The Homecoming. Anne Marie Winston

tion>

      

       Sydney turned her face into his neck and laid her head against his shoulder. Her breath whispered across his skin.

      Danny’s breath caught in his throat and his heart stuttered. It would be so easy to draw her down onto the blanket they shared, to explore the feminine treasures of her body—

      What was he thinking? A rogue wave of longing surged high and swept over him, urging him to drop his head and set his mouth against her soft pink lips. He wanted it so badly. Releasing her, he surged to his feet. “Well. We should get going if you want to see the rest of the island’s attractions.”

      “Actually, I’m getting tired. It probably would be best if we went back and took a nap.”

      Danny hadn’t imagined he’d ever feel such a strong need to make love again. It was almost a relief to know his body still yearned for feminine contact. But he didn’t need Sydney, he reminded himself forcefully. He didn’t need anyone, and the last thing he wanted was to be more involved in her life than he already was.

       ANNE MARIE WINSTON

      RITA^® Award finalist and bestselling author ANNE MARIE WINSTON loves babies she can give back when they cry, animals in all shapes and sizes and just about anything that blooms. When she’s not writing, she’s managing a house full of animals and teenagers, reading anything she can find and trying not to eat chocolate. She will dance at the slightest provocation and weeds her gardens when she can’t see the sun for the weeds anymore. You can learn more about Anne Marie’s novels by visiting her Web site at www.annemariewinston.com.

       USA TODAY Bestselling Author

      The Homecoming

      Anne Marie Winston

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Be a part of

       Because birthright has its privileges and family ties run deep.

      On an island retreat, a lost man rescues a woman claiming to know his kidnapped son. Will redemption and love touch them both?

      Sydney Aston: Her adopted son’s history was mysterious, so she went on a quest to find his biological family. When she encountered Danny Crosby, she fell in love with him and wrestled with her heart. He had to know the truth—that his beloved son was still alive!

      Danny Crosby: A broken man after his son’s disappearance, Danny led a reclusive life. But Sydney brought him back into the world…and back to the son he’d ached for all these years. Would he be given a second chance at having a family?

      A Logan reunion: The Logans visited their long-lost son and vowed to help the sweet boy robbed from them so many years ago. Robbie Logan had finally come home.

       Because birthright has its privileges and family ties run deep.

      AVAILABLE JUNE 2010

      1.) To Love and Protect by Susan Mallery

      2.) Secrets & Seductions by Pamela Toth

      3.) Royal Affair by Laurie Paige

      4.) For Love and Family by Victoria Pade

      AVAILABLE JULY 2010

      5.) The Bachelor by Marie Ferrarella

      6.) A Precious Gift by Karen Rose Smith

      7.) Child of Her Heart by Cheryl St. John

      8.) Intimate Surrender by RaeAnne Thayne

      AVAILABLE AUGUST 2010

      9.) The Secret Heir by Gina Wilkins

      10.) The Newlyweds by Elizabeth Bevarly

      11.) Right by Her Side by Christie Ridgway

      12.) The Homecoming by Anne Marie Winston

      AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 2010

      13.) The Greatest Risk by Cara Colter

      14.) What a Man Needs by Patricia Thayer

      15.) Undercover Passion by Raye Morgan

      16.) Royal Seduction by Donna Clayton

      In memory of Katrina Sue Smith. I wish we were still sharing life’s adventures, dear friend. “Precious moments” just aren’t the same without you.

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Epilogue

       One

       T he dream started as it always did. Danny’s best friend was walking away with the strange man.

      Danny was afraid. Their teacher, Miss Hanley, always told them never to get in a car with strangers. She said if they were only going to learn one thing in first grade, that was the one they should learn. Even Danny’s mother, who didn’t seem to care what he did as long as he stayed out of her way, had made him promise never to go anywhere with anyone other than his dad or her without permission.

      Danny ran into his house, yelling for his mother. She could stop Robbie. If he could just find his mother, she could help his friend.

      But she wasn’t in the kitchen, or the living room, or anywhere. He called and called but she never answered him.

      He frantically rushed back outside. There! A lady. One of the neighbors walking down the street. Danny rushed up to her, heedless of the tears streaking his cheeks. “Help me, please,” he cried. “A bad man’s taking my friend!”

      But the lady didn’t even look down at him, and he realized suddenly that it wasn’t his neighbor. It wasn’t anybody he knew, and she wouldn’t look at him, wouldn’t talk to him.

      Another man approached and Danny asked him for help, but the man kept on going as if he hadn’t even heard him. Danny repeated his actions with each passerby, growing ever more frantic as person after person brushed him off and kept going. He could hear himself sobbing, “Help me, please help my friend.”

      Then he heard a voice behind him. “I’ll help you. Come with me.”

      Danny turned around, relief almost a physical thing rushing through him. But as his gaze focused on the face of the man standing there with his hand outstretched, shock and fear erased the relief.

      The bad man stood right behind him. Danny was too terrified to move. All he could do was watch as the man reached for him—

      Danny Crosby woke with a shout, sitting bolt upright in his bed. Or had it been a scream? His staff would wonder what was going on in his bedroom at—he glanced at the glowing