One-Click Buy: March 2009 Silhouette Desire

by Katherine Garbera

  “It’s real,” she whispered, looping her arms around his neck.

  His hand slipped between their bodies to rest on her stomach. “Our baby,” he whispered, “is going to be loved and protected and cared for by two very happy parents.”

  Charlotte smiled, hope and joy flowing freely through her veins. Their baby would have loving parents, and Jack and Cece and Theo. Raine and—Raine!

  “Raine was getting me the limo,” said Charlotte. “She’ll wonder—”

  “Don’t you worry about Raine.” Alec settled his arms around Charlotte’s waist. “Kiefer’s taking her on a date tonight.”

  “That’s nice.” Charlotte smiled.

  “He’s bringing along a pretty impressive diamond solitaire.”

  “Really?” Charlotte was thrilled for her friend.

  “He’s a good man,” said Alec.

  She nodded in return.

  “So, what about you?” he asked.

  “What about me?”

  He cocked his head to one side. “What are you doing tonight?”

  She pretended to ponder. “Well, I do have this plane reservation.”

  “Canceled,” he said, settling his arms more firmly at her waist.

  “Then I guess I’m free.”

  “Care to join me for dinner?”

  She smiled and pulled up for a quick kiss. “Love to.”

  “There’s a safe in my bedroom.”

  “Really, Alec, condoms are no longer necess—”

  He laughed. “I mean a jewelry safe.”

  “I thought I’d made it pretty clear that you didn’t need to bribe me,” she teased.

  “I was thinking we could look for an engagement ring. There’s no end of heirloom jewelry up there. As I recall, my grandmother—Charlotte?”

  She couldn’t stop her tears this time. “You were serious?”

  “About marrying you? Hell, yes. Right away. Right now. As soon as we can get a license.” He sobered. “You’re carrying my baby, Charlotte. My heir. I’m not giving you a chance to change your mind.”

  “I won’t change my mind,” she told him sincerely. In Alec’s arms for the rest of her life was exactly where she wanted to be.

  In a secluded corner of the Montcalm garden, screened by cypress trees, with the scent of lavender wafting through the air, Charlotte and Alec stood next to Raine and Kiefer as the priest intoned their vows.

  Charlotte wore a strapless white dress, three-quarter-length satin with flat lace over a fitted bodice, with a white satin bow tied over one hip. Raine’s dress was slightly fuller, more formal, with clouds of soft tulle following to just below her knees. She had cap sleeves and a princess neckline. Both women carried bouquets of lavender and white roses.

  Jack and Cece served as witnesses and, along with Theo, were the only guests. Dressed in a little gray suit, Theo played in the grass, picking wildflowers as the ceremony wore on.

  Alec slipped an antique gold band onto Charlotte’s finger, snuggling it up to the two-carat, princess-cut solitaire once worn by his grandmother. As they were pronounced man and wife, he drew her to him for a long, tender kiss. When it ended, Charlotte had to force herself to let go.

  Then Kiefer kissed Raine, and Jack popped the cork on the bottle of Montcalm champagne.

  “Welcome to the family,” Jack told Alec, pouring the pale, bubbly liquid into the waiting champagne flutes. “I trust this means we’ll get a discount on renting your château?”

  “Discount?” asked Alec, brows raised as Cece caught Theo’s hands going for the small white and lavender wedding cake.

  “Surely you won’t charge your own family full price.” Jack held up his glass to propose a toast.

  “Surely,” Kiefer echoed.

  “To the brides,” said Jack, his soft gaze catching Charlotte’s, transporting her back to being four years old, when her big brother walked on water.

  “The stunningly beautiful brides,” he finished.

  “The brides,” the small group echoed.

  “We won’t charge you for the château,” said Alec.

  Jack nearly choked on his champagne. “I was joking,” he sputtered, while Cece patted him on the back.

  Charlotte gave Alec an astonished look. “But the damage.”

  He shrugged. “We’ll—”

  A loud crack rent the air, and the entire group reflexively cringed. Then something groaned, and there were far-off shouts. The wedding party rushed to the pathway in time to see Isabella, Ridley and three crew members dash out of the pool house.

  A cameraman scrambled to the bottom of a stately old oak tree. The oak groaned a second time, keeling over in slow motion, falling with increasing speed until it landed on top of the pool house, squashing it flat.

  David shouted something unintelligible, arms waving as he stomped toward the cameraman. But he missed a step, tripped on a cable and fell headfirst into the pool.

  “Wow,” said Alec, taking a sip of his champagne and resettling his arm around Charlotte’s waist.

  “Don’t see that every day,” said Kiefer.

  “Yeah, that’ll be coming out of David’s fees,” Jack put in, lifting his glass to his lips.

  Charlotte anchored her arms around Alec’s waist, tipping her head up. “Welcome to the family, sweetheart.”

  He kissed her soundly on the lips, the sweet champagne on his tongue tickling her senses and making promises for the night ahead.

  He drew back, gazing into her eyes with raw longing. “And welcome to mine.”

  Secret Baby, Public Affair

  By Yvonne Lindsay

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  One

  “You were comfort sex. Nothing more.”

