by Day Leclaire
He nodded, not particularly surprised. “Janine. I should have known.” A cold, ruthless light entered his eyes. “Ask your admin to step in here, will you?”
The next half hour was the most painful of Sable’s life. It didn’t take long for Damien to goad the truth from Janine. And, once the virulent outpour began, it flowed swift and deadly.
“Leonard never loved you,” she informed Sable venomously. “He was using you. It was me he should have married . . . would have married. But Patricia convinced him not to. She told him the only way they could defeat Hawke Enterprises was if Leonard married you. It was the biggest mistake he ever made. Because of you he lost everything—his company, his health, even his life. But I wasn’t about to let him die in vain. I got even.” She glared in triumph. “No one suspected me or limited my access. After all, I’ve been with the company forever. So, I took you all on. First Patricia and then the two of you.”
Overwhelmed by Janine’s malice, Sable slipped closer to Damien, burying her face against his shoulder. He didn’t wait to hear any more. Calling for security, he had Janine removed from the premises.
“What are you going to do to her?” Sable murmured, safe within the circle of his arms and determined not to leave his protective embrace anytime soon.
“I’m not sure. I’m reluctant to prosecute, but I also can’t stomach the idea of her getting away with it. I expect we’ll settle out of court.”
“She must have loved Leonard very much.”
Damien shook his head. “That wasn’t love, at least not the kind I’m familiar with.”
Sable licked her lips, staring up at him with her heart in her eyes. “And what sort are you familiar with?” she whispered.
“The sort that withstands all adversity. The sort that never dies,” he responded promptly. His hand slid up her spine, molding her against his heat, stoking the fires that raged between than with such spontaneous abandon. His voice deepened. “All I have to do is look at you, touch you, hear you speak, and I realize how very much I love you.”
“But you came back for revenge,” she dared to remind him.
“That’s what I told myself.” His fingers slipped into her hair and he brushed his mouth over hers, an infinitely gentle touch. “The truth is, I couldn’t stay away. Why did you think I was so desperate to have you back in my bed? I knew once I had you there, you’d be there to stay.”
And she would. “What about the board? What are you going to tell them?”
A slow smile crept across his mouth. “I’m going to demand to know why they had my wife removed as president and chairman of the board. And I’m going to tell them if they ever do it again I’ll get rid of every last one of them.”
She stilled. “Your wife?”
The laughter faded from his expression and he gazed at her with stark intensity. “If you’ll have me. And if Kyle will have me.”
The tears came again, tears of sheer joy. “I think I can convince him.”
“And you? Will you have me, Sable? Will you marry me?”
“Oh, yes. I love you, Damien. I can’t imagine life without you. I don’t want to imagine a life without you.”
There was no further need for words. His mouth came down to meet hers and she melted against him. It was finally over. The secrets of the past were laid to rest, and the future lay ahead, bright and beautiful and infinitely precious.
A future she intended to grasp with both hands and never let slip through her fingers again.
The End
Read the other three books in The Sinful Secrets Series:
Mail-Order Husband
(The Sinful Secrets Series, Book #1)
The Wedding Night
(The Sinful Secrets Series, Book #2)
The Secret Baby
(The Sinful Secrets Series, Book #3)
Available May 2015
The Secret Seduction
(The Sinful Secrets Series, Book #4)
Available early 2016
Mail-Order Wife
(The Sinful Secrets Series, Book #5)
Available 2016
About Day Leclaire
USA Today bestselling author, Day Leclaire is the author of more than 60 novels and has received an impressive eleven nominations for the romance industry's most prestigious award, Romance Writers of America RITA© Award. Day lives in Charlotte, NC and spends her days obsessively writing while surrounded by her adorable husband, busy children, three dogs, and a lot of dust!
For the latest news and information, visit Day on her website at: www.dayleclaire.com
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Links to Books by Day Leclaire
Coming October 2015:
The Dragon Brides: Fire
Part One: Scorched
Part Two: Ablaze
Part Three: Seared
Part Four: Forged
Nordic Heroes Boxed Set
Two great books for one low price!
In the Market
A Wholesale Arrangement
The Wacky Women Series
Once Upon a Cowboy
Once Upon a Jinx
Once Upon a Time
Once Upon a Ghost
Once Upon an Enchantment
The Sinful Secrets Series
Mail-Order Husband
The Wedding Night
The Secret Baby
The Secret Seduction
Mail-Order Wife
The Dante Legacy
Dante’s Blackmailed Bride
Dante’s Stolen Wife
Dante’s Wedding Deception
Dante’s Contract Marriage
Dante’s Ultimate Gamble
Dante’s Temporary Fiancée
Dante’s Marriage Pact
Dante’s Honor-Bound Husband
Becoming Dante
Dante’s Dilemma – a novella
Featuring Primo and Nonna
Forever Dante – Coming in 2016
The Salvatore Brothers
Who’s Holding the Baby?
