скачать книгу бесплатно
The Executive's Vengeful Seduction / Rich Man's Revenge: The Executive's Vengeful Seduction
Tessa Radley
Maxine Sullivan
Be swept away by passion… with intense drama and compelling plots, these emotionally powerful reads will keep you captivated from beginning to end.The Executive’s Vengeful Seduction Maxine Sullivan Australian businessman Damien Trent’s time for revenge was at hand. Gabrielle Kane had dared to leave his bed years ago without a word…but now she needed him if she was to save her family’s company. And Damien would lend his help…but his price was Gabrielle’s hand in marriage. Rich Man’s Revenge Tessa Radley Hell-bent on revenge, Italian businessman Rico D’Alessio would stop at nothing to destroy the Sinclair family. Taking eldest daughter Danielle Sinclair as his bride was a start.Making her pregnant with his heir would prove the ultimate payback. But falling for his bride of revenge?
The Executive’s Vengeful Seductionby Maxine Sullivan
“Once my father’s on the mend, I’m going back to Sydney,”Gabrielle said. “Don’t forget that.”
“You’ve already made that clear.” But Damien was more than satisfied.
For the moment.
“I think I’ll go to my room. Goodnight.”
Damien inclined his head. “Goodnight, Gabrielle,” he said, watching her walk away with a sway to her hips that would draw any man’s attention. Yet he wasn’t just any man. He’d been her lover, if not her confidant.
He could feel an odd sort of anger simmering beneath the surface. An anger he wasn’t ready to face. Perhaps he’d never have to face it… once he had enough of her body.
Rich Man’s Revengeby Tessa Radley
“I want a real marriage.”
Rico wanted to marry her. For real. “Why?”
“Because I want a son. An heir.”
Sick disappointment churned in Danielle’s stomach. “You misled me. Deliberately. Do you know how much that really pains me?”
“Pain?” He spoke so softly she strained to hear him. “I know about real pain. And all because of your father.”
“I can’t give you a real marriage.”
“Because you’re a Sinclair? A princess? And I’m a peasant?”
“No, I don’t want to marry anyone because – ”
She froze as he placed his hands on the sofa back, trapping her between his arms, and lowered his face to hers. “You’re going to give me a son in exchange for all I’ve lost at the hands of your family.”
The Executive’s Vengeful Seduction
MAXINE SULLIVAN
Rich Man’s Revenge
TESSA RADLEY
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
THE EXECUTIVE’S VENGEFUL SEDUVUION
by
Maxine Sullivan
MAXINE SULLIVAN
credits her mother for her lifelong love of romance novels, so it was a natural extension to want to write her own romances for her own and others’ enjoyment. She’s very excited about seeing her work in print and is thrilled to be the second Australian to write for the Desire™ line.
Maxine lives in Melbourne, Australia, but over the years has travelled to New Zealand, the UK and the USA. In her own backyard, her husband’s job ensured they saw the diversity of the countryside, including spending many years in Darwin in the tropical north. She is married to Geoff, who has proven his hero status many times over the years. They have two handsome sons and an assortment of much-loved, previously abandoned animals.
Maxine would love to hear from you and can be contacted through her website at www.maxinesullivan.com.
Dear Reader,
This is my third book about Australian millionaires, and I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful it’s been to write for the Desire™ line. I love writing stories where the hero is rich and compelling and the heroine gorgeous and feisty.
And like my first two books, this story is set in Darwin, in the torrid zone north of Australia, where I lived for many years. How fitting it seems, then, to have my heroine, Gabrielle, return home to Darwin after a long absence. Despite hiding a tragic secret, Gabrielle falls in love all over again with Damien, and it proves to be just what she needs. She realises she has come home in more ways than one.
I trust you will enjoy this story of a prodigal daughter and a powerful executive, who find each other as difficult to resist as this city in the heart of the tropics. I see it as a fitting end to this set of books and I hope you do, too.
Happy reading!
Maxine
To Kaz Delaney and Sandra Allan
Firm friends, wonderful writers.
Thanks for the laughs, ladies.
One
Damien Trent acknowledged two things when Gabrielle Kane stepped from the elevator and walked along the corridor toward her office.
She was even more gorgeous than he remembered.
And he’d been a fool to let her go.
“Hello, Gabrielle,” he said, straightening away from the wall, his gaze sliding over the soft gray material of her pantsuit that hugged her breasts and clung to her hips, down to the matching strappy sandals. She’d never looked more elegant and feminine than she did right now.
Her blond head shot up from searching through her purse, and her steps faltered. She paled. “My God! Damien?”
“You remembered?” he drawled, then felt something shift inside his chest when those blue eyes met his fullon. For a split second time reversed itself to five years ago. She’d walked into that business function with her father, and their eyes had met across the room, jolting him, making him want her.
Just like they were doing now.
She moistened her mouth, then appeared to pull herself together. “How could I forget?”
