Scandalous Seductions

by Penny Jordan

  Olives

  Green olive trees flourish on the rocky limestone soil in the fertile Cattina Valley.

  The fruit is prized by cooks and the island exports olives whole, pitted, stuffed and marinated.

  Niroli Virgin Olive and Orange Oil is a delicacy; infused with the zest of local oranges, it is particularly delicious when drizzled over fish, seafood, chicken, asparagus or pasta, and you can sample all of these dishes in Niroli’s excellent array of restaurants.

  Grapes

  The Niroli vines produce the queen of white grapes. Cultivated since Roman times on the slopes of the Cattina Valley, and ripened by summer sun and storms, these grapes are harvested to make Porto Castellante Bianco, a dry white wine with a crisp, citrussy bouquet, which makes an especially good accompaniment to fish dishes.

  Marine life

  The seas around the island of Niroli are fertile fishing grounds, filled with bass, bream, tuna, red snapper, squid, shrimp and scallops. The fishing fleet goes out daily to catch the local sea’s fine bounty. Natives and tourists alike savour these catches and the island’s speciality dish of Rainbow Mullet, which is marinated in Niroli Virgin Olive and Orange Oil, then lightly grilled.

  The Santa Fiera Spa also makes excellent use of an abundance of marine algae in its skin and beauty treatments.

  Volcanic Mud

  The volcanoes on Niroli are now extinct, but the area around them is still a rich source of volcanic mud, which is a mixture of rainwater and volcanic ash formed at the time of eruption.

  The Santa Fiera Spa specialises in volcanic mud baths and masks as health and beauty treatments, which are reported to rejuvenate and revitalise the skin, drawing women from across the globe keen to take advantage of its miraculous properties!

  MORE ABOUT PENNY JORDAN

  PENNY JORDAN

  has been writing for more than twenty-five years and has an outstanding record: over one hundred and sixty-five novels published, including the phenomenally successful A Perfect Family, To Love, Honour & Betray, The Perfect Sinner and Power Play which hit The Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller lists. She says she hopes to go on writing until she has passed the two hundred mark and maybe even the two hundred and fifty mark.

  Although Penny was born in Preston, Lancashire, and spent her childhood there, she moved to Cheshire as a teenager and has continued to live there. Following the death of her husband, she moved to the small traditional Cheshire market town on which she based her Crighton books.

  She lives with a large hairy German shepherd dog—Sheba—and an equally hairy Birman cat—Posh, both of whom assist her with her writing. Posh sits on the newspapers and magazines that Penny reads to provide her with ideas she can adapt for her fictional books, and Sheba demands the long walks which help Penny to free up the mental creative process.

  Penny is a member and supporter of both the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Romance Writers of America—two organisations dedicated to providing support for both published and yet-to-be published authors.

  PENNY JORDAN QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

  Did you enjoy the experience of writing about Niroli?

  I found the experience challenging and fascinating, it was a real learning curve for me—a new area to explore as a writer.

  Would you like to visit Niroli?

  To be honest, I feel as though I already have visited the island—I can even smell its warm scented air whilst I’m writing about it.

  Which of the ‘Rules of Niroli’ would you least like to abide by?

  All of them—I hate rules!

  How did you find writing as part of a continuity?

  Like I said, I hate rules and I found it very challenging! One always wants to give the reader the best possible read and I found my imagination got tangled up in the complexities of writing for a continuity. Having said that, I also felt it was good for me as a writer to meet the challenge it represented.

  When you are writing, what is your typical day?

  I start work at around 9.30am and normally spend the morning reviewing and editing the previous day’s writing. I then write in the afternoon and the evening. Writing is my life and absorbs seventy-five per cent of my waking hours.

  Where do you get your inspiration for the characters that you write?

  I let the plot lines inspire me and work from there, trying to build up a character or characters who will logically fit into the emotional conflict I want to create. For me no character ever exists simply in the here and now of the story—I have to know their whole emotional makeup and the events in the lives that have shaped them from childhood.

  What, in your opinion, makes a great ‘Modern’ hero?

  For me a hero has to be compelling both sexually and emotionally, he has to be proud and strong and even perhaps a little arrogant, but he also—vitally important to me—has to have some vulnerability. He has to have a human side which allows us to sympathise with him and to see that here in this man there is something genuinely loveable. He also has at some point to show a willingness to understand that his love for the heroine is such that he must overcome whatever inbuilt mindsets he has that are coming between them. Like this writer, he has to grow in awareness and self-knowledge so that he can be worthy of his heroine’s love for him.

  Tell us about the project you’re working on at the moment.

  I’m sorry, but I am rather superstitious about discussing my future writing in detail! But I do hope to go on creating truly memorable heroes and stories for the readers for many years to come!

  MORE ABOUT MELANIE MILBURNE

  MELANIE MILBURNE

  says: “One of the greatest joys of being a writer is the process of falling in love with the characters and then watching as they fall in love with each other. I am an absolutely hopeless romantic. I fell in love with my husband on our second date and we even had a secret engagement, so you see it must have been destined for me to be a Mills & Boon® author! The other great joy of being a romance writer is hearing from readers. You can hear all about the other things I do when I’m not writing, and even drop me a line, at: www.melaniemilburne.com.au”

  MELANIE MILBURNE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

  Did you enjoy writing about Niroli?

