Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Single Series: Standalone Publisher: Harlequin Hero: Rafaello Grazzini Heroine: Glory Little Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: November 02, 2001 Started On: June 12, 2024 Finished On: June 16, 2024
Lynne Graham’s Rafaello’s Mistress is a classic Harlequin romance brimming with passion, angst, and the kind of emotional intensity that makes Ms. Grahams’s books so addictive. The story revolves around Glory Little, a young woman whose past entanglement with the powerful and devastatingly handsome Rafaello Grazzini left her scarred in more ways than one. Years later, their paths cross again when desperation forces Glory to seek his help, only to find herself bound once more by the dangerous allure of the man she had once loved.
Rafaello is the kind of hero Graham excels at creating; commanding, arrogant, and emotionally complex. He is a man who wields control effortlessly, and yet beneath that steely exterior lies a vulnerability he refuses to admit. His reappearance in Glory’s life isn’t without an edge; he has long believed she betrayed him years earlier, taking money in exchange for ending their relationship.
That sense of betrayal has festered into a need for revenge, driving his low opinion of her and fueling his determination to assert control over their renewed connection. Layered over this are complicated family ties that adds another dimension to his mistrust and makes their entanglement even more fraught.
As such, it is not far fetched for their shared history to have resulted in misunderstandings and half-truths, and much of the conflict later on is fueled by the mistakes and manipulations of those around them. Rafaello’s belief in Glory’s supposed betrayal colors every interaction, creating sparks of both fury and passion.
What makes this story so compelling is not just the clash of wills, but the revelation of family secrets and the complex web of ties that bind them together. The more the truth unravels, the more layered Rafaello becomes as a character, moving beyond the archetypal alpha into something deeper.
I loved the humor woven into this story; it lightened the heavy emotions and gave both Rafaello and Glory moments of unexpected warmth. The sexual tension between them is electric, with explosive kisses and encounters that keep the pages flying. What stood out most was how nuanced his characterization turned out to be. Instead of a one-dimensional domineering hero, Ms. Graham delivers a man whose contradictions and vulnerabilities make him all the more magnetic.
Told entirely from Glory’s perspective, the book gives the heroine’s voice center stage, and I found that choice made the story even more powerful. Seeing Rafaello only through her eyes adds to the mystery of his emotions, making his actions all the more intense when his true feelings come through.
Recommended for: readers who love angsty, passionate romances with complex heroes, strong but vulnerable heroines, and a shared past that demands resolution.
Final Verdict: A fiery and emotionally charged romance, Rafaello’s Mistress is elevated by Rafaello’s surprisingly complex characterization, delivering the kind of layered love story that lingers.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Paranormal Romance POV: Third Person, Single Series: Standalone Publisher: Harlequin Hero: Alessio Leopardi Heroine: Daisy Thornton Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: January 01, 1997 Started On: June 01, 2024 Finished On: June 01, 2024
‘You are the only woman I have ever loved,’ Alessio murmured roughly. ‘And I want to be inside you so badly, I ache.’
Second-Time Bride is one of those Lynne Graham classics that blends angst, humor, and emotional punch in a way that keeps you flipping the pages long past bedtime. Daisy and Alessio married as teenagers in a union that was doomed from the start; too young, too unprepared, and crushed under family pressure and their own insecurities. Within months, the marriage imploded, leaving Daisy to raise their daughter alone. Thirteen years later, Alessio returns, unaware he has a child, and determined to reclaim the woman he once lost.
Alessio is a quintessential Graham hero: arrogant, forceful, and brimming with jealousy that he can barely control. At thirty-two, he is wealthier, more powerful, and every bit as single-minded as the nineteen-year-old who first pursued Daisy. He is also plagued by insecurities he would never admit aloud, his reactions driven by the fear of losing her again, even as he masks that fear with bluster and arrogance.
Daisy, at thirty, is his equal in more ways than he expects. Wary, skittish, and protective of her daughter, she nonetheless refuses to be steamrolled, meeting his intensity with quick wit, flashes of temper, and the kind of honesty that continually throws him off balance.
The heart of the story lies in their second chance. Thirteen years of silence have bred misunderstandings, half-truths, and old wounds that refuse to stay buried. Daisy has kept the existence of their daughter a secret, a betrayal Alessio cannot easily forgive. He, in turn, cannot understand how she could walk away from their marriage without ever looking back. Their renewed relationship becomes a tug-of-war between pride and vulnerability, with their daughter Tara right in the middle, eager for the father she never knew.
Tara herself is one of the delights of this book. Equal parts her mother’s wit and Alessio’s will, she injects humor, heart, and energy into every scene she is in. She is clever, observant, and at times far too shrewd for her parents’ comfort, and her presence grounds the story in a way that makes the reconciliation between Daisy and Alessio even more meaningful.
What I adored most about this book was the balance between angst and humor that had me gasping for breathe one minute and guffawing the next. There is no shortage of fiery confrontations, jealous accusations, and emotional intensity, but Graham sprinkles it with laugh-out-loud moments that lighten the heaviness.
Daisy’s ability to fluster Alessio is pure delight; watching his frustration when she refuses to play by his rules gave me more than one chuckle. The chemistry between them is undeniable, their banter sharp and their passion blazing, making their reconciliation all the more satisfying. And that ending, sweet, funny, and unexpectedly heartwarming, was pure delight, the perfect conclusion after such a rocky road.
If I had a quibble, it is that the story would have benefitted from glimpses into Alessio’s perspective during their teenage marriage. Seeing how deeply besotted he had been would have added another layer of poignancy to his present-day determination. Still, his relentless pursuit of Daisy, even when he masks it with arrogance, is telling enough, and his jealousy-fueled antics both maddening and thoroughly entertaining.
Recommended for: readers who love second-chance marriages, fiery banter, jealous alpha heroes, and heroines who refuse to back down.
Final Verdict: Equal parts humor, heartbreak, and heat—Second-Time Bride is a Lynne Graham gem with a pure delight of an ending.
Favorite Quotes
At nineteen, Alessio had told her that a boy who slept around was only gaining necessary masculine experience but that a girl who slept around was a tart. That might not be fair but that was life, he had informed her cheerfully. But Alessio could not find it within himself to be quite so cheerful now about the idea that he might have married a tart.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Dual Series: Standalone Publisher: Harlequin Hero: Gaetano Leonetti Heroine: Poppy Arnold Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: January 14, 2016 Started On: May 26, 2024 Finished On: May 28, 2024
Leonetti’s Housekeeper Bride is a story that takes readers straight into the heart of Lynne Graham’s signature world—where the gap between the haves and have-nots collide in spectacular fashion. Gaetano Leonetti never intended to marry, much less someone like Poppy Arnold, his housekeeper with a sharp tongue, unconventional looks, and a past that ties them together.
