Seduced in the City

by Jo Leigh

  Everyone loves New York...but they lust after red-hot bachelor Dom Paladino!

  In the loud, vibrant Little Italy community, family is just as important as history. Dominic might be the youngest—and most charming—of the Paladino brothers, but he wants a future that doesn’t involve the family business. He also wants temptingly sexy Sara Moretti...and he’s not letting a little thing like “bad blood” keep him away.

  Sara’s never forgiven Dom for hurting her feelings all those years ago. So how come her heart beats like crazy every time he stops by her family’s pizza shop? Suddenly she’s having a seriously hot, X-rated fling with the guy she used to hate. It can’t possibly last. But in the Big Apple, half the fun comes from rewriting history...

  “We can take this as slowly as you want,” Dom murmured.

  Sara glanced down at his aroused body as they sprawled across his bed. “Uh, it looks like slow is the last thing you need.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Dom smiled. When he kissed her, it was gentle. Sweet. She’d wanted things to be wild, untamed. This fantasy was turning into a soap opera.

  His hand cupped the back of her neck, and with the tip of his tongue he brushed the seam between her lips. His other hand caressed her breast and teased the nipple.

  Something clicked and she kissed him back, letting everything else go. Right this moment, this kiss, his tongue, the taste of him, the way he breathed, was all that existed.

  He didn’t hurry her or make her feel anything but special. His low moan made that thrill slip down her back again, and she found herself melting inside, all kinds of sensations wakening once more.

  He wasn’t the boy of her memories, or the man she’d imagined.

  He was so much better. Hotter. Sexier...

  Dear Reader,

  Well, here it is. My last Harlequin Blaze. It seems impossible. I’ve loved this series ever since I wrote my first Blaze back in 2001. I was thrilled that my editor, Birgit Davis-Todd, thought of me for the launch, and I’ve been privileged to write thirty-seven Blaze stories since then.

  Seduced in the City is set in my beloved New York and is the final book in the NYC Bachelors trilogy.

  Dominic Paladino is a natural-born charmer, and now that he’s finally leaving the family business, everyone knows he’s destined to take the world by storm.

  Sara Moretti has returned to the neighborhood after being away at college, and is working at her family’s pizza parlor while she finishes her MA. She’d had a crush on Dom since she was twelve.

  Only, the boy she’d loved from afar broke her teenage heart, and she made a foolish mistake in return. Foolish enough that it rippled through her life right up until the day he reappeared ten years later.

  Now they not only need to work through their troubled past, but they’re faced with some serious decisions that could impact their families, their neighborhood and most important, the love that’s taken them both by surprise.

  I hope you enjoy Dom and Sara’s story, and that we meet again soon between the pages of more stories from the heart.

  All my best wishes,

  Jo Leigh

  Jo Leigh

  Seduced in the City

  Jo Leigh is from Los Angeles and always thought she’d end up living in Manhattan. So how did she end up in Utah in a tiny town with a terrible internet connection, being bossed around by a houseful of rescued cats and dogs? What the heck, she says, predictability is boring. Jo has written more than sixty novels for Harlequin. Find her on Twitter, @jo_leigh.

  Books by Jo Leigh

  Harlequin Blaze

  NYC Bachelors

  Tempted in the City

  Daring in the City

  It’s Trading Men!

  Choose Me

  Have Me

  Want Me

  Seduce Me

  Dare Me

  Intrigue Me

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  To Birgit Davis-Todd, who’s believed in me and my work since 1997.

  I can’t think of a better thing that’s happened to me in my Harlequin career.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Excerpt from Wild Seduction by Daire St. Denis

  1

  ELLIE, SARA MORETTI’S little sister, hung up the phone and twirled around as if she’d just won the lottery. “The Paladinos want their regular order,” she called back into the kitchen. “Two large, one pepperoni, one veggie, one order of ziti.” She turned to Sara, her smile so broad it must have hurt. “I think Dom’s coming to pick it up.”

  Dom.

  The tray slipped out of Sara’s hands and bounced on the linoleum floor with a loud clang.

  Laughing, Ellie scooped it up for her. “Butterfingers.”

  Jeanette stuck her head out from the kitchen. “Everyone okay?”

  “Fine.” Sara took the tray from her sister and went straight to the sink to wash it.

  She hadn’t thought about Dominic Paladino in a long while. And clearly she couldn’t afford to think about him now. Her pulse had ratcheted up. Her heart was trying out for the gymnastics team, and so was her stomach.

  The last time she’d seen him was right there at Moretti’s Pizza Parlor the day before she’d left for George Washington University, seven years ago. He’d been sitting at a table with two of his jock friends, his dark hair slicked back, his damp T-shirt straining across his broad shoulders and clinging to his lightly muscled chest. They’d just come from a soccer game after trampling their opponents, a team from the next block over. Sara had hid in the back while Jeanette waited on their table.