Matteo’s Story – Coming in 2016
D’Angelo’s Story – Coming in 2016
Dante – Coming in 2016
Fontana – Coming in 2016
Brand – Coming in 2016
Coming October 2015:
The Dragon Brides
by Day Leclaire
One of my writing dreams has been to write a fantasy romance series, one with dragons and fairies and magical creatures. One that takes place in an entirely different world where the setting can be as imaginative as I’m capable of making it. So, if you’re a fan of fantasy, this is the perfect series for you!
Fair Warning! Thar be dragons! And cliffhangers… And sexy, magical beasties . . . Damsels in distress. More cliffhangers. Creatures. Dangerous and deadly villains. Did I mention cliffhangers?
The Dragon Brides: Fire
Part One: Scorched
Part Two: Ablaze
Part Three: Seared
Part Four: Forged
After a devastating Malesium attack on a dragon hatchery, a kindt of immature, sentien
t dragons, accompanied by their bonded human servants, have escaped to Elusia, fleeing their war-torn home world through a long-forgotten portal. Their only hope for survival is to take dragon brides, which will bestow on them badly needed powers and abilities. Before they can do so, the leader of the Malesium forces, Prince Heir Sedir Dulenti, accesses the portal and brings through his army, bent on destroying the last dragons in the kindt before they can find their True Mates.
To the Malesium, sentient dragons are abominations and must be destroyed before they wipe out all of humankind.
To the people of Elusia, dragons are revered. The greatest possible honor bestowed on a woman is to become a dragon bride.
All that changes when Serafina, a future dragon bride, disobeys the most sacred of all dragon laws. She secretly watches the final mystic ceremony that forever bonds a True Mate to her dragon. What she witnesses changes everything. Barely escaping with her life, she joins the Malesium forces, intent on helping them rid Elusia of dragons for all time.
Only one man stands in her way: T’Kai, bondservant to the fire dragon, Kai. No matter what it takes, he intends to capture the fiery rebel and force her to become a True Mate — willing or not!
Each part of the Fire series is approximately 40,000 words, for a cumulative total of approximately 150,000 words. The four parts will be released every 3-4 weeks, beginning Fall of 2015. Fair warning! Each installment ends with a cliffhanger!
Part One: Scorched
It’s the first bonding ceremony between dragon and dragon bride in hundreds of years and Serafina, a future dragon bride, decides to secretly observe the ritual, despite her presence being forbidden by law. Instead of a romantic marriage, she is confronted with the fiery death of her best friend. Barely escaping with her life, Serafina realizes she is destined to meet the same hideous fate, unless she does something drastic to prevent it. And so, she joins the Malesium invaders, determined to help them rid Elusia of all dragons.
T’Kai is desperate. After witnessing the living death of his brother in a bonding ceremony gone hideously awry, he is charged with finding a True Mate for his dragon, Kai. Even more urgent, T’Kai must figure out what went wrong before the bonding ceremony, which must be completed during the next blue moon. If he, too, fails he will experience the living death.
Prince Heir Sedir Dulenti d’Malesium is determined to turn the tide of the Malesium’s ongoing dragon war by killing the next generation of dragons before they have an opportunity to attain their full power and abilities. He traps them on the backwater world of Elusia, but fails to anticipate the presence of dragon brides, the source of a dragon’s transition from “Riven” to “Bounden,” from immature to mature dragon. But a secret weapon falls into his hands, a dragon bride who knows far more about the dragons and their secret ceremonies than any other living outsider.
Serafina becomes a pawn, forced against her will to give herself to the dragons as a True Bride in order to uncover that which the dragons will do anything to keep hidden. Sedir wants her for his spy, as a means to discover the dragons’ vulnerabilities and, through her, destroy them. The fire dragon, Kai, wants her for his True Mate. And the Bondservant, T’Kai, simply wants her. Serafina never anticipated she’d want him just as desperately. Or how badly her allegiances would be torn.
For more information, visit The Dragon Brides website:
http://www.TheDragonBrides.com
Excerpts from The Sinful Secrets Series
Mail-Order Husband
The Sinful Secrets Series
Book 1
by
Day Leclaire
USA Today Bestselling Author
Husband Wanted!
Woman rancher in immediate and desperate need of a man! Interested applicants should:
1. Be 25-45 years of age and looking for a permanent relationship—a kind and gentle personality is a plus.
2. Have extensive ranching background—be able to sit a horse, deal fairly with employees, herd cattle, etc.
3. Have solid business know-how—particularly the type necessary to please a bullheaded banker.
What Leah Hampton really needed was a knight in shining armor, ready and able to slay all her dragons. A foolish wish, she knew. Even so, some silly, romantic part of her couldn't help wishing for the impossible.
She glanced at her watch. Her final interview should arrive any time. As though in response, a solitary rider appeared over a nearby ridge, shadowed black against the burnt-orange glow of a low-hanging sun. She shaded her eyes and studied him with keen curiosity. Could this be H.P. Smith, her final applicant?