“That’s something we have in common, then.” He moved closer, pleased to see two spots of color rush into her smooth cheeks. “You’ve grown very beautiful, Gabrielle.”
Her delicate chin angled. “Is this a social visit, Damien? You’re a long way from home.”
He mentally pulled back from wanting her. He was here for a reason. “We need to talk.”
“After five years?”
His mouth tightened. She’d been the one to leave him. “It’s important, Gabrielle.”
Alarm flashed in her eyes, then was banked. “It’s my father, isn’t it?” she said, her tone without inflection now, but he’d seen her immediate reaction. She still cared for the father who’d cut her off after she’d walked out.
He cupped her elbow. “Let’s go into your office,” he said, feeling the slenderness beneath his palm, conceding that he’d missed touching her.
She turned away and with a shaky hand that was a dead giveaway she unlocked the door to a suite of offices with a sign reading Events by Eileen—The Events Organizer.
He followed her through the main reception area and into another office, taking in the plush carpet and quality furniture and fittings. “You seem to have done well for yourself.”
She walked around the desk and stood with her back to the large glass window, a breathtaking view of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House behind her. “Let’s not pretend you don’t already know all about me, Damien. I’m sure whatever report you had done on me must have told you what I do and who I work for.” She crossed her arms, her face closed. “Just say what you have to say.”
So. She was going to play it cool now, was she? It didn’t surprise him. She’d always been a mixture of fire and ice. It was one of the things he’d liked about her—all that passion beneath a cool exterior.
He inclined his head at the high-backed leather chair behind her desk. “You might want to sit.”
“I’d rather stand,” she said, but her shoulders went back, as if preparing for a blow.
There was no easy way to say this. “Your father’s had a stroke, Gabrielle,” he said, hearing her gasp, seeing the shock she couldn’t hide now. “It caused a cerebral hemorrhage in his brain. It was touch-and-go so they had to operate.”
She swallowed hard. “Is he…”
“No, he’s not dead. They’re hopeful he’ll pull through and will recover fully in time.”
“Oh God,” she murmured, all pretence gone now as she finally sank onto her chair.
He watched her, seeing the whiteness of her skin and the way she bit her bottom lip, and he knew he’d done the right thing by coming to get her. “My private jet’s ready when you are.”
She blinked up at him. “What?”
“You’ll be coming home to Darwin to see your father.”
She shook her head. “No…I can’t.”
His mouth thinned. “He’s your father, Gabrielle.”
She made a choking sound. “Obviously that hasn’t worried him too much these past five years.”
It was one thing to ignore your father’s existence when he was in good health, but Russell had come close to death. It was time they sorted things out between them. Damien had told Russell the same thing not long before his stroke, when the other man appeared to be fretting over the loss of his daughter. Perhaps Russell sensed something had been about to happen.
“You were the one who walked out on him,” he pointed out. “Your father found that hard to forgive.”
“Perhaps I find it hard to forgive a few things, too,” she said, remaining firm.
He was instantly alert. “Such as?”
A wary look suddenly entered her eyes. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Obviously it does or you wouldn’t have mentioned it.”
She looked across the desk at him. “Nothing can change the past now. Let’s just say that when I left home five years ago I never looked back.”
He arched a brow. “Never? I find that hard to believe.”
She shrugged her slim shoulders and leaned back in her chair. “That’s your problem, Damien. Not mine.”
Her comment irritated him. “You walked out on me, too,” he reminded her silkily.
Her chin rose in the air. “And did you find that hard to forgive?”
His jaw clenched. “Your note was sufficient.”
“I’m glad you think so,” she said with a touch of sarcasm.
He scowled as her comment slammed into him. “You said you wanted to end our affair,” he reminded her. “You also said not to try and change your mind.”
“And it suited you to believe me, didn’t it?”
“Are you saying you lied?” he demanded, his stomach knotting.
Her eyelids flickered, as if she knew she was in dangerous waters. She sighed. “No. It was the truth. It was over between us.”
He stared hard for a moment as something centered inside his chest. Things were far from over between them. He’d subconsciously realized that when she’d stepped out of the elevator and walked toward him like a vision from heaven.
“No, I don’t think it was over at all,” he said quietly.
She stiffened. “Really? You obviously didn’t think that at the time.”
“True. But we had other priorities back then.”
She inclined her head but couldn’t hide a hint of relief in her eyes. “Yes, we both had a lot of things going on in our lives.”
“And I let that get in the way of what was important.” He paused. “Things have changed.”
She looked startled. “Changed?”
Now that he’d seen her again, he would have to work her out of his system. In the most pleasurable way, of course.
“It’s time to come home, Gabrielle. Your father needs you.” Hell, he suddenly needed her, too.
Her gaze dropped, and she began to smooth her palms over the front of her silky jacket. Then she looked up as if making a decision. “I’m sorry. Please tell my father I wish him well, but I won’t be coming back.”
