by Avery North
Riad Dubois
The Complete Romance Series
Avery North
Contents
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Book 1: Exotic Allure
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue
Book 2: Unexpected Passion
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue
Book 3: Finding Freedom
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue
Book 4: Endless Desire
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue
Book 5: Another Chance
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue
Reviews
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About Avery North
Riad Dubois © 2020 by Avery North
All Rights Reserved
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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More Books By Avery North
Chiltern Hotel Series:
Breaking Barriers: ( Book 1)
Breaking Christmas Traditions: (Book 2)
Breaking Liberty: (Book 3)
Breaking Rules: (Book 4)
Breaking Promises: (Book 5)
Breaking Boundaries: (Book 6)
Eden Spa Series:
Seduction At The Spa: ( Book 1)
Reconciliation At The Spa: ( Book 2)
Devotion At The Spa: ( Book 3)
Production At The Spa: ( Book 4)
Redemption At The Spa: ( Book 5)
Rejuvenation At The Spa: ( Book 6)
Riad Dubois Series:
Exotic Allure: ( Book 1)
Unexpected Passion: ( Book 2)
Finding Freedom: ( Book 3)
Endless Desire: ( Book 4)
Another Chance: ( Book 5)
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Book 1: Exotic Allure
Blurb
Louise, a recently divorced, globe-trotting journalist, is on the last leg of a trip to Morocco, finishing up an assignment. With colleagues in tow, she’s eager to complete her mission and move on. The last thing she needs is distractions—that is until a handsome Frenchman catches her eye.
Gilbert, owner of a Riad, likes simplicity, but his life right now is anything but. Desperate to break ties with his ex, he isn’t as sure-footed as normal. When he lays eyes on Louise, he’s thrown even more off balance. She is the woman of his dreams.
As their attraction intensifies, it’s inevitable they’ll fall madly in love, but when Louise overhears a private conversation between Gilbert and his ex, their near-perfect relationship is sent into a tailspin.
Will they find their way back and share a happily ever after or is their relationship over before it’s begun?
Chapter 1
A peal of thunder announced the arrival of rain as Louise pushed her way through the swing doors into the Riad lobby.
As expected, Emma and Joshua were already waiting there, Joshua tapping his foot impatiently on the marble floor.
“Sorry to have kept you,” Louise said hurriedly, “the driver took a wrong turning.”
“Well, at least you’re here now,” Joshua replied, his anger thinly disguised. "Why you insist on getting your own transport, I will never understand. Your luggage has already gone to your room. Here’s your key.”
He thrust the heavy bronze key into her hands.
“Emma and I have some work to finish. Dinner is at eight in the main restaurant. Try to be on time.”
Louise grasped the key and flashed a smile of sympathy at Emma as she turned to follow their peeved team leader.
“Can I get you anything, Madam?” the hall porter was at her elbow, anxious to please as all hall porters they had met on this trip had been.
“Iced coffee would be great, please,” Louise answered, thinking she could get used to this. Looking around the lobby, she could see why she had been right to be excited about staying in a Riad. Marble floors, leather furnishings, and the uniformed porter all was already living up to her expectations.
Were it not for Joshua, this trip to Morocco would have been superb. She would have to return someday without Joshua − and certainly not on a work trip. Emma was OK when she wasn’t so preoccupied with keeping the boss man happy, but she was a junior at Prestigio, the travel magazine, so Louise didn’t blame her. Louise had been like that once, but she had learned the hard way.
She was comfortably ensconced on one of the leather couches; her laptop open before her. When the porter returned with the iced coffee, after she tipped him and he went on his way, she scrolled through her notes and pictures from the day's footage, deciding what to retain and what to discard before sending her article on to the London office. Her career as a travel writer depended on the quality of the articles she handed in − not that she had any intention of continuing to work for this magazine unless they gave her the option of working remotely. Well, she could always dream. Morocco seemed to be a good option so far, it certainly beats returning to rain-soaked Wales and enduring another year of gray skies.
By her watch, it was 5 pm when she was finished with her
article and notes for the next day. She thought she might even have time for a stroll around the grounds before dinner. However, a shadow falling over her computer screen told her she was being observed. Looking up, she found herself looking into the dark eyes of the man standing at the table and got the unmistakable scent of expensive aftershave.
***
"Sorry to disturb you, Madam, but are you with the magazine people? I am Ahmed, the hotel manager, and Mr. Gilbert’s right-hand man. Mr. Gilbert asked me to tell you that the library is at your disposal if you want to work there. If you follow me, I can show it to you.”
“Sure,” Louise shut her laptop and gathered her notes.
She followed Ahmed along the wood-paneled corridor until they reached an oak door at its furthest end.
"In here, Madam," Ahmed threw open the door, revealing more oak paneling, leather couches, and vases of fresh flowers on the many tables.
“Wow,” Louise looked at Ahmed. “Are all Riads as elegant as this?”
“Some, but not all, Madam. Riad Dubios is Mr. Gilbert’s pride and joy, the first opened by his family. You can work here without being disturbed. Mr. Gilbert’s office is through there, but he usually enters through the courtyard.”
As Ahmed left the room, Louise realized that she still hadn’t checked out her bedroom. Extracting the bronze key from her bag, she wondered what delights might await her there if the library was this nice. Leaving her laptop and notes on one of the tables, she set off through the labyrinth of passages in search of her room.
The lobby was completely different from how she had left it earlier. A tour bus was disgorging its tired passengers, and chattering guests were returning from their daytime activities. The calm of the afternoon had been replaced with the hubbub of the evening, and the strong sunlight that had streamed through the windows seemed to have lessened.
“So, this is what Marrakesh is about,” Louise thought as she climbed the staircase, remembering how she had heard the city referred to as a hedonistic paradise. “And I thought I had seen all I wanted to in Agadir.”