  I absolutely loved writing this story and felt very fortunate to have been given Alex and Amelia as characters to work with. They seemed to come to life as soon as I typed the first sentence. That’s always a great feeling!

  Would you like to visit Niroli?

  I really would. All those wonderful beaches, that glorious sunshine and the food and wine, not to mention all those gorgeous Fierezza men!

  Which of the Rules of Niroli would you least like to abide by?

  I think it would have to be the same as my hero Alex had to face—the sacrifice of his career in order to take the throne. He just couldn’t do it and nor could I. I love my job too much.

  How did you find writing as part of a continuity?

  I must admit when first approached to do this story I felt apprehensive. I am so used to making up my own characters and plots, so being handed characters’ names and attributes and a synopsis and family bible was a bit daunting. However, the characters became my own as soon as I started typing that first sentence. I still smile when I think of how Alex and Amelia met.

  When you are writing, what is your typical day?

  Typical day?!!! But I am a woman and a wife and a mother and a writer. There is no such thing as a typical day! But that’s what I love most about being a full-time writer. I like the flexibility of choosing my hours, although having said that I still have a structure in place. I exercise in the mornings, walk, gym or swim and do household jobs and then the afternoons are mine to write. I spend six to eight hours in my office each day, with of course numerous trips downstairs to the kitchen for cups of tea and biscuits, hence the exercise routine!

  Where do you find the inspiration that shapes your characters?

  I get a lot of inspiration from readin
g books. I particularly enjoy biographies and social commentaries, although magazines and the daily newspaper are also great sources. But I would have to say that life itself gives me the most inspiration. It’s amazing how often I’ve got an idea from talking to someone I’ve just met or sat next to at a dinner party. Something in their life story or personality triggers an idea and I start staring into space thinking…what if?

  What in your opinion makes a great hero?

  The qualities I look for in a hero are strength of character, leadership, loyalty, and a sense of humour. Oh, and a gorgeous body and a great smile also helps!

  Tell us about the project you are working on at the moment.

  I have just finished a Presents/Modern™ and I am now about to start a Medical™. I already have the characters talking to me half the night, so I can see this is going to be one of those books that more or less writes itself. Ben Blackwood is a dedicated and hard-working neurosurgeon in a busy public hospital. His new registrar happens to be the daughter of the Professor of Surgery who almost ruined Ben’s career when he was training. I can already feel the tension between them!

  THE OFFICIAL FIEREZZA FAMILY TREE

  Don’t miss Penny Jordan’s exciting new novel A Stormy Spanish Summer

  Available in March 2011 from

  Mills & Boon® Modern™

  &

  Watch out for Melanie Milburne’s fantastic new book

  The Wedding Charade

  Coming in February 2011 from Mills & Boon® Modern™

  Turn the page for an exciting glimpse of

  Bought by the Billionaire Prince

  by

  Carol Marinelli

  the first story in the addictive next volume in the Royal House of Niroli collection

  The Royal House of Niroli: Billion Dollar Bargains

  Available in February 2011 from Mills & Boon

  CHAPTER ONE

  ‘IS HE good-looking?’

  Meg felt her teeth literally grind together as her travel companion, Jasmine, repeated the question for the hundredth time. Here they were docking in Niroli, which was undoubtedly the most beautiful island Meg had seen on her travels to date, and all Jasmine wanted to talk about was potential men.

  Coming from Australia, where everything was comparatively new, Meg was in awe of the past that drenched each place she had visited on her travels through Europe, reeling at the ancient architecture and glorious tales of times gone by and, for Meg, Niroli had it all! To the South of Sicily, the island of Niroli, according to the travel guide Meg had devoured on the boat trip, was steeped in history, its colourful past filled with rivalries and wars dating back centuries and still playing out today. They’d just passed the tiny island of Mont Avellana, which, as recently as two decades ago, had been ruled by Niroli, and now they were coming into Niroli’s main port. Meg stared in wonder as they approached—sandy beaches rapidly giving way to a lush hillside, which was like a fabulous tapestry, with thick forests, and edged by vineyards that laced neatly around the sprawling town. But a grand castle set on a rocky promontory was for Meg the main focal point, standing tall and proud, looking out towards the ocean, as if somehow guarding it all.

  ‘That’s the palace,’ Meg pointed out to Jasmine excitedly, checking with the map to get her bearings, ‘and over to the right there’s a Roman amphitheatre….’

  ‘There’s a casino,’ Jasmine said, peering over Meg’s shoulder, ‘oh, and a luxury spa!’

  ‘We can’t afford luxury.’ Meg smiled. ‘We’re backpacking!’

  ‘Then we’ll just have to find someone who can!’ Jasmine countered, her mind flicking back to the inevitable. ‘So what sort of doctor is he?’

  ‘Who?’ Meg asked, then let out a pained sigh as Jasmine’s momentary interest in her surrounds rapidly waned. ‘Alex is a surgeon,’ Meg admitted, then wished she hadn’t, noting Jasmine’s eyes literally light up at the prospect of dating a rich surgeon—well, she could dream on. Alex was the least money-minded of persons and would see through Jasmine in a flash.

