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Her Perfect Pleasure
Lindsay Evans
Carter Diallo can fix anything. Even a broken heart?Lawyer and businessman Carter Diallo solves problems for his powerful family’s corporation, from broken contracts to sex scandals. But when his influential powers fail him, the Diallos bring in PR wizard—and ex-lover—Jade Tremaine.Ten years ago, Carter left Jade emotionally devastated. Now the man known as The Magic Man must prove he’s genuine and win back Jade’s trust..
Carter Diallo can fix anything.
Even a broken heart?
Lawyer and businessman Carter Diallo solves problems for his powerful family’s corporation, from broken contracts to sex scandals. But when his influential powers fail him, the Diallos bring in PR wizard—and ex-lover—Jade Tremaine. Ten years ago, Carter left Jade emotionally devastated. Now the man known as The Magic Man must prove he’s genuine and win back Jade’s trust...
LINDSAY EVANS was born in Jamaica and currently lives and writes in Atlanta, Georgia, where she’s constantly on the hunt for inspiration, club in hand. She loves good food and romance and would happily travel to the ends of the earth for both. Find out more at www.lindsayevanswrites.com (http://www.lindsayevanswrites.com).
Also By Lindsay Evans (#u288a49b3-63c7-5931-b249-e50fcdb5fdf9)
Pleasure Under the Sun
Sultry Pleasure
Snowy Mountain Nights
Affair of Pleasure
Untamed Love
Bare Pleasures
The Pleasure of His Company
On-Air Passion
Her Perfect Pleasure
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Her Perfect Pleasure
Lindsay Evans
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08632-5
HER PERFECT PLEASURE
© 2018 Lindsay Evans
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.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“I’ll be in touch,” Jade said, heading for the open door. She deftly avoided shaking Carter’s hand again.
As he moved up behind her, smoky desire woke in her belly, twining its way between her legs, then up through her breasts, her throat, her very fingertips. Jade quivered from the familiar longing.
Dammit. She needed to get out of this building. Fast.
“Before you leave, let’s have a quick talk in my office,” he rumbled in his deep voice.
Do we have to? If this were any other man, Jade would tell him where to shove his offer of a conversation. But this wasn’t any man; this was Carter, and he was now a client.
She followed him, trying her best to keep her eyes at shoulder level. But with her gaze on his back, she saw clearly just how well he had filled out since college. His shoulders were so very broad and his hips narrow.
After ten years, she didn’t think his presence would affect her so strongly. Her body’s traitorous response triggered a hot flush of fury.
Dear Reader (#u288a49b3-63c7-5931-b249-e50fcdb5fdf9),
It was exciting to write the latest book in the Miami Strong series. Carter Diallo is a reliable and confident hero, always ready to solve any problem in his family’s business. But Carter has one issue he hasn’t been able to resolve—losing the love of Jade Tremaine when they were in college.
When Jade reappears in his life, Carter knows he’s been given a second chance. But Jade will show him that forgiveness does not come easy, and he will need to work hard to win her heart.
I hope you enjoy reading Carter and Jade’s story, and are inspired to always believe in love—even when the odds are stacked against you.
Best,
Lindsay
For my readers. Thank you so much for picking up my books and continuing to read them year after year! It means the world.
Contents
Cover (#u4e3a1c74-2b9c-5b2e-8ccd-6cb6b0e8d9bd)
Back Cover Text (#udfafcf79-4a5d-5e47-bd17-f0bd0526252c)
About the Author (#ue0897346-7918-5d5c-a0ae-6ed4369b5aed)
Booklist (#u7188fd96-fc08-51de-8125-1633b24ee8e6)
Title Page (#u4c138080-824c-5525-9b21-e1896ff08d9d)
Copyright (#u6126d3f2-4457-561c-8df3-40225bb1104f)
Introduction (#u4e2dfc70-4ce0-5018-8e4a-7aab44cbeb6b)
Dear Reader (#uea78ee7e-d48c-508b-a972-21f009813ac2)
Dedication (#ua8df905b-52b1-5fcd-9493-1f2b77c242a1)
Chapter 1 (#u1a32eec8-b121-586a-89f2-b7daa585b74d)
Chapter 2 (#ufc363466-dff4-5f4d-ba6d-b8c1695cb646)
Chapter 3 (#u1a33345e-0c8a-5603-9255-ddace6856e16)
Chapter 4 (#u9d4c925a-741f-5b67-bc31-daeab8ed6562)
Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)
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)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 1 (#u288a49b3-63c7-5931-b249-e50fcdb5fdf9)
Carter climbed out of the glittering turquoise pool, water dripping down his bare chest, chiseled abs, and the swimsuit clinging to his narrow hips and trunk-like thighs. The warm desert breeze brushed over him like a caress, leaving pleasurable goose bumps in its wake.
