Rachael Thomas – Seducing His Convenient Innocent (страница 1)
The Greek’s terms?
She must wear his diamond!
Lysandros Drakakis always gets what he wants, and he’s never stopped wanting beautiful pianist Rio Armstrong! A fake engagement to please his family is the perfect opportunity to uncover why she walked away from their powerful connection...and indulge their still-sizzling desire under the Mediterranean sun. But Rio’s heartbreaking revelation changes the stakes—he’s given her his ring, yet now Lysandros finds himself wanting to give Rio
RACHAEL THOMAS has always loved reading romance, and is thrilled to be a Mills & Boon author. She lives and works on a farm in Wales—a far cry from the glamour of a Modern Romance story, but that makes slipping into her characters’ worlds all the more appealing. When she’s not writing, or working on the farm, she enjoys photography and visiting historical castles and grand houses. Visit her at rachaelthomas.co.uk.
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Di Marcello’s Secret Son
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Hired to Wear the Sheikh’s Ring
A Ring to Claim His Legacy
Convenient Christmas Brides miniseries
Valdez’s Bartered Bride
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Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.
Seducing His Convenient Innocent
Rachael Thomas
ISBN: 978-1-474-08754-4
SEDUCING HIS CONVENIENT INNOCENT
© 2019 Rachael Thomas
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Spring in London
LYSANDROS DRAKAKIS WATCHED Rio Armstrong, the woman he wanted above all others, as she took her seat at the piano. An expectant hush fell over the room as everyone waited for the recital he’d arranged for his business clients at one of London’s top hotels to begin.
Rio was beautiful. Her tall, slender body was full of poise and elegance and as she sat at the piano all eyes were on her. Everyone else in the room was waiting for her to play but all Lysandros could do was imagine her in his arms, kissing him with an unrestrained passion she’d so far resisted. Every time they’d kissed the hints of desire had lingered on her lips, tormenting him.
His younger sister, Xena, had introduced them, claiming them to be perfect for one another, and for the last two months he’d been the personification of a gentleman with this alluring beauty. He’d also been patient, allowing their relationship to unfold at Rio’s pace. Not at all his usual style, but this was the first time since his disastrous engagement to Kyra ten years ago that he wanted to consider more than just physical gratification.
That uncharacteristic restraint since he and Rio had started dating was having serious side effects. Not having done anything more than kiss her, his mind was constantly filled with the image of their naked bodies entwined with desire, and as Rio’s fingers began to caress the first notes of her performance from the piano, he closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm his ardour, try to halt the thoughts of her touching him, caressing him.
Rio had warned him, from the first moment he’d made his interest in her known, of her concert commitments, the need to put in hours of daily practice, and more recently had used those commitments as the reason she wasn’t ready to take their romance further. But with summer approaching and the concert season ending, Lysandros was determined to whisk her away to his home in Greece. Once there he wanted to allow the attraction between them to bloom like the flowers on his island retreat.
A ripple of applause swayed around the room, dragging his thoughts back to the present. How long had he been wrapped in heated thoughts of making Rio his? Rio stood and took a bow, smiling at the audience’s appreciation of her playing. She was a rising star in the world of classical music and small performances like this were her way of bringing the joy of the genre to new listeners.
As the audience slowly dwindled away, heading to the hotel restaurant or bar, he walked towards the large black grand piano where Rio was gathering up her music. She glanced up, smiling at him, and he could almost believe that she could be, as Xena had more than hinted at, the woman to overthrow all the disbelief in love with which his ex-fiancée Kyra had filled him.
‘Excellent entertainment, Lysandros.’ The gruff voice of Samuel Andrews, a man with whom he’d just signed a lucrative deal to supply his company with ten luxury yachts, invaded the moment.