When his formidable grandfather decrees that only a suitable marriage will secure Gaetano’s coveted CEO role, Gaetano thinks that he has found the perfect way to rebel—by choosing Poppy, who in every way seems wrong for the role of his bride. What he does not expect is just how right she will turn out to be for him.
Gaetano is the archetypal Lynne Graham hero: arrogant, successful, and commitment-phobic, his ambition often clouding his ability to see what lies in front of him. Poppy, on the other hand, is no pushover. Though she has spent her life in the shadows of wealth, tending to others while being overlooked, she has fire in her spirit. She is honest to a fault, wears her spunk like armor, and manages to disarm both Gaetano and his intimidating grandfather with her sincerity. What begins as a union of convenience transforms into something much more, as the simmering attraction between them explodes into passion neither can deny.
The tension between Gaetano and Poppy stems from more than just their different social standings. Gaetano sets her up, believing she will fail in her role as his wife, only to be surprised yet again by her courage and heart. For Poppy, it is a struggle to reconcile her own insecurities with the intensity of Gaetano’s attention. The result is a battle of wills that is as amusing as it is passionate, full of sharp exchanges, unexpected tenderness, and a chemistry that lights up the pages.
I loved Poppy’s outspokenness and Gaetano’s acerbic responses; they both made me laugh out loud more than once throughout the antics littered across the pages. Their first kiss was especially explosive, and where that leads only grew in intensity. On the flip side, I did wish for a touch more angst and heat in the storytelling. The honesty that defines their relationship is refreshing, but it does smooth out some of the drama I typically crave in a Lynne Graham novel.
Still, this book worked beautifully in its own way. The accidental pregnancy twist, the marriage of convenience set-up, and the eventual unraveling of Gaetano’s carefully controlled world delivered all the hallmarks of why I turn to Graham’s novels. Even when lighter on angst, the emotional punch and romance were deeply satisfying.
Recommended for: Readers who love a marriage-of-convenience romance with sharp dialogue, a feisty heroine who refuses to back down, and a hero who does not know what hit him until it’s too late.
Final Verdict: A witty, passionate read where sparks fly as Gaetano’s arrogance meets its match in Poppy’s honesty—proving that sometimes the wrong bride is the only right choice.
Favorite Quotes
‘I’m only just resisting the urge to use some very rude words,’ Poppy warned him, standing her ground with defiant green eyes. ‘This is all your fault. You’ve dragged me here straight from the airport knowing I’m not remotely prepared for this meeting.’ And for Gaetano, whose aggressive need to dominate had emerged in the nursery when he had systematically bullied his first nanny into letting him do pretty much whatever he wanted, that resistance was like a red rag to a bull.
‘I’m pregnant.’ She framed the words curtly, refusing to sound apologetic or nervous, putting it out there exactly like the fact of life it was. ‘How could you possibly be pregnant?’ Gaetano shot at her with an incredulous frown. ‘If it had only just happened, it would be too soon to know and the one and only other time…it isn’t possible…’ ‘It is possible. I fell ill that same day and I missed taking my pill. Mr Abramo also believes the drugs I was given could have interfered with my birth control,’ she told him flatly. ‘You got pregnant on our wedding night?’ Gaetano queried in astonishment. ‘From one time? What are you? The fertility queen?’
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Dual Series: Standalone Publisher: Harlequin Presents Hero: Valente Lorenzatto Heroine: Caroline Hales Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: January 01, 2010 Started On: May 21, 2024 Finished On: May 21, 2024
Lynne Graham has always been a master at weaving revenge, passion, and redemption into a seamless whole, and Virgin on Her Wedding Night is no exception. This is a story that starts with bitterness, as Valente Lorenzatto seeks to even the score for the humiliation of being abandoned at the altar years ago.
He has built himself up from a youth of poverty and illegitimacy into a man of staggering wealth and power, determined to use every ounce of it to exact revenge. What he does not anticipate is how the woman who once broke him still holds the power to undo him completely.
Caroline Hales as a heroine surprised me. On the surface, she seems meek, almost too pliant, the kind of woman who shoulders guilt that is not hers to bear. But underneath all that is someone marked by an upbringing that taught her little of love or independence.
An adopted daughter raised in privilege, Caroline’s moments of rebellion were few, and the greatest of them had been falling for Valente years earlier. The irony, of course, is that the very act that destroyed their love, her jilting him at the altar—was not the selfish betrayal it appeared to be, but the consequence of circumstances that had spiraled beyond her control.
Valente, on the other hand, is all steel and fire. There’s a ruthlessness in the way he pursues revenge, but also a deep vulnerability that makes him more than a mere avenger. Underneath his arrogance lies the man who once loved Caroline with all the single-mindedness of youth, and though he tells himself he no longer feels that way, his actions betray him. His pursuit of Caroline is as much about rekindling what they lost as it is about punishing her, even if he cannot admit it to himself.
The tension between them is deliciously high, and the seduction is classic Graham—slow, heady, and filled with that irresistible push-pull dynamic. What really works here is the way the past shadows their every interaction, forcing both Caroline and Valente to re-examine what really happened, and whether love still has a place between them. If Caroline at times frustrates with her martyrdom, Valente’s determination and the sheer force of their chemistry more than make up for it. And when he finally lowers his defenses, the fireworks are worth it.
What I loved most was the blend of passion and tenderness that defined their journey. Valente’s seduction of Caroline is written with such care that you feel the shift from vengeance to love in every encounter. What I found weaker was Caroline’s tendency to play the victim—her lack of backbone in some moments grated, even when her circumstances explained much of it. Still, watching her grow, and seeing Valente gradually surrender to his feelings, carried the story beautifully to its end.
Recommended for: readers who love revenge-to-redemption arcs, heroes who burn with intensity beneath their polished armor, and heroines of quite indomitable strength.
Final Verdict: Passionate and intense, Valente and Caroline’s story is classic Lynne Graham—scorching seduction wrapped around a second chance at love.
Favorite Quotes
‘I used to dream of having you dressed up in the most expensive lingerie,’ he confided with dark amusement as he released the fastener on her bra. ‘But now I’ve got you in it, I just want to rip it off you again.’
