The Baron and The Bodyguard. Valerie Parv

      

      “You tell me I don’t know what I’m doing. Yet every instinct tells me having you in my arms is the right thing…Have I kissed you before?”

      Jacinta felt her cheeks flame. “Yes.”

      “Have we made love?”

      The answer stuck in her throat. “Mathiaz, please…”

      “Answer the question or you’re fired.”

      She hesitated, wondering whether to call his bluff. “Go ahead and fire me,” she said quietly. The thought of leaving swamped her in misery, but anything was better than dealing with this. Mathiaz couldn’t know that he was rubbing salt into a raw wound with every word.

      “I wish I could. But as long as you hold the key to the hole in my memory, I’m not letting you go,” he said.

      His eyes brightened, boring into her. “I need you, Jacinta. To help me remember.”

      Dear Reader,

      Grab a front-row seat on the roller-coaster ride of falling in love. This month, Silhouette Romance offers heart-spinning thrills, including the latest must-read from THE COLTONS saga, a new enchanting SOULMATES title and even a sexy Santa!

      Become a fan—if you aren’t hooked already!—of THE COLTONS with the newest addition to the legendary family saga, Teresa Southwick’s Sky Full of Promise (#1624), about a stone-hearted doctor in search of a temporary fiancée. And single men don’t stay so for long in Jodi O’Donnell’s BRIDGEWATER BACHELORS series. The next rugged Texan loses his solo status in His Best Friend’s Bride (#1625).

      Love is magical, and it’s especially true in our wonderful SOULMATES series, which brings couples together in extraordinary ways. In DeAnna Talcott’s Her Last Chance (#1628), virgin heiress Mallory Chevalle travels thousands of miles in search of a mythical horse—and finds her destiny in the arms of a stubborn, but irresistible rancher. And a case of amnesia reunites past lovers—but the heroine’s painful secret could destroy her second chance at happiness, in Valerie Parv’s The Baron & the Bodyguard, the latest exciting installment in THE CARRAMER LEGACY.

      To get into the holiday spirit, enjoy Janet Tronstad’s Stranded with Santa (#1626), a fun-loving romp about a rodeo megastar who gets stormbound with a beautiful young widow. Then, discover how to melt a Scrooge’s heart in Moyra Tarling’s Christmas Due Date (#1629)

      I hope you enjoy these stories, and please keep in touch!

      Mary-Theresa Hussey

      Senior Editor

      The Baron & the Bodyguard

      Valerie Parv

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      For my wonderful sister-in-law, Helga.

      Books by Valerie Parv

      Silhouette Romance

      The Leopard Tree #507

      The Billionaire’s Baby Chase #1270

      Baby Wishes and Bachelor Kisses #1313

      *The Monarch’s Son #1459

      *The Prince’s Bride-To-Be #1465

      *The Princess’s Proposal #1471

      Booties and the Beast #1501

      Code Name: Prince #1516

      †Crowns and a Cradle #1621

      †The Baron & the Bodyguard #1627

      Silhouette Intimate Moments

      Interrupted Lullaby #1095

      Royal Spy #1154

      VALERIE PARV

      lives and breathes romance and has even written a guide to being romantic, crediting her cartoonist husband of nearly thirty years as her inspiration. As a former buffalo and crocodile hunter in Australia’s Northern Territory, he’s ready-made hero material, she says.

      When not writing her novels and nonfiction books, or speaking about romance on Australian radio and television, Valerie enjoys dollhouses, being a Star Trek fan and playing with food (in cooking, that is). Valerie agrees with actor Nichelle Nichols who said, “The difference between fantasy and fact is that fantasy simply hasn’t happened yet.”

      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

       Epilogue

      Chapter One

      Mathiaz was floating.

      Pain shredded the edges of the mist surrounding him, but he found if he concentrated, he could push the pain away and enjoy the sensation of nothingness. Of floating free of care.

      “Come on, Baron, don’t do this to me.”

      The woman’s voice punched through the mist, bringing the awareness