the heat of his mouth upon hers and memories she needed to forget.
She crouched down, head in hands, and tried to control the panic that threatened to overwhelm her.
There had been many reasons to leave him—his jealousy for one, her need for independence for another—but it had been neither of these things. Giovanni had never known the catalyst for her leaving. And, if she had her way, he never would. Her secret could destroy him. And she couldn’t do that to the man she loved.
***
And here’s a new book to check out by my friend Kris Pearson.
OUT OF BOUNDS
by Kris Pearson
Jetta Rivers has inherited half a house. Big problem: she has to share it with co-owner Anton Haviland, and her past has left her terrified of men.
Gorgeous Anton is a confident sexy architect, and he might be exactly who Jetta needs to put her crippling fear to rest.
But can she allow him near enough? And would he even want to try?
A midnight disaster leaves her no option when he drags her off to the only bed left in the now-damaged house.
She’s appalled to find how much she craves the man who plans to smash her inheritance to pieces.
Anton is equally shocked when his sharp-tempered housemate attempts to seduce him.
WARNING: Contains one ambitious man with a tender heart and a body to die for. And one unlikely temptress with an ancient copy of The Joy of Sex.
— Excerpt —
Jetta Rivers despised herself for snooping on him over the old fence, but with her face hidden safely in the foliage of Gran’s jasmine vine, her eyes still followed his every move.
He was sex on legs. Sex on very long legs. Maybe thirty—with strong arms, and a smooth tanned back flexing in the bright Kiwi sun as he polished the silver flanks of an impeccable old Porsche.
She imagined running her hands over his taut muscular body as sensuously as his were caressing the car.
Then, quick as a wink, her naughty brain stripped the jeans off his very cute butt.
‘Stop it Jetta!’ she snapped at herself, adding a couple of frustrated curses as hot little ripples of pleasure pulsed between her thighs. Why did she feel like this when she couldn’t do anything about it? Her body might be bursting with lust but her brain always put the brakes on. In twenty-six years, she’d had exactly one night of sex.
And it had been terrible.
A week later Jetta swiped at a trickle of tears and drew a deep determined breath. The house she’d just inherited was far from beautiful—Grandma’s loving welcomes had somehow disguised the awful details and softened the scruffiness.
But it was hers now, and chipping up the old kitchen floor with Grandpa’s spade was only the first of dozens of jobs she had planned.
Wincing at her new blisters, she gathered up some of the larger pieces of linoleum, carried them along the hallway, and threw her armful of rubbish onto the growing heap beside the path. Then she took a few gulps of fresh summer air before retreating to the dusty kitchen.
“Hello...?” a man yelled through the open door a few seconds later.
As Jetta turned to investigate, she caught sight of herself in the small mirror on the back of the kitchen door. Under Grandpa’s ancient painting hat, her face was dirty, tear-streaked and bare of make-up. She looked about sixteen, and really didn’t need a visitor.
“Hello?” His voice was softer now and very close.
She whirled further around, heart racing, grabbed for the spade handle, and clutched it tightly. There was only him and her. No one else to save her.
“What the hell are you doing to the house?” he asked.
She stood there trembling as the man she’d nicknamed ‘Mr Porsche’ gazed about with very obvious amusement on his far-too-gorgeous face. She’d never seen him up close before. Never expected his eyes would be so disturbingly blue or that he’d have that little sprinkling of dark hair showing at the open neck of his polo shirt. “It’s my house—I’ll do what I like with it,” she managed.
“It’s our house, and I’ll be demolishing it,” he replied. “Anton,” he said, thrusting out a big hand. “Anton Haviland. And you must be Jetta Rivers.”
Already way on edge, Jetta sagged onto one of the 1950’s chrome and leatherette chairs in case his outrageous suggestion was for real. Demolish her house? Never!
She wouldn’t shake his hand.
She wouldn’t touch him with a bargepole.
***
Other Books by Diana Fraser
—Desert Kings—
The Sheikh’s Bargain Bride
Lucy and the Sheikh
—The Mackenzie Brothers—
The PA’s Revenge
The Marriage List—coming soon
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The Sheikh’s Bargain Bride
A Devil's Bargain...