It was a damn nice day.
He ran a hand over his close-cut hair and squinted against the glare of the afternoon Las Vegas sunshine. His arms and back ached from the laps he’d swum in the Olympic-sized pool separated from the wading pool by a stylized velvet rope, and his chest rose and fell with his regulated breath.
He should’ve been more relaxed. Hell, he should’ve been a limp noodle after the fruit-heavy tropical breakfast, hour-long massage and strenuous swim he started his day with. But the dream was still riding him. Somehow, it had seemed worse than usual last night.
So instead of feeling tranquil after a long morning and afternoon of food, pampering and winning at blackjack, Carter was tense. His whole body was a mass of coiled muscle. He barely managed not to look over his shoulder, searching for a familiar pair of brown eyes, curved lips, a sweet face that begged for promises he’d never been able to keep.
At nearly three in the afternoon on a Tuesday, the hotel pool was as crowded as a Saturday night at a regular spot. But in Vegas, people didn’t keep regular hours. Every night was a party. Every day was a vacation.
At his lounge chair, he scooped up his towel and roughly scrubbed it over his head, neck and chest. People watched him. Women, specifically. He could feel the burn of their eyes. Their gazes roamed his body, hard and muscled from a rigid routine in the gym, greedy and admiring.
He was used to all that and so just shrugged it off.
“Can I get you anything else, Mr. Diallo?” A poolside concierge paused by his chair, her white uniform shining in the sun while she held an empty tray at her side. She looked ready to get him just about anything he wanted.
“Just another mineral water, please.”
The woman nodded and quickly flitted away to get him what he asked for.
Carter had had a whiskey sour earlier but quickly switched to water after he got a call that the reason for his Vegas trip was set to go down in just a few hours. Alcohol never really affected him, but he didn’t take the chance while he was on the job. When he was at work, he was at work.
As the head of his own security company he built from scratch, personally taking care of many of the situations his high-end clients demanded with discretion, he was always very careful to separate business from pleasure. One careless slip could mean losing everything for his client, and even for himself. Carter Diallo never slipped.
When he’d come in the day before, anticipating that the work part of his trip wouldn’t start for another twenty-four hours, he took full advantage of the perks of being in Vegas. He hit a couple of the casinos, indulged in a long evening at the late-night spa before sitting down to a solitary meal in the hotel’s rooftop restaurant. Views of the strip had been the ideal accompaniment to his perfectly cooked steak and creamy rosemary potatoes. He had slept well last night. Long and deep. Until the dream swept over him, that is.
A tone chimed on his phone. Three fifteen.
Carter sighed, his massive chest rising up and down with the breath.
Time for him to get to work.
* * *
“Did anyone ever tell you, blackmail isn’t a very safe hobby?” Carter crossed his arms over his chest and loomed over the skinny guy cringing back in the hotel bed.
“I didn’t do anything, man!”
The guy, no older than twenty-five at best, did his best to melt into the headboard, his stupid hipster beard quivering like a weed in the storm.
When would these boys stop thinking growing big beards on their baby faces was a good substitute for actually being a man?
Carter didn’t back down. He towered over the young man and deliberately used his tall and burly frame to intimidate the guy who’d dared try to blackmail his sister. His dark gray suit, worth more money than the dude could spend in a week, only added to the intimidating picture. Carter made sure of it.
“I swear, it wasn’t me! Alice is lying!” The kid was trying to practically climb over the headboard and into the wall now, his skinny legs bared in some ridiculous underwear with a string that crawled between his butt cheeks.
What did Alice ever see in this guy?
“So this isn’t you I see using the prepaid ATM card you demanded she send you to this post office box?” Carter showed him a picture on his cell phone.
It was undoubtedly him, despite the low-drawn hoodie and shoulders hunched away from the cameras. But the idiot wore the same shoes he’d somehow convinced Alice to buy for him, limited-edition two-thousand-dollar kicks that had only come out a few days before the photo was taken.
In the blackmail note, the kid demanded money and shoes. Greedy for everything he wouldn’t get now that Alice had seen through his crap for what it was and broken up with him.
Anger boiled in Carter, a low and violent rage. But, as usual, he kept a tight grip on it, another aspect of his personality that secured him the title as the most placid Diallo brother, if also the most dangerous.
Calmly, Carter scrolled to another picture on the phone. A blown-up version of the one the boy sent to Alice’s email address. In the photo, two people were obviously in an intimate situation, the boy with Alice despite what he’d amateurishly done to try and hide his face.
“Are you going to tell me this isn’t you too?” Another pair of men’s string underwear and expensive shoes were just within the frame.