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Single Series: Standalone Publisher: Mills & Boon Hero: Leo Demetrios Heroine: Angie Brown Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: October 01, 1997 Started On: May 20, 2024 Finished On: May 21, 2024
When Leo wanted something, he wanted it yesterday. And, just below that sophisticated and cool cosmopolitan surface, Leo was as shockingly domineering and unashamedly primal in his appetites as a sixteenth-century pirate marauding the seven seas.
Lynne Graham’s The Winter Bride takes readers through her signature world of intense emotions, complicated family ties, and the kind of passionate entanglements that keeps the reader hooked till the very last page. This story blends all the classic Graham elements—misunderstandings, possessiveness, jealousy, and a love that refuses to be denied—wrapped in a Christmas setting that heightens both the drama and the intimacy.
Leo Demetrios is every inch the larger-than-life hero, a Greek billionaire with the commanding presence that Graham’s readers like myself expect. Beneath that ruthlessness lies a man who finds himself completely undone by Angie Brown, a heroine who has quietly lived in his world’s periphery as the butler’s daughter.
Angie is far younger than Leo, just nineteen when their paths first intertwine, and the years and circumstances between them only serve to heighten the storm brewing when they come together again. As a single mother, Angie has built a life for herself, but her lingering vulnerability and the secret she carries makes her relationship with Leo combustible from the very start.
The story brims with conflicts born out of pride, jealousy, and half-truths. Leo’s cousin Drew plays a pivotal role in fanning those flames, his own feelings for Angie creating rifts that push Leo into all the wrong conclusions. Watching Leo wrestle with his possessiveness and helpless jealousy, so convinced she loves another, makes for high-octane angst, the kind that only Graham seems to deliver so well. Dialogue dominates the novel, and it works in untangling the mess of misunderstandings that pile up between Leo and Angie.
A departure from the classic Garaham style, especially for a story published in the 90’s, what stood out to me is how talk-heavy the book was. While it gave space to develop the tangled family dynamics, it did feel at times like it robbed readers of the kind of exquisite passion that the tension between the main couple so richly promised. That said, when Graham does deliver, the connection between Leo and Angie is scorching and deeply emotional. Leo is magnificent in his intensity, and Angie, despite her youth and moments of insecurity, proves to be his equal in every sense, meeting his fire with her own strength.
For me, this story captured everything I love about Lynne Graham’s older romances: the larger-than-life hero, the vulnerable heroine who has an inner backbone of steel, the messy entanglements of pride and love, and the undeniable heat between them.
Recommended for: Fans of Lynne Graham’s vintage style who enjoy jealousy-fueled angst, powerful alpha heroes, and heroines who give as good as they get.
Final Verdict: An angst-filled romance brimming with family drama and fiery passion, The Winter Bride delivers the kind of emotional ride that reminds me why Lynne Graham remains a timeless favorite in the genre.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Dual Series: Standalone Publisher: Harlequin Hero: Acheron Dimitrakos Heroine: Tabitha Glover Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: December 17, 2013 Started On: December 02, 2023 Finished On: December 04, 2023
Originally published on December 17, 2013, The Dimitrakos Proposition by Lynne Graham is a marriage of convenience themed romance, featuring Acheron Dimitrakos (Ash), a man who is skeptical of relationships and a commitment-phobe to boot, who meets his match in Tabitha (Tabby) Glover, an independent woman with a difficult past. When Tabby becomes co-guardian to Amber, a six-month old orphaned child, the last thing that Tabby expects is an outrageous marriage proposal from Ash which sets the tone of the story.
Ash is the epitome of a Lynne Graham alpha hero—Greek, devastatingly handsome, and emotionally scarred. As the founder of DT Industries, Ash is a self-made billionaire who clawed his way to success despite a traumatic childhood spent in foster care. Cynical and emotionally detached, Ash believes love and family are myths—until a legal quirk in his father’s will forces him to marry or lose half of his company.
Tabby too spent her formative years in foster care, which makes her extra protective of Amber when she faces the same fate. When Ash proposes marriage to fulfill the conditions of his father’s will, it leaves Tabby in an untenable position given her desperation to retain custody of Amber. Thus marks the conflict between the two, which creates both sexual and emotional tension, giving readers some of the classic Ms. Graham feels to the story.
What neither expects is for their mutual antagonism to grow into sexual heat, and for that to stoke the fires of an emotional connection that neither can seem to deny. As is signature Graham, Tabby is a virgin with little to zero experience with the likes of men such as Ash, who is a serial womanizer, reaping the benefit of fast and loose women to satiate his hunger for physical intimacy.
Amber’s role as the heart of the story is beautifully portrayed. Her presence forces Ash to confront the pain of his childhood and re-imagine what family could mean. The custody battle adds a layer of emotional urgency, making the stakes feel real.
While I liked the overall premise of the story, I found myself questioning where Tabby was coming from. I must admit that what takes place between Ash and Tabby often had me bursting into laughter, but at the same time, I found myself piqued by how stubborn Tabby was under certain circumstances. While some readers may enjoy her spirited nature, I find that quality to be a bit tiresome when it does not add any value to the story.
The Dimitrakos Proposition, while it had all the right elements, I am sad to say, did not invoke the right emotions in me. Nevertheless, I would recommend it for those who love the fiery at heart stories from Lynne Graham.
Final Verdict: A marriage of convenience turning into a lifetime of love and commitment; delivers on the drama that we all look for in Ms. Graham’s novels!
Favorite Quotes
Acheron stared her up and down, his beautiful face curiously intent. Heat blossomed in her cheeks as he studied her with smouldering dark eyes, his tension palpable. Desire flickered low in her pelvis like kindling yearning for a spark, and she felt that craving shoot through every fibre of her body, from the dryness of her mouth to the swelling sensitivity of her nipples and the honeyed heat between her thighs. It made her feel light-headed and oddly intoxicated, and she blinked rapidly, severely disconcerted by the feelings. ‘That will do,’ he pronounced thickly.
Acheron closed a hand around her wrist and tugged her into the corridor, shutting the door behind him. ‘I like what I see,’ he informed her softly. Tabby stared up at him with fulminating force, noting the dark shadow of stubble outlining his stubborn jaw line and how that overnight growth enhanced his sheer masculinity. ‘But I’m not offering myself.’ ‘No?’ Acheron dipped his handsome head and nibbled at the corner of her inviting mouth, invading with his tongue as soon as she parted her succulent lips. Without further ado, he hauled her up against him, hands weaving across her slender back and then sliding up to glance over the taut peaks of her breasts in a caress that made her shiver.