  She glanced around, wondering what Ellie was up to. Was she staring? Had she already moved on? Of course she had. To her, Sara had dropped a tray. That’s all. Ellie didn’t know about Sara’s long-ago crush on Dom, or what he’d said to shatter her young heart into a million pieces. No one had known about any of it because Sara had kept it to herself. Sort of... Years later she’d let her temper get the better of her and made a mistake that had cost her more than she could’ve imagined.

  Ellie was checking on her table and laughing with the customers, so Sara relaxed. The place had barely changed. The old redbrick walls still looked as if they’d been put together by a bunch of drunks, the family-style tables still had red-checkered cloths, although she’d hoped they’d been replaced.

  But it was home, and although she’d made more money serving cocktails in Washington, DC, in one night than she’d make here i
n a week, she was glad to be back in Little Italy.

  “Bet you’re surprised Dom is still here,” Jeanette said from behind her.

  “I hadn’t really thought about it.” She shrugged. “I guess I figured he’d be living out in Hollywood or someplace.”

  “Nah,” Jeannette said, staring at the tray. Probably wondering if Sara had washed the aluminum off by now. The woman wasn’t related by blood, but she’d been working there for over twenty years, so she was practically a Moretti. “The whole family’s been sticking close to home since the old man had a second heart attack.”

  “Second? Oh, that’s too bad,” Sara said, meaning it. She’d known the Paladinos since she was a little kid. Her mom and Dom’s mom had been friends since childhood, but Sara mostly knew them from church.

  Jeanette smiled. “Joe’s a tough old bird.”

  “I’m surprised my mom didn’t mention it.”

  Jeanette took the tray to dry it. In a hushed voice she asked, “If Dom comes in, are you gonna hide in the back?”

  Sara looked at her and laughed. “I was a shy nerd back then. Let him try pissing me off now.”

  Jeanette chuckled. “I might pay to see that.”

  “Who are you talking about?” Ellie popped up out of nowhere.

  “No one you know,” Sara said, drying her hands.

  “Bet I do.”

  “Then let me rephrase. None of your business.”

  Jeanette grinned and shook her head.

  Ellie huffed, grabbed some napkins and went back to her table.

  Up until ninth grade Sara had gone to an all-girls Catholic school and hadn’t seen much of Dom. But that had in no way stopped her from having a major crush on him, just like most of the girls in her class. Hell, the whole school. Every guy had wanted to be Dom, and all the girls had wanted him.

  “His brother Tony’s getting married,” Ellie said, joining them behind the counter again.

  “Whose brother?”

  “Excuse me, ladies,” Jeanette said with a little smile. “Gotta go back to the kitchen before Carlo starts yelling.”

  “Dom.” Ellie stared at Sara as if she’d finally lost her last brain cell.

  “Oh, of course. Silly me.”

  Ellie ignored the sarcasm. “I wonder if Dom is going to be the best man. Can you imagine him in a tux?”

  “Oh, sweetie,” Sara said, not surprised, really. “Tell me you don’t have a thing for that guy. For God’s sake, he’s a year older than me, and you think I’m the Crypt Keeper.”

  “You’re almost thirty.” Lifting her chin, Ellie left to go wipe down table five, where a gang of slobs, also known as high school kids, had left their mark everywhere from the tablecloth to the floor.

  “I’m twenty-seven, thank you. But I believe I’ve made my point.”

  Ellie sighed. “Have you met any seventeen-year-old boys? They’re disgusting.”

  “You think that changes when they turn twenty-eight?”

  “He’s hot. And he doesn’t look old.” Ellie’s cheeks got splotchy. Poor kid had a blush like a rash. Although she was so pretty it didn’t really make a difference. With her waist-length brown hair and her big green eyes, she was the beauty of the family.

  Sara had been the brainy one, but all that had gotten her was an almost-completed master’s degree and a load of student debt.

  “So, I assume he’s still single?” Sara said, and got another funny look from Ellie. “Since you’re shamelessly mooning over him.”

  Her sister broke out in laughter. “Mooning? Jeez, Sara, you sound like Nonna.”

  Sara came out from behind the counter and snatched a pair of salt-and-pepper shakers that needed refilling. “Don’t change the subject.”

  “What, like you did when I asked about you and Robert?”

  “Oh, my God. Why did I come back here?” Sara heard a call from the kitchen and she went to get the order ready for the Cho family. Chinatown pretty much surrounded Little Italy now. Most of their customers lived there, or in Nolita or SoHo. At least people still kept coming to their place, even if they had other pizza joints closer. Thank goodness they kept getting those “Best in New York” awards.

  Not that they were making a lot of money. Enough to keep up with the cost of living, but that was about it. Fortunately, their rent was still amazingly cheap, so they weren’t about to make any changes. What would her parents do if they didn’t run this place? As the sign above the marquee proudly proclaimed, Moretti’s had been in the family since 1931.

