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The Tempted
Amanda Stevens
FORBIDDEN LOVERThe frightened woman standing before millionaire Jared Spencer hardly looked like the housekeeper's spirited daughter who'd once captured his heart then betrayed him. But the moment their gazes met, he felt the same fiery, forbidden desire.Tess Campbell had come with a plea to help find her missing child.A child that should have been theirs…Tess tempted fate by going to Jared. But for her little girl, she'd face the devil himself. Jared's millions would fuel the search–but it was the man Tess needed to keep her safe. For when Jared learned her precious secret, he and Tess would be in more danger than their daughter…
He knows. He’s going to ask me point-blank if Emily is his, and I’m not going to be able to lie…
“Tess?”
She turned toward Jared, her hand at her heart. In spite of her trepidation, a secret thrill raced through Tess. She couldn’t deny that she still felt something for Jared Spencer. But there was danger in the temptation he offered her. If she let Jared back into her life, the serpent would be sure to follow.
He gave her a bemused look. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and relaxed. He didn’t know about Emily. He couldn’t. “I’m just surprised to see you, that’s all.”
He smiled at her, and Tess’s heart began to pound in earnest. She was a grown woman, for goodness’ sake. She shouldn’t be reacting so strongly to a good-looking man.
But of course, Jared wasn’t just any man. He was her daughter’s father. That alone made him irresistibly sexy.
Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,
Welcome again to another action-packed month of exceptional romantic suspense. We are especially pleased to bring you the first of a trilogy of new books from Rebecca York’s 43 LIGHT STREET series. You’ve loved this author and her stories for years…and—you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! The MINE TO KEEP stories kick off this month with The Man from Texas. Danger lurks around every corner for these heroes and heroines, but there’s no threat too great when you have the one you love by your side.
The EDEN’S CHILDREN miniseries by Amanda Stevens continues with The Tempted. A frantic mother will fight the devil himself to find her little girl, but she’ll have to face a more formidable foe first—the child’s secret father.
Adrianne Lee contributes a terrific twin tale to the DOUBLE EXPOSURE promotion. Look for His Only Desire and see what happens when a stalker sees double!
Finally, Harper Allen takes you on a journey of the heart in her powerful two-book miniseries, THE AVENGERS. Guarding Jane Doe is a profound story about a soldier for hire and a woman in desperate need of his services. What they find together is everlasting love the likes of which is rarely—if ever—seen.
So join us once again for a fantastic reading experience.
Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Denise O’Sullivan
Associate Senior Editor
Harlequin Intrigue
The Tempted
Amanda Stevens
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born and raised in a small, Southern town, Amanda Stevens frequently draws on memories of her birthplace to create atmospheric settings and casts of eccentric characters. She is the author of over twenty-five novels, the recipient of a Career Achievement Award for Romantic/Mystery, and a 1999 RITA finalist in the Gothic/Romantic Suspense category. She now resides in Texas with her husband, teenage twins and her cat, Jesse, who also makes frequent appearances in her books.
Books by Amanda Stevens
HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE
373—STRANGER IN PARADISE
388—A BABY’S CRY
397—A MAN OF SECRETS
430—THE SECOND MRS. MALONE
453—THE HERO’S SON* (#litres_trial_promo)
458—THE BROTHER’S WIFE* (#litres_trial_promo)
462—THE LONG-LOST HEIR* (#litres_trial_promo)
489—SOMEBODY’S BABY
511—LOVER, STRANGER
549—THE LITTLEST WITNESS** (#litres_trial_promo)
553—SECRET ADMIRER** (#litres_trial_promo)
557—FORBIDDEN LOVER** (#litres_trial_promo)
581—THE BODYGUARD’S ASSIGNMENT
607—NIGHTTIME GUARDIAN
622—THE INNOCENT† (#litres_trial_promo)
626—THE TEMPTED† (#litres_trial_promo)
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Tess Campbell—Her little girl is missing, and in order to find her, Tess may have to reveal a secret she swore she’d take to her grave.
Jared Spencer—Six years ago, Tess left town without a backward glance. Now she’s walked back into his life, but before he succumbs to temptation, Jared has to know the truth about that night.
Royce Spencer—Taught all his life that winning is the only thing that matters, he will do anything to best his older brother, Jared.
Ariel Spencer—Is she frightened of her husband, or is she a willing accomplice in his dangerous machinations?
Cressida Spencer—She knows the sort of woman she wants for her son, and Tess Campbell is not the one.