He was very, very sexy, she acknowledged dimly, as if it was an excuse, and as he hoisted her higher to get a better grip on her slight body he let go of her hands and, instead of using them to get free of his hold, she balanced one on a broad shoulder and delved the fingers of the other into the springy, luxuriant depths of his black hair. With a guttural sound low in his throat he brought her down on something soft and yielding and then sealed her fast to the hard, driving length of his powerful frame.
‘You’re so tight,’ he rasped, shifting with an athletic lift of his lean hips to surge into her again, deeper, further, harder in a technique that met every physical craving she hadn’t known she had. ‘I’m incredibly turned on.’ The flood of sensation returned as he withdrew and plunged back into her again, ensuring that she felt every inch of his penetration. The intensity of sensation shocked her and the powerful contracting bands in her pelvis turned her into a fizzing firework of wild excitement. He moved faster and she clung, riding out the electrifying storm of passion with a heart that seemed to be thumping in her eardrums. The explosion of raw pleasure that followed stunned her as the inner convulsions of her body clenched her every muscle tight as a fist. He vented a shuddering groan of completion while the waves of delight went on and on and on, coursing through her thoroughly fulfilled body.
‘Hot, tight, ready,’ Acheron growled hungrily in her ear as she arched back into his lean, hard body, instinctively seeking the fulfilment that only he could give while he angled away from her to don a condom. ‘I’ve been fantasising about this for days.’ ‘Days?’ she parroted in surprise as he lifted her undamaged leg to spread her open for him. ‘Every night since that first night, every day I saw you in that teeny tiny bikini, glyka mou,’ Acheron confided, tilting her forward, long fingers tightening their hold on her slender thigh as he entered her with a groan of intense masculine satisfaction. A muffled scream of pleasure was torn from Tabby’s throat as her body was forced to adjust to his size, her inner channel stretching to the brink of insane pleasure.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Dual Series: Standalone Publisher: Harlequin Presents Hero: Nikolai Drakos Heroine: Prunella Palmer Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: May 19, 2016 Started On: November 14, 2023 Finished On: November 18, 2023
Bought for the Greek’s Revenge by Lynne Graham plunges readers into the chaotic world of the main protagonists— a passionate whirlwind of revenge, redemption, and sizzling high-octane chemistry. The story centers around Greek tycoon Nikolai Drakos and his ruthless pursuit of Ella Palmer (Prunella Palmer) for his revenge. Published in May 2016, this is everything fans of Ms. Graham expects from a romance penned by her—fierce, dramatic, and simmering with emotional and sexual tension.
Nikolai is a man on a mission, bent on avenging himself against his archenemy, whom he despises with every fiber of his being. It is the unassuming Ella who inadvertently becomes the pawn in his game of retribution and gets caught in the crosshairs as Nikolai attempts to get to his enemy through her. Nikolai, relentless in his pursuit, buys out Ella’s family debts, coercing her compliance with an offer she can hardly refuse—her family’s financial freedom in exchange for becoming his mistress.
Ella’s predicament is impossible, but she bravely steps into Nikolai’s world, initially agreeing to his terms with little choice. Her character, an alluring mix if innocence and tenderness, has a powerful impact on Nikolai, who soon finds his motivations shifting in unexpected ways. As the story progresses, Nikolai’s hardened exterior cracks, revealing a man who, despite his ruthless ambition, feels a growing protectiveness and attraction toward her. What starts as a vengeful transaction morphs into something altogether different, as Nikolai realizes that the ultimate victory might not be revenge, but claiming Ella as his bride.
Nikolai is the type of hero that Ms. Graham crafts so perfectly. His dark past—marked by neglect and a childhood burdened with emotional scars—makes him both aloof, powerful, and yet deeply wounded, with the untimely loss of his sister having left its mark on him. Ella on the other hand has her own insecurities to contend with, having being engaged once to a man whose rejection of her has left deeply ingrained scars on her psyche.
It is amidst all this that Ms. Graham masterfully crafts a romance that is as complex as it is intense. The relationship between Nikolai and Ella grows with each encounter brimming with heat and emotions, with neither character losing the very qualities that draws readers to them in the first place. Nikolai’s transformation—from a man bent on vengeance to one who learns to love—gives the story depth, as his icy demeanor softens, and the vulnerability he allows Ella to see speaks for itself.
I loved the modern twists and how Ms. Graham balanced intense passion with deep-seated emotional growth. I loved Nikolai and Ella individually and together, and that is in essence half the job done when crafting a romance novel.
For fans of Lynne Graham, Bought for the Greek’s Revenge delivers all the elements of a classic Mills & Boon novel with an extra dose of fire and emotional punch. Nikolai’s relentless passion and Ella’s quiet strength creates a dynamic that keeps the pages turning.
Recommended for fans of Harlequin romances and especially fans of Ms. Graham.
Final Verdict: Bought for the Greek’s Revenge is a must-read for lovers of high-stakes, emotionally charged romance with a fiercely possessive hero and a heroine who finds her own strength amidst the storm.
Favorite Quotes
‘It would take an avalanche to crush your ego, wouldn’t it?’ ‘If I was modest you would walk all over me with pleasure.’ Nikolai was entranced by the glorious green of her eyes against the smooth, fine grain of her porcelain skin. ‘But that’s not what you want from me, is it? You’d much prefer me to take your choices away and give you the excuse to be with me.’
‘I really hate being shouted at,’ Nikolai confided a split second before his hard, sensual mouth claimed hers. And for that same split second it was as though Ella’s world stopped turning and she was jolted off course, sent breathless and spinning into the unknown. Heat surged up through her like an invasive weapon. He eased her out from under him but kept her trapped in his arms. Irritation flamed through her because inexplicably she had liked his crushing weight on hers. Her fists struck at shirt-clad shoulders as unyielding as rock. The tip of his tongue flicked inside her mouth and she shivered violently, the clenching at her secret core almost painful in its intensity. He nipped at her lower lip, sucked and soothed it with his tongue. She wanted more, she wanted more so badly it hurt to be denied and the rushing tide of that hunger shocked her back into her mind again.
Nikolai bent his head and kissed her. It was a slow claiming as the tip of his tongue traced the lush fullness of her lower lip and then delved gently between. A breathy little gasp erupted from her parted lips and she stepped closer. His arms snapped round her and it was the work of a moment for him to swing round and press her back against the car, his sensual mouth driving down hard on hers, his lean, powerful body crushing her against the unyielding metal. Her every skin cell seemed to erupt into life as heat raced through her bloodstream and a bolt of naked yearning surged from low in her pelvis. His mouth was all she cared about. She couldn’t get enough of him, was convinced she would never get enough of him. She gloried in the thrust of his arousal against her, the knowledge that Nikolai Drakos wanted her and couldn’t hide the fact.
