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Royal Seducer / Bossman Billionaire: Royal Seducer
Michelle Celmer
Kathie DeNosky
Royal Seducer Michelle CelmerRoyal must marry royal, which left Prince Christian few options…until a new princess was discovered. He would have wed whomever duty dictated, but Princess Melissa soon had Christian ready for a passionate royal wedding night. He just had to keep love out of the equation…Bossman Billionaire Kathie DeNosky Sexy as sin Luke Garnier wasn’t looking for a wife. Just an heir…with no strings attached. Persuading his faithful assistant, Haley Rollins, to be his surrogate seemed ideal. But Haley’s condition for having his baby was marriage!IRRESISTIBLE Strong, rich, sexy men – almost too hot to handle!
Royal Seducer
by Michelle Celmer
“You barely know me. I could be dangerous.”
Only to her heart.
She smiled up at him. “Somehow I doubt that.”
“You never know.” His hands slid up to her shoulders, caressing her through the delicate, slippery silk. “I might try to take advantage of you. There’s no one here to stop me.”
Even in the dim light she could see flames of desire flicker in his eyes. His gaze settled on her mouth, making her lips feel swollen and warm. Her own heart began to beat double-time and her skin felt tingly and alive.
She slid her arms around his neck, pulled him close. Being in Chris’s arms felt like returning home after a long arduous journey. For the first time since she was a child she felt as though she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
A rush of relief so intense washed over her that she felt like weeping. She’d never felt so vulnerable in her life, and frankly, it scared her to death.
Bossman Billionaire
by Kathie DeNosky
From the desk of Emerald Larson, owner and CEO of Emerald, Inc
To: My personal assistant, Luther Freemont
Re: My grandson Lucien Garnier
Lucien is in the process of incorporating Laurel Enterprises into his own company, Garnier Construction. But it’s recently been brought to my attention that he’s entertaining the idea of having an heir of his own to inherit his holdings when the time comes for him to retire. I’ve been told by a very reliable source that he’s asked his executive assistant, Haley Rollins, to help him with this project and she’s agreed.
If my source is correct – and I have no reason to believe otherwise – Lucien is going to need a push in the right direction if this is to come to a satisfactory conclusion. I expect you to arrange whatever you deem necessary to accomplish that goal.
As always, I am relying on your complete discretion in this matter.
Emerald Larson
Available in July 2010
from Mills & Boon
Desire™
Royal Seducer by Michelle Celmer
&
Bossman Billionaire by Kathie DeNosky
Billion-Dollar Baby Bargain by Tessa Radley
&
The Moretti Arrangement by Katherine Garbera
The Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress by Maya Banks
&
To Tame Her Tycoon Lover by Ann Major
Royal Seducer
By
Michelle Celmer
Bossman Billionaire
By
Kathie DeNosky
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Royal Seducer
By
Michelle Celmer
Dear Reader,
Welcome to book five of my ROYAL SEDUCTIONS series: the story of Melissa Thornsby, the illegitimate princess of Morgan Isle, and Crown Prince Christian James Ernst Alexander of Thomas Isle.
As always, it took some time to work these two out, to see what made them tick. And believe me, they took me on one huge emotional ride. Melissa thinks she’s so tough, it was heart wrenching the moment she realised she didn’t have all the answers. And Chris is so blind to what is right in front of him, I wanted to whack him over the head and say, “Hello, what were you thinking?” Though it takes them both some serious soul-searching, I think you’ll agree it’s worth it when these two find their happily ever after.
Don’t forget to watch in December for book six of my ROYAL SEDUCTIONS series and spend Christmas with the Prince.
Best,
Michelle
Bestselling author Michelle Celmer lives in southeastern Michigan with her husband, their three children, two dogs and two cats. When she’s not writing or busy being a mum, you can find her in the garden or curled up with a romance novel. And, if you twist her arm really hard, you can usually persuade her into a day of power shopping.
Michelle loves to hear from readers. Visit her website at www.michellecelmer.com, or write to her at PO Box 300, Clawson, MI 48017, USA.
To Nancy
Chapter One
Melissa Thornsby never got nervous.
She’d been raised in the pretentious and oftentimes eccentric New Orleans high society, where it wasn’t all that uncommon to check one’s back and occasionally find a knife or two sticking out. But that was par for the course.
After Katrina, she’d started a foundation to rebuild the city, and when she met presidents, past and present, actors, musicians and other celebrities eager to “do the right thing,” it was just another day at the office.
Even when she’d learned she was the illegitimate princess of the country of Morgan Isle and made the decision to move there permanently to be with a family that was, to put it mildly, suspicious of her motives, she barely broke a sweat. She took her late mother’s advice and viewed it as an adventure.
So, visiting Thomas Isle, the former rival of her native country, and meeting the royal family, really wasn’t a big deal.
Until she saw him.
He stood on the tarmac of the small private airstrip in the bright afternoon sunshine, flanked by two very frightening-looking bodyguards and a polished black Bentley at the ready. And he was, for lack of a better word, beautiful. Tall, fit and well put together in a tailored, charcoal-gray pinstriped suit.
Prince Christian James Ernst Alexander, next in line to the throne of Thomas Isle. Confirmed bachelor and shameless playboy. His photos didn’t do him justice.
She descended the steps of the Learjet and the prince approached, flashing her a million-watt stunner of a smile. Her heart leapt up into her throat and a curious tickle of nerves coiled in her belly. Was it too much to hope that he was to be her guide for the duration of her two-week stay? Although in her experience that task was typically left up to the princess since the crown prince was usually busy with slightly more significant tasks, such as preparing to run the entire country.
