"Is that why you’re so keen to employ people from disadvantaged backgrounds?" Dave asked."Absolutely. They sometimes just need someone to believe in them." She tapped her hand on the table for emphasis. "To give them a fighting chance. My mother didn’t have anyone in her life who believed in her potential.""What was your father like?"A flash of anger lit her grey-green gaze and her mouth tightened. "He was a brute and a bully but my mother got completely taken in by him because he promised to give her a better life. He said all the charming things she wanted to hear but they were empty promises. She thought because he called her “babe” that he actually loved her. But when he started to show his true colours, she didn’t have the strength or self-esteem to stand up to him. The worst part was she drank and used drugs to escape his behaviour but in doing so became more like him."She released a ragged sigh and looked back at the candle flickering on the table, a hot flare of anger stil
Dave sat back and finished his drink once Lea had gone off to bed, wondering if he’d done the right thing by suggesting they extend their stay. He had originally planned to fly in and fly out once they were officially married. But he’d thought a few extra days might help both of them get used to their new circumstances before they went back to Brathellae. Living together as man and wife, even on paper, was going to take some considerable adjustment, especially if they were to do it as authentically as they could by sharing the West Tower suite. Besides, they were both hard workers who rarely took a break.But her initial reluctance to stay on for a few extra days made him wonder if it was not so much about spending time with him that troubled her but something else. The beach environment? Or maybe it was both. Not everyone enjoyed the beach, especially those with fair complexions like Lea, but he had seen her looking at other swimmers and sunbathers with a wistful look on her face.Hi
Over the next couple of days, Lea was left in no doubt about Dave’s skill as a tour guide. He organised a tour of Haleakala National Park, located on Maui’s inactive volcano, as well as visits to the Seven Sacred Pools of the Oheo Ravine and Makahika and Waimoko waterfalls. The lush rainforests with their towering, tumbling waterfalls were breathtaking, and Dave organised a private helicopter tour of the summit of the volcano, which gave stunning views over the crater and the whole island. He was sensitive without being patronising over the walks they took through the rainforest, and he always had a steadying hand at the ready if she gave any hint of losing her footing.In the evenings, they dined out at various restaurants, chatting over the day’s sights, and then returned to the villa and retired to their separate quarters. It was clear Dave was doing everything he could to ensure their relationship remained platonic, but every now and again, when he touched her as he helped her out
Dave ran along the shoreline, oblivious to the protestation of overused muscles. He was determined to beat this obsession with kissing Lea. He was the one who had made the rules—why was he finding it so damn hard to stick to them? Her mouth was a drug he had suddenly developed a hunger for, and it was taking every bit of willpower he possessed to resist. What was it about her that made him so tempted to step over every boundary he had laid down?But then a thought strayed into his mind: maybe he shouldn’t resist. Maybe he could tweak the rules and see what happened. The thought sat down like an uninvited guest, put its feet up, and got comfortable, but Dave frogmarched it out of his head. He knew what would happen, and he had to avoid it at all costs. He increased his pace along the sand, ignoring the burning sensations in his legs. Ignoring the heaving of his chest as he dragged in each gulping breath.He hadn’t forgiven himself for his last relationship disaster.He couldn’t—wouldn’
At his behest, Lea tried on outfit after outfit. Half the time Dave was on the phone, delivering terse commands to his assistant, but the whole time his attention seemed to be on her. It bothered her that she got a thrill out of his obvious interest, and she had to resist a shameful urge to preen and pose. It was becoming harder and harder for her to view their marriage as just a job, since he was personalising everything. An hour after their arrival, a package was delivered to him.Lea made her final appearance in an opulent, full-length turquoise silk evening gown.One glance at her and the exquisite pain of rampant sexual arousal assailed Dave in a tidal wave. The fabric cupping her breasts was too fine to conceal her nipples, which protruded like ripe cherries. Expelling his breath in a slow hiss of restraint, he sprang upright and signalled her.Lea swore to herself before that there was no way she was wearing anything above her knee, but for Dave, she was being brave with hersel
“Lea, I expected to see you again before Monday,” Dave revealed, standing on the pavement beside the Mercedes that contained Dave’s sister."Well...""I see you at the castle?”“I’m sorry—I’d like to spend some time at home before going to your busy parties in the city. and I need to talk with my aunt.” Pale and taut, Lea collided head-on with smouldering dark blue eyes heavily fringed with lush black lashes. Her tummy flipped as if she had been flung up in the air. Surely no man had ever had such compellingly beautiful eyes? Her fingers clenched into her palms as she stepped back from Dave, uneasily aware of the phalanx of bodyguards hovering around them.“You make it sound so reasonable,” Dave reached out and closed a hand around hers as she brushed a skein of gold silky hair back from her brow. He eased her inexorably closer. “But you know that’s not what I want.”She whispered against his lips. “What are you doing?”“Acting?” he whispered back as his lips brushed against hers.The
