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A Taste Of Desire
Chloe Blake
Savour the seductionThe lush mountains of Brazil provide a stunning location for a business trip—or a wild, unexpected romance. International real estate agent Nicole Parks isn’t expecting the latter, but she’s quickly falling under the spell of incredibly handsome French vintner Destin Dechamps. The man is as delicious as the fine blends he creates. Yet he’s out to sabotage the deal that will guarantee her a promotion and the adoption she’s been longing for.Destin lost both his wife and his career when his family winery burned down. Gradually he’s found meaning in a new plan—defy his father, keep the land and rebuild. He can’t afford to fantasize about a gorgeous Realtor who’s been hired to interrupt his scheme—even unknowingly. When a rainstorm traps them together, attraction spills over into intoxicating pleasure. With both their dreams in the balance, is there room for a sweet, intense fling to deepen into love?
Savor the seduction
The lush mountains of Brazil provide a stunning location for a business trip—or a wild, unexpected romance. International real estate agent Nicole Parks isn’t expecting the latter, but she’s quickly falling under the spell of incredibly handsome French vintner Destin Dechamps. The man is as delicious as the fine blends he creates. Yet he’s out to sabotage the deal that will guarantee her a promotion and the adoption she’s been longing for.
Destin lost both his wife and his career when his family winery burned down. Gradually he’s found meaning in a new plan—defy his father, keep the land and rebuild. He can’t afford to fantasize about a gorgeous Realtor who’s been hired to interrupt his scheme—even unknowingly. When a rainstorm traps them together, attraction spills over into intoxicating pleasure. With both their dreams in the balance, is there room for a sweet, intense fling to deepen into love?
CHLOE BLAKE can be found dreaming up stories while she is traveling the world or just sitting on her couch in Brooklyn, NY. When she is not writing sexy novels, she is at the newest wine bar, taking random online classes, binge-watching Netflix or searching for her next adventure. Readers can find out more about Chloe and her books from her website at www.chloeblakebooks.com (http://www.chloeblakebooks.com).
Also By Chloe Blake (#uc45316d4-c185-533d-a9f8-11b16cad4029)
A Taste of Desire
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
A Taste of Desire
Chloe Blake
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08075-0
A TASTE OF DESIRE
© 2018 Tamara Lynch
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“How did you know I was American?”
“Your accent. I’ve done some business there, in California.”
“California is beautiful.”
“But you’re not from there.”
She met his gaze, and a tiny grin touched the corners of her mouth. “No.” He watched her lips as she sipped her wine.
Destin waited for her to say more after she put down her glass, but he waited in vain. My, she was reserved. Maybe she’s married, he immediately thought, but her pink-tipped fingers were bare of jewelry. Could she be traveling alone? He’d heard of American women coming to Brazil for plastic surgery, but he couldn’t possibly see where she would need any.
“Maybe I should guess?” She only glanced at him. “You’re from New York, it’s your first time in Brazil, and you’re here on a spa vacation.”
She smirked and turned to him. “Yes. Yes. And no.”
“No vacation? You’re here on business? That’s too bad,” he said after she gave a brief nod. “Brazil is the perfect place for pleasure.”
Her brows rose. “Is that why you’re here? Pleasure?”
He wished, wondering briefly if her skin was as soft as it looked.
Dear Reader (#uc45316d4-c185-533d-a9f8-11b16cad4029),
Have you ever wanted someone in spite of your better judgment? Felt the intense rush of desire for someone you shouldn’t? Yeah, me, too. And that’s what happened to Nicole Parks when she met Destin Dechamps. Both are after the same vineyard in the lush region of Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul, and neither is giving it up.
Still holding on to past tragedy, Destin isn’t looking for love, yet he can’t deny his attraction to the beautiful stranger who flew across the world and landed on his doorstep. These two didn’t expect to be each other’s obstacle and they certainly didn’t expect to fall for each other. Things get spicy when they come to a mutually beneficial arrangement. It just goes to show that sometimes love finds you when and where you least expect it.
So tell me, who was your unexpected desire? Drop by chloeblakebooks.com (http://www.chloeblakebooks.com) and let me know.
Happy reading,
Chloe Blake
For the strong women in my life. Because every time you fall, you get right back up.
Acknowledgments (#uc45316d4-c185-533d-a9f8-11b16cad4029)
I am so grateful...to my readers. Seeing your comments and supportive messages always gives me joy.
To my agent, Christine Whitthohn, for your constant support and guidance.
To Shannon Criss and the editorial team for making my dream of being a Harlequin Kimani author come true.
A huge shout-out to Jane Austen, with whom I share a birthday, and had I not visited an astrologer who told me that tidbit, I may not have become a writer.