A kind of frenzy gripped her muscles and she shook, feeling ecstasy within her grasp and snatching at it. And it ran over and through her, a rolling white-hot wave of convulsive delight and fulfilment that left her drained and limp. Ella was convinced that she would never move again, and then Nikolai moved when she didn’t want him to and she rolled over and rested her head on his chest instead, her arm wrapping round his narrow waist. He dropped a kiss on her damp brow. ‘Thank you,’ he rasped breathlessly. ‘That was amazing.’
‘Stop talking,’ Ella told him. ‘Being thrown on the bed works for me. Seeing you a little out of control is more real than some plan of slow seduction.’ ‘Blame yourself. You’ve been wrecking my plans all day,’ Nikolai asserted, swiping the package off the dressing table and returning to the bed. ‘First you blew my mind on the flight and then you flaunted your gorgeous self in boots and stockings and a garter and I was lost…’ ‘Is that a complaint?’ ‘No.’ A wicked charismatic grin slashed his lean, darkly handsome features. ‘That was an “any time you want me, I’m yours” speech,’ he teased. ‘You can be yourself with me, you know,’ she whispered feelingly. ‘Just do what you feel like.’
He eased over her, rearranged her to his satisfaction, slowly surged in and she shut her eyes tight, every nerve screaming for the satisfaction only he could give. Inch by agonising inch he entered her and when he was finally fully seated she loosed a sound of pleasure she couldn’t hold back. She could feel how damp, how ready she was and his sheer strength as he lifted her up to him, muscles bulging in his forearms, left her weak with longing. He slid back and then plunged, his speed picking up. Excitement detonated inside her and she wrapped her legs round him. As she bucked he pinned her to the mattress and thrust into her fiercely with a primal grunt of pleasure. It went on and on and on until she was sobbing with excitement and the band of tension at the centre of her body was tightening and tightening. Release came in a rush of feral fire, lighting up every nerve and skin cell, and she cried out, her nails raking down his back in an ecstasy of pleasure.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Dual Series: Standalone Publisher: Harlequin Hero: Cristophe Donakis Heroine: Erin Turner Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: January 01, 2012 Started On: October 27, 2023 Finished On: October 27, 2023
‘You know that you want me just as much,’ he argued with unashamed assurance. ‘When we burn, we burn together.’
Craving for a story from Lynne Graham, the Queen of Harlequin Romance, I found myself with the novel In The Secrets She Carried, a story that delivers a tale brimming with intense emotions, misunderstandings, and the inevitable pull of an unfinished love story. The story brings to readers 30-year-old Greek billionaire Cristophe Donakis, whose life is marked with the scars left behind from significant events in his past. Orphaned at five and scarred by a bitter divorce, Cristo’s view of women remains jaded, and his expectations low.
25-year old Erin Turner is the heroine who changes all that, who is strikingly beautiful and ends up being the proverbial thorn on Christo’s side. Erin is an impressionable 21 when she initially meets Cristo and ends up having the most intense and passionate affair of her life. She had been no match for the relentless pursuit that Cristo had mounted to make her his, and when their affair ended abruptly leaving Erin bewildered and pregnant and Cristo bitter and more distrustful than before, this sets the stage for their reunion nearly three years down the line.
When Cristo encounters Erin at Stanwick Hall Hotel, her place of employment for the past couple of years, it stirs to life the ugly memories from before. Erin who is now 25 years old and a single mother to twins, struggling to secure a stable future for herself and her kids, has neither the time nor the energy to face the tumultuous truth of her past with Cristo, something she would rather forget altogether, if it were not for the truth of the paternity of her beloved twins.
With the fate of the hotel hanging in a balance, Erin is anxiety personified and having Cristo in this volatile mix, does not put her at ease. Cristo finds himself being led by his unresolved feelings for Erin in his bid to close the deal in acquiring the hotel, marking the reunion between Erin and Cristo one that is charged with mutual distrust. Cristo stands firm in his belief that he is the aggrieved party while Erin knows that she never had a chance when it came to Cristo given the vast differences in their social standing.
As their past unravels and entwines with the present, Cristo finds himself having to face some uncomfortable and jarring truths about their shared past, the one that had marked him to an extent he refuses to acknowledge. However, the truth emerging does not really change Cristo’s perception of Erin as it should, but rather it is as if he fights a battle with himself to gain supremacy over his emotions when it comes to Erin.
Erin’s strength as a character shines through as she navigates the treacherous waters that surrounds her and Cristo, infested with sharks willing to destroy her once again. Cristo’s reaction to every truth regarding their relationship from before is striking and contrasts vividly with that of how Erin harbors love of the kind that is willing to forgive. The knowledge that he is now father to two rambunctious twins itself comes as a form of “betrayal” to the man who chose to cut off all ties with Erin rather ruthlessly, without examining too closely what was happening around them.
Needless to say, their road to reconciliation is one fraught with tension and angst – something I love in my novels, and one main reason why I adore novels by Ms. Graham. She does an excellent job in the portrayal of the intricate dance of love, betrayal, forgiveness, and redemption that takes place between Cristo and Erin which is central to the story. It is Erin’s emotional maturity which I believe made this story while Cristo’s inability to properly accept his wrongdoings and apologize nearly proved to be the undoing.
Cristo was definitely an unusual hero under most circumstances, having chosen to marry someone else right on the rebound from his relationship with Erin. Most readers would perhaps see that as a “betrayal” in itself, but what truly made it difficult for me was how Cristo came off as a hero who seems to have perfected the art in the non-apology department.
Recommended for fans of category romances that delivers on tension wrought journeys towards happily ever after.
Final Verdict: It is only an author like Ms. Graham who can make a story such as The Secrets She Carried work! Compelling in its narrative, this is a tale that tests the reader’s ability to forgive alongside with that of the heroine!
Favorite Quotes
‘Miss Turner?’ a sleek cultured drawl with the suggestion of an accent purred. ‘I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Your boss speaks very highly of you.’ Erin flinched as though a thunderclap had sounded within the room without warning, that dark-timbred voice unleashing an instant ‘fight or flight instinct she had to struggle to keep under control. She would have known that distinctive intonation laced with command had she heard it even at a crowded party. It was as unforgettable as the male himself.