He rode easily, at home in the saddle, swaying with a natural, effortless rhythm. Even from a distance she could see the beauty of his horse, the pale tan coat without a blemish, the ebony mane and tail gleaming beneath the golden rays of the setting sun. The animal was also a handful, but one he mastered without difficulty.
She frowned, something about him setting off alarm bells. If only she could figure out what. Then it hit her. She knew the man. On some basic, intuitive level she recognized the way he sat his horse, the simple, decisive manner with which he controlled the animal, the square, authoritative set of his shoulders. Even the angle of his hat seemed faintly familiar.
But who the hell was he?
She waited and watched, intent on the stranger's every movement. He rode as though he owned the place, as though he were lord and master of this land. From beneath the brim of his hat Leah caught a glimpse of jet-black hair and deep-set, watchful eyes, his shadowed features taut and angled, as though hewn from granite. He dismounted a short distance away, tying his buckskin to the hitching post. Not giving the vaguest acknowledgement, he turned to cross the yard toward her.
He stripped his gloves from his hands as he came, tucking them into his belt, and she found herself staring at those hands, at the strength and power conveyed by his loose held fists. She knew those hands. But from where?
A flash of memory hit her. She saw those hands, sinking into the silvery paleness of her hair, anchoring her against him. The nimble way they unbuttoned her shirt, sweeping it off her shoulders. The skillful drift of callused fingers lingering on her breasts, tender and yet forceful. The short, sharp images brought ecstasy mixed with unrelenting pain, and she gasped.
He looked up at the small, feminine sound.
Full sunlight cast the shadow from his face and revealed to her the threat—and promise—in his cold black eyes. In that instant she recognized him, and knew why he'd come.
"This just isn't my day," she muttered. Acting on blind instinct, she shouldered her rifle and fired.
The first blast cratered the ground a foot in front of him. He didn't flinch. He didn't even break stride. He came for her, his steady gaze locked on her face. She jacked out the shell and pumped another into the chamber. The second blast landed square between his boots, showering the black leather with dirt and debris. Still he kept coming, faster now, hard-packed muscle moving with catlike speed. She wasn't given the opportunity to get off another round.
He hit the porch steps two at a time. Not hesitating a moment, he grabbed the barrel of the rifle and yanked it from her grasp, tossing it aside. His hands landed heavily on her shoulder, catapulting her straight into his arms. With a muffled shriek, she grabbed a fistful of shirt to keep from falling.
"You never were much of a shot," he said, his voice low and rough. And then he kissed her.
The Wedding Night
The Sinful Secrets Series
Book 2
by
Day Leclaire
USA Today Bestselling Author
He was her husband… But she didn’t remember him.
“Tell me, Sebastian. If we truly loved each other, how could I forget you?” she asked, bringing into the open the issue that had been bothering her most of all. “How is that possible?”
He turned sharply, the light fading from his eyes, the gray becoming as hard and obdurate as tempered steel. “Perhaps
,” he stated with cold finality, “you never loved me. Perhaps you found me easy to forget. Whatever the reason, we will get to the truth, you can count on it.”
She fought to speak past the thickness blocking her throat. “And how will we do that?”
“By going home, of course.”
Home. The word should have brought a sense of reassurance. It didn’t. “Home? Where is that?”
“In the Caribbean. To be precise, it’s a small island called Rochefort . . . Strong Rock.”
“Rochefort,” she repeated, testing the name. “It’s not familiar.” But then, what was? “When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow. Though the doctors haven’t found anything wrong with you, at least nothing definitive, they advise against flying. So, we’ll go by boat. It shouldn’t take more than a week . . .” He shrugged, the movement pulling his shirt taut across his broad chest, sculpting it to the iron-hard muscles beneath. “Four days if weather conditions favor us. That should give you plenty of time to rest and soak up some sun. Who knows. Perhaps by the time you arrive, your memory will have returned.”
She gazed at him warily. “And if it has?”
He smiled, though the cool, remote curve of his mouth offered little, if any, reassurance. “Then your homecoming will be extra-special.”
Why did that sound so much like a threat? With an urgency born of a sudden, inexplicable apprehension, she scrambled for an alternative. “Can’t . . . can’t we stay here?”
“At the clinic? You’re joking.”
She suspected he deliberately misunderstood. “In Florida,” she clarified tightly. “At least for a while. Perhaps once I’ve regained my memory we can return home. Do we have family here, anyone who might prompt a memory?”
But he was already shaking his head. “It was one of the things we had in common. Neither of us has any family still living.”
“But—”
“There’s no point in remaining in Florida,” he cut her off. “The doctors advised that the best chance you have of regaining your memory is at home, surrounded by familiar people and places. And that’s where I’m taking you.” He paused for the space of a heartbeat, before adding with gentle emphasis, “I’m taking you, willing or not.”