His Forbidden Diamond. Susan Stephens

      

       Was she the only one to feel the tension building around the table? Jazz wondered.

      She was doing everything she could to ignore Tyr, but he was sitting so close that her whole body was tingling with awareness. How could she remain insensible to his heat, or to the compelling presence of the big Viking at her side? Having forbidden herself every sensual delight reality could offer, exploring the forbidden in her mind had become a favourite pastime. But not tonight. She must not allow her thoughts to wander tonight.

      Gathering her robe a little closer, she forced the direction of her thoughts away from Tyr.

      For around five seconds.

      ‘More water, Princess?’ Tyr’s gravelly voice shook her. ‘Or something else, perhaps?’

      ‘No, thank you.’

      How prim she sounded. But those wicked eyes—how dared he look at her like that? Storm-grey and darkening, Tyr’s eyes were lit with a disturbing understanding of her inner turmoil. He had always been able to read her. It was a skill that had made her mad when she was younger, and which now made her uncomfortably aware. And that firm mouth that she had all too often imagined kissing her—

      ‘You look beautiful tonight, Jazz.’

       You can’t say that!

      But how she wanted to hear it.

       Dear Reader

      I can’t believe this is the last book in my Skavanga Diamonds series.

      I have the best readers in the world. You have followed me to the icy wastes beyond the Arctic circle and the sultry deserts of Arabia with Britt Skavanga and Sheikh Sharif of Kareshi—breathless in a Bedouin tent—in DIAMOND IN THE DESERT. Then we headed to a tiny Italian island together, to share the story of middle sister Eva when she went head-to-head with one sexy, arrogant brute of an Italian count in THE FLAW IN HIS DIAMOND. For the third book, THE PUREST OF DIAMONDS?, featuring the youngest, peacemaker sister Leila, the pace eased and the mood gentled—for around a page—as we left wintry Skavanga for sunny Spain, where Leila proved that a quiet strength can be the most effective, and that even the most mildmannered of the Skavanga sisters can turn out to be more than a match for the ruthless Raffa Leon.

      And now HIS FORBIDDEN DIAMOND, the last book in this series, tells a story of forbidden attraction and the ultimate temptation that smoulders between Sheikh Sharif’s sister, Princess Jasmina of Kareshi, known as Jazz, and returning soldier Tyr Skavanga. This was the book I had in my mind from the beginning: the book that informed everything I wrote as I imagined the unimaginable. Tyr is one of the most interesting characters I have ever created, and in this book his mystery is unravelled.

      I hope you enjoy reading Tyr and Jazz’s story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. This is for you.

      With my warmest good wishes to my readers across the world.

       Susan

      His Forbidden Diamond

      Susan Stephens

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      SUSAN STEPHENS was a professional singer before meeting her husband on the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta. In true Mills & Boon^® Modern™ Romance style they met on Monday, became engaged on Friday, and were married three months after that. Almost thirty years and three children later, they are still in love. (Susan does not advise her children to return home one day with a similar story, as she may not take the news with the same fortitude as her own mother!)

      Susan had written several non-fiction books when fate took a hand. At a charity costume ball there was an afterdinner auction. One of the lots, ‘Spend a Day with an Author’, had been donated by Mills & Boon^® author Penny Jordan. Susan’s husband bought this lot, and Penny was to become not just a great friend but a wonderful mentor, who encouraged Susan to write romance.

      Susan loves her family, her pets, her friends and her writing. She enjoys entertaining, travel, and going to the theatre. She reads, cooks, and plays the piano to relax, and can occasionally be found throwing herself off mountains on a pair of skis or galloping through the countryside. Visit Susan’s website: www.susanstephens.net. She loves to hear from her readers all around the world!

      For Laurie, who, like all the best heroines, is smart and fun, with an unshakeable determination to get the very best out of me.

      Contents

       Cover

       Introduction

      Dear Reader

       Title Page

       About the Author

       Dedication

      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

       Chapter Fifteen

       Chapter Sixteen

       Chapter Seventeen

       Epilogue

       Extract

       Endpages

       Copyright

       CHAPTER ONE

      TYR SKAVANGA IS HOME!

      THE HEADLINE BLARED at him. His sister Britt had placed the newspaper on her desk, where she knew he couldn’t fail to see it. Britt was trying to tell him in her usual no-nonsense way how much he’d been missed, and how words could never express his three sisters’ happiness now he’d returned. The photograph beneath the headline showed Britt, Eva and Leila, hugging each other, their faces wreathed in smiles of joy.

      Because of him.

      Turning, he went to stare out of Britt’s office window, where snow drifted from a black sky like frozen sighs. Everything outside the building was pristine white and unspoiled, while inside, reflected in the window, was a killer’s face, his face, and he couldn’t hide from that.

      He had no wish to, Tyr thought grimly.