Take a Chance on Me (22 page)

The Devil Inside

Tease Me, Please Me: The Strip Series

Taking the Cake

Strip Tease

Challenging Carter

Lessons Learned: The Lessons Series

Lessons in Love

Lessons in Trust

Move over, Mary Poppins! A free-spirited teacher is about to give a buttoned-up royal something he never expected—a lesson in love.

Lessons in Love

© 2007 Kate Davies

Hungry for adventure and eager to break free of her snobby home town, Brynn Dexter takes a teaching job in a foreign country, sight unseen. But when she arrives, she discovers the Laurivenia Academy doesn’t exist. And neither does the teaching job.

Alex du Charbonneaux, crown prince of Laurivenia, is tired of intense media scrutiny, and wary of social-climbing women who stoop to feigning interest in his vulnerable five-year-old daughter in order to get close to him. So if he fudged the details of the “teaching job” to protect his child—and his privacy—who can blame him?

His careful plans begin to unravel the moment Brynn appears on his doorstep. She is beautiful and free spirited, nothing like the dowdy, obedient nanny he ordered.

While being a nanny to a princess is a far cry from the teaching position Brynn expected, she quickly realizes the child is in dire need of a little fun in her life—as is her stuffed-shirt father. As she sets out to teach both of them how to live a little, sparks fly and unexpected passion burns between her and Alex.

But Alex’s deep-rooted suspicions linger, and Brynn struggles with the feeling that she is not good enough for him. So when the paparazzi discover their affair, all bets are off.

Can the prince and the nanny find common ground—and learn to trust in love?

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Lessons in Love:

Alex was sure that he had never been quite so exquisitely tense in his life.

Brynn Dexter was asleep in his arms.

He shifted slightly, wishing his body wasn’t reacting in quite so predictable a manner. But he was, after all, a man. And Brynn was—a desirable woman.

She stirred a little in her sleep. Although the royal plane was luxurious, it was still a challenge to sleep sitting up, even on a deeply padded leather couch.

Her eyelids had started drooping the moment they boarded the plane, and Alex had suggested she use the bed in the sleeping quarters at the rear of the plane to rest. Indignantly, she informed him that she wasn’t the slightest bit tired.

Then she had taken a seat next to him on the couch for takeoff. By the time they were in the air, Brynn was slumped against his shoulder, breathing deeply.

Amused, he considered taking her back to the bed and tucking her in, but swiftly vetoed that idea. Brynn and bed was a dangerous combination in his mind. He was just about to move aside and give her space to stretch out on the couch when she wrapped an arm about his waist and snuggled into the crook of his neck.

She smelled like a citrus grove.

So now he was well and truly trapped, both by the slim woman wrapped around him and by the emotions barreling down on him. He should be at the conference table at the front of the plane, working on his paperwork. He should be anywhere but here.

The problem was, he didn’t want to be anywhere else.

Besides, he hadn’t bothered to bring any work with him on this trip—which was yet another sign that he wasn’t acting like himself lately. And even if he had brought a stack of papers to read and sign, he had a sinking suspicion that he would have chosen to act as Brynn’s pillow anyway.

He sighed, glancing down at the woman sleeping against his shoulder. The two of them were alone in the opulent interior of the plane, having been given a little privacy by Niles and the two flight attendants. All had worked with the royal family long enough to know how much he appreciated a break from the hovering that seemed to go with the territory of being royalty.

After all, what could happen to him on a private plane several thousand feet in the air?

He let his arm drop just a fraction so his fingertips touched Brynn’s bare arm. Tempted beyond belief, he traced delicate patterns, wishing he could explore the soft skin that lay hidden behind her casual outfit. Brynn shifted again, the curve of her breast brushing against his side. Alex dropped his head back against the couch, wishing he didn’t have such an active imagination. He knew what he wanted to happen; he also knew it was an impossibility.

Trying in vain to turn his thoughts in a less dangerous direction, he glanced around the interior of the plane. Those packages which contained clothing that did not need to be altered and delivered were stowed at the front of the cabin, a neatly stacked tower of boxes and bags. A blue-and-gray striped gift bag was tucked in back, barely visible behind the rest.