Lea gave a small nod, her gaze still focused on their joined hands. For years, she had heard everyone refer to it as an accident. A chance thing, a driver error that had gone horribly wrong. Her memory might have been patchy for months after the crash, but one thing she had always known was that it hadn’t been a simple driver error. “It wasn’t an accident.” She brought her gaze back to his, her voice tighter, her throat tighter. “It was a deliberate car crash.”Dave’s hand stilled on hers, his eyes widening in alarm. “What do you mean?” His tone was hollowed out, echoing with shock.“My father wanted to kill us all. He drove the car into the tree because my mother told him she wanted to leave him.”“Oh, Lea, I'm so sorry." Dave’s hand gripped hers as if he were trying to anchor her to him. To stop her from being swept away by a tide of distressing memories. ‘I can’t imagine the panic, fear, and pain you must have gone through. What a cowardly act. A disgustingly cowardly act.’ His voi
Lea couldn’t hope to conceal her shock at his embittered words. Her mouth was open, her eyes wide, and her heart heavy for what he’d been through and the guilt that still plagued him. He had told her a few days ago that things hadn’t been as perfect between him and Susanna as she had believed, but she had still assumed he loved his fiancée. Dearly loved her. Lea had always seen them as the ideal couple. They’d looked so good together; they seemed to treat each other with the utmost respect; they came from the same world of wealth and privilege.But had she wanted to see them that way? To fulfil her own girlhood romantic fantasy. Ignoring the subtle clues that things weren’t quite as rosy and romantic as she’d wanted to believe,.But who knew how any relationship worked from the inside? Hadn’t her childhood more than proved that? Happy Families was a game her father had played and played extremely well. Only those on the inside, behind the door closed to the public, knew what the true
Thomas drove her to the city, exceeding all speed records to reach the private hospital in time. They were too late for anaesthesia. She’d just barely settled into her private suite, and Dr. Bartlett had just rushed in to check on her, before their baby was born.Thomas held her close as their son came into the world, protecting them. And in the instant their newborn baby was placed in her exhausted arms, both their lives changed forever.Thomas kissed his wife’s sweaty forehead, then tenderly cradled them both in his arms. Their love was newly reborn in that single instant, brilliant and flashing like a comet illuminating the dark night, shining like a star that would always last.*****Mommy….mommy, they’re here!”Four-year-old John was running up and down the hallways, screaming like a banshee when he heard the helicopter land on the other side of the island. Leah smiled down at her son, even as she tried helplessly to hush him before he woke his two-year-old sister, who always got
Leah knelt, brushing the earth off the grey marble angel before placing half the daisies on her grave. “I’m going to have his baby any day now. And I forced him to promise to stay away from us.” She gave a harsh laugh. “I guess I never thought he’d stay so true to his word. Perhaps he’s not the liar I thought.” She wiped the tears that left cold tracks down her cheeks, chilling beneath the brisk spring wind as she said softly, “What should I do?”Her father’s grave was silent. Leah heard only the sigh of the wind through the trees as she stared down at the words on the gravestone.No. Her throat suddenly hurt. Sometimes love and passion can be equally joined, like a mutual fire. She’d felt it.The desire between Leah and Thomas had been explosive. She’d been so lucky, and she hadn’t even known it. For all her adult life, she’d been focused on the wrong thing. On revenge. On regaining a memory that had ultimately caused her nothing but grief.A bitter laugh stuck in her throat.Hearing
“No!” Leah jerked away from him. “Don’t touch me!” She turned away, heading for the door, desperate to get out of the bedroom, away from the soft, mussed sheets that were still warm from the tender passion of their bodies, away from the scent of him that still clung to her. Away from the happiness of the innocent, explosive joy she’d experienced moments before.“I don’t blame you,” he said quietly behind her, causing her to halt. “When I found out you were Justin De Nero's stepsister, I already knew I was falling in love with you. So I brought you here to the island.” He took a deep breath. “I thought if I kept you safe and hidden from the world, you wouldn’t remember. I prayed you never would.”She whirled around with a gasp, and the breath suddenly knocked out of her.“To punish me?” she said, wanting to cry. She lifted her chin. “To claim your victory?”Thomas bowed his head. “To be your husband,” he whispered. “To love you for the rest of my life.”His words crept into her soul li