The pulse in Erin’s neck was beating like crazy as she hovered by the bedroom window, refusing to look outside while her tummy twisted into knots. She had heard the helicopter landing, knew Cristo liked to fly himself, and knew it would be him and that within minutes he would walk through the bedroom door. She clasped her hands tightly together, willing back her nerves, striving for calm and cool. And then the door flew open, rocking back on its hinges to frame Cristo, brilliant black diamond eyes snaking across the room to rest on her, his tall well-built body casting a long shadow in the lamp light. And there she was, silvery pale hair tumbling round her shoulders, something pretty and blue swirling round her petite little body, waiting for him just as he remembered from times gone by. Erin. He savoured her, noting the glow of self-consciousness that coloured the beautiful delicacy of her features. He experienced such a charge of hunger at the first glance that a predatory smile crossed his mobile male mouth. ‘Cristo…’ Erin contrived to enunciate with admirable clarity, only the breathy quietness of her voice letting her down. ‘Erin,’ he breathed thickly, closing the distance between them and hauling her straight into his arms.
And it took no thought to do any of those things and she was shaken by the instinct driving her at a level she didn’t understand. Her fingers curved to one high cheekbone as she struggled to stay upright with her heart slamming against her breastbone as hard as though she were in race. Her legs felt weak, insufficient to support her and she was fiercely aware of the empty ache in her pelvis and the swelling tightness of her breasts as he spread his big hands over her buttocks and crushed her into his hard erection. ‘I’m burning alive for you,’ Cristo growled almost accusingly, spinning her round to find the zip on her dress and taking care of it with efficiency.
‘I didn’t intend to fall on you like a wild animal the minute I came through the door,’ he volunteered impatiently. ‘I was planning on having dinner first.’ Erin averted her gaze, the victim of unwelcome memories of a passion that had never gone off the boil. ‘You were never very good at waiting. It was always like this for us—’ ‘There is no “us” any more.’
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Single Series: Standalone Publisher: Harlequin Hero: Rico da Silva Heroine: Bella Jennings Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: January 01, 1996 Started On: July 14, 2023 Finished On: July 20, 2023
It was like coming alive when you thought you were dead. Every skin-cell suddenly flamed into red-hot life, a kind of frantic, feverish hunger possessing her. Her response was so intense that it swallowed her alive.
Prisoner of Passion by Lynne Graham is another explosively emotive read by the highly acclaimed author of category romances. First published in January of 1996, the story delves into two vastly different characters in terms of upbringing and outlook, rendering their coming together one that is as combustive as it can get.
The story begins when 21 year old Bella Jennings, a spirited and fiercely independent artist gets into an accident with 32 year old magnate, Rico da Silva, who misunderstands Bella’s intentions and challenges her integrity from the onset. While Rico would rather die than admit how he is drawn towards the spirited nature of Bella in a way that makes him wary, it is when they are kidnapped and thrown into forced proximity with each other that their desire comes to its heady conclusion, forging emotional ties that goes beyond mere attraction.
While Bella chafes at the very notion of giving into Rico, she carries the emotional scars of abandonment, which makes her extremely wary of relationships, especially given her mother’s history with men. When Rico misjudges her, laying blame at her door for enticing him, Bella tends to give as good as she gets, until she realizes that for the very first time in her life, she wants to succumb to the wiles of a man.
Meanwhile Rico has a more well-rounded upbringing and is not cast from the usual mold of heroes that litter most category romances. However, he is a man once bitten and extremely “shy” when it comes to the opposite sex, willing to believe that every woman wants what he can give them, both in bed and as a man who is financially affluent. When Bella pushes his buttons, the ones that do not even show up with other women, Rico being the strong character that he is, pushes back.
Their relationship is one that is an uphill battle, as it is not only their own vulnerabilities that each has to contend with, but also external forces that would rather see them go their separate ways. However, fate has a way of bringing them together which defies everything else, even be it the internal struggles that both Rico and Bella go through towards the end.
I highly enjoyed this high octane number from Ms. Graham. I am always in awe of how she can turn formulaic story lines into books that demands all my emotions to be fully invested in them. I am also quite taken in with the fact that almost every Lynne Graham novel tends to touch on the vast class difference that exists in advanced societies like the United Kingdom, and this was no exception.
How the poor struggle to make ends meet often living in cycles of abject poverty until the hero swoops in and rescues them, with generations often spending their lives in servitude, while those who have the money belong to a class of their own. While most may not hone in on such details, I believe Ms. Graham brings the struggles of especially women who assume responsibilities of single motherhood for instance to life in her novels to show this dichotomy that is still very much part of society.
I loved how passionate both Rio and Bella were in their unique individual ways, and how that passion translated into a love of the kind that both were willing to fight for when all was said and done. Ms. Graham’s vivid prose is perfect for such contrasting characters, capturing the often tumultuous emotions that defines their relationship. From heated arguments to tender moments of vulnerability, each scene is crafted to best portray the emotional nuance, drawing readers into the heart of their passionate and intense love affair.
Ultimately, it was how Bella and Rico both navigate their personal demons and external pressures to go through periods of growth and introspection, to be able to accept each other and their love which made the story stand out for me.
Definitely recommended for those who love highly passionate love stories crafted with emotional depth that Ms. Graham is famous for!
Final Verdict: Prisoner of Passion is a gripping romance with its richly drawn characters, evocative prose, and poignant exploration of love amidst adversity, attesting to Graham’s mastery of the genre!
Favorite Quotes
‘Let me go… Let me go!’ she chanted wildly. ‘Please!’ ‘If I don’t take you to the police I’ll take you home.’ Every muscle in his dark features rigid, he slung her a look of smouldering sexual appraisal which was flagrant enough to make her knees sag and her darkened eyes fill with an ocean of sheer shock. ‘Sí…and bed you like you’ve never been bedded before! I have never wanted anything as badly as I want you, and the knowledge that I can afford you doesn’t help. It’s a sick craving and I am not yielding to it,’ he muttered roughly, so close now that she could feel his breath on her cheek as his dark head lowered, degree by mesmerising degree. ‘And, if I did, you’d be sorry. Believe me, the police are the soft option…’
His mouth crashed down on hers. Electric shock sizzled through every skin cell. Nothing that intense had ever happened to her before. His tongue stabbed between her lips and heat surged between her thighs. She quivered, letting him splay his hands intimately to the swell of her hips, lifting her to him, melding every inch of her screamingly willing body to the hungry threat of his. It still wasn’t close enough to satisfy. A moan escaped huskily from the back of her throat—a curiously animal moan that she did not recognise as her own.