Flanked by her own equally threatening entourage—the security detail her half brother, King Phillip, insisted she have accompany her—she stepped forward to meet him halfway.
When they were face to face, he nodded his head in greeting and said, in a voice as rich and as smooth as her favorite gourmet dark chocolate, “Welcome to Thomas Isle, Your Highness.”
“Your Highness.” She dipped into a curtsey, turning on the Southern-belle charm. “It’s an honor to be here.”
“The honor is all ours,” he said with a lethal smile. Lethal because she could feel it, like a buzz of pure energy, from the roots of her hair to the balls of her feet.
He watched her intently with eyes a striking shade of green, and behind them she could see very clearly a hint of mischief and sly determination. She couldn’t help wondering if he’d spent his previous life as a cat.
He noted her security detail and with one brow slightly raised, asked, “Expecting a revolution, Your Highness?”
Nodding to his own “muscle,” she answered, “I was going to ask you the same thing.”
If the question had been some sort of test, she could see that she’d passed. He grinned, playful and sexy, and the coil of nerves in her gut twisted into a hopeless knot. This really wasn’t like her at all. Heaven knows, she was used to men flirting with her. Young and old, rich and poor, and all of them after the ludicrous trust her great-aunt and uncle had left her. But somehow, she didn’t think the prince had money on his mind. He was one of the few men she’d met whose wealth exceeded her own. At least, she was assuming it did.
“The bodyguards were King Phillip’s idea,” she told him.
“Of course, you’re welcome to keep them with you,” he said, “but it’s certainly not necessary.”
Phillip had insisted she take the bodyguards with her, but he never said she had to keep them there. And call her optimistic, but entrusting her welfare to Prince Christian’s staff seemed to her a valuable gesture of good faith. In the vast, stormy history of their two countries, the peace they had adopted was for all practical purposes still in its infancy. And her duty, the way she saw it, was to build on that.
“You’ll see that they’re flown back safely?” she asked.
He nodded. “Of course, Your Highness.”
She cringed inwardly. She still hadn’t grown used to the royal title. “Please, call me Melissa.”
“Melissa,” he said, with that sexy British accent. “I like that.”
And she liked the way he said it.
“You can call me Chris. I imagine it best we drop the formalities, seeing as we will be spending a considerable amount of time together the next two weeks.”
Would they? Another jolt of nerves sizzled inside her stomach. “Are you to be my guide?” she asked.
“If you’re agreeable,” he said.
As though she would say no to two weeks with a gorgeous and charming prince. She smiled and said, “I look forward to it.”
He gestured to the waiting car. “Shall we go?”
She turned to her bodyguards, dismissing them with a simple, “Thank you, gentlemen.”
They exchanged an uneasy glance, but remained silent. They knew as well as she did that Phillip would not be happy she’d sent them home.
Oh, well. If there was one thing her new family had learned, it was that she had a mind of her own. As deeply as she longed to be accepted as one of them, to have a real family for the first time since losing her parents, there was only so much of herself she was willing to sacrifice. At thirty-three, in many respects she was too set in her ways to change.
The prince touched her elbow to lead her to the car, and despite the layers of silk and linen of her suit jacket, her skin simmered with warmth. When was the last time she’d felt such a sizzling connection to a man? Or perhaps the better question was, when was the last time she’d let herself? This was as much vacation as business, and it wouldn’t hurt to let her hair down and have some fun.
He helped her into the back, and she sank into the rich, butter-soft leather seat. He circled the car and climbed in the opposite side, filling the interior with a warm and delicious scent that left her feeling lightheaded. Were she home, she might have blamed it on the Southern heat, but the temperature here hadn’t even topped eighty degrees and there was no humidity to speak of. Warm for mid-June on Thomas Isle, but mild by her standards.
As soon as the doors were closed they were off in the direction of the castle, which couldn’t be more than a few minutes away, as they had flown past it just before landing. It appeared massive from the air—dare she say larger than the much more modern palace on Morgan Isle—and seemed to have acres of emerald-green lawns, ornately patterned gardens, and even a shrubbery maze.
A passionate lover of nature, she could hardly wait to explore it all. Her mother had been an avid gardener. Melissa’s childhood home on Morgan Isle was renowned for its award-winning gardens, and she’d carried on the tradition at her own estate in New Orleans. Though it had been hard to leave that and move back to Morgan Isle, the U.S. had never really been her home. Since losing her parents, she had never felt as though she truly belonged anywhere.
“My parents, the king and queen, are anxious to meet you,” Chris said.
“The feeling is mutual.” She turned to him and realized he was studying her, a curious look on his face. “What?”
“Your accent,” he said. “I can’t quite place it.”
“That’s because it’s a mishmash of different dialects. Little bits of every place I’ve lived pop out occasionally.”
“How many different places have you lived?”
“Let’s see…” she counted off on her fingers. “I lived on Morgan Isle until I was ten, then I relocated to New Orleans, then it was off to boarding school in France and summers in California, then college on the east coast, then back to New Orleans.”
“Sounds exciting,” he said.
One would think so, but really all she had ever wanted was to settle down, stay in one place. Of course, when she finally had, it just hadn’t felt…right. She’d thought that moving back to Morgan Isle would give her the sense of home and family she had been longing for, but she’d been disappointed to find that despite it being her true home, she still felt like an outsider. It left her wondering if she would ever fit in anywhere.
“How about you?” she asked the prince.
“My diplomatic travels have taken me all over the world, but I’ve never lived anywhere but here, with my family.”