  She thought about Robert as she sliced the large Sicilian pie, then closed the box. He’d been in Rome for two months now, and while they talked two or three times a week, she wasn’t quite sure where that left their relationship. For the three years she’d known Robert, he’d wanted to work for Inside the Vatican. More than he wanted anything, including her. Oh, he’d argue otherwise, but she knew better.

  There were two salads to go, which she put in the cold bag, along with the liter of soda. Then she stuck it all on the pickup counter and turned to the next pizza while Jeannette caught another phone order. The dinner hour had just begun and they were already slammed. Especially with that birthday party for twelve coming up.

  The bell above the door rang, but instead of Mike Cho, it was Dominic who walked into the restaurant.

  Sara stilled, and in the span of a second she was thirteen years old again, a geeky, flat-chested, mousy little girl who’d cried for two whole nights, convinced her life was over.

  He’d changed. Broader chest, a hint of a five o’clock shadow on his strong jaw, his swagger more assured. He’d been the best-looking guy in school, but now he might just be the best-looking guy in New York. His eyes seemed darker, and his hair looked like her fingers would get lost in those thick brown waves, and for heaven’s sake, even his smile had gotten more charming.

  As if she didn’t dislike him enough already.

  But it certainly made sense that Ellie had a crush on him. One quick glance at Jeannette, and yep, she wasn’t immune either. Sara remembered how she’d written Mrs. Dominic Paladino, Mrs. Sara Paladino and Mrs. Sarafina Paladino ad nauseum on a half dozen notebooks starting at age twelve. Which stopped abruptly at age thirteen, after that day. She’d destroyed notebooks, journal entries, anything that mentioned him, purging him from her life.

  The next year it was time to make the big switch to high school. Even though she’d begged her parents to let her go to the all-girls Catholic school in Midtown, they’d sent her to Loyola. The school ruled by Dom and all his jock friends.

  Lucky for her, he’d barely acknowledged that she was alive.

  At least now she could return the favor.

  * * *

  DOM PALADINO HAD been grateful to get out of his folks’ house for a little while. The conversation had turned to Tony’s wedding. Again. Even with Catherine’s parents all the way in Europe, everyone, including them, felt compelled to throw in their two cents.

  Poor Catherine had been getting it from both sides. She was trying her best to keep the affair to a manageable size but her folks—both diplomats who had about a million political “friends” that had to be invited—didn’t seem to know the meaning of compromise. At this rate, they’d have to get St. Patrick’s Cathedral to hold them all. Dom had told Tony to elope a dozen times, but had his eldest brother listened? Fine. His business, his problem. Just as Dom had left the house, the discussion had turned to the relatives who still lived in Italy that should be on the guest—

  His thoughts skidded to a halt. Was that Sara?

  Holy shit, she’d...blossomed.

  He greeted Ellie and Jeannette in his usual manner, but his gaze was magnetically drawn to Sara Moretti. He hadn’t seen her in years and damn, she looked hot. Gorgeous light brown hair that hit just below her shoulder
s. And those eyes of hers. If he’d had any doubt she was Sara, those big hazel eyes would’ve confirmed it. He tried to imagine that skinny, shy kid with braces from his past, but her transformation was too impressive. Probably still smart as could be, though. “Sara?”

  She gave him an abrupt nod, then turned her back to slice a large pizza.

  Above the piped-in Italian music, he heard Ellie gasp.

  He didn’t get it. Why had Sara been so curt? He tried to remember if he’d done anything bad to her back in the day. He didn’t think so. Yeah, at times he’d been an arrogant little shit in high school, but not usually. Mostly out of rebellion, considering he had his older brothers’ reputations to live up to.

  Dom honestly couldn’t remember having much interaction with Sara, not even at church functions or here in her family’s pizza parlor.

  “How are the wedding plans coming along?” Ellie asked.

  “Oh, man. I don’t want to even hear the word wedding. The whole thing is insane. If I ever start talking about that, remind me, would you?”

  “I bet Tony’s excited.” Ellie blushed as she went over to the soda machine. She poured him a cola, squeezed a piece of lime, put a lid on it, slid in a straw and handed the cup to Dom. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks, Ellie. The boys at school still driving you crazy? Say the word and I’ll make sure they behave.”

  “Stop it,” she said, the pink on her cheeks looking a little spotted. “They’re all stupid.”

  “Still no one special then?”

  “Ew, no.”

  He laughed, just as Mike Cho, a guy he knew from Loyola, then the local gym, came into the restaurant.

  “Dominic,” Mike said. “What’s the matter? You don’t lift anymore?”

  “I moved. I’m living in the Cast Iron District now.”

  “That’s not far.”

  “No,” Dom said. “But I’ve been going to Body Space Fitness in Union Square.”

  “I heard that’s a good place. They have a pool, right?”

  “And killer instructors.”