‘Don’t be disgusting! Let me go!’ He gave vent to something rough and charged in Spanish and moved with an abruptness that took her completely by surprise. Suddenly she was flipped onto her back and Rico was lying above her instead, their positions reversed without warning. Before she could open her startled lips to demand an explanation he took her mouth in a surge of angry passion. And what happened next she definitely wasn’t prepared to deal with. As his tongue drove into the moist interior she had already accidentally opened to him she was seized by an explosive wave of excitement. It left her dizzy and stripped of every coherent thought. The intensity of her own response electrified her, opening up another world that was full of unbearable physical temptation. She returned the kiss with a kind of wondering innocence, arching her head back to deepen the pressure, involuntarily greedy and inviting more.
He wasn’t listening. He muttered something rough and yet soft in Spanish, and just as suddenly reached for her. As possessed by that terrifying strong need to physically connect as he was, Bella made no demur. Lost in the slumbrous demand of his golden gaze, she was mindless. He took her mouth with a hunger that burned like flames of fire over her unprotected skin. And yet she craved that fire, needed that fire as she needed oxygen to live. Her hands gripped his broad shoulders, loving the heat of his flesh through the fine shirt. She pushed against him as he crushed her to him, her breasts flattened to the hard wall of his chest, already heavy with a sensitivity and an anticipation which he alone had taught her to feel. Her body remembered him with every newly awakened sense.
He shifted over her then, ravishing her swollen lips one more time, and then, abruptly, he drew her up to him with impatient hands and plunged inside her. She hadn’t expected the pain that tore at her as he entered her. Her shocked eyes flew wide and she bit her tongue so hard that she tasted blood in her mouth. ‘Madre de Dios!’ Shattered golden eyes held hers, and then his teeth clenched as the momentum of his own desire made him drive deeper still, his swollen shaft forging a path through the tender tissue that had sought to deny him.
She was at screaming-point when he moved over her, every shred of physical awareness centred on the ache of emptiness between her thighs. And then he thrust into her and she moaned and arched in one taut movement, her body clenching on a pleasure so intense that she was utterly possessed by it. Her fingers raked down his back in reaction and her teeth nipped at the strong brown column of his throat in instinctive revenge for the ragged laugh he gave vent to. After that there was nothing but the long, pulsing drive for satisfaction. It went on and on and on. She hit the heights fast, unable to rein back the flood of release, but he didn’t stop. She had barely hit ground level again before the frantic climb back up began, and in all her life she had never felt so controlled, never dreamt she could enjoy that reality so much. And when the second climax whooshed up inside her she was wiped out.
He kissed her and the world fell away and everything else soared to an ungovernable height of excitement. He closed his arms around her so tightly that she couldn’t breathe, but she didn’t want to breathe. Dizzy and disorientated, she clung to him, lost in the devastating plunge into passion, her heart racing, her pulses throbbing, every muscle taut with a hunger that dominated and controlled. Heat surged into her loins, making her thighs tremble against the aroused thrust of his manhood. He swept her up in his arms and then dropped her on the ancient feather mattress from a height. ‘You’re a pushover, querida.’ He stared down at her, his hard-boned features grim and derisive. ‘And you will crawl for that month’s trial before I am finished with you!’ he stated chillingly.
‘Would you like me to show you around?’ Standing there in the stray patch of sunlight arrowing through a tall sash-window, he looked so good that she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Six feet four inches of spectacular masculinity. Visually she adored every extravagantly gorgeous inch of him, her heart accelerating like a racing car screeching round a bend at a hundred-plus miles an hour. She felt her breasts stir and swell inside the cups of her bra, helplessly struggled to fight the electric tension that was wantonly taking her over. ‘Bella…’ he murmured unsteadily, his shimmering golden eyes suddenly hotly pinned to her. Emboldened by the discovery that he could look helpless too, Bella smiled, all female. ‘Turned very coy all of a sudden, haven’t you?’
She pulled his jacket off, tore at his tie, and as he fought his way out of his shirt let her palms smooth up over the warm, hard wall of his muscular chest, her fingertips teasing at the dark whorls of hair in her path. With an earthy growl he brushed her hands away, thrust her T-shirt up and found her breasts. It was her turn to gasp and quiver as his expert fingers pushed up her bra and tugged at her engorged nipples. Her back arched in a blinding wave of intolerable excitement.
She burned and panted for breath as he tugged the briefs away and discovered the damp, hot secret of her desire. Intolerable excitement held her in its grip. Suddenly he was pushing her back, shifting over her, unexpectedly stilling when she was poised with anticipation on the furthest edge, every nerve ready to scream with frustration. ‘Don’t stop!’ she gasped. She felt his hands, roughly impatient on her thighs, and then, with a suddenness that stole her breath away, he thrust into her hard and deeply. An ecstatic cry escaped her, wanton in the depth of need it expressed. She stretched up, kissing his throat, licking the salt from his skin, adoring him. But he pushed her back, arching over her like a primitive god, demanding absolute control, thrusting harder and faster, filling her again and again with the driving force of his manhood.
Format: E-Book Read with: Kindle Oasis Length: Novel Genre: Contemporary Romance POV: Third Person, Single Series: Standalone Publisher: Harlequin Hero: Nikolos Angelis Heroine: Prudence Demakis Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥 Published On: March 01, 2006 Started On: July 13, 2023 Finished On: July 14, 2023
‘I didn’t know I could feel like this…’ His scorching gaze welded to hers. ‘Not everyone can. Your passion matches mine.’
The Greek’s Chosen Wife by Lynne Graham, first published in 2006, is an emotionally charged novel that leaves the reader hooked from the onset. If you are like myself and love the high intense variety of romances filled with angst, then you would find the story of Prudence Demakis and Nikolos Angelis a captivating and enthralling read.
Prudence is just nineteen years old when her emotionally distant and cold grandfather forces her into a marriage of convenience with Nikolos, who is just a twenty-two year old university student himself. Known for his arrogance and womanizing ways even then, along with the weight of his family’s expectations which he chafes at, Nikolos initially views Prudence as an inconvenient burden—unattractive and beneath his standards. While Prudence is in love with Nikolos, any dreams of the rose-tinted variety are dashed with a disastrous wedding night, followed by eight years of separate lives.
Prudence finds her solace in running an animal sanctuary, and as time heals her wounds over Nikolos and his rejection, Prudence decides it is time for her to move forward in her life and have a baby. When Nikolos is faced with the ego bruising knowledge that his wife is seeking a divorce from him to pursue her own dreams of achieving motherhood, Nikolos rejects this notion just as vehemently as he initially rejected the very idea of marriage to Prudence. Thus begins the fraught journey that these two take towards their happily ever after, with misunderstandings and past hurts forcing them to jarring stops along the way.