Thinking about the four-hour coach journey from Agadir that morning reminded her that it was time to unpack and get ready to enjoy what should be a relatively easy evening.
Louise allowed herself a twirl in front of the ornate mirror in the stairwell. Smoothing the green silk over her hips, she liked what she saw. Pushing a stray tendril of the chestnut hair back into its bun, the light caught on the gold of her ring, the serpent's emerald eyes, seeming to wink at her. Giving the ring a quick kiss, she felt safe as she always did when she wore it. The ring had been the only good thing to come from a relationship that had left her bruised and determined not to be hurt again. She thought of the day she saw it in a shop window in London and decided that was how some of her settlement money should be spent. She needed a talisman, a protector, to give her courage in the years ahead. The ring had captured her attention, the serpent’s head nestling snugly in its velvet box …
“Excuse me, may we share the mirror?” a male voice startled her.
Looking up from her ring, she saw the man standing beside her. Despite her discomfort at being caught admiring her reflection, she took in his elegant evening wear, well-cut black trousers, silk shirt, and colorful cravat.
“Excuse me,” she stammered, turning quickly towards the staircase.
He laid a hand on her arm, stopping her from fleeing.
“No need to run away, there is room for both of us,” twinkling dark eyes suggested he found the situation amusing. "Let me introduce myself; I am Gilbert Dubios. I am in charge of all that happens in this Riad.”
“Louise Thomson. I’m with Prestigio magazine,” she remembered what Ahmed had said when he brought her to the library, “many thanks for allowing us to use the library.”
“You looked so uncomfortable working in the lobby, it was the least I could do,” he adjusted his cravat before continuing. “The library is for your use only, not for your colleagues. Consider it your treat for having brightened up a dull afternoon.”
Head cocked sideways, Louise regarded him for a moment. So, he had seen her in the lobby, but what was this “for her use only” about? Should alarm bells be ringing?
Unconsciously fiddling with her ring, she turned to go.
“Thank you, but I am late for dinner.”
Before he could react, she had reached the head of the staircase and was descending quickly to the nearly empty lobby.
Emma and Joshua were already seated when she entered the dining room. Feeling disorientated from her meeting with Gilbert and the cacophony of sounds and smells in the dining room, she stood for a moment trying to get her bearings. Emma waved at her from their window table.
“Glad you could make it,” was Joshua’s brusque greeting. A half-empty brandy glass on the table was Louise’s warning that an eventful evening lay ahead. Joshua and alcohol combined prompted her to think, “Uh oh, misogynist on the loose."
“Well, Emma’s been telling me that you had a nasty experience with a man,” He began as Louise unfolded her napkin.
“And?” Louise hoped that a raised eyebrow would end the conversation before it began.
“And? Nothing, just thought it was interesting,” he took another large sip of his brandy.
“Should we order?” Emma had noticed the incensed look on Louise’s face.
The meal was finishing up when Emma squealed, “There he is, Joshua. Remember the owner who was here when we arrived? You missed him, Louise!"
Turning in her chair, Louise once again saw Gilbert Dubios, a tray of drinks balanced on his hand, approaching their table.
“For my favorite guests and for the lady in green, a post-prandial drink," he said as he slipped the tray onto their table.
Louise blushed as he handed her a glass, looking intently into her eyes as he did so.
Chapter 2
“Huh, decent of him, I guess,” Joshua muttered as he swirled the liquor in his glass. “Just hope he doesn’t expect a raving review because of the drinks.”
“Or maybe,” he said, putting the glass on the table and with a nasty smirk on his face, “he will expect the lady in green to fill a special space in his life.”
Emma looked shocked as Louise pushed back her chair and rose to her feet.
“Where are you going, honey?” Joshua slurred. He still hadn't got the message, and Louise was certainly not going to be the one to explain it to him.
Tucking her bag under her arm, her back straight, she crossed the room heading towards the quiet of the lobby.
“You shouldn’t have said that, Joshua!” Emma exclaimed.
“Why the hell not?” he answered to the shock of the listeners at the nearby tables.
The lobby was quiet as Louise looked for the way to the courtyard. Her bun was coming undone, and loose tendrils of hair hung around her face and clung to her clammy face.
“I need to get out of here,” she muttered to herself.
Suddenly she glimpsed it, a low archway that led to an open space, shafts of moonlight gleaming on the cool stones.
All was quiet out here, only the low sounds from the street could be heard in the distance, the mewling of a cat as it hunted under a palm tree and the sound of water in the pool.
Louise trailed a hand in the water, rising when the waiter approached her with a tray of drinks. Settling on a poolside chair, she felt she could breathe, at last, releasing the frustration that an encounter with Joshua always seemed to fill her with.
“Are you OK, Madam?” the waiter was still hanging about, looking concerned.
“Yes, thank you,” she said, surprised at his attentiveness.
“Only I saw you in the dining room just now. Mr. Gilbert asked to be told when you left.”
“OK. I will be out here for a while.” The waiter nodded and left.
She rubbed her forehead. Why had he asked to be told when she left? She wasn't sure if she could cope with anymore after this long day, Jos
hua’s behavior had left a sour taste in her mouth, and this Gilbert was probably just a playboy trying his luck with every woman who entered the Riad. Still, the cool of the courtyard was welcome, and it was too early to retire for the night.
***
By the time Gilbert arrived, Louise had made friends with the cat, and she was playing with the strap of her bag.
“You’ve met Moustache!” he exclaimed as he crossed the courtyard.
“Moustache?” she said in surprise.
“Yes, Moustache, my cat,” he picked up the ginger cat and cuddled her against his shoulder before taking a seat beside Louise.
“You didn’t think I was a cat lover?” the humor in his voice was unmistakable.