  At least that was all she’d ever let him be. Blair maintained eye contact with Draco Sandrelli and prayed he’d leave before she did something stupid—like faint or throw up all over his highly polished handmade boots. Her stomach, which had been unsettled since breakfast, clenched in a completely different way as he flashed a smile at her, the one he’d used just before they’d tumbled into bed together for the first time.

  “Cara mia, you know I am so much more than that.”

  His voice dripped sensuality, its sound sending a shimmer of heat through her. She still woke in the night remembering the sound of him, as rich as the rolling timbre of distant thunder on an electrically charged, storm-tossed evening. And worse, remembering the feel of him, the sensation of his body against hers—inside hers. She fought back the small sound that rose in her throat—a sound driven by the heat that suffused her body and insinuated itself along her nerve endings in curling tendrils of desire.

  The gold flecks in Draco’s green eyes glinted as he watched her reaction. For someone she’d barely met, he seemed able to read her like a book. A tiny smile played around the sensual curve of his lips. He hadn’t even forgone his usual designer stubble for today’s memorial service, although he’d slicked back his glossy dark hair off his almost too perfect face, its length finishing in a ducktail at his nape. On any other man the style would look ridiculous, but on Draco…Blair swallowed against the sudden dryness in her mouth.

  Really, for a man he was too beautiful to be classed as handsome, but despite her reasoning her pulse still raced to a tribal beat.

  “Have dinner with me tonight,” he coaxed.

  “No. No way. I mean it, Draco. Call what we had a holiday fling, whatever. It’s not happening again. I’m home now and back at work. Which reminds me, I have things to attend to and I’m sure you do too.”

  No matter what, she wasn’t going to a
sk him what he was doing here. After all, what were the odds that her un-characteristic holiday indulgence would turn up at Ashurst Collegiate today? Especially at the memorial reception she’d agreed to do as a favor for one of her dad’s oldest friends. As tempting as it was to indulge in another forbidden delight with the sole heir to the Sandrelli empire, Blair had more important things on her mind.

  She summoned every ounce of self-control in her arsenal and, tipping her nose ever so slightly in the air, spun on her heel and stalked away.

  She sensed, rather than heard, the moment he decided to follow her—the fine hairs on the back of her neck prickling to attention. Blair increased her pace, turned a corner in the corridor and slipped through the doorway leading into the voluminous kitchen off Jubilee Hall, where the reception was being held. She flattened herself against the wall and fought to control her hammering heartbeat, hoping like mad he hadn’t seen her duck in here.

  Even her hands were trembling, she realized. She hadn’t been this upset since she’d caught her fiancé, Rhys, and her best friend, Alicia, in the wine cellar of the converted villa that housed Carson’s, her restaurant. The pain of losing the man she’d planned her future with to the friend who was supposed to have stood beside her in the church only a few days later had been unspeakable. Their joint betrayal still stung with the sharpness of a stingray’s barb.

  It was what had led her to her flight to Italy and tour of Tuscany, and ultimately to Draco Sandrelli, where she’d promptly fallen under his seductive spell.

  Yes, he was comfort sex all right. Totally addictive, mind-blowingly generous comfort sex. And just what she’d needed to rebuild her flagging self-esteem. Nothing more.

  She shoved herself off the wall and carried on through the kitchen, mentally checking off what she needed to do before returning to Carson’s and preparing for her night’s clientele. She was relieved to see her personal tools of the trade had been neatly packed back into the case she’d brought them in—a quick check ensured everything was where it should be. There was nothing further for her to do. The casual crew she’d hired to work the reception would complete the cleanup and return the crockery to the restaurant in a couple of hours’ time.

  Blair smoothed her hands over her uniform, the tailored, crisp short-sleeved white blouse and black skirt which neatly hugged her slim hips, drawing strength from the familiarity of its texture.

  She hitched the box against her hip and carried it through the kitchen to the back door and walked around on the graveled drive to where she’d parked her station wagon. She eyed the paint work on her old workhorse with a critical eye. If she hadn’t taken the trip to Tuscany she could have replaced old Gertie here with a new vehicle. But if she’d done that she would have remained a victim to Rhys and Alicia’s perfidy, instead of learning more about the woman she could be. About the woman she had been.

  And it had been that very discovery that had taught Blair she couldn’t have it all. She wasn’t the kind of person who could develop an award-winning business and be a devoted life partner to anyone. No. She was happy with her decision. Work would be her life for now. And as for Draco, well, everyone was entitled to a “Draco” in their life at one time or another, she rationalized. The intensity of their affair had burned so bright and fierce, it would have totally consumed her had she stayed any longer with him. That one certain truth had made her put everything into perspective. She’d seen it happen to her father over and over, each time destroying his inner self a little more, and she’d sworn she would never succumb to such obsession.

  Her wake-up call had come one morning as she’d stirred in Draco’s arms, their sheets in a tangle about their naked, sated bodies, and she realized that she hadn’t so much as thought about Carson’s in three whole days. The realization was sobering. She’d embraced her affair with Draco with the level of passion she usually reserved solely for her work.

