8 Magnificent Millionaires. Cathy Williams

I’ll marry you…but only if we can live somewhere a little less ostentatious than that big house of yours. I’m a very simple girl. More cottages and cream than pheasant under glass.’

      ‘Is that so?’ Grinning in unashamed delight, Adrian swept her up into his arms and strode across the room.

      ‘Where are we going?’ she asked breathlessly.

      ‘To your bedroom, hopefully. To get re-acquainted in the best way I know how. We’ve got two weeks to catch up on, remember?’

      ‘But Callum—’

      ‘If I’m right about your brother, he won’t be back for quite a while.’

      ‘How do you know that?’

      ‘Call it gut instinct, but my guess is he wouldn’t be one to interfere in the course of true love.’

      ‘Really?’

      ‘It’s a gift I have.’

      ‘I’m his only sister. He’s very possessive of me, you know.’

      His hands tightening round her body, Adrian’s expression was perfectly serious as he glanced heatedly down into Liadan’s bright blue eyes.

      ‘So am I, sweetheart. So am I…’

      EPILOGUE

      LETTING the hardcover book she’d been diligently reading drop back onto the cornflower-blue silk eider-down, Liadan stretched her arms wide before falling back against the plumped-up pillows with a sigh. With a contented little smile playing around her lips, she reflected what a lucky, lucky woman she was. Six months married and she was enjoying the kind of life that she’d only previously believed was to be found in fairy tales, or romantic movies at least. She had a gorgeous, insatiably sexy husband who kept her in bed more than she was out of it. She lived in one of the prettiest cottages in the village—albeit with an acre of garden and a Victorian folly that Adrian had had renovated just for her—and now she was going to have a baby, too. Her hands going automatically to the slight swell of her previously flat stomach, Liadan stroked it gently, marvelling at the astonishing changes that were taking place.

      In a week’s time she was going on a nationwide book tour with her famous husband, happy to be at his side and to show her love and pride in his success. He was a complex but wonderful, talented man who had successfully put some of his darkest demons behind him and had had the courage to start life anew, and she was so thankful he’d been able to do that. Happily contemplating the pretty blue and white bedroom of their large country cottage, Liadan sighed again and closed her eyes. When she heard the door open again a few moments later, her eyelids flew open and she pushed herself up immediately into a sitting position.

      ‘I finished the book,’ she announced breezily to the man who was purposefully approaching the bed with a glint in his eye that only his wife knew the meaning of.

      ‘Oh?’ The glint disappeared and warily Adrian rested his hands on his hips, his mouth in a straight, sober line. ‘And what’s the verdict?’

      ‘The verdict is…’ Throwing back the covers and scooting across to where he stood, Liadan threw her arms around her husband’s neck and stroked her lips tantalisingly across his. Immediately sensing his inevitable response, she drew back with a cheeky, coquettish grin. ‘The verdict is, my darling…that I’m going to keep you in this bed for a very long time. So long, in fact, that somebody somewhere might have to send out a rescue party.’

      His hands caressing the irresistible shape of her hips and pulling her pelvis flush with his, Adrian’s dark gaze smouldered. ‘And what if I don’t want to be rescued?’ he asked gravel-voiced.

      ‘Then that’s okay. I’ll simply take care of all your needs.’

      ‘I have no problem with that.’ Barely able to think about anything else but the promised delights to come, Adrian nonetheless paused when Liadan would have dragged him into bed. ‘You haven’t finished telling me what you thought about the book?’ he reminded her.

      ‘You changed the ending,’ Liadan said softly, her lovely face unable to hide her intense admiration and love. ‘You made it beautiful, Adrian. You gave your characters hope even though they were in an agonising situation. I’m so proud of you.’

      ‘That’s all right, then.’ Unbuttoning his shirt with lightning fingers, he discarded it carelessly onto the floor and climbed into bed beside his wife. From now on, he would thank his lucky stars every day for bringing this beautiful, animated, loving woman into his life and giving him the possibility of a brighter future than he could ever have dared to contemplate. Whatever the years ahead had in store for them both, he would do his best never to be cynical about life again. Even if there wasn’t redemption for everybody, as Liadan believed…at least there was hope. Because if Adrian’s life could turn around on a heartbeat—as far as he was concerned—then so could everybody else’s. His lovely, vivacious, warm-hearted Liadan had taught him that.

      The Spanish Billionaire’s Mistress

Susan Stephens

      For all my long-suffering friends. You know who you are. I couldn’t do it 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

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      COMING NEXT MONTH

      CHAPTER ONE

      ‘COME here—come closer so we can see you,’ the male voice commanded.

      Cursing softly under her breath, Zoë Chapman slithered down to the ground and straightened up. Uncomfortable but invisible, or so she’d thought, she had been wedged into a smooth crevice between two giant rocks, discreetly observing the activity around the campfire.

      She had located the flamenco camp and chosen her hiding place before anyone arrived. Her unique and popular cookery shows depended upon the co-operation of special interest groups, but the fact that she worked on a TV programme didn’t make her welcome everywhere. She had wanted to observe the dancing before she introduced herself, just to make sure it was as good as was rumoured in the village.

      The man speaking now had arrived shortly after she had. Back turned, he had stood gazing out across the valley. She had seen nothing more than an aggressively tall male figure, a shock of inky black hair and a wide sweep of shoulders—in fact, everything she had vowed to avoid since gaining her freedom.

      As more people had joined him, she’d realised he was the leader of the group. Why hadn’t she been surprised? She had wondered who he was, wondered about the quivers running through her as she stared at him. It had made her angry to think she had learned nothing since her divorce. She was still drawn to dangerous men.

      Now, walking up to him, she saw he was everything she had expected: strikingly handsome, arrogant, and angry that she was here uninvited. If this hadn’t been work she would have done the sensible thing, and left.

      During the course of her television series she searched out interesting people from all walks of life. Local people in whichever country