I’m lucky to have friends from all walks of life that are like family. There is no way I could ever repay the unwavering support of my writing group: Ami, Nadia, Anna and Saga, you are my soul sisters, my coven and the loves of my life. Let’s never stop creating, never stop drinking wine, never stop exploring the world and never stop dreaming bigger.
And to Amy, my sister, soul mate and fellow motherless daughter, you know me better than anyone, and yet you still stick around. I love you. Thank you for always being there for me.
Contents
Cover (#udab9e73f-cb7f-55d8-a7bf-348405f02013)
Back Cover Text (#uc116608b-10a2-567d-bb56-b7db98e813bf)
About the Author (#u2e55049c-0b98-5903-aae9-2f659a6e6cf1)
Booklist (#ub6f9760b-1269-57d8-b1e4-1fb215400be2)
Title Page (#uc1cc405f-1e40-5d21-991f-8f394ba1e2a0)
Copyright (#ub1952940-25fb-5cd7-866a-ee7aa57f0cf3)
Introduction (#ucd0cd766-5268-56a0-965a-2b4b180558bc)
Dear Reader (#u2144633a-57cd-560d-b8c8-9620a3fa3090)
Dedication (#uc1824d0c-a3d4-57b8-9150-0967149a844f)
Acknowledgments (#ud9c0cc30-b18f-5e02-996d-777de1a11f40)
Chapter 1 (#u6d68eab6-edd4-51ac-b3f0-fa014403393d)
Chapter 2 (#u282b887f-378e-5dc4-95b3-62a232be093b)
Chapter 3 (#u411b3acd-c9cc-5c9a-9bb2-3c8c527f1b99)
Chapter 4 (#u1598bf93-b274-5874-8666-4a659be83593)
Chapter 5 (#u24ec0088-ca2d-5bf2-ab00-70e02b3475a6)
Chapter 6 (#u3314c290-6b86-5e14-901e-08fa7d302d21)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1 (#uc45316d4-c185-533d-a9f8-11b16cad4029)
Nicole Parks burst from the bathroom of her hotel suite and rummaged through her suitcase. Bras, panties, a flat iron and a jam-packed makeup bag landed on the king-size bed. She sat up and aggressively squirted Visine into her eyes then gulped the fresh coffee she’d made from the in-room coffeemaker. Then she dove for her other suitcase.
Her fifteen-hour flight to the Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil had come with a pounding post-flight headache. The blazing hot thirty-minute car ride to Porto Alegre, the capital, hadn’t helped. She’d virtually passed out after checking into her hotel that afternoon, but now that nap, although refreshing, was screwing with her inner clock. Good thing her client chose the restaurant in her hotel for their business dinner. She had twenty minutes to be downstairs.
Ten minutes went by, and Nicole turned to check her appearance in the floor-length mirror: black, sleeveless, form-fitting dress, mascara and nude lipstick in place, sleek black shoulder-length hair—frizzing slightly, but so far, so good—and mahogany arms and legs shimmering with lotion.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder, gesturing to her reflection. I have a head for business and a bod for sin. Anything wrong with that? It was her favorite quote from the movie Working Girl. And she definitely was a working girl, since she was the only female international real estate broker and attorney at the New York City branch of Kingsley’s.
You got this. Smooth sailing. She whispered positive mantras to herself. She loved this business: selling gorgeous properties, seeing the world, making the money. Not too shabby for a little girl from Brooklyn. Closing a deal fed her soul. It was better than sex, not that she was having any.
Dressed to impress, she reached for her phone and sighed. After locating the passcode on the corner desk, she connected to the Wi-Fi and was instantly bombarded with texts, emails and voice mail messages. She itched to go through them, noting several from her boss, but they had to wait.
Clutch and phone in hand, she rushed toward the elevator in her six-inch heels. Just as she jammed the button, a call came through. Her best friend Liz’s name popped up and Nicole bit her lip, knowing she shouldn’t answer.
“Liz, I can’t talk right now. I’m meeting a client.” Nicole punched the elevator button again.
“Nicole, where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying you for hours.” Uh-oh. Liz was clearly irritated. As a psychologist with a weekly radio show, Dr. Elizabeth Hines had heard it all, and usually nothing got through that calm exterior.
“Brazil. I got here hours ago, and I’m off to meet a client.”
“South America Brazil? I thought you were in Paris?”
“Um, that was yesterday.”
“This is why you don’t have a man.”
Nicole jerked her neck back. “Oh, really, Dr. Love? When was the last time you got roses on Valentine’s Day? And if traveling is a direct correlation to being single, then what’s your excuse? You haven’t left the country—no wait, you haven’t left New York—since you got your PhD which was...let me think... Y2K.” Nicole smiled when Liz let out a loud breath.
“I didn’t call you to throw shade around. Dani needs us.”
Nicole sobered. “Why? What happened?”
“Remember that Tinder date she had the other night?”