  No, there definitely wasn’t room for both a grand love and a career in her life. Her work was everything. Its success was what defined her, not something as ephemeral as physical attraction between consenting adults.

  Blair had risen from their bed and packed immediately, turning a deaf ear to Draco’s enticement to stay longer. As sinfully delightful as her time with Draco had been, it wasn’t the kind of temptation one could build a future on. There was no security in incendiary attraction. She knew that from both her father’s painful past and her own.

  There was only one thing she wanted right now, and that was to see Carson’s make the five-star review page of Fine Dining magazine. It had been her father’s dream, until ill health had forced him to hand the reins of the restaurant over to Blair as he reluctantly settled into early retirement. Now it was her dream. One she thought she’d achieve with Rhys and Alicia by her side. But she could do it on her own. Carson’s would become Auckland’s leading restaurant. And she’d forget all about Draco Sandrelli.

  Draco hesitated outside the door to the kitchen. He’d prowled the corridor in frustration, after finding no sign of Blair. She had to be in here. Unconsciously, he straightened his shoulders. They needed to talk and he wasn’t taking no for an answer. When Blair had left his bed that morning he had been prepared to move mountains to get her to stay. It had only been the urgent call to his parents’ home, situated a few kilometers away within the Sandrelli estate, that had stopped him. Of course, by the time he’d returned from his father’s sickbed, Blair had left the palazzo, leaving no forwarding address.

  Seeing her here today had taken him by surprise, but he wasn’t the kind of man who looked a gift horse in the mouth. This was a second chance. The magnetism between them had been instant, and he knew better than most that that kind of draw did not happen between couples every lifetime. Too many people settled for what was expected of them—for second best. He’d done that very thing once, out of honor and respect for his family and his dead brother, but the result had been catastrophic. He would not do that again.

  The attraction was too fierce.

  He settled his hand on the swing door into the kitchen and entered just in time to see Blair exiting at the far end of the room. Draco’s strides ate up the distance between them and he burst through the back entrance just as Blair loaded a case into the back of the barely roadworthy vehicle in front of her.

  “Blair.”

  “I’ve said all I have to say, Draco,” she sighed, as she unlocked the driver’s door and slid in behind the wheel.

  Draco stopped her as she tried to swing her door shut.

  “Ah yes, but you haven’t listened yet to what I have to say.”

  “To be frank, I’m really not interested in what you have to say.”

  She tried to wrestle the door closed, and gave up with an angry huff of air when that proved impossible. She crossed her arms defensively over her stomach and stared fixedly out the windshield.

  “What’s the matter, Draco, can’t you tolerate someone turning you down? Granted, I’m sure it probably hasn’t happened often in your lifetime, but surely you can get used to it just this once,” she snapped.

  He smiled in response to her rancor. She sounded like a spitting kitten all in a temper.

  “I just want to talk. You left so suddenly. We never had a chance to say good-bye properly.”

  Draco noticed that that elicited a response. Through the thin cotton of her blouse he saw the instant her nipples peaked against the sheer fabric of her bra. A bra he knew she wore more as a concession to her position at work than out of necessity. He loved her small, high breasts. Loved the way he could elicit a screaming response from her just by nipping ever so gently at their rose-pink tips. He’d never known a woman so sensitive in that area. Never enjoyed one as much as he had Blair. And he wanted to do it all again. And again.

  Blair looked up, catching his gaze that was firmly riveted on her breasts.

  “Oh, for goodness’ sake.” She reached forward to twist her keys in the ignition. “We’ve said all we have to say. Or at least I
have. Like I said before, you were a holiday fling. Good in bed and good for my ego. But that’s it. What we had is finished. Now please, let go of my car door before I have to call security.”

  “Now that’s where I disagree, delizia, we are far from finished. I will let you go now, but rest assured, Blair, I will see you again and we will finish this conversation properly.”

  He stood back from the car and watched as she slammed the door shut without saying another word. She crashed the car into gear, and he winced at the ancient motor’s protest as she floored the accelerator and spun up a rooster tail of gravel from beneath her tires.

  He watched as she drove away, a grim smile of satisfaction on his face, now that the registration details of her vehicle were firmly emblazoned in his mind. She might think she’d gotten away. But his reach far exceeded his grasp and he’d find her, and have her in his bed again. Soon.

  Movement over by the car park caught his attention. His best friends—Brent Colby and Adam Palmer—stood by the Moto Guzzi bikes he’d arranged to have exported to New Zealand so they could enjoy a taste of their misspent youth whenever they managed to all be in the country at the same time. They’d come a long way from the teenage maniacs who’d spent the night of their graduation dinner demon riding on the back roads near their prestigious private school, but there was nothing that beat the sensation of mastering the power of the motorbike and flying along the road.

  Brent was a self-made millionaire, and if Draco hadn’t already loved and respected him as much as he did, Brent would have earned that respect twice over when he’d made and then lost his fortune, only to rebuild it twenty times stronger than before. Brent’s cousin, Adam, came from different stock. New Zealand old money, which, although it didn’t go back as far as the Sandrelli bloodlines, could hardly be sneered at. The Palmer family was a mover and shaker in New Zealand industry, with interests spread far and wide across the globe.