After agreeing to leave Brynn to her own devices at the dress designer’s, Alex had spent an hour or so just wandering through the shopping district of Milan, trailed by Niles. He’d picked up a little statue of a horse, knowing that Carissa’s current obsession with ponies would make it a popular gift. And then the display in a tiny shop, tucked away on the edge of a piazza, had caught his eye.

Involuntarily, he glanced at his sleeping companion. It had been an impulse purchase, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. It was perfect for Brynn. Now he just had to find the right time to give it to her.

If he gave it to her at all. Really, it was too personal, too intimate for someone who was, after all, just his daughter’s nanny.

Except he couldn’t seem to make himself believe that anymore. Something had shifted for him, some invisible connection that seemed to grow stronger each time they were together.

It was more than a physical attraction, he mused, glancing at the woman sleeping on his shoulder. Although he could not deny the ache of desire that curled through him, it went far beyond that now.

Her passion, her joy, her enthusiasm—all aspects of her personality that made her even more attractive than just her outward beauty. And it was becoming much more difficult to remember the reasons he had to stay away from her.

Brynn shifted in her sleep, her curls brushing his face. He breathed in the scent of her shampoo, that citrusy blend that captured her sunshine spirit perfectly.

When he turned to look at her again, Brynn was just opening her eyes. The dreamy, captivating glow in her doe-soft eyes was quickly replaced by embarrassment.

“Oh my God.” She sat up, shoving the curls out of her face. “I am so sorry. I can’t believe I fell asleep on you.”

“It’s all right.”

“Please tell me I didn’t snore. Or—or drool on your shoulder or something.” She lifted a hand to her mouth, surreptitiously checking it for moisture.

Alex knew without a doubt no woman had ever mentioned drooling to him before. Enchanted by her artlessness, he reached over and captured her hand in his. “You were perfectly appropriate.” He ignored the fact that with the direction of his thoughts while she slept, she was alone in that regard. “I am glad you felt comfortable enough to rest.”

“Exhausted is more like it.” She rolled her shoulders. “Who knew shopping could take so much out of you?”

His mother. His former wife. Most of the women in his social circle. To them, shopping was a blood sport, and to the victor went the spoils. Shopping with them was wearing.

With Brynn, however, it was a delight. Like a prism, she took experiences that were common to him and fractured them, adding a wash of brilliant color to everything. Unexpected, but enjoyable all the same.

She sat up, moving away from him. He missed the subtle pressure of her head on his shoulder, the soft brush of curls against his cheek. He missed her rhythmic breathing as she slept.

What would it be like to spend the night with her wrapped in his arms?

The first time they broke each others’ hearts. Now they have a second chance…

Breathe

© 2010 Donna Alward

Doing what was expected didn’t get Anna Morelli anything but a bad marriage. Now that her life has fallen apart there’s only one place she can think of to regroup and figure out what comes next. Two Willows, the winery owned by the only man she could ever rely on. Her oldest friend. And her worst mistake.

Growing up as the poor boy didn’t stop Jace Willow from falling for Anna one hot, sultry summer. Back then, his best efforts to prove himself worthy of the Morelli standard fell just short. While it killed him to see her marry someone else, he made beating the Morellis at their own game his life’s work. And he’s excelled at it.

When Anna shows up on his doorstep, their painful history pales in the face of her need for a roof over her children’s heads—and some peace. The heat of their renewed passion is healing, but it burns away layers of hard-won emotional distance, reopening old wounds. Threatening their one last chance to rebuild their love on the shattered pieces of their broken hearts…

Warning: Full-bodied, rich bouquet with sexy overtones. Decant, breathe, and enjoy.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Breathe

“Mama, are we there yet?”

She couldn’t help but smile softly at the plaintive question. She slowed the car and peered over her shoulder at Matteo, strapped into a car seat and blinking his round eyes at her.

“Yes, we’re here. Just a moment, and I promise you can get out and run around.”