Anna Whitman has yearned for freedom and independence her whole life but she's forced to accept a marriage of convenience so she can live with her son.
Sheikh Zahir Al-Zaman is a ruthless desert warrior who believes the only way he can control his obsession with Anna is to possess her. And he'll do almost anything--even kidnap her son--to have her.
But Zahir will not force her into his bed. He has his strategies for seduction--strategies Anna finds increasingly hard to resist. But she won't have a relationship based on lies. And how can she reveal her secrets when they will shatter the beliefs he holds most dear?
“Zahir is definitely all alpha male and will have your heart beating a little faster... I like a character with depth, and Zahir fits this description perfectly.” (bookwenches.com)
“…powerful and unadulterated romance leaps off of the page and transports the reader to a different world. The chemistry between Anna and Zahir is exquisite and the descriptions of the scenery and settings are breathtaking. A must for fans of classic, passionate true romance.” (coffeetimeromance.com)
“The writer has crafted the characters with a deft hand, allowing readers to literally sense the emotions, the connections or the disconnects, the strong maternal feelings and the erotic couplings that are a part of this romance.” (drjsbookplace.blogspot)
Lucy and the Sheikh
A love affair that must not last...
Inveterate traveler, Lucy Gee, sails to Sitra to find her missing sister, Maia, who was last seen in the arms of the King. Lucy doesn't do long-term relationships, especially with men she suspects of kidnapping her sister, but when she meets the King she falls for him hard. She just has to control her attraction long enough to find Maia, but not long enough so she loses her heart. Two weeks should do it.
Sheikh Razeen ibn Shad was never meant to be King: his father had made that clear. But, with his father and brother both dead, he's determined to do his duty, even if it means entering into an arranged marriage with a Sitran Princess to gain the approval of his countrymen. But he has two weeks before he has to choose a wife. Two weeks in which to have an affair with Lucy. What could go wrong?
Praise for Lucy and the Sheikh
“Diana is one of my favorite authors and her newest release is another winner. Lucy and the Sheikh has complex and exciting characters and a very interesting plot making it a definite must read!!!!!!!!!!” (Amazon)
—The Mackenzie Brothers Series—
The PA’s Revenge (Book 1)
Cassandra Lee doesn’t do emotion. Why would you want to feel anything when your son and father have died in horrific circumstances? Why would you want to do anything other than exact revenge on the man you hold responsible for the tragedy? Revenge is her only focus so she studies his business and revamps her image with the aim of becoming his PA and sabotaging his fortune.
And Dallas Mackenzie’s wealth is important to him. He’s restored his family's fortunes after his father nearly lost everything through drink, violence and deceit. He believes he’s inherited his father’s violent temper and alcoholism and is determined not to succumb to them. He values honesty above all else and focuses on working hard and avoiding emotional attachment at any cost, even an empty life.
But empty lives can be filled—at least for a short while—and Dallas sets out to seduce Cassandra. Unfortunately seduction—and her body's responses to this arrogant, powerful and sexy man—wasn't something Cassandra could prepare for. She just hopes that his interest—and her resistance—will hold out long enough to ruin him...
The PA’s Revenge is Book 1 in The Mackenzie Brothers series. Books 2 and 3 coming soon.
Praise for The PA’s Revenge
“…the passion that [they] feel for each other is breathtaking and so passionate. I could not put the book down... Diana Fraser is a new author to me, and believe me, I will be on the look out for the next two books in this series. I can’t wait to see which brother will be next for his happily ever after as Cassandra and Dallas got theirs. Readers who like their romances hot and steamy should check this one out.” (The Romance Reviews)
“The book is intense and its intensity begins right from the first and never gives way until the very end. Such a good, good book and one that I enjoyed immensely... This is the first in a trilogy of novels and I am definitely looking forward to the upcoming stories of Dallas’ brothers. I think this book is a true ‘keeper.’” (The Book Binge)
“I loved Cassandra and Dallas. Such tension, such chemistry between them. I was gripped with the story and could not wait to finish it. It has been beautifully written and catches your interest immediately. I would recommend this book.” (Amazon, UK)
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