Ms. Graham does a marvelous job of navigating the intricacies between Prudence and Nikolos, in revealing their vulnerabilities and exposing the raw intensity of their burgeoning attraction. Their journey from adversaries to reluctant allies, and finally to passionate lovers, is a testament to Ms. Graham’s skill in crafting deeply nuanced characters and compelling relationships.
I loved how Prudence evolved from a woman defined by the perception of others who were unkind to her to becoming a formidable force in her own right. Her ability to stand up for herself and her self-possession were admirable, especially in the face of the forceful character that is Nikolos.
Nikolos himself has some growing up to do as the story progresses, which includes putting his own ego aside to understand the true rarity in finding someone who accepts you as you are, no questions asked. As always, Ms. Graham manages to paint the vividness of love and how it has the ability to transform even the hardest of hearts and smash through the most powerful of egos. I loved Nikolos because he was willing to fight for Prudence and what their marriage, even if it meant going against Prudence herself.
Recommended for fans of romances featuring themes of unrequited love and marriages of convenience. Ms. Graham does these tropes great justice!
Final Verdict: The Greek’s Chosen Wife delivers a compelling read brimming with sizzling sensuality and poignancy of love’s complexities, making this book a must-read for fans of emotional and character-driven romance!
Favorite Quotes
Nik reached for her with sure, steady hands and she let him ease her closer. Her heart was pounding behind her ribcage. Her brain was telling her to back away, laugh it off and extricate herself with style. There was just one problem: she didn’t want to. A little voice had swum up from her subconscious to tell her that it was all right and perfectly acceptable to be curious about how it would feel if he held her close. ‘I may be no good at the romantic angle…but I excel in other fields,’ Nik purred.
‘This is not how it was meant to be between us,’ Nik intoned, almost crushing the life from her fingers. Moisture shone in her eyes and slid down her cheeks. Nik groaned out loud. ‘Don’t…’ She gulped. ‘I’m sorry…go!’ ‘No…’ Nik lowered his handsome dark head to kiss the tear from her smooth cheek. She had the scent of a peach: warm and ripe and ready to eat. For a fraction of a second he hesitated and then, recognising his moment, he went for it with all the ruthless, single-minded purpose which his business competitors feared. Astonishment shrilled through Prudence when Nik captured her lips with a hungry urgency that rocked her down to her toes.
A heavy pulse of need had started to pound in her pelvis. She leant back into the support of his arm, her fingers spearing into the ebony depths of his hair. He flipped loose the hooks holding the satin cups in place, letting her firm, full breasts spill free. ‘You are magnificent,’ Nik told her raggedly, surveying the pouting silken swells with reverent appreciation and capturing the hands that she instinctively raised to cover herself from him. ‘No, don’t you dare try to hide yourself.’
‘Will I be the first?’ Nik husked, coiling back from her to strip off his trousers. With difficulty she focused on him and she was shaken by her desire to tell him that no, he would not be, even if it would be the most awful lie. As the silence lengthened, tension screamed through Nik’s big, powerful frame: had she been with someone else? Her gaze locked to his lean darkly handsome face and her heartbeat raced. She discovered she could not lie to him on that score. ‘Yes…’
The silence lay thick. She met brilliant dark golden eyes and was suddenly impossibly aware of every inch of her all too female body and of every tiny breath that she drew. She straightened her back in an effort to ease the tingling sensitivity of her breasts. Bracing long brown fingers on the wall to one side of her head, Nik angled his proud dark head down to press a light, teasing kiss to the corner of her mouth. With a low-pitched gasp, she turned her head to blindly seek more direct contact. His breath fanning her cheek, he toyed with the soft fullness of her lower lip, rimming the upper with an erotic dart of his tongue.
‘I like this sudden need to rip my clothes off,’ Nik confided, hot eyes melded to her. Although her face was burning, Prudence had not lost her resolve. Rising onto her knees, she helped him out of his jacket and embarked on his shirt buttons with fingers that felt mortifyingly clumsy. ‘ But maybe it’s a little less practised than what you’re used to—’ Disconcerted by that comment, Nik closed his hand over hers. ‘Don’t undervalue what I have with you. This is different for me.’ Wanting to believe that but afraid to, Prudence hesitated momentarily. ‘Is it?’ ‘Of course it is…’ Nik covered her lips with an unexpected tenderness.
A dark flush scoring his hard cheekbones, stunning eyes glittering, Nik undid the halter-neck of her dress and slowly drew the opulent fabric down to release her full curves from the shaped bodice. ‘You’re gorgeous,’ he said thickly. Entranced by her creamy breasts and the distended rosy buds awaiting his attention, he pressed her back against the pillows. Smoothly extracting her from the gown round her hips, he tossed it aside. He bent over her with a husky sound of satisfaction to let his lips toy with a pouting pink nipple. Heat burst low in her pelvis and tensed her hips and an ache that was almost painful began to stir.
‘Nik,’ she whispered below the passionate onslaught of his hungry mouth, fingers spreading against the warm, muscular wall of his hard torso. ‘When I look at you—’ ‘Don’t just look… touch,’ Nik urged, hungry golden eyes striking hers as he carried her hand down over his flat stomach to the aggressive jut of his bold erection. Involuntarily she froze. ‘I don’t know how—’ ‘But I know…’ a provocative smile slashed his handsome mouth ‘…and I intend to enjoy teaching you.’
Her entire being, her every breath, seemed to ride on his slightest touch. Her heartbeat raced and she writhed and moaned, all control vanquished by the fierce need that made her ache. She wanted him, and she wanted and she wanted until the wanting was a frantic and ferocious craving that hurt. Only then did he plunge into her with a single thrust of possession that jolted her with intense erotic sensation. That very intensity overwhelmed her. His hands closed to her thighs to raise her so that he could sink deeper into her tight passage. Hot, drugging pleasure engulfed her and it went on and on and on. Wild sobs of excitement escaped her. Her unbearably tense body craved release from the passionate torment of his driving rhythm. The tension built and built and then finally spilt over.
He tumbled her back on the bed. Scorching golden eyes raked her with sensual ferocity. ‘I can’t wait…’ ‘Take your shirt off…’ He hauled it off with such violence that buttons went flying. Prudence feasted her eyes on him, wondered if she could wait until he got the rest of his clothes off and decided that she couldn’t. She opened her arms, arched her spine and shifted her hips in silent invitation. His burning gaze flared with white-hot desire. ‘You tease…’ he ground out helplessly, coming down to her with flattering impatience, all fire, hunger and aggressive masculine energy.
A Maldivian's Passion for Romance 