She pulled out of the trees and into a small parking area that held one other vehicle. A shiny, silver Porsche 911 Carerra.

Jace’s car.

Leave it to Jace to drive a two-seater bullet. She shouldn’t be surprised. He’d always been one for toys. The flashier the better. It seemed nothing had changed. He had always been hungry for
things.
Briefly she wondered if all men thought of their value as the sum of their possessions. Certainly Stefano had. She remembered the sailboat he’d bought. In the end it had been his worst mistake. Anna knew better than most that things were just that. Material possessions. Certainly not enough to build a life on. She’d tried explaining that to Jace once, but he hadn’t wanted to listen then either. The memory touched a hollow part within her.

The parking area was just below a large house, more like a lodge than a regular dwelling, built of reddish-stained logs.

As she pulled to a stop, Jace stepped out of a line of vines to her right. He halted and stared, his lips flattening with surprise at seeing her behind the wheel. No smile. No wave of greeting. And her stomach tumbled over itself.

She’d known him for so long she’d nearly forgotten how imposing he could be. His tall frame was lean and muscled, not overly large but exuding a confidence and power she’d always admired. But at this moment, the charming smile and manner she’d come to expect were absent. He almost looked angry now, mingled with surprise at her turning up so unexpectedly. She wrinkled her brow and glanced in the backseat. Matteo was already attempting to undo his seatbelt.

And with a stroke of perfect timing, Aurelia woke at the sudden lack of motion and started wailing at the top of her tiny lungs.

Anna unbuckled her seatbelt. She slid out of the car, avoiding Jace’s severe gaze, opened the back door, scooped the crying baby from the seat and reached over and released Matteo from his own restraint.

She held her daughter close to her shoulder, her son by the hand and wished quite irrationally that she’d had time to do something about her hair before trying to convince Jace to take them all in.

“Anna.”

Jace strode over, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that was dirty in several places. His boots were brown with dried mud and there was a smudge of something across one cheek.
His
hair, however, was perfect, slightly longer than it had been last time she’d seen him, the shaggy tips giving him a sexy, roguish look. She pursed her lips. She hated being at a disadvantage. She’d spent so many years exuding the perfect image it was difficult to allow herself to be anything less than perfect now.

“What on earth are you doing
here
?”

That was it for a greeting? No smile? No nothing? She rubbed Aurelia’s back, trying to quiet her, but she knew what was wrong and standing around wasn’t going to fix it.

“I know I should have called first…”

Jace frowned. “Called first? It’s not like you live moments away. You’ve come all the way from the Island?”

Matteo had pulled his fingers away and Anna rested her hand on top of his head. Oh, the man made it sound like she was the dumbest woman in the world. Didn’t he know about Stefano? Didn’t he know what a shambles her life was? Was there really that much distance between them now? He made Vancouver Island sound like it was oceans away.

“I didn’t have anywhere else to go. And you did say I was always welcome.”

As soon as she said the words, her eyes stung sharply and her breath caught, painful and thin in her lungs. All through the trip—packing, the flight, even the drive here—she’d been fine, but now it all caught up with her. It was hopeless. She was pathetic, running away from her problems. And knowing it, tears glimmered and slipped down her cheeks.

“Anna.” Jace’s face softened, his eyes dark with concern. “Anna, what’s happened? Don’t cry. Please.”

He gripped her upper arms, the fingers strong around her biceps. Suddenly it was all clear. Stefano was gone. Her father was furious. Alex was wrapped up in Melissa and their first pregnancy. She was alone, and she’d made so many mistakes, ending with the latest—coming to Jace.

“I…I…”

“Mama?” Matteo stood firm beside her left thigh, and she let her fingers trail along his dark head, attempting to allay the worry she heard in his little voice. Aurelia’s crying increased.

“What’s wrong with her?”

Little Matteo stepped forward from beneath his mother’s hand, brown eyes blazing. “My sister is hungry and needs to be changed.”

A smile twitched at the corners of Jace’s mouth as he turned his attention to Matteo. He lifted his brows in a way that said he was clearly indulging the boy. “Is that right?”