Thomas pulled off the soft pink cotton dress with its innocent eyelet lace. Removing his own black T-shirt and jeans, he dropped them to the floor. His eyes greedily drank in the vision of Leah in her translucent white bra and panties.Looking into her eyes, he finally spoke the words that had long ago been written across his heart.“I love you, Leah.”She sucked in her breath, her gaze searching his. Wanting to believe. Needing to believe.Then he kissed her.Her lips seared him to the core. With every beat of his heart, he loved her. And all he wanted to do was make his vow of a month ago true; he wanted to spend the rest of his life kissing her.She moved beneath him on the white blanket of the bed. Above him, he could hear the soft whir of the ceiling fan, hear the cry of the morning birds outside, and feel the soft breeze against his naked body.He touched her naked skin, bronzed from so many days spent outside. He stroked her body all over, worshipping her with his fingertips, wi
After she had slept, he reached his breaking point. Getting up from the bed, he gazed through the open French doors onto the terrace, where the gentle breeze swirled the curtains. He observed the full moonlight dancing on the black waves of the Aegean, resembling lost spirits ensnared in invisible webs to the earth.He had believed he could shield them here, far from the world's reach. He was mistaken. To protect his family, he could never again be intimate with his wife, not even a kiss. For if he did, she would remember everything, and he would lose her.Thomas was consumed by pain, his breath catching in his chest. He stole one final glance at his pregnant wife, peacefully sleeping in their bed. He cherished her beauty, even as he agonized over the tear stains on her face. As the pink hues of sunrise began to fill the room, he clenched his fists and left her to sleep alone.How had it all gone so wrong?A month later, Leah remained baffled. She resided in a breathtaking Greek villa
“Two?” Thomas pouted.“Six?” she countered good-naturedly.He looked down at her, his dark eyes smiling. “We can compromise. Three.”“All right.” She leaned against him with a contented sigh. “I’m so happy here,” she confessed. “I never want to leave.”He flashed her a grin. “Then we won’t.”“Just what do you have in mind?” she teased. “A honeymoon that never ends?”He bent to kiss her lightly, tenderly on the lips. “Exactly.”He went to the white granite table, removing the two lunch plates from the tray. He set them out with silverware and linen napkins. He brought the two glasses of sparkling water to the lounge chairs and handed one to her.He held up his glass. “To the most beautiful woman in the world.”Flushing with pleasure, she clinked the glass against his. “To the most wonderful man in the world,” she said softly. “Thank you for telling me the truth. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for putting it all behind us and bringing me home.”His dark brows creased, and he look
Thomas was blown away by her openness and vulnerability. Leah had accepted blame for a betrayal she could not even remember. She’d chosen to believe him. To trust him when all he’d done was lie to her, trick her, and punish her. It was enough to bring any man to his knees.Thomas started to walk toward her, but he’d gone only a few steps before the phone in his hand rang. He saw his lead investigator’s number and answered. “That was fast.”“I can tell you about your wife’s father right now, Mr. Alexander.” Barr paused. “Do the names Chase Johnson and Justin De Nero mean anything to you?”Thomas’s entire body went hot, then turned to ice.He was only dimly aware of the ebb and flow of people around him as his hand clenched around the phone.“Johnson and Justin De Nero?” he repeated in a strangled voice.“The owner of Johnson Inc. is the best friend of Leah’s stepbrother, Justin De Nero. They are close friends... very close friends.”Thomas’s heart pounded in his throat. He saw black bi
“And so I’ve been waiting for you to remember. Every place I’ve taken you, every memory I’ve hoped to reignite, was so you could tell me why.” Suddenly, she understood everything. “Not just that,” she whispered. “You wanted to punish me. It’s what you’ve wanted since the day you found me in London. You wanted revenge—” “Justice,” he corrected coldly. “But when you found out I was pregnant, that changed everything, didn’t it?” She gave a choked laugh, then covered her mouth with an intake of breath. “You felt you had to marry me because I was pregnant with your baby. You never loved me. All you wanted was to hurt me.” “I spent months trying to find you before you resurfaced at your father’s funeral. You’re a wealthy woman, Leah, so you couldn’t have betrayed me for money. So you must have done it out of love. You’re in love with Jake Skinner. It’s the only explanation.” She thought of the playboy with his bleached-white smile and shook her head. “I could never love him.” “Then wh
Cradled in Thomas’s strong arms, beneath the soft dawn spilling from the windows, Leah hadn’t wanted to wake up. She’d pressed her head against his naked chest, relishing the feel of his warm skin laced with dark hair.His body was so much larger than her own. Snuggled against him in the enormous bed, she’d felt protected. Safe. Loved. There was so much about him that she still didn’t understand. But still, she was falling in love with him all over again.Drowsy and content, she’d listened to the beat of his heart against her cheek. The beat grew louder, like the sound of heavy footsteps stomping in unison against a hard stone floor. Step. Step. Step.She felt suddenly cold as she looked at the blurry faces around her. Her father’s sobbing face came into sharp focus. She clung to Leah, wailing as they watched her mother’s and sister-in-law's coffins pass out of the church on the shoulders of old men. Leah clutched her father’s hands in her own, suddenly terrified that her mother’s and