Melanie Kent—One of the few people who knows Tess’s secret, she paid a huge price six years ago for her involvement with Royce Spencer.
Willa Banks—A dedicated volunteer or a suspect?
This book is gratefully dedicated to my editor, Denise O’Sullivan, without whom EDEN’S CHILDREN would not have been possible.
Contents
Prologue (#u105f0fe7-fc8f-52a0-91ec-e4c8a98ac0d1)
Chapter One (#ufa1e8833-d187-5715-a0e3-5f3c3cd8e58e)
Chapter Two (#u064e03df-2ab8-5efb-917f-c456781b8cb4)
Chapter Three (#ue9555717-a3f0-5b68-9a6b-21a70e708d04)
Chapter Four (#ud4f6b6b3-8e95-5222-9c80-9e12c7711b82)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue
“Mama?” Five-year-old Emily Campbell sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes as she tried to peer through the darkness. Someone was sitting beside her bed.
“Your mother’s not here. Go back to sleep.”
“I want my mama.”
“She’s not here, I said. Now hush.”
Emily began to cry. “I want to go home. Why can’t I go home?”
“Because your mother had to go away for a while, so she asked me to look after you. Remember? I told you that.”
Yes, but Emily still didn’t believe it. Her mama would never go away and leave her for this long. Where was she? Where was Grandma JoJo? Why hadn’t they come for her? A terrifying thought struck Emily. What if something had happened to them?
“I’m scared,” she whimpered.
“Why are you scared? You’re not hurt, are you? You’re not sick. I’m taking real good care of you, just like I promised I would. And look at all these pretty dolls…I got them just for you.”
It was true. Emily hadn’t been hurt. She’d been taken care of, although sometimes she was left alone for long periods of time, locked in this room. And she did have lots of toys to play with. They just weren’t her toys.
“Can I have Brown Bear?” she asked in a tiny voice.
A soft, cuddly toy was placed in her arms, but Emily pushed it away. “I want my Brown Bear.”
A frustrated sigh. “Are we going to have to go through this every night?”
Emily began to wail. “I want my Brown Bear! I want my mama!”
“Stop that!”
A hand touched Emily’s shoulder in the darkness, and she tried to flinch away.
“I’m not going to hurt you. It’s a picture of your mother. Put it under your pillow and it’ll make you feel all better.”
The picture was slipped into her hand, but Emily didn’t want it. She didn’t want it anywhere near her. The lady in that photograph wasn’t her mother, no matter how many times she was told differently.
“Look at your mama. Isn’t she pretty?”
“That’s not my mama.”
“Sure it is. It’s just been so long since you saw her, you’ve forgotten what she looks like, that’s all.”
It had been a long time since Emily had seen her mother. So very long. But she still remembered what her mother looked like. She had long, glorious hair, just like the lady in the fairy tale Emily loved so much, and a smile that made Emily feel all warm inside. The woman in the picture looked nothing like Emily’s mother.
But she didn’t put up a fuss this time. She took the picture and stuffed it underneath her pillow without a word because she didn’t want the light to be turned on. In the dark, she could make believe this really was her room, and that her mother was just down the hallway.
Sniffing back her tears, Emily lay down and curled up beneath the covers, closing her eyes and pretending to fall back asleep. She tried to imagine her mama sitting beside her on the bed, reading to her from the book that had been Emily’s favorite since she was little. “Good night, Mama,” she whispered, so softly no one in the darkness could hear her.
Chapter One
Eden, Mississippi
Tess Campbell sat in the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and tried very hard not to scream. Her nails dug into her palms as she listened in despair to the explanation of why the search for her five-year-old daughter, who had been missing for almost three weeks, was being scaled back.
The small office was crowded with law enforcement personnel and others involved in the search, but the only one who seemed capable of making eye contact with Tess at the moment was Naomi Cross, who worked for the Children’s Rescue Network, an organization founded to help parents of missing and exploited children.
Of all the people in the room, Naomi was the only one who truly understood Tess’s agony because Naomi’s own daughter had vanished ten years ago, the victim of an abduction with bizarre similarities to Emily’s.
Naomi had been a lifeline to Tess during the days following Emily’s disappearance. She’d provided the kind of emotional support and common-sense advice that only someone who had been through the same kind of hell could offer. But there was nothing Naomi could say or do now to ease Tess’s torment. Her only child was still missing, and the police were giving up. They’d written her off. Emily would now become another statistic.