  If only she had, Meg inwardly sighed. At first when Jasmine had befriended her, Meg had been only too glad of the company, only lately the very qualities that Meg had admired had started to repel. Jasmine’s impetuous nature, her carefree attitude and her obsession with men were starting to irritate, and Meg was actually looking forward to cooling off the friendship a touch—ready now to complete her journey alone.

  Backpacking through Europe had seemed the most unlikely of adventures for Meg to embark on. Routine was the key in Meg’s life—routine was what saw her through. Routine was the only way she could control her life and the emotions that had overwhelmed her as she’d struggled to come to terms with her difficult childhood.

  But now here she was, twenty-five years of age and ready to start living; ready to let go of a difficult past and truly embrace a world that had at times been so very cruel. Backpacking through Europe was the final self-imposed step in her recovery. Casual work, casual clothes and casual meals had at first been a huge enigma for Meg, but gradually she was starting to relax—that knot of tension that had been present for as long as she could remember was slowly unravelling and, as she stepped off the boat and took a deep cleansing breath, closed her blue eyes and turned her face up to the warm sun Meg knew there and then that she had been so right to embark on this journey—could hardly wait to tell her brother just how far she’d come.

  ‘Where is he?’ Jasmine’s hopeful face scanned the crowd for a first glimpse of a suitable good-looking surgeon. ‘Does he look like you?’

  ‘Not in the least.’ Meg laughed but didn’t elaborate. Alex Hunter was as dark as Meg Donovan was blond, his eyes black where Meg’s were blue. They looked nothing alike and with good reason—both were adopted, Alex when he was a toddler, Meg when she was twelve years old. But despite their differences, despite not sharing one shred of DNA, they were as close as any blood brother and sister.

  ‘Does he know what boat you’re coming on?’

  ‘I told him ages ago.’ Meg frowned. ‘Well, I emailed him with the details.’

  ‘And he got it?’ Jasmine checked.

  ‘Yes, I’m sure he got it,’ Meg answered, but a trickle of unease slid down her spine. ‘He should be here.’

  ‘Well, it doesn’t look like he is,’ Jasmine pointed out as the crowd started to disperse. ‘Maybe he’s stuck at the hospital.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Meg answered, but she wasn’t convinced. It was most unlike Alex to just not turn up; if he couldn’t make it himself then he’d have sent someone. ‘Though I haven’t checked my emails for ages. Maybe he’s been trying to get hold of me.’

  ‘So what do we do now?’ Jasmine asked, her eyes scanning the notice boards. ‘They said at the youth hostel there were usually loads of signs advertising for seasonal workers, but there doesn’t seem to be any—not that I fancy fruit-picking!’

  ‘It sounds fun. And you do need the work,’ Meg pointed out. Jasmine wasn’t just down to her last Euro, she was dipping into Meg’s carefully planned budget and, frankly, Meg was tired of hearing Jasmine say she’d pay her back as soon as she got some work.

  ‘Well, I think fruit-picking sounds awful.’ Jasmine pouted, but soon cheered up, cheekily ripping down a notice and then pocketing it. ‘This is more me. They’re looking for casual staff at the casino and there’s discounted accommodation—ooh, look, there’s even a courtesy bus.’

  ‘I think that’s for the clientele,’ Meg said as some holiday-makers who certainly weren’t backpackers were escorted into the luxury vehicle.

  ‘So?’ Jasmine shrugged and pulled on her backpack as she called to the bus driver to wait for her—Meg couldn’t help but smile; Jasmine was like a cat who always landed on her feet. ‘Come on, Meg.’

  ‘I don’t think so.’ Meg shook her head. ‘A casino is the last place I want to be. All that noise and bustle…’

  ‘All those rich men!’ Jasmine giggled and even Meg managed a laugh. ‘Come on, M
eg, hold off on your search for inner peace for a few days and come and have some fun at the casino. We can share a room.’

  ‘It’s really not me.’ Raking a hand through her blond hair, Meg felt the salt and grease and almost relented—given Alex wasn’t here, that long soak in a bath she’d been looking forward to wasn’t going to eventuate and accommodation at the casino, even if it was budget accommodation, was surely going to be better than some of the hostels she’d stayed in. ‘I think I’ll head over to the hospital.’ Meg checked out her map. ‘It isn’t very far. Maybe he is just caught up at work. You’d better go or you’re going to miss that courtesy bus.’

  ‘Well, if it doesn’t work out with your brother, you know where I am.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Meg grinned, watching as her friend climbed on the bus and waved her off, wishing, wishing she could, even for a little while, be as happy and as carefree as Jasmine—could relax just a little bit, could have just a fraction of her confidence. The universe itself seemed to provide Jasmine with her assured nature.

  Meg watched until the tiny bus disappeared from view, filled with something she couldn’t define—a hunger, a need almost for familiarity, to be able to let down her guard a touch, to be with someone who knew how hard this was for her, someone who knew that this so-called trip of a lifetime, this carefree existence, was in fact an agonising journey for her.